You can make a difference
How To Get Involved
On Thursday, June 5 at 6pm, join us for our June Public Meeting, Defunding of Healthcare at the Valparaiso Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Dr. Janet Seabrook, CEO of Community Healthnet will discuss the defunding of women’s healthcare and the impact on all of us. After our speaker, we’ll make signs for upcoming rallies. We’ll have supplies, but please bring your own if you have them. Please sign up here & bring a friend!
Veterans Call to Action Rally. On Friday, June 6, we rally in support of veterans. In commemoration of D-Day, rallies in support of veterans will be held across the country. Join ours at 12 pm at the Hwy of the Flags Veterans Memorial SE corner Indianapolis Blvd & Ridge Road, Highland, IN 46322. This event is sponsored by Indivisible NWI, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and Veterans for Peace. Let us know you’re coming and sign up here.
On Saturday, June 7, 12-1, join Indivisibles and veterans at the Highway of Flags Veterans Memorial (the corners of 41 & Ridge) in Highland from noon until 1 pm to stand up against Trump and his authoritarian regime. Bring your signs and your passion! If possible, bring a non perishable food item to donate to a different food pantry each week.
Please let us know you’re coming and sign up here.
On June 14 at 12pm, join our rally for No Kings Day, as we join Indivisibles, veterans, and many others for the NO KINGS National Day of Action and Mass Mobilization. We’ll be in Highland at the Highway of Flags Veterans Memorial on the SE corner of 41 & Ridge. Bring your signs and your passion–and some nonperishable food items to donate to a local pantry. Please let us know you’re coming and sign up here.(When you attend the rallies in Highland, you may park in the small lot behind the Memorial on the SE corner of Ridge & 41. If that lot is full, park at Wicker Park and then rally on the NW corner of Ridge & 41.)
Donald Trump and the Republican Party just voted to give a massive tax cut to the rich and pay for it by raising costs on working-class Americans. The bill is both a policy disaster and a moral monstrosity. It adds trillions to the deficit, defunds Planned Parenthood, guts Medicaid, slashes food stamps, raises costs on millions of families, and gives the richest Americans a massive tax cut.
That’s not just bad policy. It’s a political opportunity. If we do the work, voters will hold them accountable.
(Message Box)
This bill does real harm to working Americans—slashing Medicaid, food assistance, and threatening Medicare to pay for massive tax breaks for billionaires. It’s a cruel, upside-down set of priorities that puts the ultra-wealthy first and working families last.
But this fight isn’t over yet. The Senate is up next and we have a plan to block this bill. Click here to join Indivisible’s Wednesday and Thursday phone banks-Every Wednesday and Thursday in June, join Indivisible for a phonebank where we’ll be calling voters and connecting them directly to their Senator. Together, we’ll urge Republicans to oppose the Trump Tax Scam—a reckless GOP tax plan that prioritizes billionaires like Elon Musk while selling out working families.
Hoosiers will pay a terrible price if this budget passes as written: in total, 232,000 Hoosiers will lose their health insurance. 151,000 Hoosiers will lose food stamps. 24,958 clean energy jobs will be eliminated. (MadVoters)
In Indiana District 1 alone, 27,000 would lose their health insurance; 26,000 could lose SNAP benefits and nearly 500 clean energy jobs could be lost. See the breakdown for other districts in Indiana and across the country at Center for American Progress.
From MadVoters, Take Action Tip of the Week: Gather your friends or members of your organization to make two phone calls.
