Congressional Sign-On Letter to POTUS to Urge Review Of U.S. Policy To Ensure Cuba Can Share Its Low-Cost COVID-19 Vaccine Worldwide
There is a new letter circulating in Congress being led by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) to President Biden asking that his administration cooperate with Cuba on global health measures, especially related to COVID-19. In particular, the letter calls for the administration to review its current policies and ensure that U.S. sanctions are not impeding Cuba’s ability to distribute its vaccines or assist with global pandemic efforts.
We need your support on this URGENT call for action! Feel free to forward this! We hope you will join us on this timely initiative. The deadline is Friday, June 3.
ACTION NEEDED:
We need you to get in touch with your representative and urge them to sign onto the letter NOW!
You may recall in December, 114 members of Congress signed a letter sent to President Biden that included concerns about medical and humanitarian assistance. Given that COVID-19 is still raging in many parts of the world, global cooperation and vaccine access remains as critical as ever. If your member signed that letter last year, make sure they sign this one now!
STEPS TO TAKE:
Find your representative here and contact their DC number.
Ask to speak to the office’s foreign policy (FP) staffer and for their direct email
Once connected, read (or adapt) the sample script (found below)
You might be asked to just leave a message, either with the front desk or on voicemail. Should that happen, read the same script.
Send them an email with the same script adapted.
Once you have spoken with and/or emailed the foreign policy staffer, please let us know at allianceforcuba@acere.org.
Follow up is key! Please continue to urge your representative to sign-on to the letter. Push for an answer either way, so we can document where they stand on Cuba policy.
And if you have a little extra time, please keep calling other representatives. Here’s a list of direct DC numbers.
Sample Script
“My name is [FIRST AND LAST NAME] and I’m a constituent calling from [CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE]. While the global pandemic rages on – including new outbreaks throughout the United States and the world – Cuba has expressed its commitment to helping combat COVID-19 by distributing its vaccines widely and to undervaccinated regions. However, U.S. sanctions continue to impede its ability to do so.
I’m calling you to urge Rep. [YOUR REP’S LAST NAME] to sign onto Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s dear colleague letter to President Biden, urging him to collaborate with Cuba on global vaccine response and undertake a review of U.S. policy to ensure that U.S. sanctions do not interfere with Cuba’s vaccine efforts worldwide, including accessing medical components and distributing its vaccine.
Is this something Representative [YOUR REP’S LAST NAME] can support? Will they sign their name to the letter? I hope you will consider my request, and thank you for your time.”
NOTE:
When sending an email, make the subject line: “URGENT: will Rep. XXXX sign letter to POTUS on Cuba’s global vaccine efforts?”
If they require additional information or would like to join this letter, please contact Aneeb Sheikh at [email protected] (Rep. Pressley).
Feel free to Copy: [email protected].
