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Washington Report to Presbyterians
The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |
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WITNESS IN WASHINGTON
WEEKLY
The Washington Office of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
March 31, 2008
[3-31-08]
This week’s messages are —
 | Federal Budget Needs a Boost |
 | REGISTER NOW - Calming the Storm:
Middle East Peacemaking in a Turbulent Time |
 | Isaiah: 32: 1-8 -- Hope for Government
with Justice |
Federal Budget Needs a Boost
In the U.S. Constitution, this country commits
itself to the general welfare. One-hundred-fifty years after the
Constitutional Convention enshrined this priority, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt declared in his Second Inaugural Address,
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the
abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough
for those who have little.” The Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 federal
budget should be measured by this same test.
Congress must pass a Budget Resolution, a
blueprint for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 spending priorities, by
April 15. Both the House and the Senate have passed their own
versions of the Budget Resolution, and now they must be
reconciled quickly in order to meet the deadline. Both chambers
voted to provide modest increases over the President’s budget
proposal, which would have cut or eliminated several programs
that serve low- and moderate- income workers and their families,
but neither the Senate nor House Budget Resolution answers the
growing unmet needs of vulnerable populations. The gap is most
evident in the domestic discretionary spending level.
The Coalition on Human Needs has been tracking
over 100 direct service programs, including health, child
welfare, Head Start and child care, nutrition, housing, job
training, and education. Since FY 2005 (October 2004-September
2005), only eleven programs grew beyond the rate of inflation,
another three stayed even with current costs, and all the others
were cut. Among the impacts of these cuts:
 | In the past year, 62 percent of Head
Start programs have had to cut back on hours of service or
other aspects of their operations |
 | From FYs 2004-2007, 150,000 rental
housing vouchers were lost; |
 | 100,000 fewer children received child
care assistance in FY 2008 than the year before; and
|
 | In FY 2008 an estimated 169,000 fewer
workers received training through the Workforce Investment
Act than in FY 2005. |
These programs are not just figures and percentages. They
correlate with real, tangible results and changes in people’s
lives. These programs provide the difference between staying in
a home, buying food or obtaining medicine and the alternatives:
homelessness, hunger, and sickness.The
fiscal year 2009 Budget Resolution is a real opportunity for
Congress to make important steps toward restoring service levels
and expanding services to reach more need.
Click
http://capwiz.com/pcusa/dbq/officials/ to send a
message to your members of Congress – strongly urge that the
final Budget Resolution include the highest possible domestic
discretionary funding.
General
Assembly Guidance:
The 207th General Assembly (1995) of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called on Congress “to defeat any
proposals that base budget or deficit reductions primarily on
the services provided to children, families, the needy, and the
homeless” and urged strengthening of federal commitments to
these groups. The Assembly also called on Congress “to insist on
a government that follows ethical values of justice for the
poor, welfare for children, hospitality to the stranger, and
assistance to the disadvantaged.” (Minutes, p. 718)
REGISTER NOW
Calming the Storm: Middle East
Peacemaking in a Turbulent Time
Churches for Middle East Peace Annual Conference
April 20-22
www.cmep.org
Join Middle
East peace advocates from across the country and a range of
Christian churches to: learn about opportunities for
Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. The context of broader regional
dynamics and the Bush Administration's initiative to move the
peace process forward in 2008, make this a tremendously
important time to lobby Congress with up-to-date specific
talking points designed to make your voice heard.
At the CMEP
conference, Church leaders, issue analysts and policy experts
will provide important insights and updates, which prepare
conference participants to meet with elected officials. Churches
for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 22 U.S. churches and
church-related organizations, is positioned to guide church
members and clergy in effective advocacy grounded in the
principles of our faith. CMEP will help arrange your meetings
with your Representative and Senators.
For more
information on the conference, registration, and housing go to
www.cmep.org
General Assembly Guidance:
The 214th General
Assembly (2002) urged Presbyterians to “pray that all the people
in [the Middle East] who live under the tyranny of fear,
suspicion, hatred, or despair, may find a just and lasting
peace” and to become better informed about the issues. The
Assembly called Presbyterians, “especially those in leadership
positions, to rise to a higher level of advocacy for a just
peace, through organizing ecumenically in congressional
districts and statewide by participation in ecumenical efforts,”
and made note of Churches for Middle East Peace as one resource
toward this end.
Isaiah 32: 1-8 – Hope for Government
with Justice
See, a king will
reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule with justice.
