Check out the Actions, Events, Opportunities, News Posts, and Resources below—just click on the links under each category to get to the information. We’ve placed the most critical issues under Important Actions and Issues.
We understand that there is a lot of information here. Please know that you aren’t expected to act on everything! Just choose the issues that are most important to you and take action. Sometimes you will be directed to action pages of other organizations—don’t worry! These are organizations that we work with regularly and who share a common interest.
Please consider contacting your legislators to thank them when they support your position as well, or to express your disappointment when they don’t. We don’t follow up with them often enough. They need our feedback to understand how we feel. Go to our Take Action page (http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page630.htm) to find links to contact information for your legislators.
Our website is updated regularly—please visit to find updated links, resources, etc. at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org. It is a work in progress, and issue pages continue to be created as time permits. If there is something you would really like to see that isn’t there, please contact us at s.strauss@pachurches.org.
And finally—If you appreciate this ministry, we would very much appreciate your support; you can learn how by clicking here.
PLEASE JOIN US! Commonwealth Interfaith Service: Prayers for Justice and Peace-May 3, Harrisburg
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2675
IMPORTANT ACTIONS AND ISSUES—Urgent!
Protect adultBasic Health Insurance for Low-Income Pennsylvanians—Hearing on May 4
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3091
Take action at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2347.
Support Strong Financial Reform and an Independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3082
Important News!
Housing Trust Fund Passes PA House with Overwhelming Bipartisan Vote—Thank Your Representative
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3040
Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania is May 18—Get Out and Vote!
Download the Council’s “Get Connected” Bulletin Insert at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/web_attachments/Get_Connected_insert.pdf for information about how members of your congregation can connect with the Council’s e-advocacy network.
ACTIONS
Please visit our “Take Action” page at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page630.htm for the most up-to-date listing of all current actions you can take by category. Categories include: New Actions; Children and Families; Economy and Economic Justice; Education; Environment; Government Reform; Health Care; Housing; Human Rights; Hunger; Immigration; Torture; Women.
You can also check out our Weblog Take Action page at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?cat=10.
Posted below are the NEWEST ACTIONS you can take.
Urge Pennsylvania’s Senators to Support the DREAM Act for Undocumented Students
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3079
Remind PA Legislators to Sustain Commitment to the School Funding Formula; It’s Helping Districts that Need the Most Help
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3045
End Juvenile Life Sentences Without Parole—Sign a Petition
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3048
Support the Employee Free Choice Act (Interfaith Worker Justice)
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1035/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2881
Support Miners and Communities—Support Rep. Nick Rahall in Strengthening Protections
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3085
EVENTS
For a full listing of events, go to the Events Calendar at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?page_id=92.
Here are the NEWEST EVENTS added to the Calendar.
May Day Immigration Rally—May 1, Philadelphia
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3054
May Day Immigration Rally—May 1, Kennett Square
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3054
Family Unity Barbeque, Immigration Reform—May 2, Philadelphia
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3054
Community Meeting: How Will Drilling for Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale Drilling Impact Pittsburgh?—May 13, Pittsburgh
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3064
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND ACT
This is a current listing of opportunities to participate in national conference calls, calls for comments on policies or legislation, and activities that individuals/congregations can engage in aside from Actions.
Altering the Empowerment Act: Necessary Reform or State Takeover?
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3051
PA Bureau of Forestry Seeks Input on Forest Assessment and Strategy—May 21 Deadline
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3070
Educate Your Community on Immigration Detention—Screen “The Visitor” for Free
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3024
GreenFaith Fellowship Program—Application Deadline May 3
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2945
Internships and Volunteering at Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP)
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2968
Have Your Say on Health Care Reform Implementation—by May 14
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2904
Whistleblowers Needed—“Eyes on Drilling”
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2837
How Has the Economy Affected Your Congregation? Interfaith Worker Justice Wants to Hear from You
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2918
Last Call Campaign–Recycle Those Old Cell Phones
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2717
NEWS POSTS
Please visit our weblog (http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?page_id=24) for the latest news and information. For previous News Summaries, click on the “News Summaries” link on the right side of the page.
Subscribe to our weblog via RSS (What is RSS?) or e-mail.
