• The United States Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121 where the operator will direct you to the senate office you request. Make as many calls to your senator as you are able to every day.
  
• When you reach your senators phone: DO NOT just stop at registering an opinion. ASK for your Health Legislative Assistant/Aide. Link to a list of those assistants by Senator, state and name (Remember to call YOUR SENATORS FROM YOUR STATE! They need to hear from their constituents.)
  
  
  
  
  
  As well as instructions on what to say once you get through courtesy of Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org:
  
  

  Ben Wikler said:

  Ben Wikler ‏Verified account @benwikler 4h4 hours ago
  When you get through, explain that you're a constituent and you have grave concerns about how the bill will affect you. Then explain WHY 19/
  
  These staffers are human beings. They work on health care because they care about health. Even if their bosses don't. Tell your story. 20/
  
  What you want is for health staffers to be telling their bosses that they've spent all day with the phone from freaked-out constituents 21/
  
  And then you want to ASK FOR A MEETING, before the vote. With state staffers (or in DC, if you can come). Promise to bring a group. 22/
  
  If you get the meeting with your Senator or their staffers, bring a ton of people & make it huge. @MoveOn can help. (DM me.) 23/
  
  If you don't get the meeting, no problem. You should still recruit a group & show up at Senators' offices. Time to break out the signs. 24/
  
  Incidentally, it's also worth EMAILING the legislative assistants w/personal notes. Here's how to figure out Hill staff email addresses 25/
  
  If I, Ben Wikler, worked for Sen. Murkowski, (I don't; Chelsea Holt is her health LA), I'd be ben.wikler@murkowski.senate.gov. Get it? 26/
  
  So: CALL every day. Ask for health staffers. Email them, too. VISIT local offices—for scheduled meetings or to protest. Bring friends. 27/
  
  Find the letters to the editor submission email address for local papers in your state & send them your story, mentioning your Senator. 28/
  
  And mark your calendar for the last week of June, esp Wed-Fri. There should literally be round the clock vigils. You'll be needed then. 29/

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• Your friends and family. Use Facebook, Twitter, Phone calls or face to face interactions to convince them to do the same.
  
• Visit your local congressional offices. I've posted several links that outline future boots on the ground protests and demonstrations. But even if there isn't one going on in your area, if you're able, you should be part of the difference. Demand that you be seen at your local office. Show up with signage, ways to video or photograph events. Make yourself heard and be clear about this being about the cruelty of the AHCA and the necessity of your legislators to show that they actually care about the lives of American citizens by not supporting it and openly deriding it all the better.
  • Here's some resources for finding resistance events in your area:
  • Resistance Near Me
    [*]Indivisible
  • Town Hall Project

cress2000 said:

Social anxiety? Text RESIST to 50409 to have a fax sent to your senators via Resistbot.

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When asked to either confirm or clarify what the senator told reporters at the Capitol, Heller spokesperson Megan Taylor asked if the Reno Gazette-Journal was “really doing a story on a false narrative the Democrats are pushing?”

She did not respond to questions about what information she considered was coming from Democrats, whether that be the report in The Hill or the senator’s own words.

She also declined to confirm if the senator said he was fine with a seven-year phase out of the program's expansion, which is being pushed by other Republican senators.

“Senator Heller has been working to ensure whatever health care bill is drafted in the Senate works for Medicaid expansion states,” Taylor said in an email statement. “This is just one of many policy options that is being discussed along with additional transition relief (i.e. growth rates) to ensure that the rug is not pulled out from underneath Nevadans and the more than 200,000 Nevadans who received insurance for the first time under Medicaid expansion.”

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The Senate parliamentarian has warned Republicans that a key provision in their healthcare reform bill related to abortion is unlikely to be allowed, raising a serious threat to the legislation.
...
Normally controversial legislation requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, but Republicans hope to pass the ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill with a simple majority vote under a special budgetary process known as reconciliation.

The catch is that the legislation must pass a six-part test known as the Byrd Rule, and it’s up to the parliamentarian to advise whether legislative provisions meet its requirements.

The toughest requirement states that a provision cannot produce changes in government outlays or revenues that are merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision.

In other words, a provision passed under reconciliation cannot be primarily oriented toward making policy change instead of impacting the budget. Arguably, attaching Hyde language to the refundable tax credits is designed more to shape abortion policy than affect how much money is spent to subsidize healthcare coverage.
...
If GOP leaders are forced to strip the Hyde language from the healthcare bill and cannot find an alternative way to seal off insurance tax credits or subsidies from abortion services, they would lose the support of anti-abortion rights groups, a devastating blow.

“We’ve made it clear in a lot of conversations and some letters that any GOP replacement plan has to be consistent with the principles of the Hyde Amendment,” said David Christensen, vice president of government affairs at Family Research Council, a conservative group that promotes Christian values.

“Abortion is not healthcare and the government should not be subsidizing elective abortion,” he added.

Christensen predicted that activists would be up in arms if abortion services aren’t barred under the bill.

“If the Byrd Rule were to be an obstacle to ensuring the GOP replacement plan in the Senate does not subsidize abortion, that’s something that would be a serious problem for us and the pro-life community,” he said.

