Congress is back in session and the Build Back Battle fight is on!! We need to secure the 3.5 trillion dollars of funding for the Build Back Better Act for climate, care, jobs, citizenship and more. More on this in our updates and news sections below.

Furthermore, we are pushing the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. Today, it is far easier for doctors to prescribe addictive painkillers like oxycontin than it is for them to prescribe treatments for substance use disorder such as Buprenorphine. The Drug Enforcement Agency’s X-Waiver requirement stops doctors, nurses and physicians’ assistants from prescribing buprenorphine, a highly effective form of Medication Assisted Treatment, to patients. Our Drug Policy Task Force, alongside allies across the nation, is demanding that Congress pass the MAT Act now to remove this barrier to treatment and save lives.

Thank you for caring and for being part of this movement. 

Quick Actions:

 

 

Statewide Updates:

Let’s Build Back Better - A Call To Action

Build Back Better: Invest in Medicare Expansion, the Care Economy, Climate Action and A Path to Citizenship! Congress must pass the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation deal. We can win a package that invests in people and communities, and creates a framework and a foundation for a just and equitable recovery from the pandemic. A budget that will add life saving benefits like dental, vision, and hearing to Medicare; that can bring down soaring Rx prices, that will make significant  investments in green jobs and infrastructure; and that creates a way to secure citizenship for all in our county who need it. Please join us, this is a major movement moment and we need you! We created an entire week schedule to make it easy to take part, here’s what you can do to help take action everyday this week: 

 

  • MONDAY (TODAY):  Join our Drug Policy Taskforce and nation partner People’s Action for a Textbank 6-8pm to demand Congress pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act! Learn more about why the MAT Act is important and make a difference in helping urge Congress to pass it - everyone is welcome, no texting experience necessary to attend. 
  • TUESDAY (TOMORROW): Join us in D.C. for the Welcome Back Congress Rally! We are joining several other organizations and hundreds of activists to  raise our voices for a budget that includes investments in workers and the care economy, green infrastructure and jobs, and a path to citizenship. The plan is to assemble at 429 L'enfant Plaza SW, Washington D.C. at 12:00pm and then March to the U.S. Capitol Building (S.W. side) for a  Rally at Grant Park from 1:00-3:00. We’re also going to PhRMA’s offices at 950 F St. NW at 10:00 a.m tomorrow. We’ll join People's Action leaders from around the country to deliver a letter to this industry group telling them to stop opposing Rx price negotiating power for Medicare. 
  • WEDNESDAY: If you live in Congressional District 4, please take a moment to send a quick thank you note to Rep. Brown, thanking him for being an environmental justice champion and urging his colleagues to pass the full federal funding for climate action and more. We already drafted the email to make it easy for you, all you need to do is personalize it and click send!
  • THURSDAY: Join us for the Build Back Better textbank 6-7:30pm. We are texting folks in Congressman Brown’s district to thank him and raise awareness about this crucial federal funding. If you’ve never texted with us before, we’ll train you - join in and bring friends!
  • FRIDAY: RSVP for an important Press Conference with Congressman Brown that will take place next Monday, September 27th at 9am in Largo, MD. This once invite-only event is now public so that you can be part of the conversation on why we need to lock in the 3.5 trillion dollars of federal funding for climate, care, jobs, justice, citizenship and more. Hear from Rep. Brown on his congressional commitment to passing the Build Back Better Act now while also fighting longterm for working families through The THRIVE Act, along with local PM leaders on why this money is crucial to our communities. The event will tentatively be held in-person at a metro station in Largo, more details to come soon. If you live in Congressional District 4, there will also be an opportunity to personally thank the Congressman for his great work.

 

Throwdown Thursdays!

We are phonebanking or textbanking EVERY SINGLE WEEK on Thursdays at 6pm! We’re starting with throwing down for our issue campaigns and over time will transition to a voter contact program that lets folks know about awesome progressive candidates who will be on the ballot in the 2022 elections. Join the team now to get experience! It’s fun and easy, and it makes a big difference. This Thursday, we will be texting folks in Congressman Brown’s district to thank him for supporting Build Back Better. RSVP here.

