Quaker News

Upcoming From the Hill: Senate to Vote on Native American Health Care Your senators will be voting soon on whether Native Americans will get better access to health care this year. Urge your senators to vote on the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which would update the health care available to 1.9 million rural and urban indigenous people in the United States and honor the federal government's trust obligation to tribes. Report back: Congress Says No to Health Care for Poor Children Congress missed an opportunity last week cut the number of poor children without health care when the House fell 12 votes short of overriding the president’s veto of the popular the State Child Health Insurance Program. Members of Congress from both major political parties have promised to work in the next two weeks to negotiate new legislation that could win sufficient support to become law. Read more and take Action. Iraq: More Money for War President Bush told Congress this week that he will need a total of $196 billion to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Washington Post estimates that at their current rate, war appropriations could exceed the cost of the Korean and Vietnam wars combined by the time Bush leaves office. Find out more. Wish the United Nations a Happy Birthday! Tomorrow, October 24, is the 62nd anniversary of the United Nations coming into existence. Remind your members of Congress that the U.S., one of the most powerful member states, needs to pay its dues and fully support the organization to make it effective at preventing war and responding to challenging global problems. Action: Does Your Senator Agree the U.S. Should Not Bomb Civilians? The U.S. has used cluster bombs in civilian populated areas of three countries in the last ten years. Congress is considering legislation that would ban the U.S. from using these dangerous weapons in civilian populated areas and ban most exports of these weapons. FCNL is organizing a national call-in day on November 5 to urge senators to co-sponsor S.594. Find out more. Grassroots Action: North Dakota Clergy Oppose New Nukes The United Methodist Bishop in Fargo joined Quaker, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic, Episcopal, Unitarian, and United Church of Christ leaders from some 50 churches and meetings in North Dakota to ask Senator Byron Dorgan to block any funding for a new generation of nuclear weapons.. Read the letter. Quote of the week: Ain’t That America (The New York Times) “Name a distinguishing feature — skin color, religion, nationality, language — and it’s likely that people here have suffered unjustly for it, either through the freelance hatred of citizens or as a matter of official government policy. We are heading down this road again. The country needs to have a working immigration policy.” ~ The New York Times Editorial, 10/22/07 FCNL in the News: Joe Volk on American AM, Tampa, FL Listen to an interview with FCNL Executive Secretary Joe Volk on the Tampa Bay, FL radio station WWPR 1490 AM. Joe discussed his trip to Iran, his most recent meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the ongoing need for dialogue between the U.S. and Iran. War is Not the Answer Photo of the Week: Kathy Guthrie with 92-year-old Margaret Anderson on her farm in Coatesville, PA Order a War is Not the Answer sign.

________________________________________ Contact Congress and the Administration Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists. ________________________________________ Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 fcnl@fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330 We seek a world free of war and the threat of war We seek a society with equity and justice for all We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled We seek an earth restored.