ACTION
APPEAL : June 2004
Action
Needed to Stop Colombia Military Aid
From
the Latin American Working Group
Take Action!
Byrd
Amendment Defeated; Follow-up Needed, and Hope in Conference.
Please call Conference
Committee members before Tuesday, July 6th.
See http://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.html
for a list of House armed services committee members, and
http://armed-services.senate.gov/members.htm
for a list of Senate members. If your member of Congress is
on one of these lists, please call him or her before July
6th with the following message: Put the brakes on US military
involvement in Colombia by keeping the House version of the
troop cap in the final version of the 2005 Defense Authorization
Bill.
Call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask
to be connected with your member's office.
Dear Colombia Advocates,
The Senate debate on the Defense Authorization bill dragged
late into last week, and the Byrd amendment was finally voted
on on Wednesday afternoon. I'm sad to report that the amendment
lost by a vote of 58-40. This is certainly disappointing.
But it also represents some progress in the scheme of things:
this vote is MUCH better than votes in 2000, the last time
members of the Senate tried to limit the scope of US aid to
Colombia. Four years ago, when Senators Wellstone and Gorton
offered amendments to reduce Plan Colombia funding, they lost
by votes of 89-11 and 79-19. Given the Senate's strong support
for Plan Colombia over the years, the Byrd amendment vote
is a major improvement.
All hope is not lost-- the process isn't over yet! We need
to take a few more steps now to hold senators accountable
for their votes and ensure that the Colombia troop cap included
in the House version of the bill gets written into the final
version. Here's how you can help:
Step One: Thank and...
Follow-up with congressional offices after a vote is an important
way to show them you're paying attention and hold them accountable
for their votes. There are a few members of the Senate who
deserve special thanks or need to hear that you're disappointed
and concerned:
~Special thanks to Senator Byrd (WV) for offering the amendment
and Senator Levin (MI) for speaking out in favor when the
amendment was debated.
~Special thanks to Senator Fitzgerald from Illinois for being
the ONLY Republican to vote in favor of the amendment.
~The following Democratic senators crossed party lines to
vote against the Byrd amendment and need to hear from you
with your concerns: Bayh (IN), Clinton (NY), Dodd (CT), Feinstein
(CA), Graham (FL), Lieberman (CT), Miller (GA), Nelson (FL),
and Nelson (NE).
~Senator Coleman (MN) spoke out strongly AGAINST the amendment
when it was debated. He should hear your concerns as well.
**Reach your senators by calling the congressional switchboard
at 202-224-3121 or looking on www.senate.gov for their local
office numbers. Congress is on break this week, so Senators
will be in their state offices-- stop in to thank them or
express concern over their vote! **
Step Two: Make Things Happen in Conference
We still have a chance to limit US troop presence in Colombia.
As I mentioned in previous alerts, the House version of the
Defense Authorization bill keeps the number of troops and
contractors limited to 500 and 400 respectively, thanks to
an amendment offered by Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi. The
Senate and House bills not have to be reconciled in the joint
conference committee. Historically, many efforts to improve
US-Latin America policy have passed one of the houses, only
to be thrown out behind the closed doors of the conference
committee-- so it's very important that we get conference
committee members to accept the House version of the troop
cap.
If your representative
or senators are on the Armed Services Committee, they will
likely be part of the conference committee.
See http://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.html
for a list of House armed services committee members, and
http://armed-services.senate.gov/members.htm
for a list of Senate members. If your member of Congress is
on one of these lists, please call him or her BEFORE TUESDAY,
JULY 6th with the following message: Put the brakes on US
military involvement in Colombia by keeping the House version
of the troop cap in the final version of the 2005 Defense
Authorization Bill.
I am so appreciative of all of the hard work that people all
over the country have put into this effort. Together, we can
transform our nation's policy toward Colombia.
Also, don't forget to join us in sending a message to John
Kerry on Colombia by signing the National Colombia Petition
at http://www.lawg.org/tools/petition.htm.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
In peace,
Elanor
--
Elanor Starmer
Associate for Colombia and Central America
Latin America Working Group
estarmer@lawg.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Latin America Working Group
Action at home for just policies abroad www.lawg.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
