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Representative Ros-Lehtinen Responds to Congo Campaign
With three days left to go of Enough’s week-long campaign to encourage members of Congress to sign onto the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, the equation for Congo is already beginning to change, thanks to the efforts of activists around the nation.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), one of the 10 representatives that the campaign is targeting, responded positively to the over 100 Facebook comments posted on her wall yesterday. In an interview with the Miami Herald blog, “Naked Politics,” Ros-Lehtinen not only welcomed the flood of comments from her constituents, but promised action on the conflict minerals bill.
"I fully agree that we need to take concrete steps to address this illegal trade that helps fund and fuel the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’m currently studying this bill and have given it my fullest attention. I’ve reached out to my bipartisan colleagues toward an agreement that will help move this bill to the floor as quickly as possible. I have contacted experts to give me feedback. Meanwhile, keep those Facebook comments coming. They mean a lot to me."
Conflict minerals mined in eastern Congo and traded internationally help fuel the ongoing violence in the region. The Conflict Minerals Trade Act, or H.R. 4128, would help ensure that U.S. involvement in Congo’s multimillion dollar trade in minerals does not help finance the region’s ongoing and deadly conflict. If passed, the bill would create a system that works to ensure that goods imported into the U.S. do not contain conflict minerals.
There are still three days left in the Change the Equation for Congo campaign with six more representatives who we’ve yet to ask to support this important bill. Keep the momentum rolling and, as Ros-Lehtinen said, the Facebook comments coming.
