Act now to SAVE textiles bill: Write your legislators

Photo: Francis Tuason for Philippine Fashion Week

Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr. is appealing to all Filipino Americans in the northeast to send online petition letters to their senators and representatives to help push for the passage of the Save Our Industries Act (SAVE Act. The petition letters can be accomplished by following these steps:

1. Go to saveourindustriesact.org
2. Click Write Your Representatives tab. (Right side of Congressman Manny Pacquiao’s image).
3. Accomplish the Registration fields for your name and email address.
4. Check your email where you will be asked to click a link for emailing your petition letters.
5. The link will ask you to encode your address. Based on your address, you will see the names of your representative and senators. Select their names. Click Submit and Send an Email button.

The SAVE Act bills have been re-introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 1244) June 22 and in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2387) on June 24. The bills require the co-sponsorship of more senators and representatives to ensure its passage.

Below is the letter of Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. urging support for the SAVE Act bill.

07 July 2011
Dear Kababayan,
Mabuhay!

I wish to thank you for your important support for the SAVE Our Industries Act (or SAVE Act), a bill we would like to pass in the US Congress. This bill deserves the natural support of the Filipino American community, and we rely on your sustained cooperation until this bill becomes law.

SAVE Act would allow Philippine made apparel using fabrics from the U.S. to enter the U.S. duty free. For the United States, this bill would expand U.S. export of fabrics to Asian markets and would generate export income for American textile manufacturers. It would lead to thousands of jobs in the U.S. textile sector.

For the Philippines, it would help revive the garments industry and generate jobs for unemployed Filipino workers. The Philippine garments sector has suffered greatly since the lifting of the U.S. apparel quota system and the resulting dominance of China in the US market. We have lost over 400,000 jobs since 2006.

SAVE Act is very important to our workers and in the strengthening of our relationship with the United States. In September 2010 during his visit to the United States, no less than President Benigno S. Aquino III spoke for the SAVE Act and urged that we work together to get it passed. Congressman Manny Pacquiao visited Washington, DC earlier this year to seek the support of U.S. legislators.

SAVE Act was re-introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 1244) on June 22 by Senators Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) with Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI) as original co-sponsors; and in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2387) on June 24 by Representatives Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA) with Representatives Steve Austria (R-OH), Bob Filner (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Gregorio Sablan (D-MP) as original co-sponsors. More U.S. senators and congressmen have realized the value of this bill, but we need your vital support to urge them to be co-sponsors.

The current 112th U.S. Congress is our window of opportunity for having SAVE enacted. Our well wishers in the U.S. Congress have told us that the voice of the Filipino-American communities is crucial for the bill’s success.

Hence, on behalf of President Aquino, I appeal for your active involvement in pushing for the bill’s passage by letting your senators and congressmen know that you feel strongly about the bill by sending them petition letters through the www.SaveOurIndustriesAct.org., as well as spreading the news and campaigning for the SAVE Act with our fellow ‘kababayans’ here in the U.S.

In the spirit of ‘bayanihan,’ let us share a small portion of our time and effort and be part of this noble cause for our beloved country.



One Comment

  1. Alexander K wrote:

    And how should this bill benefit Americans, again?

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: