I. LOCAL/REGIONAL—No Input This Week

II. STATE

--II. A. SECOND CALL FOR ADVOCACY: ASK GOVERNOR KAINE TO USE FEDERAL
STIMULUS FUNDS TO HELP VIRGINIA’S NEEDIEST FAMILIES

III. NATIONAL

--III. A. USCCB AFFIRMS RIGHT TO DECENT HEALTH CARE

--III. B. USCCB COMMENTS ON PROPOSED STEM CELL RESEACH GUIDELINES

IV. INTERNATIONAL

--IV. A. USCCB, CRS APPLAUD LEADERSHIP ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I. LOCAL/REGIONAL—No Input This Week

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

II. STATE

--II. A. SECOND CALL FOR ADVOCACY: ASK GOVERNOR KAINE TO USE FEDERAL
STIMULUS FUNDS TO HELP VIRGINIA’S NEEDIEST FAMILIES

SALT (Social Action Linking Together) informs us that advocacy is
still needed with Governor Kaine to ensure he decides to use
additional financial resources available through the Federal
“Stimulus” bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—ARRA) to help
Virginia’s neediest families in this time of serious economic
distress.  We are therefore repeating the call for advocacy that we
made in our May 12 issue.

Background from SALT: The TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families) Emergency Fund, created by Section 2101 of the Recovery Act,
provides 80 percent federal funds for increased spending on cash
assistance, non-recurrent short-term benefits, and subsidized
employment.  For every 5 dollars that benefits are increased, 4
dollars will come from the Federal Government.  Virginia is eligible
to receive up to $79 million from this fund during federal fiscal
years 2009 and 2010.

According to SALT, cash assistance can be rapidly spent on
necessities, such as housing and child care, to stimulate the local
economy. Among the uses of the money for non-recurrent short-term
benefits:  a one-time payment to families to help purchase back-to-
school clothing, to pay up to four months of a family’s rent through
the already existing Homeless Intervention Program (HIP), to help
families pay utility bills, and to help defray costs of a move forced
by a foreclosure. In terms of subsidized employment, these funds can
reimburse states for 80% of a wage subsidy, and for the expense of
training and supervising participants in subsidized employment
programs.

Please contact Governor Kaine and make the case. The essential
arguments are:

--Please use the additional resources (up to $79 million) of the
Federal “Stimulus” bill (ARRA) to help Virginia’s neediest families
while stimulating our economy.

--For every $5 increase in TANF benefits, $4 will come from Federal
funds. For a small investment, Virginia can leverage significant
assistance.

--Among the uses of this assistance: help low-income families stay in
their homes and out of shelters, help them pay energy bills to avoid
utility cutoffs, and finance temporary employment programs to combat
rising joblessness due to the current severe recession.

--Please take advantage of this opportunity to help Virginia’s most
vulnerable families as well as the economy.

Governor Kaine may be contacted by using the link below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TO CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND STATE LEGISLATORS:

- To contact Gov. Kaine go to:
 http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

- Find your senator at
http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/$$Viewtemplate+for+WMembershipHo...

- Find your representative at
 http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

III. NATIONAL

--III. A. USCCB AFFIRMS RIGHT TO DECENT HEALTH CARE

“Decent health care is not a privilege, but a basic human right and a
requirement to protect the life and dignity of every person,” said
Bishop William F. Murphy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s
(USCCB). In a May 20 statement to the Senate’s Committee on Finance’s
Roundtable Discussion on Expanding Health Care Coverage, Murphy
outlined USCCB’s principles and criteria for health care reform. On
May 21, USCCB sent letters expressing the same message to the House,
Senate, and White House, the bishops’ office said.

