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Tell the Administration: Don't Take Food from kids and Families Submit Your Comment Today! Our faith clearly calls us to feed the hungry. Last year, we worked with Congress to reject cuts to SNAP, our nation's most important food assistance program. NETWORK members helped secure the passage of the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill, a rare bipartisan success in the 115th Congress.  Now, food assistance is at risk--again. The Trump administration proposed a back-door rule change to implement another SNAP benefits cut, one previously rejected by Congress. Oppose this rule by submitting a public comment. Currently, states can extend SNAP eligibility to low-income families with modest savings and working households if they also have significant expenses for shelter and child care. The new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal would eliminate this ability for states to broaden their SNAP eligibility.  SUBMIT YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT AGAINST THIS EFFORT TO TAKE FOOD FROM FAMILIES The USDA proposal would eliminate SNAP benefits for 3.1 million individuals, take free school meals away from the children in those families, and punish people with even meager savings. This USDA rulemaking is an attempt to side step Congress and is outside USDA's authority. We need your help, once again, to prevent this rule from going into effect! Public comments on the rule are due by September 23. We need to generate a lot of comments to demonstrate our serious opposition. I have written a sample comment for you to use, but it is important that you take the time to personalize your comment. Try to change or add at least 1/3 of the language so that your comment counts as a unique submission. Prompts for how to personalize your comment are included throughout the sample comment. If you have any questions, feel free to email NETWORK.

Urge Congress Use the Power of the Purse to Pressure DHS to Care for Immigrants

The Sisters of St. Agnes add our voice to NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice calling on Congress to end the inhumanity of the US current treatment of refugees and immigrants.

Inspired by the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching, we honor the dignity of every person. As Pope Francis said: “These are not mere social or migrant issues… Migrants are first of all human persons.” We affirm the sacred human right of all people to seek asylum.

Join us in calling on Congress to:

Reduce Funding for Deportation, Detention, and Border Militarization and Support Funding for Refugee Resettlement and Asylum

When determining federal appropriations for FY 2020, we urge Congress to reduce funds for CBP and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Refuse to provide any additional funding for a border wall; instead allocate resources to support refugee resettlement and access to asylum.

Keep Families Together and Invest in Alternatives to Detention

We call for an end to family detention this year, by December 2019, and urge Congress to increase funding for less costly, more efficient, community-based alternatives to detention.

Exert Robust Oversight over Detention and Uses of Federal Funding

We urge Congress to require additional inspections of ICE facilities, ensure ICE publishes public weekly reports, and create a detention ombudsperson to strengthen oversight. Congress should also prohibit federal funds from being used to: enforce Muslim or refugee bans, deport or detain DACA, TPS, or DED holders, and carry out immigration enforcement operations at “sensitive” locations including schools, churches, and hospitals.

Add your voice to the call!

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

“Today, August 9th, honors the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. We celebrate this day to raise awareness of the needs of Indigenous peoples worldwide, in recognition of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations that was held in Geneva 37 years ago, in 1982.

We are living in a time of climate crisis. As a groundbreaking report by the UN recently noted, “the health of ecosystems on which humans and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever.”

Much of the answer to solving this climate crisis lies in the wisdom and knowledge of Indigenous peoples who have long fought at the front lines of environmental threats. Indigenous communities able to draw on traditional wisdom to find solutions that have the potential to help restore our planet. Unfortunately, due to their dependence upon the earth, they are also among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change.”

Tell the Justice Department that Christians Oppose the Death Penalty

Recently Attorney General William Barr directed the Trump Justice Department to bring back the barbaric and ineffective death penalty, and immediately schedule the first five federal executions in 16 years.

There are many reasons why Christians and churches across the country oppose capital punishment: DNA testing proves hundreds of innocent people have been sentenced to die. It is expensive. And the racial disparities within the system are the very height of injustice. Above all, we know that it is simply immoral. Christians are called to forgive, to embrace grace, and quite clearly to follow the command, "You shall not kill."  

Add your name to stand with Christian leaders around the world: Tell the Justice Department that Christians oppose the death penalty!

Statement from Pope Francis.

“Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.  In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. 

Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide”.

Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: L’Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017.

Secure and Protect Act of 2019

Please join Church World Service in opposing  S.1494, the so-called “Secure and Protect Act of 2019,” introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham. This bill would eliminate protections for children and victims of human trafficking, dismantle the U.S. asylum system, and further reduce refugee admissions. S.1494 so that people seeking safety are welcomed and protected.

Call Today: Tell Your Senators to Protect Children and Asylum Seekers


Click here to receive a call that connects you to your 2 Senators.

Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [City, State], and [as a person of faith], I urge you to oppose S.1494, the “Secure and Protect Act of 2019.” I call on you to protect refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrant children. The situation at our Southwest border must be treated as a humanitarian crisis, rather than as an immigration enforcement issue. I call on you to reject the “Secure and Protect Act,” which would dismantle protections for unaccompanied children and asylum seekers, returning them to harm. My community welcomes asylum seekers and immigrants, and I urge you to do the same.”
Amplify on Social Media: Share this message with your Senators & Representatives on social media!

