10/05/2006 GAAS:743:06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Urges President Bush to Sign Darfur Peace and Accountability Act
Gov. Schwarzenegger sent the following letter today to President Bush asking him to sign the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006. Last month, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed two bills that would put economic pressure on the government of Sudan to stop the massacre. Below is the text of the letter.
October 5, 2006
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur can no longer be overlooked. At the hands of the government of the Republic of Sudan, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have lost their lives and millions more have lost their homes. As a nation, we can no longer watch this tragedy unfold from the sidelines.
The United States must remain a shining example for the world - a nation that fosters democracy, freedom and basic human rights for all. As Americans, we simply cannot stand by and mourn this atrocity as it passes into history. That is why on September 25, 2006, I signed two bills into law that send a clear message that California will not stand for genocide. As a result, California's universities and retirement funds are now actively working to divest from Sudan. This will ensure that the people of California will not underwrite the actions of these murderers or the companies who finance them.
While California and other states can take such actions, we must confront this genocide with an equally clear and urgent national focus. I urge you to sign into law the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (H.R. 3127), which would apply the full economic and moral weight of the United States on the Republic of Sudan and help bring an end to the genocide. We must also ensure that California's new laws and actions taken by other states, local governments and universities are not undermined by federal lawsuits. I urge your support for additional legislation that would protect divestiture from Sudan. Language protecting divestiture from federal preemption was met with overwhelming support in the House of Representatives when it approved H.R. 3127.
With a stroke of your pen, you can do far more than any one state to ease the suffering of millions in this war-torn region by signing H.R. 3127. History will judge our part in this terrible tragedy and I do not want our nation to look back and say, "We could have done more." With lives hanging in the balance, I respectfully request you to move quickly to sign this legislation into law.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
