(Please let us know if you feel these Action Items emails are clouding things with too much explanation, or if you’d like any other changes to the way I’ve been doing this.)  

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Support the right of our troops to disobey illegal orders 
2. Stop the buildup to war with Venezuela 
3. Quit Spotify until they quit broadcasting ICE recruitment ads 
4. Two Maine-specific anti-ICE Actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

Actions 

1) Support the right of our troops to disobey illegal orders:  

         Defiance.org is a fairly new organization co-founded by Miles Taylor, ex-DHS Chief of Staff during the first Trump administration and the author of the 2018 New York Times op-ed titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” which he wrote under the name “Anonymous” (in 2020, while campaigning against Trump’s reelection, he revealed that he was “Anonymous.” 

        Defiance.org, in partnership with WhistleblowerAid.org, has launched Phase One of what it planned to be an ongoing effort to help members of our military obey lawful orders, recognize manifestly illegal ones, and know where to turn to understand the difference.  This campaign includes: 

• Geo-targeted public service announcements, online and via social media 
• Billboards near key U.S. military installations 
• Information about confidential, independent support available through Whistleblower Aid, a trusted nonprofit that offers legal intake and case support for servicemembers and government officials 
• A volunteer-driven push to distribute information in military communities nationwide 

We can help with that last part. Defiance.org has: 

• Downloadable posters that we can distribute in our communities and/or near military hubs – Bases, Recruitment Centers, MEPs, ROTC Units, National Guard + Reserve Centers, etc. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DO2ah0f4c_DoxQ4FnVhcX3L4ecvJCfR3/view) 
• Downloadable wallet cards you can keep on you to share with military members when you cross paths (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K60TWTsKfVu2-8YM1ZAo-WXB4qOVrXoa/view)  
• A downloadable you can use to post about the campaign on social media (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K0pkOcrHd5SjdNv7Pp-KFazZh80ovRXB/view) 

2)  Stop the buildup to war with Venezuela: 

     Trump seems bound and determined to start a war between the U.S. and Venezuela. And it’s not about drugs, since Venezuela is not the origin of most of the drugs that are smuggled into our country. It’s about two things: distraction (from Trump’s incredibly low approval numbers and all the illegal things he’s been doing that people are starting to wake up to, not to mention the Epstein files—yes, let’s not forget those or let up on the pressure to make sure everything gets released) and oil. Trump is claiming that Venezuela stole oil from the U.S. What actually happened was that, after multiple foreign oil companies, including those from the U.S., moved in on and built up Venezuela’s oil industry, Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, taking control of the oil it produced. The assets taken back belonged to the oil companies, not the U.S. government. And that was almost 20 years ago. Old story and never since seen as crucial to the U.S. oil industry. Which brings us back around to: distraction. 

     The United States has no right to unilaterally shoot boats out of the water without legal justification. We have not declared war against Venezuela, nor is there justification for that, either. But Trump and wannabe soldier Pete Hegseth are itching to start a war, and they have to be stopped. Americans don’t want another years-long land war…or any other kind of war. 

     So far, bipartisan legislative attempts to prevent unauthorized war or military action with Venezuela have been voted down by Republicans in both houses of Congress. We need our congresspeople to step up and keep pushing for legislation that will put Congress back in the driver’s seat, where it belongs, when it comes to war efforts. Contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep. Golden to urge them to sponsor and/or support new bills to prevent any military action or attempted regime change in Venezuela unless authorized by Congress, as directed by the Constitution. 

3) Quit Spotify until they quit broadcasting ICE recruitment ads:  
    If you love Spotify Wrapped, please consider not posting as long as Spotify is still airing ICE recruitment ads. Instead, consider sharing posts about the campaign to boycott Spotify until these ads stop. https://app.sosha.ai/toolkit/spotify-wrapped-ice-trump-01aa 
 

4) Two Maine-specific anti-ICE Actions:

• Activate Maine has a toolkit to help us fight ICE in Maine: https://www.activatemaine.com/icetoolkit (Please note that they haven’t yet updated their website to delete the part about asking Governor Mills to allow LD 1971 to become law: She has already announced that she will not veto this bill in January, which means that it will become law.) 
• Get involved with the Maine ICE watch hotline: 
       Just as they say, “If you see something, say something,” follow this directive: “If you see ICE, report ICE.” According to News Center Maine, the ICE watch hotline “…functions like a community dispatch system. When someone calls in to report a possible ICE sighting, trained volunteers answer the phone. If the report involves a live ICE presence, two additional volunteers—called verifiers—are dispatched to the scene to confirm the sighting. Once verified, the information is quickly relayed through trusted networks to inform immigrant communities across the state.” The goal is to verify and monitor immigration enforcement activity and provide support resources such as legal assistance, immigrant support services, and community resources. No data from these calls is collected or stored, and all calls are encrypted for security. 
        If you see evidence of ICE activity, call 207-544-9989 (hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 6am – 9am and 5pm – 9pm). 

