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Greetings!
See Articles in this issue (top of right column). Entries are "clickable" to reach the article named.
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Upcoming Events
Thursday, June 6, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Social Justice Committee meeting
"Cry Room" St. Elizabeth Seton Church
Saturday, June 22, 8:30 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.
CCOP Habitat for Humanity "Build Day"
Habitat for Humanity's Oakland build site. All who are 16 years of age or older are welcome! No prior experience necessary, just the willingness to help another family realize the dream of home ownership! Carpools available. Please commit to a full day 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Space is limited. Contact Diane Ravnik at dravnik@gmail.com
for further information, any questions and to pre-register. Together let's make a difference!
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Action Alerts
Action Needed Today on Priority Housing Bills Headed for Floor Votes!
SB 391 (DeSaulnier), the California Homes and Jobs Act, is expected to be taken up for a vote on the Senate floor next week as early as Tuesday. The bill would create an ongoing and dedicated revenue source for affordable housing and has registered well over 600 organizations in support. Please call the office of your State Senator TODAY and request and "aye" vote on SB 391. Find contact information for your State Senator link..
Find more information about the Homes and Jobs Act and how to send a letter to your Senator here.
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AB 1229 (Atkins) is expected to be taken up soon on the Assembly floor. Please call the office of your Assemblymember TODAY and request and "aye" vote on AB 1229. The bill clarifies that inclusionary zoning ordinances adopted by local jurisdictions do not violate the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. The legislation simply returns to the status quo ante prior to the Palmer Decision and is an issue of local control. The League of California Cities is in support.
Find contact information for your Assemblymember here.
Find the fact sheet for AB 1229 at PDF link 1 [If the PDF link doesn't work, go to PDF-1] .
Help End Atrocities in Democratic Republic of Congo
Every day in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo there are news reports of kidnapping for ransom, targeted assassinations, rape and looting by armed groups. House Resolution H.Res 131 "Concerning the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the need for international efforts toward long-term peace, stability, and observance of human rights" passed the House Africa Subcommittee with bipartisan support; it will now head to the full House Foreign Affairs Committee for consideration.
Please do your part to help end this 17 year crisis: take 2 minutes now and urge your representative to support this resolution. Click here to find your representative. Call today with this message "My name is (name) and I'm from (city, State and zip code). I am calling to urge Representative Swalwell (or other representative) to cosponsor H.Res 131, a resolution regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I will be following his action on this. Thank you."
Representative Swalwell, (202) 225-5065, has not yet cosponsored the resolution.
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Brief Links
The Cratchit Tax Credit, (Ross Douthat, NY Times) link
Can the church help make American workplaces more family-friendly? link
Let's not make it a crime to be homeless, link
What the earth needs now is an ethic of life, link
Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty, link
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400 Parts Per Million
"The level of the most important heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, has passed a long-feared milestone, scientists reported Friday, reaching a concentration not seen on the earth for millions of years.
"Scientific instruments showed that the gas had reached an average daily level above 400 parts per million - just an odometer moment in one sense, but also a sobering reminder that decades of efforts to bring human-produced emissions under control are faltering.
"The best available evidence suggests the amount of the gas in the air has not been this high for at least three million years, before humans evolved, and scientists believe the rise portends large changes in the climate and the level of the sea.
"'It symbolizes that so far we have failed miserably in tackling this problem,' said Pieter P. Tans, who runs the monitoring program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that reported the new reading." - Excerpt from NY Times, May 10, link
"Climate change is the single biggest environmental and humanitarian crisis of our time. The Earth's atmosphere is overloaded with heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which threatens large-scale disruptions in climate with disastrous consequences. We must act now to spur the adoption of cleaner energy sources at home and abroad." - National Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/ |
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News about U.S. Farm Bill
Proposed Farm Bills Would Cut Billions from Current Spending Levels, Washington Post, May 20, "The Senate plans to begin debate on its farm bill Monday, while the House is expected to consider its version in June. Both measures would cost about $100 billion annually, with around 80 percent of the funds going toward domestic food aid. "The Senate bill would trim about $2.4 billion yearly from current spending, while the House legislation would save almost $4 billion. Those reductions include about $600 million in savings required through the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, which took effect in March." - Excerpts from link House Agriculture Committee Approves $940 Billion Farm Bill, NY Times, May 16, link Senate Panel Approves $955 Billion Farm Bill, NY Times, May 14, link Farm Bill: Why the Church Pays Attention, California Catholic Conference, May 16, link Agriculture and Food: Focus on the Farm Bill, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, link A Primer on the Farm Bill, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, link Farm Bill Should Assist Hungry at Home and Abroad, Help Struggling Farmers, Promote Stewardship, Say Catholic Leaders in Letter, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, May 9, link |
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News about Immigration Reform
Allies of Immigration Bill Aim for Added Support, NY Times, May 22
"After its solid bipartisan approval in committee, broad legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration laws was headed Wednesday to the Senate floor, where supporters of the plan were already mobilizing to bring more Republicans on board by focusing on strengthening border security provisions in the bill." - Excerpt from link
Immigration reform: After step forward in Senate, a leap back in House?, Christian Science Monitor, May 22, link
An official website for the Catholic position on immigration reform is link
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