Demand Progress

Campaigns

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  Raise the wage to $15 by ending the filibuster

  Congress has not raised the minimum wage in more than a decade. Yet the cost of housing, transportation, food, and clothing has soared. Amidst the worst economic crisis in a century, families need a higher minimum wage. Now. In cities and states that have raised the minimum wage to $15 or higher, the results have been positive. More jobs, more income, more economic security. But many states, led by right-wingers, still refuse to raise their wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Democrats could use their control of Congress and the White House to raise the minimum wage to $15. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled it can't be done by reconciliation. And the filibuster means they'd have to find 10 Republican votes for a $15 minimum wage, which is very unlikely. Senators must end the filibuster so Congress can finally raise the wage to $15!

  26 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Tell Congress: Pass the wealth tax!

  Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Pramila Jayapal just announced their bold plan to pass a wealth tax. They're going to need our help to pass it. Billionaires made more than $900 billion during the pandemic. Warren's plan would create a two percent tax on assets over $50 million dollars, which would generate $2.75 trillion over ten years. As the pandemic exposed the deepest faults in American society, wealth inequality has taken off to new extremes. The wealthy have seen rising investment values, while the rest of the US is careening down a path marked with evictions, debt, and unemployment. Can you tell Congress to pass a wealth tax?

  330 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Remove Confederate statues from the Capitol Building

  All across America, Confederate statues are falling. Except in Congress. The National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building has eleven statues of former Confederate leaders and soldiers. That includes Confederate president Jefferson Davis and Confederate vice-president Alexander Stephens, among others who committed treason and made war in order to defend slavery and white supremacy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi just called on these statues to be removed. But it takes support from both the House and the Senate. If we put enough pressure on Representatives and Senators, they will act. Can you help?

  9,997 of 10,000 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Stop the appointment of a climate denier to NOAA!

  As fires fueled by a climate crisis rage across the West Coast, Trump just appointed a climate denier to a key position in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- the federal agency that focuses on weather and climate. Trump's new appointee, David Legates, believes the sun and not unchecked carbon emissions cause climate change. He even said rising CO2 levels in the ocean are fine because they'll produce bigger crabs. Legates has ties to the Koch brothers, who have funded his climate denial research in the past. He also has ties to the Heartland Institute, a far-right think tank that fight against efforts to stop the climate crisis. Trump is stacking federal agencies with stay-behind forces who will continue to advance his extremist agenda even if Trump isn't there for a second term. That's why Congress needs to act now to stop climate deniers like Legates from taking up crucial positions that oversee federal climate research. Can you help?

  896 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Tell Congress: Block DeVos from punishing schools that choose not to reopen!

  The last person you want making decisions for your children is Betsy DeVos. As Trump’s Education Secretary, DeVos has been a disaster from Day 1. But during the pandemic she’s only gotten worse. Secretary DeVos wants to hold federal school funding hostage to pressure schools to reopen in a couple of weeks, despite the nation still seeing spikes in COVID-19 cases.[1] Sign the petition: Tell Congress to block DeVos from using federal funds to pressure schools to reopen! Our nation’s schools are already massively underfunded. In a dangerous public health nightmare scenario like the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government should be funding schools to do whatever is necessary to protect students, teachers and staff, and slow the spread of the virus. Instead, if DeVos has her way, schools will have to reopen if they want federal funding that most districts desperately need. In short, DeVos wants to force cities and states to "re-open" - and doesn't seem to care if children, teachers, and school staff get sick or even die in the process. It’s worth remembering that DeVos has never once taught in a classroom, holds no degrees in education, and until Trump appointed her as Secretary of Education, had no government experience. DeVos is a right-wing billionaire donor whose pet project has been dismantling public education. Every year Trump has been in office, DeVos proposed massive budget cuts to the Department of Education. Now she’s only willing to put funds into schools if students, teachers, and school staff risk their health and their lives in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic. There’s not much time left to act before schools start in the fall. That’s why you need to tell Congress to stop DeVos immediately. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to block DeVos from using federal funds to pressure schools to reopen! [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/us/politics/trump-schools-reopening.html

  30,234 of 35,000 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Tell Congress to stop new U.S. military action in Syria

  While President Biden has made the right promises, actions speak louder than words. The airstrikes against targets in Syria that he authorized undermine those promises and risk escalating tensions in the Middle East. Last year Congress passed a War Powers Resolution in response to an unconstitutional airstrike and Trump refused to sign it. We need a War Powers Resolution that sends a clear message that only Congress, not the president, can approve military strikes like the one President Biden launched in Syria. We need fewer wars, and less military tension. We need Congress to act.

