Donald Trump is desperate. He's so desperate he's started to flip-flop on the issue he founded his campaign on: hatred and fear of immigrants. Now, he won't even say what he wants to do with the millions of undocumented immigrants who contribute to our communities and live among our families. Donald Trump hates to admit he's wrong, but we can't go into an election without knowing where he stands on the issue he defined himself with. What's the one thing we can use to force Donald Trump to tell us where he stands on immigration? His own ego. If enough of us call Donald Trump a coward for not telling the public what he wants to do with the millions of undocumented immigrants that live among us, he won't be able to stop himself from either being straight with us about where he stands, or continuing to put his foot in his mouth. Sign this petition to tell Donald Trump he's a coward for not being straight with us on immigration. Also, don't forget to tweet this petition at him too. We all know how much Donald Trump loves tweets.

On August 8, the Obama administration notified Congress [1] of intent to sell $1.15 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia, including tanks that would replace tanks destroyed in Saudi Arabia's war against Houthi rebels in Yemen. We urge Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Ben Cardin to oppose this deal and to co-sponsor a resolution of disapproval against it. Past Congressional concerns about Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen have not been addressed. In October, Members of Congress wrote to the Administration [2] urging greater efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Yemen and achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In June, 204 Members of the House, including 40 Republicans and all but 16 Democrats, voted to block the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia after reports of their use in civilian areas in Yemen. [3] Yet, since the proposed arms deal was announced, a Saudi airstrike on a school in Yemen killed 10 children [4] – some as young as 6-years-old – and a Saudi airstrike on an MSF hospital in Yemen killed 11 people. [5] On August 30, 64 Members of the House signed a letter urging that the Saudi arms deal be delayed so that Congress can fully consider it. [6] Urge Senator Mikulski and Senator Cardin to cosponsor legislation to oppose the Saudi arms deal by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/kingdom-saudi-arabia-m1a2s-saudi-abrams-main-battle-tanks-and-m88ala2-heavy 2. https://debbiedingell.house.gov/sites/debbiedingell.house.gov/files/documents/151014_Yemen%20Airstrike%20Letter.pdf 3. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2016/roll327.xml 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yemen-school-airstrike_us_57b1938fe4b007c36e4f2f67 5. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN10Q1E0 6. https://www.yahoo.com/news/60-lawmakers-seek-delay-billion-211716904.html; http://www.defensenews.com/articles/sixty-us-lawmakers-want-to-freeze-115-billion-arms-sale-to-saudi-arabia

The European Commission just found that Apple – with the help of the tax haven of Ireland – has been dodging billions of dollars in taxes. The EC’s ruling states that Apple must pay up to $14.5 billion in back taxes to Ireland on its European profits. Now it is time for the U.S. Treasury Department to follow suit and investigate Apple’s profit shifting and tax dodging. Apple has more than $215 billion in profits stashed offshore on which it could owe the American people more than $60 billion in taxes. Stand with us in demanding that the U.S. Treasury Department immediately investigate Apple for profit shifting and U.S. tax avoidance. Demand that Apple pay what it owes to America in back taxes!

The FBI recently announced that foreign hackers infiltrated election databases in Arizona and Illinois, warning election officials in all 50 states to be vigilant against cyber attacks. This is the latest report in a wave of election-related security breaches this year. Earlier this summer, hackers released thousands of emails from major Democratic Party organizations and officials. But the White House could choose to act right now to improve the integrity of our voting systems. In response to recent attacks, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is now considering classifying election systems as "critical infrastructure," which would grant special security assistance and bring in more federal resources. This is an important step to ensure we hold our voting systems up to the security standards of banks or the private grid. But this isn't enough. The U.S. government must invest in our voting infrastructure and take further action now to protect against attacks, such as mandating pre-election testing for voting machines and making emergency paper ballots available as backups to electronic voting machines, among other measures.

Our children will be harmed if this lawsuit wins because it will downgrade the quality of their education, lead to overcrowded classrooms with fewer resources, contribute to an elitist educational system where only the wealthy will get a great education, and will devalue our homes.

