Congress is back and we are stepping up the  Build Back Better campaign! We can’t let a few conservative Democrats stand in the way of a plan that will  enact $3.5 trillion dollars of funding for much needed investments in Medicare expansion, community health programs, green jobs, paid family leave, and the framework that will create a path to citizenship for those who need it. Let’s remind Congress as we did last week at the Welcome Back rally that they work for us, not for Big Pharma, the U.S.Chamber of Commerce and Big Oil. Join the fight!  More on this in our updates and news sections below.

Congress at a gallop... infrastructure, reconciliation: PM Weekly Memo for Monday, September 27, 2021

Congress is back and we are stepping up the  Build Back Better campaign! We can’t let a few conservative Democrats stand in the way of a plan that will  enact $3.5 trillion dollars of funding for much needed investments in Medicare expansion, community health programs, green jobs, paid family leave, and the framework that will create a path to citizenship for those who need it. Let’s remind Congress as we did last week at the Welcome Back rally that they work for us, not for Big Pharma, the U.S.Chamber of Commerce and Big Oil. Join the fight!  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. 

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Join PM:

We rely on members like you to fuel the fight for justice!

 Progressive Maryland supports policies, programs and the kind of movement  politics that will build a more just and inclusive state. We organize to win positive changes to our economic and education systems, to the state’s approach  to environmental protection and public safety, and to the cause of racial, immigrant, and gender justice. We do this to support everyday Marylanders and all of our communities. Help us do this work--become a financial supporter and a PM member.

Our members contribute, door knock, text bank, volunteer, make phone calls, leaflet,  lead task forces, support events, attend lobby meetings and help run our Chapters. 

Members make a difference! 

Please think about becoming a member of Progressive Maryland.

Some benefits of membership include:

• Attend local chapter meeting and events
• Engage in statewide task forces

• Take active volunteer roles in issue and political campaigns

• Participate in organizing trainings and leadership development programs

• Vote and/or run for our Board of Directors

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: 

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 Monday, October 11th 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’ll talk about key issues facing Howard County like the often overlooked but important Zoning and Land Use problem. RSVP by CLICKING HERE.

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

• Donating to The New Era PAC here

• Volunteering to to help The New Era PAC here

• Forwarding this invitation and information to your own networks!

Drug Policy Campaign

Did you miss our powerful Stories from the Overdose Crisis event earlier this month? View the recording here.

Recent news: Number of deaths from prescription opioids in Maryland could become higher than those from heroin. This sad development  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. Email Jesse if you want to get involved. [email protected] 

Healthcare Justice Campaign

Fight to Expand Healthcare:

Make phone calls to expand Medicare!  Now is the time for Congress to pass the Budget Resolution, the Build Back Better Act, which will add dental, vision, and hearing benefits to Medicare;  lower prescription drug costs through Rx price negotiations; and lower the eligibility age to 60. Some Members of Congress are trying to delay or stop a vote on this by forcing a vote on infrastructure ahead of the budget deal. We need to tell our Members of Congress to vote NO on that deal until/unless the Build Back Better Act is brought to the floor for a vote. Stand up to corporate lies about the plan and  interference in the budget process. Sign up to call fellow Marylanders. phone 2 action. Questions? Contact Malcolm or Patty.

Fight COVID:

The delta variant has hit us hard these past few months. We’re still in a challenging place with this pandemic and more needs to be done to get us through. During the past year and a half  we’ve seen how important it is to rely on expertise and experience and on a strong public sector and community response to help us deal with COVID.  This is a good time to bolster our connections and to work together to save lives and help those in need. Please come to our community conversation to learn more about where we are with COVID-19. We’ll get together  tomorrow night, Tuesday Sept. 28, at 6:30pm - RSVP here.

Local Chapter Updates:

Anne Arundel Fair Elections

Our Anne Arundel Fair Elections Taskforce will be meeting this 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 

Join Progressive Harford County during a virtual phonebank tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 28 to help register voters. The phonebank is part of a new initiative called Project Register to Win that aims to register new potential Democrats in Harford County and across the state.

Progressive Montgomery:

Interested in joining our environmental justice or election work groups? We’d love to have a contingent of MoCo PM activists involved. the. Contact [email protected] if you’re interested. 

State and National News:  

Dateline Washington, D.C.- The goal is to go big in Congress -- right now -- because the US, richest of rich counties, has so many unmet human and public-service needs and such a wide inequality gap stemming not only from Trump’s tax cuts but from decades of  unfair tax cuts for the rich and racist economic and social policies.  Justice is long overdue and interest has accumulated.

