News about allied organizations of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) en Wed, 11 Jun 2008 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 60 May use with attribution link to http://pdamerica.org/ http://pdamerica.org/ Yesterday, Congressman Robert Wexler, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, became the second sponsor of the Articles of Impeachment against President Bush introduced By Rep. Dennis Kucinich. In a letter to his supporters, Wexler stated, "I enthusiastically co-sponsored this vitally important bill." He added, "The Articles present a stunning narrative of offenses that have gone well beyond previous crimes committed by any US chief executive. In fact no President or Vice President in history has done more to undermine our constitution." Invoking the privileged resolution maneuver he used to being Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Cheney, Kucinich introduced the resolution against Bush on June 9, forcing Congress to act as early as today. Unless our representatives hear a mighty roar from their constituents, the resolution is destined for the Judiciary Committee where it will likely linger with the earlier resolution to impeach Cheney. Send an email to your member of Congress, or call the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121 to have your voice heard. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-06-11-09-08-41-alliances.php Last night on the floor of the House, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio introduced Articles of Impeachment against President George Bush. On the heels of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report, which confirmed that Americans were led into a war based on lies, Kucinich read into the congressional record thirty-five articles of impeachable offenses. The articles cover a wide range of offenses—the mishandling of the war, torture, extraordinary rendition, imprisoning children, tampering with elections, illegal spying on Americans, misuse of signing statements, etc.—read them here, or watch the video, here. Kucinich introduced articles of Impeachment against Vice President Richard Cheney in November of last year. The Constitution and the rule of law demand that this president and Vice President be impeached. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-06-10-08-54-58-alliances.php

A Personal Message From Rep. Maxine Waters

The House recently passed an amendment to the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill that calls for a change in policy in Iraq, including a plan to redeploy all American troops within 18 months and a prohibition on the Administration from entering into a security agreement with Iraq without congressional approval. While I am disappointed that the timeline language was not more stringent, the House-passed language represented real progress. Further, I joined 148 Members to vote against a separate amendment containing over $160 billion in unrestricted war funds for the continuation of the President’s war in Iraq. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-06-02-08-03-15-alliances.php On May 6, 2008, Representative Betty Sutton (Ohio CD-13) introduced a resolution along with nine initial cosponsors, urging our military to end its “stop-loss” program. This much needed and forward-looking resolution succinctly calls for the immediate implementation of “a new stop-loss policy to ensure that no member of the Armed Forces who has completed a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan is subject to a stop-loss order.” Under current policy, if a soldier is scheduled to deploy within 90 days of the end of his commitment, the Army may issue a stop-loss order to retain the soldier in the military for the length of the deployment and up to another 90 days after the unit returns to its home base. Since September 19, 2001, nearly 45,000 members of the Armed Forces have had their service involuntarily extended by stop-loss orders. The number of soldiers subject to stop-loss orders has risen sharply since the Pentagon extended combat tours from 12 to 15 months last year. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-26-12-23-53-alliances.php

Progressive Caucus forum invites veterans to share their experiences with Members of Congress

At a forum this morning organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), ten veterans of the Iraq War provided gripping first person accounts of their time spent serving in combat operations. The veterans, who had served in the National Guard, the Army, and the Marines, shared their experiences on the ground at various stages of the occupation and throughout the country. They testified regarding violence against civilians, the destruction of civilian property, rules of engagement, the inadequate training that they received prior to deploying, and the personal struggles with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that many of the testifiers faced upon their return from combat. “This morning’s event was an opportunity to hear not from the military’s top brass, but directly from the very soldiers who put their lives on the line to carry out President Bush’s failed policies in Iraq,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Co-Chair of the CPC. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-15-18-31-45-alliances.php Iraq Moratorium Day is on the third Friday of every month. Participants are asked to break with their daily routine and take some action to end the occupation of Iraq, alone or with others. There are scores of actions listed at the Iraq Moratorium website http://iraqmoratorium.org and many other events which are not listed. You can read what others are doing to end the occupation and find tools to help your effort. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-15-10-17-58-alliances.php On May 8, 2008, Rep. John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and PDA advisory board member, released the following letter to his colleagues: Join Me in Calling on President Bush to Respect Congress' Exclusive Power to Declare War Dear Democratic Colleague: As we mark five years of war in Iraq, I have become increasingly concerned that the President may possibly take unilateral, preemptive military action against Iran. During the last seven years, the Bush Administration has exercised unprecedented assertions of Executive Branch power and shown an unparalleled aversion to the checks and balances put in place by the Constitution's framers. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-15-10-10-17-alliances.php

