|
|
|
May 17, 1999 Vol.1, No. 6 This Week in Washington…
GUN CONTROL DEBATE CONTINUES The Senate resumes debate Tuesday on the Juvenile Justice Bill (S. 254) after a week capped by the "do-over" vote on an amendment to require background checks on weaponry purchased at gun shows. Nearly 80 amendments of all sorts await consideration, which may lead Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (MS) to delay debate to a later time. Votes scheduled for Tuesday include an amendment by Senator Herb Kohl (WI) to require child safety trigger locks on certain firearms as well as possible reconsideration of a provision requiring background checks for gun purchases from pawn shops. And in the Congessional tradition of mixing "milchig" with "fleishig", church-state issues have found their way to the legislation with inclusion of a charitable choice provision. A vote is also scheduled on an amendment authored by Senator Wayne Allard (CO) which would permit prayers and memorial services to be held on school grounds when students have been murdered at school. FINALLY, AN EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL? Congress may cap two and a half months of debate on the Emergency Supplemental with a House vote scheduled for Tuesday, followed by a Senate vote on Thursday. The final package has grown from an initial $1.3 billion disaster relief bill, intended to fund relief efforts for Central American victims of Hurricane Mitch and provide aid to the Kingdom of Jordan, to an astounding $15 billion covering funding for U.S. in the Balkans, additional Pentagon spending, tornado victims in the Midwest and assistance to American farmers. Thrown into this mix is additional funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement to assist Kosovar refugees. The disaster relief portion of the bill was effected by means of "offsets" - read cuts - totaling $350 million from Section 8 low income housing and $1.25 billion from food stamp programs. INSUFFICIENT INCREASE IN WIC FUNDING TO BE REMEDIED When it meets this Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee is expected to uphold an Agriculture Subcommittee proposal to increase funding for the WIC program (The Women, Infants and Children program) by $81 million, bringing funding for the highly successful program to $4.01 billion. Previous increases did not keep pace with hikes in food prices and administrative costs, and WIC advocates feared that the total would not be enough to keep all 7.4 million current participants on the program. GOOD NEWS FOR RABBI LYNNE LANDSBERG! Rabbi Lynne Landsberg was released from the National Rehabilitation Hospital earlier this month to continue her convalescence at home. We are delighted to relay the news that she is responding well to therapy and can walk short distances with assistance. This Week in New York…
SHER TO BRIEF ON HOLOCAUST-ERA INSURANCE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT JCPA will convene a conference call for member agencies on Wednesday to discuss recent developments regarding ongoing efforts to finalize an agreement with five European insurers. Neal Sher, Chief of Staff for the International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims, will brief the field on the status of the creation of a central claims filing process. Contact koded@thejcpa.org for more information. WORK BEGINS ON JCPA SURVEY 2000 Larry Rubin and Benita Gayle-Almeleh will meet this week with Professors Lawrence Sternberg, Director of Brandeis University's Perlmutter Center for Jewish Advocacy and Dr. Len Saxe, Director of its Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, to finalize arrangements for the second National Jewish Public Affairs Survey, Contact bga@thejcpa.org for more information. WEST COAST CONCLAVE The JCPA Task Force and Board of Directors meetings will take place Sunday, June 13th and Monday, June 14th in San Francisco. The deadline for hotel reservations at the Westin St. Francis is Friday, May 19th. For more information, contact marny@thejcpa.org. The Minkoff Institute for Professional Development will take place Monday, June 14th - Thursday, June 17th at Seascape Resort. Contact bga@thejcpa.org for details.
|
