January 7, 2007
This web site was established on September 14, 2006. With
few exceptions (primarily deactivated links such as the Iraq
petition),
it remains as it was then — to serve as a constant reminder to
Congress that we the people expect them to spend more time attending
to their legislative and oversight duties than they have in recent
years.
The newly elected Democratic Congress is off to a great start
in this regard, having scheduled far more legislative days in 2007
than our stated minimum goal of 130 per year. As a result, no
petition
will be initiated this year. Should either the Senate or House
of Representatives fail to meet that 130 day standard in 2008,
this site will be reactivated and a new petition will be initiated
on a subject of vital national importance.
The Special Session on Iraq petition below
calls for the scheduling of a 5-day session
of Congress this year focused solely on our policies in Iraq. It
is the first in what may well become a series of similar annual
petitions, each of which will deal with a single issue of vital
national importance. The overall goal is to reverse the modern
trend towards ever
shorter congressional work schedules, using annual
petitions to pressure Congress into scheduling enough time to do
what's best for our country.
The
war in Iraq, gas
and oil prices, global warming, health care, immigration, Social Security, the minimum wage, tax
reform, trade
deficits, the national debt — the list of
issues not being seriously addressed by our United States Congress
goes on and on. Though the drastically reduced work schedule
is by no means the sole reason for congressional inaction, it
is obviously a major factor. [1, 2, 3] It is
our hope that by getting the House of Representatives and Senate
to add 5 days to their schedules, and by having both of them
focus exclusively on a single issue (Iraq this year), we can
break through this impasse. Intense news coverage will inevitably
accompany any special session called for by the American people.
Combined with public opinion polls, that ought to be enough to
pressure the members of Congress into setting aside their differences
long enough to forge a consensus around the best aspects of all
proposals.
In today's highly partisan political environment, however, there's
just no way of telling what will happen. In spite of having 12
weeks in which to schedule a 5-day session after their
projected October 6th adjournment,
the Republican leaders might choose to ignore us. Or they might
grant our request to schedule a special session on Iraq, and then
manipulate the proceedings so that nothing of consequence is produced.
Or the leaders of the Democratic minority might use it merely as
a platform from which to attack Republicans, rather than as an
opportunity to reassess and improve our country's policies.
When all is said and done, only one thing is for certain: If we
the people don't find some way to emphatically denounce the bipartisan
trend towards ever shorter congressional work schedules, this year's
record-setting low [1, 2]
is likely to become the 21st century's norm! Although pressuring
Congress into spending more time on the job won't guarantee an
improvement in our national policies, it will be a firm step in
the right direction!
[Note: Don't be confused by links in the petition such as [1, 2, 3]
referring to the historically brief congressional work schedule
in 2006. Some compare days per year, while others double those
figures because they count days per 2-year Congress.]
The Petition
Subject: Special Session on Iraq
To: The United States Congress
We respectfully ask the Republican leadership in the Senate
and House of Representatives to schedule a special joint
session of Congress this year devoted entirely
to Iraq. This special session should begin as soon as possible
and last long enough to thoroughly cover all of our country's
major policies related to the war. Hopefully, it will produce
bipartisan legislation establishing a clearly defined
goal for the termination of our active military
involvement.
Since the hasty debate [1, 2]
leading up to your authorization of
open-ended military intervention 4 years ago, you have not
spent enough time fulfilling your congressional oversight
responsibilities related to the war in Iraq. [1, 2] Such lax oversight
following 1964's Gulf of Tonkin Resolution encouraged
the Johnson and Nixon administrations to persist with failed
policies during our protracted involvement in Vietnam, [1, 2] and it appears
to be having the same effect again. What our country desperately
needs now, as it did 40 years ago during the Vietnam War,
is for you to reassert "the exclusive power of Congress to
determine matters of war and peace." The time has
come for a real debate about our country's policies in Iraq
that is honest, open, and lengthy enough to enable
members of Congress to forge a consensus around
the best aspects of all proposals. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Although we may not individually agree with everything written
or referenced in this petition, we are unanimous in calling
for a special session of Congress devoted entirely to Iraq.
The war is now in its 4th year. Military and civilian deaths, as well as monetary
costs, have reached unconscionable levels. Violence has
spread to other countries in the Middle East. The 2006 congressional
session has been scheduled to end on October 6th, one month
before the November 7th election and almost 3 full months
before the end of the year. For the House of Representatives,
this would total only about 100 days spent in our nation's
capital this year. Not only is this far below last year's
total of 141, but it is also the shortest
schedule since the 108 days posted by 1948's "do-nothing" Congress.
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Under these circumstances, we do
not think it is too much to ask for the Republican leadership
to add at least a 5-day special
session on Iraq to this year's historically brief schedule.
The time is long overdue for an honest, open, and lengthy
debate about an issue of such vital national and international
importance!
Sincerely,
View
Current Signatures
[Note: Link has been deactivated]
[Important: When signing your name, please look
up and include your ZIP Code + 4. This
will help to ensure that the correct Representative and
Senators are advised of your support, while allowing you
to maintain a much greater degree of privacy than the alternative
of listing your home address. This petition was initiated
on September 14th, and will remain active through the end
of 2006 or until a 5-day Special Session on Iraq is scheduled — whichever
comes first. As long as it's active, the offices of the
congressional leadership will be notified on a weekly basis
of the number of signatures it has acquired.]
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