[haw-info] Important vote on the Supplemental War Funding Bill will take place as early as tomorrow, June 16

The following message is sent on behalf of Carolyn (Rusti) Eisenberg, member of the HAW Steering Committee and of the legislative task force of the antiwar coalition United for Peace and Justice.

 

Call Your Congressional Representative Today to Oppose FY 2009 Supplemental War Funding Bill

 

Didn't we hear about this before? Yes. Congress has already voted on this once--$93 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan until the end of this fiscal year. After that there is another $130 billion request already in the pipeline for FY 2010.

 

With a Democrat in the White House, this 2009 Supplemental was supposed to be a "slam-dunk." But the first time around, 60 members of the House of Representatives unexpectedly voted "NO." Of these 51 were antiwar Democrats. The bill has now come out of reconciliation conference between the House and Senate

and will be voted on again as early as tomorrow Tuesday June 16.

 

But now the bill is in trouble. Republicans are refusing to vote for the bill because it contains additional funding for the IMF to bail out European banks. Unless 38 of the 51 antiwar Democrats change their vote, this War Funding bill cannot pass. According to many reports from Capitol Hill, Rahm Emmanuel and Nancy Pelosi are putting intense pressure on their colleagues to abandon their antiwar position.

 

The list of NO voters is pasted in below. If your member of Congress is on this list, call their office and urge them to hold their ground and continue to Vote Against the Supplemental. If your member of Congress is not on this list, it is still useful to call their office and urge them vote NO this time around. Number for Congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.

 

What's special about this vote? Once this 2009 Supplemental passes, the United States Congress will be giving its approval to an escalated war in Afghanistan.

 

Rusti Eisenberg, for Historians Against War

 

The text is available on the Appropriations Committee Web Site:

http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Emergency_Supp_2009_Bill_Text.pdf

 

See also Robert Naiman:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/will-34-democrats-oppose_b_211924.html

 

John Nichols (The Nation):  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/443260/why_vote_yes_for_the_war_and_the_imf

 

List of NO Voters in the House of Representatives:

 

---- NAYS    60 ---

 

Baldwin Campbell Capuano Clarke Cohen Conyers Cooper Costello Doggett Duncan Edwards (MD) Ehlers Ellison Farr Filner Flake Frank (MA) Grayson Grijalva Gutierrez

Honda Inslee Johnson (IL) Kagen Kaptur Kucinich Lee (CA) Lewis (GA) Lofgren, Zoe Markey (MA) Massa Matsui McDermott McGovern Michaud Miller, George Napolitano Neal (MA) Oberstar Paul

Payne Petri Pingree (ME) Polis (CO) Royce Schakowsky Sensenbrenner Serrano Shea-Porter Speier Thompson (CA) Tierney Towns Tsongas Velázquez Waters Watson Weiner Welch Woolsey