Each will be like a hiding-place from the wind,
a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,
and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.
The minds of the rash will have good judgment,
and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and
distinctly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
nor a villain be said to be honorable.
For fools speak folly,
and their minds plot iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
The villainies of villains are evil;
they devise wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
But those who are noble plan noble things,
and by noble things they stand.
Published by the
Witness in Washington Weekly advocacy program of the Washington
Office, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Maryland Avenue, NE
Washington D.C. 20002
(202) 543-1126
www.pcusa.org/washington
If you would
like to receive this information directly, please go to
http://capwiz.com/pcusa/mlm/signup/ . |
The latest from the Presbyterian Washington Office –
[10-29-07]The
Presbyterian Witness in Washington Weekly for October 29, 2007,
includes these items:
Drop Haiti’s Debt! – Write Congress Today
The Haiti Debt Cancellation Resolution (H.Res.
241) has momentum -- there are now 65 co-sponsors in the
House of Representatives. This progress came from work by
Representatives Maxine Waters, Spencer Bachus, Luis
Gutierrez and Barbara Lee, who urged their colleagues to
join them in a letter earlier this year and by hundreds of
people throughout the country who have called or written to
tell their representatives that debt relief for Haiti is the
right thing to do.
Haiti is the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the
developing world. About 80 percent of the rural Haitian
population lives in poverty, and the poverty situation in
Haiti has been deteriorating over the past decade.
Support Funding for Human Needs Investments
Last week, Oct. 23, the Senate passed its
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations bill. The House passed their version of this
bill on July 19. These bills authorize federal spending on
programs such as health care and medical research, housing,
education, job training, child care and support, and even
some homeland security. Because both chambers of Congress
authorized spending levels higher than the President’s
request, he has threatened to veto the Labor-HHS-Education
bill when it comes to his desk.
Congo Global Action Coalition Conference and
Lobby Day
November 11-13, 2007
Women and Children: The Victims Most Forgotten
Be one of 1,000 people telling United
States Congress that the Democratic Republic of Congo
matters to us. Together we can raise our voices to help the
people of the Congo! Workshops will focus on saving lives,
keeping people safe and ending economic exploitation.
More on all of these items >> |
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WITNESS IN
WASHINGTON WEEKLY
The Washington Office of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
October 22, 2007
This week's messages are-
- Take Action: Support the JUBILEE
ACT
- A Fair Harvest - Urge Senators to Enact
Meaningful Farm Bill Reform
- No Child Left Behind Act - Still not
Reauthorized
- Free Thanksgiving Worship Resources
from the National Council of Churches
- Isaiah 1:27-28 - Redeemed by Justice
==============================================
Take Action: Support THE
JUBILEE ACT
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall
proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a
jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and
every one of you to your family. - Leviticus 25:10
2007 is the Sabbath Year, seven years after the historic
Jubilee 2000 campaign brought the issue of crushing international debt onto
the agenda of world leaders. The Sabbath Year is an opportunity to reflect
on the life-saving impacts of debt cancellation provided in 1999 and again
in 2005 while addressing the unfinished agenda on international debt. As
part of the Sabbath Year, Jubilee USA Network is calling on Congress to pass
the Jubilee Act H.R.2634. This legislation will improve lending behavior and
expand debt cancellation, a proven means of fighting poverty, to all the
impoverished countries that need it to meet the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) by 2015.
WHY DEBT CANCELLATION?
Debt costs lives. In the world's most impoverished
countries, majorities do not have access to clean water, adequate housing or
basic health care. Impoverished countries around the world currently pay
debt service to wealthy nations and institutions at the expense of providing
these basic services to their citizens. Every day 8,000 people die from
HIV/AIDS, 70 percent of them in African countries. At the same time, most
African countries spend more on debt payments than on health care. Broader
debt cancellation is needed to meet the MDGs, targets agreed upon by world
leaders to halve extreme poverty by 2015.
WHAT CONGRESS CAN DO IN 2007:
The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt
Cancellation H.R.2634 has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
This legislation calls for more transparent and responsible behavior by
creditors as well as expended debt cancellation for all 67 countries that
need it to meet the MDGs, without imposing harmful economic conditions. Only
40 countries are eligible under current debt relief schemes, and of those
40, only 20 have actually had their debts cancelled. Members of the Jubilee
USA Network are calling on Members of Congress in the House to support
improved creditor behavior and debt cancellation in impoverished countries
by co-sponsoring the Jubilee Act. The Jubilee Act addresses the unfinished
agenda on debt.
