October 5 , 1999 Vol.1, No. 23

This Week in Washington…
For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative

First Monday in October: The Supreme Court opened its fall term with a long list of cases of special concern to the organized Jewish community. The JCPA has joined with other Jewish and secular organizations in filing an amicus brief in Mitchell v. Helms, a case dealing with the constitutionality of programs that provide public funds to private secular amd parochial schools for instructional equipment. The JCPA will also watch for the Court's decision in Brzonkala v. Morrison, which will determine whether Congress exceeded its power by permitting victims to file civil suits for monetary damages under the Violence Against Women Act, and in Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, exploring whether college students can be compelled to pay activity fees which help to subsidize groups whose ideologies they oppose. These issues - church-state separation, the scope of federal powers, and free speech - remain cornerstone issues for the JCPA system.

Focus on Education: The House Education and the Workforce Committee is scheduled to "mark-up" a bill Tuesday which would reauthorize numerous programs contained in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Legislators have adopted a section by section approach to reauthorizing this landmark education legislation. Title I, the largest federal education program for elementary and secondary students, would authorize roughly $10 billion in programs for the nation's poorest and at-risk students. Bill proponents are concerned that proposed language would undermine existing gender equity provisions. On Wednesday the same committee will mark-up the Academic Achievement for All Act (sometimes known as the "straight A's Act), which will allow funds to be used for any educational purpose, determined by a governor and legislature, that is permitted by state law. In some cases, funds could go to school voucher programs.

On the House Floor: On Monday, the House reauthorized the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets through FY 2000. The Commission was designed to conduct original historical research investigating the status of assets of Holocaust victims that came into the "possession or control" of the federal government. Also on this week's calendar is reauthorization of the Older Americans Act for the first time in five years. The bill provides for the distribution of food assistance, health services and employment aid to the elderly. Later this week, the House will take up the managed care initiative (See JCPA Action Alert on Managed Care Legislation, September 30).

Senate Eyes Test Ban Treaty: The Senate will be working on spending bills early in the week, but will finish with a bang as it begins debate on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on Friday with a final vote scheduled for October 12th. The debate will be preceded by three days of hearing by the Armed Services Committee. Although President Clinton has been urging Congressional ratification for two years, it seems unlikely that the necessary 67 votes for passage exist. The treaty is intended to halt the arms race by controlling, monitoring and banning different kinds of nuclear weapons testing.

The Buzz in International Relations: The House International Relations Committee will be busy this week with hearings to explore both US policy toward Russia and corruption in the Russian government. The Human Rights Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the 1999 International Religious Freedom Report, issued for the first time by the U.S. Department of State. The report can be accessed through the State Department's Website - www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/index.html - under the human rights section.

This Week in New York…
For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Senior Community Consultant at bga@thejcpa.org

Breaking Plenum 2000 News: Plenum brochures are in circulation, and speaker confirmations are mounting…Last week, we told you about William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, a leading light in Catholic-Jewish relations. We are pleased to announce that Plenum 2000's Scholar-in-Residence will be Arnold Eisen, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Stanford University. Professor Eisen has worked closely with Jewish leadership across the country in thinking through issues of Jewish identity, the revitalization of Jewish tradition and the redefinition of the American Jewish community. Mark the dates (February 26 - March 1, 2000 in Baltimore) and make plans to join us!

Race, Public Policy, and Ethnicity Wraps Up: The final speakers for this exciting and informative series will be JoAnn Chase, Executive Director, National Congress of American Indians and Professor Peter Kwong, Director of Hunter College-CUNY's Department of Asian American Studies. The meeting will be held on Sunday, October 17th from 10a.m. to noon, prior to the JCPA task force meetings, to be held at the New York UJA Federation. The hotel registration deadline is Friday, October 8th.