JPIC Office Blog June 20, 2008 BY ANN PIASECKI Economic squeeze sending more families to food pantries WHEATON—A combination of pumped up gas prices and soaring food costs have eaten away any wiggle room left in the budget of many families and individuals. Catholic charities USA reported that many middle-income families have joined the ranks of those on the lower economic rung in their inability to absorb these increases. They simply can’t drive to work; pay the bills and keep up with the rent or mortgage. Full Story PEPFAR reauthorization languishes in Congress WHEATON—A bill known as PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which in the past five years has been downgraded from a pandemic level to that of a crisis in Africa, languishes in Congress. The bill was initially put forth and later passed in 2003 by the late Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois. While it calls for the reauthorization of funds every five years, it was highlighted for its authentic commitment by the United States to assist with the global crisis of HIV/AIDS. It functions by partnering with nonprofit social assistance organizations and non-governmental agencies in places around the world to provide an umbrella of public health services to treat people living with HIV/AIDS and to support others impacted by the disease. In 2003, PEPFAR was authorized as an international health initiative. Over a five-year period, $15 billion was committed to a multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world. The current proposal sponsored by Sen. Joseph Biden, Del., seeks to revise the provision with a $30 million commitment spread out between 2009 and 2013. At present, the bill rests in the hands of the Senate. For information, visit http://www.pepfar.gov/about/ and http://www.one.org/. Global Poverty Act encourages coordination of poverty-fighting programs WHEATON—An offering of letters from the faithful to Congress, urging support for a $39.8 million bill for the 2009 international affairs budget, continues to linger on Capitol Hill. Despite the fact that it has bipartisan support—it was introduced by a team of Democrats and Republicans alike and it has the full support of the Bush administration—the bill has yet to receive authorization. The bill, as proposed, requires the president to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty. It also presses for the elimination of extreme global poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 a day. For more information, visit Bread for the World at http://www.bread.org/take-action-2008-ol.htmland also visit http://www.one.org/. Jubilee USA Network seeks immediate assistance for starving Haitians WHEATON—Bipartisan support and advocacy in the U.S. House worked to gain Congressional authorization in May for the Jubilee Act (HR 2634). At present, the bill awaits approval in the Senate. It seeks to provide for greater responsibility in lending and expanded cancellation of debts owed to the United States and the international financial institutions by low-income countries. It was last heard by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 24. Meanwhile, the members of the Jubilee USA Network hand delivered a petition with nearly 3,000 American citizen signatures to the U.S. Treasury Department urging U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to support immediate debt cancellation for Haiti. The petition was presented at a meeting of G-8 Finance Ministers June 13 in Osaka, Japan. At the meeting, Paulson was called upon to respond to questions by the world’s financial ministers about the weakening dollar; much of the ministers’ discussion focused on the implications of sharp increases in the price of oil. No report of a significant discussion about the request for immediate debt cancellation for Haiti was released. However, on June 18, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation, S 2166, was placed on the U.S. Senate schedule for a committee markup and vote during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee business meeting on June 24. If the bill passes committee, it is expected to be considered by the full Senate. For more information, visit http://www.jubileeusa.org/. Soaring prices spurs need for food security conference in Rome WHEATON—Ban Ki-moon, United Nations secretary general, highlighted in his address the fact that almost one billion people around the globe suffer for the lack of food and nutrition. At a three-day conference beginning June 3, 30 heads of state and thousands of officials from around the globe gathered to address the hunger crisis. Full Story Recent deaths stir support of safeguards for immigration detainees WHEATON—On the heels of evidence that revealed the deaths of dozens of immigration detainees due to lax standards and disregard for humane treatment, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut introduced a bill June 11. The bill is entitled the Secure and Safe Detention and Asylum Act, S 3114. If approved, the act creates a mandate calling for the improvement of detention conditions, including prompt medical care that complies with accreditation requirements, unobstructed access to legal counsel, limits on the use of solitary confinement and other punitive treatment. It also stipulates special standards for families and victims of persecution and torture. The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it has been read twice. For more information, visit the Web site for the National Immigration Justice Center at http://www.alternet.org/immigration/88358/. Climate Security Act pushes for greenhouse gas registry WHEATON—America’s Climate Security Act, which calls for the establishment of a GreenHouse Gas (GHG) registry, also sets up a system that supports the selling, exchange, transfer and retiring or borrowing of emission allowances. The bill seeks to create a Carbon Market efficiency Board to observe and report on the national GHG emissions market and provide cost relief measures if it is determined that the market poses significant harm to the U.S. economy. The bill currently awaits a hearing by the Senate. For more information, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/.
As always thank you for reading our blog, for your prayerful support and for your part to make this world a better place.
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, OSF
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