I have reached my breaking point with Republicans as a whole. For example, the 5th's current representative Susan Brooks voted for the AHCA -- I refuse to let my daughter have to deal with such a garbage system! It is time for change, from healthcare to income/racial/gender equality. Sign my petition... if I win, you have another progressive vote in Congress!

After FBI Director James Comey was fired by Donald Trump, it became clear that we need an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the Trump team's ties to Russia. The American people deserve the truth.

I have had to use Disability insurance for several years in my life when a failed back surgery made it impossible for me to work. I have several friends who are disabled - who would LOVE to be working - but can't because of physical reasons. Medicaid is how most long-term Nursing Home care is paid for by Americans. Since the average cost is $5,000.00 a month, unless you are very wealthy, most people can not afford such an expense. The fact that the health care bill proposed by the Republicans comes with a tax break for the wealthy is a slap in the face. The taxpayers in our country pay for every member of Congress to have excellent, free health care, with no pre-existing condition clause, and no limit on catastrophic illnesses! We already have enough nuclear weapons to blow the entire earth into oblivion, and the idea of building more is totally insane. We have been warned about the Military-Industrial-Complex and Obama had begun to get us away from it, but Trump has put us back on track for an enormous military, that, instead of making us safer, will intimidate our enemies. I believe the Democrats and the American people need to fight against this budget. Please sign this petition.

Trump is sending the country and the state of Oregon in a frightening direction. We must fight back against it.

Trump's budget has a proposal to cut Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (aka food stamps) by $191 billion over 10 years. It is import to know who this impacts: Over 85 percent of all SNAP benefits go to households that include children, seniors, or those with disabilities, while 15 percent of all SNAP households are elderly individuals who live alone. If that wasn't bad enough, the budget also works to dis-incentivize stores from even *accepting* SNAP, by proposing new fees that would charge retailers a fee for participating in SNAP. This is a dangerous idea which will lead to fewer stores accepting SNAP, making it even harder for Americans who've fallen on tough times to get food. Sources: - www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/msar.pdf - https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/ops/Characteristics2015.pdf

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is attempting to take away public land that was mapped and promised as parkland in The Bronx. Known as Pier 5, the 4.7 acre is immediately adjacent to Mill Pond Park directly to the south and was planned as an expansion. NYC Parks Department included the acreage of Pier 5 into the total of Mill Pond Park until recently when they deleted all online evidence of it. We the people of The Bronx and NYC will NOT sit by while land is taken away from the public, land that was not only promised as parkland but mapped out as such as evidenced by our documentation. If the city is allowed to do this, this will be a precedent for the NYC to do this to any parkland in ANY borough. This is why we need you to sign this petition and let it be known that this is unacceptable and also illegal in the State of New York to take away land once it has been alienated as parkland. According to an attorney familiar with such cases: “In order to convey parkland to a nonpublic entity, or to use parkland for another purpose, a municipality must receive prior authorization from the State in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and approved by the Governor. “Once land has been dedicated to use as a park, it cannot be diverted for uses other than recreation, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, even for another public purpose, without legislative approval.” United States v. City of New York, 96 F.Supp.2d 195, 202 (E.D.N.Y. 2000). This clear law has been applied consistently since 1871. The question is: what is parkland? The term “dedicated” is often used in referring to municipal parkland subject to State alienation requirements. Common phrases include “lands dedicated for park purposes” and “dedicated parklands.” The dedication of parkland may be formal through an official act by the governing body of the municipality. Dedication can also be implied. This may occur through actions which demonstrate that the government considers the land to be parkland or the public used it as a park. Examples include: a municipality publicly announcing its intention to purchase the lands specifically for use as a park, “master planning” for recreational purposes, budgeting for park purposes, or “mapping” lands as parkland. Kenny v. Board of Trustees of Village of Garden City, 735 N.Y.S.2d 606, 607 (App. Div. 2nd 2001)(property acquired for recreational purposes and used for recreation was instilled with public trust even though never officially dedicated). Here is the State’s handbook on alienation: http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/AlienationHandbook.pdf

We call for an investigation to determine whether Rep. Frelinghuysen violated House ethics rules by using his position to intimidate a citizen exercising her constitutionally guaranteed rights. No American should fear intimidation by an elected official for expressing his or her views.

