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Catholic Social

Ministry Gathering

Brings Two Issues to the Hill 

Dear Friends,

The time in Washington, DC was very busy and challenging for the four directors. Patrick O'Bryan arrived early to attend the board meeting of the Catholic Roundtable
and then facilitate the smooth running of the general meeting and symposium. With its theme of Vatican II and the role of the laity, it was definitely a highlight. All the directors enjoyed the dynamic program.

Kelly Davis not only learned from the Catholic Relief Services meeting, but enjoyed the networking among the CRS diocesan directors and national staff. The ability to attend the wrap around meetings enhanced the whole experience for all directors.

Sr. Kathleen Ryan was able to bring back the newest materials to use to advocate for reforms in our gun control laws. Karen Leith learned some of the newer refinements in the comprehensive immigration reform recommendations.

Of course, our Capital Hill visits are very important. The Ohio delegation was able to talk to staff members of both Senators Brown and Portman as well as Speaker Boehner. We then split up to cover all the Congressional offices representing Ohio. Packets were dropped off in any offices where we did not have appointments. Kelly Davis and Karen Leith were actually able to bring our advocacy message to Representative David Joyce himself as well as his senior legislative aid, Adam Wolf.

Click here to see some pictures of our time in Washington DC.

The four of us, Sr. Kathleen Ryan, Pat O'Bryan, Kelly Davis and Karen Leith, have prepared the following articles to give you a flavor of what we experienced. We have also included links to all the advocacy background materials and leave behind message sheets in the hope that you will continue the advocacy at home in the district offices.

This year, there are two priority messages with multiple points to clarify the positions:

1. Draw a Circle of Protection around programs that impact the poor and vulnerable both here and abroad.

2. Pass comprehensive immigration reform that is humane and just.

Thanks for all you do!

Sr. Kathleen Ryan, Karen Leith, Pat O'Bryan, Kelly Davis, and Ann Coplan

Roundtable Focuses on Vatican II

At the outset, the day of CCHD presentations at CSMG began with citing some statistics from their site www.povertyUSA.org -- 22% of children live in poverty in the U.S.; 22% of men live in poverty in the U.S.; 24% of women live in poverty in the U.S.; 6% of married couples live in poverty in the U.S.; 28% (4.2 million) of people with disabilities live in poverty in the U.S.; 48% of the U.S. lives at or near poverty!

Social Security reduces poverty by 8%; refundable tax credits reduce the poverty rate by 3% (4 million children are vitally served through these tax credits). On this list of statistics, only Medical Out of Pocket Payments (MOOP) increases poverty (among seniors by 2-3%).

Two-thirds of SNAP recipients are children, elderly, and disabled individuals. Of all federal and private resources for food, only 4% is provided privately. 60% of people are turned away at the doors of Catholic Charities.

CCHD fundraising was brought up next. The most amazing CCHD-funded organization was brought to the fore for our education as to the possibilites for the gaining of empowerment and dignity among the most marginalized among us -- the Detroit Action Commonwealth. The DAC is orgainized around three soup kitchens, with a membership of 1,200 people who pay dues of $1 per month or through sweat equity work on behalf of the organization. DAC hold its meetings during the meal hours; each of its three chapters meet once a week to udate what is going on. In these meetings they "find their purpose" and "find their voice." They have many one-on-one meetings, do research of issues and leadership training, working with PICO, moving from a reality of homelessness into a reality of community. They have achieved many victories, including a Street Outreach Court once a month that gives people their dignity back and unencumbers them from past traffic and other offenses which then frees up their ability to gain employment and travel to work, which allows workers to regain housing as well. In all their collaborative work, their model is a model of service, always working towards healing their collective wound. They stated how important it has been for them and is for all of us who do service among the poor to come from behind the counter, serving food, and sit with those who eat and share stories with them!

There is the virtue of collaboration in this, which is underlined by the virtue of solidarity. We are all encouraged to join in the work of CCHD and make it a virtue of ours, not just a feeling of vague compassion -- that is not what CCHD or solidarity is. In solidarity, we are our brothers and sisters' keepers. This is a choice, a commitment. This virtue "ups the ante" for us. Solidarity opposes the isolation (which is a vice, a sin) of poverty. Poverty pulls us apart from the community. In the Epistle of Barnabas we are told to seek the common good together. -- "Do not live entirely isolated." Pope Benedict XVI has said too that "Cooperation aims at helping others to be artisans of their own destiny."  

At the end of our day on CCHD, the connection between CCHD and evangelization was re-affirmed. CCHD is all about working to eliminate "sinful inequalities," which contradict the Gospel. Lastly, through the work we pursue in the model of CCHD, we all move up the ladder from self-interest to mere economic equivalence, to distributive and commutative justice, to solidarity and subsidiarity, and finally to gratuitousness, i.e., true love in community.

