Okay, the first installment of the new regular post is a wee bit late. I blame Bastille Day! If you’ve ever been in France on 14 July, then you know it is a bit like the Fourth here, but will a “ball” at your local fire house and this year for added enjoyment an extra large gilet jaunes protest. Somewhere my dear departed mother is smiling in smug knowingness.

Well, this week is a lesson in why I shouldn’t be late with this post ever again — I’ll be late again — because there are three important votes coming up on Wednesday and Thursday. Read about them below. Follow the links to find out more including suggested calling scripts about each of the issues and bills and amendments on this week’s list.

Information on how to find the contact information for your member of Congress (MoC) is listed after the issues.

Barr and Ross Contempt Vote WEDNESDAY

A vote to hold AG Bill Barr-the-Door and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Elmer Fudd Ross in contempt of Congress for stonewalling investigations of administration Tom Fuckery will be held Wednesday 16 July by the full House. If you are as frustrated as I am by the lack of progress by the House in their investigations, get on your phone and tell your Representative to hold these two mo’fo’s and all the others in contempt. Fine and imprison they dumb asses! Fuck this shit, man! Fuck this.

Protect the IG’s Act Vote WEDNESDAY

The Inspectors General Protection Act comes to a vote in the House on Wednesday 17 July. This bill will require that the administration to notify Congress when an IG’s office has been vacant, i.e. non-acting non-permanent, for longer than 210 days AND the reasons no one has been nominated (it answers the Ol’ Pussy Grabber’s LIE that the reason his admin is so understaffed is Dem delay on confirming nominations!) AND a target date for a nominee. In addition, if a inspectors general status changes, the admin has 30 days to inform Congress.

This act puts more oversight and structure into the inspectors general offices across the board. Since the Ol’ Pussy Grabber has no executive functioning, he can’t structure his own time or existence. He needs help. This is Congress making an accommodation just like our nation’s teachers do for all of our students who have executive dysfunction and can’t do it independently.

Before you start thinking this is an unimportant issue that with all of the other vacant and temporary and acting members of the administration, inspectors general provide oversight for federal agencies ensuring that laws and ethical guidelines are followed and that our tax dollars are well spent. Remember the likes of Scott Pruitt, Tom Price, and Ryan Zinke? All of them brought down by an IG’s investigation into their misdeeds. There are 73 IG’s in total some of whom are Senate confirmed. Right now there are 12 agencies without a permanent IG including the Department of Homeland Security. If ever there were an administration in need of oversight, it is this one. It is worth the call to get the bill passed in the House and force the Repube Senate to decline to take it up.

Raising the Fed Minimum Wage Vote THURSDAY

Raise the Wage Act of 2019 comes to a vote in the House on Thursday 18 July. Call your Representative to let them know you want the federal minimum wage raised. The bill raises the minimum wage by one dollar each year until it reaches $15.00 per hour — that would be in 2024 if math ain’t your thing, or you don’t know the current fed minimum. After 2024 the federal minimum would be indexed to median wage growth. It also gradually eliminates sub-minimum wage jobs. You know, the ones that “introduce” workers to the world of exploitative work, tipped workers, and others. Sounds like a pretty good bill and one that most Repubes will oppose and the Ol’ Pussy Grabber will veto and a pretty damn good reason to work our asses off to elect a Dem-led government in November 2020.

Impeachment Investigation

An Impeachment Resolution by Rashida Tlaib is currently floating around the House — don’t ask me, to my great shame I don’t know in what ether or form these bills take until they are before the a committee or on the floor for debate — calling for an impeachment investigation to begin. Surprisingly, there are few MoC who are co-sponsors or supporting it. Call yours and demand that they do! Remind them that Mueller stated, if we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.

Indivisible also has other suggestions for upping the ante on your Representative: (a) write an email to follow your call; (b) write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (or one of the national ones, it can’t hurt, amirite?), and (c) tag your Representative on a social media post.

Stop the Impending War with Iran

Stop war with Iran! There are two bills of interest here. First is the aptly named, Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act of 2019, and the Khana-Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. They both do essentially the same thing, prevent any funding for military action against Iran unless directly authorized by Congress (with exceptions for defensive actions due to imminent threat and excluding other military actions like cyberwarfare.

The Prevention of War Act is a stand alone bill and honestly it is not likely to get beyond the House in a purely partisan vote. It will, however, put Repubes on record with regard to authorizing war.

The Khana-Gaetz amendment — I’m still trying to wrap my head around Rep Florida Man Gaetz co-sponsoring this bill kinda like a drunk driver wraps his car around a tree or telephone pole. But, I guess God protects drunks and small children and this is just an example of a drunk getting something right, amirite? Anywho, this one is important because it is attached to the National Defense Authorization Act which funds the US military for the next fiscal year. The Senate has to vote on it, and these bills are rarely vetoed.

It has been passed by the House already, so it now moves to the Senate. We need to pressure Senators to support the amendment. Given that Gaetz is a co-sponsor, there is Repube support for reining in endless war.

Contacting your Member of Congress

Here’s how to contact you’re member of Congress (MoC):

• Call My Congress: Uses your zip code to locate your Congressional Representative and your Senators. And, it returns phone numbers, tweeter handle, party affiliation, voting record, and link to C-Span appearances!
• 5 Calls: Sign-up for 5 Calls because it is a service that will help you contact your Congressional representatives and keep you abreast of on going issues that are important to you! Now, that is a good deal.
• The Capital Hill Switchboard: (202) 224-3121.