JPIC Office 2009
Petitions JPIC Office Blog May/June, 2009 Dear Friends,
Stories in the May/June 2009 JPIC Blog: Economy
Economy The economy continues to be highlighted in the media, with additional job losses and virtually no economic growth. The unemployed ranks grew by 539,000(p) in Apr 2009, and the national rate of employed was 8.9%. The April unemployed number is less than the 600 and 700 thousands seen in the preceeding months. During this difficult time for our country and our world, the JPIC office particularly monitors the effects legislative actions could have on the poor and the vulnerable in the U.S. and around the globe. Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services maintain up to date information to guide our advocacy efforts. For more resources please go to http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1174 President Obama's budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 (October 1 to September 30, 2010) makes critical investments in our nation's infrastructure and renewable energy resources. These investments target an increase in employment numbers. This budget cuts taxes for 95 percent of all taxpayers, provides billions for schools, and help for college expenses. The budget also invests heavily in health care reform to bring costs down, expand coverage, and boost the quality of care. These priorities are intended to put our country back on the road to economic recovery and lay a foundation for economic growth in the coming years.
Povety/Immigration Reform
To sign up for this initiative, go to the website listed above. Confronting global poverty means reducing the need for people to migrate and protecting those people who have little choice but to do so. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic organizations nationwide have formed Justice for Immigrants: The Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform to promote comprehensive immigration reform policies. http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/ The 111th Congress is now in session. President Obama supports the passage of comprehensive immigration reform and promised during the campaign to move on this issue during his first year in office. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stated that he expects immigration reform to be taken up by the Senate by the end of 2009, and Senators John McCain and Mel Martinez, both Republicans, have publicly stated that immigration reform should move forward and that Republicans should support it. Now it is our job to make sure they stick to their commitments! Please take a few minutes to write a quick note to your Representatives urging them to support comprehensive immigration reform in the 111th Congress. http://capwiz.com/justiceforimmigrants/issues/alert/?alertid=12502751&queueid=%5bcapwiz:queue_id%5d Senator Richard Durbin (IL) and Senator Dick Lugar (IN) have introduced the bi-partisan Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM Act). Such legislation would permit undocumented students to become permanent residents if they came here as children, are long-term U.S. citizens, have good moral character, and attend college or enlist in the military for two years. Senator Durbin’s statement: http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/Durbin-press-statement-2009-03-26.pdf.To advocate go to http://icirr.e-actionmax.com/tf.asp?aacwc=363233423560676646318289 Postville, IA update (5/12/09):
War/Conflicts PETITION TO SECURE RELEASE OF
AUNG SAN SUU KYI: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient
of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been detained for 13 of the last 19
years, mostly under house arrest. On May 14, 2009, Aung San Suu Kyi
and two of her assistants were taken from her home to Insein Prison
following an incident in which an American man allegedly swam across
a lake to her house and stayed there for two days. Reliable reports
beginning in early May confirm that while still confined in her
Yangon home Aung San Suu Kyi had been suffering from dehydration,
low blood pressure and weight loss. Her medical condition makes her
transfer to Insein Prison at this time doubly serious. Please call
on Myanmar’s leaders to free Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
prisoners of conscience. Over 160 Burma exile and solidarity groups
in 24 countries are calling on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to
urge the release of Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.
Death Penalty
New Mexico's governor Bill Richardson signed the repeal of the death penalty in to law on March 18, 2009, attracting praise from the global abolitionist community.http://www.deathwatchinternational.org/the_news.php
Healthcare The Coalition for Human Needs is circulating a sign-on letter that responds to the Senate Finance Committee’s recently released paper on health care coverage options. The letter advocates for options that best serve low-income and other vulnerable populations, options also advocated by CHA. Organizations can sign on by going to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/125/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1953. Compendium of Cultural Competence
Initiatives in Health Care
Environment On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which lays out a detailed plan to cut U.S. consumption of fossil fuels. While the bill is a welcome step in the right direction, it contains serous flaws, including compromises that would critically undermine the primary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and insufficient attention to people in poverty. There is need to strengthen this legislation before it comes to a vote in the House. FCNL (Friends Committee on National Legislation) urges messages to representatives calling for strengthening the bill by: 1) requiring quick, deep, and real cuts in greenhouse gas emissions before 2020; 2) eliminating provisions that allow polluters to continue polluting at current levels for over a decade; 3) removing free giveaways of pollution allowances to industry. To send a message through FCNL go to http://www.fcnl.org/ and see “Energy Bill needs To Be Strengthened.” Catholic Coalition on Climate Change: The Coalition has worked for increases in the amount of international adaptation funding that reflects the growing climate change impacts faced by vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, and urges calls and messages to representatives stating the necessity of increased funding resources committed to international adaptation. A copy of the joint letter from the USCCB and CRS http://www.crs.org/ to the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is attached. If you have not yet seen the resource “Who’s under your carbon footprint?” and taken the St. Francis Pledge, please go to http://www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/. The first ever comprehensive energy and
climate bill to be considered by the House of Representatives is
being conducted in Congress. This legislation, The American Clean
Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), will require polluters to pay
for the costs of dumping harmful carbon pollution into the air, and
will jumpstart clean energy development, protecting businesses and
creating jobs across the country. Visit the Wilderness Society
website http://wilderness.org/.
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, OSF
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Public and private sector organizations are
involved in a number of activities that seek to reduce cultural and
communication barriers to health care. These activities are often
described as cultural competency and/or cross-cultural education. A
recent Institute of Medicine report recommended that the health care
system pursue several of these techniques as part of a multi-level
strategy to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in medical care. To
address this need, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has
developed a compendium, as a first attempt to describe these
activities in a single document. The compendium was prepared in
response to the many requests from the media and others to define
cultural competency and identify efforts underway in this emerging
field.
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