Urgent Action Alerts: Colombia, HEA, Mandatory Minimums, Medical Marijuana, John Walters 7/13/01

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URGENT: Colombia Appropriations Going to House Floor on Tuesday

The Bush Administration's aid request for Colombia and the Andean region, which this year is part of the annual foreign operations appropriations bill, is expected to hit the House floor on Tuesday, July 17th. During the debate, representatives will have a chance to voice their opinions and vote on the aid package; it is especially important members of Congress know there is public opposition to fumigation and aid for Colombia's military, whose human rights record is among the most dismal in the world.

Please contact your US Representatives before July 15th and ask them to vote YES on amendments to cut Colombian military aid and YES on amendments to stop or place a moratorium on fumigation. If you get an indication of how a member will vote, please e-mail the Latin America Working Group at [email protected] with a report. As always, please write us at [email protected] to let us know you've taken action.

You can reach your Representative by calling the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Please call by Monday at the latest!

URGENT: Lobby for HEA Drug Provision Repeal to Be Included in Regulatory Reform Bill

This particular alert is intended for students, parents of students, educators, financial aid and other college or university administrators, and people who live in the district of Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA) -- Los Angeles area including Lancaster, Palmdale, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley) and people who live in the district of Patsy Mink (D-HI) -- all islands except Honolulu city area. If you are interested in this issue, but don't fall into one of these categories, please visit http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com to find out other ways to help.

THIS ALERT MUST BE ACTED ON BY JULY 20TH OR IT WON'T BE COUNTED.

The campaign to repeal the new law that delays or denies students with drug convictions their eligibility for federal financial aid is seeking opportunities to get the repeal legislation -- which currently exists as H.R. 786 in the House of Representatives -- included in larger education bills that the house will be considering.

Representatives Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Patsy Mink (D-HI), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, have implemented a regulatory reform initiative called FED.UP to overhaul regulations that "prevent colleges and universities from helping students graduate from college." The FED.UP project is soliciting input, particularly from the higher education community, until July 20th.

Please visit the Fed.Up comments web site before July 20th (next Friday) to suggest to Representatives McKeon and Mink that repeal of the HEA drug provision be included as one of their reforms. Visit http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/107th/education/fedup/ and click on the "comments" button to submit your comments online. The following is a guide to using the FED.UP form:

  1. Fill in your personal information.
  2. In "current law or regulation," write: Higher Education Act
  3. In "statutory or regulatory cite," write: Section 484 (r) of the Higher Education Act.
  4. In "Suggested Amendment," write: Repeal this eligibility restriction.
  5. In "Explanation/Rationale," write: The restriction takes financial aid away from students who need it. It imposes an additional penalty on students and an unfunded mandate on colleges.
REMEMBER, COMMENTS ARE ONLY BEING ACCEPTED UNTIL JULY 20TH, A WEEK FROM TODAY.

As always, please write to us as [email protected] to let us know you've taken action. Much more information on this issue and campaign can be found at http://www.raiseyourvoice.com online.

OTHER CURRENT ACTION ITEMS:

Click on the links below for information on these issues and web forms to help you contact Congress:

Oppose Drug Czar Nominee John Walters
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/walters/

Repeal the Higher Education Act Drug Provision
http://www.raiseyourvoice.com

Repeal Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/justice/

Support Medical Marijuana
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/medicalmarijuana/

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Issue #194, 7/13/01 Editorial: The Tulia Lynchings | Hard Feelings: Fatal Shootout in Marijuana Raid Reverberates in an Idaho County | Tulia: Two Years On, a Town Would Like to Forget, but Reformers Refuse to Go Away | HEA Campaign Still Seeking Student Victim Cases -- New York Metropolitan Area Especially Urgent | British Cannabis Decrim Momentum Continues to Build at Frantic Pace | Prospective DEA Head Tells Skeptical Students He Sees "Great Crusade," Claims Legalization Was Tried and Failed -- Mena Questions Refuse to Die | Sentencing Follies: Iowa Man Gets 27 Years for Smoking Joint With 6-Year-Old Son, Eighth Circuit Says Life for $20 Worth of Cocaine is Too Much | Annual Ditchweed Eradication Boondoggle Underway Again -- Feds Spend $13 Million on Summer Jobs Program for Midwest Students, Bored Cops | New Woody Harrelson Activism Site Focusing This Week on DEA's Attempt to Prohibit Hemp Products -- Live Chat Sunday | Urgent Action Alerts: Colombia, HEA, Mandatory Minimums, Medical Marijuana, John Walters | Drug War on Trial Going to Trial Next Week | Media Scan: MotherJones.com Prison Growth Report, Twisted Badge Racial Profiling Series, Chicago Tribune on Prohibition and the Drug War | The Reformer's Calendar

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