People’s Action tells us this [Monday] morning  “More than 150 organizations (including People’s Action and many of you!) [have] released an urgent letter to Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats reaffirming the necessity of passing President Biden's full Build Back Better agenda with both Reconciliation and Infrastructure moving together.  Here's the full letter: (PDF Including list of signers online here.) 

But what’s in it? The latest is “House Budget Committee advanced the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending plan... in a 20-17 vote on Saturday afternoon, piecing together the chunks of legislation approved by 13 House committees earlier this month, and it now heads to the House Rules Committee where leadership is expected to make further changes to the measure before it’s brought to a vote in the lower chamber ” as Sondra Youdelman of PA writes. See more in The Hill. No doubt there are roadblocks, as everyone is writing in the MSM that Democrats are in squabble mode, and this morning’s (Monday’s) Politico Playbook includes the usual muttering about how the White House should be bigfooting the process and whipping votes. 

In order to win, all these (bickering) players need to hear from everyday Americans so here are some tools, dates, and resources from People’s Action: 

WEDNESDAY 9/29: Game on! We’re doing our Build Back Battle: Corporations vs The People on Wednesday, 9/29. At least 25 groups in the network are planning to participate - either with physical actions at the doorstep of a corporation in their own state, or by releasing the report we’re releasing in state. We hope EVERYONE will support with social media amplification. Here’s a document with all the support materials you’ll need to help to amplify. There’s also a social media toolkit, an email and Phone2Action portal to send out, as well as graphics to pull from.

And in Maryland: Dateline Annapolis- and Statewide Today: PUBLIC SCHOOLS FACE BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE: Many counties in Maryland are still seeing impacted school bus routes as they face a shortage of drivers. SWEEPING POLICE REFORMS BEGIN TO GO INTO EFFECT FRIDAY: Soon, when someone dies at the hands of police in Maryland, a new team of independent investigators will show up at the scene and sort out what happened. And when misconduct complaints are made against officers, they will be public. The changes are part of the sweeping police reform laws passed by the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year that begin to go into effect Friday. Jessica Anderson and Pamela Wood report in the Baltimore Sun.

Last week’s highlights and outrages...

STATE LAWMAKERS JUGGLE FED FUND SHORTFALL, INCLUDING FOR SCHOOLS -- The state will need to cover more than $1 billion in spending that federal pandemic aid was initially going to provide. And state lawmakers (per WYPR) pressed budget officials last Wednesday afternoon on whether they’ll use federal dollars to help school systems dealing with staff shortages, Pamela Wood of the Sun outlines the players and playbook for adjustments.

DUELING REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS, one from Gov. Hogan and the other from the Assembly, present contrasts, Josh Kurtz notes in a Maryland Matters analysis. REPORT: ARPA FUNDS KEPT 729,000 MARYLANDERS FROM POVERTY: Capital News Service reports that the American Rescue Plan and other emergency measures kept an estimated 729,000 Marylanders out of poverty this year, according to a recent congressional report. It may not last, however.

 Events From Our Allies:  

Police Reform in Maryland and MoCo

Monday, September 27th at 7pm (Eastern) New laws affecting policing in Maryland go into effect on October 1, 2021. Find out all you meed to know about the new laws, how they are being implemented in Montgomery County, and how they differ at the State and County levels. Speakers: Senator Will Smith (D20), Chair MD Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Montgomery County Councilmember At- large Will Jawando Nina Salazar, co-chair, Montgomery County Policing Advisory Commission Dalbun Osorio, co-chair, Montgomery County Policing Advisory Commission

Register at https://bit.ly/dtmg-police-reform to get the Zoom link!

From our friends at CASA:

Stop Maryland Evictions: Sleep Out Action Friday Oct. 1 6:00

There’s an urgent need for Maryland leadership to immediately implement emergency protections for tenants facing eviction. We will call on Governor Hogan to implement protections for renters and the Maryland legislature to pass tenant protections next session. CASA members, and thousands of tenant families are on the verge of eviction. 

Where: Annapolis 

• 6-8 PM (Oct 1), Lawyers Mall (100 State Circle, Annapolis MD 21401) - Rally 
• 8 PM - Overnight (Oct 1), St. Anne's Parish (Church Circle, Annapolis MD 21401) - Sleepout, tenant organizing, legislator visits, and more
• 9:30 AM (Oct 2), St. Anne's Parish - Closing Activities

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Abortion Justice, #Defend Abortion Events 

Saturday October  2 Washington, D.C.  

https://womensmarch.com/oct-2021-march

Annapolis

#Defend Abortion Rally 

https://act.womensmarch.com/event/oct-2-2021-march/1267/

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.