Going to August Town Hall Meetings is the Most Important Thing NumbersUSA Members Can Do
If you tuned into one of the cable news channels or logged onto one of the online news services over the past two days, you were likely to see mobs of angry citizens confronting their Congressmen over the proposed healthcare legislation. This is exactly the kind of dedication and energy we need from our NumbersUSA members this month on the immigration front.
As I read through the comments to Roy’s blogs last week analyzing the immigration amendment votes, I found lots of anger and resentment directed towards your elected officials.
“This is madness! What do we do next?”
-- Barbara3466 of CA“I have been contacting my senators, congressman, the president on a regular basis by phone, letter, email, fax. What now?
-- Rhonda1239 of TX“I do call and write constantly, but my Reps are on board with E-Verify, no amnesty no healthcare for illegal aliens, a fence along the border, and prosecution for illegal aliens that break the law.
I send e-mails to POTUS, to Congressmen of other states, and they are ignored.”
-- Beverly4527 of AL“How many letters can you write? How many faxes? And yet they vote and do as they please not what the people want but just what they want.”
-- Marlynn9388 of WA
First, do not get discouraged regardless of the outcome to any vote. Keep faxing! Keep writing! Keep calling! Your Members of Congress work for you, not the party leadership, and you need to keep the pressure on.
You’ll continue to find faxes, phone notes and grade cards to send to your Reps, but you don’t have to rely just on the Action Buffet. Also on our website is the contact information for every Member of Congress.
Second, although NumbersUSA takes no position on healthcare, we do take a strong stand against American tax dollars funding the healthcare for illegal aliens. You need to urge your Members to make sure that no illegal aliens receive coverage under the plan.
Your Members may tell you that illegal aliens are excluded from coverage. They’ll say that Section 246 of the House bill reads, “Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”
But, federal law also prohibits illegal aliens from working in the United States, and still, according to the Pew Hispanic Center more than 8 million illegal aliens hold legitimate jobs in the U.S.
Without the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program that’s used by the states in determining eligibility for other welfare benefits, illegal aliens WILL be able to obtain healthcare under the proposed bill. Furthermore, the bill requires states to automatically enroll Medicaid individuals into the new government plan. Medicaid does not require a verification system and many states simply require a signed affidavit as proof of citizenship. So, illegal aliens already on Medicaid will automatically receive benefits under the new bill without any questions asked.
You must urge your Members to include verification in the bill.
So, what else can you do?
“Storm your town hall meetings in protest over this…
-- William4435 of TX“We had 3,500 attend the 4th of July tea party in Ventura, California. Nothing comes even close to that size since the Vietnam War. If we join forces with our local tea party members and protest out side our congress and senate Reps. office they will get the message!
-- Kenneth8533 of CA
For the next month, your Reps will be in their home districts. The most important thing you can do is get in front of them and tell them not to allow benefits to illegal aliens. Go to Town Hall Meetings. Call their local offices (again, you can find addresses and telephone numbers on our website) and schedule an appointment with your Rep.
“Can you furnish the schedules of the Congressmen who will be speaking during their "vacation"?”
-- Reva5249 of TX
We absolutely can, and we already are. Monday, we sent out eight alerts to NumbersUSA members whose Reps were holding Town Hall Meetings, and yesterday we sent another 10. We’ll continue to send more alerts over the next four weeks telling you when and where your Reps will be. We have a list of scheduled events for many Reps, but we don’t have a complete list. So we still encourage you to call your Reps and find out where you can talk to them in person.
The open-borders groups are organizing trips to Town Hall Meetings and district offices across the country. Make sure they're not the only voices being heard!
CHRIS CHMIELENSKI is the Website Content Manager for NumbersUSA