(via e-mail)
January 22, 2008

Greetings from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office:

1. National Religious Campaign Against Torture
2. Jubilee USA Measure Up1 Campaign

1. National Religious Campaign Against Torture

From NRCAT- Late last year, the House of Representatives passed important anti-torture legislation as Section 327 of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill. Section 327 would require all elements of the intelligence community, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations. The Army Field Manual prohibits torture and many of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" being used by the CIA.

Unfortunately, some Republican Senators have threatened to obstruct passage of H.R. 2082 as long as it contains Section 327 (the anti-torture provision). Passage of Section 327 is one of the most important actions Congress can take to stop U.S. sponsored torture. We need to do everything we can to win passage of Section 327 in the Senate. Defeating the attempts to block H.R. 2082 or to strip Section 327 from the bill will take 60 votes. We need your help.

The best information we have is that the Senate could vote on this in the first two weeks of February. We ask that you - in the last two weeks of January:

• Contact - by phone or by email - your Senators to express your support for Section 327 of H.R. 2082. You can contact your Senators by calling the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or you can look up their direct lines and their email addresses at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. We also have a form email prepared that you can send to your Senators. You can find our sample form email at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2162/t/3805/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21961.
• If you have a little more time, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You can find a sample letter to the editor and instructions for writing and sending a letter at http://www.nrcatactionfund.org/pb/wp_18d08901/wp_18d08901.html?0.03150910613065028.

This legislation is very important to our efforts to stop U.S. sponsored torture. We hope you can take a few minutes to share your voice with Congress and your community. Thank you for your concern, your time, and your efforts.

On Friday January 11, 2008, the Brethren Witness/Washington Office along with Church of the Brethren members from Virginia and Pennsylvania attended an event in Washington, DC that included a rally and a march against torture. Amnesty International hosted a permitted demonstration with various speakers on the Mall. Following the rally, Witness Against Torture led a prisoner procession, which ended at the Supreme Court and involved some arrests for civil disobedience. The themes for the rally and the march were to stop torture and to shut down Guantanamo.

2. Jubilee USA Measure Up! Campaign

From Jubilee- In 2008, we have an historic opportunity to break the chains of debt and change the lives of millions. The Jubilee Act is the single most important piece of debt legislation in the past seven years and it is one of the most widely supported anti-poverty bills in Congress.

To achieve this historic goal Jubilee USA is launching the Measure Up! Rule out Debt! campaign, calling on Congress to measure up to our national commitment to address extreme poverty by ruling out debt as a contributing factor.

The goal of the Measure Up! campaign is to gain more co-sponsors for the Jubilee Act in the House and Senate and achieve passage before the end of the legislative session. For more information about the Measure Up! campaign go to http://www.jubileeusa.org/measureup.

There are only 55 working days on Congress' calendar this year. Most of them are scheduled early in the year before the presidential campaign enters its final stage this summer.

In short the time to act is NOW! Take a look at some of the ways you can be involved:

HOW YOU CAN MEASURE UP! IN 2008

Mark Your Calendars for these days of action:

• Leap Into Action Thursday, Feb. 28 and Friday, 29: Use your "extra" day during this Leap Year to take action for the Jubilee Act: Call, write, or visit your member of Congress.
• Jubilee Sunday, April 13: Jubilee Congregations will be using this day to examine how their faith connects with issues of economic justice and to take action to pass the Jubilee Act. View Past Jubilee Sunday Materials at http://www.jubileeusa.org/get-active/jubilee-congregations/jubilee-sunday.html

ORDER MEASURE UP! POSTCARDS
We have excellent, full color, postcards that you can use to write your members of Congress and get others in your community involved in the movement to pass the Jubilee Act. To order, write Nathan Fishman at nathan@jubileeusa.org.

Brethren Witness/Washington Office Contact Information

If you have questions on these or other issues, contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at the address below. We would love to hear from you!

Brethren Witness/Washington Office Action Alerts are sent out as important issues arise. Forward this alert to others! To add an e-mail address to our list, contact us at:

Brethren Witness/Washington Office
337 North Carolina Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Local Phone: 202-546-3202
Toll Free: 1-800-785-3246
Fax: 202-544-5852
E-mail: washington_office_gb@brethren.org