Veterans to provide first hand accounts of occupation of Iraq

In a reprise of the Winter Soldier hearings, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) will hold a forum to hear testimony from more than a dozen veterans of the war in Iraq who will share eyewitness accounts of the ongoing military occupation on Thursday, May 15. Testifiers, who are members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, will discuss the ineffectiveness of the President's “troop surge,” the dehumanization, abuse and killing of innocent Iraqi civilians, the strain that the continued occupation is having on military readiness and unmet need of Iraqi war veterans. The event, which is scheduled from 9:30am-12:30pm in 2261 Rayburn House Office Building, is open to members of the media, as well as the public. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-14-17-05-24-alliances.php May 8, 2008--PDA national team members Tom Pallow and Mike Hersh stood with Congressional Progressive Caucus and Out of Iraq Caucus members at a press conference calling for a halt to war spending. California Representatives Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee-known as “the Triad”-as well as Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY) were joined by Shawn O'Donnell, former PDA-endorsed Virginia congressional candidate and Peace Action's Political Director Paul Kawika Martin to demand the House leadership appropriate funds only for the safe and orderly return of U.S. Troops and contractors-not continuation of the war and occupation. Rep. Waters, the chair of the Out of Iraq Caucus, welcomed her colleagues and peace activists to the early-morning press conference on the Cannon Office Building Terrace, making a stand against the Congressional Democratic leadership's plans to appropriate another $108 billion for the war. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-05-09-20-26-29-alliances.php April 18, 2008--Faced with growing evidence that the U.S. economy has slipped into a recession, U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) --Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC)--today called on congressional leaders to quickly bring to the House floor a second economic stimulus package, preferably as a stand-alone bill to be debated and voted upon before consideration of the upcoming FY08 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill. In a CPC letter to the House Democratic Leadership, CPC Members are calling for action on a $118.9 billion package that includes many of the most effective recession-fighting tools left out of the first economic stimulus package enacted in early February (i.e. increasing federal funding for unemployment insurance and food stamp benefits, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Medicaid payments to states, home foreclosure relief and housing assistance, reinvesting and creating jobs (including “green” jobs) in the near-term repairing the nation's schools, transportation infrastructure and public housing, and building new wastewater treatments plants, expanding the earned income tax credit for families with 3 or more children, and making the child tax credit fully refundable for families with at least $3,000 in earnings. (See accompanying letter.) [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-21-08-18-33-alliances.php Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) released the following statement on the House floor today in support of H.Res.1095, which honors the 40th anniversary of congressional passage of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, or the Fair Housing Act: “The Fair Housing Act was critical in ending the rampant discrimination in the housing industry 40 years ago. Today the Fair Housing Act continues to play a vital and significant role in ensuring fair and equal access to housing for all Americans. “It is, in part, due to the failure of this administration to enforce these civil rights laws that lead to the predatory lending practices that fueled the housing crisis our nation now faces. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-17-08-41-18-alliances.php Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9), a Member of the House to sit on both the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Appropriations Committee's State Foreign Operations Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding the testimony of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress: “There is no military solution to Iraq, and neither General Petraeus nor Ambassador Crocker offered anything to rebut that reality. What we heard was more of the same about a war without end and the failed policies of the Bush administration in Iraq. “In its sixth year, this occupation has claimed the lives of over 4,000 brave soldiers, wounded over 28,000 others and has pushed our economy further into recession. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-10-09-47-47-alliances.php Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) released the following statement in advance of the Beijing Olympic torch pass through San Francisco: “The public outcry against China human rights record and its hosting of this year’s Olympics has cast a shadow over the Bay Area’s distinction as the only North American stop on the worldwide Olympic Torch Relay. Like the millions of activists around the world who are speaking out, I am very concerned about the continuing repression of the Tibetan people and China’s resistance to pressuring the regime in Sudan to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur. “The genocide in Sudan is entering its sixth brutal year and the situation is deplorable. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-08-12-41-49-alliances.php The PDA family is pleased to hear that Rep. Lynn Woolsey is recovering well from her recent back surgery. We look forward to her return to the hill. Woolsey has been an ardent advocate for progressive change and is a member of the PDA Advisory Board. On February 8, Woolsey announced she had been increasingly suffering from back pain for much of the past year, and was unable to return to Washington that week as a result. The successful surgery, which treated a disc related condition in her lumbar spine, was performed at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. Many members of the PDA family responded to PDA board chair Mimi Kennedy's request to send get-well cards to Rep. Woolsey--the following is her response: [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-02-08-59-31-alliances.php Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) released the following statement in support of legislation, H. Res. 76, to establish a national holiday in honor of labor leader, Cesar Chavez: “César Chávez was a great civil and human rights leader and such an important historical figure of our Nation. This resolution, H.Res.76, is a great way to pay tribute to the man and his many accomplishments. “César made a difference not only for Latinos and migrant workers, but for the poor and the working poor. And he also built a coalition of conscience across racial and economic boundaries. “I am reminded of the political support César provided to me during my first campaign for the California legislature – For that I will always be grateful. He was truly a hero who showed that one person can make a difference. I considered it an honor to walk in his funeral procession behind his humble wooden coffin, filled with pride for all he did for the world, our country and my home state. [more] http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2008-04-02-08-30-26-alliances.php