November 19, 2001 Vol. 3, No.36

This Week in WASHINGTON

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

Miles to Go Before They Sleep: The House and Senate are due to return to work on Tuesday, November 27 following a Thanksgiving break. They have their work cut out for them: eight still unfinished Appropriations bills must be completed before Congress can adjourn for the year. Among the unfinished items is the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill - including foreign aid to Israel – which is currently under discussion by conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions. As has been the case every year since 1993, legislators are embroiled in a dispute over whether to prohibit federal aid to international family planning organizations that perform or promote abortions, even if the organizations use their own funds to do so.  The House bill prohibits federal aid to these groups, while the Senate bill allows for the funding of these organizations. Senators have suggested a compromise that would drop the provisions which would fund the international family planning organizations that provide abortion services in return for a 50 percent increase in funds for the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) which aids international family planning efforts. Despite efforts to compromise, conferees remain deadlocked.

Eyeing Next Year: Although work is not yet finished on this year’s spending bill, legislators have started to focus on next year’s foreign aid request. Representatives Doug Bereuter (NE) and Howard Berman (CA) are circulating a "dear colleague" asking House members to sign a letter to President Bush urging support for increased funding of the international affairs budget in his FY03 budget request. JCPA member agencies are urged to call members of Congress to urge them to sign this letter. House members should be reminded that in the wake of the tragic events of September 11, the United States has been galvanized to address the security issues of the nation. While American policymakers appropriately focus on military defense and intelligence needs, we must also make full use of the range of diplomatic tools available to the United States. Long-standing US international programs in the foreign aid account have played an integral role in protecting US national security. US international diplomatic, economic and humanitarian programs have long worked to stabilize the world, strengthen weak democracies and build market economies. JCPA policy has urged a vigorous foreign aid program to enable the U.S. to meet all its obligations and responsibilities. Look for a similar letter in the Senate shortly.  

Middle East on Their Minds: Thank you to all who contacted senators to sign on to a letter to President Bush on US policy toward Israel. 89 of 100 senators signed the letter. Thank-you’s are in order to those who signed on, and JCPA member agencies may obtain the full list of signatories by contacting Mberkowitz@thejcpa.org. With Secretary of State Colin Powell’s major address today on Middle East policy, it becomes more critical than ever to communicate effectively with elected officials to make our views known.. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, a speaker at Plenum 2001, has released a position paper regarding the Secretary’s speech on the conflict. As Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Rep. Cantor concludes that support for a Palestinian state ruled by Chairman Yasser Arafat raises serious security concerns. The complete report is available at http://cantor.house.gov.

This Week in NEW YORK

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

 Responding to Terrorism: United Jewish Federation of Metrowest New Jersey has announced a Jewish Community Summit – Responding to Terrorism. The program offers five evenings of high-level briefings and discussions , and will include programs on  “The War on Terrorism: The View From Israel”;

“Combating Domestic Terrorism”; “Islamic Extremism: The Political Dimension”: “Living with Terrorism in Our Lives: Strategies for Coping with the Current Situation”; and “The U.S.-Israel Relationship Since September 11^th”. For more information, contact Dmallach@ujfmetrowest.org.

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