May 6, 1999

By the way, guess who's paying for the bombing
of Yugoslavia?

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SEND THIS MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE; LET'S FLOOD THOSE PHONE LINES TO CONGRESS
From: theo@ccnet.com (Darien De Lu)
Subject: Call Congress - Oppose War Funds

IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT:

The Kosovo Supplemental Appropriations Bills will be voted on by both
the House and the Senate this week or early next week.  The House vote
is scheduled for tomorrow Thursday, May 6th.

The House Appropriations Committee added $6.8 billion to the President's
$6 billion request before sending it to the floor.  They have used the
bill to load in the increased spending that was going to violate the
FY2000 defense budget caps. Their intention is to free up the later
appropriations bill for more outrageous pork.  The Pentagon doesn't need
any more money whatsoever.

For more information about the House bill, see analysis below.

Call or email your Representative at 202-225-3121 or

and Senators at 202-224-3121 or

today to let them know you oppose the emergency spending bill and
increased military spending for any purpose and urge them to vote against
the supplementa appropriations bills except for emergency aid for refugees
from Kosovo.

To get all your elected officials' contact information and voting
records, go to the
Vote Smart webpage, , or call Project
Vote-Smart free at 1-888-868-3762.

Gillian


*       *       *       *       *

Kosovo Supplemental Appropriations Bill:
Republicans Load Up the Bill for a War Most Oppose;
Layaways for Pork in Fiscal 2000


On Thursday, April 29,  the House Appropriations Committee voted for a
$12.9 billion Kosovo "emergency" supplemental appropriations bill, more
than double the Administration request for $6 billion to pay for the war
in Kosovo.

The Committee majority resorted to a shell game to avoid charges of
adding pork to the bill to pay for a war.  They loaded programs into the
supplemental appropriations bill that have nothing to do with the war in
order to clear room for pork requests in the fiscal 2000 Defense
Appropriations bill.

As Rep. David Obey (D-WI), ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations
Committee pointed out yesterday: "I do not believe that we should be
using something as serious as the war in order to simply make a lot of
headroom for somebody's pork that will be added in the defense bill down
the line."

Three important points to note in the $6.9 billion hike in military
spending:

1.  The extra money approved by the House Appropriations Committee will
come out of social security surpluses.  Less than two weeks after
Congress passed the fiscal 2000 budget resolution in which Members of
both parties pledged to protect social security,  the House Republican
majority has now countenanced a $6.9 billion raid out of a program that
just days
before they argued must be protected by a "lock box."

2.  Republicans who denounce President Clinton for neglecting military
needs should stand accused of similar neglect.  In October 1998, six
months ago, the Republicans leadership had an opportunity to pay for
essential programs that the President had supposedly shortchanged.
Instead they
pumped money into other pet projects.  After President Clinton requested

$1.1 billion to deal with readiness problems last fall, Congress
appropriated $8.3 billion in the October emergency supplemental bill --
but managed to neglect the shortfalls that they now find so critical.
Between 1995 and 1998 the Republican Congress added $23 billion to
defense budget requests; only 10% of the money added went to the O&M and
personnel
accounts.

3.  Much of the so-called emergency funding is motivated by
Republicans' desire to spend money in fiscal 1999 that does not count
against the fiscal 2000 budget caps to free funding for pork
projects in fiscal 2000.

Rep. Obey accurately described the decisions of the House Appropriations

Committee: "I find it mind- boggling that some of the same members who
yesterday voted against the operation will today vote to more than
double the amount of spending that the president has asked for to
conduct those operations."

[Excerpted from analysis by  John Isaacs, Council for a Livable World]

Gillian Gilhool
Legislative Organizer
WILPF in Washington
110 Maryland Avenue NE, Suite 102
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-546-6727
Fax: 202-544-9613
Website: www.wilpf.org