Take Action
The Jubilee Act: Cancels impoverished country debt;
removes economic conditionalities from the cancellation process; mandates
transparency and accountability from governments and international financial
institutions; and moves forward with more responsible lending practices.
If you have not urged your member of Congress to sponsor
the Jubilee Act H.R.2634, take two minutes, go to the Presbyterian Action
Center
http://www.pcusa.org/washington and send an email or fax to your
member of congress.
Sample Email:
I urge you to continue the fight against global poverty.
The year marks the halfway point to the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), global commitments that would cut extreme poverty
in half by 2015. Yet, as we draw closer to the halfway point, we remain very
far from meeting these goals.
I urge you to support the Jubilee Act, HR 2634. This
legislation will promote more responsible lending, and cancel the debts of
all impoverished countries that require it to meet the MDGs, without harmful
economic policy conditions attached. Broader debt cancellation would free up
urgently needed resources for health care, education, and clean water.
Conditionalities, such as those requiring impoverished countries to
privatize much-needed resources or freeze all hiring and salaries for health
care workers, only further entrench these countries in poverty.
Already countries benefiting from 100 percent debt
cancellation have put these funds towards poverty alleviation:
- In Burundi, elimination of school fees in 2005 allowed
an additional 300,000 children to enroll.
- In Zambia, 4,500 new teachers have been hired and fees for rural
healthcare have been abolished.
- In Tanzania, more than 31,000 new classrooms were built and net enrollment
rose by almost 30 percent in 2003.
- In Burkina Faso, debt relief savings have been targeted to fight AIDS,
improve education, and provide access to safe drinking water.
While we commend the United States and other G-8 leaders
for taking action in 2005 to cancel the debts of 20 impoverished countries,
still far too many nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have been left
out of the 2005 agreement and still the harmful IMF and World Bank policy
conditions remain. The Jubilee Act will address this unfinished agenda on
debt!
Join in observing the Sabbath Year, seven years after the
historic Jubilee 2000 campaign. In the 2007 Sabbath Year, people of faith
and conscience will join to build on these success stories and work for the
jubilee vision of right relations and an end to unjust debt and global
poverty.
Click
http://www.pcusa.org/washington to send a message to your member of
Congress!
General Assembly Guidance
In 1998, the General Assembly called upon presbyteries and
congregations to support the goals of Jubilee 2000 by sending statements of
support to key policy makers in the U.S. government and multilateral lending
agencies. The resolution endorsed and supported the "definitive cancellation
of international debt in situations where countries with high levels of
human need and environmental distress are unable to meet the needs of their
people. . . in a way that benefits ordinary people and facilitates their
participation in the processes of. . . debt relief." (Minutes, 1998,
p. 676).

A Fair Harvest - Urge
Senators to Enact Meaningful Farm Bill Reform
Inspired by Jesus' command to care for poor and hungry
people, Christians are organizing throughout the country to advocate for
changes in U.S. agricultural policy that benefit family farmers, hungry
neighbors, God's creation, and people living in poverty around the world.
This week, the Senate Agriculture Committee will "mark
up," that is, consider its draft of this comprehensive law that governs U.S.
agricultural, food, and farmland policies. Our nation's current system of
cash payments for some farmers benefits primarily large agricultural
producers while leaving behind most small and medium-sized farm families.
The present commodity-payment system also hurts struggling farmers in poor
countries and fuels the poverty that claims 30,000 lives a day around the
world.
The 2007 Farm Bill reauthorization must enact meaningful
reform of this broken system that fails those people who need the most
support, both at home and abroad. An important step in the right direction
would be to enact meaningful "payment limits," such as those proposed by
Senators Dorgan (D-ND) and Grassley (R-IA). Currently, large industrial
farms can receive commodity farm subsidies, mounting in the millions of
dollars. The Dorgan-Grassley proposal would limit the annual amount of
commodity payments to $250,000 per farm. This payment limit would promote
equity and work toward leveling the playing field among farms of all sizes.
Your voice is needed to compel the Senate to make
meaningful changes in current farm policies. Over the summer, the House of
Representatives passed a bill that largely continues the current system and
fails to enact payment limit reform that is strong enough to be effective.
The burden for passing fair farm policies falls now to the Senate.
Join other people of faith in advocating for a Farm Bill
that is fair to small and mid-sized farmers in the US, enacts meaningful
payment limits, redefines U.S. agricultural priorities to put emphases on
supporting nutrition, conservation, rural development and food aid programs,
and does not hurt poor farmers struggling to make a living around the world.
