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March 31, 2011 the Honorable President Barack

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March 31, 2011 the Honorable President Barack March 31, 2011 The Honorable President Barack Obama The Honorable Vice President Joseph Biden The White House The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama and Vice President Biden: The undersigned organizations, on behalf of our millions of members and supporters, write today to express our strong opposition to inclusion of any policy riders in legislation that will fund government operations for Fiscal Year 2011. There have not been any hearings related to these extraordinarily far-reaching proposals. This back-door means of legislating does not allow for adequate debate about the merits of such sweeping policy changes, which deserve full deliberation by both chambers in the course of the normal legislative process. The House of Representatives' Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1), which was voted on one month ago, included vast cuts and erected obstructions to critical public health, worker safety, consumer, civil rights, and environmental programs. We urge you to adopt a strict policy of rejecting all such provisions in subsequent 2011 spending bills, rather than negotiating one harmful rider against another. We also have deep concerns about the level of the funding cuts, which we view as irresponsible and harmful. However, these damaging policy riders have no place in this budget legislation. Sincerely, 350.org Alaska Community Action on Toxics 9to5, National Association of Working Women Alaska Wilderness League Advocates for Youth Alliance for Justice AFL-CIO Alliance to End Hunger AIDS Foundation of Chicago American Association of University Professors AIDS Project Los Angeles American Association of University Women AIDS United (AAUW) Air Alliance Houston American Bottom Conservancy 1 American Civil Liberties Union Community Food Security Coalition The American Federation of State, County, and Communications Workers of America Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Concerned Citizens of Giles County LLC American Humane Association Concerned Residents of Portland, NY + People American Medical Women’s Association Like Us (Crop Plus) American Public Health Association Connecticut Association for Community Action American Rivers (CAFCA) Americans for UNFPA Courage Campaign The Arc of the United States DC Vote Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Defenders of Wildlife Forum Democracy 21 Association of Farmworker Opportunity Disciples Justice Action Network Programs Downwinders at Risk ATTIC, Inc. Earthjustice BCMW Community Services Earthworks B.E. Cause Economic Policy Institute Blue Green Alliance Environment America Bread for the World Environmental Integrity Project Break the Cycle EQUAL Health Network Cascade AIDS Project Every Child Matters Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Inc. Falls Church Housing Corporation Center for Biological Diversity Families USA Center for Family Policy and Practice First State Community Action Agency Center for Food Safety Fresh Energy Center for Health and Gender Equity Friends of Hudson Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Friends of the Earth Inc. Georgians for Smart Energy Coalition Center for Reproductive Rights Global Community Monitor Center for Science in the Public Interest Greenpeace Center for Women Policy Studies Harm Reduction Coalition Children’s Dental Health Project Health Care Without Harm Citizens Against Coal Ash HealthHIV Citizens Against Ruining the Environment HIV Prevention Justice Alliance (CARE) Human Rights Campaign Citizens’ Environmental Coalition Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition Clean New York Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health Clean Water Action Somerville, MA Coalition on Human Needs International Center for Technology Assessment Coalition for Justice International Union, United Automobile, ColorOfChange.org Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers Common Cause of America (UAW) Community Advocates for Safe Emissions, Inc. Ipas (CASE) Kentucky Environmental Foundation 2 League of Conservation Voters We Need League of Women Voters Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Legal Momentum Religious Institute Medical Students for Choice Rural Advancement Foundation International – Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy USA (RAFI – USA) Montanans Against Toxic Burning The Salvation Army Thrift Store and Service Mountain Watershed Association Center National Abortion Federation Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law National Association for the Advancement of Save the Dunes Colored People (NAACP) Save Our Rivers National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Service Employees International Union Women’s Health Sexuality Information and Education Council of National Center for Transgender Equality the U.S. (SIECUS) National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Sierra Club National Council of Jewish Women Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute National Council for Occupational Safety and Justice Team Health Southern Illinois Continuum of Care Network National Employment Law Project Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social National Health Law Program Justice National Latina Institute for Reproductive Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign Health Union of Concerned Scientists National Minority AIDS Council United Cerebral Palsy National Organization for Women United for a Fair Economy National Partnership for Women & Families Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Services (UCHAPS) National Network of Abortion Funds Virginia Poverty Law Center National Senior Citizens Law Center Voices for America’s Children National WIC Association Voices for Illinois Children National Women’s Conference Committee Wabash Area Development, Inc. National Women’s Law Center World Wildlife Fund Natural Resource Defense Council YWCA USA North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light ZERO TO THREE Northern California INALLIANCE Ocean Conservancy OMB Watch Our Bodies Ourselves The Partnership for Working Families People For the American Way Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health Population Action International ProgressNow Public Citizen Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care 3 4 .
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