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Legislative updates from USCCB
Legislative updates from NETWORK—A Catholic Lobby
Bush signs 'Unborn Victims of Violence Act'Legislative updates from the USCCB
Faith-Based Initiative
The USCCB supports legislation that would provide faith-based and community-based groups new resources to serve the poor, while preserving the religious hiring exemption for faith-based organizations as provided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The Senate passed S. 476, the Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act of 2003 on 4/9/03. The CARE Act includes $1.3 billion in new funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), used by states to fund faith-based and community groups' service to working families, abused and abandoned children, persons with disabilities and the frail elderly.
The House of Representatives passed its companion bill, The Charitable Giving Act (H.R. 7), on 9/17/03, but did not include the SSBG funding. A conference committee would work out the differences between the two bills and the USCCB supports inclusion of SSBG in the final bill. However, in early October of 2003, Senator Harkin (D-IA) put a hold on the bill, preventing the appointment of Senate conferees. While he eventually withdrew his hold, it appears to have been replaced by a rolling hold by other Democrats.
Then on March 4, 2004, Senators Santorum (R-PA) and Lieberman (D-CT) announced that they had filed the CARE Act as an amendment to S.1637, "Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS)" Act. The bill was under consideration on the Senate floor during the weeks of March 1st and 22nd. However, the bill was pulled when both the cloture motion failed and the Republican leadership could not reach agreement with the minority on the number of non-germane amendments that would be considered.
Reauthorization of TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)
The USCCB will support provisions in the reauthorization of TANF that would help families leave welfare for meaningful work; strengthen marriage and family life; and sustain the needy, especially children and immigrants.On 2/13/03, the House passed welfare reauthorization legislation which the USCCB was unable to support. The Senate Finance Committee on 9/10/03 passed its version of the bill. While the Senate bill begins to move in the right direction, it still falls short of USCCB priorities in several ways. It continues to deny benefits to legal immigrants; it doesn’t include enough new child care funding; it increases required work hours; and it doesn’t expand the time that states can count genuine education and training as work.
TANF was set to expire on 9/30/03. Since it was clear that Congress would not complete its reauthorization work by then, on 9/24/03 the House of Representatives passed a free standing bill extending current TANF law through March 31, 2004. On 9/30/03, the Senate passed the extension with a provision that would keep Medicare payments to rural hospitals on par with those in urban areas until the March 2004 expiration. This six-month extension, signed into law by the President the following day, made other changes to TANF, meaning that while there will be no increase in work requirements, states continue to be denied any additional flexibility in providing benefits for immigrants.
On 3/25/04, the Senate passed a simple 3 month extension of TANF through 6/30/04m and the House followed on 3/30/04. The Senate took up the full-scale reauthorization on 3/29/04 and on 3/30/04 passed the bipartisan Snowe/Dodd Amendment by a vote of 78-20, authorizing an additional $6 billion in child care funds.
House Committee Sends School Lunch Program Reauthorization to House Floor
On March 24, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3873 (Castle, R-DE/AL) by a vote of 419-5 to reauthorize the school lunch program and other programs providing subsidized breakfast and milk. The new bill, The Child Nutrition Integrity and Improvement Act, authorizes these programs through 2008. Among the new provisions, the bill would require schools to adopt wellness policies that set nutritional guidelines for all food sold in the schools.It does not set federal standards for food sold outside of the lunch program (i.e. in vending machines or sponsored by restaurant chains), as recommended by some House members. Additionally, it streamlines the application process for parents by requiring only one application per family and by automatically certifying as eligible children whose families are food stamp or welfare recipients. Finally, it requires schools to focus their verifications on families whose monthly income falls within $100 of eligibility for program services. The Senate has not introduced companion legislation.
Washington Scholarship Fund to Administer D.C. Scholarship Program
The U.S. Department of Education and the office of Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, on March 24, 2004, jointly announced the choice of the Washington Scholarship Fund to administer the newly enacted D.C. Choice Incentive Program (P.L. 108-199), signed into law by President Bush on January 23, 2004. This program is a $14 million, 5-year demonstration program to provide equal opportunity scholarships to low-income students in the District of Columbia to attend private or religious schools. Prospective scholarship recipients would receive up to $7500 for tuition, fees and transportation beginning in the fall of 2004.Sally Sachar, president and chief executive of the Washington Scholarship Fund, was quoted in the Washington Post on March 25, 2004 concerning the implementation of the program. “'It's important for people to perceive of this first year as a ramp-up year and have realistic expectations about how many slots the schools can make available in light of how late in the admissions and school placement process we are,'” Sachar said. “'I think it's unlikely that we will fill this program up in terms of slots this year.'”
The Washington Scholarship Fund was founded in 1993 and has been administering a privately-funded voucher program for students in the District of Columbia to attend private schools. Since its inception, the fund has provided $10 million in scholarship to more than 2700 students.
