December 12, 2005

Darfur Legislative Update

An ad hoc group of United Methodist from across the state have been advocating for the Darfur legislation now in Congress in hopes of ending genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and restoring peace to hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled their homes out of fear for their lives. More than 200 Darfurians live in Fort Wayne. Here is an update sent to us from the Friends Committee on National Legislation based in Washington. Our own General Board of Church and Society, also based in Washington, has been working with other faith groups on this legislation. For more information about the Darfur crisis, read the article by Senator Richard Lugar of the current issue of Hoosier United Methodists Together, which also is available online at www.inareaumc.org. (As a Web page.)

The House returned on Tuesday this past week, Dec. 6, and the Senate is back in session today, Dec. 12. Negotiations on both the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act and the $50 million in funding for the African Union Mission in Sudan are expected to continue through this week, with Congress still hoping to adjourn by mid-December.

Administration weighing in on Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2005. Following the Senate's passage of the DPAA, the Administration is now raising strong objections to the bill and pressuring the House to make significant changes to its version. It is unclear how things will proceed at this point, but we expect that negotiations will continue through the week. Whatever happens, the DPAA has made significant progress this year, thanks especially to the combined efforts of organizations and grassroots dedicated to ending the crisis. The Oct. 18 National Call-In Day and recent lobbying efforts generated an impressive number of new cosponsors for the bill over the last two months -- 13 in the Senate and 43 in the House -- and people of faith succeeded in persuading the Senate to pass the DPAA. Please urge your members of Congress to complete action on this important legislation. (Contact information is available online at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.)

Efforts still underway to restore $50 million for AU peacekeepers. Organizations working for civilian protection in Darfur, along with several members of Congress, are continuing to call for the restoration of $50 million in funding for the African Union Mission in Sudan by including it in the final FY 2006 military appropriations bill. The bill is viewed as one of the last "must-pass" bills of the year; however, it is unclear how negotiations will proceed, and formal conferees have yet to be named. In the meantime, continued messages of support to all defense appropriations subcommittee members are encouraged. The conferees for the bill will likely be named early next week, but if you have contacts in Senators Stevens, Cochran, or McConnell's offices as well as Rep. Young's office and could weigh in with them, it would be greatly appreciated. If efforts to include the funding in the final version of the military appropriations bill are not successful, the next opportunity will be in an upcoming supplemental appropriations bill.

Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Members:

Representatives Young (FL), Murtha (PA), Hobson (OH), Dicks (WA), Bonilla (TX), Sabo (MN), Visclosky (IN), Frelinghuysen (NJ), Moran (VA), Tiahrt (KS), Kaptur (OH), Wicker (MS), Kingston (GA), and Granger (TX)

Senators Stevens (AK), Cochran (MS), Specter (PA), Domenici (NM), Bond (MO), McConnell (KY), Shelby (AL), Gregg (NH), Hutchison (TX), Burns (MT), Inouye (HI), Byrd (WV), Leahy (VT), Harkin (IA), Dorgan (ND), Durbin (IL), Reid (NV), Feinstein (CA), and Mikulski (MD).

For more information about the Darfur crisis, log on to www.savedarfur.org.

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