Health care must affirm and respect the sanctity of human life from
conception to natural death, the poor’s pressing health care needs
must be given priority, and benefits should be comprehensive, Murphy
said. His entire statement is available at
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/2009-05-usccb-health-care-statemen....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--III. B. USCCB COMMENTS ON PROPOSED STEM CELL RESEACH GUIDELINES

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) joined other members
of the public in submitting comments on the National Institutes of
Health’s (NIH) proposed guidelines that would authorize federally
funded human embryonic stem cell research. In an April 23 Federal
Register notice, NIH invited comments due by May 26. Although the
comment period has ended, USCCB’s Stem Cell Campaign web site provides
an easy way to contact federal legislators on this topic.

The conference’s core message was that NIH’s proposed guidelines would
pass up “an enormous opportunity to show how science and responsible
ethic can not only co-exist but support and enrich each other,” said
USCCB General Secretary Msgr. David Malloy.

Over the last 10 years, since human embryonic stem cells were first
isolated, researchers have made incredible advances in using stem
cells to treat dozens of ailments and disabling conditions, Malloy
said.

The use of adult and cord blood stem cells that has given hope to so
many illustrates a “common ground for Americans of different moral
views, a path to cures we can all live with,” he continued. Those
developments illustrate that ethically responsible, federally funded
stem cell research can move forward without destroying human embryos,
USCCB’s statement said.

Instead of seizing that opportunity, the proposed guidelines so
emphasize the use of embryonic stem cells that they would encourage
the destruction not only of frozen embryos but of “recently conceived
or `fresh’ embryos,” USCCB said.

USCCB focused on the dignity of human life at every stage and the
innate human right not to be subjected to experimentation without
one’s express and informed consent, and stated that policies that fail
to recognize that birthright “do not succeed in nullifying the right
in question, but only call into question their own moral legitimacy.”

USCCB’s comments, which view the proposed guidelines as broader than
past ones, can be viewed at http://www.usccb.org/prolife/NIHcomments.pdf.
Additional information and a method to easily contact legislators are
available at: http://www.usccb.org/stemcellcampaign.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HOW TO
CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE THROUGH INCREDIBLY EASY
WAYS!

To contact your senators and representative, go to
http://actioncenter.crs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ac_homepage  or
http://capwiz.com/networklobby/home/  and enter your zip code.

(Both sites have links to additional information about issues.)

You can also reach your senators and representative by calling the
Congressional Switchboard (202) 224-3121.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

IV. INTERNATIONAL

--IV. A. USCCB, CRS APPLAUD LEADERSHIP ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

Recently introduced legislation on foreign aid is “an encouraging step
towards more comprehensive reform of U.S. foreign assistance,” the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief
Services (CRS), recently told House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Howard Berman (D-Calif.).

On April 28 Berman introduced H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign
Assistance Reform Act of 2009. The bill would direct the President to
develop and implement a national strategy to further the U.S. foreign
policy objective of reducing poverty and contributing to economic
growth in developing countries; and it would establish a system to
monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance.

Foreign assistance reflects the commitment to fulfill American’s moral
responsibility to the poor of the world, wrote Rev. Howard J. Hubbard,
Bishop of Albany and chairman of USCCB’s Committee on International
Justice and Peace, and CRS President Ken Hackett, in a May 18 letter
to Berman.

They urged Democrats and Republicans to support foreign assistance
reform focused--as H.R. 2139 requires--on poverty alleviation and
broad-based economic growth in developing countries.

To read the letter on H.R. 2139 go to
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/2009-05-18-ltr-usccb-crs-on-h....

To learn which legislators have co-sponsored the bill (no Virginia
representatives have so far) go to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2139.
To urge your legislator to co-sponsor H.R. 2139, see “incredibly easy
ways” at the end of the “National” section above.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[NOTE: We encourage you to forward this e-mail to others you think
would be interested.

To join this network, go to the St. Charles Web site, Social Justice
page, by using this link: http://www.stcharleschurch.org/maillist.htm
and follow the instructions you find there under Social Justice.

If you do take action to advocate, we encourage you to mention the St.
Charles Advocacy Network. If you wish to let us know you took action,
you can e-mail us at just...@stcharleschurch.org. Thank you.]