• Oppose Misleading Anti-Choice Legislation
  

  In March, Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reintroduced the ''Unborn Victims of Violence Act.'' This legislation would create penalties for anyone who causes injury or death to a fetus in the process of committing a federal crime, separate from any penalties assessed for the actual assault on the woman.

  The bill does nothing to address the underlying problem of violence against women and would set a dangerous legal precedent by establishing in law that an ''unborn child'' is an individual separate from a woman.

• Don't Kill the New Arsenic Limits in Drinking Water

  When Americans turn on their faucets, they expect the water coming out to be safe to drink. Yet, in another payback to Bush’s powerful industry allies, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will kill a new regulation approved by the outgoing Clinton Administration to protect the public from cancer causing arsenic in its drinking water. This action demonstrates the Bush Administration’s preference to put special interests before people’s safety.

  A proven carcinogen, arsenic occurs naturally, but is also a common byproduct of mining operations. Mining industry opponents lobbied hard against the Clinton Administration regulation, which would have merely brought the U.S. into line with European Union and the World Health Organization standards. The industry claims that the new standards would be too costly for them to implement. However, the current standard was set in 1942 before scientists knew that arsenic causes cancer. Public health advocates estimate that at least 13 million Americans are exposed to unsafe levels of arsenic in their drinking water.

  Environmental and public health groups have expressed grave concern over the EPA reversal. Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, “This move is the latest in several recent environmental attacks by Bush that put industry ahead of the American public.”

  A 1999 National Academy of Sciences study found that the current standard of 50 parts per billion for arsenic in drinking water “could easily” result in a 1-in-100 cancer risk. The proposed regulation would have lowered the acceptable level of arsenic by 80 percent to 10 ppb. Cancers caused from arsenic-laced drinking water include bladder, lung, and skin cancer and may include kidney and liver cancer. There is also evidence that arsenic may cause birth defects and reproductive problems.

• Oppose the ''Charitable Choice'' Aspect of President Bush's Faith-Based Plan

  The Charitable Choice aspect of President Bush's Faith-Based Plan, introduced in Congress as H.R. 7, would violate personal religious freedom and result in government funded employment discrimination. The Charitable Choice scheme would funnel taxpayer dollars directly to houses of worship to take over government services. In addition, it would allow these religious institutions to discriminate in the hiring of staff to run the government program. For example, a government-funded program could refuse to hire someone because they are the ''wrong'' religion or because they violate the religion's ''teachings and tenets'' - such as being unmarried and pregnant.

  Taxpayer dollars should not be used to discriminate against someone because of their religion or religious beliefs. It is both unconstitutional and morally wrong.

• Pass The Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act

  The right of every American to vote and to have their vote counted is the cornerstone of democracy. Unfortunately, that right, as well as the basic tenet upon which our nation was founded, was violated tens of thousands of times in the 2000 election.

  In order to adequately address the myriad of problems we saw in the 2000 election, we must contact our Representative and ask him/her to co-sponsor H. 1170 in order to: 1) Ensure that all voting procedures are the same throughout the state; 2) Launch an aggressive voter education initiative so that all potential, new and existing voters know how to make their voices heard; 3) Require each state to reexamine, simplify and standardize voter re-enfranchisement laws; and, 4) Look into voter intimidation, real and perceived, and to reexamine if they are in full compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

• Support Ban on Roadbuilding in National Forests

  Contributed by Sierra Club

  Last year, more than one million people wrote letters, attended hearings and spoke out in favor of protecting the last remaining wild areas of our National Forests. Conservationists across the country celebrated on January 5th when President Clinton issued the final plan to protect 58.5 million acres of our National Forests from logging and roadbuilding -- even wild areas in Alaska's Tongass, the world's largest remaining temperate rainforest. But now, the oil and gas, mining and timber industries are pressuring President Bush and Congress to overturn the protection of our last remaining wild forests!

  The release of the final policy marked the end of a public process that included more than 600 public meetings and spanned three years. During the rulemaking, the administration received a record breaking one million public comments in support of protecting wild forests. Thousands of people turned out to speak on behalf of protecting forests at the meetings which took place in large cities like Salt Lake City and Washington, DC and in hundreds of small towns such as Lufkin, Texas and Girdwood, Alaska.

  Wild forests have some of the highest quality fish and wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies in the country. Unfortunately, more than half of our National Forest land has already been hammered by logging, roadbuilding and other destructive activities. The 440,000 miles of roads that scar our National Forests - most built for the logging industry and paid for by tax dollars - have destroyed wildlife habitat, caused mudslides and polluted water. This plan protects the last wild areas from new roadbuilding and commercial logging.

• Support Ban on Roadbuilding in National Forests

  Last year, more than one million people wrote letters, attended hearings and spoke out in favor of protecting the last remaining wild areas of our National Forests. Conservationists across the country celebrated on January 5th when President Clinton issued the final plan to protect 58.5 million acres of our National Forests from logging and roadbuilding -- even wild areas in Alaska's Tongass, the world's largest remaining temperate rainforest. But now, the oil and gas, mining and timber industries are pressuring President Bush and Congress to overturn the protection of our last remaining wild forests!

  The release of the final policy marked the end of a public process that included more than 600 public meetings and spanned three years. During the rulemaking, the administration received a record breaking one million public comments in support of protecting wild forests. Thousands of people turned out to speak on behalf of protecting forests at the meetings which took place in large cities like Salt Lake City and Washington, DC and in hundreds of small towns such as Lufkin, Texas and Girdwood, Alaska.

