The reason it’s helpful to call YOUR rep even when they are doing the right thing is because reps are under a TON of pressure all the time. Sometimes it’s political pressure to change a stance, but sometimes it’s also time pressure vs other leg and you have to choose priorities.
If you feel your rep is doing the right thing, calling to thank them shows their district notices & appreciates their stance.
Knowing constituents are watching & care creates positive pressure to stay strong. When you don’t think your constituents care much, it’s easier to cave.
(Care much about a given issue, that is)
Alternatively, if your rep sounds on the fence or hasn’t defined their stance on an issue yet, calls from constituents really can make a difference in nudging them to come out on an issue. Puts it higher on the priority list.
It can feel a little intimidating to call your rep’s office the 1st time, but it’s totally fine. The line literally exists for you (our constituents) to call us! 📞
Some tips: Call YOUR rep! Say what neighborhood you’re from if you’d like & be kind! Staffers don’t deserve abuse.
You can be clear about your question: “Does Rep A support full student loan forgiveness?” (You can insert any detail/number here)
Or “what’s Rep B’s stance on student loans? I can’t seem to find it.”
Or “I want to thank Rep C for supporting forgiveness. It means a lot to me.”
Lastly, if you’re comfortable w including your personal story it helps a LOT.
The details of your story can illuminate policy gaps & help Reps communicate to their colleagues.
Representatives are human beings! Stories are persuasive &we can use your stories to convince others.
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They don’t want you to hear stories like @RepDeanPhillips, who yesterday spoke to his gut instinct to blend the floor w/GOP lawmakers bc he knew the mob was coming for Dems, & affirmed the stark reality that his colleagues of color didn’t have that luxury:
Or @RashidaTlaib’s story of what her threats have looked like and how they’ve escalated from the moment she got to Washington, and how she feels responsible for the safety of her staff:
All I can think of w/ folks like her dishonestly claiming that survivors are exaggerating are the stories of veterans and survivors in my community who deny themselves care they need & deserve bc they internalize voices like hers saying what they went through “wasn’t bad enough”
This is where the true damage of what @NancyMace is doing comes in.
How many survivors are watching her? Who now, seeing her, won’t get care or will feel further shame or silence? Who won’t speak up bc they know there are voices in leadership ready to minimize their experiences?
You may not know that you know a survivor, but it’s highly likely that you do.
Survivors of trauma are close to you. They are people you love & you may not know.
Many decide whether their story is safe with someone by how they respond to other survivors.
Don’t push them away.
I really wrestled w telling my story, & had decided about a week ago that it probably wasn’t worth it.
Then I had dinner with Sen. @Biaggi4NY. I told her everything because I knew she was a survivor. She helped me see the importance of sharing my story of the Capitol and trauma.
To be honest, every step of the way there were affirmers - @RepKatiePorter offering safety, @AyannaPressley pressing the pause button to acknowledge trauma, the courage of @Biaggi4NY, @yuhline, @CatalinaCruzNY & many others to tell their stories publicly helped me share mine.
After our BX+Queens district became the most COVID-hit in the country, I spent much of last year working on an issue that was devastating our families: funeral costs.
This effort began with Elmhurst community leaders flagging early the disparate impact of COVID cases compounded w/ the devastating economic impact of funeral expenses.
After many months of work, in the tumult of the late Dec COVID package we were finally able to work in FEMA funeral reimbursement for everyone in the country who lost a loved one due to COVID.
Current status: $2 billion has been approved, and FEMA is now setting up the program.
One of the 1st votes I ever cast broke w/ my party over House rules that strangled transformative legislation for working people + climate. It was honestly terrifying.
Now, CPC has pushed these critical rule changes in House negotiations. Grateful for @RepMcGovern’s leadership🙏🏽
One of the first deep lessons I learned in the House that process IS policy. If you pass M4A, GND, etc w/ messed up process/rules, then it can be weaponized into austerity leg by rules requiring it to have insane tax hikes or service cuts tied to it that aren’t applied to others
So these rule changes are a big deal - & not only on healthcare. They are structural changes in the House that level the playing field for a full SUITE of flagship legislation, locks in that field for the next two years, & establishes precedents for after