PLI Bulletin

Protecting Obamacare, Fighting Privatization, Resisting the Radical Right and More

Posted on January 19, 2017

Health Care for All Assessment Act: Because of the right wing’s determination to repeal the Affordable Care Act, 32 million Americans are in danger of losing access to health insurance, with 18 million likely to lose coverage in the first year. Lawmakers can respond by sponsoring the Health Care for All Assessment Act, creating a commission to study how to save the insurance of as many residents as possible. This bill not only has practical value, it also creates press opportunities to educate Americans about the dangers of repealing Obamacare.

Ten simple rules for policy advocates: Here are a few of our suggestions for state and local advocates. #1) Don’t keep your bill sponsors at arms length, get them involved early in the bill drafting process. #2) Leave enough time to recruit as many cosponsors as possible. #5) Equip your spokespeople with talking points that are effective but short. #6) Understand that some contacts with lawmakers are much more effective than others. #9) End any meeting with clarity, base next steps on what a legislator actually says, not on your assumptions. #10) After a legislative battle, win or lose, thank and reward your friends. For much more, read IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

What you can do to resist the Radical Right: Here comes the Trump era—what can you do to push back? This webinar will discuss some proactive policies that directly respond to the Trump agenda and we’ll also talk about messaging strategies to avoid repeating right wing frames, e.g., don’t say school choice, say privatization of public schools; don’t say conservative economics, say the billionaire agenda; don’t say Alt Right, say Radical Right. To register, click here.

Watch out for the privatization of public highways: The Trump Administration will be trying to turn over public roads and bridges to private companies for toll roads or long-term government contracts. While it’s much cheaper for the government to issue bonds and build or repair infrastructure itself, Trump is going to let private companies issue bonds, take over government assets, ruin them, and get rich in the process.

Watch out for the privatization of public schools: The nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, already created the system she favors in Michigan. Her preference is to flood low-income neighborhoods with for-profit charter schools, cripple public schools that previously worked, and legalize online “virtual” schools, all of which are terrible for children.

Read the Progressive Agenda for States & Localities: If you’re looking for either well-established or brand new ideas for legislation to sponsor or support in 2017, read our newly-revised Progressive Agenda for States and Localities. It contains more than 200 policy ideas across a wide variety of issues, with hyperlinks to model legislation.