Keeping the Heat on Congress

Leslie Cagan, www.unitedforpeace.org

1) Sign on to a letter to Rep. John Murtha, who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. This letter, initiated by our friends at Win Without War, will be sent to every member of Congress later this week so it's important to get as many signatures as quickly as possible. The letter calls on Congress to:

* Stop funding the war: Give the Pentagon only enough money for the safe and orderly redeployment of US troops out of Iraq;
* Support a diplomatic offensive -- as recommended by the Iraq Study Group -- to build a comprehensive solution involving many countries;
* Stop funding the construction of permanent military bases in Iraq and military contractors;
* Refuse to fund any permanent "security agreement" between President Bush and Iraqi President Maliki unless first approved by Congress and the Iraqi parliament.

2) On Thursday, April 10th, join the nationwide congressional call-in day. Let your representative and senators know that you don't buy the Petraeus line, and they shouldn't either. Tell them to vote no on more funding for the war and occupation in Iraq. We are reaching out to other coalitions and groups in the antiwar movement and asking them to join us in spreading the word on this national call-in day. Let's flood their offices with so many calls that they can't do anything else but answer the phones. You can find phone numbers for your representatives and senators at the link above or call the congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121.

3) Participate in Town Hall meetings and show testimony from the Winter Soldier hearings organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War. The Town Hall meetings are being organized in congressional districts all around the country. The idea is to get your representative to participate, but even if they refuse to come you can organize an event that allows people to express their outrage about this new fundiung request. To find out what's happening in your area, or to learn how you can organize one, click here. For information about the Winter Soldier hearings, visit http://www.ivaw.org

4) Go to the district offices of those who represent you in Congress. Your group can try to set up a meeting with your rep. or their key staff. Or you can just show up! Set up a picket line or a vigil outside their offices. If you do meet your representative or their staff, be sure to ask them to contact the House Judicary Committee and sign onto the letter from Rep. John Conyers to President Bush explaining he will be impeached if he attack Iran.

5) Throughout this week, call radio talk shows and write letters to the editor explaining why you want the war and occupation in Iraq to end, and why you don't want Congress to allocate more funds.

Finally, with the domestic economic crisis getting worse every day, this is a critically important time to strengthen connections with those organizations fighting for economic and social justice here at home. One way to do that is to join the Healthcare Not Warfare Campaign. And we urge you to reach out to groups in your community working on the housing and banking crisis, groups fighting poverty and hunger, groups working for decent educational opportunities, and so much more!