sncrom@cdp.uucp (10/08/89)
/* Written 5:18 am Oct 7, 1989 by sncrom in cdp:fcnl.updates */ /* ---------- "Hotline for October 6, 1989" ---------- */ FCNL TELEPHONE TAPE - 10/6/89 This is the Friends Committee on National Legislation, with updated legislative information. To speak directly with a staff member, call (202) 547-6000. This message was prepared at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 6. It contains information and action suggestions on the following subjects: U.S. INTERFERENCE IN THE NICARAGUAN ELECTIONS and THE HOUSING NOW! MARCH. U.S. INTERFERENCE IN THE NICARAGUAN ELECTIONS: In a move opponents call an attempt to buy the Nicaraguan elections, the House voted Wednesday to send an additional $9 million to the political opposition in Nicaragua. The aid will be channeled through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to help with election monitoring, voter registration, get-out-the- vote efforts, and communications support. Labor unions, business groups, and media outlets sympathetic to the opposition candidate, Violeta Chamorro, are also eligible to receive aid. This increases the total amount of Nicaraguan election aid sent through the NED to $12.5 million, which almost matches that organization's $15 million annual budget for the entire world. Moreover, Newsweek magazine reports that the U.S. has already sent at least $5 million in covert assistance as well. If true, this would bring total U.S. election aid to the opposition to $17.5 million in a country with fewer than 2 million voters. This is equivalent to about $9 per voter, which is a huge sum in a country where the per capita income is less than one dollar per day. (By comparison, Bush and Dukakis each spent $46 million in their presidential campaigns to reach the 180 million eligible voters in the United States. This comes to about 25 cents per voter!) Democratic leaders in the House gave their support to this OVERT aid package in return for the Bush administration's pledge that it will refrain from further COVERT interference in the elections. Although there is no prohibition on covert activities, Rep. Beilenson CA, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has stated that there are no funds in the FY90 intelligence authorization bill for such activities. Any request by the administration for covert funding would have to be approved by the four congressional committees with jurisdiction over intelligence matters. ACTION: Call your representative and express outrage over the continuing U.S. interference, overt and covert, in the Nicaraguan elections. As this message is being prepared, it is unclear whether the SENATE will have time to vote on this aid before going into recess the week of October 9. Calls to the local offices of your senators should be made, expressing outrage if the aid package passes the Senate, or urging opposition if a vote is postponed. HOUSING NOW! Several hundred thousand people from all across the country are gathering in Washington on October 7 to speak to the critical need for housing for low income people. Housing Now! lobbyists and marchers are stressing three main points: We need more money in the budget for low-income housing, we want an end to the crisis of homelessness, and we want public policies that support safe, decent and affordable housing for all. There are many more people in all parts of the country who share this concern, even though they were not able to be present in Washington. ACTION: Call your representative and senators to express support for the Housing Now! message. Ask them what they can do to create more housing that is accessible to low-income people. This concludes our message. For more information, please write to the Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St., NE, Washington, DC 20002. --- Patt Haring | United Nations | Did u read patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | today? -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-