IDEA May See Senate Floor Action in April
The reauthorization of the bipartisan Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), S 1248 (Gregg, R-NH; Kennedy D-MA) may see floor action in the U.S. Senate during the month of April. The bill was voted out of Committee November 3, 2003, but has not yet been taken up by the full Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the reauthorization of IDEA, HR 1350 (Castle, R-DE), on April 30, 2004.S. 1248 revises requirements for LEAs (public school districts) to obligate proportional amounts of funds for parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. Furthermore, it requires LEAs to: (1) provide direct services to such children to the extent practicable; (2) provide data on the number of students evaluated, found to have a disability, and served under part B; (3) conduct the child-find process for such children in a time period comparable to that for students attending public schools; (4) not consider the cost of such child-find and individual evaluations in meeting their proportional obligations; and (5) consult with private school officials on the child find process, determination of proportional share of Federal funds, provision of services, alternative delivery mechanisms, and third party providers. The bill also allows private schools to appeal if the required consultation does not take place and makes an LEA responsible for ensuring equitable services for children with disabilities at private schools within the LEA's jurisdiction, regardless of where the child resides.
Following passage by the Senate, House and Senate conferees will be named to rectify the differences between HR 1350 and S 1248 and develop a final bill that can be signed into law. If IDEA is not reauthorized by the close of the 108th Congress (late fall of 2004), work on IDEA will begin anew when the 109th Congress begins in January 2005 because bills do not carry over between Congresses.
NETWORK Legislative Update: March 29, 2004
1. Bad Budgeting Continues! Let your Reps hear from you.
Tell your Representatives how you feel about their budget resolution.Write a letter of appreciation if they voted against it. If your Representative supported it, let them know that you disapprove. For a letter to your Representative go to our website and enter your ZIP Code in the “Take Action Now” box.
The House passed H. Con. Res. 393 by a 215-212 vote on March 25. The bill now heads to conference with the Senate, where meshing of the differing versions must be negotiated.
It could be a difficult task due to the fact that the Senate voted for pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules that require the cost of additional tax cuts or new entitlement spending to be offset with revenue increases or spending cuts. The House leadership strongly opposed that rule, as it would make the tax cuts more difficult to get through, and it is not included in the House budget.
The House budget blueprint allows for $138 billion in more tax cuts, a 7 percent hike in defense spending, a $13 billion cut in entitlement programs such as Medicaid and welfare. Overall discretionary spending outside of defense and homeland security is frozen with deep future cuts. The House budget resolution will have dire consequences on domestic programs.
For more information, read the update on our website.
2. TANF Reauthorization in Senate
On Monday, March 29, the Senate will begin to debate H.R. 4 concerning the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Both Democrats and Republicans plan to offer amendments. Votes will follow the debate, most likely mid-week.Urge your Senators to support a bill that helps families as they work to overcome poverty and to oppose amendments that would create additional barriers for families facing poverty.
Specific talking points include:
• Support the increase for child care funding.
• Retain the current work requirements at 20 hours a week for parents of preschool children and 30 hours for parents of older children.
• Give states the flexibility to define what counts as work (e.g., job training, education, health services). These services will enable individuals to overcome poverty and remain employed.
• Allow states to provide TANF and health coverage to lawfully present immigrants.
• Reject proposals for a “superwaiver” that would permit governors to waive decisions made by Congress regarding eligibility and levels of assistance in programs such as TANF, housing, and food stamps.
TANF was set to expire on March 31. The Senate voted for another clean
extension to carry current law through June 30 (S. 2231). The House
must now vote to extend the bill by March 31.To send a letter to your Senators, go to http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=5439881, type=CO, and enter your ZIP Code in the “Take Action Now” box. For this week only, you may also make toll-free calls about TANF at 1-800-247-2971.
3. Tell your Members to vote NO on CAFTA!
The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) may be sent to Congress for approval within the very near future. CAFTA is a regional trade agreement between the U.S. and five Central American countries—Guatemala, Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.The President intends to include the recently-signed agreement with the Dominican Republic in the same package. Encourage your Senators and Representative to vote against the agreement, which contains no strongly enforced protections for workers’ rights and could devastate small farmers in both the U.S. and Central America.
For a letter, go to http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=5439916, type=CO, and enter your ZIP Code in the “Take Action Now” box. You may find more CAFTA information on our issues page.
4. Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act passes in the House; Senate must act soon
Please call your Senators and urge them to act on child nutrition legislation and to include additional improvements. Proper nutrition will prepare the children to actively engage in school and promise a brighter future for our nation.In a major victory, the House passed The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act (H.R. 3873) with bipartisan support in a vote of 419-5. The bill would allow more low-income children to receive nutritious meals and snacks in school, in child care, and outside of school. It focuses on improving access to programs and increasing the number of people served.
H.R. 3873 includes the following improvements:
• Improving nutrition in schools.
• Providing eligibility for free school meals to migrant children.
• Opening participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program to for profit child care centers who serve low income families.
• Including children up to age 18 in domestic violence and homeless shelters in snacks and meals programs.
• Enabling increased numbers of low-income children of military families to participate in school meals programs.
• Allowing families to apply for free school meals for more than one child in a single application.
• Extending a pilot program in the Summer Food Program to reduce paperwork. The pilot resulted in more children receiving nutritious food in the summer.
To activate these improvements, the Senate must vote on child nutrition programs. For updates, please continue to check our nutrition webpage.
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