CRITICAL UPDATE ON SOA VOTE

Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 PM



== CONGRESSI0NAL DELAY BUYS WHINSEC’S PUBLIC RELATIONS MORE TIME --> Your calls,

emails and faxes to Congress are vital! Keep them coming tomorrow!



SOA Watch has just been notified that the vote on the McGovern-Lewis Amendment to

cut funding to the School of the Americas/ WHINSEC is postponed until tomorrow,

Friday, June 9 OR Monday, June 12. WE NEED TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON!

Because the Foreign Ops bill includes so many important issues, the debate on the

bill is lengthy and may need three days in the House. It's vitally important that

pressure on Congress continue through the day of the vote.

Thanks to your incredible groundswell of grassroots action over the past few weeks

-– your calls to Members of Congress, your letters, faxes and emails -– we have

stayed a step ahead of WHINSEC’s PR machine. Without a doubt, this delay has bought

them more time and is a benefit to the Pentagon.

BUT it’s also bought US more time! It is CRITICAL that tonight and tomorrow morning,

Members of Congress continue to hear from people who care about human rights and who

want to see funding to the School of the Americas cut once and for all.

---> Call Congress at 202-224-3121 or toll free at 888-355-3588. See below for a

suggested call script. Find your Rep here: http://house.gov <---

If you’ve already made your calls, please take a few minutes to CALL AGAIN and

re-emphasize the point that your Representative has constituents who want to see her

or him vote the right way on this issue.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GET US WHERE WE ARE TODAY. And we are in a

place of incredible opportunity. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS, there will be a

debate on the School of the Americas in Congress tomorrow! LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF

IT!

If you’ve ever traveled to Georgia in a sweaty bus for hours on end...

If you and your family have been affected by the SOA and places like it...

If you’ve ever ignored your pounding heart and participated in a civil disobedience

action calling for a more just world, a world without the SOA...

If you’ve ever told a stranger about this place called the School of the Americas...

NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION AGAIN. Calling Congress only takes 10 minutes – but

it could be the most important thing you do this week, this month or this year!

Here’s a suggested message for you to convey to your Representative:

"I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to vote YES on the McGovern

amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. This amendment is a cut in

funding for the School of the Americas/ WHINSEC. New information indicates that

WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at

the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public

announcements that they will no longer send students to the school, citing the

negative image and history of this institution. Voting YES on this amendment sends a

positive human rights message to Latin America and will help to improve the U.S.

image abroad. As an elected official in Washington D.C., I hope you will represent

me and vote YES on any amendment in the House that would cut funding for the

school."

FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit the SOA Watch website at http://www.soaw.org and the

Legislative Action Index at http://www.soaw.org/legislative