IMPORTANT NEW CHANGE.ORG INFORMATION

REPOST FROM EMAIL 10 16 2013

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org

To NANCY BELL

Today at 6:00 PM

Dear NANCY,

Earlier this afternoon the Senate reached a deal to end the government shutdown, reopen the government, and raise the debt ceiling.¹ In order for this proposal to be signed into effect by the president, it must first be voted on in the House of Representatives. With the far right in the House holding our government hostage for more than two weeks, our representatives in Congress need to hear from us now before tonight's vote.

Try out the new ColorOfChange Friends & Family tool which helps you connect your Facebook friends to their Representatives in Washington. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3033?t=2&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

Thanks,

Rashad Robinson
Executive Director, ColorOfChange.org

References

1. "Senate leaders announce deal to end shutdown and avoid default," NBC Politics, 10-9-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3034?t=4&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

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Congress must raise the debt ceiling, reopen the government and pass a budget that works for all of us. Try out our new Friends and Family tool to connect your loved ones directly with their elected representatives.

Dear NANCY,

As the extreme right wing continues its more than two-week shutdown of the government, crucial business, veterans, health and education services remain shuttered, and hundreds of thousands of workers languish without pay.¹ We're feeling the short-term effects all around us now in the form of job furloughs, closed parks and delayed government assistance, but the long-term impacts of continued government paralysis will be far more devastating.²

As public outrage grows, moderate Republicans are distancing themselves from the Tea Party hardliners' irresponsible and overblown demands.^3,4,5 We have the opportunity to end this gridlock now — and it's our communities that are suffering the most the longer Congress delays.⁶ That's why we've launched ColorOfChange's Friends and Family tool. It uses your existing Facebook account to connect to the people you care about and provides a quick and easy way to call on our representatives to act.

Can you call your friends and family today and ask them to demand that Congress raise the debt ceiling, reopen the government, and pass a budget that works for all of us? Our new Friends and Family tool makes it easy.

Tea Party conservatives engineered the current shutdown/default crisis with a dual purpose in mind — to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and defund the social safety net. Ensuring deep cuts to earned benefits like Social Security and veterans assistance, and slashing access to food for hungry families, have long been key parts of their destructive agenda.^7,8,9 Without real engagement with the critical budget and debt issues now before it, Congress is allowing a small group of far-right ideologues to foreclose our chance at a real, lasting economic recovery.

The government shutdown has decimated services critical to struggling communities that — still reeling from harsh, across-the-board sequester cuts imposed earlier this year — simply cannot afford to wait for the situation to get worse.¹⁰ We need a functioning government that protects the social safety net. In order to achieve that, Congress needs to end this shutdown, raise the debt ceiling, and pass a budget to fund the agencies, programs and services we all rely on.

Will you make the call to your friends and family asking them to urge their representatives to get the government working again? It only takes a moment.

Thanks and Peace,

--Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Aimée, Kim, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
  October 16th, 2013

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References

1. "The Government Shutdown Trickle-Down: 50 Effects Of The Budget Standstill," Huffington Post, 10-07-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3030?t=11&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

2. "Hitting the Debt Ceiling: An Anti-Stimulus at Least Twice as Large as the Stimulus in the Recovery Act," Economic Policy Institute, 10-07-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3025?t=13&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

3. "Post-ABC Poll: Approval for Handling of Federal Budget Negotiations," Washington Post, 10-07-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3018?t=15&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

4. "GOP Splinters Over Hostage Strategy As Default Looms," Talking Points Memo, 10-09-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3017?t=17&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

5. "Obama to GOP: 'You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job,'" NBC Politics, 09-30-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3029?t=19&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

6. "The Impact of the Government Shutdown on People of Color," Center for American Progress, 10-10-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3023?t=21&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

7. "Republicans' Latest Ransom Note: Cut Social Security or the Economy Gets It," Huffington Post, 10-13-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3026?t=23&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

8. "Of Course the GOP Isn’t Worried About Those Affected by the Shutdown," Daily Beast, 10-03-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3028?t=25&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

9. "Food Stamps Recipients Prepare For Automatic Cuts In Three Weeks," ThinkProgress, 10-10-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3027?t=27&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh

10. "The Sequester's Devastating Impact on America's Poor," The Atlantic, 07-13-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2952?t=29&akid=3164.1028577.9ItVjh