About AJFCA | Find a Service Near You | News | Members    Jewish Connection | Annual Conference | Job Postings     Legislative Updates Tuesday, June 30, 2015  2015 White House Conference on Aging  The 2015 White House Conference on Aging will be a national conversation about the issues of aging and how we can look forward to the next decade. The entire event will be live streamed on the White House website. You can watch online and invite your friends and neighbors to watch the Conference with you.   If we haven't heard from you already and you are planning to host a watch party, we'd like to hear from you. You can share the information about your party online here. We've prepared a discussion guide to help you host a watch party.  We're excited to have you be a part of this year's 2015 White House Conference on Aging. Oppose Cuts to Emergency Food and Shelter Program On June 18th, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill, S.1619, to fund the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2016. As approved by Committee, the bill would reduce FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program's (EFSP) allocation by $20 million -- from $120 million to $100 million in the next fiscal year, commencing October 1, 2015. The program was already forced to absorb a steep spending cut starting in FY 2011, when Congress reduced the EFSP allocation from $200 million to $120 million. This resulted in the loss of program eligibility for more than 500 counties and cities across the country, and more than 2,800 local organizations.   If the Senate's proposed cut was allowed to prevail, it would reduce EFSP's funding by another 17 percent, and to its lowest allocation ever (when adjusted for inflation).  Meanwhile, the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has not yet introduced its version of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2016, and is not expected to do so until after the July 4th recess (July 1-July 6). This means, we still have time to fight to retain the Emergency Food and Shelter Program's current $120 million level of funding in the House version of the bill. In this regard, please contact your House Delegation to urge them to convey their strong support to the House Homeland Security Appropriations Committee for retaining the Program's current level of funding within the House Homeland Security spending bill for FY 2016. Click here for a sample letter/talking points to use. Thank you for your immediate attention, and please let Shelley know if you have any questions or reports to share.