A Timeline of ECAP Victories
2005
August
8/29 - Hurricane Katrina slams into the Gulf Coast, killing almost 2,000 people and leaving thousands homeless. It is one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters in American history.
8/31 - The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that more than 3,000 people are stranded at the Superdome without food, water or sanitation.
September
9/2 - President Bush voices support for FEMA Director Michael Brown, saying, "Brownie, you're doing one heck of a job."
9/3 - The first buses begin evacuating the Superdome, six days after Katrina hits and three full days after the press first reports that people are stranded there without basic supplies.
9/24 - Hurricane Rita hits the Southeastern states.
9/26 - Future ECAP partner MoveOn.org creates www.hurricanehousing.org, a website that helps hurricane evacuees find temporary housing.
October
Across the country, ACORN, AFSCME, PFAW, USAction, USSA and other ECAP partners hold 103 events, including press conferences with Katrina survivors, food drives, and office visits with members of Congress. The coalition asks members of Congress to pledge opposition to cuts in services and tax breaks for millionaires.
10/6 - CBS News releases a poll showing the president's approval rating at 37 percent, his lowest mark to date.
10/12 - Social justice and human needs organizations launch ECAP to address the Bush Administration's pitiful response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and pledge to fight the spending cuts and tax breaks for millionaires in the President's proposed 2006 budget.
10/19 - AFSCME launches the official ECAP website (www.actnow.org) and holds a virtual march on Washington, DC.
10/25 - AFSCME and SEIU run radio ads calling on members of Congress to vote against cutting vital programs merely to finance tax cuts for the wealthy. AFSCME members who survived Katrina participate in ECAP press conferences in at least five states.
November
ECAP partners hold more than 175 events
11/03 - The Senate passes its version of the 2006 budget reconciliation bill (52-47), but the Republican leadership feels its first significant resistance from moderates.
11/18 - The House struggles to find the votes for the 2006 budget reconciliation bill, passing it by the slimmest of margins, 217-215.
11/16 - MoveOn.org, AFSCME, and other ECAP partners hold over 110 "Speak Out" events in front of congressional members' offices.
11/23 - ECAP partners generate more than 42,000 calls to Congress from constituents.
December
ECAP Partners hold 114 events
12/11 - With help from ECAP's broad coalitional support, environmental groups successfully sway the Republican leadership to remove from the Defense Department appropriations bill a provision that would have opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling.
12/16 - Call to Renewal organizes over 90 prayer and candlelight vigils at congressional offices for its "National Week of Prayer and Action for Compassionate Priorities." The vigils are meant to show lawmakers the "light" - that voting for tax breaks for millionaires while cutting services for families is immoral.
12/15 - USSA generates over 100,000 calls to Congress from students who take "call breaks" while studying for finals.
12/19 - Thanks to ECAP, more than a dozen House Republicans vote against their leaders on the budget conference report, resulting in a 212-206 vote. In the meantime, senators have added new points of order into their bill, forcing yet another House vote after the holiday recess. This is bad news for budget-cutting House leaders, who barely won this vote and continue to lose ground.
12/21 -
- ECAP and Call to Renewal coordinate a "pray in," with more than 300 religious leaders at the Capitol Rotunda to "soften the hearts" of the Senate and to call on senators to vote against cuts in vital services. More than 100 leaders are arrested while kneeling in prayer outside the Capitol.
- The Senate abandons proposed food-stamp cuts.
- Vice President Dick Cheney flies back from Afghanistan to cast the deciding Senate vote in favor of a budget that cuts programs for low- and middle-income families.
2006
January
ECAP partners hold almost 300 events
1/05 - Over 150 people from more than 100 advocacy groups and service providers attend the standing-room-only launch of "Take a Stand for America's Priorities," a 35-state campaign to defeat the tax and budget reconciliation bills.
1/12 - AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger host a press conference call to unveil a new TV advertising blitz opposing health care cuts for seniors.
1/25 -Tiffany Cooper, a Kansas State University sophomore, asks President Bush about the student loan cuts: "Recently 12.7 billion dollars was cut from education. I was just wondering how is that supposed to help our futures?"
1/31 - The president delivers his State of the Union address, in which he calls on Congress to make the tax breaks passed over the previous four years permanent. USAction affiliates hold all-night prayer vigils outside of congressional members' offices, and Call to Renewal and Sojourners organize "State of our Values" discussion forums in response to the president's address.
February
More than 40,000 constituents call Congress, helping to convince four moderate House Republicans to change their votes on the budget. They are: John Sweeney of New York, Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, and Rob Simmons of Connecticut.
2/1 - The Republican leadership, concerned that mounting ECAP pressure will prevent passage of the budget cuts, rushes the vote immediately after Congress' January recess. It passes by the narrowest margin yet - 216-214.
