Contacting your Representative

I am notoriously bad at contacting my representative for anything -- I just never know quite what to say. (Or quite how to get there, unless a group or friend sends me a link.)

However, contacting my representative to close the School of Americas is important... to me, to Le Anne, and perhaps most importantly to the past, current, and future victims of the human rights abuses that 'graduates' have/will perpetuate.

So I figured it out. And thought I'd come here in an attempt to make it easier for other folks to figure out what to say and who to talk to.

The bill is House Resolution 1217 (H.R. 1217). It will attempt to suspend operations at the School of Americas (now known as WHINSEC) for a six month period, during which a full investigation of their practices could take place.

At the end of this post, you'll find a sample email to send to your congressperson.

To find your Representative's email, Contact your representative.
It will require your zip code + 4, which you can get from the USPS.
Feel free to simply copy and paste the sample below into an email, but be sure to put your name and your representative's name in the email, and to write in your city/state.

Sample:

Congressman/woman _____,

I am a constituent in city, state. I am writing to to urge you to cosponsor HR 1217, The Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2005. This bill would suspend operations at, and investigate, the School of the Americas, which is now using the acronym WHINSEC. I urge you to contact Rep. McGovern’s office to become a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill. This would be one very concrete step to support human rights and promote peace and justice for the people of Latin America. Standing for peace and justice in the rest of the world is a responsibility of the United States as one of the strongest nations in the world. As my elected official in Washington D.C., I hope you will represent me and support HR 1217.

Thank you,

Your Name

Thanks for writing and for making a difference!