Click
http://capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=10449161 to
send your message.
The Presbyterian Church Washington Office and the
Presbyterian Hunger Program have been working on the farm bill with our
ecumenical partners in the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist
Church, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Visit
http://www.faithfarmteams.com to
learn more about our efforts.
General Assembly Guidance:
In 1985, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) adopted a statement on agricultural policies: "we believe it is the
responsibility and duty of the Federal government to enact a comprehensive,
long-term food and fiber policy, with specific price, production and
conservation goals designed to protect and enhance family-farm agriculture
in the United States ... We believe further that this nation must establish
a strong system of sustainable agriculture and prevent the continuing
concentration of land in the hands of a smaller and smaller number of
owners" (Minutes, 1985, p. 399).

No Child Left Behind
Act - Still not Reauthorized
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law in
2002, must be re-authorized this year. Many leaders of faith communities
have voiced their concerns with legislation as currently enacted -
http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/LeftBehind.pdf
Presbyterian policies in support of public education have
been clear. In 1987, the General Assembly stated "an education of high
quality for all children is an obligation of society and indispensable to
the political and economic health of our democracy," and that "we are called
to respond in every possible way with measures that seek to evidence love
and justice in the education of children and youth." In 1995, the General
Assembly reaffirmed the church's position in support of a public education
of high quality for all children; encouraged Presbyterians to learn more
about their public schools; and asked congregations to pray for our schools
and encourage learning and dialogue about public education, working locally
and ecumenically whenever possible."
The No Child Left Behind Act reauthorization will be a
matter of public debate in the weeks ahead, and your members of Congress
need to hear your voice. You can get more information about the No Child
Left Behind Act at
www.pcusa.org/publiceducation.
Presbyterians are encouraged to become outspoken on these important issues
regarding the education of our children.
You are invited to send messages to your Senators and
Representative at
http://www.pcusa.org/washington
about a just reauthorization of NCLB. The following sample letter lifts up
many of the central concerns that have been identified in the current
implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act:
NCLB - Sample Letter to Senators and Representative
I write as a person of faith to comment on some of the
draft provisions that are being considered by members of House and Senate
committees who plan to mark up the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
reauthorization in October. While I am appreciative that some improvements
are being discussed, under these provisions NCLB would remain too much a
test-and-punish law. There are also deep injustices in the law that Congress
has not even begun to consider.
I support the proposal to authorize the states to reduce
reliance on one annual standardized test and instead to permit multiple
measures of achievement. I also support using a growth model that would
track each student's learning over time to replace the current system that
credits learning only when cohorts of children meet benchmark scores. A
growth model would uphold high expectations for all children and also honor
every child's accomplishments.
The Congressional discussion has not gone far enough,
however. In place of an "all-children-proficient-by-2014" deadline, Congress
should require all schools to match the rate of progress shown by data and
research to be actually achievable.
Congress should shift the focus of NCLB from sanctioning
public schools to strengthening them by improving the skills of educators.
Teaching cannot be improved through threats and sanctions. Instead
professional development should be driven by the needs teachers identify;
built on peer collaboration and mentoring; and incorporated into allocated
time for planning that addresses obstacles to a school's improvement.
As a person of faith, I ask Congress to fully fund NCLB
and fully authorize Title I. To enable states and localities to carry out
systemic improvements, the federal government must substantially underwrite
the costs, especially in districts with diminishing tax bases and growing
needs that serve populations segregated by race and extreme poverty. While
Title I is small relative to state and local funding, it is the federal
government's primary tool for equalizing educational opportunity. Fully
funding Title I would begin to shift the focus of NCLB from punishing
struggling schools to improving them.
Thank you for your consideration of these concerns.

Free
Thanksgiving Worship Resources from the National Council of Churches
The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program is
currently promoting two free worship resources for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The resources, "At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving" and "Our Daily
Bread: Harvesters of Hope and Gardeners of Eden" help lead congregations in
theological conversations about food and faith.
Because many of us, especially those living in urban and
suburban environments, are separated from the harvesting and production of
our food, we can quickly take for granted the availability of food we find
in our grocery stores and forget the millions of hands and hard needed to
get the food to our table.
This is why it is of critical importance to make the
connections between what we eat and how we worship a daily exercise. To
truly be grateful for what we have, and thankful for what we eat, we must
educate ourselves about where our food comes from and the social and
environmental justice issues that surround it.