News broke earlier that, according to a memo written by former FBI Director James Comey, Donald Trump tried to pressure him to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn's ties with Russia. If the reports are true, then Trump obstructed justice and should be impeached. According to additional news reports, Michael Flynn also told the Trump transition, led by Michael Pence, that he was under investigation before he joined the administration as National Security Adviser. If these reports are true, Vice President Pence was complicit in giving a foreign agent, Michael Flynn, access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies. He must be investigated along with Trump for collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. And if found guilty, he must be impeached along with Trump.

Trump has clearly shown that he has no interest in upholding the U.S. Constitution. He has not read it and has NO desire to -- his attention span is way too short to do so. He despises anything that he can't control.

Dear State Sen. Felder, We, your constituents in New York State’s 17th Senate District, submit this petition to you in the hope of promoting regular and public discourse concerning your work in Albany and matters of concern to us at home. (Not sure which State Senator is yours? Find out here: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator) As a long-standing New York elected official, and as an established and influential member of the Senate, the stances you take and the legislative initiatives you push have a direct impact on us and on people throughout New York State. For that reason, we respectfully request the following: We request that you host regular, public town hall meetings within SD17. These town halls would have an agreed upon length and structure, one that would both allow you to speak about your work and explain its impact on your constituents, and permit constituents to raise issues they care about and ask you for responses to questions. Additionally, recording would be permitted at the town halls, so that their content could be viewed or heard by those not in attendance We are requesting town halls to take place every two months when the Senate is out of session, and every month when the Senate is in session, for a total of nine meetings per year. We are requesting the first of these town halls to take place in June, 2017, with subsequent meetings in August, October, and December. Ideally, the June town hall would be a re-cap of the ending Senate session while the December one would be a preview of what you hope to accomplish and expect to happen in the upcoming Senate session Those meetings would be followed by monthly meetings starting in January 2018. We look forward to discussing this proposal with you as soon as possible, and to starting a new tradition in the 17th that will serve all of its residents.

Dear State Sen. Felder, We, your constituents in New York State’s 17th Senate District, request that you co-sponsor the TRUMP Act, S5572A, which was introduced to the State Senate last month. The legislation would require the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to publish the last five years of state income tax returns filed by the President and Vice President, as well as New York’s senators, governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller and attorney general. (Not sure which State Senator is yours? Find out here: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator) The text of the bill can be read in full here: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/s5572/amendment/a SS572A was authored by State Senator Brad Hoylman. As he wrote in the legislation to explain why it's necessary: “New York State income tax returns contain a wealth of information about elected officials' financial standing, including salary, dividends, capital gains, rental estate income, and income from other sources. New Yorkers deserve to know whether elected officials representing the state are paying their fair share of taxes or hold potential financial conflicts of interest.” We agree. We believe that the refusal by President Donald Trump - a New York resident - to release his tax returns does more than simply violate a long-standing norm in national politics. It also represents an ongoing challenge to the integrity of the White House, since Mr. Trump’s decision makes it more difficult for the public to know what, if any, conflicts of interest he has related to his administration’s national and international policies, including tax policy and his dealings with foreign leaders. Since Mr. Trump is a New York resident, state legislators here have a unique ability to shed valuable light on this issue by passing S5572A. Additionally, analysts believe the legislation would hold up to any court challenges. Perhaps most importantly, this law extends beyond partisan politics. It would apply to Republicans and Democrats alike. And the issue of tax disclosure has nothing to do with parties, and everything to do with ensuring that elected officials are not using their positions of power to benefit themselves financially. Finally, if you choose not to co-sponsor this legislation, we request you to publicly explain why you have chosen not to do so.

America demands to know the truth about any possible interference into the Trump investigations & if the President pressured Comey in any way.