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The
WAND News Bulletin is posted on the
web site monthly.
When it appears, WAND sends out a condensed
version via email. If you would like
to receive these email Bulletins, please
let us know.
That's
U.S. Rep. John Lewis
(right) at our 2005 WiLL/WAND conference
in DC. He marched with MLK, Jr., so we
thought it was a good moment to feature
him. He spoke to a group of us in September,
and blew the roof off the room. He rocks. |
| Table
of Contents | Click
to move to content within the Bulletin. |
Capitol
Hill Update, January 2006
 |
It
takes awhile for Congress
to return from the holiday
break, and get ready for
the next year of political
wrangling.
Right
now, we're getting ready
for the President to deliver
the State of the Union address,
and propose his federal
budget for FY07.
|
|
| State
of the Union address: Janaury
31 -
Don't go it alone
When
the President makes his address
on January 31, it will be a whole
lot easier to listen and make
sense of it if you're surrounded
by friends. Two friendly organizations
are helping you organize a house
party to get in on the fun.
(WAND will be
sending a Listening Guide close
to the event.)
Iraq
war
It's
time to bring the Iraq war to
a debate on the House floor. It's
time to bring HJ Res 55 out of
committee.
HJ
Res 55 (House Joint Resolution
55) calls on President Bush to
set a plan for beginning the phase-out
of U.S. troops in Iraq. It is
currently stalled in committee.
A
discharge petition allows a bill
to move to the floor for debate
-- without having committee approval
-- if the petition is signed by
a majority (218) of House Members.
House
members can sign the discharge
petition at any time.
Ask
your Representative to sign the
discharge petition to get HJ Res
55 onto the floor. Click
here to send a message.
 |
Set
up a plan to leave Iraq.
Support HJ Res 55.
January '06: It's time to
get HJ Res 55 out of committee
and onto the floor. Ask
your Rep. to sign the discharge
petition.
Click
here to send a message.
|
2006
Senate Schedule
Jan. 18 -
Senate convenes
Jan. 31 -
House convenes
Jan. 31 -
State of the Union address
(tentative) |
February
20 - 24: Presidents' Day Recess
March 20 - 24: St. Patrick's Day
Recess
April 10 - 21: Easter Recess
May 29 - June 2: Memorial Day
Recess
July 3 - 7: July 4th Recess
August 7 - September 4: August
Recess
October 6: Target Adjournment
Itching
to know more?
We
can offer you some vital information.
Both in PDF format.
Loads of Info: Making
Sense of Capitol Hill:
A 28-page booklet with detailed
info: budget and
appropriations process; legislative
process; and names and numbers
on the 109th Congress.
Less info: A Citizen's Guide to
Finding Your Way Around Congress:
A four-page action guide with
helpful tips about understanding
Congress and taking action. |
 |
Notes
from
the
WAND
News
Bulletin
editor
Did
you
know
we
still
don't
have
a
federal
budget
for
FY06?
the
one
that
started
in
October
2005?
The
federal
government
is
still
operating
under
a
continuing
resolution.
|
|
Just before leaving
for
their
Christmas
break,
the
Senate
passed
the
budget
conference
report.
(Vice
President
Dick
Cheney
had
to
cut
short
a
diplomatic
trip
to
the
Middle
East
to
cast
the
deciding
vote
as
president
of
the
Senate,
51-50.
So
much
for
the
administration's
contemptuous
dismissal
of
"partisan
politics."
Cheney
scooted
out
of
Iraq
so
he
could
cast
a
vote
to
pass
the
Republican-favored
budget.)
Many
news
stories
simply
reported
that
the
budget
had
passed.
Lost
in
the
stories
was
the
fact
that
the
report
was
changed
from
what
the
House
had
passed.
This
version
of
the
budget
holds
more
cuts
for
the
poor
and
more
goodies
for
the
rich.
The
House
must
now
approve
the
Senate's
version,
and
members
have
scheduled
a
vote
for
Feb.
1,
2006.
A
vote
on
making
permanent
tax
cuts
for
the
wealthiest
will
follow
shortly
after.
