Tell Members of Congress
to Block "The Wall"
#BanTheBudget
Dear friend,
This week Trump’s budget proposal will be released and he wants us to pay for “The Wall” that was his grand scheme! Mexico said “No!” to Trump's bully tactics, and we need to follow suit.
An estimated $70 billion is the expected cost to build a wall along the U.S. Mexico border, one of Trump's great promises that now everyone is on the hook for but him.1 Trump promised his supporters that this wall was being built for public safety and to protect jobs, as a ploy for his real racists agenda, but the budget he proposed puts all of those things into jeopardy and directly impacts the people who overwhelming voted for him. Democratic Members of Congress are starting to take a stand against Trump’s wall proposal and budget as a whole, and if we can peel away even a small amount of Republican support, we’ll be able to block the funding for this potential disaster just like we did with Trump Care a few weeks ago.
Programs like “Meals on Wheels”, after-school and summer activities, SNAP benefits, youth and senior job programs, and civil rights and environmental protections are all on the chopping block just to name a few.2 These are the real budget priorities that keep us safe but Trump wants to slash them to pay for his pet project.
Trump convinced vulnerable communities to bite the bait by believing that a smaller government meant more opportunity for them. But the reality is, he’s doing more than “cutting the fat” from the government, he’s ripping away programs that are life support for folks as if it’s just a simple cosmetic lift. Trump's first 100 days has been leading us on a road to nowhere that’s full of fear and empty promises. He is on track to spend just as much money on his personal travel and golf excursions as it would keep some of these programs intact.
In small rural towns like East Liverpool Ohio, Southwest Pennsylvania and other Appalachian towns, people are immobilized with fear around the impacts of this budget. Apparently, 7 out of the 12 federal programs intended to assist coal mining communities are being cut, including the Appalachian Regional Commission which will be cut completely.3 These are the very same communities that turned out in mass to vote for Trump, that are now saying “Not my president”, let's #BanTheBudget!
And now that Trump has his “top cop” Jeff Sessions in office as the Attorney General, the Department of Justice is taking major hits as well. The Civil Rights Division, which is the only federal institution that investigates and holds police accountable to the law and enforces anti-discrimination laws, is being cut severely. Over 40 attorneys were abruptly fired from the DOJ last month with no intentions on filling those positions because of these cuts.4 However, this administration thinks it's more important and of priority to invest over $600 billion into "rebuilding the military" and dump billions into flawed local police departments, rather than investing in the people of this country.
Stand with us and over 50,000 members and urge Congress to #BanTheBudget not people. Divesting over $70 billion to build a wall and putting even more into policing is not going to ensure more safety or economic opportunities.
Until Justice Is Real!
Arisha, Rashad, Scott, Malaya, Enchanta, Clarise, Anay and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References:
- Democrats say President Trumps border wall could cost $67 billion,” TIME, 04.18.2017.http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7822?t=7&akid=7345.1942551.Y3hTll
- Proposed budget cuts for 2017 include, AIDS, AmeriCorps programs,CNN, 03.30.2017http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7823?t=9&akid=7345.1942551.Y3hTll
- Rural Ohio worried about "hardship" under Trump's budget, which would eliminate Appalachian Regional Commission Cincinnati.com, 04.20.2017 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7825?t=11&akid=7345.1942551.Y3hTll
- A month after dismissing federal prosecutors, Justice Department does not have any U.S. attorney's in place; The Washington Post, 04.18.2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/7826?t=13&akid=7345.1942551.Y3hTll
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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