<p>With a vote of 217-213, the House of Representatives just <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.americanprogress.org/?p=431967?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=progReport” >voted to pass Trumpcare</a> and strip health coverage from 24 million Americans. Trumpcare will undermine the health, safety, and economic security of the American people, while driving up costs for millions. And it hits Trump’s own supporters hardest.
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<p>None of that seems to bother the 217 Republicans who voted for the bill. Before the vote, <a target=”_blank” href=”https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/860190696380280833″ >buses were sent</a> to the Capitol to take House Republicans to the White House to celebrate the passage of Trumpcare. <a target=”_blank” href=”https://twitter.com/ajjaffe/status/860189985856770048″ >Cases of beer</a> were reportedly wheeled into the Capitol before the vote was taken too.
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<p>This bill may have passed the House but the fight to protect our care isn’t over yet. Congress is going home for recess (again), which means it’s time to flood town hall meetings, mailboxes, and voicemails of your elected officials to hold them accountable for this vote. Let them know we will remember.
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<h3>WHAT’S TRENDING</h3>
<p><strong>War On Women.</strong> Today, President Trump signed an executive order designed to limit access to reproductive healthcare and let religious organizations endorse political candidates. The order would let entities, including schools and employers, deny coverage of preventative services, like contraception, STI testing, and even domestic violence screenings, because of their personal religious beliefs – effectively allowing them to impose their religion on others. The executive order also opens the door to even broader religious exemptions to federal protections for LGBT people, women, and religious minorities by directing the <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2017/01/06/296093/attorney-general-nominee-jeff-sessions-threatens-basic-lgbt-rights/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=progReport” >notoriously anti-LGBT</a> Attorney General Jeff Sessions to develop related guidance. The order further undermines the Johnson Amendment, longstanding legislation that keeps churches from endorsing political candidates. Weakening the Johnson Amendment jeopardizes the independence of houses of worship and opens the door to political manipulation; because houses of worship aren’t required to disclose their donors, wealthy political donors could shift donations to churches to skirt campaign finance laws or pressure churches to endorse donors’ preferred political candidates.
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<p><strong>Something for everyone</strong>. Turns out Trumpcare has something to hurt everyone. We already knew how much Trumpcare hurt working families, people with disabilities, people with pre-existing conditions, women, etc. But a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.wsj.com/articles/little-noted-provision-of-gop-health-bill-could-alter-employer-plans-1493890203″ >little noticed provision</a> in the law shows that the 159 million Americans who get their health coverage from their employers are at risk under Trumpcare too. The provision puts the millions of Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage at risk of losing protections that limit out-of-pocket costs for catastrophic illnesses. Add this to your list of talking points for the next town hall near you.
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<p><strong>CHOICEs.</strong> While we were all watching the Trumpcare vote, the House Financial Services Committee <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.americanprogress.org/press/statement/2017/05/04/431749/statement-financial-choice-act-right-choice-wall-street-bankers-says-caps-marc-jarsulic/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=progReport” >passed the Financial CHOICE Act</a>, a bill that removes protections against taxpayer-funded bailouts, erodes consumer protections, and undercuts necessary tools to hold Wall Street accountable. In other words, it’s not the right CHOICE for anyone except Wall Street bankers.
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<p><strong>Human Rights.</strong> While outlining the administration’s vision for an “American First” foreign policy yesterday, Secretary of State Rex <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-diplomacy-tillerson-idUSKBN17Z2BJ” >signaled</a> that the U.S. would “de-emphasize” human rights concerns in some of its foreign policy making decisions. Apparently Tillerson thinks being “too concerned” about human rights could conflict with U.S. national security and economic interests. Here’s why that <a target=”_blank” href=”http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/06/trumps-damning-global-retreat-on-human-rights/” >outlook is dangerous</a>.
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<p><strong>Crises</strong>. West Virginia is at the epicenter of an <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/health/heroin-opiates-babies-new-research/” >alarming trend</a>: the number of babies with opiate addictions at birth has increased fivefold in the last 10 years. In Huntington, West Virginia, 1 in 10 babies are born with an opioid addiction. Trumpcare would allow states to remove requirements that insurance companies cover essential health benefits, like treatment for substance abuse and mental health care. Which means, if Trumpcare becomes law, the trend will continue in the wrong direction, hurting babies in Huntington and beyond.
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<h3>UNDER THE RADAR</h3>
<p><strong>Deportations</strong>. The Trump Administration is ratcheting them up—and putting innocent lives in harm’s way. Yesterday, DHS <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-deports-honduran-woman-son_us_590a321ee4b02655f843c799?utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=main_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&elqTrackId=fe50b49b65824c7db4bcdc53277c810e&elq=9553b6b331a749f58685570650f85c47&elqaid=34193&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=” >deported to Honduras an asylum-seeking family</a> that had been detained in Pennsylvania for more than 500 days. Denied the chance to make their case before a judge, the five-year-old boy and his mother were returned to the violence they had originally fled. In his <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/04/bob-casey-mother-son-deported-john-kelly-react-237986″ >acerbic response</a> to efforts by Senator Bob Casey to get information about the imminent deportation, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly largely dismissed our system of protecting asylum seekers, raising alarm bells throughout the country.</p>
<h3>GOOD NEWS</h3>
<p><strong>Victory at the (basketball) court.</strong> The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has finally ruled that athletes <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.buzzfeed.com/aishagani/muslim-athletes-will-soon-be-able-to-wear-hijab-while?utm_term=.lg3pqX8e4#.qaDvYLr1Z” >can wear hijabs and other head coverings</a> while playing basketball at the international level. Muslim women have been the driving force for the past two years behind this progress, kick starting petitions and social media campaigns. The ruling goes into effect in October.
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