Next Steps: What YOU Can Do for Iraqi Refugees!

More Members of Congress are signing on to cosponsor H.R. 2265, The Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act, every day. This bill would provide support for Iraq, NGOs and neighboring countries to handle the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and protection situation for 4 million displaced Iraqis. It also provides special visas for the most at-risk refugees -- particularly those in danger for working closely with American soldiers and NGOs in Iraq.

Here is the list of cosponsors as of 8/2/07, organized by date of sign-on:

Rep Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3] - 5/10/2007
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] - 5/10/2007
Rep Shays, Christopher [R-CT-4] - 5/10/2007
Rep McGovern, James P. [D-MA-3] - 5/16/2007
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-11] - 5/16/2007
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-12] - 5/16/2007
Rep Berman, Howard L. [D-CA-28] - 5/21/2007
Rep Capps, Lois [D-CA-23] - 5/21/2007
Rep McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] - 5/24/2007
Rep Baird, Brian [D-WA-3] - 6/5/2007
Rep Holt, Rush D. [D-NJ-12] - 6/5/2007
Rep Sestak, Joe [D-PA-7] – 6/7/2007
Rep Dingell, John D. [D-MI-15] - 6/11/2007
Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI-2] - 6/11/2007
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [D-CA-6] - 6/13/2007
Rep Moran, Jerry [D-KS-1] - 6/15/2007
Rep LaTourette, Steven C. [R-OH-14] - 6/15/2007
Rep Delahunt, William D. [D-MA-10] - 6/15/2007
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2] - 6/15/2007
Rep Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5] - 6/15/2007
Rep English, Phil [R-PA-3] - 6/15/2007
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [D-CA-39] - 6/15/2007
Rep Watson, Diane E. [D-CA-33] - 6/18/2007
Rep Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10] - 6/19/2007
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-6] - 6/19/2007
Rep Honda, Michael M. [D-CA-15] - 6/20/2007
Rep Larson, John B. [D-CT-1] - 6/21/2007
Rep Pomeroy, Earl [D-ND] - 6/21/2007
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-8] - 6/21/2007
Rep Larsen, Rick [D-WA-2] - 6/21/2007
Rep Lantos, Tom [D-CA-12] - 6/21/2007
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC] - 6/22/2007
Rep Israel, Steve [D-NY-2] - 6/22/2007
Rep Gilchrest, Wayne T. [R-MD-1] - 6/22/2007
Rep Wexler, Robert [D-FL-19] - 6/25/2007
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R-NC-3] - 6/27/2007
Rep Frank, Barney [D-MA-4] - 6/27/2007
Rep Hooley, Darlene [D-OR-5] - 6/28/2007
Rep Davis, Tom [R-VA-11] - 7/11/2007
Rep Snyder, Vic [D-AR-2] - 7/11/2007
Rep Crowley, Joseph [D-NY-7] - 7/16/2007
Rep McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7] - 7/16/2007
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] - 7/17/2007
Rep Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] - 7/17/2007
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [D-NY-22] - 7/17/2007
Rep Olver, John W. [D-MA-1] - 7/18/2007
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [D-ME-1] - 7/23/2007
Rep Jackson, Jesse, Jr. [D-IL-2] - 7/23/2007
Rep Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] - 7/24/2007
Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA-8] - 7/24/2007
Rep Welch, Peter [D-VT] - 7/31/2007
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-14] - 7/31/2007
Rep Filner, Bob [D-CA-51] - 7/31/2007
Rep Berkley, Shelley [D-NV-1] - 8/2/2007
Rep Fattah, Chaka [D-PA-2] - 8/2/2007
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-8] - 8/2/2007
Rep Davis, Susan A. [D-CA-53] - 8/2/2007

If your member is on this list, congratulations! Your work is done. But if not, there are a few important steps you can take on behalf of millions of innocent Iraqi civilians displaced by violence.

Step #1. Send a letter to your representative through our action center. If you have already done so, move on to step 2.

Step #2. Place a follow-up call. The House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 can connect you to the right office. Ask for the legislative assistant handling the Iraq refugee crisis, and tell him or her that the time is NOW to cosponsor H.R. 2265 and thus protect and assist innocent Iraqi refugees. If you haven't received a letter from your member in response to your action in Step #1, be sure to ask why. And please email EPIC to let us know how your member's office responded -- the more info we have, the more effective our advocacy will be.

Step #3. Schedule a visit with your representative. Congressional recess is coming up in August, and many members will be heading home for the month. You can find local contact info by entering your rep's name into your favorite search engine and going to his or her website. So give a call and set up a meeting in August to express your concern for Iraqi refugees, and again, be sure to let us know how it goes.

Step #4. Make a donation to EPIC. Our advocacy work is made possible by the contributions of our members. Every dollar makes us that much more effective in our mission of building peace and protecting the innocent in Iraq.

You can also help by writing letters to local publications when they run stories about Iraqi refugees, and telling your friends about EPIC and our action center. We all need to continue working together to keep the pressure up. Those refugees are counting on us.