Act Now: US House Failing Test on Climate Change

From Friends Committee on National Legislation

Leaders in the House plan to force a final vote next week on important but flawed climate change legislation. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) fails to ensure that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will be cut quickly, deeply, and effectively. We at FCNL have been urging House committee members to strengthen H.R. 2454 by eliminating concessions that would allow polluters to increase their greenhouse gas emissions for well over a decade.

You can help strengthen this bill by writing your representative today: . Urge her or him to insist that the American Clean Energy and Security Act be strengthened to:

1.) Require quick, deep, and real cuts in greenhouse gas emissions before 2020;

2.) Eliminate provisions that allow polluters to continue polluting at current levels for over a decade;

3.) Remove free giveaways of pollution allowances to industry; and

4.) Ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retains authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

This will not be easy. Reps. Henry Waxman and Ed Markey, who sponsored this legislation, argue that their bill is already pushing the limits of what is currently politically possible in the House. But passing flawed legislation now could be worse than doing nothing, despite how hard congressional champions of the environment worked to craft a bill that can pass. It will leave the illusion that Congress has addressed climate change when in fact it has done very little.

*Take Action*

Write your representative today. Tell him or her that the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) must be strengthened before it comes to a final vote on floor of the House next week. In our view at FCNL, it would be better to pass no legislation now, let the EPA begin to regulate greenhouse gases, and work harder to build support for a stronger bill in the future than to pass this legislation as is.

*Background*

Learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of this bill.

Ban Nuclear Weapons - Petition Your Senators

From Friends Committee for National Legislation:

Yesterday, in Prague, addressing Europe and the world, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to declare that the U.S. will seek peace and security in "a world without nuclear weapons." The president, in his Palm Sunday speech, said that the building blocks of nuclear disarmament will include a new national security strategy free of nuclear weapons, a new agreement with Russia to cut the size of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, and ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

President Obama needs your support; he cannot do this alone. Please sign a petition urging your senators to speak out in favor of nuclear disarmament.

Although many prominent analysts of both major political parties have embraced Obama's call for nuclear disarmament, already some in Congress are saying that total nuclear disarmament is unrealistic. FCNL's lobbyists have learned that some senators are moving to block ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and other components of the president's nuclear disarmament goal.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your senators to speak out publicly in support of President Obama's call for a world free of nuclear weapons. Ask three friends to sign as well.

The 9/11 Choice

from the Friends Committee on National Legislation


Seven years ago today, the United States was the victim of a premeditated attack that killed more than 3,000 people. In the days following, as expressions of support and sympathy and offers to help poured in from around the world, our government faced a choice of how to respond.

In the grief and panic that gripped the nation after September 11, 2001, the U.S. faced a choice: seek immediate vengeance or build the foundations of strong and lasting peace. U.S. leaders chose retribution and preemptive violence. Today we see the results of that choice: more violent groups are planning attacks on the United States than before the attacks, support for the United States has fallen throughout the world, and here at home government policies are undermining fundamental constitutional principles in the name of national security. It is time to take a new approach to global security.

No one can know what would have happened after September 11 if the United States had instead embraced the international community's generous offers. Fortunately, there are still opportunities for this country to re-engage with the rest of the world, expand support for international institutions, and rebuild U.S. relations with the U.N. system. The next Congress and president have many fences to mend as they take re-examine U.S. international relations. One important step would be for the United States to pay its full share of dues to the United Nations.

Take Action

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper responding to its coverage of the September 11 anniversary. Urge candidates running for Congress in your community to commit to supporting policies that abandon the unilateral, go-it-alone strategies of the last seven years and re-engage with the rest of the world. The United States could signal the beginning of this new policy by agreeing to repay the nearly $2 billion in back dues that it owes to the United Nations.

Find Out More

FCNL's Col. Dan Smith (USA, Ret.) reflects on the September 11 anniversary.