WVEC Action AlertJuly 27 , 2005Two monumental environmental disasters waiting to happen:
Without exaggeration, the single most environmentally-destructive national legislation ever -- the Energy Bill -- is close to being approved for Bush's signature. Late Monday night, the House-Senate conference committee approved a final version of the energy bill. We expect the bill to cruise through the House very soon, and to come to a vote in the Senate possibly by the end of this week - despite the fact that most legislators have not even seen the 1,000+ page bill yet! Please call your u.s. senator's office in dc this week!! Ask them to support a filibuster of the energy bill! Find your senator's dc phone number here. (Pick your state and call both of your u.s. senators) The Senate should delay their vote until after the August recess, so they have time to learn what is actually in the bill. Your message to your Senators is simple: No taxpayer funding for dirty energy (nuclear power, coal, oil, etc. -- more ideas below). Support a Filibuster of the Energy Bill. ...and READ the bill before voting on it! If calling Democratic Senators, tell them that the conference report (current version of the energy bill) does not meet the criteria that Sen. Reid laid out for a Democratic Commitment To Energy Independence. The Energy Bill would:
For more information on the energy bill, click here. Also see The Democratic Commitment To Energy Independence. Click here for more details, if you have the stomach for it....... CAFTA could come up for a vote TODAY! Call your Member of Congress and urge her/him to vote NO on CAFTA (H.R.3054) Call toll-free at 866-340-9281* CAFTA is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives TODAY, Wednesday the 27th. Bush and Condoleezza Rice are both on the Hill lobbying for CAFTA. They still do not have the votes needed to pass CAFTA, but they are on the Hill trying to push deals and pressure Members. Your Representative needs to hear from YOU today! Use the toll-free number and ask to be connected to your Member of Congress and ask your friends, family and co-workers to do the same. Ask your Member to vote no on CAFTA and ask for a written response to make sure your voice gets recorded. We can win this fight and deliver a significant blow to this Administration's anti-environmental policies both in the U.S. and abroad. Call today and pass on the word! Talking points: * The expansion of NAFTA to Central America - an agreement called CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement) - is expected to be voted on in Congress before Congress adjourns for August recess! CAFTA would expand the NAFTA model to Central America and threatens the critical biodiversity and natural resources throughout the region and the United States. * Central America is home to some of the world’s most unique and endangered ecosystems, and eight percent of all species worldwide. Increased trade and investment resulting from CAFTA could exacerbate deforestation and habitat loss in a region that is critical for migratory birds and which has already lost 70 percent of its forest cover. * CAFTA allows foreign companies to sue for cash compensation against a country’s environmental or public health laws. Mexico and Canada have both lost NAFTA lawsuits against domestic environmental and public health laws and the U.S. has spent millions defending itself against claims totaling nearly $2 billion. Among the U.S. laws being challenged are California’s ban of the toxic gasoline additive MTBE, California’s enactment of a law regulating harmful mining practices and the Agriculture Department’s decision to protect consumers from mad cow disease by closing the border to Canadian beef. Call toll-free at 866-340-9281*. Ask you Member of Congress to vote NO on CAFTA (HR 3054). * Toll Free Number Provided by the United Steelworkers of America USWA *
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