If you listened to President Bush's recent State of the Union message, you know how critical the choices are going to be next November. The President started by asking Congress to extend the USA Patriot Act. Then he talked about health care and the recent Medicare bill, jobs, and more. And on many of these issues, the President and I disagree about what's best for the American people.

I believe you agree with me. And if you do, I'm asking you to support my reelection campaign with a contribution.

I don't speak out against President Bush just for the sake of opposing him, but because I disagree with him on many important issues, including the best way to protect our nation against the threat of terrorism, rejuvenate our economy, and safeguard our environment. It's my job to stand up for the people of Wisconsin and the nation.

The Patriot Act. I believe that our top priority as Americans is to win the battle against international organized terrorism. But we need to do it right. I voted against the USA Patriot Act because I believe some of its provisions threaten our Constitutional freedoms. We can fight terrorism without sacrificing the very liberties that make us Americans. Today a growing number of Republicans and Democrats are joining me in speaking out against this Act. Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) has described it as "one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed." Other conservative Republicans, including Senators Larry Craig and Mike Crapo of Idaho and John Sununu of New Hampshire, have joined a bipartisan effort to amend the very provisions of the USA Patriot Act which I originally opposed.

Health care. For 10 of 11 years, health care has been the #1 concern at the listening sessions I hold around the state. Small business people are telling me that health care cost increases are killing their businesses, and we must do something to bring health care costs down for businesses and families. I am a believer, as was Paul Wellstone, in health care for every American. I think we can do this in a uniquely American way that covers the 43 million Americans without health care coverage. While we work toward that goal, we must continue to protect the future of Medicare.

Medicare. I voted against the recent so-called prescription drug bill because I believed it was an attack on Medicare. It doesn't provide an adequate prescription drug benefit and threatens to privatize Medicare. It fails seniors, and is a handout for big HMOs, insurance companies, and drug companies, including direct subsidies of $12 billion. The legislation restricts the re-importation of lower-cost U.S.-made drugs from Canada, and expressly prohibits Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices like private insurance companies do. The cost of health care and prescription drugs are still too high, and I will continue to fight to secure the future of Medicare and a meaningful prescription drug benefit.

Jobs. Since President Bush's inauguration, the country has lost 2.3 million jobs. In Wisconsin, we've lost 84,000 quality manufacturing jobs in the last few years. I'm not a protectionist, but we need to ensure that our trade agreements preserve American jobs. I voted against NAFTA, GATT, and most favored nation status for China because I believed they would cause Americans to lose industrial jobs, manufacturing jobs, and family farms unnecessarily, and we have. I am working to create new incentives for companies that expand employment in the U.S, and introduced legislation, which recently passed the Senate, to encourage the federal government to purchase more goods manufactured at home. We have to enact economic policies that help all Americans, not just the wealthy few.

If you value my principled opposition to the Bush Administration on these issues and want me to continue standing up for you in the United States Senate, please consider helping my campaign for reelection. Make a donation, volunteer your time, endorse my candidacy by letting my campaign list your name as a supporter, or pass the word along to your friends, family, and colleagues. Now is the time to get involved, and I need your support to continue standing up for the rights of Wisconsinites and Americans in the United States Senate.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold, United States Senator

P.S. Two of my likely Republican opponents have already raised over $1 million each. Both are millionaires who have a virtually unlimited ability to finance their race against me, and both have already given significant amounts to their own campaigns. Your contribution today can help me stand up to these big-money candidates and enable me to run the kind of grassroots campaign that helped me win in 1992 and 1998. Please donate now.

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