On September 6th and 7th, the anti-Muslim group ACT for America will host its annual conference, bringing right-wing activists from around the country to our nation’s capital to advance an agenda that targets Muslims and harms us all. ACT—a group that calls itself the “NRA of national security”—has once again invited elected leaders in Washington, D.C., and from around the country to speak at the conference and hear from its members. Last year, at least 15 members of Congress spoke at the national security briefing. But this year, unlike in the past, ACT is keeping the names of participating lawmakers secret to avoid scrutiny. What do they have to hide? While claiming to uphold civil liberties, including religious freedom, ACT for America’s leader has said that a “practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America.” ACT is lobbying lawmakers to lead with fear. The group is calling for unwarranted surveillance, inhumane policies on immigration and refugee resettlement, biased law enforcement trainings, and unconstitutional opposition to mosque construction. We must not embrace this blatant anti-Muslim bias nor the policies that spring from it. If elected leaders do not denounce ACT’s dangerous rhetoric, they are not only implicitly endorsing anti-Muslim bigotry, but also a vision for this country that denies fairness and equality to us all. We cannot afford silence. Tell members of Congress and all elected leaders to reject ACT for America’s invitation to anti-Muslim hate.

On August 30th, NJ Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have changed the lives of nearly 1 million people by gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2021. Thousands of these workers are parents who are working full-time and still can't bring home enough to take care of their children. And it's back-to-school time to boot—how can they possibly afford food, clothes, AND the school supplies needed to make sure their kids succeed on $17,430 a year? This bill has the support of 73% of of New Jersey voters and would have given a raise to 1 in 4 Jersey workers. The legislature approved it. But Chris Christie is ignoring the will of the people by vetoing it. Here's the good news. We can go around Christie. The NJ State Legislature can pass a resolution to bring the decision to the people by putting it on the ballot in 2017. Let's let the voters decide! Sign our petition to the leaders of the NJ State Legislature to bring a $15 minimum wage to the ballot box.

After being asked if he would trust Donald Trump with the codes to our nuclear arsenal, Senator Portman recently issued a statement saying that he believes Trump will “keep America safe.” As an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician serving in Iraq, I saw what happens when devastating weapons are left in the wrong hands, and I know Senator Portman is wrong. Throughout this campaign, Trump has shown again and again that he is irrational, impulsive, and utterly unqualified to be President. On the use of nuclear weapons he has said “we need unpredictability,” and that he sees no problem in letting more countries develop nuclear weapons. Speaking with a foreign policy expert about the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Trump reportedly asked “if we have them, why can’t we use them?” These are just a few of the reasons that 50 Republican national security experts wrote a letter warning that Trump, if elected, "would be the most reckless President in American history.” By saying he trusts Donald Trump with the nuclear codes, Senator Portman is putting the safety of our country -- and the world -- into the hands of a man who is clearly unfit to assume the responsibility. It is unacceptable for Senator Portman to choose party loyalty over his duty to keep our country safe. Join me in telling Senator Portman that if he wants to show Ohio that he takes our national security seriously, he must join Governor Kasich and over a hundred fellow Republican leaders in stating that he does not support Donald Trump.

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota have been protesting construction of the Dakota Access pipeline since April. The pipeline, also known as the Bakken Pipeline, will carry fracked crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shalefields through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois and then to Texas and Louisiana. In other words, it’s Keystone XL all over again. The planned pipeline threatens to pollute tribal waters and crosses land sacred to tribes, so the Standing Rock Tribe have been gathering at the site where it burrows under the Missouri River — and now construction there is on hold. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who represents North Dakota, has refused to take a stand on the pipeline. On the one hand, she claims to be a “strong and vocal advocate for North Dakota’s tribes” who is “dedicated to making sure our Native American brothers and sisters are not forgotten,” and tribes helped deliver her margin of victory in her 2012 Senate race. On the other hand, she’s the most fossil-fuel-friendly Democrat in the Senate, constantly using her position to promote oil and coal. On the tough Climate Hawks Vote scorecard, she scored -68 (scale from -100 to +100) - that makes her the worst Democrat in the Senate on climate. If we are to have any hope at all of staving off climate catastrophe, we need to halt the fracking of North Dakota’s oil shalefields—not build export pipelines that would allow the Bakken oil boom to increase. Halting the Dakota Access pipeline is critical to keeping the Bakken crude in the ground. Protests began in April, but they’ve picked up pace after the Army Corps of Engineers issued a questionable permit for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River, the source of the Standing Rock Sioux’s drinking water. Construction began on that segment on August 10, when the Standing Rock set up a peaceful encampment that put a halt to the work. A federal injunction barring Standing Rock protesters from “trespassing on private land” may come at any moment. Heidi Heitkamp, it’s time to take a stand. Standing Rock Sioux chair David Archambault has asked you to oppose the pipeline. Stand with the tribes who helped elect you in 2012, and for a livable climate for all.

