In early October, the Twin Cities DSA Steering Committee voted to adopt this resolution, which calls on the chapter to use its resources to support the passage of the congressional Joint Resolutions of Disapproval recently introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders. This group of six resolutions, put before both houses of Congress, would block over $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel. It is anticipated to come to a vote on November 18 or 19, 2024.
What does it mean to “use chapter resources” to influence a vote in Congress? The primary goal here will be reaching as many U.S. Senators and Representatives as we can to influence them to vote for the JRDs when they come up for a vote in the Senate. We will start with the two Minnesota senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. If the JRDs are passed in the Senate, we will expand that to include all eight congressional representatives from Minnesota.
The most significant part of this resolution is to use our database of members, our ability to send mass emails, and our chapter social media accounts to get as many people as we can to flood Senators Smith and Klobuchar with demands that they vote for the JRDs. This effort is part of a nationwide mobilization around the JRDs, including with other DSA chapters.
You may have already received this email, and it may be what brought you here! But whatever brought you here, here is what you need to do.
- Send an email to Sens. Klobuchar and Smith. https://uscpr.org/jrd
- Call the numbers below to verbally demand that the senators support the JRDs
If you want to be armed with more detailed information, you can find the texts of the six JRDs In the links below this post. You can read about Bernie Sanders’ overall strategy for stopping arms and aid going to Israel in his announcement about filing the JRDs..
Also keep an eye out for opportunities to phone bank our members and beyond to push calls to the senators. And then, if the Senate has voted to approve the JRDs, there will be even more ways to get involved as we carry this ball over the goal line.
Phone numbers
For Senator Klobuchar’s DC Office : (202) 224-3244
For Senator Smith’s DC Office : (202) 224-5641
Text of the six JRDs
By Samuel D, Steering Committee Member At-large
and Deb K R