Download the
two FREE Thanksgiving Worship Resources >>

Isaiah 1:27-28 - Redeemed by Justice
Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
|
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Washington Report to
Presbyterians
The Washington Office of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Jan/Feb Washington Report
[2-15-07]
More about this
bimonthly report >>
OUTLOOK FOR 2007
We have seen the 110th Congress in session now for about one month. Many
bills are going into the hopper for consideration by committees and later
full floor action of both the House and the Senate. Bills on which action
was incomplete in the 109th Congress may have new numbers in the 110th
Congress, unless the bill sponsors requested the previous number. Please be
sure that you have current numbers for bills as you write your letters to
the 110th Congress. This issue of REPORT to Presbyterians from Washington is
the OUTLOOK edition. We hope to identify, in this brief format, issues we
think will rise to the top of debate that are also identified by General
Assemblies as issues for the Washington Office to advocate. We have used the
three major headings as agreed to by the General Assembly Council in the
Mission Work Plan Process.
Race,
Gender and Religious Liberties
Elenora Giddings Ivory
Key issues of the first year of the 110th Congress regarding matters of
race, gender religious liberty and the rights of individuals and groups are
as follows:
Immigration: A major topic of debate will be the issue of what to
do about the 11 million undocumented people in the U.S. As we have heard
over the last year, the President ’s
views on immigration actually fall closer to those of the Democrats, seeking
ways for undocumented workers either to have a path to citizenship or to be
able to cross the border for work purposes. The business community wants the
less costly labor provided by immigrants, while states resent the expense of
providing them with social services. We can expect another highly charged
debate on these issues and perhaps even public reaction in the form of more
demonstrations.
One bill likely to be considered again this year is the bipartisan DREAM
Act, which would make it possible for children who come to the U.S. at a
young age to have access to in-state tuition when they reach college age.
Congress has considered this proposal to varying degrees for several years.
Voting Representation for Washington, DC residents: Bills have
been introduced to give District of Columbia residents a voting Member of
the U.S. House of Representatives. This first step is seen by some advocates
as not going far enough, because the bills include no Senate representation.
The District now has only a non-voting delegate in the House.
The current initiative would tie a permanent
House seat for the District of Columbia with an additional House seat for
Utah. Given its population increase, Utah is expected to gain an additional
seat in the House once the 2010 census is taken and redistricting is done.
This balancing of the District of Columbia with Utah is seen as necessary
because a DC seat would likely be Democratic while a Utah seat would likely
be Republican. This same political party compromise was reached when Hawaii
and Alaska were brought into the Union. Alaska was expected to be Republican
while Hawaii would be Democratic. The current Senate political party
representation from these two states reflects this balancing. The NAACP
supports the incremental approach of giving the residents of the District of
Columbia a House seat even though it is tied to an additional seat for Utah.
Criminal Justice: If those who are discharged from prison are not
given good support systems to help them re-enter their communities, they may
re-offend. Recidivism is a big problem for those who cannot get support to
re-enter society and rejoin their families.
Congress could begin to address this problem by passing the Second Chance
Act, which would offer support services for people who are leaving prison.
The 109th Congress came close to passing this legislation, which can be
viewed as an anti-poverty measure, in December. Researchers have shown that
inmates who earn college degrees tend to find jobs and stay out of jail once
released, but current law bars inmates from receiving Pell grants to attend
college and keeps some students with drug convictions from getting other
kinds of support. Following Washington's lead, many states have ended prison
education programs that had long since proved their worth, despite the fact
that many offenders are young people who could benefit from rehabilitative
measures.
Congress should also repeal the lifetime ban on providing temporary
welfare benefits to people with felony drug convictions. The federal
government should strengthen tax credit and bonding programs that encourage
employers to hire people with criminal records.
Curbing recidivism will also require doing a lot more to provide help and
medication for the one out of every six inmates who suffer from mental
illness.
Family Planning (International Funding/Domestic Access): Several
bipartisan bills have been introduced in support of programs to prevent
unintended pregnancies through access to birth control, family planning and
sex education. There will be much attention to this approach, and to work on
restoring International Family Planning Funds to the United Nations.
Human Trafficking: Trade in human beings for various kinds of
exploitation is a growing problem, even in the U.S., and will get
congressional attention in 2007.
No Child Left Behind Reauthorization (NCLB): This Bush
Administration education program is due for reauthorization in 2007. Justice
organizations are concerned that adequate safeguards be built in to protect
the most vulnerable students. NCLB is only part of the public education
debate. Infrastructure also needs attention from Congress.
