NATIONWIDE - Concerned citizens are planning a to hold a series of overnight vigils this week in three states to protest Republican healthcare legislation that would leave 23 million more uninsured Americans over a decade. Republican Senators are expected to try to hold a vote on a healthcare bill by the end of the month.

In Ohio, constituents from central Ohio will board a bus at 1230 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20, and travel through the night to Washington, D.C. to attempt to meet with Sen. Rob Portman Wednesday morning to discuss healthcare. The group, many of them members of local Indivisible chapters and CPD affiliate Ohio Organizing Collaborative, will attend Sen. Portman's weekly constituent coffee to ask him to explain his support for legislation that will strip healthcare away from hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.

About 40 people from West Virginia, including members of CPD affiliate West Virginia Healthy Kids, will drive all night to Washington, D.C. to meet with Senator Shelley Moore Capito tomorrow afternoon. The #savemecapito hashtag is trending.

In New York, residents will stage an overnight vigil outside the Trump Hotel in Columbus Circle beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21. The vigil, organized by CPD affiliate Make the Road New York, Rise & Resist, and NYS Nurses Association and allies, will feature people telling stories related to health care and continue for 24 hours. At 5 p.m. on Thursday, the group will gather at the midtown offices of New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to demand Democratic senators do everything they can to prevent the bill from passing.

In Pennsylvania, constituents of Senator Pat Toomey plan to hold overnight vigils at each of his offices throughout the state, beginning on the evening of Thursday, June 22. The 24-hour vigils, organized by SEIU affiliate Healthcare PA and PHAN, will be held at Toomey’s seven offices in Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, and Johnstown.

www.populardemocracy.org
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

www.maketheroadny.org
Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. We have 20,000+ members and operate five community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; and Brentwood, Long Island.

Contact: Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org