State legislators launch effort to push HR 676--ask yours to sign on too!

A group of state legislators has initiated a nationwide effort to publish an Appeal to President Obama and members of the 111th Congress to support HR 676.

Twenty four state legislators, from 16 states, have sent a copy of the Appeal to all 7,500 state legislators in the United States asking them to add their names to The Appeal which will be published in Roll Call, a widely read Capitol Hill publication.

The legislators, in their letter, cite the growing “economic crisis” and “badly strained” state budgets as reasons for passage of HR676.

Co-conveners of the campaign are State Senator Jim Ferlo of Pittsburgh and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried of New York. Senators and representatives from Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin also signed the letter.

The Alliance for Democracy is joining with other groups in urging you contact your state legislators and asking them to sign on to this Appeal. If you don't know who represents you at the state level you can find out here.

The ‘Dear Colleague” letter, the ‘Appeal’ and other materials can be found here.

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Action Alert: Peru FTA goes to the Senate!

Action Alert: Peru FTA goes to the Senate!

The Senate will vote on the Peru FTA soon--possibly as early as next week.

Call your senators now! Let them know how you feel about this NAFTA-style trade agreement, and how it will:

• Undermine workers' rights
• Displace small farmers and imperil local food security
• Privatize and/or deregulate water, health care, and education
• Limit access to life-saving medicines
• Promote exploitation of natural/cultural resources, including patenting of traditional medicines

While senators are on Thanksgiving recess, reach them through their district offices (if you don't know the phone number, check www.senate.gov ). After Monday, call their Washington offices. You can call the general switchboard at 202-224-3121, or toll-free at 800-828-0498.

A Senate vote on the Peru FTA will likely take place shortly after the end of the recess on Monday, December 3. Call now!

The Peru FTA passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, 285 to 135, and is the first of several FTAs that will be coming through Congress soon--trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea are up for approval as well. Now is the time to repeat what the voters said last year: "free trade" is neither free, nor fair. It benefits only a handful of big businesses and their profits at the expense of our jobs, our rights, and the environment--here and abroad.

There's a sample script and detailed talking points at the American Friends Service Committee's "Trade Matters" program (www.trade-matters.org ) website. Click on "Peru FTA Senate Vote Approaching" under "Take Action" to read them.

When you call, ask to speak to the legislative assistant that deals with trade. If he or she is not available, ask for voicemail, and be sure to say you're a constituent. Ask the trade representative if he or she would send you an e-mail that spells out your senator's position on the trade pact. Then forward it to your friends and neighbors with this alert so they'll know whether their views are represented in Washington.

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