Legislative alerts from NETWORK

In session
October 2004

Legislative alerts from NETWORK
USCCB action alert on debt relief

Legislative alerts from NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby:

1. National Housing Trust Fund Discharge Petition
Please contact your Representative to discuss the discharge petition (H. Res. 748) for the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. For a letter, go to our website and enter your ZIP Code in the “Take Action Now” box.

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund (H.R. 1102) would provide communities with funds to help build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million affordable homes over the next 10 years, and would be modeled on the more than 280 successful state and local housing trust funds. Up to 25 percent of funds could be used for homeownership activities.

On July 22, cosponsors of H.R. 1102 filed a discharge petition in an attempt to move the bill to the House floor debate and up-or-down vote.

The House Financial Services Committee has declined to take up the legislation, despite the fact that it has 214 cosponsors. To date, 135 House Representatives have signed the discharge petition for the legislation.

The petition would “discharge” the committee of its responsibility in considering the bill. If at least 218 Members sign the petition, the legislation would go directly to the House floor.

2. TANF Expires September 30 – Tell Congress to DO NO HARM
Contact your Senators and urge them to: 1) oppose the Santorum and Bayh bill (S. 2830) and 2) urge them to pass a multi-year TANF extension without policy changes. For a letter, go to NETWORK's website and enter your ZIP Code in the “Take Action Now” box.

On September 22, Healthy Marriages and Responsible Fatherhood Act (S. 2830) was introduced by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) to extend the current TANF law for six months, while providing $600 million for two years for marriage promotion and fatherhood initiatives. It was brought before the Senate under unanimous consent.

Santorum and Bayh’s proposals, which would divert limited resources toward unproven strategies, may be brought to the Senate floor for debate in the near future. Senators need to be reminded of the need to address the concrete, immediate needs that low-income families face:

• Adequate funding for child care;

• Expansion of education and training opportunities;

• Maintenance of the current work requirement, particularly as it applies to parents of pre-school children;

• Flexibility for states to extend time limits for families facing severe barriers to employment;

• Restoration of benefits to legal immigrants

Urge Congress to “DO NO HARM” and pass TANF without added restrictions or policy changes.

3. Closing The Loop on Tax Cuts
By wide margins the House and Senate passed a $146 billion package of tax cut extensions September 23. There were no offsets to the bill, which included a last-minute addition of $13 billion in various corporate tax breaks.

The “middle-class tax provisions” extend the $1000 child tax credit and the tax cut for married couples, and also expand the 10 percent bracket. The provisions were set to expire this year because the 2003 tax cut was kept at $350 billion over ten years in an attempt to hold down the cost.

The tax cut will add to the already overwhelming deficit and cut taxes further for those who do not need the help. The wealthiest 20 percent of households will receive two-thirds of the benefits, and the people most in need will be left with very little.

The White House Comment line is 202-456-1111 or e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov.

Vice President Cheney at 202-456-7549 or e-mail: vice-president@whitehouse.gov.

Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121 or search for contact information at http://capwiz.com/networklobby/dbq/officials/.

NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, educates, lobbies and organizes to influence the formation of federal legislation to promote economic and social justice.

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