May 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Action Alert: Bush Wants More Money for Killing Abroad

From WAND (Women's Action for New Directions), 110 Maryland Avenue, NE #205, Washington, DC 20002; 202-543-8505; fax 202-675-6469; wand@wand.org; www.wand.org

President Bush is asking Congress for an additional $27.1 billion for this year (FY2002) to expand the ongoing war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the US, and elsewhere around the globe. The supplemental spending request, now pending before the House Appropriations Committee, includes $14 billion in additional spending for the Pentagon, $1.6 billion for State Department activities related to the war on terrorism, $5.2 billion for homeland security, and a little over $6 billion for rebuilding New York City and for other purposes. The President did not request additional funds to address pressing human security concerns such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic or the suffering of civilian victims of US bombing in Afghanistan and their families.

In addition to his request for additional funds, and just as troubling, the President is seeking to change a number of laws governing the administration and use of US foreign aid. As written, the bill would channel millions of dollars in foreign aid through the Pentagon rather than the State Department. Little is know about to whom this aid would be given or under what conditions. The bill would remove or override current restrictions on military aid to countries with notoriously poor human rights records, such as Colombia and Indonesia.

The President would like the bill to be passed before Memorial Day, and as Peacework goes to press, deliberations may already have begun.

Action:

Please contact your representative, especially if he or she is a member of the appropriations committee. Urge support for amendments that would preserve existing human rights conditions governing the allocation and use of US foreign military aid, keep the responsibility for administering US foreign assistance within the State Department instead of the Pentagon, maintain current restrictions on US military aid to Colombia, and preserve close congressional oversight over the use of US foreign aid funds. These policies should not be changed without careful deliberation by the appropriate congressional oversight committees and full public debate.

Use the Friends Committee on National Legislation's Web Site to Make Letter-writing Easier: Start with the sample letter posted in our Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then send your message as an email or fax
directly from our site, or print it out and mail it.

To view a sample letter to Congress, open <http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=137626&type=CO>

Enter your zip code and click <Go> in the <Take Action Now> box.

Contacting Legislators:

• Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
• US Senate, Washington, DC 20510
• US House of Representatives; Washington, DC 20515

Information on your members is available on FCNLís web site at http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=congdir

• Contacting the Administration:
• White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111; fax 202-456-2461; president@whitehouse.gov; www.whitehouse.gov
• President George Bush (also Vice President Cheney and Condolezza Rice), The White House, Washington, DC 20500
  

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