Homeland Security (Privacy and
Surveillance): The public has recently learned about the Administration’s
assertion that it is within Homeland Security’s
purview to open anyone’s
private mail. How much access to private records should the government have
in the name of security? Should medical files, library searches and travel
plans of all citizens be open to public scrutiny? These questions will
receive attention this year.
Hate Crimes/Sexual Orientation: Attention is expected to focus on
passing an Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) bill barring employment
discrimination based on sexual orientation. Legislation is also likely to be
introduced in order to add to the list of offenses designated as Hate Crimes
those criminal actions perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation.
Race, religion and naturalized citizenship are now covered by the Hate
Crime Statistics Law, but sexual orientation, gender and disability are not.
When the Hate Crimes debate begins, legislators will recount cases in their
districts where a disabled person may have been the subject of a violent
action simply for being disabled. We may hear about the killing of Amish
schoolgirls, possibly targeted only because they were girls. Law enforcement
has supported expanding the Hate Crimes Act to these other categories. The
question of whether gay couples may join in civil marriage or civil union is
being debated primarily at the state level and may not come out of
congressional committees.
Religious Advocacy: When the Senate debated its ethics regulation
package, one of its titles would have made it difficult for the religious
community and other non-profits to speak on behalf of the poor without
severe scrutiny by government agencies. It appears that this restriction was
not part of the measure as passed.
Domestic Poverty,
Ecology & Environment
Leslie Woods
Many anti-poverty and environmental advocates are excited about the
prospects of positive movement on these vital issues during the 110th
Congress, but the budget and appropriations process will prove challenging
for social safety net programs. The issues that are most likely to move,
and/or to be in most danger of funding cuts, are as follows:
Federal Budget and Tax Policies: The Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget
process starts when the President releases his budget proposal in early
February. March is devoted to hearings, with Appropriations Committees
making requests to the Budget Committees, which then produce a budget
resolution for consideration by Congress by mid-April. The President has
promised to balance the budget in five years, and Congress has passed
pay-as-you-go, or "pay-go"
rules, meaning that all new spending must
be offset by cuts elsewhere or increases in revenue. Members of the new
congressional leadership may seek to include funds for the Iraq war in the
budget. Until now, Iraq has been handled in supplemental bills and not
included in the overall budget spending caps. Advocates are concerned that
the new "pay-go"
rules and the sudden desire to balance
the budget will force damaging cuts in programs that serve the poor and
vulnerable and will advocate for these programs in the budget process.
The State Children ’s
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is slated for reauthorization in 2007.
This $40 billion block grant funds state health insurance programs for about
4 million poor children across the nation. Because the funding has not been
adjusted to keep up with inflation or the rising costs of health care, the
program has experienced shortfalls in the last few years. The
"pay-go"
rules will make it difficult to fund
SCHIP adequately. To fill the shortfall and restore coverage to previous
service levels, appropriators need to find $15 billion above the $40 billion
original allocation. There are about 9 million poor children nationwide who
have no health insurance, many of whom are eligible for coverage through
SCHIP. Increasing coverage to include eligible children not currently
enrolled in the program could increase funding by an additional $40 billion
above the $55 billion already mentioned, an unlikely prospect.
Nutrition Assistance: The nutrition title of the Farm Bill, due
for reauthorization in 2007, provides for many programs that serve hungry
families, including the Food Stamps Program. This program is an effective
investment in meeting the urgent needs of children, seniors, people with
disabilities, and low-income working and unemployed adults. It has nearly
eliminated malnutrition from the national landscape and prevents deepening
hunger in our communities. There is, however, room for improvement, such as
raising benefits to let families purchase a nutritionally adequate diet,
expanding access to the program, and simplifying program administration.
Reauthorization of the Farm Bill also provides an opportunity to assist
front-line agencies, such as food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens, which
deal with the problem of hunger every day.
Advocates will urge that the Farm Bill and FY2008 Budget invest
significant new resources to make food stamp benefit allotments sufficient
to real world needs, extend eligibility to more vulnerable populations,
connect more eligible people with benefits, and adequately support emergency
feeding programs. The Farm Bill will move this year, and advocates can
monitor the issues on the Nutrition Title at www.frac.org, the Food Research
and Action Center website.
Housing: In their Out of Reach 2006 report, the National Low
Income Housing Coalition states, "On
average, a family in our country must earn $16.31 an hour at a full-time job
in order to be able to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment without
foregoing other basic needs."
