Stop $33.5 billion for war escalation

The House and Senate are about to vote on whether to give the Obama administration another $33.5 billion to fund escalation of the war in Afghanistan. In an effort to win votes, they are adding all kinds of other appropriations, like aid to Haiti, funding for the VA to treat vets suffering from Agent Orange poisoning, funding for disaster relief. 

But putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it a race horse. Each of those worthy appropriations can be passed as separate bills.

The Senate is voting now, the House Appropriations committee tomorrow, and the full House after June 7. This means we need to be phoning senators today. But the House remains our best chance. So call these members of the Appropriations Committee now. And call your own representative this week, and plan to meet them in person next week.

House Appropriations Committee Members to Call:

Chairman David Obey (202) 225-3365

Sam Farr, California (202) 225-2861

Michael Honda, California (202) 225-2631

Marcy Kaptur, Ohio (202) 225-4146

Barbara Lee, California (202) 225-2661

José E. Serrano, New York (202) 225-4361

How to reach your representative and your two senators:

Capitol Hill Switchboard: (866) 261-4755 (toll-free) or (202) 224-3121

Keep track of where your representative stands at http://defundwar.org

What to say: A vote for this appropriation is a vote to escalate the killing. If you support peace, I will support you. If you vote to escalate the killing, you are not representing me and won’t get my vote. Please commit publicly to voting No, no matter what nice things are packaged into the same vote that could be passed separately. I’m counting on you to do the right thing.

When you’ve finished your call, please let us know how it went here.

CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESS MEMBER TODAY.

TELL THEM TO VOTE “NO” ON FUNDS TO ESCALATE THE KILLING!

Call the Congressional switchboard at (866) 261-4755 (toll-free) or (202) 224-3121 between 9-5 PM (Eastern time) to get connected to your Senators’ and Congress Member’s offices or look up the office phone numbers here in order to leave a message.

Also, if your representative has already signed on to cosponsor the Feingold / McGovern / Jones Timeline Bill (S.4204 and H.R. 5015), thank them for that, but let them know that is not a substitute for voting against the appropriation to escalate the war. [GOOD NEWS: Senators Boxer, Durbin and Merkley signed on to cosponsor the “timeline” amendment introduced by Sen. Feingold.]

 

Photo: CC, flickr.com/photos/8584010@N08/1333398886