Sample Letter on Budget Priorities
Dear Mr. President:
Congratulations on your historic win as the first African-American president of the United States.
I am writing because I desire to see the U.S. play a more peaceful role around the world. I am concerned that our budget priorities do not coincide with creating a more just and peaceful world. The United States stands as the biggest military spender in the world. Currently about 43 percent of our budget goes to the military, while only 1.4 percent is spent on foreign assistance. This imbalance has diminished international relationships and exacerbated insecurity in many parts of the world.
Rather than heavily investing in military efforts, the U.S. ought to invest in preventive strategies that repair broken relationships abroad and address root causes which lead to insecurity. The U.S. should expand economic aid and development, invest in diplomacy, and strengthen international organizations. These three actions would help promote peace and increase security without resorting to costly and destructive military intervention.
Thank you for hearing my views.
Name and address
Please note that letters to President Obama can be sent via email to president@whitehouse.gov may be used. A longer version of this letter is available.
Immigration
While immigration reform was largely ignored during the 2008 elections, the United States’ outdated immigration laws and policy continue to harm communities and hurt immigrant families (both legal and undocumented).
In October, Roy L. Brubaker of Mifflintown, Pa. had the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting with one of his senators, Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Mr. Brubaker gave a statement and proposed a question to Sen. Specter:
I would like to speak on behalf of those who won’t be present— the Hispanics of our community, many who have no legal documents. Kids who have finished high school are in limbo, without work, waiting anxiously for their future to unfold. Since their public school education was provided by the schools of this community it only seems right that they should have opportunities to continue their lives in some meaningful and useful manner. Many of these young people were brought here as small kids and don’t have an available path to gain legal residency, so cannot get jobs or find higher education readily available. I would be willing to hire and train some of these youth in organic vegetable production, but cannot legally hire them.
I commend you for voting in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, which unfortunately did not pass. However, you voted against the DREAM Act, which would have provided a pathway to citizenship for immigrant high school graduates who were brought here as minors. Why did you vote against this bill, and what changes could be made to earn your support?
Sen. Specter reasserted his support for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), which the MCC Washington Office has supported. His opposition to the DREAM Act, he noted, was based on an assessment that passing piecemeal immigration bills would delay passage of a comprehensive solution. Sen. Specter stated his optimism that CIR would pass in the next Congress under a new administration.
Waging Peace in Sudan
In November, congregations across the United States participated in the Week of Waging Peace in Sudan, an effort to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, to pray for peacemakers and justice seekers in Sudan and to urge the U.S. government to take appropriate action. Churches responded in many ways, including:
- The Christ CommunityMennonite Church (Schaumburg, Ill.) held a candlelight vigil, along with a presentation on Sudan during their Sunday worship.
- The Madison Mennonite Church (Madison, Wis.) hosted a presentation on Sudan during worship.
- The Manhattan Mennonite Fellowhship (New York, N.Y.) focused an entire Sunday service on the situation in Sudan, and also waged a letterwriting campaign.
Other creative Sudan advocacy activities were children-focused events, a youth letterwriting campaign, and the creation of a miniature refugee camp.
More information about the situation in Sudan, as well as recommendations for individual and congregational action on Sudan, can be found at mcc.org/sudanaction.
