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Legislative Action Message: May 25, 2006

Iraq: Next STEPs – Talk to Congress at Home on Memorial Day

The U.S. Congress is now on record opposing permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq. During the Memorial Day recess, please thank your members of Congress for adopting the Iraq STEP proposal and ask them to take the next step for peace in Iraq.

Thanks in large part to your work, Congress has determined the goal of U.S. policy is to remove all bases and, ultimately, to leave Iraq. Implicit in that U.S. policy declaration is a congressional call to bring home all U.S. military troops. With your support and with the leadership of Reps. Allen (ME-1) and Lee (CA-9) and Sen. Biden (DE), FCNL’s proposed Iraq STEP Resolution has been adopted by Congress. Congress took its first step toward leaving Iraq. Now we need to help Congress to take the next step to change the national debate from “How does the U.S. win the war and then leave?” to “How can the U.S. military withdrawal win peace and open the way for reconstruction and for a growing stability for Iraqis?”

That’s a tall order. Events in Iraq and changing public views of the war at home are creating new opportunities to change. Members of Congress may consider new directions for U.S. policy on Iraq. Last year, FCNL’s Sensible Transition to Enduring Peace or STEP resolution was a non-starter with congressional staff. Persistent, popular lobbying for STEP resolution – endorsed by more than 100 different congregations and other organizations – moved Congress. One year later, we’re almost there.

Now we need to move to the next step.

We now call on Congress to enact new legislation that:

• Clearly states, again, that it is the policy of the U.S. to remove all U.S. military troops and bases from Iraq;
• Outlines a plan to bring U.S. forces home before the end of this administration; and .
• Fulfills U.S. moral and legal obligations to provide the resources necessary for the reconstruction of Iraq through appropriate multinational, national, and Iraqi agencies.

Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-1) has introduced legislation (H.Con.Res. 348) that states it is the “sense of the Congress” that the United States should not maintain permanent military bases in Iraq, should not attempt to control the flow of Iraqi oil, and should withdraw from Iraq by September 2006. We believe this non-binding sense of the Congress resolution will help to shift the national debate and persuade Congress to take the next steps toward peace to Iraq.

This week Congress goes home for the Memorial Day recess. This annual commemoration of lives lost to war reminds us of our solemn obligation to stop the killing and to find a path to peace. Read FCNL Senior Fellow Dan Smith’s analysis of the situation in Iraq as we approach Memorial Day.

Take Action Now

The Memorial Day recess from May 27 to June 4 provides a good opportunity to talk about the war in Iraq in your community. Here’s what you can do:

1. Please urge your representative to cosponsor Rep. Thompson’s legislation, H.Con.Res. 348, “establishing the conditions for a successful U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.” You can find a sample message and contact your representative directly from FCNL’s website.
2. Attend a public event where your representative is speaking and ask her or him to take a stand on Iraq by cosponsoring H.Con.Res. 348. Visit your representative’s website or call her or his office to find out about ask about local events you might attend. You can find contact information for your representative on FCNL’s website.

Find Out More

Read an analysis of the Thompson legislation and companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Sen. Harkin (IA).

Read Rep. Thompson’s statement when he introduced H.Con.Res. 348.

Contacting Legislators

Contact your members of Congress through FCNL's web site.

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Sen. ________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

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