[WCUSP] Fwd: FW: TOMORROW: Congress Expected to Vote on $70 Billion Blank Check for Iraq

[Odile Hugonot Haber]

Send a Message to Your Senators & Representative:

"Vote NO on any funding for the occupation of Iraq that does not
require the rapid withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors."

Visit or call them ASAP:
202-224-3121

(It takes a few moments longer to make a phone call than to send an
email, but phone calls are far more effective, so we urge you to take
a few minutes to call your members of Congress today.)

See below for more ways to get this vital message heard.

It looks like the Senate leadership is ready to make a deal with the
devil: If Bush funds their domestic programs, they will fund his
illegal, destructive occupation of Iraq. Recognizing weakness, Bush
appears ready to hold out and demand no increases to vital domestic
programs, along with a $70 billion blank check for Iraq. The vote may
come as early as tomorrow, Tuesday.

Clearly, the Iraqi people and the people of this country will be the
losers in this deal.

On the House side, the signals are still mixed. On Friday, the chairs
of the Progressive and Out-Of-Iraq Caucuses, Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee
and Maxine Waters, wrote the Democratic leadership, saying that they
will oppose any legislation that does not "strictly limit funding" to
the protection of the troops and for their complete redeployment out
of Iraq.

We have called, emailed, visited, occupied offices and refused to
leave. Many members of Congress have gotten the message, but they need
to be reminded, and those who haven't gotten the message need to hear
it again.

This funding fight is prolonged and frustrating, but it is also
urgently important. We ask you to take time today to send a message to
your senators and representative.

Choose the method that feels right for you:


We know it's short notice, but try to gather some friends together and
pay a visit to one or more of your legislators' local or DC offices
today or tomorrow. (Click here to find their office locations.)
Emphatically demand an end to the occupation. Your peaceful visit can
be brief, or last long enough for you to read the names of civilians
and soldiers killed in Iraq, or it can last until the member of
Congress agrees to oppose all funding that is not tied to the
immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors.

If you are able to organize a visit, post the details on our calendar,
so others can join you. Check to see if others in your area are
planning a visit here.


If you can't put together a visit, flood your legislators' offices
with phone calls. You can reach both of your senators and your
representative through the Capitol Hill switchboard: 202-224-3121.

Tell them: Vote NO on any funding for the occupation of Iraq that does
not require the rapid withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors.
Write a brief letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You may
have noticed that news about Iraq has fallen off the front pages.
Other readers will want to know that Congress is considering a $70
billion blank check for Iraq. You may want to include the results of
an LA Times/Bloomberg poll showing that even military families agree
this war was a mistake and that troops should come home.




Background
Congress has not passed most of the Appropriations Bills necessary to
fund the government and government services. The stop-gap funding
measure ("Continuing Resolution") they passed last month expires on
December 14, so they have to pass something before then in order to
prevent a government shutdown. Pro-war legislators see this as an
opportunity to force a vote on Iraq funding without any conditions. We
are getting conflicting reports from staff and the media about what is
happening behind the scenes -- but it looks likely that Congress will
consider some Iraq funding measure -- for as much as $70 billion,
along with an omnibus spending bill (that rolls all the appropriations
bills for all departments into one giant spending bill). In the House,
Democratic leadership had been promising that they would not take up
anymore Iraq funding bills until next year -- but there are alarming
indications they might renege on that promise.





Yours, for peace and justice,


Sue Udry
Legislative Coordinator, UFPJ
 ________________________________


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