United for Peace and Justice: Peace Movement to Senate: You Have Failed Your Country, the Troops, and Iraq!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2008
6:30 PM
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CONTACT: United for Peace and Justice
Leslie Cagan, 212-868-5545 |
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Peace Movement to Senate: You Have Failed Your Country, the Troops, and Iraq!
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - May 22 - Today, the Senate passed a $165.4 billion measure to fund the war and occupation of Iraq into the summer of 2009. This is the largest war-funding measure since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The vote comes on the heels of the House's defeat of a similar measure on May 15. Although the defeat in the House was partly due to Republican political maneuvering, it more closely reflects the strong anti-war sentiment across the country.
"The Senate once again has passed an allocation of billions of dollars for a war and occupation that a majority of its constituents oppose," said Michael McPhearson, co-chair of United for Peace and Justice and executive director of Veterans For Peace. "We can't help but note the irony that, as the Senate leaves for its Memorial Day recess, they have ensured the needless deaths of hundreds of soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqis by voting to extend the war and occupation for another full year. How many more fallen service men and women will we honor next year? How many more Iraqis must die before we come to our senses?"
With the House unlikely to vote on the Senate version of the bill before the Memorial Day recess, United for Peace and Justice is calling on its member groups to focus their energies on members of the House of Representatives over the next ten days. "Activists around the country have been meeting with members of Congress and staging protests, vigils, rallies, phone-ins, sit-ins for over five years, asking their representatives to stop funding this insane war," said UFPJ legislative coordinator Sue Udry. "Their dedication and passion are legendary. They are not about to give up now. If the House does not stop this funding bill, we will make this a major issue in November."
As part of the advocacy effort, the coalition will target members of both parties. "We will remind Democrats that if this bill passes, Congress will have appropriated over $300 billion for the war in Iraq since they swept into power on a wave of anti-war votes in 2006," Udry said.
United for Peace and Justice strongly supports measures to improve veteran's benefits, including healthcare and education. However, UFPJ opposes tying benefits to a bill that will keep troops in harm's way and will guarantee more veterans needing care on their return home. "United for Peace and Justice supports the spending on important domestic needs including veterans benefits and unemployment benefits. These programs should not be held hostage to an outrageous war funding bill," said UFPJ national coordinator Leslie Cagan.
United for Peace and Justice is the largest grassroots anti-war coalition in the country, consisting of more than 1,400 local and national groups throughout the United States, who have joined together to protest the immoral and disastrous Iraq War and oppose our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building. UFPJ has organized the largest anti-war demonstrations in both NYC and Washington, DC, over the past five years. For more details, go to www.unitedforpeace.org.
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