Exciting news! Earlier today, Representative John Boozman (R-AR) became the 32nd cosponsor of the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, or H.R. 4128. This happened less than 24 hours after the Enough Project launched a campaign to target his Facebook wall and Twitter account, prompting hundreds of posts from activists urging him to Change the Equation for Congo by supporting the important legislation. A special thank you goes out to all of the dedicated activists out there who took the time to show their support. Representative Boozman even started following us on twitter! Here’s his latest tweet:
@JohnBoozman: @Enoughproject is working to Change the Equation 4 #Congo and I’m proud to help as a cosponsor of HR 4128 Conflict Minerals Trade Act
This legislation, introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) last year, takes concrete steps toward stemming the tide of violence in eastern Congo by working to ensure that conflict minerals—tin, tantalum, tungsten (the three T’s), and gold—are not in the products we import into the U.S. The multimillion dollar trade in these minerals, which are key components in almost all electronic products, helps fund armed militias who not only control the mines, but engage in acts of torture, murder, and rape against local populations. To date, the Congo remains the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman or girl.
The conflict minerals issue is not new to Representative Boozman. Last February, the congressman joined Enough Project Co-Founder John Prendergast at an event at the University of Arkansas titled “Congo’s Conflict Minerals: Can You Hear Congo Calling?” to raise awareness of the issue.
Join us in thanking Representative Boozman by posting a note of gratitude on his Facebook page. Here is a sample message you can use:
Thank you, Representative Boozman, for helping to Change the Equation for Congo! Your co-sponsorship of HR 4128, the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, will help stop rape as a weapon of war in Congo. Visit http://bit.ly/d44Xxp to learn more.
Again, thank you to all the activists for their efforts this week. Let’s keep the momentum going. Click here for the targets of today’s push.