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Forwarded from CLRN
Dear CLRN Members & Friends!
THIS WEEK, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on an amendment to cut funding funding for the U.S. military's Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA)! Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the school! We expect a close vote! We need as many people as possible flooding the offices of Members of Congress with calls in support of a "YES" vote on the amendment!
Call your representative in the House today to urge him/her to support McGovern’s amendment to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC. Also, if you don’t know who your Representative is go to www.congress.org and type in your zip code to find out. The Congressional Switchboard Number is 202-224-3121. If you live in Illinois, your Represenatives direct phone line and the name of the foreign policy aide is listed below.
" My name is____ . I live in (_city neighborhood or town_). I am calling to urge Representative________ to vote "YES" on the McGovern amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that cuts funding for the U.S. Army's WHINSEC, formerly known as School of the Americas, or SOA. New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. The governments of Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay have decided they will no longer send soldiers to WHINSEC, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Voting YES on this amendment sends a positive human rights message to Latin America and will help to improve the U.S. image abroad."
It's been a year since the last vote in Congress. The amendment lost by only 15 votes. With new members of Congress replacing 35 opponents of last year’s amendment to cut funding for the school, it is possible to WIN this year if people like you across the Americas make these calls immediately. Let's seize this opportunity to make history in the defense for human rights!
Visit the Legislative Action Index for more information: http://www.soaw.org/legislative
The School of the Americas, now WHINSEC, is a military training facility for Latin American security personnel located at Fort Benning, Georgia that made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Despite this shocking admission and hundreds of documented human rights abuses connected to soldiers trained at the school, no independent investigation into the training facility has ever taken place. Read more at www.soaw.org.
Danielle E. Wegman, Public Policy Coordinator
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
4750 N Sheridan Rd, Ste 429, Chicago IL 60640
Tel: 773/293-2964, Fax: 773/293-3677
Illinois Representatives
Bobby Rush (D-1st) –Speak with John Marshall (FP), 202-225-4372
Jesse Jackson (D- 2nd) –Speak with Charles Dujon, 202-225-0773
Dan Lipinski (D- 3rd ) –Speak with Keith Devereaux, 202-225-5701
Luis Gutierrez (D-4th) –Speak with Greg Staff (FP), 202-225-8203
Rahm Emanuel (D -5th) –Speak with Luis Jimenez, 202-225-4061
Peter Roskam (R-6th) –Speak with Kirsten Sutton, 202-225-4561
Danny Davis (D-7th) –Speak with Evan Decresce, 202-225-5006
Melissa Bean (D-8th) –Speak with JD Grom, 202-225-3711
Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) –Speak with Robert Marcus, 202-225-2111
Mark Kirk (R-10th) –Speak with Jeff Phillips, 202-225-4835
Jerry Weller (R-11th) –Speak with Alan Tennille, 202-225-3635
Jerry Costello (D-12th) –Speak with Jeanne Morrissey, 202-225-5661
Judy Biggert (R-13th) –Speak with Paul Doucette, 202-225-3515
Dennis Hastert (R-14th) –Speak with Paul Sorenson, 202-225-2976
Timothy Johnson (R-15th) –Speak with Stephen Borg, 202-225-2371
Donald Manzullo (R-16th) –Speak with Chris Szymanski, 202-225-5676
Phil Hare (D-17th)—Speak with Kemi Jemilohun, 202-225-5905
Ray LaHood (R-18th) –Speak with Erin Reif, 202-225-6201
John Shimkus (R-19th) –Speak with Greta Hanson, 202-225-5271
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