Holler from the Hollers
There is a lot going on in the federal government with regulations being repealed, policies revoked, protections eliminated and funding canceled. It can be really hard to keep track of, and even harder to know where to plug in and advocate for your community.
One of the most effective actions you can take is to simply pick up your phone and call elected officials to tell them what you’re concerned about. And when we’re all calling about the same issues, we’re making a bigger impact. We’re picking something specific to make calls about together in our Holler from the Hollers series.
We are hosting a series of Zoom events, where we share information about a topic we have chosen to make calls about and give you a script to call our leaders together. Once we’re done making our calls, we can chat and compare notes! We’ll post registration information for each event on this page when it is available. If you or your friends can’t make it, we’ll also provide a toolkit or action alert you can use to make calls on your own time.
Upcoming Hollers!
Holler about handouts for polluters over our communities!
Thursday, May 15 at noon EST:
Republicans in Congress are developing an expansive bill known as the “Renewing the American Dream” Act, with broad impacts shaping everything from energy development to health care to public lands. Over the past month, House Committees have been releasing and voting on components of the bill, which will eventually be combined into one massive piece of legislation. The details of these bills are concerning, with negative consequences for community health and safety, jobs and economic development, and protection of our public, natural spaces.
Join us on Zoom for a short lunchtime “Holler from the Hollers” event for an update on what’s at risk, and how you can help by calling your legislators’ offices. We’ll share a script and then make phone calls together — and we know these phone calls make a difference!
Help push back against these billionaire giveaways by joining us this Thursday!
Previous Hollers
Members of Congress still need to hear from you about the following topics
Holler about keeping the A/C and heat on for low-income families!
Many people in our region struggle with high energy bills — sometimes 15% or more of a household’s income. A high power bill can make it hard to stay safe and comfortable in the heat of summer or cold of winter, or it can force hard choices between power and other essentials, like medicine.
The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps qualifying households lower their energy costs through weatherization updates to windows, doors and insulation. But Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut all the staff positions running the program, and a leaked draft budget document shows that some members of Congress want to cut funding for LIHEAP entirely.
LIHEAP has long had bipartisan support. Not only does it help families stay safe during extreme temperatures, but it also supports energy efficiency jobs and helps lower the strain on the grid. Members of Congress need to hear from you that we want LIHEAP to keep helping neighbors who need a hand!
Holler about FEMA aid for Helene survivors!
People are still waiting for federal aid to recover from Hurricane Helene, which is unacceptable seven months after the storm. Lawmakers need to hear from constituents that FEMA must transparently deliver aid to people affected by Helene now. Survivors have told stories to news outlets about FEMA’s opaque processes and surprise rulings for minimal aid when people have dire needs and did everything correctly to fill out the right forms. Our community members need federal resources to recover from this unprecedented disaster in the region, and our lawmakers need to hear from constituents that FEMA can no longer delay its delivery of aid.
While communities continue to ask FEMA and other federal agencies for the resources they need to rebuild from Helene, there are ongoing discussions in the Department of Homeland Security (where FEMA is housed) about dismantling FEMA and limiting its scope of work to only providing disaster aid while forcing states to administer all programs for emergency preparedness.
It is critical for our region that FEMA continue to fund pre-disaster mitigation work and administer aid to survivors of disasters more quickly.
Holler about protecting clean energy tax credits!
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, created new tax incentives to promote investment in clean energy projects across the country. These credits are already having major impacts in Appalachia by boosting local economies, creating jobs with transferable skills, enhancing energy reliability, lowering people’s electricity bills, and cutting pollution.
Congress is now identifying programs to cut to pay for their tax cuts to billionaires, and, unfortunately, the clean energy tax credits are on the chopping block.
Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents that they don’t want their electricity bills to go up or to lose the new jobs in their communities created by the clean energy tax credits.
Holler about programs that protect coal miners from black lung!
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and its Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program provide essential health services to coal miners. It provides free, confidential screenings for black lung disease and supports clinics across the country. Last week, Elon Musk’s DOGE gutted NIOSH offices, including in West Virginia, where much of the work helping coal miners is done.
NIOSH operates a mobile black lung screening van that meets coal miners where they are, making it easier for them to get screened for deadly black lung. If black lung is caught early, coal miners have a better chance of managing their health. Hundreds of thousands of coal miners have used the program’s free screening services since the program’s creation over 50 years ago.
Lawmakers across the political spectrum say they support miners, and they need to hear from constituents like you. Tell your members of Congress to push back against cuts to miner safety!
Holler about defending EPA and our clean air & water!
The Environmental Protection Agency is the critical federal agency responsible for helping to protect people from things like toxic waste, dangerous air pollution, oil spills and more. In Appalachia, where communities are dealing with the negative impacts of numerous polluting industries such as coal, gas, and logging, the EPA has played a vital role in cleaning up the damage from these industries and protecting people from more harm.
The EPA is facing numerous attacks on its ability to do its work from billionaires who bought access to the Trump administration. These attacks will lead to worse health for people in Appalachia and beyond.
Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents that we don’t want out-of-touch billionaires putting our health at risk and that the EPA needs stable staffing and funding.
Holler about protecting miners’ health!
Everyone deserves to work without putting their health or safety at risk. But for miners across the country, going to work is still very dangerous, with at least nine mining deaths already this year. And the rates of black lung disease have increased for coal miners in recent years.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is facing numerous attacks on its ability to do its work. The Department of Government Efficiency is closing at least 29 MSHA field offices across the country and firing mine safety inspectors. On top of that, the president has nominated a mining industry executive, Wayne Palmer, to lead the agency going forward — an executive that is on the record opposing the new black lung prevention rule.
Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents that we don’t want billionaires putting miners at risk and that MSHA needs stable staffing, funding and offices to be able to protect miners.