Fracking Ban Act Volunteer Toolkit

Use this for EVERYTHING you need to know — action items, links to materials, expectations, where to
receive support, and more. This guide will be updated regularly; be sure to check back often!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
How to build power and win
Contact your Member of Congress directly
Gather petitions in your district
Generate phone calls to your Member of Congress
Build a coalition with other organizations
Set up a meeting with your Representative
Other resources and materials 
 

 
Introduction
 
In February 2020, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the 
Fracking Ban Act, the first bill in Congress that would ban fracking across the country. This is a truly 
ambitious goal that reflects the urgency of the climate crisis we face.  

Now we need every member of Congress to step up and co-sponsor this legislation. Use this toolkit to start 
working in your district to get your Representative to support the Fracking Ban Act. 

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org 

  
 

How to build power and win

Power is the ability to make change or get a decision maker to do ​something.​ ​ Specifically in this
campaign, it’s ​your​ ability to move your member of Congress to co-sponsor the Fracking Ban Act. This
toolkit details some of the tactics you might use to grow your campaign or local group and, ultimately,
grow your community’s power to persuade your Representative to act.

At Food & Water Action, our bread and butter is ​strategic organizing​. Through strategic organizing, we
engage large numbers of people (specifically, the voting constituents of our target) and bring them face to
face with the decision maker to ask for what we want them to do. This is the way that we build and show
our power.

When you organize around an issue in your community and build power, it’s best to orient around three
basic principles and revisit them often. We organize to:

1. Win concrete improvements in peoples’ lives

2. Make people aware of their own power by developing leadership and winning changes that build
on each other.
3. Change the balance of power between people, their government, and other institutions by building
strong, permanent organizations.

There are two other important things to consider: 1) knowing your target (the decision maker) and what
influences them, and 2) knowing yourself, your community, or organization and why you care about the
issue.

1. Power Mapping your Decision Maker​ — You need to understand what moves your decision
maker in order to build a strong and compelling campaign. What were the results of their
previous elections? Are there local groups that helped them win? Are there particular
constituencies they respond to? Do they have supporters who oppose your campaign efforts?
Here is a very simple worksheet that can help you begin to answer these questions and more.

2. Story of Self​ — This is a powerful narrative tool that helps you communicate why you’re
organizing, and why it’s everyone’s fight. This simple persuasive tool is worth developing as it
helps people identify with you, your campaign, and it cuts down on information overload.

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org 

  
 

 
Contact your Member of Congress directly
 
It’s always worth calling your representative’s office and making sure they’ve heard about the bill. Check
the ​current list of cosponsors​; if your representative isn’t on the list, send their office an email or give
them a call, or better yet, do both! You can find your member of Congress and their contact info ​using
this page​.

Below is a sample message to send via email or in a phone call; be sure to make your contact personal
and specific to your district!

Hi ____. My name is Thomas, I’m a constituent of Representative _____.

I’m writing to ask Rep. ____ to co-sponsor HR 5857, the Fracking Ban Act introduced by Representative
Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Soto. ​Here is a link to a letter​ signed by over 590 national, regional, and local
organizations supporting this legislation, including Food & Water Action, Climate Justice Alliance, Democracy for
America, Indigenous Environmental Network, MoveOn, People's Action, Progressive Democrats of America, Sierra
Club, Sunrise Movement, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

This bill takes several critical steps to protect our climate, water, and health from the impacts of fracking and to
implement a fair and transition to a renewable energy economy. It prohibits all federal agencies from issuing
permits for new fracking or fracking infrastructure; revokes permits for current fracking wells within 2,500 ft of
homes, schools, or other inhabited structures; establishes a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder Just Transition
Committee; and ans the practice of fracking nationwide beginning January 1, 2025.

I hope that Rep. ____ will quickly co-sponsor HR 5857. Please let me know Rep. ____’s position on this bill in the
next two weeks, or if you have any questions in the meantime. Thank you for your consideration! 

 
Gather petitions in your district
Collecting petitions from voters in your district is a great way to show your representative how many
people want them to sponsor the bill, and a way to build grassroots power and hold all your elected
officials accountable in the future.

Gathering petitions in person is the best way to reach new people, but given current health concerns,
sharing an online petition is also a great option. Copy ​this link​ and share it with friends and neighbors;
when they fill out the form, a message will be emailed to their members of Congress.
https://fwaction.us/FrackingPetition

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org 

  
 

You can download a ​printable petition sheet here​. After you’ve collected petitions, be sure to scan or
take a picture and send them to ​help@fwaction.org​.
Never collected petitions before? It’s easy! ​Read our guide on collecting petitions​. Read the full guide for
more details, but here are a few quick tips.
● Prepare your materials.​ You’ll need printed petitions (including extras), pens, and a clipboard or
other hard surface to write on.
● Find people to ask.​ Any high-traffic area or group gathering is a good place to collect petitions.
Farmers’ markets; your office, church, or library; classes, or community group meetings.
● Ask people to sign.​ Keep it short and simple: briefly explain the problem, what you’re asking
them to sign, then make a simple ask: “Will you sign?”
 

