As the subject line of this page indicates, we are gearing up for the final House vote on the budget reconciliation conference report, which is scheduled to occur on February 1^st.  Your help is critical to finally defeating this harmful budget bill, which will slash a variety of critical programs. For a reminder of all of the harmful budget cuts in the bill, please visit our website.  

This bill was supposed to have been completed before the end of last year, but the Senate made some last minute changes that have forced an additional House vote.  The previous House vote was very close (212-206) and strong grassroots pressure can help push some wavering Representatives to vote “No!” To help create this grassroots pressure, there are a number of different actions you can take. These actions are not mutually exclusive, so feel free to do as many as you are able!

          ACTION NEEDED         

1) Write a letter to your Representative telling him/her to vote NO on the budget reconciliation bill. A NEW sample letter is available at our action website for you to edit and send. It is important that you try to personalize your letters with local information or stories about those who will be impacted by these cuts.  Our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs have prepared wonderful state facts sheets that you can refer to for the impact on your state.

2) Call-In Week – THIS WEEK - Call your Representative’s DC Office to tell him/her to vote NO on the budget reconciliation bill. The American Friends Service Committee is again generously providing a toll-free number – 1-800-426-8073 – for you to use. This will connect you with the Capitol Hill Switchboard and you ask to be transferred to your Representative’s office. Details about the call-in along with a brief sample script are available here.  If the number is busy, keep trying or consider calling your Representative’s local office. To find the district office nearest you, use our “Find Your Legislators” tool on our action website.

3) Write a letter to the editor of your local paper opposing the budget cuts. A sample letter is available on our website for you to edit and send.

4) Participate in local events that are being organized to highlight the impact of the budget cuts. Town Hall meetings are scheduled in the Philadelphia suburbs (Ardmore and Jamison), Denver, Tampa, several towns in Connecticut, and in Michigan.  Vigils are being planned for 72 hours prior to the vote in front of many district offices of key Representatives. A grid of all currently scheduled events is available here. Please let us know if you plan on participating so that we can connect you with the event sponsors!

5) Join thousands of other people of faith in prayer for more just and compassionate budget priorities – click here for a short prayer service taken from earlier budget work.

Congressional leaders have been given a second chance to stop these harmful cuts – let’s make sure that they know that Good Shepherd people are paying attention!