E-News: What Congress is Hearing

August 8, 2012

Your Letters Matter

Members of Congress aren’t just reading Politico, the New York Times, or the Washington Post. Congressional staff tell us they read local papers in their districts more closely -- particularly the opinion pieces and letters to the editor. So the letters to the editor you are publishing in the Ames Tribune, the Seattle Times, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch are making a difference.

In the face of Pentagon contractors with billions of dollars in profits at stake in the budget debate, it’s more important than ever to amplify your voice through your local media. Read some of the many letters that already have been published, and then get tips on writing your own.

Has your letter to the editor already been published? Email christine@fcnl.org with a link!

What's New

• Tomorrow is Nagasaki Day, a grim reminder that the United States knew the devastation a nuclear bomb would bring after Hiroshima and dropped another one just three days later. This year, don’t just remember. Act.
  
• 14 Weeks That Could Make a Difference. Read why what you do in the next 14 weeks could make a differences to whether and how much the Pentagon budget is cut and whether funding for other vital priorities is preserved.
• On Sunday, a gunman killed six people in a Sikh temple. As a part of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, FCNL expresses its support for the American Sikh community and urges meetings, churches and other communities to participate in vigils and offer publicly visible signs of solidarity with the Sikh community. The second incident of mass violence in less than a month shows again why we must reaffirm our commitment to banning assault weapons.
• Quaker meetings and churches around the country are passing minutes to cut Pentagon spending. Read the latest minute from Eugene Friends Meeting in Oregon, and encourage your meeting, faith group, or organization to pass a minute.
• In politics, timing is everything. Be in the right place at the right time for keeping Pentagon cuts: Quaker Public Policy Institute and Lobby Day on November 15-16. Learn more and register online.
• On the road again: FCNL staff members just got back from Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), Lake Erie Yearly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and two just left for New England Yearly Meeting. See where you can find our staff next.

Letters, Statements and Press:

• FCNL Joins 25 Groups to Urge Stricter Controls on Arms Sales (8/2/2012)
• “Recognize Palestinian nonviolence” in JTA by Kate Gould, Legislative Associate for Middle East Policy (8/2/2012)
• New Iran Sanctions Push U.S. and Iran Closer Toward War (8/1/2012) note: this statement was read into the congressional record by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, one of six representatives who voted against H.R. 1905.
• 11 Groups: Keep Channels Open for Food and Medicine to Iran (7/27/2012)

War Is Not the Answer Photo of the Week: Asheville, NC

Asheville Friends Meeting organized a letter writing campaign and baked a budget pie. Then they brought the letters and the pie to a meeting with a member of Senator Hagan’s staff. Learn more about lobbying for Pentagon cuts, and bake your own budget pie.

Order your own War Is Not the Answer sign and see where this movement is showing up across the country. Find out how to submit your photo.