 

New Era PAC Friend & Fundraiser

Join the New Era Project in Howard County on Monday, October 4th for Jake Burdett’s New Era Party Friend & Fundraiser! Speakers will include Delegate Jen Terrasa of District 13 and former Circuit Court Candidate Stephen Musselman. We will address important issues facing Howard County like the often forgotten but wildly important Zoning and Land Use problem. You can RSVP to the party by CLICKING HERE.

We look forward to seeing you at this event. Whether or not you will attend, please also show Jake your support by:

  • Forwarding this invitation and information to your own networks!

 

Justice Task Force

Join us on Wednesday, September 22nd at 6pm for a virtual town hall regarding the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021, also known as Anton's Law, one of the police reform bills that passed this previous legislative session. This bill is named after Anton Black, a teenager that died in police custody in Caroline County, and requires that records of police misconduct be public information. Our guest speakers are Senator Carter and Delegate Acevero. The panel will be moderated by PM JTF Co-Chairs, Sharity Bannerman, and Wayne Bethea. Our goal is to re-start these discussions on police reform and criminal justice early in preparation for next year’s legislative session. While there was some success this year in passing some police reform bills, advocates and allies must continue to pressure legislators to meet all of our justice and accountability demands. We hope you will join us for this crucial conversation on reform and the road ahead.

 

Drug Policy Campaign

Missed our powerful Stories from the Overdose Crisis event last week? View the recording here.

Breaking news: Number of deaths from prescription opioids in Maryland could become higher than those from heroin. This sorrow information only proves why we need to push harder for the creation of crucial Overdose Prevention Sites. To help save lives, please sign this petition to say Yes On My Block if you live in Baltimore City.

Our Drug Policy Taskforce is working to demand that Congress pass the MAT Act (Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment) which will allow folks suffering from substance use disorder easier access to lifesaving treatment like Buprenorphine. You can join us tonight 6-8pm for a textbank with our national partner People’s Action: RSVP Here.

 

Healthcare Justice Campaign

Fight to Expand Healthcare:

Join us in Washington, D.C. tomorrow! Rally for the Build Back Better Budget which includes things like Medicare expansion, more investments in community health programs and paid leave. Help us send a message to Congress: The time is now to invest in working families and communities. Sign Up To Attend

The Fight Against  COVID-19:

The delta variant has been hitting us hard these past few months. The number of cases, transmission rates, and hospitalizations have all risen after having declined during the spring and early summer. We’re in another tough stretch of this pandemic as President Biden reminded us earlier this month. 

Over the years and during this crisis we’ve seen that it’s easier to get through really difficult  times like these when we rely on expertise and experience; when government officials deploy significant public resources; and we turn to each other. This is an important time to strengthen our connections and to work together to get to better days. Please come to an important community conversation about this new phase of COVID-19 next Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 6:30pm - RSVP here.

Local Chapter Updates:

Anne Arundel Fair Elections

Our Anne Arundel Fair Elections Taskforce will be meeting next Wednesday September 29th at 7pm! Come learn about our efforts to get the Anne Arundel County Council to adopt a FAir Election Fund this fall and ways you can help this important effort! RSVP here.

Progressive Baltimore County 

Contact Zach for updates and how to get involved in local campaigns. 

Progressive Harford County 

Thank you to everyone who has joined the Progressive Harford County committee meetings over the last few weeks. We have one more committee that’s getting up and running — the field committee. Please join an important zoom meeting this Thursday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. to talk about the work of this Committee. At this meeting we will  start to establish the goals and activities of the field group which will be responsible for a grassroots voter and constituent contact program.

Progressive Montgomery:

We’d love to have a contingent of MoCo PM activists attend the Welcome Back Congress Rally or the action at PhRMA in the morning. Contact [email protected] if you’re interested. 