2/2 - The Senate, bombarded with calls and letters from constituents and queasy about more giveaways to the rich, removes a capital-gains tax cut from the 2006 tax resolution. The bill passes 66-31, but the omission of the capital gains cut makes an agreement with the House a much more challenging prospect.
2/8 - President Bush signs the 2006 budget into law, even though the House and the Senate spending bills differ by $2 billion. According to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), the White House knew about the discrepancy but went forward with the signing anyway because the bills were unlikely to survive yet another vote.
March
In February and March, ECAP partners hold 160 events against tax and budget cuts.
3/07 - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) headlines, and USAction President William McNary speaks, at a joint ACORN/USSA rally on the Capitol lawn. Over 1,000 ACORN and USSA members from across the country rally against the budget cuts to education and other vital supports.
3/16 -Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) propose a budget-bill amendment to restore $7 billion in funding for education, nutrition, and vital social service programs. It passes easily, 73-27, and adds to the differences between the Senate budget and its counterpart in the House, making it more difficult to reconcile them. The Senate passes the budget itself in a 51-49 vote.
3/21 - Public Citizen files a lawsuit contesting the validity of the 2006 budget law - the so-called "Deficit Reduction Act," citing the constitutional requirement that the House and Senate pass identical bills for the president's signature. (The House and Senate spending bills differed by more than $2 billion.)
April
In April and May, ECAP partners hold over 103 events in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
4/05 - House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) abandons his claim that the 2007 budget bill "will be done before we leave this week," indicating that he does not have the votes to pass it.
4/13 - Connecticut Citizen Action Group brings out more than 200 people to protest the Bush budget during a presidential visit to the state.
4/25 - ECAP partners circulate petitions condemning the president's FY07 budget proposal, which includes tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of vital health care and education funding. More than 5,000 people sign the online petition in a week.
3/20 - New Jersey Citizen Action and more than 100 activists protest the administration's budget in Newark, where Vice President Cheney is visiting.
May
ECAP launches a call-in campaign in which thousands participate to pressure Congress to vote against estate tax repeal.
5/5 - Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) announces his plan to hold a vote to repeal the estate tax in early June. ECAP joins with Americans for a Fair Estate Tax and the Coalition for America's Priorities to launch an integrated opposition campaign.
5/5 - For several weeks, ECAP holds events in nearly 10 states highlighting the trade off between funding education and other critical services and financing tax cuts for the wealthy.
5/18 - The House passes the budget reconciliation bill. ECAP challenges moderates to defend their votes to cut services to pay for tax breaks for millionaires.
5/19 - More than a dozen House Democrats file an amicus brief in federal court, echoing Public Citizen's legal challenge over the constitutionality of the "Deficit Reduction Act," which President Bush signed in February despite the failure to pass identical bills in the House and Senate.
June
More than 700 national, state and local organizations from all 50 states sign on to a letter opposing repeal of the estate tax or "reforms" that would drastically reduce this progressive tax.
6/2 - During Memorial Day recess and the first week in June, USAction affiliates mobilize constituents and organize press conferences and "silver spoon" events in more than 20 states. At least 15 USAction affiliates and partners released the USAction/ECAP report, "Protecting Our Priorities: The Hidden Costs of Repeal or Drastic Reduction of the Federal Estate Tax."
6/3 - The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Hatcher Group, United for a Fair Economy, and RESULTS generate dozens of editorials and opinion articles across the country that strongly question the wisdom of repealing the estate tax in the face of alarming deficits and the apparent lack of funds for various vital programs and services.
6/8 - Victory against Estate Tax Repeal! Senators vote, 57-41, to support a filibuster against a bill to repeal the estate tax.
6/9 - ECAP launches the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Campaign. ECAP organizes a meeting of service and advocacy organizations to defeat dangerous cuts in the upcoming battle over discretionary funding for programs in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments. ECAP plans to continue the campaign through the end of the year, anticipating that Congress won't hold a final vote on the bill until after the November elections.
6/22 - House Ways & Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-CA) introduces a bill to drastically reduce the estate tax. The House passes the bill 269-156.
6/26 - AFSCME and USAction coordinate press conference calls in 10 states to launch the campaign to defeat the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill which cuts funding for many of America's priorities.
6/27 - Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) is forced to retreat on House Ways & Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas' (R-CA) estate tax bill because he lacks the votes for such a drastic reduction.
July and August
Dozens of national ECAP partner organizations send action alerts to their networks, generating 10,000 calls to senate offices. Ohio groups join forces, mounting an aggressive editorial-board campaign around the state while the National Women's Law Center prepares state-specific memos for editorial boards and reporters in WA, MN, OR, AR, ME, and RI. United for a Fair Economy coordinates with Responsible Wealth members to speak at many of the events highlighted below.
