Social Justice Advocates

Social Justice Advocates are asking for you to take action to write to your representatives for this very important legislation consideration.

Dear church family,

Our church’s Social Justice Advocates is asking you to write to senators in our state and other states urging the passage of this bill. We are providing a sample text you can use. If you prefer to send a postcard, the church is providing a small stack of them on our bulletin board in Fellowship Hall for your use.

Our faith requires us to support freedoms for ALL people, and this Bill addresses many current problems, like gerrymandering, voting rights and opportunities, and much more. Below is the summary. The entire 800+ page Bill can be viewed at govtrack.us. The House passed HR.1 on March 3. It has now gone to the Senate, and will be discussed in committee on March 24th. To contact any senator, search for “contact senators”, find their state, and follow to their email and mailing address.

For the People Act of 2021, S.1 for the Senate version, and HR1, for the House version;

This bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government.

Specifically, the bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It also limits removing voters from voter rolls.

The bill requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting.

Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.

Further, the bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices.

The bill addresses ethics in all three branches of government, including by requiring a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices, prohibiting Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, and establishing additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.

The bill requires the President, the Vice President, and certain candidates for those offices to disclose 10 years of tax returns.

 

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Senator,

I urge you to co-sponsor and support S.1, the For the People Act, to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes. As a person of faith, I think this is an important piece of legislation.

Sincerely,

Name Name

Member, Congregational Church of Algonquin

Address

Address

Hint: you can use a return address label under the church name.

 
HERE ARE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
 

Illinois Senators:    Sen. Richard Durbin              Sen. Tammy Duckworth

                               711 Hart Senate Bldg.           524 Hart Senate Bldg.

                                Washington, D.C. 20510      Washington, D.C., 20510

 

Other possible choices:

                                Sen. Joe Manchin                 Sen. Mitt Romney

                                    306 Hart Senate Bldg.          124 Russell Senate Bldg.

                                    Washington, D.C., 20510      Washington, D.C., 20510

 

Sen. Rob Portman               Sen. Kevin Cramer               Sen. Susan Collins

448 Russell Senate Bldg.    400 Russell Senate Bldg.      413 Dirksen Senate Bldg.

Washington, D.C., 20510     Washington, D.C., 20510      Washington, D.C., 20510

 

Sen. Joni Ernst                             Sen. John Boozman

111 Russell Senate Bldg.              141 Hart Senate Bldg.

Washington, D.C., 20510           Washington, D.C. 20510  

 
 
 
 
Our church is concerned about justice for Americans and people throughout the world, and we feel called by God to take action. Because of this, we seek to find ways to inform ourselves and others of situations involving justice. At times we feel the need to protest against injustice or to try in other ways to influence politicians to create laws which help make a more just government. We gather to support each other at Social Justice Advocates, which meets two Monday mornings a month. We also provide a Round Table Discussion monthly on Sunday mornings on a variety of relevant issues. All are welcome to join in the discussion with respect for others with different opinions. Specific dates can be found on the church calendar. 
 

Social Justice Advocates meets:

via Zoom, please contact the Church Office for specifics
 
 
We asked our congregation, “what are you doing to make a difference in the environment?”  We got a very long list of ways that our church family is making changes.  We included things we are doing to make a difference at our church building too.  To view the entire list, click on this link:
 
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