Buried in the 177-page GOP COVID-19 relief proposal are BILLIONS of dollars for weapons of war wish list: fighter jets, helicopters, and missile defense systems. That’s right, while they’re nickel and diming families who desperately need protections and benefits to put food on their tables and keep roofs over their heads — Senate Republicans are ready to hand out $29 BILLION for Pentagon pet projects completely unrelated to COVID-19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the power to reject this absurd proposal and stop it entering the final bill, because nothing the Senate has proposed can become law without House approval. Add your name to tell Speaker Pelosi: NO COVID-19 relief money for weapons of war!

The US Military has been using esports and live-streaming recruiters playing video games on sites like Twitch.tv to recruit. Military recruiters from the Army, Navy and Air Force pose as “esports athletes” and hang out with young children with the ultimate objective of increasing recruitment. The military collectively spends millions on promotions for these recruiting efforts, with some single-site or single-org partnerships exceeding millions. On Twitch, there are no meaningful safeguards to restrict the military from using and exploiting these parasocial relationships with people under 16. Recruiters often use video game tournaments in schools as recruiting mechanisms to target children as well. Additionally, recruiters take advantage of the poor seeking steady income, the vulnerable longing for stability, and the undocumented living in fear because of their citizenship status. Now, at a time when all those factors are magnified by a pandemic that has left half the country out of work and over 30 percent unable to afford their housing payments, conditions are ripe for recruiters to prey on anxious youth. They abused this dynamic by employing murky “giveaways” until Twitch recently told them to stop.

Today’s election results for New York's 16th district are a major victory for progressives across the country who demanded fundamental change in Congress. On the most consequential foreign policy issues—illegal wars, regime change, brutal sanctions, and bombs sales to dictatorships—the Democratic House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair has been on the wrong side. We are asking Congressman Joaquin Castro, currently HFAC Vice-Chair, to run for committee chair on a bold, progressive agenda to overhaul the status quo and make sure that the priorities of grassroots Democrats—peace, diplomacy, and human rights—are finally the priorities of the committee.

This modification now requires in-person class attendance to remain in the United States and continue in academic programs. These modifications are illogical as universities are providing online instruction in response to the medical reality of airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The Trump administration’s use of international students to force universities to provide in-person classes is cruel, reckless, and shortsighted. International students should not have to suffer the uncertainty of their educational future and residence within the U.S., due to a politically-motivated gambit centered upon economic goals that support President Trump’s re-election. International students enrich the learning experiences of fellow students with their intellect, the sharing of personal experiences, and the richness of varied viewpoints. They live and work in our communities helping local economies thrive, and they often return to their countries using the skills and knowledge they have gained to improve the lives of those around them. Through the relationships and professional networks they build, international students are a force for global diplomacy

In a moment of national reckoning amidst continuing state violence against Black, Brown, and Muslim communities at home and abroad, record job loss, and a re-surging coronavirus pandemic, Congress seems to think it’s time for business as usual. And they are about to pass a MASSIVE spending bill that would provide the Pentagon with a record breaking $740.5 BILLION. It’s clear that too many of our Senators simply don't get it. Luckily, our champions in Congress DO — will you add your name to join with them? Senators Sanders, Markey, and Warren, joined across the Capitol by progressive allies like Representatives Barbara Lee, Mark Pocan, and Pramila Jayapal in the House, are marking this moment with bold vision. Together, they are leading on a call for a 10% cut to the Pentagon budget — $74 BILLION — to create jobs, improve education, and make housing more affordable across the country. Sign your name now to support an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act calling for a 10 percent cut in the Pentagon budget!

During President Trump's visit to India in February 2020, mobs attacked minority neighborhoods leading to 46 deaths and displacing thousands. This tragedy along with discriminatory national legislation (including a religion-based system to grant citizenship) demonstrate that India's values of democracy, secularism, and human rights are under serious threat. **If your organization wants to be listed as a signatory, please email: [email protected]**

Right now, the United States is sending people in uniform to fight and die in wars that the majority of current members of Congress have never even voted on. Now, because of the Trump administration’s sheer recklessness, utter incompetence, and flagrant disregard for life these troops been at greater risk than even we imagined — recent reports reveal that for MONTHS the Donald Trump has known that Putin's government has been offering bounties to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan…and has apparently done nothing. Such inaction is unconscionable. And a critical reminder of the long-overdue need to END the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Let’s make this the tipping point to end endless war. Add your name to demand Congress repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force NOW.

