FCNL: Legislative Action Message
FCNL
FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE
April 2, 1998
The following are updates and action suggestions from
the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) for
the coming week. These messages focus on selected
legislation which Congress is considering now, and
suggest some points that you may wish to make in your
communications with Congress. These messages are
intended as a supplement to other FCNL materials and do
not reflect FCNL's complete policy position on any
issue, nor do they include all pertinent facts on any
topic.
This update was prepared and uploaded at 4:00 pm on
Thursday, April 2. It includes information and action
suggestions on BUDGET PRIORITIES, UN FUNDING, NATO
EXPANSION, MINIMUM WAGE, CTBT, LANDMINES, AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION, and CUBA.
Congress will be in recess from April 3 through April
20. Members will be in their home districts and states.
Please consider using this opportunity to raise FCNL
priorities and issues (described below) at town meetings
and in individual meetings with legislators. Letters
and phone calls to members' district and Washington
offices also help.
BUDGET PRIORITIES: This week, the Senate is expected to
complete debate on the FY99 Concurrent Budget
Resolution. This resolution sets overall spending
limits for FY99 appropriations bills and instructs other
committees to adjust laws governing taxes and
entitlement spending to meet spending goals. The House
Budget committee will mark up its version of the budget
resolution after the recess.
This is the best time of year to raise budget priorities
with your legislators. Please ask them the following
questions.
(1) Will they support HR 3685 introduced by Reps. Frank
(MA) and Shays (CT) to freeze military spending at the
FY98 level which is $3.6 billion below the President's
request? Will they support other initiatives to reduce
military spending?
(2) Will they protect funding for programs serving low-
income people from off-setting cuts to pay for new
transportation spending and military activities in Iraq
and Bosnia? Will they support proposed spending
increases for low income child care assistance and
restoration of food stamp benefits for documented
immigrants?
(3) Will they support increased funding for development
assistance and to forgive $4.2 billion in debts which 25
highly indebted poor countries in Africa owe the U.S.?
FCNL's March newsletter and Tax Day action kit will soon
arrive in the mail. Both focus on budget priorities and
have additional ideas and information for action.
UN FUNDING: The House passed the State Department
Authorization conference report (HR 1757) this week.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill shortly after
it returns from recess. This bill would authorize the
payment of U.S. arrears to the UN. However, FCNL
opposes this bill for the following reasons. HR 1757
authorizes only $926 million of the $1.5 billion in
arrears which the U.S. actually owes the UN. The
payment of arrears would be burdened by unworkable and
unacceptable conditions that are inappropriate for a
single member nation to demand in exchange for payment
of its obligation. The bill would delay release of the
funds over too great a period of time. The Secretary
General has already undertaken significant UN reforms to
strengthen the UN's ability to carry out its important
functions with greater efficacy and efficiency. In
contrast, HR 1757 would weaken the UN, leave it
vulnerable to the unilateral demands of individual
member states, and reduce its capacity to carry out its
vital mission. FY98 supplemental appropriations bills
to appropriate funds to pay UN arrears will also be
considered in April.
Please ask your senators and representatives the
following questions.
(1) Will they allow the credibility of the U.S.
government to continue to decline because of its failure
to meet its legal obligations to the UN?
(2) Will they allow the U.S. historic leading role in
the community of nations to collapse on their watch?
(3) Are they willing to accept the consequences of a
world without a UN?
NATO EXPANSION: The Senate will debate and vote on
ratification of NATO expansion (to include Poland,
Hungary, and the Czech Republic) soon after the recess.
Expansion of this Cold War-era military alliance
threatens to alienate Russia, and to undermine nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. The U.S.,
Europe, and the candidate countries will increase
military spending for expansion at the expense of
important social programs. The public, the media, and
some active and retired senators have expressed concerns
and questions. The Administration maintains that
further debate is not needed and has pressed the Senate
for a rapid vote.
Please ask your senators the following questions.
(1) What will NATO expansion cost?
(2) Does NATO have a mission in the post-Cold War world?
(3) Why not explore other less expensive, non-military
alternatives such as the European Union or the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe?
Other active legislative issues for April. For
background information, please see recent Legislative
Action Messages or contact FCNL.
MINIMUM WAGE: The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1998 (S
1805, HR 3510) will be offered in the Senate shortly
after Congress returns from the April recess. Please
encourage your senators and representative to co-sponsor
the respective bills. On April 16, there will be a
National Day of Action to Increase the Minimum Wage.
Please contact FCNL for details.
CTBT: The week of April 20 will be a National Call-In
Week for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT)! Please ask your senators to urge the
Senate leadership to hold hearings and to vote for
ratification of the CTBT before the August recess.
LANDMINES: Following recess, Sen. Leahy (VT) and others
will introduce new legislation to move the U.S. toward
signing the Ottawa Treaty and to provide additional
funding for landmine survivors assistance and civilian
de-mining efforts. Please ask your legislators to
become co-sponsors of this legislation and to urge Pres.
Clinton to sign the Ottawa treaty.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Efforts to chip away at affirmative
action are expected to continue. Recent votes in both
the Senate and House give a clear picture of where each
member of Congress currently stands. Please raise this
issue with your members. Supporters need encouragement
from constituents; opponents need to be labored with.
FCNL can provide information on your legislator's
position.
CUBA: A hearing on S 1391(Cuban Women and Children
Humanitarian Relief Act) is tentatively scheduled for
April 21 in the Senate Banking Committee. Please
encourage your senators to co-sponsor this legislation.
This concludes our message. For further information,
please contact FCNL directly to request the FCNL
Washington Newsletter and other background documents
(see address below). Not all of these documents are
available electronically at present.
This message may be found regularly on PeaceNet in the
fcnl.updates conference or on the FCNL Web page at
http://www.fcnl.org/pub/fcnl
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