October 15, 2001 Vol. 3, No. 31

This Week in WASHINGTON

For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative, at rprice@thejcpa.org

UPDATE ON ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION: At the end of last week. both the House and Senate passed legislation to assist in the fight against terrorism. In an attempt to head off a disagreement with the Senate and speed passage of the legislation, the House supplemented its bill with one that looked more similar to the Senate version. A conference committee will still be needed this week to iron out discrepancies between the bills. As passed, both bills grant law enforcement agencies new power to tap telephones and conduct more secret searches. In dispute are sections in the Senate version to toughen laws prohibiting money laundering and provisions in the House bill which would "sunset" specific provisions at the end of 2006 unless Congress agrees to renew them. Nearly two dozen hearings are scheduled on both sides of Capitol Hill to examine issues relating to the September 11^th attacks. These include the cost of domestic security and FEMA’s response to the terrorist attacks to the security of Defense Department ammunition shipments, bioterrorism and assistance for displaced workers. On a related topic, the House International Relations Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East chaired by Rep. Gilman (NY) will hold a hearing on recent developments in the Middle East. William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs is scheduled to testify.

SENATE TO ACT ON FOREIGN AID: A "cloture" vote is scheduled for late this afternoon in the Senate to limit debate on the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The relatively non-controversial legislation, which contains foreign aid for Israel, is being held up by some Republicans to show their displeasure with the lack of movement on judicial nominations. When the initiative does come to the floor, Mitch McConnell (KY) is expected to offer an amendment that would prohibit assistance to any nation that harbors or assists international terrorist groups that participated in the Sept. 11^th attacks.

CHARITABLE TAX INCENTIVE: We are waiting to see if there will be an announcement this week that the President, together with Senators Santorum (PA) and Lieberman (CT), will introduce a new $60 billion charitable tax incentive package. This proposal could also contain some of the provisions included in the HR7 legislation enacted by the House to promote the President’s Faith Based initiative without explicitly calling for charitable choice and the components about which the JCPA has expressed concerns. We hope that the Senate initiative and the House bill remain quite separate so there will be no possibility of inclusion of provisions which discriminate or do not have safeguards against proselytization. The House Immigration and Claims Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Gekas (PA) will hold a hearing on improving the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Congress continues to move forward on an economic stimulus package, with the possibility that the Emergency Food and Shelter Program will receive a $100 million supplemental allocation as part of the initiative. Many JCPA partner agencies, including the UJC Washington Action Office, are urging the inclusion of this very important provision. JCPA member agencies are urged to contact Senate offices to advocate this. With thousands of families facing economic uncertainty, it is critical that sufficient funds are available through EFSP to provide preventative services to keep these families on their feet. The General Accounting Office has found EFSP to be the only source of funding for the prevention of homelessness in most parts of the country. UJC sits on the National Board of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. For more information contact Laurie Mintzer Edberg, Legislative Associate at the UJC Washington Action Office.

AROUND THE CAPITAL: The Board of Governors of NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Eurasia meets today, with Honorable Paula Dobriansky, US Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs scheduled to be the keynote speaker. The American Jewish Committee, together with the Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Center for American Jewish History of Temple University and with support of the Pew Charitable Trusts convenes a conference on Government Funding of Faith-Based Social Services at the Catholic University on Tuesday. The American Jewish Congress will be holding its National Convention in Washington on Sunday and Monday October 21-22. The Violence Policy Center has recently completed a study entitled "Voting From the Rooftops" which documents that the US gun industry sold guns to the Al Queda network. The full report can be found at www.vpc.org <http://www.vpc.org>

This Week in NEW YORK

For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Director of Community Relations and Special Projects at bga@thejcpa.org

INDYK, SHAYS TO SPEAK: Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk and Rep. Christopher Shays will address the JCPA Board of Directors on Monday, October 22 in New York City. For meeting registration information, contact twallace@thejcpa.org