State and National News:  

(From People’s Action) -- ​​​​It’s Corporations vs The People and it’s the fight of the moment! Here’s yet another article highlighting what’s underway in these final moments: K Street counting on Senate to pare back Democrats’ tax plan: Lobbyists for business interests are confident they can fight off parts of House tax proposal they find most threatening.

The next few weeks are going to be important! This is the make or break moment for passing once-in-a-lifetime resources for people and communities through the $3.5T Budget Reconciliation package. Need a reminder of what’s at stake? Here are talking points on Build Back Better from the Biden Administration and here’s the document we put together on What’s At Stake This Fall. Biden’s “entire presidential agenda” is riding on the reconciliation bill being crafted in Congress right now, NYT’s Jim Tankersley writes in a sweeping step-back piece. And, here's a good one on how Liberals get ready to grab wheel of Dem agenda. Rep Pramila Jayapal, the Congressional Progressive Caucus' chief, says more than half her 96-member group is willing to block the Senate-passed infrastructure bill later this month without a separate party-line measure.

WHAT'S HAPPENING: MOVING FORWARD: INFRASTRUCTURE & RECONCILIATION

-Politico Playbook laid out what’s in store quite well: The debt limit and Continuing Resolution (CR): The House will move next week to suspend the debt limit. That means the looming standoff with the GOP — with neither side blinking (yet) — is coming to a head very soon. Also next week, they’ll seek to avert a government shutdown by taking up a continuing resolution linked to supplemental funding for storm disaster relief and Afghan evacuee resettlement. No word on whether Dems will link the two bills, though, or on how long they’d suspend the debt limit. Caitlin Emma has more

-The House will vote next week on a measure to stave off a U.S. debt default, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said last week, although it’s unclear if Democrats will pair that with a stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

-Democrats aim for maximum pressure on GOP over debt ceiling Senate Democrats are widely expected to package legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling with a government funding measure, an effort aimed at putting maximum pressure on Republicans to support raising the borrowing limit or risk blame for a government shutdown. Read the full story here

The bipartisan infrastructure bill: The chamber will take up the Senate-passed bill Sept. 27, sticking to Speaker NANCY PELOSI’s promise to moderate Dems that she’d hold a vote by then.

The reconciliation bill: Hoyer didn’t lay out a specific date for movement on Democrats’ massive spending bill, which progressives have said must pass in order to win their votes on the BIF. But Hoyer said it would happen “this work period.”

Events From Our Allies:  

TONIGHT 6-8pm EST: MAT Act Refresher & Textbank with People’s Action

 

Event from Our Revolution and Declaration for American Democracy: Join us for our Freedom to Vote Town Hall Tonight at 8:30p EST.

 

This Week From Union City:

Affordable Housing in DC During (and after) the Pandemic

Wednesday, September 22, 1:00pm – 2:30pm

The Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor and the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative invite you to a virtual conversation: Register Now

  

Labor on the Bimah: 6th & I, Washington, DC

Thursday, September 23, 7pm – 9pm

Virtual service; Details here.

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Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:

We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design etc. to be published on our website to the blog moderator, Woody, at [email protected].  

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, September 13,, 2021

September 10, 2021 Eviction risk sharpens as rental assistance flags in Maryland, nationally

The last protections against eviction during the still-raging pandemic have fallen in many states, Maryland included. How did the feds' $46 billion in assistance get bogged down? We hear about it from Maryland Matters (our state failure) and The New York Times about today's bleak landscape and, well, supply chain issues plus appalling factors like "the reluctance of local officials to ease eligibility requirements for the poor.

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Tuesday, September 7, 2021

August 31, 2021  BRIDGES Coalition launches Campaign Advocating for Overdose Prevention Sites

The BRIDGES Coalition launches the “Yes On My Block” Campaign to promote community support for overdose prevention sites (OPS) in Baltimore. The campaign launches on Overdose Awareness Day 2021 in recognition of the desperate need to support bold new strategies to save lives from overdose.


>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org.