          You can also look into fighting ICE in Maine here: https://linktr.ee/noice4me 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Oppose the escalating illegal military action in the waters off the shore of Venezuela 
2. Protect transgender young people 
3. Protect the health and safety of American children 
4. Keep up the fight for science 
5. Maine-specific actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Oppose the escalating illegal military action in the waters off the shore of Venezuela: 

    First, contact Congressman Golden and thank him for voting for H.Con.Res.62, the House bill “To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.” Unfortunately, the bill failed, despite some Republicans crossing over to vote with the Democrats.  

   Yesterday, Senator Ruben Gallego introduced S.J.Res.100 – A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against vessels operating in the Caribbean Sea or the Eastern Pacific Ocean that have not been authorized by Congress. Contact Senators King and Collinsand urge them to co-sponsor this bill. While we’re at it, also ask them to support Sen. Adam Schiff in his push for unanimous consent for a bill requiring the administration to release the video of the Sept. 2 boat strikes. When the administration doesn’t want us to see something, that usually means we definitely ought to see it. And if crimes were committed, Pete Hegseth needs to be impeached and prosecuted.  

2) Protect transgender young people: 
    I apologize for being a bit behind the times recently. Life has been getting in the way. That said, the House passed H.R. 3492, the Protect Children’s Innocent Act, which will criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender young people (under 18). They also voted for H.R. 498, the bill titled “Do No Harm in Medicaid Act,” which aims to change the laws relating to Medicaid funding for procedures related to gender transition for minors, defined as individuals under the age of 18. The proposed legislation amends the Social Security Act, specifically targeting federal funding for certain medical procedures. 
     I, personally, an disgusted by these votes. Transgender folk are a very, very small percentage (about 1%) of the U.S. population, and gender-affirming surgeries are almost never done on young people under age 18.  Regardless how one feels about helping transgender children align their physical bodies with their gender identity, it seems to me that that sort of decision belongs with the child, the parents, and their doctor, not with the federal government. International guidelines already exist for treatment of transgender children; I don’t think laws criminalizing it are the best way to go. I will never understand why the Republicans are always so concerned with what’s inside a person’s underwear. 
    So we should contact Jared Golden to thank him for voting against these bills. But while we’re at it, we also need to let him know that the Republicans’ eleventh-hour healthcare plan is ridiculous. It includes all the anti-woman and anti-life issues they want to push, while including nothing that will help Americans actually be able to afford their healthcare. Tell Jared Golden to support Hakeem Jeffries’s bill extending the ACA premium tax credits. It’s not an ideal solution to the problems of our healthcare system, but it’s necessary for the time being. You can read about the GOP offering here.  
 

3) Protect the health and safety of American children: 
     The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including for initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early. The AAP has been a harsh critic of RFK Jr.’s chaotic and anti-science leadership of the HHS. “The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States,” said Mark Del Monte, AAP’s chief executive and executive vice president. Once again, the Trump administration is risking the health of millions of vulnerable youngsters just to teach the AAP a lesson—one which, so far, the AAP is refusing to learn. Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden to urge them to push back against this hostile removal of grant funds and demand the impeachment and removal of RFK., Jr. as Secretary of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. 
 

4) Keep up the fight for science: 
     Russell Vought, the extreme right-wing director of the Office of Management and Budget and one of the primary architects of Project 2025, has called the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions, “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” and said that the federal government would be “breaking up” the institution.  
     The National Center for Atmospheric Research is widely considered a global leader in both weather and climate change research, with programs aimed at tracking severe weather events, modeling floods and understanding how solar activity affects the Earth’s atmosphere. But Vought hates climate change, and Trump hates Colorado (he is furious that Colorado Governor Jared Polis has refused to pardon Tina Peters, the county clerk jailed for refusing to do her job of issuing a wedding permit to a same-sex couple—if I recall correctly), so here is another attack on the health of the planet and on the economy of a blue state.  
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Jared Golden and urge them to speak out against this destructive move. 
 