One to Senator Todd Young, 202-224-5623
Local office numbers:
- 812-542-4820 – New Albany, IN
- 317-226-6700 – Indianapolis, IN
- 219-747-7780 – Valparaiso, IN
And one to Senator Jim Banks, 202-224-4814
Local office numbers:
- 260-321-7130 – Fort Wayne, IN
in regards to the US budget. Unlike Congresspeople, who represent different districts in the state, our US Senators represent the entire state and every single Hoosier. Phone calls are most effective, especially when done en masse. You can reference the information above when you call. Here’s a sample script:
“Hello, this message is for Sen. {name]. I’m a constituent living at [address]. You can reach me at [phone number]. I’m urging the Senator to oppose the House-passed budget, which threatens healthcare for {number] Hoosiers in my area, as well as SNAP eligibility for [number]. We won’t make America great by taking away affordable food and healthcare from vulnerable Hoosiers. Thank you for your consideration.”
It’s important that you leave your address when you call so that staff can verify your constituency. Keep your message brief and polite, as you will be talking to a staff member, not the Senators themselves.
You can also call using 5calls.org. They give you scripts and phone numbers.
During Pride Month we’ll be manning tables for voter registration and civics education.
- On Sat. and Sun., June 6 & 7, starting at 10am, visit us NWI Pride Fest at Riverview Park, 2701 Ripley Street in Lake Station (Admission is $10 and all proceeds are being donated to IYG, an LGBTQ+ youth organization serving Northwest Indiana’s young people, ages 12-24, with wrap-around programming and resources.)
- Then on June 14 we’ll be Michigan City Pride Fest, Guy Foreman Amphitheater, 115 Lakeshore Drive in Michigan City, starting at 1pm. (no admission fee)
And on Wed.-Sun., June 4-8, we’ll be at the Schererville Fest at Redar Park.
Congress
Passed the House, Senate next
H.R. 1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Last Action: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 215 – 214, 1 Present with no Democratic support. View the vote.
The bill—the basics:
- A $3.8 trillion extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy.
- Nearly $700 billion in Medicaid cuts, which could cause 8.6 million people to lose coverage.
- $267 billion in cuts to SNAP (food stamps)—kicking 3 million families off assistance and jeopardizing school meals for 18 million children.
- A massive increase in defense spending, plus over $100 billion for Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
- Defunding of Planned Parenthood, via a ten-year block on Medicaid reimbursements.
- Elimination of several clean energy tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Over $300 billion in cuts to student loan programs, including repeals of Biden-era income-driven repayment and forgiveness efforts.
- An extension of the debt ceiling, likely into 2027.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it would reduce income for the poorest 10% of U.S. households and boost income for the top 10%.
- According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research initiative, the top 0.1% of earners stand to gain nearly $390,000 on average in after-tax income in 2026, while Americans making between about $17,000 and $51,000 would lose about $700. Those with an income of less than $17,000 would lose more than $1,000 on average. The findings accounted for reduced spending on programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
- The richest Americans—those making $1 million or more—would get nearly $90,000 in tax breaks each year. The average family earning less than $50,000 would get less than $1 a day.
- It could trigger up to $500 billion in automatic Medicare cuts under budget enforcement rules.
- Congressional Budget Office report on the bill said there would, on net, be “an increase in the federal deficit of $3.8 trillion attributable to tax changes, including extending provisions of the 2017 tax act.”
- Medicaid is very popular, even among Republicans (75% overall, 62% of Republicans). But few people know about the Medicaid cuts in this bill. It’s up to us to let them know what is in this bill.
There are many provisions in this massive bill. Read a breakdown on our website.
“The bill passed despite growing concerns over the U.S. debt, which has reached 124% of GDP, prompting a downgrade of the United States’ top-notch credit rating by Moody’s last week.
Investors, unnerved by the country’s worsening fiscal position and Trump’s erratic tariff moves, have been selling off U.S. assets that make up the bedrock of the global financial system. The dollar has fallen more than 10% since January while yields on 30-year Treasury bonds, a proxy for long-term U.S. government borrowing costs, have reached their highest level since October 2023″. (Reuters)
Some of the provisions in the bill won’t be allowed under the Senate Byrd rule that requires everything in a reconciliation bill to be budget related. Read more at Politico.