CeaseFire PA—Clergy Call for Closing the Gun Show Loophole
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3073
Arizona’s Harsh Immigration Law and Comprehensive Reform
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3054
DREAM Act Marchers Arrive in DC on May 1; Durbin and Lugar Call for Temporary End to Deportation of DREAM Act Eligible Students
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3058
Workers Memorial Day—Honor Workers Killed and Injured on the Job
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3061
WNEP-TV (Scranton) Reports on Special Tax Break for Lawmakers
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3067
RESOURCES
For recently posted resources via these news summaries, go to http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?cat=24.
For a listing of Council-related resources go to the “Resources” link at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page498.htm.
For links to organizations that address many of the Council’s advocacy issues, visit “Related Links” at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page560.htm. This list is updated continually. Please report broken links to s.strauss@pachurches.org.
Here are the NEWEST RESOURCES.
CeaseFire PA Rates Gubernatorial Candidates
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3076
SUPPORT THE COUNCIL’S ADVOCACY WORK
Link up with fellow faith advocates through our Advocacy Ministry’s Facebook group, Pennsylvania Council of Churches Advocates at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39350713796.
If you received this message from a friend, sign up for Pennsylvania Council of Churches Advocacy e-mails at http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5415/t/5044/signUp.jsp?key=794.
Financial support for the Council’s Advocacy Ministry is always welcome! Go to our online support page at http://www.pachurches.org/Payments%20&%20Gifts/online_registrations_payments.htm and enter “Advocacy Ministry Support” under “Comments.”
And finally…PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL!
NOTE: If you can’t be there on Tuesday, you can learn how to take action at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2497.
From the Philadelphia Unemployment Project (http://www.philaup.org):
adultBasic, an affordable health insurance program for low-income Pennsylvanians, is in jeopardy! If the program dies, it means 40,000 Pennsylvanians will lose their health insurance.
Take action with us on Tuesday, May 4th at the State Capitol, Harrisburg. Contact Athena for more info, aford@philaup.org or 267-257-6968.
The bill to protect adultBasic has been introduced and on Tuesday, May 4th, at 9:00 AM the House will hold hearings on it. We’re hoping you can help us pack that hearing with supporters!
Attending this is a great way to show support for adultBasic and for quality, affordable health insurance in our state in general. It also gives you the opportunity to witness our state government at work and learn more about the process.
Following the hearing, stick around as we debrief over lunch, give you more information on the legislation and prepare you to meet with your legislator’s office Tuesday afternoon.
Whether you’re looking to help spare 40,000 Pennsylvanians from losing their insurance, learn more about advocacy work on the state level, or looking to become a real leader in the campaign, this is an event for you!
On adultBasic? We need you! Please contact me and I’ll help make sure your state legislator hears your story. Once he/she does, you’re no longer a statistic, you’re a constituent that relies on this critical program. You have more power than you know to help save it.
Contact me at aford@philaup.org or 267-257-6968.
From I Love Mountains (http://www.ilovemountains.org):
On Sunday (April 25), a memorial service was held for the 29 miners who were killed earlier this month in the explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia.
The loss of these courageous men is a terrible tragedy, and as President Obama said in his eulogy, “Our task, here on Earth, is to save lives from being lost in another such tragedy.”
We agree. Mining — whether surface or underground — is an extremely dangerous occupation. More than 300 people have died mining coal in the United States in the past 10 years. Every day, three people die from black lung disease as a result of having worked in coal mines.
Yet the inherent dangers of coal mining are exacerbated by companies like Massey Energy, whose corner-cutting mentality has led to unsafe working conditions at the Upper Big Branch Mine and other facilities. Massey is also the number one producer of mountaintop removal coal in the country and, in 2008, was assessed the largest penalty in the history of the Clean Water Act.
Congressman Nick Rahall, Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and long time leader in protecting miner safety, represents the district where the accident occurred. He recently said, “this mining catastrophe shows us that there is still much more that must be done to protect those who enter the mines each day working to support their families.”
You have been instrumental in the recent victories to protect Appalachian communities from the permitting of new mountaintop removal mines. While there’s much that still needs to be done to end mountaintop removal permanently, today we ask you to help protect those communities in a different way.
