In his final State of the Union address, President Obama called on Americans to "reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion," [1] widely reported as a slam on the anti-Muslim, anti-refugee politics of Republican presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. [2] But apparently Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn't get the memo. McConnell is insisting that the Senate vote to end the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the United States. [3] Urge the Senate to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion, including any blanket ban on the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the United States, by signing our petition. References: 1. https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/president-obama-s-2016-state-of-the-union-address-7c06300f9726 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-urges-nation-not-to-fear-future/2016/01/13/8cea820c-b936-11e5-99f3-184bc379b12d_story.html 3. http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/12/politics/senate-syrian-refugees/index.html

Last September, we secured a major diplomatic victory when Congress voted to uphold the nuclear deal reached by the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Iran. [1] Since then, huge progress has been made in limiting Iran's nuclear program and making it more transparent to the international community. [2] Unfortunately, war hawks in Congress aren't giving up. They have made clear that they will use every opportunity to try to undermine the deal. Their latest vehicle is H.R. 3662, the so-called "Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act." This partisan bill would prohibit President Obama from delivering on sanctions relief, even if Iran fully complies with the deal, as it has so far. We must send a strong message to Congress that such Congressional efforts to undermine the deal are unacceptable. Urge Congress to oppose this and similar efforts to undermine the Iran deal by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal 2. http://news.yahoo.com/implementation-iran-nuclear-deal-days-away-kerry-193148623.html

One of the most controversial aspects of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is “Investor-State Dispute Settlement,” or ISDS - corporations suing governments in retaliation for laws or regulations that they claim reduce their profits. As Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote, "ISDS would allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws — and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers — without ever stepping foot in a U.S. court." [1] In response to criticism of ISDS provisions in the TPP agreement from Senator Warren, Senator Sanders, [2] and others, the White House promised to put "stronger safeguards" on ISDS in the TPP. [3] Now Canadian oil company TransCanada has announced that it will sue the U.S. government for $15 billion dollars under the ISDS provisions of NAFTA for rejecting TransCanada’s controversial plan to build the Keystone XL pipeline. [4] Carroll Muffett, President of the Center for International Environmental Law, said: "TransCanada has proven what concerned citizens have argued for decades – that the primary purpose of ISDS is to subvert democratic processes and the public interest, in the name of private profit. It has demonstrated to the citizens of the United States, and the world, why these provisions have no place in new trade agreements." [5] Urge the Administration to show Congress and the American people how its claimed "stronger safeguards" on ISDS in the proposed TPP would prevent the Keystone XL NAFTA lawsuit by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kill-the-dispute-settlement-language-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership/2015/02/25/ec7705a2-bd1e-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html 2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/the-tpp-must-be-defeated_b_7352166.html 3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/26/investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds-questions-and-answers 4. http://time.com/4170966/keystone-pipeline-canada-lawsuit/ 5. http://www.ciel.org/news/8886/

Last September, we secured a major diplomatic victory when Congress voted to uphold the nuclear deal reached by the UK, France, Germany, China, Russia, the US, and Iran. Since then, huge progress has been made in rolling back Iran's nuclear program. Sadly, war hawks in Congress aren't giving up. They have made clear that they will treat the Iran Deal as they have treated the Affordable Care Act: with endless, partisan vote after endless, partisan vote to kill the deal. We must send a strong message to Congress that this behavior is not acceptable. Especially during an election year, we cannot let political interests trump national security.

According to Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia has deployed cluster bombs in Yemen which violates international law and causes horrific civilian casualties. United States provided these cluster bombs that were used. The United States has also refused to accede the Convention on Cluster Munitions. More information on this can be found at noclusterbombs.org and hrw.org

The Israeli Knesset is on the verge of adopting an anti-democratic law to isolate and marginalize internationally respected Israeli peace and human rights groups like Peace Now and B'Tselem. [1] While purporting to be about "transparency," the proposed law would brand Peace Now, B'Tselem, and other Israeli groups working for democratic values like peace and human rights as "foreign agents," based on the fact that they receive funding from foreign governments, mainly European governments. The American Jewish Committee says the proposed law risks Israel's reputation as a democracy. [2] The Washington Post editorial board warned: "The proposal reflects the kind of tactic that Russia and China have employed to squelch dissent, and it is not in keeping with Israel's core values as a democratic state." [3] The proposed law discriminates against groups that receive foreign government funding, while allowing right-wing, pro-occupation Israeli groups that receive funding from foreign billionaires like Sheldon Adelson to continue to shield their donors from scrutiny. A recent Peace Now report found that 94% of donations to Israeli right-wing organizations are not transparent. [4] Urge Congress to speak up against the proposed Israeli law to isolate and marginalize peace and human rights groups by signing our petition. References: 1. http://peacenow.org/entry.php?id=16136 2. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ajc-statement-on-proposed-israeli-ngo-law-300199603.html 3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-danger-to-israeli-democracy/2016/01/02/22f90a2e-af3d-11e5-b711-1998289ffcea_story.html 4. http://peacenow.org.il/eng/sites/default/files/Right%20Wing%20Funding.pdf

WE CAN NOT AFFORD ANOTHER ARMS RACE. WE MUST GET RID OF THE NUCLEAR ARMS WE ALL READY HAVE! We STILL have almost 500 nuclear warheads on hair-trigger alert. That's just us, in America. This is crazy. I'm 71 years old, I have spent my whole life and a considerable fortune (money that could have been used to make our country and our entire planet safer and happier) building and placing these terrible weapons in holes in the ground. Thankfully they have not gone off, either by accident, miscalculation or some crazy person. We can NOT use these things and it is insane to build more. We the people must tell our government, ENOUGH is ENOUGH! If Russia is threatening us, we must deal with that, of course. But we must do it in a sane way that includes the whole world working with us. It would be completely insane to start back down that road we have all ready traveled.