Next week Congress will begin work on the 2026 budget. This is not a reconciliation bill so Democrats in the Senate will have more of a say in this than in the above bill because it will need some Democratic support to pass. Trump unveiled his plan for steep spending cuts
“The Trump administration on Friday unveiled more details of the president’s vision for how to fund the government in fiscal year 2026, expanding on its request earlier this month for steep spending cuts. It calls for double-digit cuts for a list of agencies including the departments of Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and State. The administration is also pushing for Congress to put dozens of programs on the chopping block, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Job Corps, the Community Development Block Grant program and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” Defense spending would be increased. (The Hill)
The truth matters
As a result of the dismantling of USAID people have died and will die. As of today
- 98,993 adults have died and
- 206,562 children have died.
Marco Rubio (at a hearing just last week) and Elon Musk have said that no one has died because of Doge cuts to USAID. (NPR), (NYT)
In truth,103 people die every hour.
(Impact Counter)
Read how the Impact Counter was developed at Salon.
$40 billion was allotted to USAID in 2023, less than 1% of the total budget. (FactCheck.org)
To find and contact your Members of Congress: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
In Other News…
“Trump on Friday announced that he planned on doubling tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%, increasing the pressure on manufacturers dependent on industrial metals for production.
The new import duties are set to go into effect June 4.
His announcement, made at a rally at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania, came after the president signaled earlier this month that he would approve a controversial deal between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel.
The EU is “prepared to impose countermeasures…” (CNBC)
The courts
“The Administration ordered U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to halt student visa interviews while it weighs increased screening and vetting procedures.” (The Hill)
” A federal court on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority to impose sweeping tariffs that have raised the cost of imports for everyone from giant businesses to everyday Americans.
But the administration immediately appealed the decision on Wednesday night…” (CNN) The appeals court temporarily allowed the tariffs to continue.” (Reuters)
““The Trump administration has other authorities it can use to impose tariffs similar to those the court struck down,” Alec Phillips, a political economist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a research note last night. They include reclassifying the levies under different trade laws, such as by using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which underpins the levies on steel, aluminum and auto imports that remain in place.” (NYT)
“Attorneys general from 16 mostly Democrat-controlled US states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, arguing that some of the federal government’s attempts to gut National Science Foundation research programs are illegal.” (CNN)
“PBS and one of its member stations in northern Minnesota sued President Trump and several cabinet officials on Friday over Trump’s executive order targeting the public broadcasting system.
PBS alleges that the president’s May 1 order violated the First Amendment of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act… The network’s radio and podcasting counterpart, NPR, filed a similar First Amendment lawsuit earlier this week.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private entity that disperses taxpayer funds to public radio and TV stations, has also sued Trump over his attempt to fire three board members.” (CNN)
“Harvard University won a reprieve in its fight to enroll international students, after the Trump administration appeared to walk back its initial decertification and a federal judge upheld a block on the government’s order.” (BBC)
SCOTUS
“The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to revoke former President Biden’s parole program that extended legal protections to hundreds of thousands of migrants from four Latin American countries… it does not lift an additional ruling from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that protects other types of parole given under the Biden administration, including for Afghans and Ukrainians.” (The Hill)
“The Supreme court ruled that the White House can terminate agency officials at independent federal agencies (as Trump has done at the National Labor Relations Board and other agencies) — but not at the central bank, which it called “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.” That could take some heat off Jay Powell, the Fed chair, whom Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire for not cutting interest rates.” (NYT)
Indiana
“The Marion County Election Board is investigating whether Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales violated election law by using video from an official visit in a campaign ad. “ (WFYI)
“The federal agency that confers citizenship upon thousands of new Hoosiers annually is pulling back from naturalization ceremonies held in donated venues — to the alarm of volunteers who won’t be allowed inside the “in-house” alternatives to register prospective voters.” (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Lake County Board of Commissioners named Gary the new145,000 square foot convention center site. (Gary Capital B)