Will you please take a moment to sign this letter supporting Congressman Rahall’s efforts to strengthen protections for our nation’s coal miners at http://www.ilovemountains.org/mine-safety/?
Lorelei Scarbro, a community organizer with Coal River Mountain Watch, whose husband died of black lung and whose has family that works at the Upper Big Branch Mine, will hand deliver the letter of support to his office.
Please join Lorelei in supporting Congressman Rahall’s stance on miner safety. Safe working conditions are just another aspect of protecting the people of Appalachia from the impacts of irresponsible coal mining.
Please add your name to the letter today.
From multiple sources:
De-regulated and under-regulated banks, along with age-old abuses like usury, fraud, racist lending, and excessive greed drove the nation and the world economy to the verge of collapse.
The fallout—joblessness, shrinking incomes, foreclosures, lost savings, and missed opportunities—continues to inflict pain and suffering on countless individuals and communities with no end in sight.
The Restoring American Financial Stability Act (S 3217, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3217) would provide many of the needed reforms, including a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Thanks to the thousands of calls and emails sent by advocates and community leaders like you, opponents of a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), a new agency to focus on enforcing consumer protection laws, are on the run. Now, President Obama is echoing your call to senators to resist the pleas of special-interest lobbyists, representing auto dealers and payday lenders, attempting to weaken consumer protections. Thanks to these combined efforts, an amendment to strip the CFPA was shut down.
Critical votes are being cast as you read. Your help is needed now more than ever. Please call our senators NOW at (866) 544-7573* and urge them to enact financial reform that protects consumers, re-regulates the banks, and creates a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by supporting S 3217. Ask them also to OPPOSE Senator Brownback’s amendment to create carve-outs for auto dealers and OPPOSE Senator Carper’s amendment to prevent state attorneys general from enforcing consumer protection laws.
Here’s an easy script you can use:
Hello. My name is __________ and I live in [city or town]. I am calling today as a person of faith to express priorities for consumer protections under the banking reform legislation. I urge Senator Casey/Specter to:
If you have trouble getting through on the toll-free number, you can call directly. Contact information is available at:
Senator Bob Casey: http://casey.senate.gov
Senator Arlen Specter: http://specter.senate.gov
The United Church of Christ has also provided a tool for sending e-mail messages at https://secure3.convio.net/ucc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=597.** Don’t forget to add your opposition to the harmful amendments described above.
*Number supplied by the National Council of LaRaza.
**This page includes a great deal of information on this legislation. If you are not a member of the UCC, you can still use the page for talking points, to learn more, etc.
S 3217 must include the following components to make sure consumers are getting the financial protections we deserve:
Congress must take the necessary steps to assist the people suffering the most in these trying economic times, and help safeguard families from unfair lending practices. Anything less is unacceptable.
The misery and destruction impacting millions of people in the U.S. and billions around the world, caused by irresponsible banking behavior, did not have to happen. It must not happen again. As people of faith, we are compelled to work to end the deceptive, risky, and fraudulent practices that caused the financial crisis and left many without jobs, homes, incomes, and the resources necessary for daily life.
Call on the Senate to enact financial reform that prevents future financial crisis!
From the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (http://www.civilrights.org):
Take Action Now: Write to Senators Casey and Specter and urge them to support the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.729, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-729) to help undocumented immigrant students raised in the United States attend college and participate fully in our society. You can write to them at http://civilrightscoalition.org/campaign/senators_dream_act.
Last year, the Senate introduced the DREAM Act, legislation to provide undocumented immigrant students a path to citizenship if they obtain a college degree or serve our country in the military.
Currently, undocumented immigrant students are deterred from attaining higher education because they cannot receive in-state tuition rates; are ineligible for most grants and loans; and cannot legally work to pay for college. In addition, these students are hiding and living in fear of being deported. S.729 would allow hard-working, undocumented students to be eligible for more financial aid and gain permanent resident status, enabling them to pursue their American Dream.
Unfortunately, consideration of S.729 has been delayed for almost a full year. During that time, 65,000 undocumented students graduated from high school only to be met with roadblocks to continuing their education (http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/DREAM_demographics.pdf). Carlos, Gaby, Felipe, and Juan are students who have felt firsthand the challenge of pursing higher education as immigrants. These four students are walking 1,500 miles from Miami, Florida to Washington, D.C. to demand that Congress pass humane immigration reform and put an end to the deportation of undocumented students (http://trail2010.org/).
