Originally published on the CGS blog on June 22, 2007.
I am writing from the newly painted intern office to say that we are at it again. For the past week we have been bugging Congressional staffers incessantly during appropriations week (of all times!) to get them to sponsor H.Res.213, which supports the creation of the U.N. Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS).
Luckily, the argument for UNEPS is not a hard one to make, and trying to convince staffers of the high-quality of this legislation is not our primary goal. There are lots of ‘good’ bills that are presented to Congress, with excellent intentions, and that have even better potential results, if passed.
One thing I have learned from my time here is that it is not necessarily the quality of or need for certain legislation that makes it pass. It must be on the radar of Hill staffers and Representatives. They must know what the legislation is and why they should vote for it. It is up to the public and organizations like GlobalSolutions.org to educate their representatives.
GlobalSolutions.org has been putting up an amazing effort to do this very thing, more than doubling the number of H.Res.213 co-sponsors in less than a week. And it all comes down to 3 or 4 voicemails to each staffer, a few constituent letters, a short conversation, and then a follow-up. The letter we sent them from 37 other organizations supporting the bill hasn’t hurt either.
Support for UNEPS is growing. More and more constituents, organizations, and representatives have come to realize the ever-increasing need for cost-efficient, responsive, and professional peacekeeping. This bill has been around in one form or another for over 50 years, but it just shows that the enough calls at the right time can start the process of change.
