Congress convenes

Congressional Agenda for 2002

From the Presbyterian Washington Office:

Immigration issues and campaign and election reforms lead off Congressional agenda

[2-22-02]

This look ahead at the new session of Congress was published before they reconvened on January 23, but it highlights a number of the issues of concern to the PC(USA): immigration, election reform, and faith-based initiatives.

Congress plans to reconvene on January 23. President Bush will give his annual State of the Union address during the following week, on January 29. Since this is an election year for a third of the Senate and the entire House, the current plan is to adjourn on October 4 in order to allow a month for campaigning in congressional districts.

The second half of the 107th Congress promises to be very contentious on many of the issues that fall under the heading of Civil Rights and Religious Liberties. The congenial and bipartisan approach to issues exhibited on Capitol Hill after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack has given way to the usual differences in the political parties.

Issues are always very sensitive during an election year. This particular election year may give high profile attention to campaign finance reform, election reform and immigration. Those who are up for re-election will weigh their votes very carefully in order to assure success at the polls. Many of these issues will be crucial to their platforms. Constituents are watching their elected officials more closely than ever before in the wake of the new wartime mentality of the Bush Administration and Congress.

The following issues and pending bills will be among those covered in upcoming publications of this newsletter.

IMMIGRATION BILLS HR 1885, S 778, HR 3525. These immigration bills were on the September 11, 2001 agenda of the House of Representatives. With concern for security issues and a distrust of anyone who was not already a U.S. citizen, these bills were subsequently pt aside. Prior to September11, 2001, the Senate had already passed an extension of the 245 (i) immigration provision that would have permitted application for residency even from those who were here illegally. This action was seen as primarily focused on a growing Mexican workforce as the Senate vote followed one day after Mexico's President Vincente Fox visited the U.S.

A regulation, simply referred to as Section 245 (i) of the immigration law, which addresses the issue of workers status, expired in April of 2001. It was to be extended to April 2002, by the House vote that did not take place. 245 (i) would have given those who have overstayed their work visas or entered the country illegally to work, an opportunity to apply for permanent resident status or citizenship. Their punishment would have been a $1,000 fine. Without 245 (i) protection, immigrants must return to their home country and apply for entry back into the U.S. from there. This poses a hardship, if the immigrant has established a family in the U.S. during his or her stay here. Employers also have claimed hardship, because many technical and service jobs would remain unfilled.

HR 3525 is designed to address the growing concern about international students who overstay their student visas. The bill calls for identification documents issued by the student?s native country to contain biometric information, such as fingerprints. This would take effect by October 2003, if passed.

ELECTION REFORM. HR 3295 would set broad election standards aimed at avoiding the problems with antiquated voting machines used in many places during the 2000 presidential election campaign. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, (D-SD) has said that election reform would be a top priority as he sets the agenda for 2002. Unfortunately, even if all goes smoothly with the debate on this issue, it is not expected to be in place for implementation in time for the mid-term 2002 election. If all goes well, it should be in place in time for the 004 Presidential election.

FAITH BASED INITIATIVES. Since the July 19, 2001 House of Representatives passage of its version of the Faith Based Initiatives bill (HR7), the Senate has been trying to find a way to avoid the difficulties encountered in the House debate. Many in the Senate fear that the version passed by the House would lead to discrimination in hiring under the protection of religion as well as violate the separation of church and state.

It would appear that the 2002 Senate may address a scaled down version of Faith Based Initiatives, that would include tax incentives for charitable givers and technical assistance to faith based groups who may want to apply for federal funding. This would be considerably less than the House plans for Faith Based Initiatives or Charitable Choice. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM (HR2356-S27). Unregulated ?soft money? continues to be the sticking point of the stalled campaign finance bill in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed its bill on April 2, 2001. Advocates for the bills, both in the Congress and the general constituency, did not expect to run into difficulty in the House because it had already passed there twice in two previous legislative sessions. But, those in the House who saw an end to access to ?soft money? -the money that may go first to the party and then passed on to the candidate, were suddenly fearful of a loss of financial support during their next election campaign.

These issues will be the primary civil rights issues for the remainder of this 107th Congress. Other key issues that we will be continue to work on are the death penalty, school sponsored prayer, workplace religious freedom, gun control, and civil rights for gays and lesbians. This publication will cover the issues as they come up in Congress; it is not too early to let your elected officials know how you feel.