June 30, 2025
Greetings, Indivisibles in Helena!
NEWS FLASH:
Call Daines and Sheehy NOW!
Senate begins debate on Big, Bad, Bogus, Billionaire’s Budget Bill—a bad bill they’ve made much worse.
As we go to press, the Senate is debating the bill, the highest priority legislation of the Trump administration. The version that passed the vote to begin debate on Saturday night cuts even more from Medicaid, to give bigger permanent tax breaks to huge corporations and billionaires. Now is the time to pound on Senators Daines and Sheehy to protect Medicaid.
What This Bill Means to You, Your Community, Montana, Our Nation
The reconciliation bill proposes a range of significant changes across sectors spanning health care, social programs, technology, taxes, and education, significantly decreasing funds to state and local governments — to Montana cities and towns — to all of us. (Source: National Conference of State Legislatures)
Health Care, Medicaid, Medicare
- Nearly 300,000 Montanans are on Medicaid. That’s 26% of ALL Montanans!
- These funding cuts would cut potentially $2.32 BILLION in funding for Montana. (Congressional Republicans want our legislature to pick up the tab — fat chance of that!)
- Medicaid expansion in the state has created over 5,000 jobs and over $500m per year in new healthcare spending.
- Lots of hospitals and nursing homes in rural Montana will be forced to close or curtail essential services because their patients can’t afford to pay new out-of-pocket charges for health care.
- With these cuts, we will see healthcare costs for ALL Montanans skyrocket.
- Medicare, the safety net for millions of Americans and thousands of older Montanans, will be subject to mandatory cuts under existing law when triggered by a significant increase in the national debt.
- These cuts will seriously impact family planning, eliminating all federal funding for family services at Planned Parenthood.
- The most vulnerable Montanans will DIE as a result of not having access to the healthcare they need!
(Sources: 5 Calls; Non-partisan Congressional Budget Office; Montana Healthcare Foundation; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Kaiser Family Foundation; Pew Charitable Foundation; Daily Montanan — June 24, 2025)
Food Assistance
- Over 65,000 children in Montana Schools — 44% of all Montana students — receive free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program, now on the chopping block.
- Over 81,000 Montanans receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — 7% of all Montanans.
- 63% of SNAP recipients are families with children, where the average monthly benefit is approximately $510.
- For Montana, this would be a total cut of nearly $170 Million in SNAP benefits.
Cuts for the Rich at the Expense of the Rest of Us
- Those making less than $15,000 a year will see their federal taxes increase by 74% by 2031.
- America’s wealthiest will see their taxes decrease by up to 68%. (Source — Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, May 2025)
- Our nation’s debt will increase by $3.3 trillion through FY2034 (over 10%), increasing interest rates, the cost of borrowing and inflation. (Source – Congressional Budget Office)
Other Big Bad Things in Trump’s Budget Bill
- Public Lands: sells 250+ million acres of your western public lands (Source: Wilderness Society)
- ICE: more than quadruples the budget for ICE/immigration enforcement from $34 billion to $167 (source: Cato Institute)
- Military: increases defense spending by $150 billion, pushing annual total over $1 trillion (source: Breaking Defense May 2025)
- Education: $350 billion is cut from student aid/Pell Grants (Source: Congressional Budget Office); the bill gives $20 billion in the form of tax credits to donors who give money to voucher schools, robbing public schools of needed funding (Source: The American Prospect)
- Clean vs Dirty Energy: cuts/eliminates $543 billon in clean energy programs while paving the way for increased fossil fuel production and reducing royalty rates for corporations (Source: Bipartisan Policy Center)
And the pain goes on …
Call or email senators Daines and Sheehy NOW and tell them why they should oppose this budget bill. Personalize how these budget cuts will impact you, your family, or your friends and neighbors. Remind them they are supposed to represent all Montanans, not just the wealthy.
My name is [ ]. My address is [ ].
I’m calling to urge Senator [Daines and/or Sheehy] to oppose H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill, and its harmful cuts to vital government programs. Specifically, I’m very concerned about… [PICK 1-3 budget provisions]
Congress should pass a fair and responsible budget that helps working Montana families and communities, not one that slashes our benefits in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
- Senator Steve Daines, DC: (202) 224-2651; Helena Office: (406) 443-3189; steve@daines.senate.gov
- Senator Tim Sheehy, DC: (202) 224-2644; Helena Office: (406) 441-1069
Call or email your city and county commissioners,urging them to contact Daines and Sheehy and oppose this bill.
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent in Helena.
I’m calling/writing to urge Commissioner [XXXX and/or XXXX] to call Senators Daines and Sheehy to oppose H.R.1, the budget reconciliation bill, and its harmful cuts to vital government programs. Specifically, I’m very concerned about the cuts to Medicaid and federal food assistance (SNAP). Cuts to Medicaid will put our hospital and local healthcare providers at risk. Cuts to SNAP will leave our friends and family members struggling to put food on the table.
Congress should pass a fair and responsible budget that helps working families and communities, not one that slashes our benefits to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
L&C County Commissioners
- Candace Payne, Chair
cpayne@lccountymt.gov
406-447-8301 - Tom Rolfe, Vice Chair
trolfe@lccountymt.gov - Andy Hunthausen
ahunthausen@lccountymt.gov
Helena City Commission
- Wilmot Collins, Mayor
wcollins@helenamt.gov
406-447-8410 - Emily Dean, Mayor ProTem
edean@helenamt.gov
406-447-8410 - Sean Logan
slogan@helenamt.gov - Andy Shirtliff
ashirtliff@helenamt.gov - Melinda Reed
mreed@helenamt.gov
Broadwater County Commission
- Debi Randolph
drandolph@broadwatercountymt.gov
406-980-2050 cell
406-266-9270 office - Lindsey Richtmyer
lrichtmyer@broadwatercountymt.gov
406-521-0834 cell
406-266-9271 - Jesse Swenson
jswenson@broadwatercountymt.gov
406-980-1213 cell
406-266-9272 office
Jefferson County Commission
- Dan Hagerty
dhagerty@jeffersoncounty-mt.gov
406-225-4025
406-565-3162 cell - Cory Kirsch
ckirsch@jeffersoncounty-mt.gov
406-225-4028
406-949-3346 cell - Craig Doolittle
cdoolittle@jeffersoncounty-mt.gov
406-225-4026
406-949-8187
What’s Next? One Million Rising!
