WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY

The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
March 31, 2008

This week’s messages are —

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:

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

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

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

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.

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

==============================================

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.

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.

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!

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).

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.

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).

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:

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.

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 >>  

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.

Jan/Feb Washington Report
[2-15-07]

Race, Gender and Religious Liberties
Elenora Giddings Ivory

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.

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.

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.

Domestic Poverty, Ecology & Environment
Leslie Woods

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.

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.

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.

International Issues & Peace
Catherine Gordon

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To subscribe to this and other very useful communications >>

To read back issues >>

http://www.pcusa.org/washington/washreport.htm

A major
Ghost Ranch event this summer!

July 28 - August 3, 2008

Paths toward Peace and Justice:
Spirituality, Earth-Care, and the Prophetic Word in a time of Violence

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