Late on Monday, June 26, the White House threatened military escalation against the Syrian government. US defense officials reached by BuzzFeed News said they were unaware the White House was planning to release its statement. [1] Military officials were caught off guard by the White House statement, the New York Times reported. [2] As Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote at the Washington Post, "While Washington is fixated on President Trump’s tweets, antics, lies and Russiagate, the administration is ramping up a stealth escalation of our military involvement across the Middle East." [3] Congress has never authorized the use of military force against the Syrian government, just as it has never authorized U.S. participation in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. [4] Under the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, Congress, not the President, decides if the U.S. should use military force against the Syrian government, so long as the Syrian government has not attacked the United States. Attacking Syria without Congressional authorization is an impeachable offense. [5] Some Members of Congress are speaking up. Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan said, "Trump must get Congress's approval before plunging us into unauthorized war with Syria. The Constitution demands it." [6] Rep. Barbara Lee said, "Congress hasn’t authorized Pres Trump to take action in Syria. A statement released by the WH in the dead of night doesn’t change that fact." [7] Rep. Ted Lieu said, "Assad is horrific. But Congress has never authorized @realDonaldTrump to use force against him or Syria, a country that has not attacked US." [8] Rep. Michael Capuano said, "the President must observe the Constitution and seek Congressional approval before he takes any further military action in Syria." [9] Rep. Pramila Jayapal said, "If Trump truly believes there is an urgent case for waging war in Syria, he must seek authorization from Congress." [10] Urge your representatives in Congress to join these Members in asserting Congress' Constitutional war powers to challenge Trump's unconstitutional military escalations by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/white-house-says-syria-may-be-preparing-another-chemical 2. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/syria-will-pay-a-heavy-price-for-another-chemical-attack-trump-says.html 3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-chaos-is-covering-for-stealth-escalation-overseas/2017/06/27/30bab1f0-5a9d-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html 4. https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/house-back-un-call-for?r_by=1135580 5. http://www.npr.org/2017/05/17/528743744/the-president-the-comey-memo-and-the-elephant-in-the-room-impeachment 6. https://twitter.com/repmarkpocan/status/879727854312968192 7. https://twitter.com/RepBarbaraLee/status/879724659213824001 8. https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/879527084758093826 9. https://www.facebook.com/RepMichaelCapuano/posts/1340254579362321 10. https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/879683252100841472

Under Trump's proposed budget all long distance Amtrak passenger train services would lose federal support and could be discontinued. The national passenger train network would be destroyed. It would no longer be possible to cross the United States by train. As the resident of a small community I would no longer be able to travel to see family or pursue business and employment possibilities. Many other small towns across the USA would lose their ability to travel to the outside world to seek medical help, educational opportunities and job opportunities. The amount of federal support for these Amtrak services is very small compared to the rest of the federal budget. Many more tax dollars are spent in supporting the White House fleet of airplanes than is spent on the entire Amtrak budget. For more information on this issue go the the website of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) at NARP rail.org.

Despite enormous gains in productivity, working families in the United States have seen almost no pay increase in the last forty years. In fact, a typical family is making less today than they did in the year 2000. These extreme levels of income inequality are holding back our potential economic growth and making it harder for working people to thrive in America. That's why we're calling on Congress to support legislation we introduced with Sen. Sherrod Brown for a $1 trillion raise for workers. By boosting the "Earned Income Tax Credit," we can give working families a 20% raise to compensate them for the stagnancy of wages since 1979. As an example, a single mother with two kids who makes $40,000 a year would get nearly an $8,000 raise. Our proposal would be a massive boon for the economy, putting more money in the hands of people who will in turn create jobs. Sen. Brown and I are grateful to already have the backing of Robert Reich on this proposal. Now, we're asking for MoveOn members to join us and call on members of Congress to cosponsor our bill. Let's pass a long overdue raise for working families! Sign our petition to Congress now to say you support our $1 trillion expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Chicago has a serious problem with violent and unaccountable policing, and one of the biggest obstacles to accountability and reform is the Fraternal Order of Police, and their contract with the city. Police should not be above the law, but provisions in their contract have allowed them to assault, brutalize, and kill Black people without any real consequence.The epidemic of police violence and corruption will continue until we change the rules and hold the police accountable like everyone else.

