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Current JPIC Action Alerts &
Legislation
Federal Budget
Farm Bill
HIV/AIDS Funding
Human Trafficking
The
Crisis in Darfur
Immigration
Reform
Water
Schip/Champ
Timely publications that alert our
readers on current and upcoming peace and social justice activities,
legislative actions that promote human dignity, and integrity in all
creation.
Current Action
Alerts
- Please contact your national senator or
representative at the Washington D.C. General Switch board number
at 202.224.3121 to promote the passage of
legislation
- The alert address this concern, provides
letters to be sent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
The World Bank (WB), includes additional linkages and the
powerpoint presentation-Praying with/for water.
- To check the status of legislation you can
go to http://thomas.loc.gov/
...
Federal Budget, This advocacy addresses the general caps on the budget for such vital services as education, housing, employment, healthcare for children and care for older Americans. Recently, Congress passed the Budget Resolution that increase funds for human needs. The House and Senate negotiations agree upon a total for appropriations. The Budget allows for a $50 billion reserve fund to maintain and improve the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a $20 billion reserve that can cover the long-over due improvements to the Food Stamp Program, and a $5 million reserve to increase Child Care funding. To read the entire resolution that was passed, please go to http://www.chn.org/humanneeds/070518a.html.
Farm Bill, groundwork is still with the House Agriculture Committee. The JPIC Office continues to support this bill, which would address significant issues as listed in the summer issue of MESP. This legislation affects the nutritional programs for HIV/AIDS persons and trade relationships with developing countries. For more information please go to any of these websites. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/globalpoverty/, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/200702fbhn.pdf, also http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/20070201farmbillbck.pdf, Farm and Food Policy Project @ http://www.farmandfoodproject.org/declaration.asp, National Catholic Rural Life Conference @ http://www.ncrlc.com/ and Unites States Department of Agriculture @ http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdafarmbill?navtype=SU&navid=FARM_BILL_FORUMS
Act Now!!! The Week of July 16th, please call your Representatives and Senators and urge broad reform to the U.S. Farm Bill. The toll-fee number is 1-800-826-3688 which will connect you to the Capital switchboard, ask to be connected to your representative's office in order to leave your message, call back and do the same for your senators.
HIV/AIDS Funding, thanks to your incredible efforts and those of many others concerned about our brothers and sisters affected by HIV and AIDS. President Bush recently asked Congress for an additional $30 billion toward battling Global AIDS crisis over the first five years, after he leaves office. This increase would provide life saving treatment to 2.5 million people, which is more than the 1.4 million on the current program. To read the entire press release, please go to http://www.one.org/node/339.
Stop Human Trafficking!, An Urgent appeal has been made since immigration legislation, fuels human trafficking. A flood of letters to President Bush from the "grassroots" are urgently needed to correct the wrongful immigration situation. To access a model letter and send directly via email to the President go to http://capwiz.com/justiceforimmigrants/issues/alert/?alertid=9191476&type=PR.
Ask that he:
1) Require the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State to recognize "duress" as a waiverable circumstance when considering refugee applications and also
2) Support bi-partisan legislation, hopefully forthcoming in the new Congress, which legislatively fixes these unintended consequences of current law.
All are encouraged to reach out to your communities to have as many letters as possible sent to the President. To download and read the monthly Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter, please click here. To obtain further information on Human Trafficking, click this link, http://homepage.mac.com/srjeanschafersds/stoptraffic/index.html
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The Crisis in Darfur, the situation in Darfur continues to be riddled with strive and conflict. Earlier this spring President Bush decided on new sanctions to further pressure the Sudan's Government into cooperation with international efforts to halt the violence in Darfur. To read President Bush's press release on his Plan B efforts, please click here. We will continue to pressure for the best interests of the people in that country.The UN has pledged to provide support to the AU in logistics, materials and with military staff and police officers, while also offering civilian support in action, public information and the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).
President Bush signed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act-H.R. 3127 (DPAA) through expedited procedures. Among its important provisions, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (DPAA) presses the government of Sudan to disarm the warring factions, cease all attacks against innocent civilians, provide unimpeded humanitarian access and bring to justice those perpetrating crimes against humanity. At the same time, Congress recently passed a Defense Appropriations bill that an additional $20 million for the African Union peacekeeping operations in Dafur. To read the latest on the Sudan situation, please click link, http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/20070201sudanbck.pdf.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, offers weekly Darfur Reports. These reports are designed to educate the organized Jewish community and others on issues related to the genocide in that region. It also includes political and legislative developments. To obtain their website click this link http://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/.
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Immigration Reform, Now that the 110th Congress is in full swing, as experts predicted that the U.S. Senate is considering comprehensive immigration reform, while the U.S. House of Representative will engage the issue later this summer. Amendments are being introduced in Congress, and they have since outlined a bipartisan immigration bill that would have allowed citizenship to an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in this country. President Bush said that this bill would help enforce our borders, but equally important, it will treat people with respect. Several attempts were made to come to some agreement, but the bill was pulled. Congress have agreed to continue discussions on this bill later this summer.To read the entire proposed bill which has received many different views within the Senate and the House, please click hereTo also read updates as Congress continues to discuss this important legislation, please go to http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/in_the_media.html
Resources:
- LCWR RTA on
Immigration-LCWR website: http://www.lcwr.org/communications/resolutions/RTA7-06.pdf
- LCWR Board Statement, April 16-LCWR
website: http://www.lcwr.org/lcwrpressreleases/publicstatements.htm - NETWORK: http://www.networklobby.org/
- USCCB website: http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/
with links to contact Congressional
representatives, and see Resources for Parishes: Liturgy and Prayer
Suggestions.
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Water, the JPIC Office
observed the United Nations decade of International Year of Sanitation earlier this spring. Consequently,
we are advocating against the privatization of water that hurts
local communities. The alert addresses this concern, provides, letters to be sent to The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The World Bank (WB), also
includes additional linkages: http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/cms/index.cfm?group_id=1000,
http://www.insidethebottle.org/
, http://www.ncrlc.com/water_commons.html and
a powerpoint presentation Praying
with/for water.
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SCHIP/CHAMP: This advocacy addresses the need to increase funding for low income children. The issue cleared the U.S. house. The U.S. Senate offers a less expensive version. To ensure responsible legislative, visit http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/schip-leveling-the-playing.pdf or http://www.piconetwork.org/. To take further action on this advocacy please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/408130689?00m=9451683
- You can download a copy of the
latest issue of Mother
Earth Sister Peace (Spring 2008) here. If you need a hard
copy, or have questions, call (630.909.6635) or
email the JPIC
Office and we will mail you a copy or add you to our mailing
list.
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