Call to Action: Please call your U.S. Senators, especially Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2018. Find your Senator at WhoIsMyRepresentative.com Suggested Script: My name is _____________ and I am a constituent. I strongly oppose so-called "regulatory reform" bills that would effectively paralyze the EPA and other federal agencies from passing regulations to protect my health, safety and welfare. Koch Industries and other corporate interests support these bills because they would further delay a rulemaking process that already takes years to complete, and make it easier for special interest groups to block regulations in court before they take effect. Does Senator _____ intend to stand with other Democratic Senators in filibustering against these harmful bills? Background: Since the New Deal, Congress has entrusted federal agencies to write regulations to promote the public interest on subject matter considered too fluid or complex for ordinary legislation. For exa...

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The Department of Labor recently proposed to delay the fiduciary ("conflict of interest") rule requiring retirement advisers to provide advice in their clients' best interest, and asked for comment on whether it should rescind the rule in its entirety. Industry has already submitted thousands of comments, and we need savers writing in support of the rule. Here is an article from Forbes that goes into more detail.What we need from you: Please email the following note, with a personalized sentence or two about why this matters to you, to [email protected] by March 17. Subject of the email: RIN 1210-AB79To the Department of Labor:I support the implementation of the Department of Labor conflict of interest rule and oppose any delay of the rule.Millions of Americans, like me, are counting on their 401(k)s and IRAs, and many depend on investment professionals for advice about managing these complex retirement plans. Retirement savers should be able to trust their finan...

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There is a difference between acting presidential and being the President. Last night, Donald Trump read from the teleprompter, followed his speech, and performed a role for 50 minutes. But we, the American people, have learned not to trust the words that Trump says, not after we've seen him compulsively lie over and over again. We judge Trump not on the words he reads from a teleprompter, but by the reckless decisions he has made since taking office, decisions that say much more about the type of President he wants to be than any speech he will ever give. We judge Trump not by comparing him to the low bar he sets for himself, but rather by seeing how small he is in comparison to the great Americans who previously held that office and showed us that it is the actions and decisions of a President, not just their words, that define their successes and failures. The Trump of today is the same as the Trump of yesterday, and we know exactly what to expect from the Trump of tomorrow. That...

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RISE Stronger is thrilled to announce and share with you the first in a series of animated PSAs aimed at educating and engaging the American people on current issues. We have partnered with Our Next 4 Years, a group of award winning animators, to use our policy expertise and their incredible creative talent to make complicated issues easy to understand, and provide you with ways to take action. The first PSA, released today, focuses on the Affordable Care Act in just under a minute and a half. At the end, we direct you to three actions you can take now to help save our healthcare. This is just the first PSA in what we expect to be a great partnership. Please watch the video: https://www.ournext4years.org/videos/psa001 and like us on Facebook: RISE Stronger, Our Next 4 Years.Over 200 Oscar and Emmy Winning Animators Change the Discussion With Animated Public Service Announcements Los Angeles, CA, February 16, 2017 - Our Next 4 Years, a new volunteer-run organization comprised of ove...

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RISE Stronger demands that Congress conduct a thorough and immediate independent investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and beyond.Less than a month after being appointed national security advisor for President Donald Trump, Michael Flynn resigned due to accusations about his dealings with Russia. Flynn's resignation is just one more piece of evidence pointing towards wrongdoing between the Trump administration and Russia. Earlier this week, US investigators announced their corroboration of some content contained within the lengthy dossier compiled by a British intelligence officer on Russia's attempts to compromise Donald Trump during the election. An investigation can no longer take a back seat to the daily chaos created by the Trump administration. It is evident that there is much the American people and Congress do not know about the current administration's relationship with Russia, and Russia's meddling in the American democracy. The American people deser...

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Senator Elizabeth Warren was cut off by Maj. Leader Mitch McConnell before the Senate vote to confirm Sessions as US Attorney General. Why? She was reading a letter that Coretta Scott King wrote in 1986 opposing Senator Jeff Sessions nomination for a federal judgeship. Now, Senator Warren is trending with #LetLizSpeak and #ShePersisted.On that note, here is where things stand with Trump's cabinet:Confirmed this Week.Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, confirmed this week in a 50-50 vote. Two Republican Senators, Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME), both broke ranks with the Republican party and voted against DeVos. The Vice President cast the tie-breaking vote, the first time in history a Vice President's vote was needed to confirm a nominee.Jeff Sessions confirmed as Attorney General of the United States in a 52-47 vote.Tom Price confirmed late last night as Secretary of Health and Human Services in a 52-47 vote. Who is left? Steve Mnuchin, Department of TreasuryBen Cars...

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Andrew Puzder's confirmation hearing is now scheduled for February 16 after previous delays due to failure to submit required ethics and financial paperwork. The Secretary of Labor's job is to enforce laws and regulations that protect America's workers, but Puzder has made it clear that he believes the government should not be protecting workers. He has said that government should not be taking actions to protect workers, like enforcing minimum wage or overtime requirements, or working to ensure that they can get health insurance, because that makes businesses grow more slowly.The Department of Labor is supposed to be a fair arbiter between workers and the companies they work for, but he's made it clear over and over that he will never take the side of workers, even if they're being mistreated, because he thinks companies' profits are more important.What ANDREW PUZDER's policies actually mean for the average voter: Puzder is a CEO who believes that companies should not have to answe...

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TRUMP STANDS WITH WALL STREET: Today, February 3, after a behind-closed-doors meeting with Wall Street's top executives, Donald Trump sent a clear message to working families across America trying to save for their retirement: When Wall Street tries to rip you off, you're on your own. New protections for retirement savers against financial advisers' conflicts of interest were slated to go into effect in April, but Wall Street hates them because they can't continue to pick retirement savers' pockets to enrich themselves. After the meeting, without offering other stakeholders any chance for notice or comment, Trump sided with Wall Street lobbyists and ordered the Department of Labor to delay implementation of the new protections for 180 days and probably forever.The conflicts of interest rule has one, commonsense purpose: to require all financial advisers to serve their clients' best interest and not their own self-interest when providing retirement investment advice. It prevents fina...

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One of the central components to RISE Stronger are our numerous policy working groups and state chapters. If you are interested in joining one of these groups, please email us at [email protected] policy working groups support the organization and its partners by providing evidence-backed analyses of the challenges before the public, new legislation and regulations, and claims by elected officials.RISE state chapters are being built out around the country in order to allow citizens to engage with their communities, local and state governments, and to understand and share at a national level, their perspectives and the challenges that they face.January Update While the first weeks of the new Administration have been challenging, RISE policy working groups and state chapters have been working tirelessly to research, analyze and advise on legislation, cabinet nominees, and more. RISE-Healthcare and RISE state chapters in Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, Tennesse...

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Betsy DeVos' Senate vote is scheduled for 6:30am, Friday, February 3. We are likely just one Republican Senator away from halting her confirmation on the Senate floor, scheduled for Friday, February 3. The team at RISE is asking that you act now to help make this possible. Reach out to friends, family, and your communities. Call, write, tweet, facebook, your Senators today and tomorrow morning to ask that they vote NO for Betsy DeVos.DeVos is an opponent of public schooling. Her transparent, longstanding desire to privatize education presents significant concerns to all parents with children in public schools, and all educators, that our public schools will be deprived of critical funding. Here is RISE Stronger's statement on Betsy DeVos. Two Republican Senators (Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murowski of Alaska) have already said they cannot support her. We just need just one more senator to vote no in order to halt this nomination from going forward. Please call your Senators rig...

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