Reinstate the Moratorium on Human Pesticide Testing
We did it!
In less than 24 hours, more than 25,000 of you emailed and phoned your Senators, urging them to support our bipartisan amendment to reinstate the moratorium on human pesticide testing. Thanks to your vocal lobbying efforts, our amendment passed on the Senate floor by a vote of 60-37 Wednesday. You really helped turn the tide. Until the last few hours prior to the vote, we did not have the votes. But your personal advocacy changed that.
This a huge victory for ethics and morality in science, and a huge victory for the men, women, and children who would otherwise be subjected to these cruel and inhumane tests. I can't thank you enough for your help and support on this critical issue.
So that's some good news this week. But, while I'm writing to you, I also wanted to take just a moment to respond to President Bush's speech about Iraq Tuesday night.
Frankly, I was disappointed and discouraged by the President's speech. The American people deserved to hear much more from the President about what our mission is in Iraq, how he intends to succeed in that mission, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
President Bush's use of Osama Bin Laden's words to defend America's policies was bizarre in the extreme. And his continued attempts to link the Iraq War to September 11th is a myth. In fact, on September 11th, according to George Bush's own State Department, there was not one Al Qaeda cell in Iraq! As a result of this President's misguided war, Iraq is now a training ground for terrorists, and refusing to set a goal for withdrawal is only further fueling the insurgency.
The President defended his war and now says our mission is to "hunt down the terrorists." This mission has changed so many times it's hard to keep track -- from finding WMD's, to removing Saddam Hussein, to holding elections, to rebuilding Iraq, to training Iraqis to defend their country, and now to "hunting down terrorists."
President Bush also missed a golden opportunity Tuesday night to pledge to our troops that they would get all the equipment they need on the battlefield and all the health care they need when they come home.
All in all, the President defended the status quo and gave very little hope for an exit to this horrible quagmire. Now, it falls to the Congress to demand accountability from this administration and a clear exit strategy to ease the incredible strain on our troops, many of whom have had three tours of duty!
I'll be providing more of my own views on Iraq in a speech next week, so stay tuned for more on this important issue in the coming days.
Thanks again for your continued support!
In Friendship,
Barbara Boxer
P.S. More than 100,000 people have already emailed the White House, urging the President to withdraw John Bolton's nomination as U.N. Ambassador. But with the Senate out next week, there's still a chance that President Bush will try to sneak in a recess appointment -- bypassing the Senate's advice and consent responsibility entirely. So if you haven't yet emailed the White House about John Bolton, please do it now! http://ga4.org/campaign/new_nominee/b85g574o5tt8jn?
And then invite everyone you know to send their own message to President Bush as well! http://ga4.org/campaign/new_nominee/forward/b85g574o5tt8jn?
In less than 24 hours, more than 25,000 of you emailed and phoned your Senators, urging them to support our bipartisan amendment to reinstate the moratorium on human pesticide testing. Thanks to your vocal lobbying efforts, our amendment passed on the Senate floor by a vote of 60-37 Wednesday. You really helped turn the tide. Until the last few hours prior to the vote, we did not have the votes. But your personal advocacy changed that.
This a huge victory for ethics and morality in science, and a huge victory for the men, women, and children who would otherwise be subjected to these cruel and inhumane tests. I can't thank you enough for your help and support on this critical issue.
So that's some good news this week. But, while I'm writing to you, I also wanted to take just a moment to respond to President Bush's speech about Iraq Tuesday night.
Frankly, I was disappointed and discouraged by the President's speech. The American people deserved to hear much more from the President about what our mission is in Iraq, how he intends to succeed in that mission, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
President Bush's use of Osama Bin Laden's words to defend America's policies was bizarre in the extreme. And his continued attempts to link the Iraq War to September 11th is a myth. In fact, on September 11th, according to George Bush's own State Department, there was not one Al Qaeda cell in Iraq! As a result of this President's misguided war, Iraq is now a training ground for terrorists, and refusing to set a goal for withdrawal is only further fueling the insurgency.
The President defended his war and now says our mission is to "hunt down the terrorists." This mission has changed so many times it's hard to keep track -- from finding WMD's, to removing Saddam Hussein, to holding elections, to rebuilding Iraq, to training Iraqis to defend their country, and now to "hunting down terrorists."
President Bush also missed a golden opportunity Tuesday night to pledge to our troops that they would get all the equipment they need on the battlefield and all the health care they need when they come home.
All in all, the President defended the status quo and gave very little hope for an exit to this horrible quagmire. Now, it falls to the Congress to demand accountability from this administration and a clear exit strategy to ease the incredible strain on our troops, many of whom have had three tours of duty!
I'll be providing more of my own views on Iraq in a speech next week, so stay tuned for more on this important issue in the coming days.
Thanks again for your continued support!
In Friendship,
Barbara Boxer
P.S. More than 100,000 people have already emailed the White House, urging the President to withdraw John Bolton's nomination as U.N. Ambassador. But with the Senate out next week, there's still a chance that President Bush will try to sneak in a recess appointment -- bypassing the Senate's advice and consent responsibility entirely. So if you haven't yet emailed the White House about John Bolton, please do it now! http://ga4.org/campaign/new_nominee/b85g574o5tt8jn?
And then invite everyone you know to send their own message to President Bush as well! http://ga4.org/campaign/new_nominee/forward/b85g574o5tt8jn?
Starmail - 30. Jun, 23:29
