From: Debbie Neustadt > While on vacation, I stopped in Representative Boswell's office this > past Monday and met his new environmental Legislative Assistant, John > Davis. I gave John a copy of the "Dear Colleague" letter and asked > Representative Boswell to sign on. The issue and the letter are > described below. I let Ananda know that Rep. Boswell was contacted. > . > Letters or phone calls ( at 282-1909) to the Des Moines office by > others in Rep. Boswells district could only help. > erin jordahl IA wrote: > sorry for cross postings > > Dear Water Activists, > > Once again, we need your help to stop the Bush administration from > crippling the Clean Water Act. > > After much hard work on the part of activists across the country, we have > found several members of Congress to lead an effort to send a message to > the Bush administration that the Clean Water Act should continue to > protect > all of our nation's waters. These four champions for clean water, > Representatives Saxton, Leach, Oberstar and Dingell, are circulating a > "Dear Colleague" letter to other members of Congress, asking them to join > in urging the administration recall its guidance and discontinue their > rulemaking process. Both actions, the guidance and the rulemaking, > jeopardize the safety of many wetlands, small streams and ponds. A > similar > "Dear Colleague" letter will be circulating through the Senate soon. We > will let you know as soon as that letter is finalized. > > Through this "Dear Colleague" letter, members of Congress will add their > voices to those of individuals, states and organizations. This is a great > method for influencing the administration! The more members of Congress > who sign on to this letter, the stronger the message will be. Please > contact your member of Congress and urge them to sign on to the this "Dear > Colleague" letter. There are several ways in which you can contact your > member of Congress. > > The most effective way to communicate with your Representative is > to set > up a face-to-face meeting with him or her. Members of Congress are at > home during the Congressional recess in August so now is an ideal time > to do this. Meeting with a member is really fairly simple, and we will > gladly assist you with the entire process- from helping you schedule a > meeting, to providing you with talking points and materials for the > meeting. > If you have less time but still want to ensure that your message is > truly personal, please send a letter to your Representative at: > The Honorable (full name) > U.S. House of Representatives > Washington, DC 20515 > > Here is a sample letter which you may customize: > > Dear Representative_______________: > > Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, we have made considerable progress > in cleaning up our nation's waterways over the past three decades. Today > _______________ (name of a local waterbody) is much cleaner than it was 30 > years ago, but the clean-up job is far from over. We should be > focusing on > enforcing and strengthening the Clean Water Act. > > Unfortunately, the Bush administration has said that it will no longer > enforce the Clean Water Act to protect many small streams, wetlands and > other waters. This doesn't make sense. All waters should continue to be > covered by the Clean Water Act. Please sign on to the "Dear Colleague" > letter being circulated by Representatives Saxton, Leach, Oberstar and > Dingell, which urges President Bush not to eliminate existing protections > for the nation's waters and to rescind the guidance they recently issued. > > The job of the EPA should be to protect America's waters from pollution. > The EPA's rulemaking process ignores the fact that small streams, vernal > pools, prairie potholes and supposedly isolated wetlands flow into our > groundwater, rivers and lakes. The EPA's rulemaking process also > threatens the Clean Water Act's goals of restoring and protecting > America's > waterways. > > Please protect ______________'s (name of your state) waters by signing the > letter urging President Bush to protect all our waters. > > Sincerely, > > If you have even less time, you can use our automated form online and > send an email to your Representative. Visit > http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=215 and send the Clean > Water > take action. > > Thank you for continued help! If you would like to see a copy of the > "Dear > Colleague" letter, please reply to this email and I will send you an > electronic version of the letter. If you would like more information > regarding this issue or are interested in possible meeting with your > Representative, please call or email me. > > Thanks, > Ananda D. Hirsch > Sierra Club > Program Assistant > Environmental Quality Program > Phone: (202) 675-6693 > > > > > Erin E. Jordahl > Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club > 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 > Des Moines, IA 50310 > 515-277-8868 > [log in to unmask] > www.iowa.sierraclub.org- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: > [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts and other important Sierra Club messages by email at: http://www.sierraclub.org/email