The Obama Administration has not yet publicly condemned the Saudi government's execution of a prominent Shia dissident, even though recent Saudi government actions threaten to undermine the Administration's strategy against ISIS. The New York Times notes that the U.S. "has usually looked the other way or issued carefully calibrated warnings in human rights reports as the Saudi royal family cracked down on dissent and free speech and allowed its elite to fund Islamic extremists." [1] But President Obama has called out Saudi Arabia before. In his 2014 address on terrorism to the United Nations, President Obama said, "That means cutting off the funding that fuels this hate. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down." [2] This was widely understood to be a reference to Saudi Arabia. [3] Urge President Obama to call out the Saudi government in his State of the Union address by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html 2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly 3. http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/24/live-blogging-obamas-case-for-war-at-the-united-nations/

According to an official press release by the office of U.S Department of Homeland Security, starting in 2016, a new set of priorities will cause the pursuit of a group of immigrants seeking refuge from Central America. According to the statement, “these new enforcement priorities also focus on border security, namely the removal of those apprehended at the border or who came here illegally after January 1, 2014.” Allegedly, the department “must enforce the law in accordance with these priorities.” However, circulating fears over at-large raids to identity and remove immigrants without proper documentation create an unsafe and hostile environment for many immigrant families, regardless of their status. The understanding of persecution has lasting effects on the social and psychological well-being of many groups of people within our immigrant communities. I stand against the raids announced by ICE on Christmas Eve because in the state of Arkansas, nine mayors have signed Welcoming Proclamations in September declaring Arkansas communities as welcoming for immigrants. I agree with their decision to take this stand, and take pride in Arkansas' history of being a welcoming state to all newcomers. The raids counter our aspirations for Arkansas and are creating mass fear among our employees, colleagues, neighbors and friends. We, as an Arkansas community, urge the directors of ICE in the state of Arkansas and all authorities under their jurisdiction to exercise their commitment to priorities previously stated. There are no compelling reasons to target any valuable members of the immigrant community. We urge officers to address business managers before creating a hostile environment for any immigrant in our community at their place of work or residence, and avoid broad actions that could entrap other members of the immigrant community, both intentionally and unintentionally. Also as part of our recommendations, we urge ICE officers to exercise respect for the rights to privacy for individuals in their residences and for not conducting searches without a warrant, also in agreeance with the recent announcements to enforce existing laws with respect to priorities and rights. As a community, we are saddened to see these events unfold, and the mass fears generated in the Arkansas community today as a result of ICE raid rumors, and are working towards restoring a sense of safety for our immigrant communities. We do not accept an environment of fear and persecution, especially for a group of people who are fleeing terrible conditions and a real humanitarian crisis. We implore you, President Obama, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and ICE Director Sarah Saldana to immediately put an end to their plan to continue to raids on Central Americans, including in our great state of Arkansas.

The government of Saudi Arabia, purportedly a close U.S. ally, has dramatically escalated tensions in the Middle East by executing a prominent Shia cleric who had criticized the Saudi government [1] and by ending the ceasefire in Yemen [2]. This escalation threatens international efforts to end the Syrian civil war and reduce the threat to the West of terrorism from the region. Saudi Arabia's vast oil wealth means that it doesn't necessarily have to listen to unilateral U.S. requests to moderate its actions. But by acting in concert with Europe and other U.S. allies, the U.S. can pressure Saudi Arabia to reduce its use of and support of sectarian violence that is destabilizing the region and fueling terrorism - as the U.S. successfully cooperated with Europe and other allies to pressure Iran to curtail its nuclear program. The Saudi government isn't the only party that needs to cooperate to de-escalate tensions, but greater international constraints on the Saudi government are a necessary condition for international efforts at de-escalation to succeed. Urge President Obama and Congress to cooperate with Europe to impose greater pressure on Saudi Arabia on peace and human rights by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/saudi-execution-of-shia-cleric-sparks-outrage-in-middle-east 2. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/saudi-led-coalition-ends-truce-houthi-rebels-yemen

11 million Haitians have a per capita income of $850 while billions of taxpayer dollars are being siphoned off.

Congressional opponents of the Iran nuclear deal snuck provisions into the visa waiver reform bill that could interfere with the nuclear agreement with Iran. These provisions would exclude European citizens who travel to Iran for business purposes from the visa waiver program, thus interfering with the lifting of European sanctions on Iran, as agreed to in the deal in exchange for Iran's cooperation in limiting its nuclear program. [1] Secretary of State Kerry has written that he is confident that the changes in visa requirements passed in Congress, which the Administration has the authority to waive, will not prevent the U.S. from meeting our commitments under the agreement, and that the Administration will implement them so as not to interfere with legitimate business interests of Iran. [2] Urge President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry to ensure that the implementation of the visa waiver bill does not interfere in any way with the Iran nuclear agreement by signing our petition. References: 1. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-law-iran-visits-sends-wrong-signal-french-124013594.html 2. http://www.niacouncil.org/text-sec-kerry-letter-to-zarif-regarding-visa-waiver-reform/