“Out of Iraq” Congressional Caucus To Join
National “Troops Home Fast” Hunger Strike
“Out of Iraq” Congressional Caucus To Join Colonel Ann Wright, Dick Gregory, Diane Wilson, Medea Benjamin, Iraqi Citizens, and Veterans In National Hunger Strike

PRESS CONFERENCE: 11:00AM, Thursday July 13, 2006 – Cannon Terrace (corner of Independence Avenue and New Jersey Avenue, SE)

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (CA-35) Representative Lynn Woolsey (CA-6), Representative Barbara Lee (CA-9) and members of the "Out of Iraq" Congressional Caucus, upon hearing of the “Troops Home Fast” initiative launched on July 4 to bring the troops home from Iraq, will announce their support and participation in a press conference on Thursday July 13th at 11am EST.

They will be joining over 3,700 people throughout the country who are showing support for the long-term fasters by fasting for at least one day. Participants include Representative Lynn Woolsey, musicians Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt, actors Danny Glover, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, Gulf War vet Michael McPherson, writer Alice Walker, and labor leader Dolores Huerta.

Also speaking at the press conference Colonel and former US Diplomat Ann Wright; Iraqi Analyst Raed Jarrar; Co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Medea Benjamin and Geoffrey Millard of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

CODEPINK: Women for Peace, a national women's peace organization, launched the “Troops Home Fast” initiative on July 3, 2006. Over 3,700 supporters, celebrities, veterans, mothers, and concerned citizens across the country are participating.

Hunger strikers will continue to stand outside of the White House until September 21, International Peace Day, when activists around the country will initiate a week of nonviolent actions against the war in Iraq as part of the Declaration of Peace.

The "Out of Iraq" Caucus was established on June 16, 2005 to bring to the House of Representatives an on-going debate about the war in Iraq and the Administration's justification for the decision to go to war, to urge the return of US service members to their families as soon as possible, and to provide a voice in Congress for the individuals and groups who support these efforts.

To accomplish its goals, the "Out of Iraq" Caucus works with other Congressional Caucuses and national organizations to hold hearings, press conferences and town hall meetings to educate the American people and pressure the Administration to conclude the war in Iraq.

For more information, including a full list of fast participants, please see www.troopshomefast.org.