  Wild forests have some of the highest quality fish and wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies in the country. Unfortunately, more than half of our National Forest land has already been hammered by logging, roadbuilding and other destructive activities. The 440,000 miles of roads that scar our National Forests - most built for the logging industry and paid for by tax dollars - have destroyed wildlife habitat, caused mudslides and polluted water. This plan protects the last wild areas from new roadbuilding and commercial logging.

• Shine the Congressional Spotlight on the Chemical Industry's Trade Secrets

  Bill Moyer's PBS documentary, Trade Secrets, showed how chemical companies have kept secret the hazards of chemicals they produce. Only a small percentage of the chemicals we are exposed to every day have been adequately tested. For the most part, we rely on chemical companies to vouch for the safety of their products. That's like relying on the tobacco industry to assess the risk of tobacco.

  To protect ourselves we must: Phase out all dangerous chemicals over the next 10 years, beginning with those for which there are already safer alternatives. Prohibit the introduction of any new chemicals that pose a threat of harm to our health and our children's health. Insure the public's right to know about the production, use, release and test results of toxic chemicals.

  To start, Congress should hold hearings to force chemical company executives to reveal the secrets they are withholding from the American public. E-mail your U.S. Senators and Respresentatives and ask them to get the chemical industry to come clean.

• Stop Wrongful Executions, Support a National Moratorium

  Both supporters and opponents of the death penalty are concerned about the flaws in the system by which the government imposes sentences of death. More and more Americans agree that there are enough serious concerns about fairness and accuracy in the imposition of the death penalty that there should be a moratorium on the use of the death penalty until these fundamental concerns are addressed.

  Since the reinstatement of the modern death penalty, 95 people have been freed from death row because they were later proven innocent. That's 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed. And a recent study found that 2 of every 3 death penalty cases contain errors so severe that the death sentences and convictions are overturned.

  Before one more federal execution is carried out, the federal government has an obligation to ensure that the sentence of death will be imposed with justice, fairness and due process.

  To address this concern, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) has introduced the "National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2001" (S. 233). This legislation would impose a moratorium on federal executions while creating a National Commission on the Death Penalty to review fairness in the administration of capital punishment.

  We must insure fairness in the death penalty!

  Documented unfairness in the federal system requires Congress to suspend federal executions. The Department of Justice released a study last September documenting racial disparities in the application of the federal death penalty. For example, the study found that 80 percent of defendants who were charged with death-eligible offenses under federal law were African-American, Hispanic American or members of other minority groups. The report also shows that white defendants are more likely than black defendants to negotiate plea bargains saving them from the death penalty in federal cases.

  The link between executions and geography is clear. The Justice Department report shows that U.S. attorneys in only 5 of 94 Federal districts - 1 each in Virginia, Maryland, Puerto Rico and 2 in New York - submit 40 percent of all cases in which the death penalty is considered. Furthermore, U.S. attorneys from states with a high number of executions under state law, including Texas, Virginia and Missouri, frequently recommend seeking the death penalty. The fact that people are treated differently because of where they live is contrary to our ideal of equal justice under law.

  Racial and geographic disparities are not the only problems in the federal system. Ronnie Chandler, the first person convicted of a federal death crime since 1963, has a strong claim of innocence. His conviction was based on the testimony of one witness who has since recanted, and is very likely the actual killer. His case is still being considered by the courts, but, in the meantime, President Clinton commuted his death sentence to life in prison based on his strong claim of innocence.

• Oppose the RU-486 Health and Safety Protection Act!

  RU-486, called Mifepristone in the United States, is a medication that is used to terminate a pregnancy when taken up to 49 days after a woman's last menstrual period. RU-486 has been used in France since 1988 and has subsequently been used in Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Israel and nine other European countries. Despite years of delays, Mifepristone was finally approved by the Food and Drug Administration on September 28, 2000. The FDA approved Mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy. This approval marks a milestone for women's reproductive health care.

  Immediately following the approval of Mifepristone, anti-choice members of the House introduced a bill that would place severe restrictions on the distribution of Mifepristone. Fortunately, no action was taken on this bill in the 106th Congress. A similar bill, the "RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act" (S. 251 and HR 482), was introduced in both the House and the Senate this Congress. This bill would place severe restrictions on the accessibility of Mifepristone.

• Say No to Vouchers and Voucher-Like Schemes

  Contributed by People For the American Way

  Throughout the election season and since, President Bush has made bold promises. He pledged to “leave no child behind”. Yet President Bush has proposed an education plan that threatens to harm public education and blur the important line between church and state. The President supports instituting a voucher scheme that would drain much-needed dollars from public schools and direct them to private and religious schools. The Senate can say NO to vouchers, and other programs that use public funds to pay for private and religious education — but your senators need to hear from you.

  President Bush’s plan includes at least seven different programs that would transfer taxpayer money from the public schools into the hands of private and religious schools and institutions, thus, starving the public schools.

  These plans, coupled with a massive tax cut that would benefit America’s wealthiest citizens, would have a devastating impact on public education. Schools that are now succeeding would be weakened and schools that desperately need support to help students achieve their full potential would be dramatically hurt by huge budget cuts.

  Vouchers and voucher schemes not only drain resources from our public schools, but they also often use public tax money to fund schools that lack accountability, do not meet minimum academic or safety standards, and fail to protect children from discrimination.

  Please write your lawmakers to pass an education plan that depends on PROVEN solutions: solutions that are constitutional and fair to ALL children. Smaller class sizes, school modernization and repair and full funding for Title I (the law that funds programs for disadvantaged children) will make our public schools stronger for all children. Vouchers will only weaken our public schools and leave the vast majority of poor children behind.

 

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