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TOOLKIT CONTENTS:

What Is the Republican Tax Scam?

        What Is Budget Reconciliation?

State Of Play: Why We’re Taking Action

May Recess

Our Demands

Our Tactics

Registering & Promoting Your Event

Resources & Links

Talking Points

WHAT IS THE REPUBLICAN TAX SCAM?

Republicans in Congress are on a mission to strip working families of $1.5 trillion in Medicaid, SNAP, and other essential programs—all to pay for more than $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for the super-rich.

The consequences are brutal and deadly. If they succeed, millions will lose health insurance. Kids will go hungry. Families will face soaring costs for housing, groceries, and care.

This isn’t a budget. It’s an attack.

And they know how deeply unpopular it is—that’s why they’re using the budget reconciliation process, a fast-track maneuver to bypass normal debate and accountability, to jam it through with just 51 votes.

But their grip on power is shaky. Republicans are divided, and their majority is razor-thin. That gives us a powerful opening to fight back—to stall, to block, and to tank this sham bill.

What Is Budget Reconciliation?

Budget reconciliation is a wonky process that allows the Senate to bypass the filibuster. So, instead of needing 60 votes for legislation to advance, a reconciliation bill needs just 51 votes to pass.

Why? Republicans want to use reconciliation for their billionaire tax cuts because they don’t want to work with Democrats on a bipartisan bill that would actually benefit their constituents.

This is a simple story. Republicans want to rob everyday Americans to fund billionaires’ private jets and mega-yachts. They want to gut Medicaid and SNAP so Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies can pile up more money than they can ever spend.

But they’re scared—because they know the public is against them.

That’s why they’re hiding behind reconciliation. That’s why they’re rushing. And that’s why our pressure can stop them cold.

STATE OF PLAY: WHY WE’RE TAKING ACTION

The House passed the bill on May 22 with only Republican votes. Mike Johnson chose to hold the vote in the earliest hours of the morning while most people were still asleep, hoping no one would notice the bill was packed with disastrous cuts and extreme provisions, including:

• Massive cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would leave 15 million people without healthcare
• Denying food assistance to more than 11 million people
• Attacks on the trans community by banning gender affirming care from being covered by Medicaid or as an essential health benefit for ACA insurance plans
• Decimated access to reproductive healthcare by defunding Planned Parenthood and banning ACA plans from covering abortion care
• Higher costs of home utility bills because of cuts to clean energy investments
• Skyrocking costs of college by eliminating student loan programs and slashing Pell Grant funding

But the fight isn’t over. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to consider the bill, so we’re shifting our focus there to turn up the heat on Senate Republicans. But if the Senate changes even one word of the bill, it’ll have to go back to the House for a final vote.

That means we have more opportunities to delay, disrupt, and ideally defeat the bill.

Trump has demanded tax breaks for his rich friends—and Republicans are scrambling to deliver, no matter the cost to the rest of us. But the problem Republicans face is that their caucus is in chaos: some are afraid of the political consequences they’ll face for cutting Medicaid, some want even deeper cuts to Medicaid. And their majority is so slim that just a handful of “no” votes stops the bill, giving us leverage to delay the bill, exact concessions, or even tank it.

MAY RECESS

Congress is in recess May 24 - June 2. This isn’t a vacation–it’s when Members of Congress go back home to host town halls, meet with constituents, and be responsive to the people who elected them.

Senate Republicans are hoping to have a quiet week at home before they come back to Washington to consider voting for this disastrous bill.

It’s up to us to make sure they feel the heat from their constituents instead.

Plan a visit to their district office, hold a rally, or a call-in day that forces your Republican Senator to answer for their plan to slash Medicaid and SNAP to fund billionaire tax breaks. Or check out our list of recommended tactics below for other ways to take action over recess. Even if you don’t have a Republican Senator, there’s a way for you to get involved.

🔥 We know that showing up works. Every single time we’ve organized around congressional recess, we’ve made lawmakers take notice—and changed the political landscape. This recess, we do it again. Because the stakes are too high to stay home.

OUR DEMANDS

We want Republicans in Congress to feel the heat from their constituents and force them to answer for cutting vital programs to pay for billionaire handouts.

Tell Your Republican Senator You Won’t Pay the Price So Billionaires Can Cash In

Link to call

Link to email

Tell Your Republican Representative Hands Off Our Healthcare, Our Food, and Our Futures

Link to call

Link to email

RECOMMENDED TACTICS

Phone Bank

Every Wednesday and Thursday in June  we’re hosting phone banks to call voters in our Senate target states: North Carolina, Maine, Utah, and Ohio. We’ll connect them directly to their Senator’s office to demand they oppose the Republican tax scam bill.

Anyone, anywhere can participate. We’ll provide all the training you need at the beginning of the phone bank. Register here to turn up the heat on these target Senators.

And if you want to hit the ground running on these phonebanks and get right to calling, you can join us on May 29  to be trained on Scale to Win, our easy to use calling tool that connects voters directly to their member of Congress’  office. Register here for Indivisible’s phone bank training.

Neighbor2Neighbor

Frontline Republicans are hoping they can quietly vote for egregious cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs without facing any accountability. Instead, we need to crank up the pressure and get as many of their constituents as possible to take action to let them know: stop the cuts!

Spread the word in your local community by canvassing with Neighbor2Neighbor.

