Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Tell your Rep. to co-sign McGovern/Schakowsky Dear Colleague to Secretary Clinton!

As of Friday, Representatives McGovern, Schakowsky, Payne, and Honda are circulating a letter throughout the halls of Congress addressed to Secretary of State Clinton with a clear message: let's spend our taxpayer dollars on supporting victims of violence, not funding military abuses.

This letter is a chance to get Congress behind the changes we want to see and an opportunity for our government to stand by our brothers and sisters in Colombia.

We need your support to give the letter the power it needs. Take action today to ensure we get at least 70 representatives to sign on to it in the next two weeks, before it is sent out to Secretary Clinton.

The letter makes a strong case for why there is no time to waste in changing our policies towards Colombia. It paints a vivid picture of the Colombian government's failure to protect human rights, raising issues like the killing of civilians by the army, the persecution of human rights defenders, and the humanitarian crisis of over four million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Echoing what we have been saying for a long time, it demands a cut in military aid and an increase in support for victims and those who are working for peace and justice in Colombia. It also calls for an end to harmful and ineffective aerial fumigations, suggesting that we invest instead in creating more drug treatment centers in the United States to do our part by decreasing the demand for illicit substances. To get all the details, click here to read the full letter.

But, this letter will only have a strong effect if Rep. McGovern is backed up by many other members of Congress. Now is the time for faithful action for a sustainable peace in Colombia. Please help ensure that your congressional representative signs on.

Call your Rep. today! If you don't know who your representative is go to go to http://www.congress.org/ and type in your zip code to find out or give us a call at 773-293-2964. Below is a list of IL Members of Congress, their foreign policy staffers and their phone numbers. When you call, ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. If he or she is not available, leave a voicemail message. An example is provided below:

"I am a constituent calling to encourage Representative ____________ to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter written by Representatives McGovern, Schakowsky, Payne, and Honda, which calls for change in U.S. policy towards Colombia. This letter to Secretary of State Clinton asks that our government be honest about the human rights conditions in Colombia and make changes in the aid package. The U.S. should stop spending taxpayer dollars on the military, which has been found to be killing innocent civilians and illegally wiretapping human rights defenders, journalists, and Supreme Court judges. Instead, we should be supporting refugees and displaced people, Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, and small farmers who are trying to turn away from coca. And we also need to invest in drug treatment centers here at home. I strongly urge Representative ______ to take a stand for human rights and sign on to this letter today. To get a copy of the letter and to sign on, please contact Cindy Buhl in Rep. McGovern’s office. Thank you."

Please let us know when you have made your call so we can keep track!

And don't stop there: Tell your friends and family. Make an announcement in your church. Or just go ahead and forward this on to your whole address book! We won't get another chance like this again for a long time, so let's pull out all the stops and make it happen together!

Bobby Rush (D-1^st) - Speak with Angelle Kwemo, 202-225-4372

Jesse Jackson (D-2^nd) - Speak with Charles Dujon, 202-225-0773

Dan Lipinski (D-3^rd) - Speak with Eric Lausten, 202-225-5701

Luis Gutierrez (D-4^th) - Speak with Virginia Zigras, 202-225-8303

Mike Quigley (D-5^th) - Speak with Robyn Russell, 202-225-4061

Peter Roskam (R-6^th) - Speak with Brigitta Johnson, 202-225-4561

Danny Davis (D-7^th) - Speak with Caleb Gilchrist, 202-225-5006

Melissa Bean (D-8^th) - Speak with Liz Jurinka, 202-225-3711

Jan Schakowsky (D-9^th­) - Speak with Nina Besser, 202-225-2111

Mark Kirk (R-10^th) - Speak with Jeffrey Phillips, 202-225-4835

Debbie Halvorson (D-11^th) - Speak with Justin Cajindos, 202-225-3635

Jerry Costello (D-12^th) - Speak with Katie Stonewater, 202-225-5661

Judy Biggert (R-13^th) - Speak with Griffin Foster, 202-225-3515

Bill Foster (D-14^th) - Speak with Peter Judge, 202-225-2976

Timothy Johnson (R-15^th) - Speak with Jen Mascho, 202-225-2371

Donald Manzullo (R-16^th) - Speak with Nien Su, 202-225-5676

Phil Hare (D-17^th) ­- Speak with Kemi Jemilohun, 202-225-5905

Aaron Schock (R-18^th) - Speak with Steve Shearer, 202-225-6201

John Shimkus (R-19^th) - Speak with Greta Joynes, 202-225-5271