Home Page: www.eco-justice.org * E-mail: ministry@eco-justice.org
March 28, 2006 -- Your message to the US Senate in support of the Endangered Species Act is very urgently needed. The core message to communicate is your conviction, as a person of faith, that we need a STRONG Endangered Species Act. Please phone, fax or e-mail your Senators right away.
The ESA is one of the central pieces of environmental legislation in the US. It has prevented the extinction of many species through the last 30 years, and led to the recovery of species like the Bald Eagle and Grizzly Bear. It is essential that the ESA be kept strong.
The rest of this notice has background on the current situation, a list of the members of the most important Senate committee, a sample letter/phone script, and information about how to contact your Senators.
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Shalom!
Rev. Peter Sawtell |
BACKGROUND
Some leaders in the US Senate have tried to block all attempts to weaken the ESA this year, but that strategy seems to have failed, and a bill (sponsored by Sen. Chafee) now is working through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. It is not quite as bad as the Pombo bill, but it is still a very serious threat to the ESA. A committee vote could come within the next week.
Calls and/or faxes to your Senator are needed RIGHT NOW, especially if one of your Senators is on the Environment and Public Works Committee (a list of committee members is below).
For the Colorado residents, Sen. Salazar is not on the committee, but he is seen as a key player in what sort of bill might get passed, and he is waffling. Calls to his office are urgently needed. Senators from other states who are not on the EPW committee can also use their influence to shape what happens in the committee, so all calls are important.
Eco-Justice Ministries is working closely with The Noah Alliance, an interfaith action group that is focused on the ESA. On their website, you can find more information about legislation that would weaken the Endangered Species Act, how the Endangered Species Act works, related faith community statements, worship and curriculum resources, and the faith community national sign-on statement. Go to www.NoahAlliance.org -- but don't spend so much time exploring their site that you forget to call!
Environment and Public Works Committee Members -- alphabetical order
SAMPLE LETTER / PHONE SCRIPT
In addition, if you wish to expand on or change the following sample letter, just tell your policy makers why you care about endangered species and that we need a strong Endangered Species Act. And you may wish to talk about your own experiences (e.g., of seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild). A short personal message often is best.
Dear Senator:
I am a person of faith who believes that my religious tradition calls me to raise my voice for the protection of endangered species – to speak for those that cannot speak.
One of our nation's primary tools for protecting endangered species is the Endangered Species Act. I urge you to support a strong Act that will protect fragile wildlife. And I am concerned about any legislation with provisions, like those in House-passed legislation, that weaken the Endangered Species Act.
Please join many of us in the faith community in our commitment to caring for God's world with its many marvelous creatures.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
HOW TO SEND YOUR LETTER or HOW TO CALL:
One way to get phone and fax numbers, and email addresses, for your U.S. senators is to go to www.senate.gov, which has ways to find your own senators and go to their web pages. Once on their web pages, you can find fax and phone numbers, often in the "contact" section or in the section with lists of their state offices.
Calls to either the Senator's D.C. office or in-state office are effective -- or you can call both! To find the phone numbers, go to the websites listed above or check your phone book in the U.S. Government pages; often U.S. Senate members are listed there under "Congress." When the receptionist answers, ask to speak to a staff person who handles endangered species issues.
Last fall, the US House passed a very bad bill (sponsored by California Rep. Richard Pombo) that weakens the ESA and makes it all but unenforceable. The Pombo bill will influence the outcome of any reconciliation of House and Senate bills.
Max Baucus (D-Montana), Christopher S. Bond (R-Missouri), Barbara Boxer (D-California), Thomas R. Carper (D-Delaware), Lincoln Chafee (R-Rhode Island), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York), Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), James M. Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), James M. Jeffords (I-Vermont), Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Barack Obama (D-Illinois), John Thune (R-South Dakota), David Vitter (R-Louisiana), George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), John W. Warner (R-Virginia).
The Noah Alliance provided the following sample letter to send to your Senate members. This can also be used for talking points if you call instead.
[date]
[Your name AND address so the legislator knows you are a constituent]
--- THANK YOU ---