AJFCA and JFNA are thrilled to announce that on April 19, 2016, President Obama signed the Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act into law, which includes language related to Holocaust survivors for which both organizations have long advocated. Earlier this month, the Senate passed the House's version of the OAA Reauthorization Act, S.192 (click here to view a copy of JFNA's press release following the Senate's vote). AJFCA and JFNA look forward to working with the Administration on this new Holocaust provision. 

• Answers to Your Questions about Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (American Psychological Association) FAQ: Answers to Some Common Questions about Equal Access to Public Restrooms (Lambda Legal) 
• Making Your Community More Transgender-Friendly: Guidelines for Individuals and Congregations (Keshet) 
• The Human Rights Campaign's Transgender Resource List (HRC) 

Earlier this week, the Senate approved a bipartisan energy policy measure, the Energy Policy Modernization Act (S.2012). The House passed its own energy reform measure last December, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act (H.R.8). Both bills modernize energy infrastructure, bolster the county's energy security, and promote energy efficiency. The Senate bill, however, also includes a new nonprofit energy efficiency retrofit pilot program.

The proposed nonprofit retrofit program would assist hospitals, youth centers, schools, social services agencies, faith-based organizations, and others acquire energy-efficiency products, equipment, or systems to improve their energy efficiencies. Improvements might include the retrofitting of roofs, windows or doors; acquiring lighting, plumbing, heating, ventilation, or air conditioning systems; or the acquisition of renewable energy generation systems. The Senate bill would cap grant awards at $200,000 and would authorize appropriations of $10 million, annually, for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.

AJFCA and JFNA have a long history of public private partnerships and with working with Congress to promote innovations and efficiencies in nonprofit human service delivery. In this regard, we have advocated for the inclusion of the nonprofit energy retrofit program within the Senate bill. The program, if enacted, could benefit family services agencies, community centers, facilities for older adults, day care facilities, schools, museums, and other Jewish communal institutions, many of which are several decades old and some more than a century. Creating energy efficiencies is vital to ensuring that we maximize the use of philanthropic dollars to best serve the most vulnerable populations and to maintain healthy and vibrant communities.

AJFCA and JFNA look forward to continuing to advocate for the nonprofit retrofit program as the House and Senate work towards adopting a final compromise bill in conference. We look forward to updating you as the process moves forward.

On June 6-7, the National Council for Behavioral Health will be hosting its annual Public Policy Institute and Capitol Hill Day. This free, two-day event brings together hundreds of behavioral health providers, administrators, board members, consumers and community stakeholders from around the country to learn more about federal behavioral health policy, and to advocate for important mental health legislation.

One of the major advocacy initiatives at the conference will be building additional support for the bipartisan Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act (S.2525/H.R.4567), sponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representatives Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Doris Matsui (D-CA). This legislation builds upon a behavioral health demonstration program first established under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, which authorized a $1.1 billion federal investment in community-based mental health care.

Based on the model of Federally Qualified Health Clinics that offer primary physical health care, the demonstration program supports the creation of new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in eight states. These clinics will provide comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment in accordance with national standards, with a special focus on care for those with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance, and chronic substance abuse. Last October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $22.9 million in planning grants to twenty-four states interested in this program. The new Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act would authorize the federal government to bring this unique program to all 24 states that applied for the planning grants.