Capital Hill Visits

The Ohio Delegation represented almost every diocese in Ohio. Spending all day Tuesday on the Hill, we were able to visit or drop off packets to all who represent our state in Congress. The whole delegation was able to visit the offices of Brown, Portman and Boehner. We then split up to cover the other congressmen. Our basic messages along with background material can be found in the side column. We hope you will continue this advocacy with us (see suggestions in the side column).

The day started with a meeting with Doug Babcock in Senator Sherrod Brown's office. We were greeted in the hallway of the Hart building by Allison Rockford, once a member of the Catholic Commission of Summit County who is now the health care aid for Senator Brown. Senator Brown supports our issues, but we were able to add many stories of Ohioans who benefit from the programs that impact the poor.

Nick Butterfield of Senator Rob Portman's office took a lot of notes as we made our point with stories of Ohioans. The delgation had varying experiences across age and living context. Stories included elderly needing commodity boxes from St. Vincent de Paul in Columbus to farm insurance subsidies from Youngstown to workforce development and nutrition/food/WIC needs from Cleveland. Pam Long of Dayton was able to speak directly to foreign development and humanitarian aid from her CRS trip experience in Africa.

Daniel Leiva of Speaker John Boehner's office is a naturalized citizen from El Salvadore. He was brought to the U.S. when he was 10 and brings his personal story to immigration issues. We were able to highlight the part of comprehensive reform with stories of how our parishioners are helping create jobs and supporting children in school in El Salvador through a women's bakery, shoes for school programs, parish partnering and micro loans. Immigration reform is not only about what happens here, but also about issues that allow people to earn a living in their own country. (Since he travels to El Salvador often, he has been sent information on the bakery.)

The highlight of the Hill visits for Kelly Davis and Karen Leith was actually sitting down with Representative David Joyce and his senior legislative aid, Adam Wolf, for a half hour discussion of the issues. Congressman Joyce indicated that he was still in a learning mode, especially since he wanted to serve his district and the people of Ohio well. He talked about the importance of some type of temporary or flow worker program since there are so many nurseries and wineries in the area. Since Canada has instituted a liberal temporary worker program, these Ohio businesses are losing jobs to their Canadian counterparts. The basic messages we brought were enhanced by many stories from our area. Congressman Joyce serves on the important Appropriations Committee.

A special note on the relationship of government funding and CRS' work abroad:

We need to put a Circle of Protection around the poor and most vulnerable. We simply cannot balance our budget on the backs of people who are poor and already suffering. Many people die every day from things that we take for granted: lack of access to food, water, sanitation and medical care. CRS helps to fill these needs by helping more than 100 million people in the world's 100 poorest countries, but to accomplish this task they need funding partners like the U.S. government. Currently CRS gets about 60 percent of their funding from government sources. They use this money to deliver food through USAID and high-quality health care to people with HIV/AIDS through programs like PEPFAR. Even though we spend only half of 1 percent of our budget on poverty focused international humanitarian aid, if this money were removed from the budget, cuts would cost lives. This is especially true in Palestine, where we currently still need to release aid money set aside from FY 2012.
 

Added note on the need for comprehensive immigration reform:

The other priority that we discussed with congressional leaders was Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Currently in the United States we spend about $18 billion a year on what is, at best, a mildly successful enforcement program. This is not just an issue of justice, but a humanitarian disaster. Since 1998 there have been 7-8,000 deaths of people trying to cross our borders. Last year alone, 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were deported. The USCCB has put together a plan for Comprehensive Immigration Reform that is described in brief in the side column. We are hopeful that if these elements are included in the broader legislation we will be able to save lives and promote human dignity.

The Farm Bill and Advocacy

The US has not had an actual budget since 2008, just a series of continuing resolutions. The USCCB, Catholic Charities USA, National Catholic Rural Life Conference and Catholic Relief Services have combined their messages and voices to advocate for some very important points in the Farm Bill. In letters to both Senate and House committees, they have asked for the following priorities:

1. Domestic Hunger and Nutrition: support access to adequate and nutritious food for those in need and to oppose attempts to weaken or restructure programs such as SNAP (food stamps) and TEFAP (emergency food assistance).

2. International Food Security and Development: PL Title II funding food assistance programs should be authorized at a sufficient level and should be flexible. These combat chronic hunger and provide adequate nutrition for poor families. Also important: the Food for Peace Program.

 3. Conservation: support full funding for conservation initiatives that promote stewardship of the land and environmentally sound agricultural practices.

4. Rural Development: rural communities and small towns are the backbone of the social and economic life of America. Rural development must be supported; grants for small and mid-sized farms and ranches; access to telecommunications.

5. Subsidies: The Commodity Title was established as a safety net. Agricultural subsidies need to be reduced overall; assistance to be to those who truly need it; careful consideration of the economics and ethics of subsidizing food to produce fuel. Savings from reductions to agricultural subsidies should be used to support hunger and nutrition. Crop insurance should be targeted to help small and medium size farmers.