 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 (XXXXI 1) |
We, the PYM Representatives to Friends Committee on National Legislation, want to share with other Friends some of the inspiration we received at the Annual Meeting held November 7-10.
In the very first session FCNL Executive Secretary Joe Volk built a vision of hope, not hopelessness, as he reminded us that Europe has only recently reached the state of peaceful cooperation proposed by William Penn 300 years ago. We become discouraged much too soon.
Then we heard a report on the all-out effort by FCNL staff and volunteers to defeat the Iraqi war resolution. This began when FCNL staff consulted with Congresswoman Barbara Lee as she prepared her resolution against the war. This garnered only a few votes but set the stage for opposition in the next round. The President's proposal was the next round and FCNL lobbying against it had to start from scratch by individual conversations with most members of Congress. After a huge effort FCNL was able to report 156 votes against the President – not enough to defeat the proposal, but enough to give the administration pause before leading a divided country into war.
The FCNL business that we were called to do included approval of the Legislative Priorities for the 108th Congress which starts in January, budget approval and, finally, planning for FCNL's building renovation.
We call on PYM Friends to support both the lobbying program and the building renovation. In coming months we, your Representatives, will be visiting meetings throughout PYM. Please contact one of us when your meeting is ready to schedule a date.
Margaret Mansfield (drebymans@igc.org), Irving Hollingshead (irvjenny@enter.net), Bob McKinstry, Suzanne Day, Jenny Hollingshead, and Darlington Hoopes
PYM representatives to Friends Committee on National Legislation
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM