Four major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Jose—have caused (and still are causing) devastation. Wildfires are sweeping across the Western U.S., destroying all in their paths. Two earthquakes have shaken Mexico, with the latest one killing more than 230 people. Eight hundred thousand young immigrants in the U.S. are facing the risk of losing their jobs and deportation if Congress does not pass a clean Dream Act.
So what are the majority of congressional Republicans focusing on? Taking away health care from at least 32 million Americans. The newest version of Trumpcare, called Graham-Cassidy, would be horrific for so many communities across the U.S.; yet, some Senate Republicans are taking to TV talk shows to spread mistruths about the impacts of the bill.
In a time when so much is at stake, Congress should be focused on stabilizing the Affordable Care Act; passing a budget that doesn’t cut key programs; supplying much-needed resources for communities impacted by natural disasters; and finally providing relief to nearly a million young immigrants.
ACTION OF THE DAY
#ProtectOurCare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokeswoman said that Graham-Cassidy will be on the Senate floor next week for consideration. This means we could only have 10 days or less to stop Trumpcare once again! Let’s keep senators’ phones ringing—use our easy toolkit to reach out to them TODAY.
Learn more about the bill’s impacts in the latest Thinking CAP podcast, with health care expert, Andy Slavitt. Share the graphic below with your social networks. Have a personal story about health care? Send your statement to [email protected] to have it entered into the record for Monday’s Graham-Cassidy hearing. And then, head to ResistanceNearMe.org to find events in your city that are happening this weekend!
WHAT’S TRENDING
The Final Two. What do the U.S. and Syria have in common? They are the only two countries who don’t support the Paris Climate Accord. Nicaragua announced this week that it will enter the agreement, leaving the U.S. and Syria on their own. Even if Trump and his administration don’t believe in climate science, most Americans do. Take the pledge to remain committed to action on climate change at IAmStillIn.org.
Puerto Rico. While the entire island of Puerto Rico will likely be without power for months, many are wondering how Congress will react. Given the hard-fought battle that Puerto Rico had to fight to secure debt relief from the federal government, hurricane relief is shaping up to be another tough battle. More than 100 Republicans in Congress voted against relief for Texas following Hurricane Harvey, so how many more will vote against relief for Puerto Rico?
Mulling His Options. News broke yesterday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is requesting records from the Trump White House—ones that might involve Trump himself. Among these records are the president’s private discussions about firing former FBI Director James Comey, as well as his response to the controversy surrounding his former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn. Though not a formal subpoena, this is the first time Mueller has directly requested records from the White House. It is unclear what exactly he will find, but we expect more bombshell revelations such as the one involving Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, offering private briefings to a Russian billionaire close to the Kremlin.
Sanctuary Campuses. Generation Progress has released a series of new products that offer recommendations for how colleges can protect and support their undocumented student population. Some of the recommendations include: maintain confidentiality, provide in-depth services, and guarantee housing. This is an important step, especially when so many young immigrants—known as Dreamers—are at risk. To find other ways to take action, head to DreamActToolkit.org.
FACT CHECK
Pre-Existing Conditions. Senator Jeff Flake was on MSNBC this morning, promoting the Graham-Cassidy bill. When asked about the removal of protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, Flake argued that, even when given the opportunity to, states would not decide to let insurers deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Kudos to Senator Flake for his attempted optimism, but of course we know that prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), individual states did, in fact, allow insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or find a way to charge them so much that it discouraged them from purchasing an insurance plan.