The President’s
FY 2007 budget cut funds for many housing programs and the Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) Department, but Senate Finance Committee Democrats have
asked the Mr. Bush to fund HUD fully in the FY2008 budget.
Minimum Wage: Both House and Senate have passed a bill to increase
the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour; however, the Senate bill includes
some tax provisions that make the minimum wage increase’s
path to law a bumpy road. Constitutionally, tax measures are supposed to
originate in the House, but the House has not passed any analogous tax
provisions, so the Senate will hold its bill pending House action on the tax
provisions. It is not clear how quickly the House will move to pass such
measures, because members have staunchly insisted on a
"clean"
bill. It is possible that congressional
desire to give low-wage workers their first raise in 10 years will move the
process quickly, but more likely there will be a battle over this bill,
which will only prolong low-wage workers’
wait for their delayed pay raise.
Whatever the resolution of this conflict, however, eventually the two
chambers will have to come to some agreement on the bill and send it to the
President, who has indicated he will sign it. Sixty days after that, the
first increase will occur and minimum wage workers will start earning $5.85
an hour. Increases to $6.55 and $7.25 will come at 12 month intervals
thereafter.
Minimum wage advocates argue that $7.25 an hour will not lift minimum
wage workers -- who currently make nearly $6,000 below the federal poverty
line for a family of three -- out of poverty; but it is an important first
step toward wage justice for low-wage workers. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
has pledged to introduce a bill to increase the wage floor again when the
current bill goes into effect.
Social Security: The 110th Congress is unlikely to act on Social
Security, either to privatize it as the President wishes or to reform it.
Hurricane follow-up: Gulf Coast recovery is a microcosm of the
nation ’s
challenges. Seventeen months after Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf
Coast, little progress has been made to measure environmental contamination
or rebuild housing, infrastructure, schools, and health care facilities. The
110th Congress has shown little will to act on further support for the Gulf
Coast recovery process, and it was noticeably absent from the President’s
State of the Union Address. Advocates should keep pressing their elected
officials to further the rebuilding process and to support local and state
governments in this formidable task.
Climate Change: Prospects are good for climate change legislation
in the 110th Congress. Several bills have been introduced, including the
Sanders (I-VT)-Boxer (D-CA) bill, which calls for an 80% cut in CO2 (carbon
dioxide) emissions by 2050, to be accomplished via a combination of a
cap-and-trade program, mandatory emission standards for power plants, auto
standards, consumer appliance standards, renewable portfolio standards, and
subsidies to renewable energy sources. This is by far the most ambitious
bill that has been introduced with the aim of reducing the U.S. contribution
to fueling global climate change. Many more climate proposals are expected
this year.
International Issues & Peace
Catherine Gordon
The November 2006 elections in the United States resulted in changes in
congressional leadership that will significantly alter how foreign and
security policy is conducted. Many of the chairs of committees with
jurisdiction over foreign affairs have records of commitment to human
rights, concerns about training abusive foreign militaries, and interest in
fair trade and poverty alleviation.
Colombia: While the situation in Colombia continues to be dire,
with the head of the Colombian Church fleeing to the U.S. after receiving
death threats, there is hope for some improvement in our policy toward
Colombia. The change in congressional leadership, as well as growing
scandals in Colombia and U.S. commitments in Iraq, may mean that the FY2008
budget will include efforts to start gradually scaling down U.S. military
involvement in Colombia ’s
civil war.
Cuba: Members of Congress who support changing U.S. policy toward
Cuba will control important committees and subcommittees. While in the past
there have been enough votes to move towards a more productive policy of
engagement toward Cuba, the obstructionist leadership in Congress used its
influence and control of parliamentary procedure to remove Cuba provisions
before sending legislation to the President for signing. The leadership
change means prospects for keeping Cuba provisions in legislation have
increased.
.
There are already new initiatives on Cuba, particularly on travel. Rep. Jeff
Flake (R-AZ) has introduced legislation to end the travel ban altogether and
Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) is exploring offering parallel legislation in the
Senate.
Free-Trade Agreements: Both the Peru- and Colombia-U.S.
"free trade"
agreements (PUFTA and CUFTA) await a vote
on ratification by Congress. Incoming House and Senate leaders have been
critical of the weak labor rights provisions in the deals, but the
unacceptable labor provisions are just the tip of the iceberg of what needs
fixing. There have been previous close votes on free trade deals, such as a
one-vote margin on the CAFTA in 2005, and the close Oman FTA vote in 2006,
showing that there is increasing wariness of the current free trade model in
Congress. It is possible PUFTA and CUFTA could both be sent back to the
drawing board.
