Friday Mar 17th PM Daily Do's

*** YOUR DAILY DO’S – 3/17, EVENING EDITION ***  Angela Teater
This weekly roundup focuses on the amazing action we took this week on behalf of affordable, accessible healthcare for all. Thank you so much for all your hard work this week. It’s not easy to stay positive and motivated in the face of an opponent like the Trump Administration, and we are so grateful for your courage and your continued efforts.
Let’s take a look at this week’s highlights.
*We participated in an eye-opening discussion about race and perception.
*We showed our support for the carbon tax bill HB1646.
*We stood up for the vital Medicaid program, which provides insurance coverage for the most vulnerable American citizens.
*We worked to protect Planned Parenthood and the critical healthcare they provide for millions of women.
*We acted on behalf of black activists like Omari Tahir-Garrett.
We also had some encouraging wins this week, on both a local level and at the national level.
*The journalist Rachel Maddow released a portion of Trump’s 2005 tax return. Though the return itself didn’t contain particularly damning information, it’s an important first step in our quest to hold Trump accountable. The release of this return indicates that Trump’s paranoia and secrecy are not impenetrable. The president may believe that he can do whatever he wants without consequences, but the leaks coming from his Administration indicate otherwise.
*Many prominent politicians, including some Republicans, spoke out against the American Healthcare Act. A good number of them opposed the bill on grounds that mirror our own mission: to provide better quality healthcare for more people, not fewer.
*A Fox News anchor (Fox News!) admitted that the 45’s outrageous claim – that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower – is entirely without evidence.
*A Maryland federal judge blocked a portion of Trump’s new Muslim ban.
*Washington state farmers stood up for the H-2A agricultural program that allows foreign farm workers to work here legally without fear of deportation.
*Leaders in Seattle’s medical community warned against the dire repercussions of Trump’s proposed budget, warning that a 20% cut to the budget of the National Institute of Health could prove catastrophic.
I’ll leave you with a do for the weekend. If you’d like to take action over the next few days, we have a suggestion for you.
Washington Senate Bill 5835, which is currently sitting in committee in the State Senate, is an important step forward in ensuring quality care for pregnant and postpartum women and their babies. 
The bill includes the following provisions: guidance on how health care facilities can establish procedures regarding skin-to-skin care for newborns and rooming in for mom and baby; requirements regarding health care facilities report on their procedures; directs the Department of Labor and Industries to provide materials about the rights of pregnant women in the workplace; and establishing an advisory committee to explore options for improving maternal and infant mortality.
You can learn more about SB 5835 here: http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5835&Year=2017
Please consider contacting your legislators and encouraging them to support SB 5835. 
You can find a list of state senators here:
http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/pages/default.aspx