Issues

Palestine

Final update on the Boustany-Carnahan-Cohen Letter

By AAI
AAI
Posted on Wednesday June 3, 2009

U.S. House of Representatives Members Charles Boustany (D-LA), Russ Carnahan (D-MO), and Steve Cohen (D-TN) circulated a letter recently that supports President Obama’s policies in the Middle East and his intention to provide strong American leadership to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter closed Tuesday, June 2nd with a total of 85 signatories and gained one additional co-sponsor, Gerry Connolly (D-VA).

In addition to offering a positive pro-peace message, the Boustany-Carnahan-Cohen letter notes that “building Palestinian capacity in the economic and security sectors and building transparent institutions of self-governance are important goals, deserving of American support and central to the future success of a Palestinian state.” The letter is careful to identify, however, that this capacity is to be built “once a Palestinian state has been created, with extensive international assistance, involvement, and oversight particularly in the security arena” instead of “preconditions for statehood”—an important policy distinction that is rarely highlighted by Congress.

The letter also mentions the importance of the President’s upcoming speech in Cairo; applauds the appointments of Senator Mitchell as Special Envoy; and notes that the Arab Peace Initiative should be “strongly considered” as a regional, comprehensive approach to Arab-Israeli peace.

In addition to the Arab American Institute (AAI), the Boustany-Carnahan-Cohen letter is supported by a group of organizations representing an inter-ethnic, interfaith constituency, including Americans for Peace Now (APN), Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), Israel Policy Forum (IPF), and J Street. The AAI and these organizations made a determined effort to mobilize their constituents to urge Members of Congress to sign on to this letter.

AAI thanks all of you who called and sent letters to your representatives.

Below is a final list of signatories:

Abercrombie, Neil (DEM, HI-1)
Baird, Brian (DEM, WA-3)
Baldwin, Tammy (DEM, WI-2)
Bishop, Tim (DEM, NY-1)
Blumenauer, Earl (DEM, OR-3)
Boustany, Charles (REP, LA-7)
Braley, Bruce (DEM, IA-1)
Capps, Lois (DEM, CA-23)
Capuano, Michael (DEM, MA-8)
Carnahan, Russ (DEM, MO-3)
Carson, Andre (DEM, IN-7)
Clarke, Yvette (DEM, NY-11)
Clay, Wm. Lacy (DEM, MO-1)
Cohen, Steve (DEM, TN-9)
Connolly, Gerry (DEM, VA-11)
Conyers, John (DEM, MI-14)
Davis, Danny (DEM, IL-7)
Davis, Geoff (REP, KY-4)
Davis, Susan (DEM, CA-53)
DeFazio, Peter (DEM, OR-4)
Delahunt, William (DEM, MA-10)
Dingell, John (DEM, MI-15)
Doggett, Lloyd (DEM, TX-25)
Doyle, Mike (DEM, PA-14)
Edwards, Donna (DEM, MD-4)
Ellison, Keith (DEM, MN-5)
Eshoo, Anna (DEM, CA-14)
Farr, Sam (DEM, CA-17)
Fattah, Chaka (DEM, PA-2)
Filner, Bob (DEM, CA-51)
Foster, Bill (DEM, IL-14)
Fudge, Marcia (DEM, OH-11)
Gordon, Bart (DEM, TN-6)
Grijalva, Raul (DEM, AZ-7)
Halvorson, Deborah (DEM, IL-11)
Himes, Jim (DEM, CT-4)
Hinchey, Maurice (DEM, NY-22)
Holt, Rush (DEM, NJ-12)
Honda, Michael (DEM, CA-15)
Inglis, Bob (REP, SC-4)
Issa, Darrell (REP, CA-49)
Jackson Lee, Sheila (DEM, TX-18)
Johnson, Henry (DEM, GA-4)
Kagen, Steve (DEM, WI-8)
Kaptur, Marcy (DEM, OH-9)
Kilroy, Mary Jo (DEM, OH-15)
Kind, Ron (DEM, WI-3)
Kucinich, Dennis (DEM, OH-10)
Lee, Barbara (DEM, CA-9)
Loebsack, Dave (DEM, IA-2)
Maffei, Dan (DEM, NY-25)
Markey, Betsy (DEM, CO-4)
Markey, Edward (DEM, MA-7)
Massa, Eric (DEM, NY-29)
McCaul, Michael (REP, TX-10)
McCollum, Betty (DEM, MN-4)
McDermott, Jim (DEM, WA-7)
McGovern, James (DEM, MA-3)
Michaud, Michael (DEM, ME-2)
Miller, George (DEM, CA-7)
Moore, Dennis (DEM, KS-3)
Moran, James (DEM, VA-8)
Murphy, Christopher (DEM, CT-5)
Murphy, Scott (DEM, NY-20)
Neal, Richard (DEM, MA-2)
Nye, Glenn (DEM, VA-2)
Olver, John (DEM, MA-1)
Ortiz, Solomon (DEM, TX-27)
Pascrell, Bill (DEM, NJ-8)
Payne, Donald (DEM, NJ-10)
Perlmutter, Ed (DEM, CO-7)
Perriello, Tom (DEM, VA-5)
Pingree, Chellie (DEM, ME-1)
Polis, Jared (DEM, CO-2)
Price, David (DEM, NC-4)
Rahall, Nick (DEM, WV-3)
Rangel, Charlie (DEM, NY-15)
Ryan, Tim (DEM, OH-17)
Sestak, Joe (DEM, PA-7)
Smith, Adam (DEM, WA-9)
Stark, Pete (DEM, CA-13)
Tierney, John (DEM, MA-6)
Velazquez, Nydia (DEM, NY-12)
Wu, David (DEM, OR-1)
Yarmuth, John (DEM, KY-3)