Call Now: Senator Merkley, you promised...

Your newest Senator promised NO new war supplemental - hold him to it TODAY.

The Senate is voting tomorrow (Wed, 5/20) on a war spending bill (called a supplemental appropriation) that would provide $96.7 billion more in funding for the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In fact, on the campaign trail last fall, Senator Merkley promised that he would vote ‘no’ on any supplemental appropriations that did not include a timetable for withdrawal. We have to hold him to his promise right now. If we do, Oregon’s Senator could be the first to stand up to the administration and tell them this is not what Oregonians voted for. We want the troops home now!

Call their offices in Washington right now to urge Senators Merkley and Wyden to oppose this bill. War is not the answer in Afghanistan, and a U.S. military presence will not bring peace to the region.

Here's WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW (remember, the vote's tomorrow!) and then FORWARD this to your friends and ask them to call!
(Scroll down for more talking points)

Call:


Senator Jeff Merkley: (202) 224-3753


Senator Ron Wyden: (202) 224-5244

Suggested Script: 

Hello. My name is _________________. I live in ___________________.

I’m calling today to urge Senator [NAME] to vote against the war supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan. This bill puts the emphasis on war fighting and doesn’t provide enough funds for development and diplomacy.          

{Senator Merkley promised he would not support any supplemental without a timeline. I want him to remember that promise and vote ‘no.’}

         Instead of voting more money for war, I urge Senator [NAME] to introduce companion legislation to Representative Jim McGovern's bill in the House to require President Obama to present Congress with an Afghanistan exit strategy. The U.S. needs to withdraw from Afghanistan immediately.

Thank you for reporting my requests to Senator [NAME].

If you get a busy signal at any point, try back in a few minutes.

More Suggested Talking Points

Americans voted for change, and change does not include more wasted taxpayer money, more dead soldiers and civilians, and no sign of progress in Afghanistan.

Congress must reject the $96 billion supplemental for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a supplemental that will further destabilize the Middle East and Central Asia, threaten worldwide security and drain billions of taxpayer dollars at a time of sky-high unemployment and economic crisis.

This week, based on a series of hearings over the past several weeks with U.S., Afghan, and Pakistani military advisers, the Congressional Progressive Caucus released its conclusions that the supplemental "exacerbates" failed strategies by funding predominately military ($84 billion) action with only $10 billion for economic development, institution building, local community funding and skills training.

The supplemental clearly recycles failed Bush administration policies.

-  It will fund efforts that only fuel the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and further alienate Afghans who increasingly view the U.S. as an occupying force.

-   It will fund more civilian deaths -- a United Nations report released earlier this year found the Afghan civilian death toll nearly doubled in 2008 under U.S. presence, with the U.S. responsible for almost half the deaths.

With this supplemental, U.S. taxpayers will have paid over $700 billion for six years of war in Iraq and eight in Afghanistan—not counting all the related costs such as the ongoing health care for veterans and interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the war, which put the bill over $1 trillion.