HR 1707 Close the SOA / WHINSEC

TAKE ACTION!
Click here to send an Email/Fax to your Representative Today!

We've made it incredibly easy for you to send an Email/Fax to Congress and let them know that you want your legislator to cosponsor HR 1707 to investigate the SOA/ WHINSEC! Please take the time to send an automatic letter to Congress using our Democracy in Action tool. It's as easy as typing in your address to match your information to the correct Member of Congress and they will receive a letter from you supporting the new bill.

Update: Representative McGovern introduced HR 1707, the Latin America Military Training Review Act! The legislation was introduced with 71 bipartisan cosponsors and has grown to over 80 cosponsors, listed at the bottom of this page. This legislation would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC and investigate the history of torture and human rights abuses associated with the school.

The February Lobby Days in Washington DC were a huge success with hundreds of offices visited and new cosponsors added to the bill, but we need YOUR support for adding additional cosponsors! There are several ways that you can get involved including sending a letter, making a call, or scheduling a meeting, and all the tools and resources you need are below!

One new resource that may assist you in your meetings or with your letter and phone calls is the Dear Colleague letter Rep. McGovern has circulated in Congress. This document gives details on HR 1707, the new legislation.

Please contact the SOA Watch Legislative Coordinator, Pam Bowman, at pbowman(@)soaw.org or (202) 234-3440 for more information.

Learning about your Representative

An important part of a successful meeting with your Member of Congress on the SOA/ WHINSEC issue is doing your homework. Here are some key places to get the information you need to know the history and background of your legislator and their support (or opposition) to the issue:

Current Cosponsors of HR 1707 (as of Jan. 2008) - see also below

Cosponsors of the 2006 bill: HR 1217 (109th Congress)
Vote results for June 2006 amendment to cut funding for SOA/WHINSEC
House of Representatives homepage
Congress.org, a comprehensive source of information about Congress

For more information on the detailed history of SOA Watch's meetings with your Representative and their voting history since their election to Congress, contact the DC office.

Tips and Resources on Setting up a Meeting

SOA Watch has pulled together tips on setting up a meeting with your Member of Congress that will help you with all of the ins and outs of a successful meeting with your legislators.

Make the Call!

Even if you don't have time for a meeting, making a phone call to your Representative is a great way to let them know your views and how you want them to represent you in Washington!

Please take the time to call the D.C. office of your Representative by calling the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202-224-3121). Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant and here is a suggested message for you to convey:

"As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to be a cosponsor of HR 1707, legislation that would suspend operations at the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, and investigate the history of human rights abuses and failed policies of the institution.

New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school.

I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern?s office and ask that your boss be added as a cosponsor of HR 1707. I hope you will represent my views and support this legislation."

Cosponsors of HR 1707 (as of Jan. 2008)
118 + McGovern
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5]
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1]
Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4]
Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3]
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2]
Rep Bean, Melissa L. [IL-8]
Rep Biggert, Judy [IL-13]
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1]
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3]
Rep Boucher, Rick [VA-9]
Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1]
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23]
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8]
Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3]
Rep Carson, Julia [IN-7]
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1]
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5]
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9]
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14]
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12]
Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7]
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7]
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7]
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4]
Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1]
Rep Delahunt, William D. [MA-10]
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3]
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25]
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14]
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5]
Rep Emanuel, Rahm [IL-5]
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14]
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17]
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2]
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4]
Rep Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY-20]
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4]
Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-27]
Rep Hill, Baron P. [IN-9]
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22]
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12]
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15]
Rep Hooley, Darlene [OR-5]
Rep Inslee, Jay [WA-1]
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2]
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2]
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30]
Rep Kagen, Steve, M.D. [WI-8]
Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9]
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1]
Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5]
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13]
Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3]
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10]
Rep LaHood, Ray [IL-18]
Rep Lantos, Tom [CA-12]
Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2]
Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1]
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
Rep Levin, Sander M. [MI-12]
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5]
Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2]
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16]
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9]
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14]
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7]
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5]
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4]
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7]
Rep McNerney, Jerry [CA-11]
Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21]
Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5]
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2]
Rep Miller, George [CA-7]
Rep Moore, Dennis [KS-3]
Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4]
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8]
Rep Moran, Jerry [KS-1]
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8]
Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8]
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1]
Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6]
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8]
Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4]
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14]
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10]
Rep Petri, Thomas E. [WI-6]
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19]
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4]
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9]
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1]
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17]
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39]
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9]
Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16]
Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4]
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28]
Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32]
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13]
Rep Sutton, Betty [OH-13]
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6]
Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3]
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8]
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12]
Rep Walsh, James T. [NY-25]
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1]
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35]
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33]
Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30]
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9]
Rep Welch, Peter [VT]
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19]
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6]
Rep Wu, David [OR-1]
Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4]
Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3]

For more info visit: www.soaw.org