Amherst Town Meeting to consider 'war dollars' measure that would bring money back home, away from Iraq and Afghanistan
Facebook
Daily Hampshire Gazette
SCOTT MERZBACH
09/22/2010
AMHERST - Town Meeting members will be asked to endorse a resolution aimed at pressuring national leaders to bring the money now being spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan back to local communities. Ruth Hooke, a Town Meeting member, said Tuesday that the "Bring the War Dollars Home" petition is part of a nationwide endeavor to improve communities."We're very concerned about the fact that we've had to cut teachers and police, and our infrastructure is terrible, our roads are crumbling, because not enough money is coming to the states," Hooke said.A similar petition recently met with success when the Northampton City Council adopted it by a 6-2 vote. The council takes a second vote on the resolution Oct. 7.Information from the National Priorities Project indicates Amherst residents have paid $128.7 million since the war efforts began in 2001."The idea is to stop funding the wars," Hooke said. "The idea would be that money not squandered on wars could be put in the federal coffers for other needs."Though wishing to curtail spending money on these wars, Hooke said the petitioners, part of the Alliance for Peace and Justice, do not want action taken that would put service members in harm's way. Amendments will be crafted to ensure that representatives of Town Meeting can be comfortable with the petition and its aims.The Alliance was formed after President Obama in 2009 called for an escalation of the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.The article also asks that U.S. Rep John Olver, D-Amherst, and U.S. Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., oppose legislation for additional funding for military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, attempt to influence the House of Representatives to terminate additional funding and support resolutions prohibiting an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan.Hooke said she hopes some of the money can be aimed at assisting with programs and services for returning soldiers, including the local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds.The resolution also calls for a public discussion about the cost of the wars. Hooke said she hopes this can be done in advance of Town Meeting.Plans are developing for an Oct. 28 meeting at the Grace Episcopal Church on Boltwood Avenue, she said, and around Oct. 25 Town Meeting members will have information about the resolution sent to them.
