Today, we
present our ELCA Advocacy Update for the month of January, and a preview of some of our advocacy priorities for 2016!
Please read below for important information on ELCA Advocacy efforts in
Washington, across the country and throughout the world. To read the full
version of the update and for more information on advocacy efforts from our
Lutheran State Advocacy offices, visit our blog!
Advocacy
Update - January 2016
ELCA Advocacy, Washington D.C.
Earlier this week, President Obama gave his final State of the Union address to Congress. As lawmakers across the political spectrum
prepare their 2016 legislative agendas, we urge our elected officials
to ensure that our nation’s public policies embody Biblical values of
peacemaking, hospitality to our neighbors, care for creation, and concern for
our brothers and sisters facing poverty and struggling with hunger. See a preview of some of
ELCA Advocacy's policy priorities this year by clicking here!
Lutheran Office for World Community, New York,
N.Y.
A DISCUSSION ON ‘FORCED
DISPLACEMENT, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION’: On Dec. 16, Dennis Frado and Nicholas
Jaech with the Lutheran Office for World Community participated in a public consultation
on the discussion paper “Forced Displacement, Refugees, and
Migration” produced by the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM). This paper highlighted the current
migration crisis, citing 230 million current migrants, which includes 59.5
million displaced persons. ICM, which is affiliated with the International
Peace Institute, writes
that this is the “biggest humanitarian crisis in the history of the United
Nations.”
Two days later,
on Dec. 18, International Migrants Day was recognized at the United Nations.
At
this event, the Population Division of the U.N. Department of Economic and
Social Affairs reminded the audience of the connection between migration and
the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, referencing goal 10.7,
which calls on countries to “facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible
migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of
planned and well-managed migration policies.”
A U.N. BRIEFING ON EL NIÑO: On Jan. 7, the Lutheran Office for World
Community attended a briefing on “The Humanitarian Consequences of El Niño and the Need for Urgent Action,” organized by the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Various reports were made on the already damaging effects of the
2015-2016 El Niño – major droughts in Eastern and Central Africa, Central
America, and the Pacific region, among others. As the rainy seasons return, the
risk of flooding, landslides, and waterborne diseases significantly increase in
these drought-ridden regions. Key messages issued by OCHA and other speakers centered
on two actions: 1) an urgent response by the international community to address
the current humanitarian needs caused by El Niño, and 2) investing in long-term risk and
vulnerability reduction, which is critical and needs to be increased. For
further analysis of El Niño’s effects by region, please click here.
Lutheran state advocacy efforts across the
country
CALIFORNIA: California’s
legislators reconvened Jan. 4 for
the final year of its two-year session. Nearly one-sixth of them gathered
that afternoon at Mercy Commons, a newer permanent supportive
housing site, to launch a bi-partisan effort to generate new resources to address the state’s homelessness crisis. Defending
California’s climate change laws and advocating for equitable investment of
cap-and-trade funds, now growing into the billions, will continue to be a Lutheran Office of Public Policy
priority.
COLORADO: Our
priorities remain steadfast in the coming year: a better and more robust social
safety net for those living on the margins, improved access to anti-hunger and
anti-poverty programs for those who need them, a higher minimum wage that is
commensurate with the actual cost of living, consistent shelter and support
services for those without a home, an end to denial of dignity and needless
taxpayer expense in the criminal justice system, and a higher standard of
environmental protection that shows real care for creation.
MINNESOTA: Continuing capital renovation will keep the capitol
closed through 2016. The session will begin Tuesday, March 8, and will be only 11
weeks long. Access to legislators in St. Paul will be very difficult. Lutheran Advocacy-MN continues to build its network to
be ready for nimble rapid action. Click
here for one-page description of 2016 agenda.
NEW MEXICO: The
2016 session of the New Mexico Legislature convenes on Jan. 19 at noon. Already more
than 120 pieces of legislation have been filed in anticipation of the session
and about 1,000 pieces are expected to be introduced. The
Lutheran
Advocacy Ministry New Mexico’s Policy Committee adopted our 2016 advocacy agenda at its November meeting and
that agenda guides LAM-NM’s advocacy activity throughout the year.
PENNSYLVANIA: Even
as Pennsylvania begins 2016 six months into a budget standoff, LAMPa looks back
on 2015 with gratitude for the opportunity to witness to the love of God and
stand together for justice in the state capitol. Tracey
DePasquale is serving as LAMPa’s interim director as Amy Reumann takes the
reins at the ELCA Advocacy Washington office. In light of the temporary staff reduction,
the policy council adopted a revised agenda for 2016 at its December meeting. Hunger
and education funding remain top issues.
VIRGINIA: On
Wednesday, Jan. 20, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy will host
the 2016 “Day for All People,” an opportunity to learn about some key issues
facing the Virginia Legislature and then speak to delegates and senators about
those issues.Regional
legislative public hearings are scheduled for Jan. 7 in Fredericksburg,
Wytheville, Chesapeake and Richmond. The hearings will receive comments on the governor's proposed amendments
to the 2016-18 biennial state budget.
WASHINGTON: The
Washington state legislature will begin its 60-day session on Monday, Jan. 11. Faith
Action Network's (FAN) legislative
agenda
will have five policy “buckets." FAN's
annual Interfaith Advocacy Day will be Thursday, Feb. 4, in addition to two other
sponsored legislative conferences around the state (in Spokane on Jan. 30 and
in Yakima on Feb. 6).
WISCONSIN: Top Highlights of 2015: LOPPW was the only Wisconsin group to hold a Safe Harbor rally to support legislation and funding to assist youth victims of sex trafficking. LOPPW worked with two synods to help initiate a hunger team in one, and a Care for God’s Creation team linked to ELCA World Hunger in the other. LOPPW also participated in the Region 5 hunger gathering in Dubuque, Iowa. LOPPW is a part of People of Faith United for Justice, a group that organized the 2015 statewide Advocacy Day focused on poverty.
Find out all about the
vast and incredibly important work of Lutheran advocates across the country by
visiting our ELCA Advocacy Blog.
(To view this email in web format, click here.)