# THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Our basic rights are at the center of the shutdown battle coming to a head in Washington. In a recent [Truth Social post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115253901757845391), Trump refused to meet with democrats unless they support appropriations bills provisions which would, [according to Erin in the Morning](https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-digs-in-on-anti-trans-provisions) \- 

* **Ban the use of federal funding by hospitals for gender-affirming care at any age.** This will set the stage for the Trump administration to cut off federal funding for unrelated purposes to coerce hospitals to stop providing care completely. They've already tried to do this with care for minors without a federal law. 
* **Strip Medicaid, Medicare and federal employee coverage** for transgender Americans who need gender-affirming care.
* **Prohibit transgender surgeries** for all ages in federally owned, leased, or used facilities.
* **Force transgender women into men’s prisons**, endangering their safety and dignity.
* **Ban Pride flags** and remove protections for LGBTQ+ foster youth.

  
Democrats have the power to stop all of this from happening if they hold the line in the Senate (we have a 7 vote margin on the filibuster). House Democrats could block unless the house GOP is completely unified (they have a two vote margin) on the entire budget package. We have a chance, this isn't over. 

  
Please contact your senators and house reps ASAP to encourage them to hold the line! Ask your friends and family to do so as well. The shutdown starts this Tuesday September 30th so a "deal" could get made at any moment. 



# FINDING YOUR SENATORS' CONTACT INFO

Click [here](https://ballotpedia.org/Who_represents_me) for a lookup tool to find your Senators and House Representatives names and phone numbers.

To email them, Google their name to find their website and look for a "Contact Me" button.

 

# TEMPLATE MESSAGE

The bullet points below can be a guide for a phone call/voice mail. If sending email, crafting a unique message is best, but if a copy/paste of the message below is all you have time to do that is still helpful.

An intermediate step would be to copy/paste the template below into ChatGPT or other AI and ask it to rewrite using different words but making the same point. It doesn't actually produce the same result each time! (which is good).

  
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**Subject:** Please Stand Firm Against Anti-Trans Riders in Appropriations Bills

Dear \[Senator/Representative Last Name\],

I’m writing to urge you to **vote no on any appropriations bills that include anti-transgender riders**—and to stand firm in protecting the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Americans.

The current slate of riders being pushed in the Labor-HHS, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Financial Services bills would do devastating harm. These provisions would:

* **Ban federal funding to any hospital or medical facility that provides gender-affirming care at any age—even if the funding is for unrelated services.** This would effectively force hospitals to choose between offering essential care and receiving federal support, a tactic that has already led many institutions to drop care for minors under pressure from the administration. 
* **Strip Medicaid, Medicare and federal employee coverage** for transgender Americans who need gender-affirming care.
* **Prohibit transgender surgeries** in federally owned, leased, or used facilities.
* **Force transgender women into men’s prisons**, endangering their safety and dignity.
* **Ban Pride flags** and remove protections for LGBTQ+ foster youth.

These are not budgetary measures—they are **ideological attacks**. They would **erase protections**, **endanger lives**, and **weaponize federal funding** to coerce institutions into abandoning care. For many, access to HRT and affirming care is not optional—it’s life-saving.

I understand the pressure to avoid a government shutdown. But civil rights should never be traded away for political expediency. The anti-trans provisions in the NDAA were a painful blow. Please don’t let that happen again.

And let’s be clear: if this tactic succeeds, it won’t stop here. The same strategy—threatening unrelated federal funding to punish facilities that offer essential care—could be used to target **abortion access**, **contraceptive services**, and other critical health protections. This is a slippery slope toward dismantling bodily autonomy under the guise of budgetary control.

I ask you to:

* **Refuse to support any bill that includes anti-trans riders.**
* **Use your voice and vote to protect LGBTQ+ Americans.**
* **Push for clean funding bills that uphold dignity and equality.**

This is a defining moment. Please show us that our lives and rights matter.

Sincerely, 

\[Your Full Name\] 

\[Your City, State\]

US Gov shutdown threatens to dismantle HRT for adults