{"id":5024,"date":"2020-06-09T12:04:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T17:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/?p=5024"},"modified":"2020-06-09T12:05:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T17:05:58","slug":"june-update-u-n-and-state-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/june-update-u-n-and-state-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"June Update: U.N. and State Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices.<\/em><\/p>\n

U.N.<\/a> | Arizona<\/a> | California<\/a> | Colorado<\/a> | Minnesota<\/a> | Ohio<\/a> | Pennsylvania<\/a> | Texas<\/a> | Washington<\/a> | Wisconsin<\/a><\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations, New York, N.Y. elca.org\/lowc<\/a><\/h3>\n

Dennis Frado, director<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>UN75 \u2013 2020 AND BEYOND: <\/strong>The United Nations (UN) is marking its 75th anniversary this year. At the beginning of January 2020, it launched global conversations to listen to people\u2019s experiences, fears, hopes as well as share the proposals and ideas that will shape the future for all. Everyone is asked to help in #ShapingOurFuture by joining the online dialogues<\/a>. On May 14 -15, 2020, a virtual UN75 \u201cPeople\u2019s Forum<\/a> for the UN We Need\u201d was held. It brought together civil society and other stakeholders. The highlight of the forum was the handing over of the UN75 People\u2019s Declaration and Plan for Global Action<\/a> to the 74th President of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande. Check out the UN75 2020 and beyond<\/a> and UN2020<\/a> websites to see how you can participate. <\/a><\/p>\n

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Arizona<\/h3>\n

Solveig Muus, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) director@lamaz.org<\/h4>\n

CONGREGATIONAL OUTREACH: <\/strong>LAMA\u2019s policy team continues to reach out to each of our 85 Arizona congregations to learn how we might serve their needs. One church at a time, we are learning what each is passionate about, what community ministries each supports, and where there might be an advocacy call to action. We are learning a lot and are encouraged by the responses we receive.<\/p>\n

COVID-19: <\/strong>As Arizona logged it\u2019s highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases on June 3, we pray for all Arizonans, knowing the numbers are on the rise. In particular we pray for the Navajo Nation, which has seen 5,479 cases and 248 deaths among its 175,000 people, reporting the highest infection rate in the U.S. We thank God that 1,920 people have recovered from COVID-19, with more reports still pending\u00a0.<\/p>\n

This month, three of our team made videos for a Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC) campaign to move the Senate to act on a COVID-19 response, and we participated in a call with House Speaker Pelosi on coronavirus, housing and homelessness, and a call with U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Tom O\u2019Halleran on coronavirus crisis funding and recovery.<\/p>\n

We continue to be blessed by God in so many ways! While our beloved nation is exhausted and in mourning, we know that God is in our midst at every turn, showing us a way forward. <\/a><\/p>\n

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California<\/h3>\n

Regina Q. Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California (LOPP-CA) lutheranpublicpolicyca.org<\/a><\/h4>\n

RACIAL JUSTICE: <\/strong>As our state reels from countless incidents of police violence and brutality against Black people and the legacy of white supremacy in this nation, we mourn, grieve, and advocate. We are supporting a bill to end racial discrimination<\/a> in jury selection, and, along with coalition partners Green CA and Building the California Dream Alliance, pushing forward a larger list of bills related to racial equity and criminal justice reform. We lift up bail funds<\/a> around the nation to support the voices, rights, and prophetic work of protesters. The Virginia Interfaith Center – one of our fellow state public policy offices – offers this list of resources for faith communities to fight racism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BUDGET ADVOCACY\u2014CALEITC EXANSION: <\/strong>The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) is an essential piece of anti-poverty policy for Californians, but one group has been consistently excluded: undocumented tax filers. Immigrant tax filers contribute $3.2 billion to state and local taxes every year, yet they are ineligible to receive aspects of the safety net proving so essential in the midst of COVID-19. Along with coalition partners, including interfaith organizations, we have been pushing over the last months and years to expand the CalEITC<\/a>. The governor’s recent budget proposals lacked this expansion, but in the Legislature’s version the expansion is included for undocumented tax filers with children under the age of six. There is still much work to be done to see this through. We thank all of our advocates fighting with us!<\/p>\n

FOOD AND FARMING: <\/strong>Our priority bills are moving through the committee process, with some wins! Two of these support expanded and simplified access to CalFresh for seniors, people with disabilities<\/a>, and people exiting the criminal justice system<\/a>. We are partnering with Bread for the World in sponsoring one of these bills. We are also following a bill affecting farmworker communities in conjunction with frontline farmworker and immigrant rights organizations. Our CalEITC advocacy and our work with ELCA AMMPARO also intersect with our food and farming work.<\/p>\n

FEDERAL HEROES ADVOCACY: <\/strong>We mobilized our network to advocate for more coronavirus relief for people who have lost their jobs or who are already living on the edge. HEROES, which originated in the US House of Representatives, was thought to be dead on arrival at the US Senate. But concerted efforts of advocacy groups and citizens across the nation have moved the Senate to take up the bill, which would provide relief to state and local governments (of particular importance to California’s State Budget) and increase SNAP benefits as well as other food access programs.<\/p>\n

END CHILD POVERTY CAMPAIGN: <\/strong>Several members of Lutheran churches throughout California joined virtual district meetings with federal lawmakers in May, urging strong support of policy recommendations<\/a> shown to reduce childhood poverty. We were encouraged by the efforts and support of Congressmembers Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, Anna Eshoo, Rosa DeLauro, Jimmy Gomez, and others.<\/p>\n

ADVOCACY IN QUARANTINE: <\/strong>We continue to host our weekly Wednesdays at Noon<\/a> briefing on state and federal legislation and call to action. This month, we have supported racial justice priorities, CalEITC expansion, CalFresh access, the HEROES Act, and rental assistance.<\/p>\n

GOD\u2019S WORK, OUR HANDS, OUR VOICES: <\/strong>Our Lobby Day was postponed until September due to the special nature of the current legislative session. Look forward to an advocacy component to God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday! <\/a><\/p>\n

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Colorado<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado <\/strong>www.lam-co.org<\/a><\/h4>\n

LEGISLATURE RETURNS:<\/strong> The Colorado General Assembly is back at the Capitol. Their focus in the limited two- to three-week window will be the state budget. All bills with new spending that were pending in March have been killed, leaving only the budget and items with no cost attached.<\/p>\n

Several bills that we were waiting for have been killed, including:<\/p>\n