|
|
|
December 6, 1999 | Vol.1, No. 31 This Week in Washington¼ For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative at rprice@thejcpa.org HUNGER RELIEF ACT INTRODUCED: Anti-hunger activists are applauding the introduction of the "Hunger Relief Act of 1999" (HR 3192/ S 1805) during the waning hours of the First Session of the 106th Congress. Senators Kennedy (MA) and Spector (PA) introduced the bi-partisan bill in the Senate. This effort was mirrored in the House by Representative James Walsh (NY) on behalf of a number of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Aimed at reforming the food stamp program, the Hunger Relief Act takes aim at a number of inadequacies in the program's administration. First, this legislation would begin to address the increasing needs of poor legal immigrants in the wake of the 1996 welfare reform law by offering benefits to all those who meet the standard requirement for participation. Second, the Hunger Relief Act speaks to the needs of low-income families in rural areas by making it easier for participants to own a reliable car. Finally, this bill will make the food stamp program more effective in not making working poor families decide between food and shelter. The bill would authorize a much-needed increase in "The Emergency Food Assistance Program" (TEFAP), the national program responsible for supplying commodities to food pantries and other important emergency food needs. This legislation should be discussed with your Senators and Representatives in any recess meeting you have scheduled, and their support as a co-sponsor should be sought. This
Week in New York... CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS: JCPA convened representatives of member agencies to discuss community relations strategies in connection with the scheduled papal visit to Israel in spring 2000. Concerns raised by meeting participants, and already surfacing in Catholic-Jewish relations, are likely to be addressed at Plenum 2000 by William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore with Rabbi A. James Rudin, AJCommittee's Director of Interreligious Affairs, offering a response. THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM: And have we mentioned that the deadline for earlybird Plenum 2000 registration is fast approaching? Beat the seasonal mail rush and save money by registering by December 18th. Need a brochure? Contact rsoto@thejcpa.org. "HOW WILL ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT HOLD UP TO THE TEST OF TIME?" will be the subject of a joint COEJL (Coalition on the Environment in Jewish Life) - JCPA Israel Strategy Committee Meeting next Monday (12/13). The meeting will feature a presentation by Sharon Hoffman, head of foreign relations for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the oldest and largest environmental non-governmental organization in Israel. For more information, contact mraffel@thejcpa.org or mxj@aol.com. POST-WTO: In light of world attention focused on the recent meetings of the World Trade Organization, JCPA and Hillel are working together to fashion a Plenum 2000 forum on the issue of sweatshops. (See also COEJL Statement on the World Trade Organization, November 14, 1999) DID SOMEONE SAY "MALIBU?" Information concerning the Mark and Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute 2000 (Mailbu, CA, March 30 - April 2) mailed to CRCs, Federations and thousands of Jewish environmental activists this week. For more information, contact info@coejl.org. REMINDERS: The deadline for responding to the Living Wage resolution is February 11, 2000. Member agencies requiring more information should contact ksenter@thejcpa.org. The 2000-2001 Public Policy Formulation process is underway. Draft propositions were mailed on November 16th. Please note that agency responses to the draft propositions are due no later than January 5, 2000. Contact bga@thejcpa.org for more information. ISRAEL ON THE AGENDA: JCPA Executive Vice Chairman Larry Rubin and Associate Executive Vice Chairman Martin Raffel will brief Israel Consul General Shmuel Sisso this week about the recent JCPA Leadership Mission to Israel. They will also meet this week with Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum. MAZEL TOV: JCPA Vice Chair Nan H. Rich will be sworn in this week as a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.
|
