Updates and Options June 30

Let’s start with some GOOD NEWS:

1. More than 1200 people marched Saturday for this year’s Boone Pride. Perhaps not as large as the one in Budapest, but it still felt huge to us. Thank you to everyone who organized, volunteered, and participated in this lovely event that reminds us that love is love and joy is joy.

   

2. Senator Thom Tillis voted against bringing the “Big Ugly Budget” to a vote, and he so far pledges to vote against it because of the devastating Medicaid cuts. If you made even one call or email asking him to vote against these cuts, you are part of the system of pressure that helped him take this step. Thank you! 

👀Following Tillis’ NO vote, Tillis announced he does not plan to run for reelection next year, a surprising development that we hope means he will continue to vote against this harmful bill. Time to push Senator Budd to follow suit!

3. Governor Josh Stein vetoed HB 402, a piece of legislation that would have required our legislature to vote unanimously for any policy or rule that imposed a certain amount of cost. Our Republican-dominated legislature can’t even agree on budgets crafted entirely by members of their party–a unanimous vote would never occur. Alarmingly, this bill would sabotage any public attempts to hold large companies accountable, such as addressing PFAS chemicals in our water systems. By vetoing HB 402, Governor Stein sided with the people of North Carolina against big businesses getting a free pass to destroy our air and water with impunity. Thank you, Governor Stein!

4. Senator Mike Lee of Utah gave in to public pressure to remove language from the bill that threatened to put priceless public lands up for sale. To all those who made calls or emails, thank you!

A few options:

1. Keep the Pressure On: Monitor the votes in the Senate

This week, we await the next steps in the Congress as the Senate begins voting and considering amendments on the “Big Ugly Budget.” How many people will lose access to medical care? How many will go hungry? Will billions of our tax dollars convert our nation into one massive police and detention state? Will taxes on wind and solar result in higher energy costs for everyone? As these votes move forward, watch for calls to action from national organizations like Indivisible.org or check in on 5calls.org.

2. Contact our Senators to tell them to oppose the nomination of Emil Bove

Possible script: “I’m calling to urge the Senator to oppose the nomination of Emil Bove to serve as a federal judge. His unlawful weaponization of the Department of Justice and assistance in the Trump’s administration’s repeated defiance of court orders make him unfit to serve on the federal bench.”

Find out more about Emil Bove from this NBC report. And thank you to NC State Senator Graig Meyer’s weekly post for making this a priority (we recommend you follow him on facebook or subscribe to his substack).