The
moral
contradiction
will
be
hard
to
avoid
with
these
back-to-back
debates,
and
votes
to
cut
services
for
the
poor
and
then
taxes
for
the
rich.
All
Our
Dollars
A
guide
to
the
soap-opera
saga
of
the
federal
budget
process.
American
Pie
How
do
you
think
America's
budget
pie
is
sliced?
It's
your
federal
government:
a
citizen's
guide
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"Our
Badly Run Budget"
We
say it all the
time, but still
most people
don't know:
the Pentagon
gets OVER HALF
of the discretionary
federal budget.
THE PENTAGON.
Not
veterans, not
the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan,
not homeland
security. It's
totally out
of proportion
-- to our domestic
needs, to our
security needs,
to the international
budgetary reality.
And
it's unnecessary.
We
could easily
cut the Pentagon
budget, and
still be just
as safe.
Ben
Cohen, the ice
cream guy, weighs
in here:
"Such
an analysis
would reveal
that the Pentagon
budget, more
than the ledger
of any other
single federal
department,
could yield
big-time savings
if subjected
to the cost-cutting
methodology
of a business
executive intent
on ferreting
out waste.
"That
view is held
by former President
Ronald Reagan's
Assistant Secretary
of Defense Lawrence
J. Korb, who
argues that
America could
save $60 billion
by cutting weapons
still being
built or maintained,
believe it or
not, to fight
the defunct
Soviet Union."
Click
here for
more.
|
|
Federal
budget deficit sparks worries
Higher borrowing costs
could slow economic activity
AP, MSNBC | January 15, 2006
| Click
here for full article.
WASHINGTON
- Like a person packing
on pounds, the United States
keeps adding to its flabby budget
deficits, endangering the nation’s
economic health and the pocketbooks
of ordinary Americans.
Here’s
the worry: Persistent deficits
will lead to higher borrowing
costs for consumers and companies,
slowing economic activity.
As
Uncle Sam seeks to borrow ever
more to finance those deficits,
rates on Treasury securities
would rise to entice investors.
That would push up other interest
rates, such as home mortgages,
many auto loans, some home equity
lines of credit and some credit
cards.
|
|
How
the budget reconciliation conference
report is even worse than you
thought the last time the House
voted
Coalition
on Human Needs | Click
here for more.
The House of Representatives
passed the conference agreement
in December, cutting vital initiatives
for poor and middle class families
right before Christmas. The
conference report is nearly
800 pages and
includes significant departures
from the version previously
passed by the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers
received the report just hours
before the vote and admittedly
did not have enough time to
read the legislation before
voting on it. When the Senate
voted on the conference report
they made a few changes to the
bill. The house is expected
to vote on this updated version
February 1, 2006.
With
the light of day shining on
the conference report this time
around, the House has a second
chance to defeat this budget.
Here are some of the most egregious
provisions that were slipped
into the conference report and
that Members of the House of
Representatives may not have
known about the last time they
voted...Click
here for more.
More
from the Coalition on Human
Needs:
Q: When is a Cut a Cut?
A: When it Takes Away Services
or Benefits that People Need
Apologists for the budget bill
that will be back before the
House on February 1 have said
over and over that because spending
on basic programs for health
care and other services will
rise, there are no cuts. This
is preposterous. Here’s
why: Click
here.
|
|
State
Reports: How Budget Cuts Will
Affect Your State (January 2006)
Coalition on
Human Needs
Click
here to see how budget cuts
will affect your state.
In December,
the House of Representatives
approved a budget bill that
makes severe cuts to services
for low- and moderate-income
families. The Senate made small
modifications to the bill and
now the House must reconsider
the bill. They plan to vote
on it February 1.
The bill makes
cuts to student aid, health
care, child care, child support
enforcement, assistance for
abused and neglected children
and many other areas.
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Pork
in the military budget
Exchange between Senators
John McCain and Tom Coburn on
the Senate floor - December
20, 2005
...Mr.
