Sacramento Area Veterans, Religious Leaders Tell Rep. Matsui and Congress to Stop Iraq War

Sacramento Area Veterans, Religious Leaders Tell Rep. Matsui and Congress to Stop Iraq War Funding

By Dan Bacher

Veterans, religious leaders and anti-war activists converged on the federal building in Sacramento on January 4, in conjunction with a series of massive protests nationwide, to announce the intensification of a campaign to ask Rep. Doris Matsui and Congress to end all funding for the bloody Iraq occupation.

The news conference was timed on the morning that the Democrat controlled House of Representatives and Senate began a new session in Washington D.C., after being given a clear mandate by the voters on November 7 to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. It was also timed just days after the grim milestone of 3,000 U.S. dead and over 600,000 Iraqis killed in Bush's illegal war was reached.

During the news conference, George Main, President of the Sacramento Chapter of Veterans for Peace, Bishop Beverly Shamana of the United Methodist Church California-Nevada Annual Conference and Winnie Detwiler, Board Member of Sacramento Area Peace Action, passionately argued against any more funding of the Iraq occupation - and outlined their objectives for the campaign. After the conference, they delivered a letter to Matsui's office urging her to take a public position on ending funding for the war.

George Main, who was one of the key targets of a Pentagon nationwide illegal spying campaign against anti-war activists uncovered by the ACLU in November, and Cres Vellucci, another VFP member, tried to get a meeting with Matsui over her position on funding the Iraq occupation, but were rebuffed.

"There will be no more free passes for Rep. Matsui,” said Main, a member of the Sacramento Coalition to End the War, the group that sponsored the press conference. “By cutting off funding the war will end, as will the killing and maiming of tens of thousands Americans and Iraqis, and the waste of hundreds of billions of tax dollars.”

In the Congressional Voting Record for 2005 compiled by the Peace Action Education Fund, Matsui received a 92 percent rating for her votes on war and peace. Unfortunately, in spite of her otherwise good record, she has voted to continue funding for the occupation.

“Rep. Matsui has not publicly declared her opposition to the war or signed on to initiatives to truly end it, despite the obvious public mandate in the November elections suggesting voters wanted the war to end,” stated Vellucci, “She also has refused to personally meet with constituents, including veterans.”

Main emphasized that the $70 billion Congress voted to fund the Iraq occupation last June is more than enough to fund the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops. He also criticized President George W. Bush's proposal to fund a “surge” of 20,000 more troops, contending that the so-called “surge” is really an escalation of the increasingly brutal and violent conflict in Iraq. Bush will likely propose $160 billion in supplemental funding to continue and expand the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

Bishop Beverly Shamana urged Rep. Matsui to make the moral choice to stop funding the Iraq occupation. “It is time to bring the troops home,” she stated. “What the Bush administration is doing in Iraq now is an offense to the God of Christians, Jews and Muslims.”

Shamana said it was time for people to be “prayerful with our feet, letters, emails and phone calls” and get Matsui and Congress to stop funding the occupation.

Winnie Kaneshiro Detwiler emphasized the devastating costs of the war in terms of lives and dollars.

“The American people told Congress on November 7 that they want the occupation of Iraq ended,” said Detwiler. “We want Representative Doris Matsui to make a public commitment that she will vote against ANY more funding for the occupation of Iraq.”

She continued, “The President wants to expand this war, an illegal and unjustified war that has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives, as well as 378 billion dollars. It will continue to cost the lives and futures of many, many people - in this country and elsewhere for whom those billions of dollars could have been used for health care, for food, for education and for our environment.”

Detwiler detailed the alarming costs of the war in the Fifth Congressional District alone - and all of the good, productive things that our tax dollars could have funded instead of more killing and destruction.

“The National Priorities Project, which studies the budget of the Federal Government, states that taxpayers in the 5th Congressional District, are paying almost $684 million for this tragic fiasco,” said Detwiler. “This $684 million could have been spent instead for healthcare for 280,000 people, or over 10,300 elementary school teachers, or over 81,000 spaces in Head Start Programs for pre-school children, or for housing, disaster preparedness, job training or many other constructive uses.”

Detwiler concluded, “We know that Representative Matsui has committed to protecting Social Security, yet the spending of hundreds of billions of dollars on this tragic occupation of another country jeopardizes the future of Social Security and Medicare - programs that the working people of this country rely on for their old age security.”