We are deeply disturbed by recent reports that the Trump administration is moving forward with a $478 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia’s monarchy, which would provide 7,500 precision-guided missiles to a government that has already bombed thousands of civilians in Yemen, often with U.S. weapons. We are also troubled by the Trump Administration’s prior announcement of a $556 million arms sale of 4,569 MRAP vehicles to the U.A.E., a government that has also brought misery to both Yemen and Libya. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. pose significant threats to U.S. interests, regional democracy, and global security. Here are eight primary reasons: ** Using U.S. Weapons to Drive War and Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have used U.S. weapons in their devastating wars in Yemen and Libya, which have contributed to the spread of the Coronavirus across the Middle East and North Africa by decimating local healthcare systems. ** Supporting Terrorist Networks, Including with U.S. Weapons: Officials from the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia have been caught supporting terrorist networks, such as Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups across the Arabian peninsula. ** Jailing and Killing Human Rights and Democracy Advocates: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have both jailed reformers and advocates for democracy within their borders. Saudi Arabia has also assassinated and executed nonviolent reformers and dissidents, of whom Jamal Khashoggi is only the most famous example. ** Exporting Dictatorship: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. both intervene across the Middle East and North Africa to stop democracy and promote dictatorship, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya. ** Violating Women’s Rights: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. both violate women’s rights through systems of discrimination and repression, as well as through imprisonment and torture of women activists. Two notable Saudi women’s rights activists who are still imprisoned are Loujain al-Hathloul & Samar Badawi. ** Modern-Day Slavery: Both Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. maintain the kafala system, an abusive labor system that robs foreign workers of their human rights. Under kafala, workers are often trapped, unable to leave abusive employers without their permission, in circumstances that can amount to forced labor. ** Global Kidnapping, Espionage, and Murder: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have both worked globally to silence critics and forcibly stop those attempting to escape state repression, including through espionage, armed kidnappings, and assassination. ** Driving the Climate Crisis: Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are major contributors to the global climate crisis through their massive fossil fuel export economies, which are responsible for a significant share of the world’s fossil fuel emissions. In addition, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly undermined global climate negotiations.

Reports are coming out that Russia placed bounties on U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan during the peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban. According to military intelligence, Russia has paid out on some of these bounties. President Trump was briefed on this in February at the very latest. Republican lawmakers confirm that briefings were made. Trump may have been informed of this as early as March of 2019 by John Bolton. These accusations are horrifying, and the response thus far from the Trump Administration has been shameful. We the people demand information.

House members are rapidly maneuvering to decide who will be the new Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, after 30-year veteran of Congress Eliot Engel looks set to be widely defeated by Jamaal Bowman. This is a once in a generation chance to ensure the leadership of this key committee is someone who’ll stop seeing every foreign policy decision as a military opportunity. But some of the names being discussed are the most hawkish, defense industry-funded, neoconservative politicians in Congress. We have to act fast to stop them. Add your name to our urgent petition calling for strong, progressive leadership that prioritizes peace and human rights, not militarism and defense corporations.

Last year’s $746 billion Pentagon budget was the largest on record — and came at the expense of critical public health, education, and infrastructure spending. And while Congress still can’t agree on extending emergency assistance for families in the face of COVID-19, they’re gearing up to greenlight even more — three quarters of a TRILLION dollars — for the Pentagon this year. Money isn’t everything, but budgets are moral documents that reflect our priorities. And Congress’s priority appears to be funding redundant nuclear weapons, multi-billion dollar off-books spending accounts, and endless wars in the Middle East. No more. Congresswoman Barbara Lee has introduced bold new legislation calling for a $350 BILLION dollar cut to the Pentagon budget. It’s up to us to follow her lead and get Congress on board to shift astronomical funds away from the Pentagon and build true safety and security. Add your name to urge them to pass H. Res. 1003 NOW!

Bernie Sanders OVERWHELMINGLY won California. We need a state delegation chair to the national convention that reflects that victory and Bernie's platform. We want Rep. Ro Khanna! Rep. Khanna is a bold progressive who, along with the MAJORITY of Californians and Americans, supports Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, the dire need for racial justice, and a compassionate, PEACEFUL foreign policy platform that prioritizes diplomacy over militarization and warfare. Please sign on to support Rep. Ro Khanna as the CA State Delegation Chair to the Democratic National Convention. The State Delegation Chair represents the entire California delegation at the National Convention.