8/2 - USAction affiliate Washington Citizen Action organizes a press conference call and the next day holds a follow-up visit to their senator's offices with 15 community leaders.
8/3 - New Jersey Citizen Action and West Virginia Citizen Action Group organize conference calls with their local coalitions. AFSCME organizes a press conference in Little Rock, Ark., with more than 25 leaders from various local organizations. After the event, coalition leaders conduct lobby visits at their senators' offices. On the same day, the Senate votes down the so-called "trifecta" bill, which held hostage a minimum-wage increase for 6.6 million working Americans in exchange for billions of dollars in cuts to the estate tax for about 8,200 of the wealthiest families in the nation. Embarrassingly, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is forced to vote against the bill so he can keep the option of bringing it up for another vote later this year.
September and October
ECAP partners AFSCME, SEIU and USAction (and its state affiliates) hold events drawing attention to labor, education, and children and youth issues.
9/11 - Launch of Workers Week. During Workers Week, ECAP members around the country organize citizens to rally at state capitols and talk about hard times for working families, in addition to distributing reports to the press concerning low wages, high housing costs, working conditions and other critical workers issues.
10/3 - USAction West Virginia affiliate WVCAG points to a new study by Citizens for Tax Justice that shows the Bush tax cuts only benefit the top 1 percent of West Virginians, with similarly disproportionate implications for the rest of the country.
9/18 - Launch of Education Week. Across the country in 21 states and at the national level, ECAP members including AFSCME, RESULTS, and USAction affiliates hold actions and press conferences drawing attention to education inequality issues.
10/19 - USSA organizes 30 students to lobby Representatives on Capitol Hill about Budget and Appropriations and the Higher Education Act, and specifically to focus on Labor HHS.
10/2 - Launch of Children and Youth Week. During this week of action, ECAP partners AFSCME, Voices for America's Children, RESULTS, and others hold press conferences and events in at least 18 states, drawing attention to pressing issues including funding for health care, Head Start, and afterschool programs.
10/2 to 10/23 - USAction affiliates take the lead in forming dynamic coalitions across the country to give voice to children's and youth's issues. CANY, USAction's New York affiliate, brings together reporters and local government officials to speak directly to students affected by afterschool programs. Youth in grades 5-8 lead tours at an open house sponsored by the Hudson Middle School Afterschool Program, featuring classes such as homework assistance, art, sports, junior firefighting, hair styling, and many other activities.
November
11/7 - American voters repudiate President Bush's agenda of reckless tax breaks and irresponsible budget cuts; ECAP leadership begins making plans to support efforts in the 110th Congress to undo the damage its predecessors have caused.
December
12/8 - The ECAP coalition scores an important victory when the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act stalls in Congress; If enacted, the departments would have received massive cuts.
2007
February
2/5 - The president submits his budget proposal to Congress, calling for drastic cuts in critical programs and social services.
2/6 - The Coalition on Human Needs and USAction take the lead in creating state-by-state "First Things First" research reports on the disastrous impacts of the president's budget proposals. The reports highlight the wrong choices in the president's budget and point out critical needs.
2/14 - An important victory is achieved when Congress passes the continuing budget resolution for 2007.
2/22 to 3/19 - ECAP members and USAction affiliates hold at least 66 events across the country in response to the president's budget, releasing the First Things First research reports in at least 24 states!
2/26 to 3/13 - Several ECAP member organizations hold lobby days and conferences in Washington, DC, with over 2,000 activists lobbying for the First Things First agenda.
March
3/13 -The Coalition on Human Needs hosts a federal budget conference call to "seize the moment" and mobilize activists in advance of upcoming call-in days to steer the budget process in Congress.
3/13 - Later that day, over 500 ACORN members and ECAP partners join Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) for a rally on Capitol Hill to show support for the First Things First agenda!
"This administration's budget looks out for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working Americans. Those are the wrong priorities for our country and our future..." said Whitehouse.
"The president's budget is not the people's budget," Becerra said. "Critical programs that affect countless Americans have faced years of neglect by the current administration and the former Congress."
3/15 - The Senate marks up its fiscal year 2008 budget resolution, calling for a domestic discretionary spending increase of $18 billion over the president's budget.
3/15 to 3/20 -ECAP and a group of diverse allies hold a series of call-in days to Congress that include days for children & youth, workers, education and housing & nutrition.
3/21 - The House marks up its fiscal year 2008 budget resolution, calling for a domestic discretionary spending increase of $5 billion more than the Senate's resolution.
Working Families
Support America's Workers. Read More
Budget
Write a Letter in Support of the Right Budget Priorities. Read More
Children & Education
Support Education Funding. Read More
Support our Country's Children and Youth. Read More
Nutrition & Housing
Support Nutrition and Housing Programs. Read More