5) Maine-specific actions: 

1. Thank Governor Mills for making the decision to allow LD 1971 to become law. That is the law that prevents local Maine law enforcement from working with Federal agents like those from ICE and CBP in Federal anti-immigration enforcement. 
2. Support the National Popular Vote bill compact: 
        The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact was designed to base the election of the President on a one-person-one-vote basis, insuring that the Presidency would go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC. The “interstate compact” would go into effect among participating states only after they collectively represent an absolute majority of Electoral College votes (currently at least 270). Then, in each Presidential election, the participating states would award all of their electoral votes to the candidate with the largest national popular vote total across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a result, that candidate would win the presidency by securing a majority of votes in the Electoral College.  
        The compact bill has been enacted into law by 18 states with 209 electoral votes, including Maine. However, this was another bill that Janet Mills allowed to become law by neither signing it into law nor vetoing it when she had the chance (like the recent LD 1971 anti-ICE-collaborating law). Plenty of Maine GOP legislators want it repealed. We have to keep support for it alive (if you agree with it, of course!). 
        Contact your Maine state legislators and tell them how important the National Popular Vote bill is to you. 

     Your representatives in the state legislature depends on your district. Here are most local districts; if you live in a different district in Maine than those above, you can find your representatives here. 

–House District 11: Tiffany Strout (207- 598-7043 or email: Tiffany.Strout@legislature.maine.gov  ) 

–House District 12: Billy Bob Faulkingham (207-460-6967 or William.Faulkingham@legislature.maine.gov –he won’t be interested, but we should certainly annoy him as much as possible) 

— House District 13: Russell P. White (207- 460-6359 or email: Russell.White@legislature.maine.gov  ) 

— House District 14: Gary Friedmann (207-460-7362 or email: Gary.Friedmann@legislature.maine.gov ) 

— Senate District 6: Marianne Moore (home: 207-454-0501 or 207-952-2050; State House: 207-287-1505; email: Marianne.Moore@legislature.maine.gov) 

— Senate District 7: Nicole C. Grohoski (cell: 207-358-8333; State House: 207-287-1515; email: Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov ) 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

December 16th is Beethoven’s birthday. Something to celebrate.

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Push hard to stop gun violence 
2. Push back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies 
3. Impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 
4. Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act 
5. Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan 
6. Help save public lands 
7. Maine-specific Actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Push hard to stop gun violence: 

     Australia just saw a horrific mass shooting last weekend, and their government is already in action, preparing a special session in which they will tighten their gun laws. We need to do the same. In America, some forty-six thousand people die from gun violence every year and yet Congress keeps refusing to act. We need an assault weapons ban. We need universal background checks. We need safe storage laws. And we need the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which Trump shut down in his first week in office, to be reopened immediately. Nothing less will do. Gun people say, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” Well, these types of laws will limit the ability of people-killers and wannabe people-killers to kill innocent people. 

     Contact Senators King and Collins and House Representative Golden to urge them to stop pussyfooting around this issue and step up and start some serious lawmaking against the problems caused by guns in our country. 

2) Push back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies: 
     According to NBC news reports, in just the past few weeks, almost two dozen federal, state, and local officials have received a “surge” of violent threats for similar reasons — saying or doing something Trump didn’t like, resulting in his attacking them on TV or Truth Social. Right after that, the threats began. “Among those who’ve been targeted with threats after being mentioned in social media posts by the president are numerous Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan — but even more Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and over a dozen Indiana state lawmakers.” (NBC News) 
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden to demand that they stand up to Trump and demand that he tell his followers that regardless of his invective, no death threats or other threats promising physical harm of any kind are acceptable and perpetrators will be arrested and investigated. Or, obviously, put this any way you want to express it. 

3) Impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: 

         Congressman Shri Thanedar (MI-13) has introduced two articles of impeachment (H.Res.935) against Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, for the following charges: 

     –Murder and Conspiracy to Murder

     –Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information

     Contact Congressman Jared Golden to ask him to support this resolution to impeach Pete Hegseth. We simply can’t have an army-playing clown like Hegseth in control of the U.S. military.

4) Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act: 
     Last week, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), along with Representatives Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR), introduced legislation to give organic producers tools to increase capacity, modernize their operations, and expand their businesses to meet growing demand. permanent program to equip organic farmers and producers to grow their businesses and meet rising demand. Contact Senator Susan Collins to thank her, and contact Senator Angus King to ask him to support this act. 
 

5) Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan: 
    Last week, the Trump administration announced that it will provide $12 billion in economic aid for farmers, with the bulk of the funds reserved for commodity crop farmers. Through a new Farmer Bridge Assistance program, $11 billion will go to one-time payments exclusively to commodities farmers, like those producing corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, cotton, sorghum and cattle. An extra $1 billion will go to so-called “specialty” farming (mostly fruits and vegetables, and presumably including organic farming). As usual, this decision by the White House pretty much supports big ag, while merely throwing a small piece of kibble to organic farmers, of which we have a lot here in Maine. Call Senators King and Collins and House Rep Golden to urge them to speak up about this discriminatory farm-aid bill. ALL farmers are being hurt by Trump’s tariffs, and small and medium farms should not be left behind.  
 

6) Help save public lands: 
     Introduced by Representatives Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) in the 118th Congress and reintroduced in the 119th, this bipartisan bill (H.R. 718, the Public Lands in Public Hands Act) prohibits the sale or transfer of public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service without extra oversight. It would require Congress to approve the sale or transfer of publicly accessible parcels of land larger than 300 acres, as well as water-adjacent parcels larger than 5 acres.  
    Contact Jared Golden and urge him to co-sponsor H.R. 718. Contact Senators King and Collins to ask them to sponsor a Senate version of the Public Lands in Public Hands Act. Remind them how important Maine’s vast wilderness areas are to the state’s economy. It would be wild (and equally unlikely) if they could Sponsor it together as a bipartisan bill! 
 

7) Maine-specific Actions (see contact info below): 

1.      Support LD 1383, An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violation:  

     If you don’t want Maine to be investing in corporations and other entities that are involved in or support human rights violations, contact your representatives in Maine’s Congress and ask them to support LD 1383, An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violation. Maine has millions of dollars invested in corporations like Palantir and Signature Aviation. LD1383 would withdraw those investments and replace them with cleaner investments. This link will help you compose a message to your state representatives and other state officials.

2.      Fight against EPA Superfund Cuts and PFAS Cleanup Delays:  
     The Pentagon has quietly delayed PFAS cleanup at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone by six years, and the old Brunswick Naval Air Station is also facing setbacks. Meanwhile, the Superfund program is looking at potential budget cuts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) points to actions like ordering foam removal at Brunswick Executive Airport after last year’s 1,500-gallon PFAS spill as proof of progress. But state environmental advocates and our congressional delegation are concerned these delays will leave Maine communities dealing with contaminated water and soil longer than necessary. Contact your Maine state representatives to speak up about this problem. 

Maine State-level Contact Info: 

• Governor Janet Mills: 287-3531 or https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact/share-your-opinion 
• Attorney General Aaron Frey: 207-626-8800 or email attorney.general@maine.gov 
• Secretary of State Shenna Bellows: 207-626-8400 or https://www.maine.gov/sos/about-us/contact-us-form 
• State Controller Douglas E. Cotnoir: 207-626-8420 or douglas.e.cotnoir@maine.gov 
• State Treasurer Joseph C. Perry: 207-624-7477 or Joseph.C.Perry@maine.gov 
• Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services Sara Gagné-Holmes:  (207) 287-3707 
  And, of course, contact your representatives in the state legislature, which depends on your district: 

• House District 11: Tiffany Strout (207- 598-7043 or email: Tiffany.Strout@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• House District 12: Billy Bob Faulkingham (207-460-6967 or William.Faulkingham@legislature.maine.gov –he won’t be interested, but we should certainly annoy him as much as possible) 
• House District 13: Russell P. White (207- 460-6359 or email: Russell.White@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• House District 14: Gary Friedmann (207-460-7362 or email: Gary.Friedmann@legislature.maine.gov ) 
• Senate District 6: Marianne Moore (home: 207-454-0501 or 207-952-2050; State House: 207-287-1505; email: Marianne.Moore@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• Senate District 7: Nicole C. Grohoski (cell: 207-358-8333; State House: 207-287-1515; email: Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov ) 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

ion Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Keep fighting for the extension of the ACA premium tax bill 
2. Oppose the military strikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast 
3. Fight for the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act 
4. Maine-specific 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Keep fighting for the extension of the ACA premium tax bill: 

    The ACA premium tax credit extension vote failed today, as did the other proposed healthcare bills. We should thank our Senators for voting to extend the ACA premium tax credit extensions, but the fight isn’t over. We need to urge our Senators to take up every chance to revisit this issue. These subsidies (or some other workable option—NOT the ridiculous put-a-little-money-in-some-people’s-HSA-accounts bill proposed by Senator Bill Cassidy) are so important to keep our healthcare system alive. If you are a proponent of universal healthcare/Medicare for all, make sure you mention that when you call/write. 

