Can you sign the letter? Can you help deliver the letter to the Towson office on April 16 at 4:30 PM

Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218

Rep. John Sarbanes
600 Baltimore Ave.
Suite 303
Baltimore, MD 21204

April 16, 2014

Dear Representative Sarbanes:

Members of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore are voters and supporters of Progressive Democrats of America. The House failed to pass the Progressive Caucus' Better Off Budget, which would have put millions of Americans to work and raised revenues, while repealing military authorization, containing waste, closing loopholes, and protecting the environment. We call upon you to cosponsor the following legislation to accomplish several of these goals, (if you haven't already):

Rep. Keith Ellison's Inclusive Prosperity Act (H.R. 1579) to create a tiny sales tax on speculative Wall Street trades--not pensions or investments held by regular people--and raise up to $350 billion dollars a year. These revenues could fund permanent living-wage jobs, rebuild communities, launch a green energy boom, extend quality education to all, expand mass transit, guarantee healthcare for all, and address other human needs.

Rep. John Conyers' Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act (H.R. 1000) that would create employment opportunities for the unemployed. Since 2000, about 50,000 industrial jobs have vanished each month. Service sector jobs are also disappearing. America needs a 21st century “New Deal” to put unemployed Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and communities.

Rep. Barbara Lee's Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force (H.R. 198) to reverse Public Law 107-40 that has been used to justify open-ended foreign military operations which have squandered lives and depleted the treasury while making us less safe. It's time to wrap up the militarism and return to diplomacy and cooperation to achieve national security.

Rep. Jerrold Polis' BREATHE Act (H.R. 1154) to amend the Clean Air Act by eliminating special loopholes exploited by oil and gas companies. We can prosper economically and protect our environment by investing in clean 21st Century energy, instead of wasting tax money subsidizing dirty, harmful carbon-based energy.

Finally, we are seeking an end to the use of killer drone strikes, which we believe to be illegal and unconstitutional. We ask you to speak out against this assassination program, which ignores any veneer of due process. Consider as well a request for the full, unclassified release of information surrounding the administration’s drone policy.

We look forward to your response. And when you are ready, we would like to meet with you, preferably in Baltimore. But if necessary, we will travel to your D.C. office. We thank you for your consideration regarding these critically important issues, and look forward to ongoing discussion and engagement with you in the coming months.

Peace,

Max Obuszewski, on behalf of Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore/Fund Our Communities

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs