LEGISLATIVE CALLS TO ACTION -- September 3, 2025

Indiana News: Redistricting

Redrawing congressional districts (Indy Politics): 

“The Indiana General Assembly’s leaders on Wednesday broke their weeks-long silence on the push to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, a day after visiting the White House. 

But neither House Speaker Todd Huston nor Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray took a position. Call them today: 

Speaker Huston Phone: 317-232-9677

Senator Bray Phone: 317-232-9400

Meanwhile, voting rights advocates delivered two thick stacks of signatures opposing the move to their Statehouse offices.” (Indiana Capital Chronicle)  A new statewide survey finds a majority of Indiana voters opposed to the idea of redrawing legislative maps this year. 

Congress back in session

Congress returns from a month-long hiatus on September 2nd with a major budget deadline looming. The federal government shuts down on Oct. 1, barring a bipartisan funding deal – even a short-term one – as the White House unilaterally slashes billions of dollars of previously approved spending.

Democrats are infuriated. They were skeptical about negotiating a funding deal with Republicans after Trump and GOP leaders jammed through a $9 billion rescissions package in mid-July. Now, Trump is slashing billions of dollars in funding without Congress via legally questionable “pocket rescissions.”

Trump still faces the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, too. 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 will hold a Capitol Hill press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday. Massie’s discharge petition is open for signatures this week.

Tuesday: The House Rules Committee will meet to set several bills up for floor consideration, including the FY2026 Energy and Water spending bill. The House Appropriations Committee will meet to mark up the Labor-HHS bill.

Wednesday: The House Judiciary Committee will have Nigel Farage, the British member of parliament and prime minister hopeful, testify in a hearing about “Europe’s threat to American speech and innovation.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the use of AI in medicine. The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Financial Services-General Government bill.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet to consider President Donald Trump’s nominees for ambassadorships in Costa Rica and Tunisia.

Thursday: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on nominations. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on nominations, including Stephen Miran to be a governor on the Federal Reserve board.

Federal Bills to Watch:

HR 5066 – To repeal the Gun free School Zones of 1990 and amendments to that Act

Introduced by Republican Massie Thomas (KY) on 8/29/25)

SB. 2651 – “Road to Housing Act of 2025 Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream”A Bill to increase the supply of affordable housing in America.

Introduced by Rep. Scott of North Carolina on 8.1.2025.

HR 4553 –“Energy and Water Development and Appropriations Act, 2026” This bill includes cuts to energy efficiency programs, impacting funding for renewable energy initiatives and increasing funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Tariffs:

Trump’s tariff policy took a massive blow last Friday when a federal appeals court ruled that the president exceeded his authority by imposing unilateral tariffs on dozens of countries. The White House will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, with Trump’s tariffs remaining in place until mid-October.

Tariffs have come to define the president’s economic policies over the last eight months, so this could be a huge blow to his agenda. The Congressional Budget Office said that the tariffs will decrease the deficit by $4 trillion over a decade. (Punchbowl News)

Rule Changes to be Rolled out the Day After Labor Day

The Trump administration will roll out 60 rule changes after Labor Day, which will be devastating for millions of American workers.

Trump will end overtime and minimum wage protections for 3.7 million home healthcare workers. The Obama administration closed a loophole in the Fair Labor Standards Act that had denied home healthcare workers the minimum wage and overtime protections. Trump will be reversing that rule, with the deadline for public comment at the Department of Labor being September 2. (Politico)

The Biden administration submitted a draft rule to the Department of Labor that would have nationally ended the ability of corporations to seek a waiver to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage. Trump is reversing that rule, and the result will be that some workers with disabilities may earn as little as $4/hour.

The Trump administration also plans to weaken mine safety standards and construction workplace safety standards. Trump also intends to weaken workplace safety inspections and penalties for violations. (Politico)

Climate crisis 

“The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry…Trump has vowed to restore U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market and has pushed to increase U.S. reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. 

Trump’s Energy Department said Friday it is withdrawing a $716 million loan guarantee approved by the Biden administration to upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure to accommodate a now-threatened offshore wind project in New Jersey. 

The moves come as the administration abruptly halted construction last week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.” 

Energy prices have spiked to double that of inflation while Trump falsely blames renewable energy sources. “Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand from artificial intelligence and energy-hungry data centers, along with aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change.” (AP News) Read more at Letters of an American from an Heather Cox Richardson. 

Good News!

From: Jess Craven - Chop Wood Carry Water

• On Friday, a district judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot withhold funds to so called sanctuary cities.  These cities limit their local law enforcement from aiding the Department of Homeland Security.  They argue immigration enforcement is a federal issue, and the state cannot be compelled to do the federal government's work.  (NPR) 

• Democrats flipped an Iowa state senate seat, breaking the GOP supermajority in a Trump +11 district and swinging the seat by 21 points!

• In DC, dozens of labor unions led a march with thousands of people to protest Trump. There were loud chants of “Free DC,” and “It’s time for Trump to go.”

• Thousands also joined Rev. Al Sharpton and Zohran Mamdani for a “March On Wall Street” in New York City.

• A Democratic candidate got the most votes in Georgia’s Senate District 21 election and has taken the lead over six Republicans! It now moves to a run-off.

• Illinois became the first state to launch a legal advice line for LGBTQ+ residents, providing free and confidential legal advice on discrimination, harassment, safety, and more.

• The state of Florida is ordering cities to remove rainbow-painted crosswalks and street art, but cities are fighting back. The city of St. Petersburg asked the state for an exemption, citing proof they’ve actually made the intersections safer and communities stronger, and Delray Beach’s city commission voted to keep theirs intact, too.

• The U.S. Mint’s new quarter honoring Stacey Park Milbern, co-founder of the disability justice movement, is the first to depict a woman using a wheelchair on American currency.

• A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip today with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea.

• League of Women Voters reversed their position and are now neutral on Prop 50! (Issue of gerrymandering in CA). Who Did That? YOU DID!