| Dear Katy, We have a chance to save lives in the world's worst humanitarian crisis. With massive U.S. support, Saudi Arabia has waged war in Yemen for more than three years, resulting in around 50,000 direct casualties of violence and more than 113,000 children dying of malnutrition and preventable disease.1,2 Over the last year and a half, hundreds of thousands of CREDO members have taken action to stop our government's complicity with this horrific war. We won in Congress, but Trump used his veto power to choose his relationship with the Saudis over saving lives. This fall, we have another chance to override Trump. Can you add your name today? Tell Congress: Include amendments in the National Defense Authorization Act to stop all funding for U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen. Click here to sign the petition Since the start of the war in 2015, the United States has provided the Saudis with weapons and logistical and intelligence support. We helped refuel coalition jets as they dropped bombs on Yemeni civilians under the guise of confronting Iran, which has limited ties to Yemen's Houthi rebels. Despite a bus bombing that killed 29 children, which calls for greater U.S. oversight, the United States still supports the Yemen War – all without explicit congressional authorization. Congress's next chance to act is this month, when the House of Representatives and Senate meet to finalize a version of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). A conference committee of representatives and senators is meeting right now to hash out the final details. The final legislation must include the following amendments from the House of Representatives' version of the bill: - The Smith-Khanna Yemen War Powers Amendment 339 to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
- The Lieu-Amash Amendment 419 to block Trump from executing 22 "emergency" arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- Rep. Malinowski's Amendment 473 to impose a one-year prohibition on the sale of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
When it comes to stopping this tragedy, the momentum in Congress is on our side, but the NDAA process is long and complicated. We need to make sure every member of Congress knows that we expect them to use their power of the purse to reassert Congress' constitutional authority and end our complicity in mass murder. Tell Congress: Use the NDAA to stop all funding for U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/NDAA-2020-Yemen?t=9&akid=33898%2E12967895%2EVc0qRU Thank you for speaking out, Heidi Hess, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Shireen Al-Adeimi, "Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance has accomplished what 50,000 Yemeni deaths could not," NBC News, Oct. 16, 2018.
- Kareem Fahim, "The deadly war in Yemen rages on. So why does the death toll stand still?" The Washington Post, Aug. 3, 2018.
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