You can show your support of these incredible students and “walk” with them by writing your senators and urging them to support the DREAM Act (S.729). Tell them that the time to realize this dream is now!
From CeaseFire PA (http://www.ceasefirepa.org):
CeaseFirePA unveiled the first-of-its-kind 2010 Voters Guide for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Race, evaluating each of the candidates on their commitment to supporting policies to reduce gun violence statewide. The comprehensive Guide, which can be viewed online at http://ceasefirepa.org/files/gov_race_voters_guide_2010.pdf, is a review of gun violence prevention policy in Pennsylvania—probing the gubernatorial candidates on where they stand on commonsense reforms to reduce gun violence and the problem of illegal guns in criminals’ hands.
CeaseFirePA sent the candidates 18 policy proposals on guns, ranging from commonsense reforms like lost or stolen handgun reporting to restoring state funding for the Gun Violence Task Force, and the Voters Guide analyzed their responses. You can view the complete 2010 PA Governors Questionnaire online at http://www.ceasefirepa.org/node/135.
From CeaseFire PA (http://www.ceasefirepa.org):
Recently, mayors from around the state launched a renewed effort to close the Gun Show Loophole. The Gun Show Loophole is a deadly gap in federal law that enables criminals to buy guns at gun shows without undergoing a criminal background check. In Pennsylvania, that gap has mostly been sealed—because every handgun sale must be accompanied by a background check, even at gun shows. But the same does not hold true in most states, including three along our border: Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia—enabling criminals to drive across the state line to buy guns they otherwise would not be qualified to purchase, and then return home to Pennsylvania—armed and dangerous.
You can watch the Mayors’ television ad, airing across Pennsylvania, here: www.closetheloophole.org/pa-ad.
On this issue Pennsylvania is slightly ahead of the curve, but the weak laws of other states leave our communities vulnerable. We need our federal representatives in Washington, DC to stand up for us—and to hold other states accountable to the same standards as our own.
The Columbine High School shooting and the massacre at Virginia Tech were both committed using guns purchased at gun shows through this loophole. How many more tragedies must we experience before Congress takes action to address the problem?
What if the next incident happens in Pennsylvania?
There is no higher duty than to protect the sanctity of life. As leaders in your communities and congregations, faith leaders are in a unique and important position to advocate for responsible action—such as this reform to close the Gun Show Loophole.
Almost 200 mayors from around Pennsylvania are part of the national campaign to close the loophole. It is time to lend our voices as leaders of faith to this important cause. Several members of this coalition will be sending a letter to Senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey—asking them to support legislation to close the Gun Show Loophole nationally. We will proudly and respectfully list you as a member of the CeaseFirePA Faith Leaders Against Illegal Guns coalition (NOTE: Only those who have actually signed on) in this letter to Sens. Specter and Casey, unless we hear otherwise from you. The letter will list coalition members by name, not by congregation. We’ll also submit the letter to newspapers around the state for consideration as an op-ed article. Please review the letter in its entirety below.
If you have any questions or concerns about the issue, please do not hesitate to call me at 215-582-0695, or I can always be reached by email at Siegelb2@comcast.net.
Dear Senator Specter and Senator Casey,
We are writing as representatives of a coalition of more than 330 faith leaders from all across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who have committed to taking action to reduce gun violence in our communities - to urge your support for the Gun Show Background Check Act, S.843.
Our group includes members of many different faiths—but we all share a common belief that, there is no higher duty than to protect the sanctity of life. Across the state, we’ve seen spikes in gun violence. There is no mystery about who is responsible. Most crimes committed with guns are committed by criminals with illegal handguns. If we can reduce their supply—we can reduce the tragedy that they cause.
The Gun Show loophole is a deadly gap in federal law that allows criminals and other legally prohibited individuals to purchase firearms from private, unlicensed sellers at gun shows. In Pennsylvania we have already almost entirely closed the loophole—requiring a criminal background check for every single handgun sale or transfer in the Commonwealth—even at gun shows.
