BREAKING NEWS: Senate committee approves historic LRA/N. Uganda legislation

Six months ago activists around the country got fired up at the news that Congress had introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at ending LRA violence in central Africa and helping affected communities rebuild. Since then, these same activists have participated in hundreds of rallies and lobby meetings in every state, convincing members of Congress of all stripes to support this legislation.

Today these efforts began to pay off as LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act overcame a major hurdle on the path to President Obama’s desk. This afternoon, the Senate Foreign Relations committee  voted to approve this legislation – and get this – they supported it unanimously. That’s right. Nothing by “ayes.”

What does today’s vote mean? Technically, it means that the bill is eligible to be voted on by the entire Senate. Practically, it demonstrates a growing recognition in Congress that President Obama should be taking much stronger steps to stop LRA attacks against innocent civilians and children in central Africa.

Today’s vote also means one more thing – democracy is alive and kicking. The voices of the thousands of Americans who’ve spoken in support of this legislation have played an essential role in achieving this momentum.

But we can’t rest on our laurels. The 29 Senators and 125 Representatives who’ve cosponsored this bill won’t be able to take this bill to the finish line. We need more members of Congress to cosponsor this bill and say “aye” to a lasting end to this conflict. Click here to participate in tomorrow’s Congressional call-in day and to sign-up to meet with your members of Congress in a local office near you.

p.s. Also, check out the press release issued today on the Senate committee vote by Sen. Russ Feingold, one of the two Senators who introduced the legislation.