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One-minute House Floor Speeches Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson Extension of Remarks to the Congressional Record (the
following weren't able to speak but submitted speeches). Click here to read their remarks... Call them each today to thank them for so vocally supporting this legislation. You can call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or visit their websites, or www.congress.org to send them a personalized message.
Media
Generated Huffington
Post
Committee & House Oversight and Government Reform House Foreign Affairs House Judiciary Referral House Education and Labor Hearings Congressman Conyers, head of Judiciary, and Congressman Kucinich, head of subcommittee on Oversight both committed to holding hearings this year on the legislation! This means it has a chance to come to vote in both committees. We will keep you posted. To read about committees and how a bill becomes a law, click here. |
D.C. Conference Report!
Dear Lynn, We had an amazing conference in D.C. this past weekend, it was a huge success. There were over 1000 people who joined us at one point or another. In attendance were Department of Peace activists representing 45 states -- a leap in representation over our September 2005 conference. Our presence was most certainly felt in D.C., and in particular on Capitol Hill. The conference started Friday night with a phenomenal performance of the Gift of Peace play, and ended Monday night at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium with heartfelt words from seven members of Congress, followed by Congressman Kucinich leading us in a chant of "808, 808, 808" (the new bill number) and then finished with a crowd stirring performance by Steven Tyler, which had all of us buzzing with an excitement that most of us are probably still experiencing. In between were powerful speakers, training on lobbying and speaking powerfully for the legislation, time for practice and coaching for our Hill visits, more inspiring music, and of course, lots of celebration.
On Monday and Tuesday, we had over 220 congressional meetings and many more drop-in office visits! On Tuesday, The Peace Alliance participated in a press conference and a congressional briefing in support of the legislation. Our panel of peacebuilding experts -- along with Marianne Williamson and members of Congress -- shared eloquently and powerfully why we must make the work of peacebuilding a core national focus and investment.
We have heard from so many of our fellow activists, sharing how powerful it was to be in our nation's capitol working for this historic initiative. The thrill that comes from visiting a congressional office with fellow citizens, urging their support for the Department of Peace, is hard to put into words but incredible to behold. Each of us brought our faith in what is possible to bear upon our elected officials, and it certainly had its impact. You can go to our site now and read our blog from the conference with first hand reports from attendees. You can also see many more photos posted on our forum. Check our website over the coming days for much more on our conference. We will be posting more photos, audio and video links, as well as attendee feedback. We are so grateful for all of you who joined us in Washington. We are also grateful to all of you who have supported this campaign. This is more than just a political movement, together we are creating a new way of being in politics and in the world. By putting our efforts and attention on what is possible in the realm of peacebuilding, we can help shape the world we dream of. In gratitude,
To purchase CDs and DVD's of the conference, visit Conference recording services website (this is an independent organization).
Jimmy Demers captivated
the crowd at the Washington Conference with his powerful rendition of
"America the Beautiful" and other inspiring musical numbers. All a
capella. |
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The Peace Alliance |
