#call your representatives
Director of the CIA: Rep. Mike Pompeo (R, KS)
Mike Pompeo as a member of the House Intelligence Committee has vocally opposed President Obama’s decision to close black-site prisons (including the prison at Guantanamo Bay) and the requirement that interrogators adhere strictly to Army Field Manual guidelines. He was an opponent of the Iran nuclear deal (supported by much of the international community), and in the process underplayed the financial cost of possibly bombing Iran. He has publicly voiced support for anti-Muslim groups, and has given speeches for groups deemed hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Pompeo also headed the series of highly politicized inquiries into Hillary Clinton’s involvement in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi.
- Senate Intelligence Committee: 202 224 1700
- 211 Hart Senate Office Building
- Washington, D.C. 20510
- Chairman: Richard Burr (R, SC): 202 224 3154
- Vice-Chair: Dianne Feinstein (D, CA): 202 228 3954
Attorney General: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R, AL) (Confirmation hearing: Jan. 10-11)
Jeff Sessions is a vocal opponent of immigration – he’s opposed every bill in the Senate that discusses a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and wants to slow the number of legal immigrants into the country as well. He’s faced accusations of racism that prevented him from attaining a federal judgeship in the ‘80s and has been praised by a number of anti-Muslim hate groups.
- Senate Judiciary Committee: 202 224 5225
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-6050
- Chairman: Chuck Grassley (R, IA): 202 224 3744
- Ranking Member: Patrick Leahy (D, VT): 202 224 4242
Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Ross is a private equity billionaire and has known Trump for decades, beginning in the early 1990s when he represented Trump’s failing Taj Mahal casino. The so-called “King of Bankruptcy” made his billions by buying failing businesses (including steel mills, coal companies, and banks post-2008 financial crash) and flipping them for profit – cutting jobs and pensions along the way. He has vocally opposed free trade agreements to the point of considering aloud the benefits of withdrawing from them. His investments in financial institutions across the globe could result in conflicts of interest.
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Majority): 202 224 1251
- 512 Dirksen Senate Building
- Washington DC, 20510
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Minority): 202 224 0411
- Chairman: John Thune (R, SD): 202 224 2321
- Ranking Member: Bill Nelson (D, FL): 202 224 5274
Texas Senator Konni Burton has introduced a bill to expand parent right to know laws so that teachers can be fired for refusing to provide any type of information a parent asks for about their child, regardless of if the student asked for that information to be kept confidential. This would force teachers to out transgender students if asked by the student’s parent. Senator Burton says her legislation isn’t transphobic or homophobic because there isn’t any anti-LGBTQ language in the bill itself. However, she introduced it as an attack on district guidelines designed to protect transgender youth at school. Let Senator Burton know that when she says “parents are the beginning of the solution, not part of the problem,” she’s ignoring the reality faced by closeted queer youth.
- State Senator Konni Burton (R ): (512) 463-0110
16 year olds are automatically tried as adults in only two states, New York and North Carolina. New York Governor Cuomo ordered a commission on youth, public safety and justice to Raise The Age two years ago, but no legislation has been proposed. Raising the Age will reduce repeat offenses and reincarceration. Protect New York’s youth from the harm of being tried as adults!
- Andrew M. Cuomo (D): 518-474-8390
- Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R ): 631-361-2154
- Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie (D): 718-654-6539
- Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein (D): (718) 822-2049
Tell the leading members of the Armed Services committee that you oppose a waiver allowing General Mattis to serve as Secretary of Defense despite having left the military less than three years ago (law requires seven+ years). Civilian control of our military is an important American value!
- Committee Chair Senator John McCain (R-AZ):202-224-2235(DC)
- Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI): 202-224-4642(DC)
- Committee comment line: (202) 224-3871 (no voicemail – only works during office hours)
The Michigan House of Representatives just passed three voter suppression laws in their lame duck session. If signed into law, House Bills 6066, 6067, and 6068 would require virtually all voters to present photo ID before casting their ballot on election day. The practical effect of these bills will be to disenfranchise the vast majority of eligible voters who don’t have ID or show up on election day without it. They go next to the GOP-controlled Michigan state senate.
- Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI): (517) 373-3400
- State Senate Elections and Government Reform Committee members
- Dave Robertson (R, Chair): (517) 373-1636
- Patrick Colbeck (R, Vice Chair): (517) 373-7350
- Judy Emmons (R ): (517) 373-3760
- Mike Shirkey (R ): (517) 373-5932
- Morris W Hood III (D): (517) 373-0990
The House Science Committee retweeted a Breitbart article claiming that global warming is not real. Call them to tell them that global warming is happening, is caused by human activity, and that facts are real!
• House Science Committee: 202-225-6371
Berks county in Pennsylvania runs one of the nation’s three family detention centers. Mothers and children (most seeking asylum from Central America) are held without due process, sometimes for over a year. Berks has had its license revoked, but currently the center is appealing that and staying open. These women and children are not security threats and are low risk for missing their court dates for their asylum applications. Let them be free for the holidays!
• Governor Tom Wolf (PA): 717-787-2500(State) / 215-560-2640(Philly office)
• State Secretary of Human Services Ted Dallas: 717-787-2600/717-787-3600
• Department of Homeland Security comment line: 202-282-8495
Ohio legislature has passed two restrictive abortion bills in their lame duck session. One bans abortion after 20 weeks; the other after 6 weeks. John Kasich has 10 days to sign these bills after they’ve been passed.
• Governor John Kasich (OH): 614-466-3555
ETA 12/13/2016: Kasich has vetoed the 6 week ban and signed the 20 week ban into law.
Call the White House to ask them to fully dismantle the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), which was used by the Bush administration to essentially form a registry of Muslim immigrants. It is currently suspended but could be easily reinstated by Trump.
• White House Comment line: 202-456-1111
Tell the House Judiciary Committee you support the Presidential Accountability Act, which would require the President and Vice President to obey the same conflict of interest provisions as other politicians.
• House Judiciary Committee comment line: 202-225-3951
• Chairman Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA): 202-225-5431(DC)
• Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (D-MI): 202-225-5126(DC)
