War/Conflicts

Urge your Senators to support S. 891 as a good first step towards addressing the causes of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• Directs the U.S. Department of State to investigate the natural resource financing of illegal armed groups, provide guidance to businesses on tracking their supply chains, design a strategy to assist regional governments to improve mineral trade transparency, assist the DRC to improve mineral management and export, and impose punitive measures for commercial activities that support illegal armed groups.
  
  
• Requires companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange to disclose in annual Securities and Exchange Commission reports the country of origin of coltan, tin and tungsten, and if the country of origin is the DRC or a bordering country, also disclose the mine of origin.
  
  
• Promotes more humanitarian and development assistance for affected communities in the DRC.
  
  

Urge your Senators to support S. 891 as a good first step towards addressing the causes of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. S. 891, the Congo Conflict Mineral Act of 2009

The Global Security Priorities resolution reduces the number of nuclear weapons and directs the savings to address global hunger. Urge your members of Congress, especially those on the Foreign Affairs Committee, to co-sponsor the “Global Security Priorities” Resolution (H. Res 278)

WHY IS H. RES. 278 IMPORTANT?   H. Res. 278 has two goals:

1. Addresses the threat of international terrorism and protects the security of the United States by reducing the number of and access to nuclear weapons and preventing their proliferation. H. Res. 278 urges the President to continue negotiations to further reduce nuclear arms to minimal levels, to have the U.S. and Russia agree to cut the number of deployed nuclear weapons, to assist other countries in reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons throughout the world, and to expand efforts to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials.
   
   
2. Directs a portion of the resulting $13 billion saved annually towards child survival, food security, and universal education. H. Res. 278 requests $5 billion over five years to enhance global child survival through new high-impact and low-cost health and nutrition interventions at the community level, and an additional $1.5 billion annually over five years for existing programs that reduce child hunger and increase child nutrition and educational opportunities. These added resources would enable organizations such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to strengthen food security programs with local partners in poor countries to boost long term food security and life-saving emergency aid.

President Obama has already called for substantial verifiable reductions in the nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia, and has committed the U.S. to new leadership in the international campaign to reduce global poverty by doubling international assistance. Supporting H. Res 278 is timely given these stated intentions. Urge your member of Congress to support H. Res. 278

Urge Congress to Support White House Middle East Peace Efforts Ask your members to co-sponsor H. Res. 130 today!

WHY IS BOLD ACTION FOR PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND CRITICAL NOW?  President Obama has made a series of strong statements recently urging Israel and the Palestinians to take actions for peace and challenged all of us to work towards a “Holy Land of three great faiths” that is "the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims.”  It is critical now for the Catholic community in the United States to demonstrate our strong support for the President’s efforts to help bring peace to the Holy Land.  The opportunity for achieving a two-state solution is supported by majorities of Israelis and Palestinians as the best way to end this tragic conflict.  However, the prospects for this solution are narrowing and must be seized soon. 
 
The letter you are being asked to sign was circulated by the Churches for Middle East Peace, an ecumenical coalition of churches and faith-based organizations with which CRS and USCCB collaborate.  The letter recognizes President Obama’s efforts to address the issue of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, encourages bold action by the administration and urges him “to provide a clear framework for an end to the conflict, help Israelis and Palestinians make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve lasting peace, and hold both parties to account when they fail to honor their commitments.”