2) Oppose the military strikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast: 
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to demand that the Trump administration release the full videos of these strikes and the legal memos justifying them. The Trump administration is trying to normalize something fundamentally un-American: that a president can unilaterally erase constitutional rights, hide evidence of lethal military operations, and punish critics without consequence. The truth must be revealed to the people. 
 

3) Fight for the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act: 
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to ask them to cosponsor, support, and publicly champion the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act (In the Senate: S. 2818 (IS); in the House: H.R.7041). Working families need a government willing to stand up for them and challenge a system that has become wildly imbalanced. We need our congresspeople to stand for the people of Maine by bringing this bill forward for hearings and action.  
   The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act creates a simple, fair mechanism: If a company chooses to maintain an extreme CEO-to-worker pay ratio, it will pay a higher corporate tax rate. If it raises workers’ wages or reins in excessive executive compensation, it pays nothing extra. This is a market-based incentive to reduce inequality without imposing wage mandates. It rewards companies that treat workers fairly and asks more from those that don’t. 
     These greedy corporate CEOs are killing the American dream for everyone else. This bill is an important step toward closing the wealth gap that was, in my opinion, a large part of the anger that simmered, then boiled, then paved the way for the horror that is American under Trump. That has to stop, one way or another.  
   You can read an explanation of the proposed bill here: https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/tlaib-sanders-introduce-bill-to-end-outrageous-ceo-pay-and-combat-corporate-greed 
 

4) Maine-specific: 
 Urge Janet Mills to allow LD 1971 (the bill to that would forbid Maine’s law enforcement and other public offices from collaborating with ICE) become law: 

          Earlier this year, Maine lawmakers passed LD 1971: An Act to Protect Workers in This State by Clarifying the Relationship of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies with Federal Immigration Authorities. This act limits the degree to which Maine State and Local Law Enforcement are allowed to cooperate/collude with Federal Immigration enforcement (ICE and CBP, mostly. Governor Janet Mills has refused to sign it (and now it’s too late), but she can still veto it. If she doesn’t veto it when the next legislative session opens in January, the bill will become law.        

    Contact Janet Mills to urge her to NOT veto it and let it become law (personally, I suspect that is her plan, but we should remind her that we care). You can email her through her website ( https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact), call her at 207-287-3531, or send a snail-mail to Governor Janet Mills, 1 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Seems like our lawmakers have finally gotten back to work—even some Republicans! Suddenly there are a number of new bills to research and act on. 

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores 
2. Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act 
3. Fight for Fair Social Security 
4. Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states 
5. Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards 
6. Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act 
7. Support the Toxic Substances Control Act 
8. Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement 
9. Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care 
10. 2 Resistbot letters to send 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores: 

    Democrat Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Chuck Schumer, along with Republican Senator Rand Paul, have filed a bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent the United States from using the U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities with Venezuela without congressional approval. The resolution directs President Trump to cease using the military “unless specifically authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.” Contact Senators King and Collins to support the resolution. 

2)  Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act:  
    Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) has introduced a bill (H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act) to rescind certain immigration enforcement funds and amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide for new credits related to expanding access to housing. This legislation would take the $175 billion given to ICE and put it instead toward making housing affordable for working Americans. As ICE is terrorizing more and more communities, the same communities are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. That’s just wrong. Our tax dollars should be helping Americans, not attacking and kidnapping them. Contact Jared Golden and urge him to take a stand and co-sponsor this bill, even if he thinks it won’t pass.  
 

3) Fight for Fair Social Security: 
   Senator Warren and House Representatives Larson and Horsford just introduced the bicameral Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act to provide a $200/month emergency increase to Social Security checks until July 2026. Medicare Part B premiums are rising by nearly 10% next year, yet Social Security recipients have received only a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, amounting to just $56 per month. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to stand with senior citizens by co-sponsoring this bill. 
 

4) Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states: 
     Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the Trump administration will block Democratic-controlled states from accessing billions of dollars they need to run their SNAP programs unless governors turn over their states’ benefits rolls to the federal government. The information they’re demanding includes vast quantities of identifying information on the over 42 million monthly participants, including names, addresses, when an individual enrolled in SNAP and whether they are still enrolled. (Per the Washington Post, it’s unclear if Rollins has the authority to demand that data, and the request could violate recipients’ privacy rights. Historically, no federal agency has required states to share this amount of private data with the federal government; current practice is for states to share only randomized samples. ) Twenty-two states, including Maine (Go, Maine!), refused to comply and sued the USDA.  
    Rollins claimed that the data from the complying states showed 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 500,000 people receiving double benefits, and said that “more than 120 people” have been arrested on SNAP fraud. Makes me wonder: Over 600,000 supposed fraudulent benefits were paid and only 120 people have been arrested? That enormous amount of “waste, fraud, and abuse” (the constant refrain of the administration) is shocking. I’m also wondering why they need this information after DOGE supposedly got access to so much private information already. Why don’t they just demand that Musk turn over the data his minions mined from the government systems? 
    Contact Senators King and Collins, and House Representative Jared Golden to demand that Rollins and the USDA stop politicizing hunger, cease their demand for personal information that the federal government has no right to, and pay the blue states the administrative monies they are supposed to receive to run their SNAP programs. 
 

5) Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards: 
   Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal have introduced a bicameral bill (simultaneously in both parts of Congress) called the Experts Act (S. 3210; H.R. 6145), which would reform the rules for federal rule making by modernizing the process federal agencies use to develop vital safeguards like those that provide clean air and water, safe products, healthy workplaces, fair pay, and truth in lending, to name just a few. Formerly titled the Stop Corporate Capture Act, the legislation would achieve key improvements to the rulemaking process by lifting up the voices of the American people and closing loopholes that favor corrupt corporations and their lobbyists. 
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden and push them to co-sponsor this bill.  
 

6) Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act: 
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia have introduced a bicameral bill called The Stop Ballroom Bribery Act (S.3191 and H.R. 6085) that would restrict donations for certain public projects linked to the President or Vice President, particularly from entities involved in litigation or seeking contracts with the federal government. Trump’s corrupt ballroom project is allowing companies he’s doing business with to funnel money his way. Contact Senators King and Collins to ask them to co-sponsor this bill in the Senate, and Representative Golden to co-sponsor the House version. 
 

7) Support the Toxic Substances Control Act: 
     In 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was updated to reduce exposure to chemicals linked to cancer and chronic diseases. TSCA empowers states to ban chemicals like PFAS. The law prioritizes human health over corporate profits and has banned deadly solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE) and methylene chloride. States are already spending billions in taxpayer dollars cleaning up PFAS contamination—prevention is the only real solution.  
    But now the chemical lobby is pushing hard to weaken that law. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to tell them that this successful law should not be changed. You can personalize and send a letter to your congresspeople and Brooke Rollins, head of the USDA here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-to-protect-the-toxic-substances-control-act 
 

8) Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement: 
The NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement has been a part of a decades-long norm of limiting the deployment of deadly nuclear weapons. Its expiration in 2026 and current lack of enforcement makes it a top priority for renewal. Please join WPSR in contacting your members of Congress to join the NewSTART Arms control Resolution, H. Res 100 introduced by Representative Bill Foster and S. Res 61 introduced by Senator Ed Markey. Sign here. 
 

9) Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care: 
     A recent Senate subcommittee report on the use of AI to review prior authorizations reported that during the period that UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS adopted AI tools, denials of authorization increased by anywhere from 54% to 108%, depending on the insurer. Plus, despite insurers’ claims about the bottom line benefits of AI review, the Senate study also found that patients with insurers utilizing AI will see their premiums rise $21.50/month from 2025 to 2026. So Medicare enrollees will be paying more for less. 
     You can personalize and send the letter from https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-medicare-from-using-ai-to-deny-healthcare 
 

10) 2 Resistbot letters to send: 
– urging Congress to immediately oppose the Trump Regime’s rollback of federal fuel-efficiency standards. Send it by texting SIGN PTYBKD to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

– urging Congress to take immediate action to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new effort to undo the Biden-era rule that keeps medical debt off credit reports. That rule gave millions of Americans a fair chance to recover financially after illness or injury by preventing medical bills, often caused by emergencies or billing errors, from wrecking their credit scores. Repealing it would punish people simply for getting sick and hand power back to credit bureaus and debt collectors. We want our congresspeople to  speak out publicly, support legislation to preserve the CFPB’s medical debt rule, and ensure that medical debt stays off credit reports permanently. No one should lose their financial future because of a hospital bill. Text SIGN PDQVGT to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance