State Advocacy Spotlight: California

Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California

May 2, 2014

Water issues

California’s unprecedented drought – continue to receive attention from the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California (LOPP-CA), as legislators and stakeholders contentiously negotiate a multi-billion dollar general obligation bond proposals for the November election ballot, which would invest in water efficiency, supply, reliability, and watershed and ecosystem health. As compromise remains elusive and a late June deadline looms, one legislative author has a daily countdown posted on his Capitol door, stating the remaining number of days to “‘AQUAPOCOLYPSE”.

CA_Oil and Water

Water from far Northern California rivers is pumped out of the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta and transported via aqueducts to Southern California. Massive pumps in Kern County, near Interstate 5, push water over the Tehachapi Mountains in Los Angeles. Debates over the amount and timing of water transfers, and end uses of water, are part of the perpetual “water wars” in California.

LOPP-CA director Mark Carlson was one of four presenters for an Earth Week webinar on The Sacredness of Water, produced by DC-based Creation Justice Ministries, offering a perspective on the drought. One subtext of the water debates and choices underway involves low-income, disadvantaged rural and urban communities in California that lack safe drinking water (other than expensive bottled water), because of groundwater contamination by agricultural or industrial chemicals. LOPP-CA is a co-host, with other partners, in the gala premier of the documentary film Thirsty for Justice – The Struggle for the Human Right to Water, at the California Museum Theater on May 14. http://ejcw.org/thirsty/

The Spanish translation and dvd reproduction for this film, making it accessible to many of those who are affected by the lack of clean water, are partially funded by ELCA World Hunger. One segment of the film addresses the lack of clean water for drinking and hygiene for people who are homeless.

Immigration Day at the Capitol – May 19

Immigrant Day at the Capitol is when LOPP-CA seeks to engage Lutherans in standing with California’s diverse immigrant communities in celebrating their gifts and advancing their policy concerns, which this year will include access to health care for all.

Hunger Action Day – May 21

The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California is working with the Lutheran Episcopal Volunteer Network, LEVN, to participate in this annual Capitol advocacy day focused on poverty and hunger. LEVN is a program of The Belfry, the Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of California at Davis. LEVN participants, similar to the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, are placed for a year with various Sacramento-Davis area social service agencies and non-profits, including Lutheran Social Services of Northern California (focus on youth and young adults aging out of foster care), the Alchemist Community Development Corporation (farmers’ markets and SNAP nutrition outreach), and People Reaching Out (SNAP outreach). Last year, LOPP-CA organized an initial “Day at the Capitol” for LEVN participants and staff that included meeting with legislators.

Visit the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California at http://www.loppca.org or follow them on facebook.

State Advocacy Spotlight: New Jersey

Sara Lilja, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM)

May 2, 2014

Following the Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh this past summer Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM) in New Jersey is witnessing the Spirit move in our midst. Our state legislature and governor are ready to act on criminal justice reform, as so are we. After the wider church agreed to its newest Social Statement, “The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries” we set out visiting congregations and communities hearing about the need for reform in the criminal justice system in NJ specifically in the areas of Bail and Sentencing reform, and Parole/ Re-entry issues among others. At the same time our elected officials were doing similar listening. Now legislation is moving! LOGM is supporting several bills and engaging congregations to assist these “grass roots ideas” to more through both houses, and onto the governor’s desk to be made into law.

Through this Social Statement we are reminded that, “Individuals must be held accountable, but every person in the criminal justice system deserves to be seen and treated as a member of human communities, created in the image of God and worthy of appropriate and compassionate response. “

To this end, we are advocating for passage of the Presumptive Parole Act, which would allow for the release of certain nonviolent offenders upon their first parole eligibility Senate (Bill 677), We are also advocating for Senate Bill 947/Assembly Bill 1910 which would restructure our bail system so that people are not held behind bars while awaiting trail simply because they cannot afford to pay for their release. We are also working on a bill known as “The Opportunity to Compete Act” which would end the practice of asking on the front page of a job application if the applicant had ever been convicted of a crime, even before they had an interview for the job.

These are not bills that are soft of crime, they are rather more just administration of the law so that we can reduce the number of persons held prison in our state. Once released exoffenders must be able to get a job and rebuild their lives with hope for a brighter future for themselves and for our communities.

“For what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

Want to learn more about the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey? Check them out on facebook (www.facebook.com/logmnj).

State Advocacy Spotlight: Illinois

Jennifer De Leon, Lutheran Advocacy – Illinois

May 1, 2014

The days are getting longer, so spring must be here. That means that the Illinois Spring legislative session is in full swing and so is Lutheran Advocacy-Illinois. Below are three ways you can get involved!

We are happy to announce that we have made major improvements to our website. On our website you will find a complete list of issues we are working on this session as well as a get involved section where we will highlight specific issues that require immediate attention. Visit us at www.Lutheranadvocacy.org

Our new Facebook page is also up and running. On our page we will post information about specific campaigns and issues as they are happening in Springfield www.facebook.com/LutheranAdvocacyIllinois

10th Anniversary of Lutheran Day

This year is the 10th Anniversary of Lutheran Day in Springfield. Please join us on May 13, 2014 in Springfield as we build relationships with public officials, showcase the active engagement of Lutherans in pursuing the common good, and build camaraderie among Lutheran advocates in Illinois. To register and for more information, please go tohttp://www.lutheranday.org/.

State Advocacy Spotlight: Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale and The Rev. Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa)

Creating A New Conversation about Poverty

May 1, 2014

LAMPa is helping Pennsylvania lawmakers get beyond rhetoric so 1.6 million Pennsylvanians can get beyond poverty. Last summer, House Majority Policy Committee Chairman David Reed, a Republican serving rural Indiana County, approached LAMPa, along with other faith advocates, and asked us to help create a new kind of discussion around poverty in order to move past entrenched partisan views and divisions.

Over the past several months Rep. Reed and his committee traveled the state to visit anti-poverty programs and hear from advocates. LAMPa connected the committee to Lutherans in ministry with and on behalf of the poor in Pennsylvania who shared their stories. On Monday, Reed unveiled “Beyond Poverty,” the first report stemming from visits and interviews around the commonwealth. In it, he outlines a five-prong strategy for helping to move some 1.6 million Pennsylvanians from poverty to lives of self-sustainability. As the process moves forward, LAMPa continues to engage Lutherans with lawmakers on this subject.

On May 6, Reed will address more than 100 people at Lutheran Day in the Capitol. Attendees are then invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with committee members and staff. That discussion will be followed by a workshop on communal discernment around poverty led by the Rev. William Snyder, LAMPa policy council member and Vice President Marketing and Philanthropy at Luthercare. We will be using the report of the ELCA’s Communal Discernment Task Force as a tool. The goal of the workshop is to equip Lutherans to move beyond partisan rhetoric and engage in authentic dialogue about the roots and tolls of poverty as well as our call to seek sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all.

Want to learn more? Check out LAMPa’s website and follow them on facebook (LAMPaAdvocacy) and twitter(@LAMPaADVOCACY)!

State Advocacy Spotlight: Wisconsin

Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

May 1, 2014

WI_LOPPW

Human trafficking has been on Wisconsin’s legislative radar over the past year. Recently Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that includes redefining the meaning of consent for victims of human trafficking. More legislative efforts on trafficking will continue in the next session.

Currently I am working with Amy Hartman, an ELCA diaconal minister and the national executive director of Cherish All Children, to create a plan for working together to develop a team of ELCA members in the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. These team members would be the go-to people for sharing information about human trafficking with the synod and for responding to legislative concerns. The two LOPPW Advisory Council members from that synod will be involved. This work is part of an effort to create advocacy teams around the state that may vary according to local interests and needs, but will have statewide legislative ties.

Another advisory council member, from the northern part of Wisconsin in an area that is part of the Northern Great Lakes Synod, and I are discussing leading two half-day workshops on LOPPW’s work and hunger issues in two different cities in northern Wisconsin in the fall.

I also look forward to leading workshops on LOPPW at two synod assemblies and representing ELCA World Hunger at another synod assembly soon.

To learn more about the work of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin, visit their website or check them out onfacebook!

State Advocacy Spotlight: Washington

Elise Scott and Paul Benz, Faith Action Network

April 30, 2014

Lutheran advocacy in the state of Washington had a positive and significant impact on the 2014 legislative session.

During the course of the session, Faith Action Network advocated for the passage of the Dream Act, increases to the budget for state food assistance as well as for the breakfast after the bell bill, four separate bills regarding issues of wage theft, multiple bills related to dismantling the culture of violence through higher education in prisons and the sealing of juvenile records, and for a bill allowing state employees and students to take two unpaid holidays a year for reasons of religion or conscience. Although not all of these bills passed, several, including the Dream Act, sealing of juvenile records, the bill allowing for unpaid holidays for religious reasons, and minor increases in the budget for food and hunger related issues, passed and Governor Inslee signed them into law.

Furthermore, Faith Action Network dropped its first bill ever. The bill continued efforts to prevent human trafficking in the state of Washington by making it a felony for an employer to possess an employee’s immigration documents by threat or coercion of involuntary servitude. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support and Governor Inslee signed it into law on March 19, 2014.

Faith Action Network continues its advocacy efforts in regards to Initiative 594 which creates universal background checks. Through endorsements by faith communities throughout the state, FAN hopes to help this initiative pass into law in November.

To learn more about Faith Action Network’s advocacy efforts visit their website or follow them on facebook(faithactionnetwork) and twitter (@FaithActionWA).

Living Earth Reflections: Protecting the Waters of the United States

Mary Minette, ELCA Director of Environmental Advocacy

April 2014

“I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights,and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water.”

Isaiah 41:17b-18

Water is a gift from God that is both essential to life and to our spiritual life as Christians. Water quenches our thirst, serves as a symbol of the beginning of our journey as Christians and nourishes and renews all life on earth. Stewardship of water resources is a critical part of our call to care for God’s creation.

The Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act, which passed Congress in 1973, requires the federal government to protect the waters of the United States from pollution. Passed at a time in our national history when some rivers were so contaminated with industrial waste they could catch on fire, this landmark legislation is the reason that our lakes, rivers and streams can serve our communities as drinking water sources, support commercial and recreational fishing, and provide opportunities for swimming and other recreation. But many of our bodies of water are still under threat from pollution, and in recent years the scope of the Clean Water Act was called into question by two Supreme Court cases. These cases created uncertainty about whether small wetlands and streams are “waters of the United States” and deserving of the full protection of clean water regulations.

For more than four decades, the Clean Water Act protected the smaller streams and wetlands that feed into larger watersheds in our interconnected system of waters. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 60 percent of stream miles in the U.S. only flow seasonally or after rain, but have a considerable impact on the downstream waters. In fact, according to the agency, one in three Americans — more than 117 million people — get their drinking water from sources fed by these small and seasonal streams. But determining Clean Water Act protection for small streams and wetlands became confusing and complex following Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that required the EPA to consider impacts on small and seasonal streams and wetlands on a case-by-case basis.

This month, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft rule that would provide clarity, protecting streams and wetlands that connect to larger watersheds and protecting the quality of the water that we depend on for drinking, washing, swimming and fishing. Under the proposed rule many of the streams and wetlands that were historically covered under the Clean Water Act will again be covered. The proposed rule works within the more narrow definition of “waters of the United States” given by the two Supreme Court rulings and clarifies that under the Clean Water Act:

Most seasonal and rain-dependent streams are protected.
Wetlands near rivers and streams are protected.
Other types of waters that have more uncertain connections with downstream will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if their connection to overall water quality is significant. However, to provide more certainty, the proposal requests comment on options protecting similarly situated waters in certain geographic areas or adding to the categories of waters protected without case specific analysis.

In addition, the proposed rule preserves a number of exemptions to permit requirements for farming practices that have been developed over the 40-year history of the Clean Water Act to protect water quality.

Learn more

The EPA will be inviting the public to comment on the proposed rule over the coming months — if you’d like to learn more, go to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency page on the proposed rule.

This year’s Earth Day Sunday resource celebrates God’s gift of water and includes materials for use in worship as well as educational materials — use “Water, Holy Water” to plan an Earth Day service or other event in your congregation.

From Evangelical Lutheran Worship (page 71):

Holy God, holy and merciful, holy and mighty, you are the river of life, you are the everlasting wellspring, you are the fire of rebirth. Glory to you for oceans and lakes, for rivers and streams. Honor to you for cloud and rain, for dew and snow. Your waters are below us, around us, above us: our life is born in you. You are the fountain of resurrection … Satisfy all our thirst with your living water, Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Living Earth Reflections: Choosing Your Fast

Mary Minette, ELCA Director of Environmental Advocacy

February 2014

“Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”

Isaiah 58:6-7

During the first week of the meeting of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw last November, a delegate from the Philippines announced that he would be fasting for the duration of the meeting to call attention to the needs of those most vulnerable to climate change. This included the people of his own country, which had just been hit by the strongest typhoon ever recorded, causing massive losses of life and livelihood. Yeb Sano’s fast caught the attention of many of the people of faith attending the meeting — fasting is a practice that people of faith understand and connect to — and a number of the young adults who were part of The Lutheran World Federation’s delegation decided to join in the fast. Their gesture of support for the Philippines spread to others in the building, and by the time I arrived for the meeting’s second week, those who were fasting could be recognized by the red fabric dots they wore on their lapels as they hurried to plenary sessions and workshops.

Following the close of the meeting, the Lutheran World Federation delegates and others decided to continue their fast, selecting one day to fast each month until the next UN meeting in Lima, Peru, in December 2014. Their hope is that people will join the fast and tell friends and family that they are doing it to call attention to the need for global action and commitment to combat climate change. The UN process is working toward a new global agreement that would be signed in 2015 and take effect in 2020.