On Tuesday, August 30, 2016, dirty, Nutella-laden dishes were found in the Wellspring kitchen. Allegations against a known Nutella aficionado Marta Conner have emerged. Marta denies all involvement and has suggested she was set up. Was it Mike Edington? The Russians? We may never know, but the Children's Anti-poverty Program is intent on clearing her name. Will you sign a petition and show Marta we've got her back?

On August 30, 64 Members of the House sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging that the proposed Saudi arms deal be delayed so that Congress can fully consider it. [1] The signers were: Amash, Bass, Blumenauer, Beyer, Brownley, Capps, Capuano, Chu, Cicilline, Clark (MA), Cleaver II, Cohen, Conyers, Crowley, Danny Davis, DeFazio, Doggett, Edwards, Ellison, Eshoo, Farr, Gabbard, Grayson, Grijalva, Hastings, Honda, Huffman, Jones, Hank Johnson, Keating, Lee, Lewis, Lieu, Loebsack, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Lujan, Lynch, Nolan, McDermott, McGovern, Moore, Mulvaney, Nadler, Napolitano, Neal, Norton, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne Jr., Peterson, Pingree, Pocan, Polis, Price, Rush, Schakowsky, Tonko, Tsongas, Van Hollen, Watson Coleman, Wilson (FL), Yarmuth, Yoho. [2] If your Representative was one of the signers, please thank them by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.yahoo.com/news/60-lawmakers-seek-delay-billion-211716904.html 2. https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-lieu-leads-bipartisan-effort-postpone-arms-sale-saudi-arabia

On August 8, the Obama administration notified Congress [1] of intent to sell $1.15 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia, including tanks that would replace tanks destroyed in Saudi Arabia's war against Houthi rebels in Yemen. We urge Senator Jack Reed and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to oppose this deal and to co-sponsor a resolution of disapproval against it. Past Congressional concerns about Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen have not been addressed. In October, Members of Congress wrote to the Administration [2] urging greater efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Yemen and achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In June, 204 Members of the House, including 40 Republicans and all but 16 Democrats, voted to block the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia after reports of their use in civilian areas in Yemen. [3] Yet, since the proposed arms deal was announced, a Saudi airstrike on a school in Yemen killed 10 children [4] – some as young as 6-years-old – and a Saudi airstrike on an MSF hospital in Yemen killed 11 people. [5] On August 30, 64 Members of the House signed a letter urging that the Saudi arms deal be delayed so that Congress can fully consider it. [6] Urge Senator Reed and Senator Whitehouse to cosponsor legislation to oppose the Saudi arms deal by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/kingdom-saudi-arabia-m1a2s-saudi-abrams-main-battle-tanks-and-m88ala2-heavy 2. https://debbiedingell.house.gov/sites/debbiedingell.house.gov/files/documents/151014_Yemen%20Airstrike%20Letter.pdf 3. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2016/roll327.xml 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yemen-school-airstrike_us_57b1938fe4b007c36e4f2f67 5. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN10Q1E0 6. https://www.yahoo.com/news/60-lawmakers-seek-delay-billion-211716904.html; http://www.defensenews.com/articles/sixty-us-lawmakers-want-to-freeze-115-billion-arms-sale-to-saudi-arabia