[ SHOWGSD-L ] how to defeat PAWS

From: Peggy <pmick@xxxxxxxxx>
To: showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:33:37 -0400
I just received this from a Collie person who works on the Hill in 
Washington, DC.  It might pay us all if we did what she suggests...
Peggy
(and feel free to crosspost this)
In a message dated 8/21/05 9:06:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
------@xxxxxxx writes:

    I have been listening and reading about the PAWS debate since the
    bill was 
    reintroduced in this Congress.  I agree with most of the advice
    floating 
    around on the Internet but I can tell you that the level of opposition 
    communicated to Senators on the Agriculture Committee is paltry at best.

    I work for a Senator serving on the Agriculture Committee and we
    have  had
    very people contact our offices in opposition to the bill.  We have
    had 
    hundreds of contacts from supporters. (Mostly from people who don't 
    understand the
    PETA agenda but care deeply about animal welfare.) If it  were just
    a numbers
    game--we would be losing.  Thankfully, that is not the  primary way
    most
    legislators determine their position but it is a factor.

    I would like to make a couple of suggestions:

    1.  Don't get too hung up on national organizations supporting or 
    opposing
    the bill--they don't vote.
    2.  Don't think you have to write a long treatise on why the bill 
    is a bad
    idea--all you need to say is "I'm your constituent and I oppose
    this  bill."
    3.  Most legislators have numerous offices within a state or 
    congressional
    district--call them all.  If you're shy, call after business  hours
    and leave a
    message on voice mail.
    4.  The easiest way to contact your Senator is to go to
    _www.senate.gov_
    (http://www.senate.gov)  and look for your Senator's  website. 
    Visit it and leave
    an electronic message.  Be  specific--refer to the bill by name and
    number
    and register your  opposition.  (S. 1139; Pet Animal Welfare Act)
    5.  Pass around a letter at your local kennel club meeting or at a
    dog  show
    and get folks to sign it with their addresses and mail it to the
    Washington 
    office.  Thirty original signatures on a letter means a lot more
    than a  letter
    from the club saying they have a hundred members. 
    6.  Be mindful of the timing.  This month things are pretty slow 
    because the
    Senate is in recess.  Twenty contacts this week would be  noticed. 
    Once the
    Senate takes up the Supreme Court nomination in  September, a thousand
    messages will be overshadowed by the tens of thousands of  contacts
    they will receive
    on that issue.
    7.  Contact your Congressman and the Representatives from other 
    districts in
    your state.  That bill number is H.R. 2669.
    8.  Neither bill has received much attention in Congress.   However,
    Senator
    Santorum (the prime sponsor) is up for reelection and it is  very
    common for
    the Senate Leadership to suddenly consider a bill to give  the
    Senator bragging
    rights back home.
    9.  Call your local congressional offices and invite the local
    staffer  to
    see your kennel setup.  He or she probably won't have time but at 
    least they
    will know you have nothing to hide--which dispels the supporters 
    statements
    that all puppies are reared in appalling conditions.
    10.  Most legislators are traveling their districts and holding  town
    meetings.  Attend and make a VERY brief statement that  you oppose
    this bill and
    think he or she will too once they understand the  impact on his/her
    constituents.

    If you want to share this information, I ask that you not attribute
    it to 
    me.  Thanks.




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[ SHOWGSD-L ] how to defeat PAWS

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