President, despite high gas
prices, despite a swelling budget
deficit, despite our military
operations overseas, and despite
our domestic emergencies, pork
continues to thrive in good
times and bad. The cumulative
effect of these earmarks is
the erosion of the integrity
of the appropriations process,
and by extension, our responsibility
to the taxpayer. We must do
better, for our soldiers and
for the American people.
We have to fix this system,
Mr. President. Our system
is broken if we cannot pass
a Defense bill in wartime without
billions of dollars in pork.
Our system is broken
if we cannot fund our troops
without tacking on legislation
that opens ANWR to drilling.
Our system is broken if our
national security is at stake
and we carry on spending for
the special interests as if
nothing were wrong.
But
there is something wrong, something
very wrong. We want to have
it all without making any sacrifices,
so we simply borrow the money,
pushing off the obligations
to our children and our grandchildren.
ANWR is a perfect example of
that. We drill today in the
false hope that doing so will
solve our energy problems, but
in doing so we leave future
generations with a degraded
environment and the same dependence
on oil that we have today.
In his farewell address, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower reflected
on the spending he believed
to be excessive. His words then
are all the more powerful in
today's out of control environment:
"As we peer into society's
future,'' he said, "we--you
and I, and our government--must
avoid the impulse to live only
for today, plundering, for our
own ease and convenience, the
precious resources of tomorrow.
We cannot mortgage the material
assets of our grandchildren
without risking the loss also
of their political and spiritual
heritage. We want democracy
to survive for all generations
to come, not to become the insolvent
phantom of tomorrow.''
And yet, I say to my colleagues,
if we cannot change, if we will
not change, we risk precisely
that--becoming the insolvent
phantom of tomorrow. I wonder
what President Eisenhower would
think of this mess. But, then,
perhaps others have contemplated
the same question. After all,
this bill includes a $1.7 million
earmark for a memorial on the
National Mall that would honor
none other than Dwight D. Eisenhower.
|
| 
|
Katrina
exposes our national priorities
We
need to promote the concept
of "real security"
as more than the military.
Ten
ways to help.
Read our message here.
| Take action here. |
 |
Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
We
finally gave in to the
technowave of the future,
and started our very own
blog. |
|
We
invite you to check in
whenever you feel the
need for a dose of news,
outrage, humor, or just
a good chat.
Feel
free to comment, as long
as you keep it friendly!
Thanks a lot.
|
|
|
Sometimes,
the good news is just that:
good. WAND welcomes
the recent elections in Liberia
and Chile, where women won the
highest office in the land.
WAND
is an officially recognized
NGO at the UN, and we do all
we can to keep track of international
developments in the role and
status of women. Our representative
to the UN, Sayre Sheldon, filed
this report on some of the ways
WAND participated in UN activities
last fall.
 |
U.N.
Report from Sayre Sheldon |
WAND
took part in an exciting week
at the U.N. in late October
marking the 5th anniversary
of Security Council Resolution
1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
The NGO Working Group on Women,
Peace and Security -- of which
which WAND is a member -- brought
six women peace leaders from
conflict areas around the world.
These
women addressed members of the
Security Council twice, bringing
their urgent messages of the
crises women face, the steps
they are taking to meet them,
and the needs they have for
support from international law,
especially as set forth in Security
Council Resolution 1325. At
these appearances and many others
including press conferences,
the six women, from Iraq, Afghanistan,
Burma, Cote d’Ivoire,
Burundi, and Columbia gave moving
statements which brought the
realities of “life on
the ground” for women
and their families to officials
who often seem removed from
the direct effects of war and
rebuilding after conflict.
Women’s
leadership and networks documented
the abilities women have to
negotiate in conflict situations
and -- if given the opportunity
-- to even prevent conflict.
Sadly, there was much
documentation of violence against
women increasingly becoming
a military strategy.
These women were eager to voice
their objections to their government’s
military spending and to describe
how the aid they received from
other countries, including the
U.S., was frequently in the
form of weapons.
