PDA MOBILIZES AGAINST SUPPLEMENTAL WAR FUNDING, CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL PLAN FOR AFGHANISTAN

http://pdamerica.org

As the vote on the supplemental funding bill has faced delays due to lack of support on both sides of the aisle, Progressive Democrats of America has mobilized its members to contact their representatives to ask they vote against it.

“Since March of 2008, PDA’s Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign has called for an end to wasteful military spending and to redirect those funds to meeting our domestic needs, starting with single-payer healthcare,” said PDA national director Tim Carpenter. “The supplemental funding is wasteful spending—we are supposed to begin bringing troops home from Iraq in July of this year, and studies indicate that the allocation of our resources in Afghanistan and Pakistan should be 80% for diplomacy and humanitarian aid with 20% allocated for military purposes--not the other way around, as it is in this bill.”

Carpenter continued, “We stand with Reps. Raul Grilalva, Jim McGovern, Lynn Woolsey and others who will vote no on the supplemental, most likely later today.” See this video.

In addition, PDA with major national anti-war groups will join together for a National Day of Action on Afghanistan. The groups will ask members of Congress to co-sponsor a bill by Congressman Jim McGovern, HR 2404 calling on the administration to develop, and present to Congress, an exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

“What we are calling for today is a no vote on the supplemental, and if that fails we will continue to push for support of Jim McGovern’s HR 2404 and a clear exit strategy from Afghanistan,” said Carpenter. “Members of Congress will be hearing from grassroots activists throughout the country today demanding an ending to funding of military escalation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

For more information on the McGovern bill, please visit: http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=13483136

For more information on the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, please visit: http://pdamerica.org/articles/misc/2008-02-29-14-19-42-misc.php

Progressive Democrats of America is one of the nation’s fastest-growing grassroots political organizations; it has active chapters in 45 states. PDA is dedicated to reviving the progressive tradition of the Democratic Party through grassroots organizing and working with elected Democrats to advance peace, justice and social, economic and environmental responsibility. More information is available at: http://pdamerica.org.

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Progressive Democrats of America is a grassroots PAC that works both inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our goal: work with and increase the progressive majority in Congress as we build on our 2008 electoral successes into 2009 and beyond. PDA's advisory board includes seven members of Congress and activist leaders such as Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Thom Hartmann, Jim Hightower, and Lila Garrett. More info: http://pdamerica.org.