  108 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Stop giving weapons of war to local police!

  Police across America have been using weapons of war to attack peaceful protesters and journalists in the last few days. They got many of those from the federal government through the Pentagon's 1033 program, which gives military surplus to local law enforcement. After the Ferguson protests in 2014, progressives got President Obama to limit this program. But Trump reversed that order, and also scaled back the Department of Justice's investigations into police misconduct. There are a lot of things we need to do to end institutional racism and stop police brutality. One of those steps is demilitarizing the police. We're calling on Congress to end the 1033 program. Will you join the fight?

  8,086 of 9,000 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
• Stop Trump's internet censorship plan

  Donald Trump and Ajit Pai already dealt a huge blow to internet freedom when they ended net neutrality last year. This new proposal is a dramatic escalation in Trump's attack on free speech. His executive order would allow the FCC and FTC, led by his handpicked cronies, to initiate regulatory action against companies that don't police speech online in exactly the way Trump wants. This is an authoritarian proposal that would erode our freedoms online at precisely the moment when a free and open internet is most essential.

  604 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
• Tell Congress: Investigate all of Trump's crimes

  The only reason we know about the Ukraine extortion was because Democrats kept pushing, rather than limit their investigations. If they stop now, they may miss other crucial evidence or other crimes Trump has committed. Grassroots pressure helped make the impeachment inquiry a reality. Now we need to make sure its scope is broad -- and by sending a message to Congress, you can help make it happen. Can you help?

  41 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress
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  Tell Congress: We can't let Trump rule unchecked!

  This is urgent: Two members of Congress have tested positive for coronavirus, and several members who came into contact with them are self-quarantining. We need Congress to act NOW before we're left with just Donald Trump in power. Sign the petition: Call on Congress to pass emergency powers to legislate remotely! Any day now, members of Congress could be forced into quarantine, leaving Donald Trump in power with NO congressional oversight.(1) This is not a drill: As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the country, we’ve never needed Congressional oversight more. Our legislators are the only ones looking out for working people and passing bills to provide health care and economic support, while Trump pumps money into Wall Street and the oil industry. Congress needs to pass emergency legislation NOW to allow lawmakers to vote and deliberate by teleconference. Without it, we will be left in the middle of a pandemic with a full-blown crisis of democracy. Sign the petition: Call on Congress to pass emergency powers to legislate remotely! Although the technology to telecommute and conference remotely has existed for decades, Congress and most state legislatures are behind the times. Congressional rules dictate that legislators must convene in person to pass any legislation, whether during an emergency or not.(2) This is a system designed for failure during the coronavirus pandemic. We’re already seeing the worst-case scenario overseas. 10% of the Iranian Parliament has tested positive for the coronavirus, and two members have died. The European Parliament was forced to shut down in Strasbourg. And in New York, lawmakers have already contracted the virus. Many members of Congress have been exposed.(3) Half of the Senate and one-quarter of the House is over age 65, a risk factor for serious complications or death from coronavirus, and the CDC has recommended gatherings of less than ten people.(4) A quarantine is imminent. The national budget will be up for debate in the summer, and the government will shut down without a new one. Congress needs to pass emergency coronavirus bills and ensure that people are getting the supplies and care they need. And we have an election approaching that we could need to adjust the rules for, like implementing vote-by-mail, if participation is affected by the pandemic. The Supreme Court has already shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak.(5) Without new procedures in place, the country will be left with no legislative branch, either—just Donald Trump and his out-of-control executive orders. The window to preserve our democracy is closing—we have to act now. Sources: 1. Common Dreams, "As Lawmakers Fall Ill, Congress and State Legislatures Must Enact Continuity Plans," March 16, 2020 2. Ibid 3. Ibid 4. Quorum, "How Old is Congress?," accessed March 17, 2020 5. CNBC, "Supreme Court postpones arguments because of coronavirus, citing Spanish flu precedent," March 16, 2020

  413 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Demand Progress