February, 21 2017, 01:00pm EDT
Thousands of Constituents to Join 'Resistance Recess' At Town Halls Nationwide
More than 200 actions are planned nationwide at Congressional town halls and at “constituent town halls” where elected officials won’t hold meetings.
As Congress takes its first recess of the Trump presidency, thousands of constituents nationwide will join the "Resistance Recess," a nationwide week of action with more than 200 events taking place at elected officials' town halls and public appearances, or at self-organized "constituent town halls" in districts where Congressional leaders are refusing to hold face-to-face meetings.
Nationwide, constituents are demanding answers from members of Congress to questions around Trump's dangerous agenda--from whether they'll pledge to protect and improve health care (instead of stripping it from millions of Americans) to how they will stop the unconstitutional actions of the White House, including the Muslim ban.
Constituents are also demanding Democrats lead a full-on resistance to Trump's agenda--fighting for an immediate, independent investigation into Trump's ties to Russia, rejecting his Supreme Court nominee, working to overturn his racist and xenophobic attacks on immigrants, and using every available tool to block his toxic agenda that would bankrupt our nation and divide our communities for the benefit of billionaires and corporations.
WHAT: "Resistance Recess" actions nationwide outside Congressional town halls, meet and greets - and at "constituent town halls" where elected officials are refusing public meetings.
WHEN/WHERE: Feb. 18-26, 2017, nationwide. Find local actions at ResistanceRecess.com.
RSVP: Please email press@moveon.org to confirm attendance or for more details.
The Resistance Recess is a grassroots movement being supporting by MoveOn.org Civic Action and several partners, including DailyKos.
The actions are focused on ensuring Republican leaders understand the majority of Americans oppose Trump's agenda, and on ensuring Democrats understand that progressives demand full-on resistance to his agenda. According to reports, more than 200 Republican members of Congress aren't holding public events during this recess.
"Next week's recess is our biggest opportunity yet to make sure that Republicans who side with Trump are held accountable and that Democrats understand that using every single tool at their disposal to block Trump's toxic agenda is not just justified, but absolutely necessary for our democracy--and our most cherished values--to survive the Trump era," said MoveOn.org Organizing Director Victoria Kaplan.
"Mount Krakatoa didn't have as much energy as the grassroots eruption set off by Donald Trump," said MoveOn.org Washington Director Ben Wikler. "Voters are thronging the streets, flooding Capitol Hill phone lines, and, next week, they'll be packing into every town hall event in the country. And the resistance is working. Democrats are showing spine, voting in unprecedented numbers against extremist and unqualified cabinet nominees Meanwhile, Republicans who had planned to repeal the Affordable Care Act by January 20 are now in total disarray. And leaders in both parties are starting to recognize that Trump and his team's actions on national security, especially with regard to Russia, are dangerous, potentially unconstitutional, and in urgent need of public investigation."
MoveOn is where millions mobilize for a better society--one where everyone can thrive. Whether it's supporting a candidate, passing legislation, or changing our culture, MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. We envision a world marked by equality, sustainability, justice, and love. And we mobilize together to achieve it.
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Trump's 9 New Prescription Drug Deals 'No Substitute' for Systemic Reform
"Patients are overwhelmingly calling on Congress to do more to lower prescription drug prices by holding Big Pharma accountable and addressing the root causes of high drug prices," said one campaigner.
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"Starting next year, American drug prices will come down fast and furious and will soon be the lowest in the developed world," President Donald Trump claimed Friday as the White House announced agreements with nine pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The administration struck most favored nation (MFN) pricing deals with Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. The president—who has launched the related TrumpRx.gov—previously reached agreements with AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer.
"The White House said it has made MFN deals with 14 of the 17 biggest drug manufacturers in the world," CBS News noted Friday. "The three drugmakers that were not part of the announcement are AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, and Regeneron, but the president said that deals involving the remaining three could be announced at another time."
However, as Trump and congressional Republicans move to kick millions of Americans off of Medicaid and potentially leave millions more uninsured because they can't afford skyrocketing premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, some critics suggested that the new drug deals with Big Pharma are far from enough.
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As the New York Times reported Friday:
Drugs that will be made available in this way include Amgen's Repatha, for lowering cholesterol, at $239 a month; GSK's asthma inhaler, Advair Diskus, at $89 a month; and Merck's diabetes medication Januvia, at $100 a month.
Many of these drugs are nearing the end of their patent protection, meaning that the arrival of low-cost generic competition would soon have prompted manufacturers to lower their prices.
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Jayapal reintroduced the Medicare for All Act in April with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The senator said Friday that some of his top priorities in 2026 will be campaign finance reform, income and wealth inequality, the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence, and Medicare for All.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, Jordanian warplanes also took part in Friday's attacks, which reportedly hit more than 70 targets in Syria.
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US House Committee on the Budget Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), who is part of the New Democrat Coalition, said: "I welcome this op-ed by Mitt Romney and encourage people to read it. As the next chair of the House Budget Committee, increasing revenue by closing loopholes exploited by the wealthiest Americans will be a top priority."
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Michael Linden, a senior policy fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, said: "Kudos to Mitt Romney for changing his mind and calling for higher taxes on the rich. I'm not going to nitpick his op-ed (though there are a few things I disagree with), because the gist of it is right: We need real tax reform to make the rich pay more."
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The obvious news of the op-ed is that we've reached a point in which even American politics' very own Gordon Gekko—a private equity mogul-turned-Republican politician—is now admitting the tax system has been rigged for his fellow oligarchs.
And, hey, that's good. I believe in the politics of addition. I believe in welcoming converts to good causes in the spirit of "better late than never." I believe there should be space for people to change their views for the better. And I appreciate Romney offering at least some pro forma explanation about what allegedly changed his thinking (sidenote: I say "allegedly" because it's not like Romney only just now learned that the tax system was rigged—he was literally a co-founder of Bain Capital!).
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