Republican senators who are thought to be safe votes to support the GOP leadership’s ObamaCare repeal and replace plan may suddenly shift to undecided or opposed.

“Would that be a deal killer? I’d have to think about it. I’m inclined to think it would [be],” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who has jurisdiction over the tax credits in the healthcare bill, acknowledged it could be tough to pass the bill without the anti-abortion language.

“I think a lot of people do think that’s essential,” he said.

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ShadowSwordmaster said:

Thanks for this.

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Oersted said:

Wanted to make the thread, nice to see being beaten

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Lord Frieza said:

But yeah, everyone should do this regardless. We shouldn't let the pointlessness of it stop us from voicing our disappointment and discomfort and letting our Representatives know that they will lose our votes.

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Kevinroc said:

I posted this in PoliGAF. (Where it seems to have been overshadowed by the UK elections.)
Absolutely keep up that pressure.

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Lord Frieza said:

I feel like this whole reconciliation shit is broken as hell. Am I crazy in thinking this process has not been used much in the past, because I swear, until this year, I don't ever recall hearing about this, and now it seems like the GOP use this shit all the time to avoid a filibuster.

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JackDT said:

OMFG this clip:

https://twitter.com/SenateDems/status/873001941521108992

Check the lady whispering into Orrin Hatch's ear like the Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings.

How many times did we have to hear the ACA was rushed through after only what, a year of debate and Obama traveling around the country personally doing town halls?

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Oni Jazar said:

http://fightwealthcare.com

The video is rough

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Wellington said:

I just don't understand cutting healthcare for 23 million people over time for what is a tax cut for the rich. They don't really "fix" anything from the ACA. How backwards are the priorities of those in the house that voted this to pass and those in the senate that will vote for it.

That said, you have my sword.

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EdibleKnife said:

Do not, do not, do not get stuck in a nihilist loop. Republicans might seem like immense evil giants hellbent on crushing you and every other American. But the absolute worst thing you can do in the middle of this is nothing. Even worse than the slaktavism of a retweet. Even worse than just talking to your parents about it. Do something. Please. Anything related to crushing the AHCA and saving lives is absolutely important to your life and the lives of so many other Americans even those fervently working against you.

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Blader said:

The Republican Party believes that the government does not have a responsibility to provide people with healthcare/ensure every American is covered, and for that matter does not believe every American is even entitled to have healthcare in the first place. That's a very unpopular thing to say, of course, so they hide it behind things like choice and the free market and pure anti-Obama sentiment.

But it's never been about fixing the ACA or improving health coverage for middle- and lower-income people, and is entirely about making healthcare a purely privatized avenue for only the people who can afford it (depending entirely on whatever the industry chooses to charge for it).

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TetraGenesis said:

Needed this reminder, thank you.

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Earthstrike said:

So when is congress actually going to vote on this?

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Protein said:

Everyone should listen to Pod Save America. It's on Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, and many others.

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SpaceCadetKeon said:

Supposedly some time before the 30th. Last I heard.

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WASHINGTON—Senate Republicans plan to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood Federation of America and add several other abortion restrictions to their health-insurance overhaul bill, creating another potential concern for centrist GOP senators who are considering whether to back the legislation.

Republican leaders believe they have the votes to keep the defunding measure in any final Senate bill, people familiar with the discussions said, though they still could remove it should that be the deciding factor in the bill’s passage.

Defunding Planned Parenthood has long been a priority for conservative lawmakers and anti-abortion groups, and they see the health bill as a rare opportunity to do so. Republicans plan to use a procedural maneuver to pass the bill with a simple Senate majority rather than the 60 votes usually required, giving the anti-abortion groups a potential opening.

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Anti-abortion groups such as the National Right to Life Committee, which maintains an influential scorecard for members of Congress based on their abortion and related votes, say inclusion of the defunding measure is a condition for their support of the broader health bill.

“We have the votes in the Senate to pass this language now,” said Carol Tobias, president of the group.

These groups have also been pushing lawmakers to insert provisions in their bill that would bar people from using tax credits and money put into health-savings accounts to pay for abortions and some contraceptive coverage. The Senate parliamentarian has warned those lawmakers that attaching abortion restrictions to either measure could make them ineligible for inclusion in the bill, under Senate budget rules, forcing lawmakers to either excise the abortion language or remove the tax credits and health-savings accounts from their bill altogether.

The push, coming from groups such as National Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List, has angered some centrist GOP senators, who are looking to broaden the tax credits and health-savings accounts to benefit low-income people. But the groups say that without the language included, they would be forced to oppose the entire bill.

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Senate leaders for now are looking to use the House’s defunding language, which would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding for one year. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, such a measure would cut off the organization from about $178 million in federal funds.

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If the provision is included, Ms. Collins plans to introduce an amendment excising it from the bill, a move that Ms. Murkowski is expected to support. Their votes to remove the funding cutoff would likely leave the Senate at a 50-50 stalemate, assuming no Democrats vote for the defunding measure, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote.