After the huge success of the No Kings rallies across the country on June 14, Indivisible published a list of a dozen next steps—national campaigns with a local focus—that Indivisible members could organize over the next few weeks. You can review the full list of campaigns here.
The next big national campaign initiated specifically by Indivisible is One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism, a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.
The first of three online training sessions is Wednesday, July 16, from 6-7pm (MDT). It will focus on the role you can play in coordinated strategic action in Helena through Indivisible. Watch it live with a friend or two, and get ready now to host your own community resistance gathering in Helena after the second and third sessions on July 30 and August 13. Click here to register now. This is how we get to one million!
Helena Membership Meeting Report
60 Helena-area Indivisibles attended the Indivisible Helena Members Meeting on Thursday, June 26, to review the No Kings Rally and to start the process of looking ahead and drawing a rough roadmap to further Indivisible Helena actions, projects, and engagements of resistance.
There was a short, rapid-fire shout-out of the No Kings Rally around “what worked” and what needs “adjustment” for next time.
That led to structured breakout groups for discussing the following:
- The two issues that most concern them in this time of fascist assault on our democracy;
- One or two suggestions for strategies or tactics of resistance; and
- Two ways each person could contribute to the resistance effort.
The detailed notes from the meeting give a full picture of the enthusiastic, creative participation by our Indivisibles. Plus, we got to know each other a little bit more, and that was the ice cream on the Apple pie of the meeting. Click here to view the meeting notes.
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Mark Your Calendar Now!
Next Indivisible Helena Membership Meeting
Wednesday, July 23, 6:15-7:45pm
Lewis & Clark Library, Large Meeting Room
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Thank You Again, No Kings Rally Volunteers!
Well over 100 Indivisible Helena volunteers stepped up to make the June 14 No Kings Rally happen! Many of you volunteered multiple times in the weeks leading up to and on the day of the rally—making and distributing yard signs and flyers; reaching out to other community groups; working at the Farmer’s Market and Governor’s Cup Events; hosting sign-making parties; supporting participants at the rally; helping with the stage, set-up, music and giving speeches; and much more.
As you know, the rally was BIG—estimates from Capitol Security were that at least 3,000 people attended. And, with the rally, Indivisible Helena’s membership has grown to more than 1,400 Indivisibles, including more than 1,000 new members since the beginning of April!
You are all amazing and there is unfortunately, really no way to thank each volunteer individually. You know who you are. You are appreciated! United we stand.
—The Indivisible Helena Steering Committee
No Kings Rally Speeches Now Online
The full text of the remarks made by our No Kings Rally speakers are now posted on our website:
- Charlie Snellman, 2025 graduate of Capital High School, sharing his generation’s fears about the direction of our nation, the undermining of academic freedom, and the attacks on education, universities and free speech;
- Pat Cotter, retired 2-term Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, speaking on threats to the rule of law under the current administration;
- Marc Racicot, former 2-term Montana Governor, speaking about the undermining of our constitutional rights by Washington, DC, politicians;
- Anne Hedges, Executive Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, addressing the broad societal and international impacts of the Big Bad Bill/Reconciliation Act rapidly moving through Congress; and
- Rachel Carroll Rivas, Interim Director of Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center, talking about the assault on the basic American freedoms of speech, expression, and voting rights (comments pending)
The Communications Committee needs social media help:
We need volunteers fluent in Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky (and TikTok, You Tube—you would have to produce the video content ‘cause we don’t have a clue) to post to Indivisible Helena’s accounts. Content to post can be from the social media platforms as well as link back to content on our website. Contact us at indivisiblehelena@gmail.com if you want to help Indivisible Helena reach new and diverse constituencies.
This Week’s Good Read
Many people think Elon Musk left his role at DOGE because he had soured on Trump. Rather, he was just finished. You see, the real purpose of DOGE was not to create “government efficiency,” but rather to steal data stored on government computers and profit by using it against we the people.
Musk immediately went to work selling our sensitive data to companies such as Palantir, founded by the odious Peter Thiel (founder of Paypal, first outside investor in Facebook and Silicon Valley multi-billionaire that put JD Vance into the White House), to spy on us. ICE has been a prominent Palantir customer since 2014, augmenting Palantir’s main client: the US Department of Defense. For his part, Thiel is a conservative libertarian tech bro who thinks he’s the Antichrist. Money makes people do strange things, especially gobs of money.
This has been going on for a long time, accelerated by every unregulated information technology for decades, and we will be living with it (or dying by it) for a longer time. It would be nice if our representatives in Congress actually worked to protect us from unwarranted government and corporate surveillance. Any resistance movement worthy of popular support must protect its members from the danger posed by an autocrat’s surveillance.
One Last Thing
RIP Pat Williams, the last best politician representing the last best place in Washington, DC.
Solidarity 🌹
Indivisible Helena
n: Indivisible Helena
w: https://indivisiblehelena.org
e: indivisiblehelena@gmail.com
i: https://indivisible.org/groups?terms=59601