Still thinking of those No Kings protests, but what's next?
Not to be a broken record, but we have to stop Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill. Imagine if everyone who attended a protest picked up the phone and called their senators.
Let’s do our best to not get distracted
The news from last night’s bombing in Iran is heavy. I recognize how concerning this is, but I also want to make sure we don’t get distracted from what is happening in the Senate this week.
Senate leadership is indicating they want to vote on their version of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on Wednesday. There version is arguably worse than the version the House passed a few weeks ago. And, Trump is still pushing for the final bill to be on his desk by July 4.
I intended to finish and send this newsletter sooner, but I’m going with the better late than never theory as I'm about to hit send on our drive back to Kansas from Colorado. I’m thankful for my phone’s hotspot.
As always, you can skip straight to the Take Action section if you are short on time.
No Kings Protests — What a turnout!
I’m still trying to live on the high from the images of the protests from last weekend. The videos and posts from friends in Kansas and across the country had me feeling hopeful.
Since we couldn’t make it to a rally, it felt fitting to hike to the American flag flying over Minturn, Colorado on the first day of our vacation.
Ever since the No Kings protests, one thought keeps crossing my mind…
What if each person who attended a protest made a phone call?
And everyone who couldn’t attend but felt inspired seeing so many Americans joyfully and peacefully taking a stand, made a phone call.
What kind of impact would that have on our congressional leaders in D.C. They surely saw the people in the streets, but have they heard from them?
There are so many reasons people turned out on Saturday. It’s hard to know what to focus on in phone calls. But, there is one immediate need…
Stopping the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA)
As explained in previous newsletters, the drastic cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP food assistance (to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations) will be extremely harmful to millions of Americans.
There is also an egregious school voucher program (discussed in a previous newsletter) that diverts billions in federal dollars to private schools by providing a tax avoidance scheme for the ultra-wealthy (even those not utilizing private schools), all while cutting public education programs.
So many things have been hidden in this bill between the House and Senate versions. It’s really a take your pick menu of reasons to oppose the OBBBA.
Following the Take Action section you’ll find more information on:
How the cuts to healthcare will specifically impact Kansas
Details on Americans that rely on SNAP
More information on the school voucher program
A list of other concerning issues that have been hidden in the OBBBA
One more thing…I highly recommend watching this recording of the Kansas Little Lobbyists’ event from last week. It was excellent at highlighting how important Medicaid is to families with children who have complex medical needs. It keeps many from being institutionalized, allowing them access to the care they need to live at home with their family.
TIME TO PICK UP THE PHONE! DETAILS FOR TAKING ACTION
We need more and more people to make calls. If you attended or were inspired by the No Kings protest, make sure your senators are hearing from you!!
Emails are okay too, but I really believe we need phones in Senate offices ringing off the hook this week!
Contact Both of Your Senators
Leave messages over the weekend.
Keep calling during the week until this bill is dead.
Take 5 minutes out of each day to make two phone calls; make it part of your daily routine
Encourage a friend or two to make phone calls
Essentially…KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!
Find Your Senators’ Contact Information
Below is the contact information for Kansas senators.
Not in Kansas? Your senators need to hear from you too. Enter your address at ksleglookup.org/search to find the contact info for your senators.
Senator Jerry Moran
D.C. # (202) 224-6521
Email portal
Local district office locations and phone numbers
Senator Roger Marshall
D.C. #: (202) 224-4774
Email portal
Local district office locations and phone numbers
Example wording for phone calls
Below is an example that can be modified. Your own words are always best.
My name is _____________. I’m calling from [city], zip code _________. I’m asking the Senator to vote no on the One Big Beautiful Bill budget reconciliation. I have a number of concerns about this bill that I hope you will pass on to the Senator.
The cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will leave millions of Americans without healthcare insurance.
Cuts to SNAP will make it hard for millions of American families to put food on their table.
I’m also opposed to the school voucher program that undermines public school funding by diverting federal funds to private schools through a tax avoidance scheme for the ultra-wealthy.
I urge the Senator to protect the health of Kansans and to protect our public schools that 90% of Kansas kids rely on. We do not need more tax cuts for the rich and corporations, especially at the expense of vulnerable Kansans. The cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will have the biggest impact on rural communities and vulnerable populations like the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and children from low-income families.
In your calls, please consider adding some of the specific Kansas impacts discussed below. And, feel free to share other concerns. You can even pick from the detailed list of items hidden in the OBBBA included below. Just ask the staffer on the phone to read back your list of concerns. They should be keeping a tally and providing the information to the Senator.
MORE INFO ON THE OBBBA
Impact of Funding Cuts on Kansas
The Alliance for Healthy Kansas put together this quick, easy to read summary of an analysis from a health research firm detailing Kansas impacts. And below, I’ve pulled some graphics from the Research Brief itself, which is also a quick read.
We will all feel the impacts of these cuts in one way or another:
Who Receives SNAP Benefits?
The OBBBA contains $300 billion in cuts to SNAP which provides food assistance for children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.
School Voucher Program in the OBBBA
Instead of removing the school voucher program from the bill, the Senate merely reduced the annual diversion of federal funds to private schools from $5 million to $4 million. There are still no income limits for those receiving a voucher or accountability measures for private schools.
The Senate version also still includes the tax avoidance (tax shelter) scheme that allows wealthy taxpayers to “contribute” to voucher granting organizations and in return receive 100% of their “contribution” back in the form of a lucrative tax credit. By donating stock, they can even avoid paying the capital gains tax.
The short video below does a great job of explaining this tax avoidance scheme for the ultra-wealthy.
Clicking on the image above should take you to the video on Instagram (you might click a second time if it doesn’t open to the video right away). If that doesn’t work, try this link to the video on YouTube.
Take your pick of things to oppose in the OBBBA
Republican leadership knows they have slim margins in each chamber and members with differing viewpoints making it nearly impossible for them to pass all of their priorities in the next two years. So, they’ve essentially thrown everything into this one bill, along with Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires, to try to force their priorities through so they don’t have to stand on their own merit.
Here’s just a sampling of the other concerning items/impacts within the bill:
Provision to block any funding to enforce contempt of court orders; could enable the Trump administration to flout the rulings of judges without consequence.
a 10-year ban on the enforcement of all state and local laws that regulate artificial intelligence (AI), including rules for AI’s use in political campaigns and elections.
Eliminates major tax credits for wind and solar
Requiring the sale of public land in 11 Western states to the highest bidder to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthy
Inserting three bills that bolster gun rights making it easier to purchase gun silencers, short-barreled rifles, and to conceal carry across state lines.
an increase of $2.4 trillion in the budget deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office
We’ve seen this tactic at work in Kansas. When leadership knows they don’t have enough votes for a bill to pass on its own merit, they try to force it into law by attaching it to a larger budget bill. We must use our voices to stop the OBBBA.
Fun Fact from our drive from Colorado to Kansas
The temperature has risen 45 degrees since we left this morning. Not sure I’m ready to return to the heat. I’ll just savor the outdoor time we had this past week and enjoy the air conditioning at home.