ST.CHARLES ADVOCACY TOPICS—JUNE 2, 2009

[jus...@stcharleschurch.org]

ST.CHARLES ADVOCACY TOPICS—JUNE 2, 2009

I. LOCAL/REGIONAL (NO INPUT)

II. STATE (NO INPUT)

III. NATIONAL
-- III.A COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
-- III.B. REUNITING FAMILIES ACT
-- III.C. PAID SICK-LEAVE LEGISLATION

IV. INTERNATIONAL
-- IV.A FUNDING FOR GLOBAL EMERGENCIES THIS FISCAL YEAR
-- IV.B TAKING ACTION FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE-EAST

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I. LOCAL/REGIONAL— (NO INPUT)

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II. STATE (NO INPUT)


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HOW TO CONTACT YOUR GOVERNOR, AND STATE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE –
INCREDIBLY EASY WAYS!

- To contact Gov. Kaine go to the following web sites:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm or
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

The phone number for Gov. Kaine is (804) 786-2211.

To send an email, go to http://capwiz.com/vacatholic/mail/?id=48779&type=GV&state=VA

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

- Find your representative at http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView,
or
Go to “Who's My Legislator” icon on the General Assembly website at
http://legis.state.va.us to find or confirm who your delegate or
senator is, and his or her contact information.
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III. NATIONAL

-- III.A COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

The Catholic Church’s teaching on migration/immigration is based on
the commitment to promote and defend human dignity with particular
attention to the most vulnerable. The U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and other Catholic
organizations have been advocating for several years for comprehensive
immigration reform that includes, among other elements, the
following:

+ An earned legalization program that allows undocumented persons
to earn permanent residency;

+ A guest worker program that protects foreign-born workers and
safeguards against the displacement of U.S. workers;

+ Family-based immigration reform that reduces waiting times for
family reunification;

+ Restoration of due process protections for immigrants; and

+ Policies that address the root causes of migration.

President Obama has indicated his support for comprehensive
immigration reform and promised during his campaign to move this issue
during his first year in office. Several members of Congress have
also stated their support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill
to move forward this year.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is urging Catholics to advocate NOW for
comprehensive reform.

For more information go to the CRS website at
https://secure.crs.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=476 . To
draft an email to your senators and congressperson click on “TAKE
ACTION NOW”. This link will also provide language you may use in
drafting an email.


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-- III. B. IMMIGRATION: REUNITING FAMILIES ACT

Would you want to wait 14 years to be reunited with a parent?

Our U.S. immigration system currently has visa backlogs so great that
it can take up to 14 years for immigrants to be legally reunited with
a parent and up to 22 years to get a visa to reunite with a sibling!

Senator Menendez just introduced The Reuniting Families Act, S. 1085,
which will address the decades-long backlogs by raising the per-
country immigration limits to more realistic numbers, utilize an
estimated 400,000 visas that went unused in the last 15 years,
reclassify some spouses and children who are not now classified as
immediate relatives, and protect widows, widowers and orphans by
allowing them to wait in line for a visa after the death of the
sponsoring relative.

NETWORK, a national Catholic social-justice lobby, is urging us to
send a loud & clear message to our senators that we want them to fix
the problems with our immigration system and that they can start by
signing on as a co-sponsor of S. 1085.

The Reuniting Families Act is far from the comprehensive immigration
reform our Church seeks. This small step, however, helps address one
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) objectives: Family-
based immigration reform that reduces waiting times for family
reunification. It could be the catalyst for broader reforms.

You can email your senators by going to
http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=13456941&type=CO.
This NETWORK site provides direct email links as well as suggested
language you may want to use in drafting your own email.

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-- III.C PAID SICK-LEAVE LEGISLATION

On May 19, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the
"Healthy Families Act" (H.R. 2460), legislation that would require
most employers to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave for
workers.

Almost half of private sector workers (43 percent), the majority of
which are low-income workers, have no paid sick time. Currently, many
workers have to choose between losing a day’s pay to care for
themselves or a sick child, or going to work sick and exposing their
co-workers to illness.

The "Healthy Families Act" would require employers with 15 or more
employees to allow all workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per
year. These could be used for personal illness, care of an ill family
member, birth of a child or adoption.

This bill has now been introduced in the Senate but needs co-
sponsors.

NETWORK, a national Catholic social-justice lobby, is urging people to
contact their senators this week, asking them to become a co-sponsor
of the Healthy Families Act, S. 1152, or to thank them if they are
already co-sponsors.

If you support this act, you can contact your senators by going to
http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=13442566&type=CO.

When you enter your zip code, an appropriate message will come up,
based on your senators' co-sponsorship status. If your senator is
already a co-sponsor, you'll get a sample message thanking him/her.
Thank-you messages are also important.

For more information, you may also contact Kellyann McClain, Policy
Analyst, at Catholic Charieies, USA at
kmcc...@catholiccharitiesusa.org.



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HOW TO CONTACT THE PRESIDENT AND YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE –
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.)

To contact the President, go to http://capwiz.com/networklobby/bio/?id=20004&lvl=F
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IV. INTERNATIONAL

-- IV.A FUNDING FOR GLOBAL EMERGENCIES THIS FISCAL YEAR

The FY 2009 Supplemental Appropriation bill has passed both the House
and Senate and contains urgently needed funding for global
humanitarian emergencies. There are some differences between the
Senate and House bills, which will have to be reconciled by a House-
Senate conference committee before the President can consider signing
it.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) are urging that the following foreign assistance
priorities receive the highest level of funding:

• Support for the Palestinian People
• International Disaster Assistance
• Migration and Refugee Assistance
• Food Aid
• International Peacekeeping and Peacekeeping Operations
• Assistance in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq
• Global Financial Crisis
• Development Assistance

To advocate with your senators and representative, see “HOW TO CONTACT…
INCREDIBLY EASY WAYS” above this section.


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-- IV.B TAKING ACTION FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE-EAST

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is urging us to ask our members of
Congress to sign a bipartisan letter to President Obama supporting his
efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The bipartisan letter was initiated by Representatives Steve Cohen (D-
TN), Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and shares
President Obama's "conviction that a two-state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict is an essential cornerstone of Middle East
stability," "an end to the conflict is critical to Israel's long-term
security," "America best serves our historic friendship with Israel
when it is actively working to de-escalate conflict and advance
peace," and "our relationships throughout the Arab and Muslim world
will be strengthened through a negotiated agreement that ends the
conflict."

For more information and to contact your representative, go to the CRS
site at
https://secure.crs.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr010=8g51kp3nf1.app44b&pagename=homepage&id=554
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[NOTE: We encourage you to forward this e-mail to others you think
would be interested. Persons wishing to subscribe may 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 jus...@stcharleschurch.org. Thank you.]