Like
WAND women in the U.S., they
shared their attempts to obtain
funding for their real security
needs. The Working Group held
a reception to launch its report,
“From Local to Global:
Making Peace Work for Women”
available through the WAND office. |
|
|
We're
sad to note the passing of Cherry
Clements
Anyone who met
Cherry Clements was delighted
and impressed by "this
amazing woman!" Her family
notes: Cherry Waldrep Clements,
of Atlanta, GA, died January
5, 2006. Cherry put her faith
into action by supporting education,
women's issues, healthy eating,
social and environmental justice,
peace and nuclear disarmament.
Cherry was a clever, generous,
kind-hearted woman who inspired
others to live responsibly and
to support progressive causes
through political action.
We
welcome you read her family's
notice, and to sign
the guestbook.
|
 |
WAND
and friends play a starring role
in Ms. Magazine, Winter '06 |
|
The
issue features an article about
women and the peace movement.
It leads with a tidbit about
Susan Shaer, our erstwhile executive
director!
"On
an October day, Susan Shaer
huddles in the cramped Washington,
DC, offices of Women's Action
for New Directions (WAND). She's
on a conference call with the
Win Without War steering committee,
deciding precisely how they
will respond when the 2000th
member of the U.S. military
perishes in Iraq."
It
also talks quite a bit with
other WAND stalwarts Karen Jacob
and David Cortright.
The
issue has already arrived in
many mailboxes; it's due to
hit the newsstands on January
17. You can read more about
it -- but not the article itself
-- by clicking
here.
If
you have the issue, we also
have a small ad on page 66.
A
little pat on our backs makes
us happy... |
Go to: www.womensaynotowar.org
to sign the call now! |
WomenSayNOtoWar
is your opportunity
to unite with international women
everywhere and contribute towards
the end of the illegal war in
Iraq. Our call will be delivered
to the White House on March 8,
2006. Please celebrate
International Women's Day on this
date by joining us and visiting
the following page for action/event
ideas: Click
here. |
|
Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA)
passes in Congress
Click
here for
more. | December 19, 2005
The
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
was passed by both houses (in
December), authorizing almost
$4 billion over the next five
years, and now awaits the President's
signature. The compromised
version of VAWA was approved
as part of the Justice Department
budget... The reauthorization
broadens efforts to combat violence
against women with more focus
on prevention strategies, culturally
specific services, and enhanced
services for victims with disabilities,
and it broadens services to
include children and teenagers.
The 2005 bill authorizes 21
percent more funding than the
version passed in 2000.
"This
legislation will go far in providing
protection for these women and
their families," Representative
Hilda Solis (D-CA) told the
Associated Press. The
SHIELD Act, sponsored by Congresswoman
Gwen Moore (D-WI), which exempts
domestic violence shelters from
providing identifying information
to Housing and Urban Development,
passed along with the rest of
VAWA.
(Gwen
Moore is one of our favorite
women in Congress!) |
|
The
court may be supreme, but it's
also getting mighty stacked
Senate
hearings on Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito are chugging along,
with the usual suspects hewing
to their usual lines. The most
contentious issue is the right
to reproductive choice, but
that's not all that's at stake.
Once
the Court has been flushed of
the troublemakers -- the liberals,
the women -- it's going to set
about turning back the clock
on all sorts of laws that protect
and advance the rights of the
rest of us: women, workers,
people of color, and more.
Martha
Burk has this to say about
how the court may affect
working women:
"He has bragged
that he is 'particularly
proud' of his work in opposing
affirmative action, and
never expressed regret for
joining a militantly anti-woman
club dedicated to keeping
women out of Princeton.
This mindset does not bode
well for female employment
rights."
Click here
for more. |
Bob
Burnett says it's about
more than abortion; it's
about access to contraception
and sex education:
"In an October 25 White
House briefing, press secretary
Scott McClellan responded:'The
focus has been from this
administration on promoting
abstinence programs; that
ought to be on the same
level as the education funding
for teen contraception programs.'
Yet,
the funding for abstinence
programs is not "on
the same level" as
funding for contraception
education programs. The
administration allocates
$200 million to abstinence-only
programs and nothing for
comprehensive sex education."
Click
here for more. |
 |
For
a comprehensive progressives'
guide to the Supreme Court
vacancy situation: Moving
Ideas |
 |
For
an amusin | | | | | | | |
