🚀 go-pugleaf

TO: Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Allies
FR: Steering Committee

                       ** ACTION ALERT **

                     The "Chafee Challenge" 

Starting on Monday, April 3rd, Clean Water Action, U.S. PIRG and others began
focusing maximum pressure to strengthen, not weaken the Safe Drinking Water
Act, in the U.S. Senate.  The initial focus was on Sen. John Chafee (R-RI), 
who is the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the other 
members of the  committee. Chafee is being pressured by the extreme right to 
obliterate the Safe Drinking Water Act. We're flooding them with calls, faxes 
and phone calls, telling them to stand up against attempts to turn the clock 
back 25 years on protecting our public health and environment. Starting this 
week we are expanding our communications to include the whole Senate.

This effort has already produced results

After the Campaign deluged Chafee and other members with hundreds of letters
last week, Senator Kempthorne (R-ID) decided not to introduce the water 
industry bill, which would gut the current Safe Drinking Water Act.

We've got a long way to go 

While the Senate has begun to respond to grassroots pressure in holding off 
the most brazen   assaults on drinking water protections for now, they need a 
huge amount of pressure to push them further along. Last year, even Senator 
Chafee championed a bill (passed by the Senate last May), which would have 
weakened the basic health protections provided by the Safe Drinking Water Act. 
Chafee has stated that last year's bill (S.2019) will be a starting point for 
debate on a new bill this year.

We need your help

The Environment and Public Works committee is expected to introduce a bill
shortly after the Congressional recess, which ends April 24th. Over the next 
two weeks, we need your help to send a loud and clear message to the Senate, 
and most importantly Senator Chafee and the other members of the Environment 
and Public Works Committee about the importance of improving protections for 
our drinking water.

Tell (Your Senator/Senator Chafee):
" As (a member of the Senate/chair of the Senate Environment Committee), we're
counting on you to fight for a strong Safe Drinking Water Act. Please fight to
strengthen protections for our drinking water by setting health standards 
based on those most vulnerable (children, pregnant women, the elderly, people 
with AIDS) to illness from contaminated drinking water, give us a greater 
right to know about the quality of our drinking water, and make the biggest 
polluters pay a greater share of the costs to clean up their pollution."

Please target your Senators and Chairman Chafee with 
letters/faxes/calls/e-mail as well.

Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee:

          GOP                           DEM

     John Chafee RI, Chairman      *Frank Lautenberg NJ 
     John Warner VA                Bob Graham FL 
     Bob Smith NH                  *Joseph Lieberman CT 
     *Christopher Bond MO          *Barbara Boxer CA 
     *Lauch Faircloth NC           Max Baucus MT, Ranking 
     **Dirk Kempthorne ID          Daniel Patrick Moynihan NY 
     James Inhofe OK               Harry Reid NV 
     *Craig Thomas WY                   
     Mitch McConnell KY                 

* indicates membership of the Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife 
Subcommittee
** indicates Chairmanship of that Subcommittee

Even if you can't engage your organization or a broader coalition in your 
state, please take the time out to write a personal letter to Chafee and your 
state target

Send to:
Senator John CHAFEE
c/o Jimmie Powell
Senate Dirksen 506
Washington, D.C. 20510
phone: (202) 224-2921
fax: 202-228-3976
e-mail: Senator_Chafee@Chafee.Senate.gov

**If your organization is planning to set up a table on Earth Day, please 
consider gathering letters/postcards the Senators and to Senator Chafee. The 
timing is perfect.

** The Senate is in recess until April 24th, the House until April 30th. They 
should have a few minutes somewhere on their schedules to meet with you about 
safe drinking water.