LEGISLATIVE CALLS TO ACTION -- WEEK of May 12, 2025

Indiana Legislation

CALL TODAY: Tell Governor Braun – Reinstate SUN Bucks and Feed Indiana’s Kids!

In summer 2024, more than 600,000 Hoosier children received a lifeline—$120 in SUN Bucks benefits to help families buy groceries when school meals weren’t available. Funded entirely by the USDA, this program brought over $70 million into Indiana communities. Now, Governor Braun has quietly withdrawn Indiana from this critical program for summer 2025.

This decision hurts our most vulnerable neighbors—especially in rural communities, where summer meal sites are scarce and hard to reach. Urban areas like Indianapolis may have parks-based programs, but in small towns and farm counties, kids are left behind. The irony? By rejecting these USDA funds, Indiana also turns away money that would have gone straight to local farmers and grocers.

We’ve changed this administration’s mind before. We can do it again. But it will take all of us raising our voices now.

TAKE ACTION: Call Governor Braun’s office at 317-232-4567

Tell him:

You’re outraged Indiana is turning away federal funds that feed hungry kids. This decision hurts rural families the most. SUN Bucks help children, farmers, and communities. It's not too late—Indiana can still opt in.

If you represent a nonprofit or service organization, speak on behalf of your network. If you're a parent, neighbor, or advocate—your voice matters. Share this action with your board, staff, friends, and grassroots partners.

No child should go hungry because school is out. Demand Indiana do better.

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Federal Legislation

DEFEND MEDICAID

Demand your representatives oppose a budget reconciliation bill that includes damaging cuts to Medicaid and endangers the health care access of millions of Americans. Republicans are aiming to push this bill through the House and Senate by Memorial Day.

Call Your Legislators: Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress 

BACKGROUND INFO: 1 in 5 Americans count on Medicaid for health care, including 40% of our children and 60% of all nursing home residents. More than 42 million of us, including 1 in 5 kids, can put food on the table thanks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Right now Republicans are behind closed doors working on their reconciliation bill, trying to figure out exactly how they’re going to slash them to pay for tax giveaways to billionaires – and lying to us that these programs are safe. 

Republicans are advancing a budget reconciliation bill to fund tax cuts for the wealthy that, if finalized, will necessitate millions in Medicaid cuts. Medicaid provides health insurance for 72 million low-income and disabled Americans. The program is jointly funded and administered by states/territories and the federal government, with the federal government covering a greater share of Medicaid costs in poorer states. Republicans are weighing two primary options to gut Medicaid: cutting federal funding for Medicaid expansion and imposing work requirements.

Forty states and DC expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act to cover over 20 million additional low-income adults. The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid expansion costs, but Republicans are considering reducing this rate, which would make Medicaid expansion financially unsustainable in most states. Twelve states also have provisions to automatically end expansion if federal funding rates drop below 90%. Republicans are also considering imposing burdensome Medicaid work requirements, even though 92% of non-disabled adult Medicaid enrollees are already employed.

One estimate concluded that reducing federal contributions to Medicaid expansion would cause over 34,000 additional deaths annually. Medicaid work requirements are costly to implement and would result in further massive coverage losses. Medicaid is a universally well-regarded and highly cost-effective insurance program that connects people to life-saving health care. Cutting it will directly harm millions of Americans.

• House Democrats are turning up the pressure. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) has introduced a discharge petition that would force a vote on legislation blocking cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in reconciliation. They need 218 signatures to get to the floor. This is obviously unlikely to produce direct results, but it’s also a valuable opportunity to force everyone in the House on the record as to where they really stand on these crucial safety net programs and for us to continue to emphasize to our lawmakers what’s at stake for regular people in this fight.

  • Let’s reach to our House members and demand they sign the discharge petition and commit to opposing cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. 

  • Call Your Legislators: Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress 

Under the Clean Air Act, California can ask the EPA for a waiver to pass stricter air and climate pollution rules than the federal government. California got this permission from Joe Biden and put tough new protections on auto emissions into place. Now, Republicans are attempting to use the Congressional Review Act to roll them back, which allows them to force a simple majority vote that can’t be filibustered. The CRA is not written to target these sorts of executive actions, but MAGA is trying to go for it anyways.

OPPOSE THE SAVE ACT

Call Your Legislators: Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress 

From Non Profit Vote: The House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, S. 128 / H.R. 22 by a narrow vote of 220 to 208.

We are deeply disappointed that the House saw fit to approve this poorly crafted incursion on voter registration as we know it. The SAVE Act’s slipshod requirements for documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote would disenfranchise tens of millions of American voters, overwhelm the nation’s thinly-spread election officials, and impose an effective ban on both third-party voter registration and online registration. It now moves to the Senate for consideration. While the 60 Senate votes needed to surpass the chamber’s current filibuster rules is a high bar, it’s not an insurmountable one. For that reason, we will continue our campaign against the SAVE Act in the Senate to ensure this reckless legislation is never signed into law. 

Free Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Call Your Legislators: Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant who escaped threats of violence from gang members in El Salvador, was living in Maryland with his wife and kids. A few years back, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation. But over a month ago, he was taken by ICE agents under the Trump administration and deported to a prison in El Salvador without due process — including being denied a fair and impartial hearing or trial to determine whether he was guilty of any gang-related activity. Immigration officials admitted it was an “administrative error” but refused to bring him back. 

Sadly, Kilmar isn’t the only immigrant kidnapped by the administration without receiving due process of the law.

Contact your members of Congress and demand that they do everything they can to end these unconstitutional disappearances and bring Kilmar and others back home.

No Rogue Rulings Act or NORRA

Call Your Legislators: Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress 

This bill limits the authority of federal district courts to issue injunctions.

Specifically, it prohibits a district court from issuing an injunction unless the injunction applies only to the parties of the particular case before the court.

Has passed the House and is now in committee with the Senate. Call now and urge your Senator to Vote NO on NORRA.