Protecting Clean Water by Protecting EPA & Interior Programs

Protecting Clean Water by Protecting EPA & Interior Programs

DAY OF ACTION TOOLKIT

For Thursday, September 20, 2018

If your organization cannot participate that day, then we still encourage you to find a different date to participate ahead of Sunday, September 30, the date by which the federal budget needs to be approved.

Purpose of this toolkit

Our communities benefit from the investments made through EPA and Interior funding – from clean air, drinking water and healthy salmon populations to pollution reduction, clean water and flood prevention. The purpose of the September Day of Action is to show our Senators and Representatives that Washingtonians are paying attention to the federal budget process and that we want to see clean water protections prioritized. We will use our collective voice to send a clear message to our leaders that we need them to fight for a fully-funded and robust EPA and Department of Interior.

Given the uncertainty over how and where the final budget for our valued EPA and Interior programs will land, we are asking you to make your voice heard, using letters or calls to our Members of Congress (Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and your U.S. House Representative), asking them to work toward adoption of a fully-funded EPA and Interior budget bill (and no dirty policy riders!) to ensure the funding is in place to support the vital programs that protect our drinking water, Puget Sound and our fight against pollution.

By having multiple organizations take action on the same day, we can amplify our voices.

How your organization can participate

  • Share social media posts on your organizational Facebook, Twitter and other social channels. Simply copy and paste the suggested social media posts and visuals below, or develop your own customized posts to share out the content, using the #protectcleanwater hashtag.
  • Send an action alert email to your members/supporters and/or email lists. A template is included below.

Social media

That phone in your hand is a mighty advocacy tool that can activate friends and supporters, and alert policymakers that people care about this issue. Our Administration, Senators and Representatives and their staff are active on social media – Facebook and Twitter, in particular. Their staff also monitor how their boss is being talked to and about online and they will respond or make a note of your online comments and asks when they include their boss’ handle.

What you can do

Copy and paste this text for social media posts on Facebook and Twitter and upload the visuals provided in the links below to boost visibility online. Use the #protectcleanwater hashtag and call out your elected officials by using their handle (E.g., use “@pattymurray” instead of “Patty Murray”).

  • @ELECTEDOFFICIAL Washingtonians ask you to keep raising our voice for #PugetSound! Keep fighting for a strong budget to #protectcleanwater!
  • @ELECTEDOFFICIAL It’s vital that you keep fighting for a budget to #protectcleanwater. Washingtonians depend on clean air and water.
  • @ELECTEDOFFICIAL Keep speaking up for WA waterways and fight for a budget to #protectcleanwater.
  • @ELECTEDOFFICIAL: Please listen to WA voices and fight for a strong #EPAbudget and #InteriorBudget. Our clean air and water depends on you.

Photos for posting (Right-click on any image below to save it to your phone or desktop, otherwise click here.)

 

 

List of electeds to mention:

  • @senatorcantwell
  • @pattymurray
  • @davereichert
  • @herrerabeutler
  • @RepDerekKilmer
  • @RepDennyHeck
  • @RepAdamSmith
  • @RepJayapal
  • @cathymcmorris
  • @RepNewhouse
  • @RepRickLarsen
  • @RepDelBene

Email action alert

An email alert can provide your members and audiences with tangible actions to fight for the EPA and Interior budgets. You can adapt this email template to fit your audience.

Dear [member/audience name],

Our communities benefit from the investments made through EPA and Department of Interior funding – from clean air, drinking water and healthy salmon populations to pollution reduction, clean water and flood prevention. As a supporter of [insert your organization name], we are working on [insert priority issue] and that work depends on vital federal funding.

Congress is currently negotiating a budget agreement with a deadline of September 30th. We are asking you to make your voice heard, using letters, calls, and social media to call on the Administration and our Members of Congress (Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and your U.S. House Representative). Ask them to work toward adoption of fully-funded EPA and Interior budgets to protect our clean water – from the water that comes out of our taps to the health of Puget Sound.

Take action:

  • Use social media to call on leaders to #protectcleanwater. Upload a photo, draft a short message and use the #protectcleanwater hashtag. Here is a sample tweet: @PattyMurray Washingtonians ask you to keep raising our voice for #PugetSound! Keep fighting for a strong budget to ##protectcleanwater!
  • Call or send an email to your Representative or the Administration. Be sure to explain how EPA and Interior Dept. funding is important to you personally; for example, ”I want clean air for my children!”

Tell your member of Congress now: Protect clean water and vote for healthy funding of the EPA and Department of Interior budgets. Together we can use our voices to protect what makes Washington special.

Sincerely,

[Your organization]

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