As I noted in my reflection post-Warsaw, what our neighbors need most from each of us is solidarity. They need our commitment to act and to urge our leaders to act to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that are causing climate change. Fasting is a practice with deep roots in many religious traditions. However, an outside observer may not easily connect a fast from food with the very real difficulties faced by communities suffering from climate change, although food security and hunger are significant consequences of changing weather patterns.

A fast from food shows solidarity with those suffering from a changing climate, but doesn’t address the root causes of climate change. A fast from activities that contribute to carbon pollution highlights the fossil fuels that are at the heart of the problem and sends a strong message about the urgent need for individual and collective action. It also helps to name the responsibility that each of us bears for a global problem. But a carbon fast is challenging in ways that a food fast is not: refraining from eating for a day or a week is possible, but it is impossible to completely eliminate activities that involve using energy from fossil fuels. In recent years, a number of faith organizations have sponsored carbon fasts for Lent, with guides on what to give up (or stop doing) and why, but none of them suggests that completely cutting carbon emissions is a practical thing to do, or even a possibility.

So both types of fasting are flawed, but both are helpful tools for calling attention to the issue of climate change.

Which fast will you choose?

Sign up for daily emails during Lent to support your fast from the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christhere.

Do you have questions or want to learn more about ELCA Advocacy? Visit our ELCA Advocacy News and Updates page or contact us at washingtonoffice@elca.org.

Advocating for compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform

This week, several ELCA bishops, pastors and leaders were in Washington, D.C., for the Lutheran Immigration Leadership Summit, hosted by our partners at Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service. The group visited more than 100 offices on Capitol Hill and the White House, advocating for compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform.

To read more about the summit, check out Linda Hartke’s (the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) blog by clicking here or on the photograph below.

The Rev. Michael Wilker and Bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod, the Rev. Richard Graham, meet with the office of Senator Barbara Mikulski

SNAP in South Dakota

By the Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen, OMG: Center for Theological Conversation in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 824,082 people called South Dakota home in 2011.

In the last four years, the number of people receiving the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) — formerly referred to as Food Stamps — has increased from 63,655 in July of 2008 to 104,279 in July of 2012 (the last month on record). Not only do these numbers indicate that 12.65 percent — more than one in eight! — of my state’s population draw on food stamps for their daily bread, they also show that the need for assistance has increased 63.8 percent over the last four years.

These are shocking statistics.

Earlier this year, during an offering of letters at our church, our family wrote letters to our members of Congress, asking them to please retain funding for this key program. Our 8-year-old daughter put her own crayon to paper too, and sent off her request that our officials protect hungry children by protecting SNAP from budget cuts. While we were pleased that our daughter received a response from our Representative, we were stunned at what that letter told her. “Loopholes and fraud in the current program have lead [sic] to federal spending on SNAP to increase by 270 percent over the past ten years.”

My husband, an economist, and I, a theologian, were dumbfounded, not least of all because of our respective disciplines.

Based on both economic and basic moral grounds, this assertion couldn’t be more wrong.

December 2007 to June 2009 marked the greatest recession since the Great Depression, an economic event that clearly parallels the increase in families supported by SNAP. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities there is almost no fraud in this program. Since 2008, despite obvious increase in SNAP benefits, the overpayment rate of 4 percent was reduced to 3 percent in 2011 (the last year on record); the underpayment rate went from 1 percent to 0.9 percent; the combined error rate in 2011 was only 3.8 percent; and the overpayment rates are counted as errors even when recouped.

I wonder if our officials are aware that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office points out that one-fifth of the increase in SNAP monies from 2007-2011 comes from the temporary allowance of higher benefits through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and that higher costs of food and lower earned wages during the recession play a key role in the difference?

I also hope our officials realize that a wide range of religious leaders have converged from various traditions in a coalition called the Circle of Protection. They consider support of SNAP among its core commitments. These leaders and faith groups include our own church, the ELCA, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Association of Evangelicals, Sojourners, Bread for the World, the National Council of Churches, the Salvation Army, World Vision and a long list of additional Christian clergy leaders from other traditions across the spectrum. The Jewish community, in a variety of forms, also advocates for SNAP, as does the Muslim community.

The inaccurate statement in the letter our daughter received back from Capitol Hill insults more than one-eighth of South Dakota constituents by suggesting that the primary reason for the increase to SNAP is because of loopholes in the system (loopholes which are then exploited), and fraud from the recipients.

SNAP is part of the Farm Bill because it is not only a nutritional assistance program; it is also an agricultural assistance program. Feeding hungry people also means feeding farmers, by way of compensating them for their hard work in the fields and on the farms.

We have farmers in South Dakota. We have hungry people in South Dakota.

I urge our officials in Washington, D.C., to protect SNAP from harmful cuts that would hurt farmers and the poor, not only in South Dakota, but across our nation.