|
News From Capitol Hill:
The shift of power that resulted from the 2002 congressional elections has radically changed the political landscape in Washington – especially for population, environment and women’s rights advocates. Anti-family planning members increased their numbers in the House and Senate, posing great challenges for the next two years. Population and family planning programs took a direct blow from the Bush Administration before the November elections, and now face an even more uncertain future with reproductive healthcare and policies an obvious target. House and Senate leaders will most likely try to strip away funding for international and domestic family planning, contraceptive equity and comprehensive sexuality education, while Karl Rove panders to the religious right. What We Could Face
President Bush sent his annual budget proposal to Congress on February 4, kicking off the start of the FY '04 appropriations process. The President's budget request for FY'04 guaranteed no funding for UNFPA and no increase for USAID’s international family planning programs – pushing the US further away from its previous family planning commitments. We will now look to Congress, and in particular, the Senate to increase these funding levels through their appropriations bills and put us on track for a more sustainable future. It is clear from the Bush Administration's blatant efforts in 2002 to roll back the rights of women, withdraw from international agreements and jeopardize the health of families and our shared environment, that collectively we need to make our voices heard in 2003. Global Population and Environment Program staff have been working with staff from Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, Population Action International and Izaak Walton League to reach out to newly elected members of Congress to explain why population is an environmental issue and stress the importance of US support for family planning programs. Some of these partners and their activists will join us during our upcoming Activist Training weekend in March. We are working through these and other local coalition efforts to magnify our voices and increase our opportunity to influence public opinion. Now is the time to strengthen our message, recognize the challenges that we face and, most importantly, stand up and take action! Start the dialogue in your community! Write a letter to your local paper or an article for your chapter newsletter about how we can better protect the environment through supporting family planning. Speak out about why President Bush is not investing in our environmental future through his anti-family planning actions. Be sure that you are signed up to receive calls to action via our listserv. Sign up today by contacting Sarah Fairchild at sarah.fairchild@sierraclub.org or 202.675.2396.
Back to Winter 2003 Population Report
Photo courtesy of David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Up to Top |