Torture: The Military Commissions Act of 2006 stripped detainees
held at Guantanamo and non-citizens designated by the President as
"unlawful enemy combatants"
of the right to challenge their
detention. Congress passed this legislation in 2006 in response to appeals
from President Bush. Restoring the right to habeas corpus will not be easy,
but, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the chair and
ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as Rep. Sheila
Jackson-Lee (D-TX), have introduced legislation to restore habeas corpus
protections for U.S. detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Leahy are expected to reintroduce legislation
banning "extraordinary
rendition", the
process by which individuals are arrested without legal proceedings and sent
to countries where torture is practiced, in order to extract information.
Sudan: A radical improvement of the security situation in Darfur
is essential to prevent further genocide. The region is waiting for a
breakthrough to enable UN peacekeepers to be deployed to protect civilians
and humanitarian operations in Darfur.
President Bush mentioned Darfur in the State of the Union speech, with no
plan of action or instructions to Congress about stopping the genocide.
United Nations Resolution 1706 authorized a peacekeeping force for Darfur,
but the genocide rages into its fourth year, with this force waiting in the
wings for Sudanese consent. We must continue to hold our leaders accountable
for their role in perpetuating the crisis through insufficient action.
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): The eight MDGs range from
halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing
universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015. They form a
blueprint agreed to by all the world ’s
countries and leading development institutions. The MDGs have galvanized
unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s
poorest. In 2007 there will be many vehicles in Congress to push for the
achievement of these goals, such as pressing for more foreign aid
allocations in the budget, as well as the Child Act, Jubilee Act, GROWTH
Act, and Farm Bill.
Israel/Palestine: While the situation in Israel/Palestine grows
increasingly grim and the wider region grows more unstable, the outlook for
Israeli-Palestinian peace is not hopeful. Peacemaking requires strong
leadership, but there is currently a constellation of weak or new leadership
in place. Palestinians and Israelis are faced with deeply divided and weak
leadership; and in the wider region King Abdullah of Jordan and President
Mubarak of Egypt are unpopular because of their support for U.S. policies.
There is a new and untried Secretary General of the United Nations and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a champion of Israeli/Palestinian peace,
will soon end his term. With the Democratic takeover of Congress, a more
problematic legislative bias towards Israel is likely than in the previous
Congress. In 2007 it will be even more important for grassroots voices to be
heard by the Administration and Congress in support of Israeli/Palestinian
peace.
Iraq. As the war in Iraq grows increasingly unpopular, Congress is
seeking avenues to oppose the President ’s
policies and bring the war to an end. When President Bush announced a new
plan to deploy 21,500 more troops to Iraq, the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee approved a non-binding resolution stating that the strategy is not
in the national interest. Another proposed resolution stated that lawmakers
disagree with the President’s
strategy. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced HR 508,
"The Bring the Troops Home and
Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007,"
one of many bills likely to be proposed to end
the war.
Congress has failed to exercise oversight of the war supplemental
spending process so far, but will now try to pressure the Pentagon and the
President to be more forthcoming over defense spending. The new leaders of
the Budget Committees have signaled their desire for full disclosure of war
needs and costs in the regular budget.
Nuclear Disarmament Issues: In 2007 the crisis in U.S.-Iranian
relations and the escalating international conflict with Iran on nuclear
issues will take center stage. The Iranian government has so far refused to
abide by a UN-set February date by which Iran must halt nuclear enrichment.
Iran is expected to announce shortly that its ability to enrich uranium for
use in nuclear power reactors has been expanded dramatically.
The U.S. position on Iran is similar to its position toward Iraq before
the invasion. The United States has repeatedly refused to engage in any
diplomatic talks with Tehran, characterizing the government as part of an
"axis of evil"
and threatening a military confrontation.
The Iranian government has fueled this fire by not complying with its
commitments under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), defying the
international community’s
desire to undertake full international inspections of its nuclear
facilities.
There seems to be little political will within Congress for another war.
Many inside the White House and Congress view the current escalation in
tension as mere saber rattling with little possibility for an actual
military confrontation.
About the Washington Report to
Presbyterians
This is a bimonthly publication that covers a broad range
of public policy issues of concern to the General Assembly, and keeps
readers up-to-date on programs of the Washington Office.
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Paths toward Peace and Justice:
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