FCNL: Legislative Action Message
FCNL
FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE
May 7, 1998
The following are updates and action suggestions from the
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) for the
coming week. These messages focus on selected
legislation which Congress is considering now, and
suggest some points that you may wish to make in your
communications with Congress. These messages are
intended as a supplement to other FCNL materials and do
not reflect FCNL's complete policy position on any issue,
nor do they include all pertinent facts on any topic.
This update was prepared and uploaded at 4:00 pm on
Thursday, May 7. It includes information and action
suggestions on NATO EXPANSION, LANDMINES and FOOD STAMPS
FOR DOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS.
NATO EXPANSION: On April 30, the Senate approved (by a
vote of 80 to 19 with one absentee) the expansion of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include
Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Expansion of
the alliance requires approval by the current 16 NATO
members, as well as by the three candidate countries.
U.S. ratification of NATO expansion is expected to spur
other countries toward swift approval. Although many
senators shared concerns related to cost, relations with
Russia, and the proliferation of weapons, in the end, few
were willing to vote against expansion. Amendments that
would have helped to soften the impact of NATO expansion
or to delay future rounds of expansion were voted down
one after another. An amendment offered by Sen. Warner
(VA) might have delayed or even stopped future rounds of
expansion, but was narrowly defeated by a 51-49 vote.
However, Sen. Harkin (IA) and a handful of opponents
demonstrated particularly strong leadership and spoke
eloquently on the Senate floor against NATO expansion.
ACTION: Please send a special note of thanks to senators
who voted against NATO expansion (list follows). Their
leadership and commitment to conscience was vital in
raising the level of debate and seeking to address the
dangers of NATO expansion. Urge them to continue their
leadership in opposing further expansion of this Cold-War
military alliance. No Votes: Ashcroft (MO), Bryan (NV),
Bumpers (AR), Conrad (ND), Craig (ID), Dorgan (ND),
Harkin (IA), Tim Hutchinson (AR), Inhofe (OK), Jeffords
(VT), Kempthorne (ID), Leahy (VT), Moynihan (NY), Harry
Reid (NV), Robert Smith (NH), Specter (PA), Warner (VA),
Wellstone (MN), and Wyden (OR)
LANDMINES: On May 6, the House National Security
Committee passed an amendment to the Defense
Authorization bill (HR 3616) which would virtually
eliminate the Leahy landmine moratorium. The moratorium
would end all U.S. use of landmines for one year,
beginning January 1, 1999. FCNL and its grassroots
network worked hard in 1996 to pass this moratorium, and
President Clinton signed it into law. But now the
Administration claims it cannot give up its landmines,
and the Leahy moratorium may be stripped before taking
effect. The Defense Authorization bill will go to the
floor for a full House vote in the coming weeks.
ACTION: Please contact your representative. Urge her/him
to oppose any provision in the Defense Authorization bill
that would weaken or eliminate the Leahy landmine
moratorium. Note that the one-year no-use moratorium is
a modest step that would help demonstrate U.S. commitment
to eliminating the use of landmines. Ask your
representative to speak out on the floor of the House on
this issue.
FOOD STAMPS FOR DOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS: Senate Majority
Leader Lott (MS) has now announced that he will bring the
Agricultural Research Conference Report (HR 2534/S 1150)
to the Senate floor for a vote after the Senate completes
work on the IRS reform bill. The vote could occur at the
end of this week or on Monday, May 11. The Ag Research
Conference Report includes $818 million (over five years)
to restore food stamp eligibility for some categories of
documented immigrants who were excluded from eligibility
by the 1996 welfare law changes. Up to now, the
conference report has been kept from a floor vote by Sen.
Gramm (TX) who opposes the restoration of eligibility to
documented immigrants.
ACTION: Please keep up the calls to your senators. Urge
them to support the Agricultural Research Conference
Report when it comes to the Senate floor.
This concludes our message. For further information,
please contact FCNL directly to request the FCNL
Washington Newsletter and other background documents (see
address below). Not all of these documents are available
electronically at present.
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