 
Generate phone calls to your Member of Congress
Phone calls are one of the best ways to demonstrate support for a bill to your member of Congress. Just
like collecting petitions, asking people to make a phone call is a quick and easy way to have a big impact;
you can even get people to call right after they’ve signed a petition!

Food & Water Action uses a tool called Hubdialer to generate calls to specific members of Congress.
Using Hubdialer, you can call a list of Food & Water Action supporters or voters in the district, ask them
to call their member of Congress, and if they agree, transfer them directly to the office of their member of
Congress. If you’re able to make calls to our top priority districts, sign up for calling shift at
https://fwaf.appointy.com/

If you’d like to make calls to supporters in your own district, email ​act@fwaction.org​ and an organizer will
be in touch to get you set up. To get started in Hubdialer, watch this ​short training video​, or review our
more detailed ​Call Team Guide.

Use the sample script and a phone number below to share with people in your district. You can share this
at meetings or events, and ask people to call right away. ​Print this flyer to make it easy to call!
● Dial ​877-292-7305​; you’ll hear a short message reminding you about the bill, then be connected
to your Representative’s office based on the address associated with your phone number.

● Here’s a sample script:​ ​“Hi my name is ______ and I’m from ___________. I’m calling to ask
that Representative _______ co-sponsor HR 5857, the Fracking Ban Act introduced by
Representative Ocasio-Cortez. The Fracking Ban Act would protect our climate, water, and health
from the impacts of fracking and help implement a fair and transition to a renewable energy
economy. Please co-sponsor this critical piece of legislation!”

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org 

  
 

 
Build a coalition with other organizations
Collecting organizational endorsements in your community is another important action you can take to
build support for the Fracking Ban Act. Organizational endorsements build our collective power and allow
us to identify those in the community who care about the same issues.

The Fracking Ban Act has been endorsed by over 590 organizations through​ this letter and form​. Any
group in the country can sign to encourage their Representative and Senators to co-sponsor the bill.
Below, you will find sample scripts for reaching out to organizations and asking them to put their support
behind this legislation. Once an organization endorses the Fracking Ban Act, you can invite them and
their members to work with you to execute any of the other tactics in this guide, and to deliver the letter
and petitions to their Congressional office.

Sample Outreach Email:

Hi there,

My name is [Your Name] and I’m a volunteer with Food & Water Action [and any other groups you're
working with.]

Our U.S. Representative — [Name] — does not support a ban on fracking, although we only have a
decade to move to clean, renewable energy to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Fracking is an
extremely dangerous method of oil and gas drilling that ​contaminates air and water.​ It’s critical that
Representative [Name] takes bold action on behalf of his constituents and does more to address the
climate crisis.

We’re asking them to co-sponsor the Fracking Ban Act. Can your organization join us by ​signing this
letter to endorse the Fracking Ban Act and urging them to commit to co-sponsor the bill?

We hope you can sign-on and are happy to answer any questions you may have!

Follow-up call script:

Intro:​ Hey there, is this [Their Name?]

Ask: ​Hi, my name is [Your Name]. I’m calling to follow-up on an email I sent recently asking this
organization to sign-on to a letter to our representative, Representative [Name], urging him to take bold
measures to address the climate crisis by co-sponsoring the Fracking Ban Act. Is your organization able
to sign on?

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org 

  
 

If yes: ​Great — I can send you the form again to make sure you have it. Is [their email] the best email
address to reach you? Can I make sure I have the correct email address?
If no:​ Is there a reason why [organization name] is not able to sign on?
If maybe:​ Are there any questions that [organization name] has that we could answer?

*Thank them for their time & let them know you’ll get back to them if they said maybe. If you don’t know
the answer to any questions — that’s okay! Just tell the person you’ll get back to them and reach out to
our team at ​act@fwaction.org​ for support.

 
Set up a meeting with your Member of Congress
Having a meeting or conference call with your Representative is a great way to demonstrate that there is
an organized constituency in their district that cares about the Fracking Ban Act. A meeting will be
especially effective if you’re joined by members of other organizations from the district, especially ones
that your Representative cares about. The goal is to get your Representative to agree to co-sponsoring
the Fracking Ban Act, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them to say.

Read our complete ​guide on meeting with an elected official​ for tips on what to do before, during, and
after your meeting.

 
Other resources and materials
● Use this ​slideshow to give an overview of fracking​, the Fracking Ban Act, and our strategy to
win!​ This can be used at a group meeting, or in a presentation to other volunteers.
● Use this ​1-page summary of the Fracking Ban Act​ in your meetings with Congressional staff
or other organizations.
● Use the ​latest version of the organizational endorsement letter​ to show all the support the
Fracking Ban Act has across the country.
● Use this ​flyer to generate calls to members of Congress​ in support of the Fracking Ban Act.
The flyer includes a phone number and talking points on the bill.
● Read and share Food & Water Watch’s research materials on fracking:
○ Report: ​“Fracking’s Bridge to Climate Chaos”
○ Fact Sheet: ​“Fracking: A Bridge to Catastrophic Climate Change”
○ Report: ​“​Fracking Endgame: Locked Into Plastics, Pollution, and Climate Chaos”
○ Fact Sheet: ​“​Petrochemicals and Plastics, Power Plants, and Exports Drive a New
Fracking Boom”

Questions? Email ​help@fwaction.org