LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT! TAKE ACTION THIS CONGRESSIONAL RECESS!

Visit our News page LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT!! THE U.S. CONGRESS IS NOW ON AUGUST RECESS! TAKE SOME TIME TODAY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR FEDERAL LEGISLATORS WHILE THEY ARE HOME. by Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations It’s officially August recess in the U.S. Congress, and your federal legislators are back at home until after Labor Day. This is a great time for you to connect with those who represent you in the Congress—to introduce yourself as a member of ACT! for America and inform them about national security issues about which we are concerned. Though I spend a great deal of time with your legislators up on Capitol Hill, what’s most important is that they hear from you, their constituent! How can you be most effective in reaching out to them? It’s easy! Utilize the ACT! for America “High Priority List” of federal legislation. ACT! for America has selected specific pieces of federal legislation that we feel are critical to the national security of our nation. Click HERE to view the current list. Use this document to let your legislators know about bills you support and ask that they add their support as well by signing on as a cosponsor. Schedule a meeting with your Senators or Representative. Call the local office of your legislators to schedule a meeting during the month of August—or attend one of their public events, like a “Town Hall” meeting. Go alone, or bring two or three members of your chapter with you. It’s easy and a great way to introduce yourself to your elected officials—and their staff—and to start building a solid working relationship. Invite your legislator to one of your upcoming Chapter Meetings! It’s a great way for them to learn more about ACT! for America and about national security issues that are on the minds of their constituents. A few things to remember: a.   You are the expert! You probably know more about many of these national security issues than they do. That said, you don’t need to have ALL the answers. That’s my job. If they need information that you cannot provide, let me know and I’ll follow up with them. You can e-mail me at info@actforamerica.org and put “Attention Lisa” in the Subject Line. b.   Don’t inundate them with information! For example, a one-pager on ACT! for America and a copy of our High Priority Legislation list (see #1 above) are all that is needed for a meeting or conversation. c.   It just takes a few meetings or contact with your legislator and staff to develop a good solid relationship. Get to the point where they consider you a valuable source for national security-related information and you’ve hit a home run. That will take a little time, but it’s worth the effort! (For more tips on making the most of face-to-face meeting with your elected officials, click HERE.) FEATURED LEGISLATION OF THE MONTH The following bills are our featured “Legislation of the Month.” Please be sure to address them with your federal legislators over August recess. 1.   H. Res. 36 – Rep. Frank Wolf’s (VA) legislation calling for a special short-term committee to investigate the Benghazi attack. As we approach the one-year anniversary of this brazen attack which killed four Americans, including our U.S. Ambassador, we are no closer to finding out what took place and who should be held accountable. Click HERE to view an important interview with Rep. Louie Gohmert on this issue and HERE to read a stunning and concerning recent CNN article. Please click HERE to find out if your legislator in the U.S. House of Representatives has signed on as a cosponsor to this critical bill. If not, please contact him/her to ask that he/she cosponsor this bill ASAP. [NOTE: H. Res. 36 is DIFFERENT than H.R. 36. Please use the correct bill number to avoid confusion.] 2.   As you may know, the Senate recently passed its huge comprehensive immigration bill, S. 744, and the ball is now in the House’s court. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your legislators hear your support for securing our borders and fixing a broken Visa system before any other aspect of immigration reform is addressed. This is one of the biggest issues at the moment and it is important that your legislators hear from you about it while they are back at home. They will be taking the pulse of the voters over the August recess. 3.   H.R. 2493 – The Open Fuel Standard Act of 2013. One group and one group only has a monopoly on the world’s oil supply—OPEC. OPEC’s petrodollars are also the source of most terror financing and mosque construction. Remove OPEC’s power source from the world and most of the current threats from Islamic terror are greatly reduced, if not altogether eliminated. Ask your House Representative to sign on to H.R. 2493 as a cosponsor. The bill addresses OPEC’s oil monopoly by allowing Americans to CHOOSE what kind of transportation fuel they want for their vehicle. The bill does NOT mandate what type of alternative fuel must be accepted, but only requires that any automobile that uses gasoline have the ability to accept another fuel source as well. It’s common sense. It creates American jobs. It cuts the throat of OPEC (something the Keystone Pipeline, or “drill baby drill” alone will NOT do). And it doesn’t cost the American taxpayer a dime. For more information on this issue, please go to www.openfuelstandard.org. COMING SOON!     This September, we will unveil our new Votility system, which will make it easier than ever for you to make your voice heard to your legislators (and not only your federal legislators, but your state and local elected officials as well!) via e-mail, letter, and phone call. Please look out for an e-mail from me introducing Votility this coming September! Finally, thank you for all that you do to help us combat radical Islam within America. As I walk the Halls of Congress on your behalf I can tell you that your actions—no matter how big or how small—ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. As part of our 260,000 grassroots network, you are the engine that makes our organization run. Keep up the great work! REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS! IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website. 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