Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2019 Introduced!
Please contact Members of Congress
to Co-sponsor HR 1111 as soon as possible.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) introduced legislation to create a cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding (HR 1111) in our federal government on 2/8/2019. A Department of Peacebuilding will focus on the root causes of domestic and internatinal violence and promote policies to create a sustainable and peaceful world.
Rep. Barbara Lee said, “We owe it to ourselves and our young people to create a society where war and violence are no longer the norm, where hate and inequity have no place, and where there is justice for all. A Department of Peacebuilding would help us accomplish our goals by facilitating peace summits between conflicting parties, advancing restorative justice practices in our institutions, and promoting peacebuilding in the realms of human and economic rights, disarmament, technology, and the media … peacebuilding together is the way forward.”
During this Season for Nonviolence (SNV), please contact members of Congress to urge them to cosponsor the Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2019. SNV is the 64-day period between the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 30 – April 4). It is a time for daily reflection on nonviolence and personal action as demonstrated by such leaders as Mohandas Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela and His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. (See www.agnt.org/season-for-nonviolence )
“... we must deal with the roots of violence, particularly those that exist within each of us. We need to embrace ‘inner disarmament,’ reducing our own emotions of suspicion, hatred and hostility toward our brothers and sisters.” – Dalai Lama XIV
“I can indicate no royal road for bringing about the social revolution, except that we should represent it in every detail of our lives.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Contact your Representative to support peace and nonviolence legislation at the national level. Then contact other members of Congress. Do this as soon as possible.
Ask members of Congress to sign on as cosponsors of HR 1111 by contacting Rep. Barbara Lee’s office (202-225-2661 or [email protected]). Every voice for peacebuilding counts. Join in telling our legislators we want a culture of peace where every life is valued and peacebuilding is a priority in this nation.
Easy actions you can take:
- Call your member of Congress. Contact the Congressional switchboard at 1-202-224-3121. Ask for your member of Congress. Alternatively, go to Find Your Representative. Speak to the staff member who answers the phone or ask for a legislative staffer, tell them you support HR 1111 to establish a Department of Peacebuilding, and ask them to notify the Representative that, as a constituent, you want them to co-sponsor this important bill.
- Call other members of Congress and their staffers. Tell them you are concerned with the violence in this nation and that this nation should support nonviolent conflict resolution by establishing a Department of Peacebuilding. Ask them to urge the Representative to cosponsor Department of Peacebuilding legislation by contacting Rep. Barbara Lee’s office.
- Click here and generate an email to your member of Congress and your Senators, asking that they support HR 1111 to create a Department of Peacebuilding.
Your CALL FOR PEACE matters. It is time to make peacebuilding a part of the national agenda. For more information, see Department of Peacebuilding
“Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation,” said Dr. King. It is time to work for a nonviolent and compassionate nation and to establish of a Department of Peacebuilding.
Thank you Congresswoman Lee for your commitment to peace and justice and for sponsoring the Department of Peacebuilding legislation. Thank you to cosponsors of this transformative legislation.
Calling for peace together,
National Department of Peacebuilding Committee
Anne Creter, Karen Johnson, Nancy Merritt, Kendra Mon, Debra Poss, Pat Simon and Jerilyn Stapleton
ADVOCATE FOR A DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING AS PART OF YOUR
SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCE
