While there are many things we do not agree with the Republicans on, there are several major issues in which we should all be able to work together- Namely ending the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Please take a few minutes and send emails / phone calls to these state legislators and ask your friends on both sides of the isle to do the same!
We need your help urgently. Possibly as soon as this Thursday, the Virginia House of Delegates Appropriations Subcommittee will be discussing Senate Bill 87. This bill, based on the Sudan Divestment Task Force's model of targeted divestment, will mandate the Virginia Retirement System to ensure that they are not funding genocide through Virginia's investments.
Last session, similar legislation was introduced in Virginia.The house bill was killed in this committee, and the Senate Bill which was carried over was stripped of the most important language. This session, the very same subcommittee has killed the house bill. The Senate bill, carried over from a unanimous passage in the house, is the last chance. The bill must be granted a hearing, and then supported. This will not happen without your support. We can not allow the bill to die again. Virginia must stop funding genocide.
This bill depends on you. The only way to pass this bill is to show the members of the subcommittee that we want this bill to pass, and Virginia will be watching.
There are two actions that we need you to take, in order for this bill to pass:
TO PASS THIS BILL WE MUST:
1:Make the Call!
On Wednesday, February 20th and Thursday February 21st, we are asking all activists to call members of the subcommittee to show them that Virginians care, and as our representatives, they need to as well.
If you are a student, try to set up a school wide call in day. If you can't organize an event, print out the phone numbers, and ask your friends to call at lunch.
This bill will only pass if we can generate enough calls to show the members of this subcommittee that this bill matters. Please take the time to make the call! The phone numbers are below, and the talking points are to the right.
2: Spread the Word
The members of this subcommittee need to know that people will be watching. If you would like to send an op-ed to your local news paper, please contact me at banks@genocideintervention.net. If you can't do that, please forward this alert widely.
Contact Your State Legislators Today!
Speaker Howell- (804) 698-1028
Delegate Chris Jones- (804) 698-1076
Delegate Clarke N. Hogan-(804) 698-1060
Delegate Riley E. Ingram- (804) 698-1062
Speaker Howell- (804) 698-1028
Talking Points
PLEASE DIVEST VIRGINIA FROM SUDAN!
-Please ensure that SB 87 receives a subcommittee hearing in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Compensation and Retirement
-Please Support SB 87 on the floor of the VA House of Delegates
When President Bush declared that genocide was ongoing in the Darfur region of Sudan, many Americans naturally felt despair. The conflict seemed far too distant and complex, and many doubted their ability to make a difference.
Now, in 2007, activists all over the country have stepped up to make the genocide in Darfur a local issue. Twenty two states, 12 cities, and 58 universities have taken steps to divest their investment from Sudan, pulling funds from corporations that provide the financial lifeline to the government of Sudan and allow it to continue its campaign of genocide against the citizens of Darfur.
Virginians are now looking to add their voices to this growing movement. Information was recently released indicating that the Virginia Retirement System, which manages $58 billion in assets, holds $51 million in stock in ten companies targeted for divestment. This is an estimated 0.088% of the total holdings of the VRS, an amount that can be invested in non-Darfur related stocks without a loss to the VRS. These companies have been identified by the Sudan Divestment Task Force as "Highest Offending" companies. This list is composed of 22 foreign companies (out of the hundreds operating in Sudan) which substantially support the government of Sudan while failing to benefit the country's marginalized populations..
Just two years into the movement, Sudan divestment has already proven an effective tool to address the situation in Darfur. Since the beginning of the movement, nine companies have either ended their operations in Sudan or utilized their significant leverage to affect positive change in Sudan. The government of Sudan is feeling the pressure and has been forced to respond both with a letter from the Sudanese embassy to the United States and a million dollar advertisement in the New York Times encouraging investment in their country.
Last year, legislation was introduced in the last session that would disassociate Virginia's money from Sudan. While the bill passed unanimously through the Senate, it screeched to a halt in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Compensation and Retirement. This year, the legislation has been introduced again. Once more, the Senate bill has passed through the Senate unanimously, while the companion House bill was killed again in the same House subcommittee. Senate Bill 87, after unanimously passing through the senate, will now go before that subcommittee once again. If this bill fails to pass, the Commonwealth of Virginia will continue to contribute funds to companies aiding genocide in Darfur.
The conflict which President Bush called genocide in 2004 is no longer too far away, and we are no longer able to claim that we are unable to help in stopping it. We have the ability, if not the responsibility, to stem the flow of revenue by not investing in companies financially supporting the Sudanese government. All that we as Virginians need to do is pick up a phone and tell our representatives on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Compensation and Retirement to reflect our outrage and pass this bill.
With each failed attempt at passing this legislation, the death toll in Darfur has increased. We have seen the violence spill over the border into Chad. Since this bill was first introduced, selfless humanitarian workers have been attacked and millions more women have been raped. The situation on the ground has created a fierce sense of urgency; the time to act is now. Join fifteen other states in becoming a positive force against genocide. Do not allow genocide to happen on your watch. I hope you will join me in calling the members of the subcommittee on Compensation and Retirement to tell them that we want this genocide to end now.
Maybe someone else knows who FIRST brought it up.