FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (August 15th, 2008)
What: Up to six military veteran constituents of Congressman Brian Bilbray will be "camping" outside of Mr. Bilbray's Solana Beach office, 462 Stevens Avenue (Suite 107), Solana Beach, CA 92075, after Mr. Bilbray (and/or his staffers) decline a written, timely request to meet with Mr. Bilbray, while he is in the district during summer recess.
When: Daily, beginning Monday, August 18th from 9 AM until Noon, outside Mr. Bilbray's Solana Beach office.
Who: Six military veterans, all constituents of Congressman Bilbray, members of San Diego Veterans For Peace, a local chapter of the national Veterans For Peace organization.
Contact: Gil Field, President, San Diego Veterans For Peace, 858-342-1964, constituent of Congressman Bilbray, and participant.
Background Information:
The San Diego Veterans For Peace (Chapter #91, Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter, 100 members) is one of 125 local chapters of the national Veterans For Peace, a 501-c-3 veteran educational organization, having 8000 veteran and associate members nationwide. Two of the five basic elements in our statement of purpose are to "increase the public awareness of the total costs of war" while "seeking justice for Veterans and victims of war". To accomplish these goals, we regularly hold educational awareness events, and also attempt to meet with our local San Diego legislators, to provide them with our inputs, as veterans, on issues that directly impact veterans and veterans families. This year, as in past years, the San Diego Veterans For Peace (SDVFP) has formed small groups of constituent veterans in each of the local five congressional districts, each group tasked to visit and meet with the congressman/woman in their respective district.
In the California 50th congressional district (Congressman Brian Bilbray, incumbent), a small group of six military veteran constituents of the congressman have attempted for the second year in a row to meet personally with the congressman, during his summer recess, at a date/time agreeable to him, to allow us to apprise him of current veteran opinion on the continuing Iraq Occupation, funding of veterans health and benefit issues, and our concerns over the possibility of war with Iran. Last August (2007), after Mr. Bilbray declined to meet with us, we accepted a meeting with his "Veterans Affairs Representative", a very polite young non-veteran staffer with one month on the job. While he was very gracious, we felt that as veterans with many years of service dating back to 1949, we deserved at least an hour of the congressman's time, while he was back in the district to meet with constituents and raise funds for his re-election.
This year we again requested a meeting with Congressman Bilbray and again were referred to his VAR, and later to his district director. Given the continued unfolding disaster in Iraq, which he supports and continues to fund, his "NO" vote on many veteran benefit bills (including his "NO" vote on the new and significantly improved GI Bill), and our concerns regarding the ongoing war of words with Iran over their possible nuclear intentions, we believe that Mr. Bilbray needs and should want to hear from constituent veterans on these important issues, as our representative.
Our group of six constituent veterans include a career sergeant with the US Air Force (1949-1970), a US Army combat veteran from the Korean conflict, a career Chief Petty Officer with the US Navy (1984-2006), a US Marine Corp officer and combat veteran in Vietnam, a US Coast Guard officer and career US Navy contracting officer (1970-2006), and a US Marine Corps Iraqi War veteran (two tours in Iraq).
We believe that we are worthy of a personal meeting with our congressman before he heads back to represent us in Washington in September, and we will be "camping" outside of his office, asking for such a meeting, accordingly.
Call Congressman Bilbray's Office TODAY and request that he meet personally with the veterans "camping" outside of his office.
His number is: 858-350-1150 !!
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