Unfortunately, most other states in the nation have not yet taken this important step on their own, including three states that border ours: Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia. Not only does that mean convicted felons in those states have an easy source of guns, it also means that criminals here can simply take a drive across the state line, pick up a few guns at a show, and return to one of our communities—armed and dangerous.
This is a very real problem. Each year, 1,200 Pennsylvanians on average lose their lives to gun violence—from homicides, suicides and accidental shootings. For the second year in a row, the Violence Policy Center ranked Pennsylvania as the state with the highest African American homicide rate in the nation. In 86 percent of those murders, the victim was shot to death.
In addition to those unconscionable numbers, in the last ten years, 22 law enforcement officers have been shot and killed in Pennsylvania—most by criminals using illegal guns. These are unacceptable and deplorable statistics—and we cannot allow these trends to continue.
Earlier this week, Lancaster Mayor Richard Gray, one of nearly 200 mayors in our state speaking out on this issue, said “Criminals don’t respect jurisdictions, but they do know where to get things.” The vast majority of gun crimes are committed by people who are legally prohibited from having guns. They obtain them through theft, trafficking, and from other states with laws less comprehensive than our own. In less than four years PA police have recovered more than 800 crime guns—just from Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. Nationally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms traces nearly 30 percent of crime guns back to gun shows.
Police Chief Mike Carroll, who is president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police - and the Chief of the West Goshen Police Department in Chester County, explained the need for a uniform system for all sellers, like we have in Pennsylvania. “Unlike a Federal Firearms Licensed [FFL] dealer, a private seller is not required to conduct a background check to determine whether the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing and possessing a gun. If all gun sales proceed through an FFL, a single, consistent system for conducting gun sales, including background checks, will be established.”
As faith leaders, our congregations turn to us in times of celebration and mourning for leadership and advice. Last week was the 11-year anniversary of the murders at Columbine. This is a time for mourning - but it is also a time for action. In more than a decade, federal action has not been taken to close the Gun Show Loophole. In Pennsylvania we’ve already taken the first steps. Now we are turning to you, our Senators in Washington, to help us fulfill our duty by holding every other state to the same standards as Pennsylvania. Our Commonwealth and country will be safer for it. We urge you to vote for the Gun Show Background Check Act, S.843.
Will you stand up for Pennsylvania’s interests?
From the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/):
The Bureau of Forestry is seeking stakeholder input on its Statewide Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy. This initiative is part of a coordinated, nationwide forest planning effort that will serve as a foundation for programs aimed at sustaining our forests for future generations.
The Assessment and Strategy describes current forest conditions and trends, identifies priority issues, delineates important landscapes across the Commonwealth, and proposes long-term strategies for achieving sustainability. As mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill, completing this effort also makes Pennsylvania eligible for continued federal funding for its private lands, urban and community forestry, wildland fire, and forest health programs. Stakeholder feedback is a vital in developing strategies for charting the future of Pennsylvania’s forests.
We welcome our stakeholders to review and comment on the Strategy and Assessment. They can be found at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/farmbill/index.html. The deadline for submitting comments via the online form is May 21.
From Democracy Rising Pennsylvania (http://www.democracyrisingpa.com):
WNEP-TV in Scranton recently ran its investigative report about a special tax break for lawmakers that allows them to deduct as much as $163 a day from their income for federal tax purposes. See Dave Bohman’s report at http://www.wnep.com/news/countybycounty/wnep-16-investigates-tax-deduction-state-lawmakers,0,6491764.story or read the Tax Day edition of DR News at http://www.democracyrisingpa.com/index.cfm?section_id=1060&page_id=9043&organization_id=66&&ord=484&allowOverwrite=true.
Natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is a potential source of revenue, jobs, and energy for Pennsylvania. However, the environmental risks are very high if proper regulations and protections are not in place. DEP Secretary John Hanger says, “A natural gas drilling boon will inevitably result in some environmental damage including possible water contamination.”
Join Your Neighbors and Learn More about Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Drilling
When: Thursday, May 13th at 7pm
Where: Cannon Coffee Shop, 802 Brookline Blvd., Pittsburgh
For more information contact:
Steve Hvozdovich with Clean Water Action
412-765-3053 x 210
To learn more about environmental concerns with regard to fracking:
http://www.propublica.org/series/buried-secrets-gas-drillings-environmental-threat