I just found out the BP bill is expected to go to a vote in the Senate tomorrow. It does hold BP a bit more accountable, although this is tough to do post-spill, but it does create more protections for the gulf and for the coastlines of the US. This is a great opportunity to let your elected officials know where you stand!!!! Please call your senators and ask them to vote YES for the BP bill!

If you live in North Carolina, call:

Senator Kay Hagan
Phone: 202-224-6342

Senator Richard Burr
Phone: 202-224-3154

If you live anywhere else in the US, you can use this link to find the numbers for your senators:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

While our elected representatives do not always do what their voters demand, they do often pay attention to the number of calls about topics. If they are flooded with messages to do something, they are more likely to do that thing. When you call, you will not be able to probably talk to the senator directly, but leave a message. They tally the calls, emails, letters, etc. It’s very not scary, once you do it. Just call, say “I’d like to leave a message for the senator” and then when they ask for the message, say, ” I want the Senator to vote YES for the BP bill.” They will then ask for your name and zip code, and that’s usually the extent of it. It goes very quickly.

I remember the first time I tried calling one of my representatives. It was while I was living in Chicago, about a year and a half ago. I blogged about it, too! You can check it out HERE.