U.S. taxpayers fund the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, which trains Pakistan's military officers on American soil with no human rights conditions attached. None.

Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) are changing that.

This week, they are reintroducing a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would condition IMET funding for Pakistan on basic human rights standards. Identical to language he introduced last year, this amendment puts Congress on record: U.S. military assistance cannot be a blank check for a military that imprisons political opponents, suppresses civil society, and operates with total impunity. Read the IMET amendment here

Will it pass this year? The odds are steep in a Republican-controlled House. But that's not the only measure of success.

Every amendment filed is a vote forced, a record made, and a precedent set. When the balance of power shifts - and November gives us a real shot at that - this is the legislative foundation that becomes law. The groundwork being laid today matters.

Here's what you can do right now:

Contact your member of Congress and tell them to support Rep. McGovern's IMET amendment.

This is how change gets built - one amendment, one vote, one Congress at a time.