The leader of the Amnesty student group in Brick, NJ and I met with Congressman Chris Smith’s District Policy Director this afternoon. Things went very well. Given that the Brick chapter has worked on the Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev case, Kaitlin made sure she thanked Smith for writing a "Dear Colleague" letter that helped bring about his release. Smith’s staff person was very interested in this and wanted to know more. It looks like the beginning of a productive relationship between Smith’s office and this relatively new chapter.
Of course, the main reason for our visit was to urge Smith to support the Outsourcing Torture Prevention Act. Kaitlin did a great job of explaining why Smith should cosponsor this legislation. She also brought along some signed petitions from her school.
During the next few days, delegations around the state will meet with the offices of Senator Menendez, Congressman LoBiondo, Congressman Saxton, and Congressmen Garrett. I will be meeting with several congressional offices on Capitol Hill on Monday.
By the way, I have received some tallies for the online actions in support of HR 952. LoBiondo’s, Smith’s, Saxtons’ Garrett’s, Ferguson’s, and Frelinghuysen’s constituents have all done a great job in generating these messages.
Thanks,
Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA
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