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Help Force a REAL Katrina Investigation...

Tuesday September 27, 2005

Blog Friends & Fellow Patriots,

This morning at a press conference on Capitol Hill I announced the creation of a Congressional Discharge Petition, which if successful, will force the House of Representatives to debate and vote, up or down, the formation of an Independent Katrina Commission.

I know you’ll agree with me that an Independent Commission is a necessary step in our quest to investigate the woefully inadequate preparation and response to the horrible disaster on America’s Gulf Coast.

http://www.ForceTheVote.com/

In order for the Discharge Petition to take effect and force a vote, half of the House of Representatives (218 Members) must sign on and register their support.

That’s a tall order to fill, especially when you consider all that the obstructionist Republican Leadership has done to block our efforts. But even they can’t stop a Discharge Petition. It truly is our silver legislative bullet.

If I am to gather the necessary 218 signatures, I’m going to need your help. Please sign up today, as a Citizen Co-Signer, and we’ll keep you updated on our success advancing the Discharge Petition.

http://www.ForceTheVote.com/

Each week we’ll let you know which Members of Congress have signed on to our call for a vote on real accountability. Better yet, as a Citizen Co-Signer, you’ll be able to help us lobby Members who have yet to sign on.

At my press conference this morning I also accepted, on behalf of my colleagues, more than 400,000 petitions collected by MoveOn.org and Democracy for America. The petitions come from men and women just like you calling on Congress to form an Independent Commission.

People like, Leslie Durr from Charlottesville, VA who wrote on her petition, “This is a national disgrace. Please don’t sweep it under the rug to preserve the party line. We need an independent commission to get to the bottom of this no matter where the chips may fall.”

Or Margaret Cook from St. Cloud, MN who wrote, “The response to Katrina was disgraceful, and we need to find out why. I don’t think Americans can be satisfied with a partisan group’s assessment. If you really think they did a good job, or if you really think it was the fault of local governments, then you have nothing to lose in an independent commission.”

My Discharge Petition is the next necessary step in our fight to achieve the goal we share.

http://www.ForceTheVote.com/

We need an independent, blue-ribbon, bipartisan Katrina Commission modeled after the 9/11 Commission. The American people have rightfully lost trust in their Government. They don’t believe it can protect them� from natural or man-made disaster. An Independent Commission is essential if we are ever to regain their trust.

Our fight starts right here, right now.

Together we can build the support we need to advance our fight for the truth.

-LMS

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