April 2, 2001 Vol. 3, No. 7

This Week in Washington...

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

Bush to Meet with Arab Leaders: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will meet today with President Bush, and later, with members of Congress and other groups concerned with Middle East peace, including Jewish and Arab American organizations. The subject of anti-Semitism in the Egyptian media is certain to be raised. (See the ADL website at www.adl.org as well as ADL’s ad on today’s NY Times op-ed page) King Abdullah of Jordan will arrive in the United States later this week, and both Arab leaders are expected to discuss with President Bush their joint proposal to Israel about returning to the negotiations. Support is growing for a "dear colleague" letter to President Bush urging him to reassess the US relationship with the Palestinians in the wake of current violence. (See JCPA e-mail memo, March 29, 2001.) The letter, sponsored by Senators Brownback (KS) and Biden (DE), currently has 58 Senate co-sponsors and the House version sponsored by Representatives Hyde (IL), Lantos (CA), Gilman (NY) and Ackerman (NY) has 103 House signatories. Contact rprice@thejcpa.org for the latest listing of cosponsors.

Money Makes the World Go Round: The House began its work on the budget and tax cuts last month, but in the Senate, where the real battle will take place, work will begin later today upon completion of Campaign Finance Reform legislation. The nonbinding Budget resolution (deadline: April 15^th except when the Congress doesn’t finish its work) sets out the blueprint for how much the government will spend during the next fiscal year which begins October 1^st. When the resolution is completed, the 13 appropriations committees are told how much money is in their budget lines, so they can make determinations as to how it should be spent. In this way the Congress reassesses priorities each year choosing what to fund and what to cut. In an unusual move, the Senate will bring the Budget resolution directly to the Senate floor, bypassing the committee process. The resolution would increase discretionary spending by 4% in fiscal 2002 (about $661 billion) and contains a provision embracing the President’s call to cut taxes by $1.62 trillion over the next ten years. Unless it is declared out of order by the Senate Parliamentarian or withdrawn through an amendment by Senator Byrd (WV) the resolution will contain "reconciliation" instructions to speed the tax cut provisions through the Senate with special rules for debate. The Senate is scheduled to adjourn for Passover/Easter recess at the end of the week but it is unclear that they can finish their work by that time.

Nothing Certain But Death and Taxes: The JCPA Board of Directors has approved a resolution brought forward by the EOSJ Strategy Committee urging that "any tax cut should primarily benefit the poor and working families who have largely been left behind, despite the record prosperity of the last few years. Such targeted tax cuts will also provide the greatest economic stimulus, because poor and working families will spend more of every dollar they get back." Background information on the issue can be found at www.fairtaxesforall.org .The resolution text will be sent out later today.

Around The Town: The NCSJ Board of Governors will meet in Washington, DC on Monday April 23, 2001 from 11:45-3:00pm. Speakers will include Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Michael Lewan, Chairman of the United States Commission for the Preservation of American’s Heritage Abroad. For more information contact NCSJ at 202-898-2500 or consult their website at www.ncsj.org. The Center for Law and Social Policy will be holding food stamp audio conferences from 12:30-1:30 on Wednesday April 18^th and May 2^nd 2001. For more information on how to participate or receive the tapes consult the CLASP website at www.clasp.org.