Advocacy Alert: 2012 Farm Bill

Recent gains we’ve made in addressing both domestic and international hunger and poverty face their worst threat from Congress in years - just when a devastating drought is set to drive up food prices everywhere. The House version of the farm bill proposes deep cuts in world hunger programs – as well as in food stamps (SNAP) and aid to struggling rural communities in the U.S. Take action now

Urgent Alert

Dear Friend of Justice and Peace,

We face an urgent, significant threat to U.S. humanitarian aid. A new proposal in the House of Representatives will eliminate 43% of the funding for international affairs requested by Obama. This vote on 2012 funding comes right after activity over 2011 funding, and could easily be missed. A 43% cut would seriously imperil the ability thofe United States to meet needs for humanitarian aid or genocide prevention.

If possible, please call your member of Congress, and forward to other individuals interested networks urging them to call their Representative in opposition to H.Con.Res.34. The call would have to be made this morning. More details are in the 'Save Darfur' sample email below to share with your friend list.

Please be in touch with LPF or Save Darfur with questions, and thanks for all you do.

All the best,
Glen Gersmehl, LPF
Joe Maddens, Save Darfur

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SAMPLE EMAIL

Fight Devastating Cuts to the International Affairs Budget
Dear _________,
Please call your Representative today or tomorrow morning and urge him or her to vote against H.Con.Res.34.
Tomorrow the House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.Con.Res.34. If passed, H.Con.Res.34 would drastically reduce the spending level in the international affairs account for the 2012 fiscal year. The account is critical because it:

• Ensures that the United States has the diplomatic capacity to support peace in Darfur and throughout Sudan;
• Saves lives by supporting humanitarian aid programs in countries where populations are the most vulnerable. Examples include Sudan, Burma, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo;
• Works to ensure more effective genocide and mass atrocity prevention and civilian response; and
• Furthers the United States’ national security interests.

The House Budget Committee’s proposal would slash the international affairs account by $27 billion over the President’s request. This marks a 43% reduction in funding from what the president requested. The disproportionate targeting will put lives at risk in Sudan and jeopardize national interests.
A robust international affairs account is essential for national security and is supported by top military officials including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen and Commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus. Last year, Secretary Gates appeared alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to speak out against cuts to the international affairs budget because of their risk to national security.
Please call your Representative today or tomorrow morning and urge him or her to vote against H.Con.Res.34 due to its drastic cuts to the international affairs budget.
Thank you.

Advocacy Alert

The US is not living up to our potential regarding the poor of the world in a number of major ways. We have a rare opportunity to influence far-reaching legislation to change a number of those problems: read more . . .

Advocacy Update

We live in an exceptionally dramatic period calling for renewed and faithful advocacy. Here are nine brief windows on the challenges we face, and on resources that might be of help to individuals and groups seeking to respond to the gospel call of Shalom:

1. A very smart investment
2. Making foreign aid accountable
3. Educational forums
4. Misplaced AIG scandal backlash
5. Roots of economic crisis
6. Hey! This is just gambling!
7. One of ours?
8. More Lutheran sources
9. The impact of the economic crisis on nonprofits

1. LPF’s top current advocacy priority is lobbying Congress and the administration to significantly increase and improve the effectiveness of US development assistance both for humanitarian reasons, and to increase security for the affected regions and for the US. Increased development aid would pay for itself from its security benefits alone! In fact, it’s hard to think of any smarter investment of 6-10 billion dollars in the entire US budget.

Your representatives and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton could very much use supportive letters to help them keep aid at the priority level it needs to be.

Here is how to make yourself heard.

2. The Christian Science Monitor published a useful article yesterday entitled, "How to make US foreign aid work." The subtitle summarizes the thrust of the commentary: "Give recipients a say in where the money goes." To read more, go to: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0318/p09s02-coop.html

3. We would be happy to help you organize an educational forum or workshop in your congregation or area. Email us at lpf@ecunet.org or call the LPF office at 206-720-0313. How to plan a LPF training gives the basics of organizing a LPF training
in your college or university, congregation or community.

4. The economic crisis continues to dominate the news. Regrettably, many key issues continue to be obscured by careless or opportunistic media coverage. The Washington Post has several useful articles. See the daily news summary (which the WP sends out free): http://view.ed4.net/v/E5QODK/JIV8W/NSSSFOG/4VE0EV/MAILACTION=1

5. An even more important aspect of current misinformation or lack of information is the fact that much media coverage has slighted the deeper structural problems in favor of scare reporting or blaming the victims. Many readers of this e-news have seen one or more versions of an op-ed written by LPF national coordinator, Glen Gersmehl, entitled "Delving deeper, nourishing hope. For more, go to, www.pjrcbooks.org/
Fin_Crisis.html

6. The above article lifts up the core role that’credit default swaps’ played in the crisis. Amazed that you haven’t heard of CDS? The lead editorial in this past Sunday’s NY Times is one of a relative few national or regional commentaries to focus on the role of CDS in the crisis. Here’s a particularly intriguing (and shocking) point:

"In the manic years of this decade, credit default swaps took off as a way to bet on the likelihood of default by a firm or an investment portfolio, without having to own any financial interest in the firm or portfolio. That is definitely not insurance, it is gambling."

For the full NY Times editorial, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/opinion/

7. One of ours? We might add that a superb NY Times business editor, Gretchen Morgenson, has been one of the most consistently useful analysts on the current crisis and its public policy and moral dimensions, for example, a Jan. 25 commentary: Time to Unravel the Knot of Credit-Default Swaps and a March 15 piece: At A.I.G., Good Luck Following the Money. Curious about Morgenson’s rare moral sensibilities, we finally looked up her profile and discovered she’s a St. Olaf grad. Could that be relevant?

8. It has been with some embarrassment that we note that Christian leaders and faith-based groups across the denominational spectrum have been all but invisible in the public debate about the economic crisis. So it is good news to report that’s the focus of the current issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics offering a range of views. Check it out at: www.elca.org/jle

9. The upcoming issue of The Nation magazine has a cover story that brings us full circle: the impact of the economic crisis on nonprofits. It explores several examples of that impact and a number of worrisome projections and statistics, for example, that 100,000 nonprofits could close their doors as a result of the crisis. It is a reminder for each of us to support those groups like LPF that we are counting on to help us act on our faith in the world. See: www.thenation.org


Blessings and Peace!

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To contact us by email lpf@ecunet.org or lpfyouth@gmail.com. For links to lpf enewsletters and blogs, additional advocacy information, useful group discussion activities, leader tips, and resources on a wide range of topics, www.lutheranpeace.org

Taking action for what we believe

Normally, not much happens in politics between election and inauguration. One thing that still has to happen is passage of the ’09 federal budget. And it is obvious that action on our faltering economy can’t wait for a new Congress and administration. Both are places in great need of serious thinking, engaged citizenship, and caring action. There is a rare opening in the ’09 budget for Congress to greatly help poor people in other countries. Citizen efforts have succeeded in putting on the agenda a $5 billion increase in development aid and we won the spring Budget vote in the Senate by a 72 to 23 vote, so this can pass!

Examples of notes to elected officials (doc, pdf)