June 14, 2007

Now is a crucial moment to take action for Colombia! Congress has indeed turned a new leaf, as we mentioned in our last message to you, and we're making some real strides toward a more just U.S. policy in Colombia. This year's foreign aid bill contains a number of changes that reflect our hard work for peace in Colombia over the past several years, including a major shift from aid for war to aid for development and peace.

We need to make sure that Congress doesn't go back on the changes they've presented so far. We owe many thanks to Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and David Obey (D-WI) for their stellar work on the Colombia language in the foreign aid bill, but some other members of Congress are not as pleased with the outcome. The foreign aid bill is set to come to the House floor for a vote next week, as early as Wednesday, June 20. At that time, there could be "negative amendments" to the bill, which we would not know about until right before they happen. These amendments could "undo" some of the progress that we've worked so hard to achieve.

Call your representative in the House today - or any time in the next few days - to urge him/her to stand behind the new approach to Colombia. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to your representative's office.

When you call, ask to speak with the foreign policy aide. Here is a sample script for your call:

"I am a constituent calling to encourage Rep. _________ to support the changes that have been made to the Colombia aid package in this year's foreign aid bill. It is past time that we seek a new strategy in Colombia: for the past seven years, more than 80 percent of U.S. tax dollars sent through Plan Colombia went to military aid. I support the shift to increase economic and social assistance for Colombia included in this year's foreign aid bill, and I urge the representative to vote "no" on any amendments that might reverse these changes."

This year's foreign aid bill moves a significant portion of funds for war and aerial spraying to assistance for rural development, justice, and support for the victims of the conflict. This "economic aid" includes increased assistance for Colombia's internally displaced population, for Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, and support for judicial reform. Tell your members of Congress that the aid is still directed towards reducing drug production, but in a much more effective and sustainable way, by increasing funds for development assistance to help farmers find alternatives to producing drug crops, while maintaining funding that targets drug traffickers ("interdiction" funding). To read more about the changes that the House has proposed, read our last alert here: http://www.lawg.org/countries/colombia/alert_06-07-07.htm. See also WOLA's fact sheet showing that the current counterdrug strategy doesn't work: http://www.wola.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=viewp&id=447&Itemid=8%20

If you have any questions about calling Congress don't hesitate to ask! Send Travis an email.