AMHP has been at the forefront of ensuring that Americans are aware of and connected to health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and this new bill will have devastating consequences for the most vulnerable members of our population and will undermine many of the gains made over these past four open enrollment cycles. An estimated 22 million Americans will lose their health care coverage. There will also be a reduction in coverage for our most vulnerable populations—including those suffering from addiction and mental illness. Promoting affordable and attainable healthcare coverage for all Americans has been a top priority for AMHP. As an organization that represents over 2,000 health professionals and students, we are committed to keeping the ACA's protections in place.

Our jaws are on the floor. The Senate version of the Trumpcare bill is worse than even our darkest fears. It will take a wrecking ball to health care in this country, leaving millions without care, making health care unaffordable for many, eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood, and giving massive tax cuts to the wealthy. Shockingly, this bill's cuts to Medicaid are even deeper than those passed by the House--at a moment when Medicaid and Medicare should be dramatically expanded. If the House bill was 'mean,' this bill is cruel. Nothing remotely like this bill should be considered by any member of Congress, and amendments won't get it into the ballpark of the compassionate and practical policy-making we need from our elected officials. As-is or with fig-leaf amendments, this bill would go down in history as the most cruel, destructive act of wealth transfer to the richest Americans at the expense of kids, low-income Americans, the elderly, those with disabilities, and the vast majority of Americans. It's a moral disaster and political malpractice by any senators who dare to support it.

I do not want to live in a nation where the government of the nation is committing GENOCIDE on innocent human beings in that nation. I do not know if a vote in favor of trumpcare is an act of GENOCIDE. Before there is a vote on trumpcare we need, as a nation, to decide if one of the side effects of the bill is to commit GENOCIDE.

Under Trump's proposed budget all long distance Amtrak passenger train services would lose federal support and would be discontinued. The national passenger train network would be destroyed. It would no longer be possible to cross the United States by train. As the resident of a small community I would no longer be able to travel to see family or pursue business and employment possibilities. Many other small towns across the USA would lose their ability to travel to the outside world to seek medical help, educational opportunities and job opportunities. The amount of federal support for these Amtrak services is very small compared to the rest of the federal budget. Many more tax dollars are spent in supporting the White House fleet of airplanes than is spent on the entire Amtrak budget. For more information on this issue go the the website of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) at NARP rail.org.

The Financial Crisis of 2008 has devastated millions of Americans. It has left millions with lackluster credit scores, bankruptcy, and homelessness. My family was severely affected by the crisis. My parents lost two of their businesses and almost lost their home. Albeit situations have improved, Republicans are looking to bring the U.S backwards. Stop them now.

After the hiring of Hugh Hewitt for a weekend show along with the recent hires of Greta and Megan, Hugh Hewitt's hiring was a "bridge too far" for many of us.

As a American woman married to a Mexican man, and a 18 year old son who is joining National Guard, the immigration uproar shakes me to the core. The type of reform we need is to make it possible for our hard working Hispanic population to have a path to citizenship. The laws in both Mexico and American make it nearly impossible for poor Mexican people to migrate legally. As the granddaughter of a German immigrant who migrated after World War II it pains me to hear the Hispanic population spoken of like Jews during the Holocaust. We can not allow a Holocaust mentality in America such as mass incarceration & deportation of good hard working residents of our state & country. They're your construction workers, your mechanics, your cooks, your lawn care workers, your housekeepers, your nannies, perhaps your neighbors, your friends, your family, your fellow Oklahomans. It hurts me to see the Hispanic population in fear of Trumps agenda. Please do not send the Oklahoma National Guard to carry out such a atrocity. "Humans the only species that pay to live on earth."

A dark cloud hangs over this Administration as Trump himself, and numerous top campaign aides, are being investigated for obstruction of justice and potentially colluding with Russia to interfere in last year’s election. The Senate must not and can not act on a lifetime appointment to the highest court until this investigation is complete. The cases the next Justice will rule on will have wide-ranging impacts on nearly every American and could roll back decades worth of progress on LGBT rights, women’s health and reining in corporate power. Mitch McConnell held open a Supreme Court seat for nearly a year last year out of pure politics. Surely he can hold open this seat until an investigation of this magnitude can be completed. It is long past time for him, and Republicans, to put country before party and do the right thing.