Dear tweeties;

The following call for political action originated with the Audubon Society. It addresses
the rapidly growing human population, one of the primary threats to wild birds in
Washington State and throughout the world:

The human family continues to grow at a prodigious rate, 85 to 90 million additional
people every year. The global population is expected to more than double from the
current 5.8 billion to 12 billion within the next 70 years. The impact on human well-
being and on natural ecosystems will doubtless be profound. The only realistic hope of
stabilizing this unsustainable growth is to offer family planning services (maternal health
care, pre and post-natal child care, contraceptives) to everyone who wants them on a
world-wide basis.

In 1996 the 104th Congress cut U.S. expenditures on international family planning
programs by 30% for Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 (to $385 million, down from $547 million
in FY 1996) and it put a six month freeze on the expenditure of the allocated money. In
an effort to free these frozen funds for dispersal President Clinton in early February will
issue a report that certifies the negative impact the delayed funding of international
family planning has had. Then by February 28 both the House and Senate will vote to
either confirm or reject this finding. The result of these votes will determine when and
how much of the allocated FY 1997 money gets distributed, and it will set the tone for
the FY 1998 appropriations.

Please contact Senator Patty Murray, Senator Slade Gorton (if you live in Washington
State) and your representative with some version of the following message (which can be
simply finalized, printed and mailed):

Senator Patty Murray or Representative........
Senator Slade Gorton House Office Building
Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Washington, DC 20510


Dear.....;

Next month, the 105th Congress will be voting on whether to remove the embargo
placed on international family planning funds by the 104th Congress. As you are aware,
the global population continues to grow at a rate of 85 to 90 million additional people
every year, and is expected to more than double from 5.8 billion people today to 12
billion within the next 70 years. The impact on human well-being and on the natural
ecosystems that support the human community could well be devastating.

In February of this year President Clinton will issue a report that certifies the negative
impact the delayed funding of international family planning has had in those nations
experiencing the most rapid growth. I urge you to vote in agreement with this finding
and to support the distribution of embargoed family planning funds. There is no better
investment that the United States can make than to help stabilize the explosive and
unsustainable growth of the human family.

Sincerely,



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For more information:
Dana Visalli Rhonda Schlagen
Methow Biodiversity Project Audubon Population & Habitat Program
dvisalli at igc.apc.org Rschlagen at audubon.org
509 997-9011 202 861-2242