LEGISLATIVE CALLS TO ACTION -- September 10, 2025

Gerrymandering - Redrawing Maps ahead of the 2026 Election

Indiana has not yet decided whether or not to call a special session to redistrict (gerrymander) the legislative maps to eliminate the two remaining democratic congressional seats. Your calls are making a difference! The governor may be leaving the decision to House Speaker Houston and Senate Pro Tempore Bray. They need to continue hearing from you. Call today: 

• Speaker Huston: Phone: 317-232-9677

• Senator Bray: Phone: 317-232-9400

• Contact your state rep and senator—and the governor:

  • State Rep: 317-232-9600 State Senator: 317-232-9400 Gov. Braun: 317-232-4567

• Not sure who your state legislators are: MADVoters.org/contact-your-legislator

Increase in Mandatory Minimum Sentences

H.R. 3486, poses a threat to us all. It increases mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses like unauthorized entry into the U.S. It fuels mass incarceration and the racial disparities in our legal system, funneling primarily people of color into private prisons with new extreme sentences. And by taking away resources from emergencies and actual public safety measures, it leaves us all less safe.

The Trump administration's attacks on our communities and immigrant family members must be stopped. But this bill is racing through Congress right now with bipartisan support – so it will take all of us to block it. This bill will impose extreme prison sentences on anyone caught crossing the border illegally of five years in prison. This bill would lead to an expansion of our prison systems and will divert funds from legitimate emergencies. Take action here: Tell Congress: No Life Sentences for Immigration | American Civil Liberties Union  (Source: ACLU)

AI Death Panels

 “The federal government plans to hire private companies to use artificial intelligence to determine whether patients would be covered for some procedures, like certain spine surgeries or steroid injections. Similar algorithms used by insurers have been the subject of several high-profile lawsuits, which have asserted that the technology allowed the companies to swiftly deny large batches of claims and cut patients off from care in rehabilitation facilities. The six states participating in the program are Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. That means health care decisions for Medicare patients in those states will now be made by AI algorithms from for-profit tech companies. The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections...This move blatantly breaks [Trump's] oft-repeated promise to protect Medicare.” (NYT) (Message Box)

Epstein Files “Discharge Petition”

“While the Justice Department has begun to turn over troves of Epstein-related documents to the House Oversight Committee, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are pushing to force a full public release of the files and held a Capitol Hill press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday. petition was open for signatures this week.” (Punchbowl News) “A discharge petition is a procedural tool for bypassing House leadership. When the petition is signed by 218 Members, the House must vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. (House.gov) 215 have signed on so far. (NBC)

Budget bill due in 22 days

The government runs out of money at the end of the month, and it looks like the GOP will need Democratic voters to keep the government open.

Republicans still don’t have the votes or a plan to fund the government.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has a plan and told Don Lemon that any Democratic support for a bill to keep the government open will come at a cost.

Ocasio-Cortez said:

 ”I love what Elizabeth Warren had to say about this, which is. You know, right before we left in August, Republicans passed these massive cuts to Medicaid, to Medicare, to EBT, SNAP, and WIC food assistance. I think if they roll back those cuts, then we can talk about this.

Because folks really need to remember who has the keys here. Republicans have the house majority Republicans are in charge of the Senate Republicans, you know, Donald Trump is president. They are responsible for the most basic function of keeping the government open. And if they don't have the votes to do that, and if they have to come to Democrats to get our votes, I don't think we give them away for free.

And I think we use this opportunity to fight for people, and I think we use this opportunity to get people's WIC back, to get their SNAP, to get their Medicaid, to get their Medicare back, and then we can talk about fighting on an aggressive front. You've got less than 30 days to fund the government.” (PoliticusUSA)