A wild card could come in the form of Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, Republican who is considered one of the chamber’s most vulnerable lawmakers in the 2018 midterm elections. At an April town-hall meeting, Mr. Heller told constituents who asked about the network of women’s health clinics, “I have no problems with federal funding for Planned Parenthood”—a statement his office later walked back.

People close to the senator say he feels squeezed on the issue and believes it could have political consequences for his campaign. Should Mr. Heller signal to GOP leaders that he is hesitant to vote against Planned Parenthood, that would likely kill the defunding provision.

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cameron said:

Figured I should bump and post this here.

WSJ: Senate GOP Plans to Strip Planned Parenthood Funding in Health Bill



Republican senators, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Dean Heller:

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Fortunately, there is a strong foundation of bipartisan efforts to expand the health responses to addiction to build on. Over the past decade, Congress has enacted and presidents have signed a series of important reforms, including the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, various provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, and the 21st Century Cures Act, that together address substance use disorders and mental health on a par equal to physical illnesses for the first time.

Unfortunately, the American Health Care Act passed by the House Representatives on May 4, 2017 would seriously undermine these advances. Should the bill become law, it would cripple our national response to the opioid epidemic by ending the Medicaid expansion, cutting $880 billion in federal Medicaid funds, and radically changing the structure of the program through federal funding caps. The impact would be widespread and devastating. If the AHCA was enacted, the states that expanded Medicaid services (31 states plus D.C.) would face a funding shortfall of $253 billion over ten years. Most states will not be able to make up the lost funding, which would result in millions of people losing their coverage. Nearly 30 percent of people covered through the Medicaid expansion need mental health or substance use disorders services.

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EdibleKnife said:

Bumping with an article about how the opioid epidemic fits into the heartless AHCA:



The Hill

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btrboyev said:

Try as you might, nothing is going to change what current republicans are doing. They aren't even willing to let democrats see or work on the bill.

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ShadowSwordmaster said:

The GOP doesn't care about fixing the opioid epidemic.

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geestack said:

thanks for this thread. anyone know if there are going to be any mass protests or any organization tracking protests locally? i feel like a show of force helps as well; it certainly helped during the travel ban and getting any of these senators on tape looking like cowards is always good imo.

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gdt said:

Sadly this fight seems like it was already lost. Republicans will do whatever they want.


Part of me wants this to go through and let the people burn. Politically I feel defeated on this issue. All of my hopes are on Trump being stymied by investigations, which are a far cry to begin with.

A lot of people are probably feeling that way, that's why the thread is so small. This issue feels over.

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RCSI said:

The short moment you may feel defeated is after the senate vote. Be proactive until the vote, as it is a better feeling knowing you did your best than nothing at all. This is not the time to be idling.

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gdt said:

Sadly this fight seems like it was already lost. Republicans will do whatever they want.


Part of me wants this to go through and let the people burn. Politically I feel defeated on this issue. All of my hopes are on Trump being stymied by investigations, which are a far cry to begin with.

A lot of people are probably feeling that way, that's why the thread is so small. This issue feels over.

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gdt said:

Like I said, there's a decent part of me that wants this to pass and and let it hurt. Let it really fucking hurt.

But then I think about people who are sick and need Obamacare to survive and thrive....

It just sucks all around.

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cress2000 said:

Social anxiety? Text RESIST to 50409 to have a fax sent to your senators via Resistbot.

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ShironRedshift said:

Ooh, this is kind of nifty. Thanks for sharing! ^__^

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cameron said:

Figured I should bump and post this here.

WSJ: Senate GOP Plans to Strip Planned Parenthood Funding in Health Bill






Republican senators, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Dean Heller:

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Lord Frieza said:

I'm confused here, because I thought this would have to go back to the House with additions like this? Or are they just assuming the House will vote it through no matter what the final bill looks like?

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Even if health care legislation passed the Senate with only Republican votes, its ultimate passage would not be secured. At that point, House lawmakers, particularly House conservatives, would have to decide whether they could support a bill that does not let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more and thereby lower premiums for other people. The House Freedom Caucus was adamant that an Obamacare replacement had to give insurers that flexibility. Still, a more moderate bill from the Senate could win over some of the House moderates who voted against their own chamber’s bill.

Faced with a Senate bill, the House would have several options: It could simply vote yes on the legislation. It could amend the bill and send it back to the Senate. Or the two chambers could set up a conference committee and try to resolve their differences that way.

In any case, there are a number of steps to go before any Obamacare replacement reaches President Donald Trump’s desk. But given the willingness of House Republicans last month to support a bill that many of them didn’t like, no one should be certain that Republicans won’t compromise on their principles again.

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RumbleHumble said:

Thank you. This bill can't pass.

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EdibleKnife said:

From HuffPo:


So yes, it will go back to the House for approval but also so many Repubs are desperate to pass anything people just assume it won't even take a day for them to approve it and send it to Trump.

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Lord Frieza said:

Seems to me the main obstacle is not the 'moderates', but the Freedom Caucus again in this case.

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Lord Frieza said:

Seems to me the main obstacle is not the 'moderates', but the Freedom Caucus again in this case.

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cress2000 said:

Social anxiety? Text RESIST to 50409 to have a fax sent to your senators via Resistbot.

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