April 13th is CAFTA National Call-in Day

April 13th is CAFTA National Call-in Day - Be part of
the Global Week of Action on Trade - Demand that Your
Representative take a stand Against CAFTA!
(http://www.stopcafta.org for more info and for call scripts)


The Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA)—which includes Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican
Republic—is the biggest free trade agreement Congress
has considered in more than 10 years. Unless we can
turn this flawed approach to trade around, agreements
like CAFTA will put more workers out of a job,
jeopardize rural farmers, threaten the environment,
reduce access to life-saving medicines and stifle
democracy.

The Bush Administration is sending a strong message
that they are ready to test whether they have enough
votes in Congress to pass CAFTA. This will be done
through formal hearings in the House Ways and Means
Committee (April 21st) and the Senate Finance
Committee (April 13th). Because of "fast track", if
either committee decides to send the trade pact to the
floor, then there will be a yes or no vote that must
be done within 15 days.


Take action to stop CAFTA:

Call your Congress member in the House of
Representatives and Senate Finance Committee members
through the AFL-CIO sponsored toll-free number
(1-888-355-3588) or call the regular Capital
switchboard number (202 225-3121)

--Need help figuring out who your House Representative
is? Go to http://www.house.gov and enter your zip code

--If you have a moment, please also call your Senator
if he or she is on the Senate Finance Committee - see
list below or at http://www.stopcafta.org

--Call-in script available below or at
http://www.stopcafta.org


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Call the AFL-CIO sponsored toll-free number to the
Capitol switch board at 1-888-355-3588 on April 13 or
202 225-3121 on other days
The Senate Finance Committee begins CAFTA hearings on
April 13. Though the campaign against CAFTA has thus
far focused on the House of Representatives, it is
important to target Senators now as they begin the
process of presenting CAFTA legislation. If one of
your Senators is listed below, then call her or him
and use the Call-in Day script to demand a "No" vote
on CAFTA. Let the committee know that we won’t let
CAFTA go to the floor without a fight!

Republicans
CHARLES GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
TRENT LOTT, MS
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
JON KYL, AZ
CRAIG THOMAS, WY
RICK SANTORUM, PA
BILL FRIST, TN
GORDON SMITH, OR
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID

Democrats
MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JAMES M. JEFFORDS, VT
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY

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Script for Congressional Call-in Day on CAFTA
April 13th, 2005

(Go to http://www.stopcafta.org for a Spanish version of this
script)

Call the AFL-CIO sponsored toll-free number to the
Capitol switch board at 1-888-355-3588 on April 13 or
202 225-3121 on other days

When you call:

- Ask to speak to the trade staffer, chief of staff or
legislative director

- Tell them you are a constituent and want to know
your Rep's position on CAFTA (unless you already know)


- If the Rep is opposed to the agreement and will vote
against it, thank him/her. Ask him/her to make that
opposition public, and for a letter stating his/her
position.

- If the Rep is undecided, say that you oppose CAFTA
based on the talking points below (you can offer to
email these talking points) and urge them to vote no.

- If the Rep is for CAFTA, urge them to reconsider.
Inform the office that you intend to spread the word
that the Rep is voting against the public interest.


Script/talking point:

Hello, my name is _______ and I live in _______. I’m
calling to ask Representative _______ to vote against
the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); I
am deeply concerned about CAFTA and believe that the
agreement will have terrible consequences for Central
America, the Dominican Republic and our own country.

- If passed CAFTA will threaten the livelihoods of
millions of small farmers in Central America and the
DR, while increasing domination by agricultural
monopolies and hurting U.S. family farmers
- It threatens to prevent access to affordable life
saving medicines in a region where half the population
live in poverty.
- It will prohibit governments in the region from
ensuring that foreign investment serves national
development goals, and has a provision like NAFTA?s
Chapter 11 that would allow foreign corporations to
sue governments that pass strong labor, public health
or environmental laws.
- It does NOT include adequate enforcement for
violations of internationally recognized labor and
environmental standards..
- It includes rules that promote privatization and
deregulation of services including education, health
care, postal service, construction, transportation and
water supply. Such policies have proved particularly
devastating for families living in poverty.
- CAFTA will pave the way for more trade agreements
such as the Andean Free Trade Agreement and the Free
Trade Area of the Americas which would extend this
flawed model to the whole Western Hemisphere.

After 10 years of NAFTA, we know firsthand the
devastating effects of this economic model. Expanding
it in CAFTA ultimately threatens workers, farmers,
women, the environment, and democratic institutions in
the U.S. and the region. I strongly urge
Representative_________ to stand up for trade justice
by voting NO to CAFTA in Congress and sending the
message to the Administration that U.S. trade policies
must promote fair trade and sustainable development
policies designed to reduce poverty in the U.S. and
the region.


Further background info:

Hundreds of civil society groups representing labor,
environmental organizations, family farmers,
consumers, Latin American solidarity, and immigrants’
rights organizations have already expressed their
opposition to CAFTA, and many Congressional Reps have
taken this to heart. Though CAFTA has been ratified in
3 Central American countries—despite huge protests and
police violence—this strong cross-border opposition to
the agreement has prevented the Bush Administration
from submitting it to Congress up until now. However,
the clock is ticking and with the beginning of Senate
and House hearings on April 13, it is clear that CAFTA
supporters are pushing for a vote by Memorial Day. The
vote on CAFTA is effectively a referendum on NAFTA; if
it is defeated, it will be mark a huge step towards
stopping other such free trade agreements and open the
way for an alternative trade model that truly
addresses issues of poverty and inequality. A
coalition of progressive organizations in the US is
celebrating an April Week of on Trade by focusing on
CAFTA. For more information, http://www.stopcafta.org or
http://www.april2005.org

CISPES
Committee In Solidarity With The People of El Salvador
8124 West 3rd Street L.A. Ca. 90048
323-852-0721
Founded: 1980 - 25 Years of Solidarity