Urgent Action Needed - Call on VOICE - Monday, March 26th!
From Progressive Action for the Common Good
 
As many of you may know, PACG has put out many calls to action on VOICE - Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections.  The passage of VOICE - SF 553 , in the state of Iowa would have a HUGE impact on every issue across the spectrum - the passage of this bill would give the people of Iowa an unprecedented opportunity to take back control of our legislature from the special interest groups that have too often dominated the outcome of policy. There are MANY reasons to pass VOICE - passage of this bill would free-up our legislators from the all consuming cycle of fundraising so they can spend more time working on the actual issues that affect their constituents, and citizens would have more faith in the system and the legislators that represent them. Legislators would no longer be beholden to the special interests that help get them elected. In other states where similar bills were passed, they are seeing a big increase in people running for office than ever before and in Arizona voter turnout has increased by as much as 20%. The passage of VOICE is a win-win for everyone involved... that's why WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW.
 
The VOICE bill, SF 553, is in an Appropriations sub-committee comprised of Rep. Dave Jacoby (D-chair), Rep. Jo Oldson (D) and Rep. Dwayne Alons (R).  It will come up for a vote in that committee either Tuesday (3/27) or Wednesday (3/28).  If passed, it then goes to the full committee and becomes "funnel-proof."  That means the likelihood for debate on the floor of the House increases.  However, we learned on Friday that the Appropriations sub-committee plans to "kill" the bill, at the request of leadership. 
 
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
 
PLEASE make a push to call the committee members and the leadership on MONDAY, urging them to support SF 553. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is a firm supporter of the bill so please call him, thank him for his support and urge him to continue pushing for passage of the bill.
 
MOST IMPORTANTLY - contact Senator Mike Gronstal in the Senate and Speaker Pat Murphy in the House - urging them to support passage of the bill. We need to make a VERY BIG PUSH in order to make a difference. 
 
VOICE has overwhelming support from citizens and community leaders - we need to remind leadership that people matter more, money matters less.
 
PLEASE call the Appropriations Sub-Committee members and House & Senate Leaders on MONDAY! - These are only 6 telephone calls that will take up very little of your time -- the small effort required on our part can make a BIG difference for the future of our state! Please refer to the Word document (see attachment) that outlines the general information and primary benefits of the bill, SF 553.

Appropriations Sub-Committee           

Rep. Dave Jacoby (D)                
House District 30 -- Johnson County
David.Jacoby@legis.state.ia.us         
Home Telephone: 319-358-8538    
House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221
           
Rep. Jo Oldson (D)                  
House District 61 -- Polk County   
Jo.Oldson@legis.state.ia.us            
Home Telephone: 515-255-2805
House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221
           
Rod Roberts (R)
Rod.Roberts@legis.state.ia.us
House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221.
           
Speaker of the HouseRep. Pat Murphy (D)
House District 28 – Dubuque County
Pat.Murphy@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (563) 582-5922
House Telephone:  (515) 281-5566

House Majority Leader
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D)
House District 67 – Polk County
Kevin.McCarthy@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (515) 953-5221
House Telephone:  (515) 281-7497
(PLEASE THANK HIM FOR HIS SUPPORT!)

Senate Majority Leader
Senator Mike Gronstal (D)
Senate District 50 -- Pottawattamie
michael.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (712) 328-2808
Business Telephone: (515) 281-3901

Take action!        Call, your local legislator today! Find out where they stand on the bill, urge them to support it and ask them to urge leadership and committee members to do the same!  It's not enough to simply ask them if they support the bill --- if they do, ask them what they are doing to ensure passage of this bill.

House Switchboard to reach all
State Representatives:  (515) 281-3221
 
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!
PACG Staff
James Lee 563-650-3922
Caroline Vernon 563-676-7580