Galentine’s Day Calls to Congress 

Galentine’s Day — a holiday brought to us by the beloved Leslie Knope on the TV show Parks and Recreation — is an event where you celebrate your friends before you celebrate your partner on Valentine’s Day. We think there’s no better way to celebrate your feminist friends than by calling Congress and advocating for their rights!  

Select the bill or issue most important to you from the list below — or call about them all. Join us in flooding the phones of Congress on Friday, February 13. Make your voices heard! 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121; a list of Representatives appears here: https://www.house.gov/representatives . You can also go to their websites and send a message, or call their in-state office phone number and leave your message.  

Here’s a list of House bills that demand action NOW: 

Pass the DEFIANCE Act 

  • Now that DEFIANCE has passed the Senate unanimously, it’s time for it to hit the House floor for a final vote! Let’s get it over the finish line! 
  • The DEFIANCE Act is a federal bill addressing AI-generated explicit materials, also known as deepfake pornography.  
  • It will create a civil right of action for victims to seek justice against perpetrators who created, shared, published, or solicited AI-generated explicit materials. 
  • AI-generated explicit materials violate victims’ consent, privacy, and autonomy.  
  • These images cause immense mental trauma as well as severe harm, including loss of employment, damaged reputation, and an increased risk of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. 
  • Currently, there are NO federal laws that allow victims to hold perpetrators of deepfake pornography accountable. In other words, victims do not have a civil right of action. 

Let your representative know that we want them to vote YES on DEFIANCE and get victims of deepfakes the right of action they deserve! 

Investigate ICE’s effects on women and children 

NOW and the Gender Equity Coalition have sent a letter to Congress asking it to rein in the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and to investigate the effects of ICE’s recent enforcement actions on women and children.  

We’re also urging Congress to exercise its constitutional oversight and funding authority to: 

  • Ensure an end to ICE/CBP surge deployments nationwide. 
  • Halt ICE and CBP funding, until enforceable restrictions conditioned on compliance with civil rights, medical standards, and due process are in place. 
  • Mandate policy changes to restore “sensitive location” protections and end tactics that target pregnant and postpartum people, children, and caregivers. 
  • Claw back over $170 billion in Department of Homeland Security funds to reverse cuts made to healthcare, SNAP, childcare, and public education. 
  • Tell your Representative that women and children must be protected from the out-of-control actions of ICE and CBP—not one more dime! 

Epstein Files: Pam Bondi must be held accountable 

  • After this week’s hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, it’s clear that Attorney General Pam Bondi has no respect for the victims exposed in the Epstein files.  
  • Her refusal to prosecute perpetrators, disdain for victims, and blatant contempt for any kind of oversight must be stopped.  
  • Tell your representative that Pam Bondi must be held accountable to Congress and to the nation—the Epstein files MUST become the Epstein TRIALS! 

SENATE 

The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121; a list of senators appears here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/. You can also go to their websites and send a message, or call their in-state office phone number and leave your message.  

Here is a list of Senate bills that demand action NOW: 

Stop the SAVE America Act 

  • The SAVE America Act (HR 7296) is yet another iteration of the SAVE Act with a new name. But we know what they’re doing – and we need to act now to stop them! 
  • BACKGROUND: The SAVE America Act would require all eligible Americans to provide proof of citizenship by presenting a passport or birth certificate when registering to vote. This is in addition to state voter ID laws already in place.  

Why this is an issue:   

  • More than half of American citizens do not have a passport. Elderly Americans are least likely to have a passport.   
  • Many other Americans do not have readily available access to their birth certificates, including millions of women who do not have birth certificates with their current legal name.   
  • The SAVE Act would upend online voter registration (a practice in 42 states), make it impossible for Americans to register to vote by mail, and stop voter registration drives nationwide.   
  • Married Women: Surveys also show that 8 in 10 married women have changed their surname, meaning they do not possess a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. They would face additional hurdles to voting compared to their spouses.  

After passing the House on Wednesday, this bill is headed to the Senate, where it must be STOPPED! Call your Senators today and tell them they must vote NO on the SAVE America Act!