When you register, we’ll send you the addresses for five like-minded neighbors, a sample script, and flyers to leave behind so they can take action to fight back against the Republican tax scam.

If you live in one of the Republican target districts below, sign up for Neighbor2Neighbor here. Now that the Senate is considering the bill, it’s critical that we continue to knock on doors in Maine, North Caroline, Ohio, and Utah. But the fight isn’t over in the House, where the bill will face another vote after it clears the Senate. We need to hold House Republicans responsible for their bad vote and demand they use their second chance to vote no.

Fight Back With Friends

We’re stronger together, so encourage your friends and family to take action to stop the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Sign up and get access to Empower, an app that has everything you need to text your circle about the Republican tax scam: ready to use scripts and messages with links they can use to call their own Members of Congress.

Anyone, anywhere can participate. Sign up here to Fight Back With Friends. 

REGISTERING & PROMOTING YOUR EVENT

📌 Register your event on Mobilize so others in your area can join. You can also check if there’s already an event planned near you—more people means more power.

Note: Following our safety best practices, please do not include your email address or personal contact information on the event page.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

📝 Do I need to register an event, or can I just go?
Yes—please register your event! It helps us track how many actions are happening and ensures every MoC feels the pressure. If you want to keep it private, you can mark your event as “invite-only” when creating it.

📢 Will you help me recruit?
We encourage you to take the lead on bringing people together, but posting a public event will allow Indivisible to help spread the word and recruit more attendees.

📞 Do I need to call in advance if I’m going to a District/State Office?
Nope! You can call ahead if you have a relationship with the office, but there’s no requirement to schedule a meeting. If staff tells you they can’t accommodate a visit on short notice, show up anyway. This is urgent, and we don’t have time to wait.

🏛️How should I decide where to hold my event?

Pick somewhere that is both visible and meaningful, like your MoC’s  district/state office, town square, city hall, or along a major thoroughfare. But it’s important that any demonstration take place on public property and does not block access to building entrances.

👥 There’s already a visit listed for my MoC—should I join that one or start another?
Either works! If you see a scheduled event that fits your availability, join it. But if you can’t make it, organize another action at a time that works for you. Every event adds to the pressure.

If you have any other questions, feel free to send us an email at supportteam@indivisible.org.

RESOURCES & LINKS

EVENT REIMBURSEMENTS

Indivisible Project can reimburse groups for eligible expenses, up to $200.00 per group, associated with your “Stop the Cuts”  actions!

Using this form, groups can request reimbursement for:

• Standard event hosting costs, such as

• Venue fees
• AV equipment
• Food and non-alcoholic drinks
• Promotional/Invite materials

• Printing costs for messages to lobby your federal-level MoC
• Printing costs for messages criticizing the Trump Administration

Keep your ITEMIZED receipts and invoices from your purchases, then submit them by June 13,  2025, at 11:59 PM PST. Please see the guidance outlined in the application form regarding reimbursement restrictions, methods of payment, and who to contact for help.

PRINTABLE SIGNS & PROMO GRAPHICS

Here are a few printable signs and promo graphics to get you started.

RESOURCES & LINKS

General Resources

• Find or Start a Local Indivisible Group
• How to Hold a Successful District Office Visit
• Indivisible Town Hall Guide
• How to Get Press to Your Event Guide
• Safety, Security, and Digital Preparedness for a Second Trump Administration
• Original 2016 Indivisible Guide on Getting Members of Congress to Listen

Call Scripts & Email Tools

• House Republican Call Script: Hold Your Republican Representative Accountable for Voting to Slash Medicaid & SNAP

• House Republican Email Tool

• Senate Republican Call Script: Tell Your Republican Senator You Don’t Want to Pay the Price for Their Billionaire Tax Breaks

• Senate Republican Email Tool

Stop the Cuts Resources

• Legislative Process 101–Budget Reconciliation
• The Basics of Budget Reconciliation 
• Cash in Congress: a database to see how much each Republican MoC will personally benefit from the tax scam
• District-Level Data on the Impacts of the Republican Rip-Of

TALKING POINTS

• Republicans in Congress are selling us out to help billionaires like Elon Musk get even richer. Their tax scam will fleece the American people so billionaires can buy another private jet or luxury yacht.
• The Republican tax scam includes over $1.5 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, nutrition assistance like SNAP, and other vital programs in exchange for more than $4.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts to the ultrawealthy and big corporations.
•  Millions of Americans will lose their health insurance, children in need will go without school meals, and working families will face higher costs for housing, healthcare, and groceries—all so billionaires can receive massive handouts.
• Republicans know this is unpopular. That’s why they’re ramming these cuts through via reconciliation, so they don’t have to work with Democrats on a tax plan that would actually benefit working families.
• There are a number of vulnerable Republicans in Congress who are feeling the pressure from their constituents and are afraid of the political price they’ll pay for gutting Medicaid and SNAP. It’s up to us to keep up that pressure and make them sweat.
• We want Democrats to oppose the Republican tax scam and do everything they can to fight for working families. It’s not enough to just vote against the bill, we need them out there making noise and publicly exposing the harms of the bill.
• This fight is still live in both the House and Senate. We want to focus on pressuring  Senate Republicans while they’re still negotiating the bill, but we aren’t done in the House. The Senate will likely make changes to the bill, which forces another vote in the House. This means we still have real opportunities in both chambers to peel off Republicans.