Plenary: Joe Volk, FCNL - A New Congress, New President, New
Challenges

(Summary Notes by Joan Overman)

Joe Volk has been with FCNL (Friends Committee on National
Legislation) since 1990 and is the Executive Director. FCNL is the
oldest continuing church lobby in D.C. In 1943, it was the first
registered lobby; it is supported by fifteen yearly meetings.

FCNL was mobilized to counter the war -- stake out goals and name
them - make choices, plan options. Regarding the relevance of peace
work in the Cold War era - we need to appreciate all the little jobs
along the way - small pieces of work are truly important. The
military may be valuable in helping to resolve situations peacefully.
We must think of politicians as important.

Cold War Peacekeeping - and Post Cold War: Four Pillars

1} War Prevention by Nuclear Deterrence
Quaker work of nuclear disarmament provides the only safe space to
dialogue.

2} Containment of Enemies - strong military
East-west reconciliation; Joe spoke of a German military man who was
fed by the Quakers at the end of World War I, who many years later
came to a church to dialog concerning military matters, as a result of
his earlier contact with Friends.

3} Willingness to Maintain Military Intervention

4} Global Trade
Economic justice - much work is done at the Quaker office in Geneva

Post Cold War policy - changes are not occurring - choices are evident
- the U.S. is important in direction the world is taking. If treaties
are dismantled, the world will move towards more conflict; U.S. is
still determined to intervene militarily - when it is too late to do
reconciliation.

Quakers are still saying - Quaker testimony for telling truth -
systems must be changed to peaceful prevention of armed conflict.
Where would we put our money, our bodies to make change? Change must
happen from the grassroots up:

CAPPUCINO: Community Acting to Promote Constructive Policy for
Peaceful Prevention of Armed Conflict through International and
National Organizing

Organizing is most important - the U.S. has unbelievably violent
foreign policy.

(NOTE: This is a summary of Joe's talk, by an attentive listener,
not an official FCNL document or statement.)