Produced by the Legislative Committee of the Coconino County Democratic Party and Democrats of the Red Rocks
THIS WEEK’S ALERTS: Demand our reps pass the Respect for Marriage Act
NOW!; Insist our reps support the Afghan Adjustment Act!; Make sure our reps
resist ANY attempt to further privatize Medicare or Social Security; Ask that the
recommendations of the Federal Naming commission be implemented ASAP; Get
our reps to do what they can to expedite the replacement of lead water pipes and
to do it fairly across the country!
A. Pass the Respect for Marriage Act in the Senate! The House has passed
the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would enshrine into federal law the
right to same-sex and interracial marriage, as well as repeal the Defense of
Marriage Act, a law allowing states to refuse to recognize same-sex
marriages. This law would protect the right to marry whomever you want from
any future adverse Supreme Court decision. This is a particular fear in view
of Clarence Thomas’ view that other privacy rights (like marriage) may be
reviewed now that they have overturned Roe v. Wade. More than 70% of
American’s support this effort so it’s both popular and the right thing to do!
Get our Senators on board with demanding that the Respect for
Marriage Act be brought to a full Senate vote ASAP and that they
support its passage.
B. Demand our representatives support and PASS the Afghan Adjustment
Act!! When the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 we welcomed
thousands of Afghan refugees via humanitarian parole, a fast-track system
that allows them to live and work in the US for two years. Unfortunately it
does not provide a pathway to a green card. Hence, these people have to
apply for asylum despite being thoroughly vetted by Homeland Security. The
Afghan Adjustment Act would help facilitate the resettlement for Afghan
refugees by providing a pathway to a green card. Currently the special
immigration visa program has a backlog of 70,000 applications and the
asylum process has a backlog of 1.4 million cases. These Afghans who
qualify for relief are our allies, people who worked for the US government in
Afghanistan and whose lives would be in dire peril from the Taliban if forced
to be deported. Get our reps to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act!!
C. Insist that our Representatives strongly resist ANY further privatization
of Medicare or Social Security!! The privatization of Medicare is already
taking place. It’s called Medicare Advantage. The New York Times found
that these plans, in 13% of cases, deny coverage requests that should have
been covered under Medicare, affecting some 85,000 beneficiaries. These
plans also, in 18% of cases, have refused to pay legitimate claims despite
meeting Medicare coverage rules, affecting some 1.5 million payments in
- We need to make sure our Representatives know that WE KNOW
what’s going on – that Republicans are committed to eliminating or
crippling both Medicare and Social Security.
D. Demand our Representatives implement the recommendations of the
federal Naming Commission ASAP. In 2021, the National Defense
Authorization Act established a Naming Commission to name, rename or
removal recommendations for anything that commemorates the Confederacy
on any Department of Defense property. This commission has identified
some 800 items that need to be addressed, including nine (9) Army bases
names that celebrate Confederate individuals. Many of these items were
established in the 1960’s which seems to be a clear reaction to the Civil
Rights movement. People of color should never have had to serve on
Confederate-named military bases – a constant, painful reminder of the white
supremacy and racism that has stained our democracy since the beginning.
Starting with the Army bases, urge our Representatives to insist the
Naming Commission recommendations be implemented ASAP!
E. Ask our Representatives to pressure the EPA to replace lead water
pipes ASAP!! The Infrastructure Law passed last year contains $15 Billion to
replace lead water pipes across the country. However, the EPA is allowing
state water utilities 30 Years or more to accomplish this replacement! Lead
pipes deliver water to some 9 to 12 million homes in the US. We need to get
this done quickly. In addition, the funding support for this effort is not
equitable. For example, Michigan and Missouri, states with some of the
highest concentration of lead service lines, will receive only $151 per service
line while other states with fewer lines will receive from $7,000 to $10,000 per
service line. We must realign the funding distribution and get the job
done fast.
Sen. Mark Kelly: Call (202) 224-2235 (DC), Email via his website at
http://www.kelly.senate.gov. Tag the Senator at @senmarkkelly.
Sen. Sinema: Call (202) 224-4521 (DC) or (602) 598-7327. Email via her website at
http://www.sinema.senate.gov. Tag the Senator at @senatorsinema.
Rep. Tom O’Halleran: Call (202) 225-3361 (DC) or email via website at
https://ohalleran.house.gov/contact Tag the Congressman @RepOHalleran