[Your Name]
[Your Street Address]
[ Your Town, State, Zipcode]
[Date]

The Honorable [full name]
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative [last name]:

I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor HR 1810, a bill to close the Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly the United States Army School of Americas
(SOA). The graduates of this institution have a long history of human rights violations.
From the atrocities in El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980’s to recent human rights
violations in Colombia, SOA graduates consistently appear in reports on human rights
abuses in Latin America.

Although Congress changed the name of the school in last year’s session, it did not
change the substance of the school. The purpose and mission of the two schools are the
same. The courses are almost identical. It is still a combat school for Latin American
soldiers. The limited reforms offered by the Defense Authorization Bill totally ignore the
horrific human rights history of the SOA. They do not address the fundamental issue: the
SOA attempts to use military solutions to resolve civilian issues. Establishing reasonable
living conditions for the people of Latin America and strengthening civil institutions will
do more to stabilize the region than training militaries. Closing the SOA, whatever it is
named, would send a powerful message that the United States no longer wants to be
associated with the atrocities committed by graduates of the school.

As your constituent, I urge you to co-sponsor this bill and work for its passage in
Congress. There are currently [current number of co-sponsors] co-sponsors of the bill
from both parties. I have enclosed some information that I thought would be helpful.
Cindy Buhl in Representative Jim McGovern’s (D-MA) office, and John Hendricks in
Representative Joe Scarborough’s (R-FL) office can also provide you with information.
Please write me with your position on this issue so I can share it with the many other
constituents who are concerned about the grave human rights violations that have
surrounded this infamous school. Thank you for your time and commitment to this
important matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your full name]