The Sacramento Coalition to End the War is asking people to send letters to Rep. Matsui and visit her office in the coming weeks to urge her to vote against any further funding of the Iraq War. For more information, contact the Sacramento Area Peace Action website, http://www.sacpeace.org/takeAction.cfm



ACTION ALERT: Tell Rep. Doris Matsui to Stop Funding the Occupation of Iraq

When the new Congress starts in January, 2007, it is very likely the Bush Administration will propose $160 billion in supplemental funding to continue the immoral and destructive U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

Congress has already appropriated $70 billion for the occupation in Fiscal Year 2007. This is ample funding to bring the troops and bases home NOW.

Any additional funding will prolong the occupation, not end it. We must send a strong message to Congress that we want the occupation of Iraq ended NOW and the way Congress can do that is to STOP THE FUNDING.

Your action is critical:

1. Ask Representative Matsui to commit publicly to voting against any funding to continue the occupation of Iraq. Tell her she needs to make this commitment NOW to send a message to Congress and her constituents that she is serious about ending the occupation (see sample letter below). Call, fax, or write her every week until she agrees. Phone: 916-498-5600; fax 916-444-6117; address: Rep Matsui, 501 I St. Suite 12-600, Sacramento, CA 95814

2. Pay a visit to Matsui's Sacramento office, 501 I St, Suite 12-600 to deliver your message personally. The office is open 8am - 5pm. Visits are being coordinated by the Sacramento Coalition to End the War OR visit on your own.

3. Join the anti-war contingent in the Martin Luther King, Jr. March on Mon., Jan. 15, 2007 (9am Sac City College, 3855 Freeport), & vigils which may be called at the federal building, updates: http://www.sacpeace.org.

For more info and updates: 916-448-7157; sypeaceact [at] jps.net

Sample letter to fax, hand deliver, or send to Matsui:

Date:

Dear Representative Matsui:

Please stop funding the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq have killed, maimed, and destroyed the lives of millions of Iraqis, killed or maimed thousands of U.S. service men and women, wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, and contributed to the erosion of our civil liberties.

When the new Congress starts in January 2007, the Bush Administration will likely propose $160 billion in supplemental funding to continue AND escalate the immoral and destructive U.S. military occupation of Iraq. We want you, as our representative, to vote against ANY further funding for the occupation. We want you to publicly make this commitment NOW, so that your voice will provide leadership to others in Congress.

We know that the military is quite capable of withdrawing U.S. troops and bases quickly and safely. We also know Congress has already appropriated $70 billion for the occupation in Fiscal Year 2007, ample funding to bring the troops and bases home NOW.

Getting the U.S. out of Iraq NOW will save thousands of American and Iraqi lives. It will stop the squandering of billions of dollars that are needed for education, health care, environmental protection, etc. and for repairing the damage that the U.S. has done to Iraq. It will hasten the end of violence in Iraq by removing the foreign occupier that is fueling that violence. It will allow the healing of the nation, peoples, and civil society of Iraq that has been devastated by the U.S. invasion and occupation, healing which cannot take place as long as the perpetrator remains.

We know that prolonging the occupation of Iraq has nothing to do with helping the Iraqi people, nothing to do with “supporting” the troops, and nothing to do with trying to save lives or money.

We know that the occupation continues to put huge profits into the pockets of military contractors and weapons manufacturers. We do not want any more of our taxpayer dollars wasted for this destructive and immoral occupation of Iraq.


The American people know the U.S. occupation of Iraq can be ended NOW and we have elected a Congress that has the power to do that by cutting off funding NOW. We expect you to be leader in this effort.

Please contact me with the action you will be taking to stop funding for the occupation of Iraq.

Sincerely,

Name:

Address:


CONTACTING CONGRESS



All members: Congressional Switchboard 202-224-3121

SENATORS - email through http://www.senate.gov


Senator Barbara Boxer Senator Dianne Feinstein
501 I Street, Suite 7-600 One Post Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814 San Francisco, CA 94104
916- 448-2787 415-393-0707
202- 224-3553 202- 224-3841

REPRESENTATIVES - email through http://www.house.gov

Representative Doris Matsui
501 I Street, Suite 12 - 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 498-5600, Fax: (202) 225-0566


Representative Dan Lungren
11246 Gold Express Dr, Suite 101
Gold River, CA 95670
Phone: (916) 859-9906, Fax: (916) 859-9976


Representative Mike Thompson
12 Main Street, Suite 1
Woodland, CA 95695
Phone: (530) 662-5272, Fax: (530) 662-5163


Representative John T. Doolittle
United States House of Representatives
4230 Douglas Blvd. Suite 200
Granite Bay, CA 95746
Phone: (916) 786-5560, Fax: (916) 786-6364


Representative Jerry McNerney
312 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-1947