• [@SENATOR] I call on you to say NO to S.1494 so that people seeking safety are welcomed and protected - especially children. #RiseforRefuge #NORefugeeBans
• [@SENATOR] I call on you to oppose S.1494 and to be bold in choosing moral and justice policies which provide the vulnerable protection. #RiseforRefuge #NORefugeeBans

CWS's statement opposing this bill is available here. Interfaith talking points are available here. 

Thank you for taking action - and please share this alert with your networks!
In solidarity,

Oppose Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Struggling Americans

Once again the Administration is waging an attack against SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as food stamps. Modify the suggested language to make it your own comment. The material below “Comment Now” is additional information and analysis regarding the proposal, hunger and poverty in the U.S. 

Let the Administration know that the proposed rule to limit SNAP would increase hunger and poverty in this country, especially for working families with children whose net incomes are below the poverty line, and families and seniors with even a small amount of savings who would be kicked off of SNAP. Comment now!

Tell your governor to be a climate leader.

The Dirty Power Plan replaces an Obama-era rule that would have cut carbon pollution from the electric power sector by 32 percent by 2030. The Trump administration's replacement would slow these cuts, at a time when we need even steeper emissions reductions to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

Fortunately, states can take the lead when the federal government won't. There's a lot we can do at the state level to slow climate change. In fact, with the stroke of a pen, your governor can start ratcheting down emissions right now.

Tell your governor to be a climate leader.

Tell your governor to take action. Earlier this year, our national research partner Environment America Research & Policy Center released a list of actions governors can take to slow global warming, including: 3 Leading by example by requiring state agencies to use clean sources for their energy needs, adopting and encouraging electric vehicles, and making climate-friendly purchasing decisions.

Setting targets for emissions cuts and electric vehicle expansion in states across the country. Setting strong goals helps focus state agencies and the public on charting a path to a cleaner, greener future.

Incentivizing electric vehicles to make it easier for Americans to replace their gas-burning cars with zero-emission electric vehicles.

Collaborating with neighboring states in regional climate initiatives.

...and more.

From pulling out of the Paris climate agreement to rolling back the federal Clean Power Plan and Clean Cars Standards, the Trump administration has failed to lead in tackling the climate crisis. It's more important than ever that governors across the country pick up the slack.

Tell your governor: It's time for your state to lead on climate.

Participate in Social Justice Advocacy

Vote on American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 H.R. 6

This week, we expect that the House will vote on the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6), a bill that provides a permanent solution for the millions of Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients who have been in this country a very long time.

Please take time to call your member of Congress and urge your Representative to pass a clean H.R. 6 bill to recognize and protect the millions of our integral community members without harmful amendments.

Dreamers and TPS recipients were thrown into legal limbo when President Trump canceled their temporary protections. It is long past time for Congress to provide a permanent solution which includes a pathway to citizenship for these community members. When H.R. 6 is brought to a vote, the House should uphold its spirit. We urge Congress to provide a workable pathway to citizenship without amending the bill so that it undermines justice or the safety of other migrants.

Please call and urge your Representative (202) 224-3121 and ask him or her to pass a clean H.R. 6 bill to recognize and protect the millions of our integral community members without harmful amendments.

Suggested Script:

Good morning/afternoon. My name is [NAME]. I’m a constituent and a [CATHOLC SISTER/PERSON OF FAITH]. I am calling to urge Representative [NAME] to vote YES on the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6). We made a promise to protect millions of Dreamers, TPS recipients, and DED holders from detention and deportation. These are people who have built their lives in our communities. It is time for Congress to act on that promise and provide them with a workable pathway to citizenship.

As you consider this legislation, I urge you to reject amendments based in fear and discrimination that erode our principles of restorative justice and equity. Please support a clean American Dream and Promise Act to provide permanent relief to the millions of immigrants who are already an integral part of our society.

Can we count on Representative [NAME] to support a clean American Dream and Promise Act?

Thank you for your time and for your support of the immigrant members of our community.

Support a Repeal of the 2001 AUMF

For the first time in more than 18 years, the House of Representatives could pass legislation that would end the blank check for wars around the world. This is particularly important now that there is talk about possible military engagement with Venezuela and Iran. Below is a simple email to send to your representative.

Your congressional representatives are in their home districts this week. Pay them a visit about any of your concerns.

Send an email to your representative. Tell them that you support a repeal of the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). Write Congress.

Shepherd of the Hills School Retreat

As a part of their retreat seventh and eighth grade students from Shepherd of the Hills School engage with Sister Ruth in a discussion about leadership. 

No Executions Anywhere in the United States June 2019!

At the time of this writing, 

there are no executions scheduled 

anywhere in the United States 

for June 2019.

Let's keep it this way!

 

Honor Mothers by Acting to Stop Separation of Immigrant Families on Mothers Day - May 12

Greetings,
Join the Interfaith Immigrant Coalition in honoring mothers by acting to stop separation of immigrant families this Mother's Day - May 12.

VISA: Help stop the next mass shooting

Here is an opportunity to enlist the help of a major company in addressing the problem of guns in the wrong hands.

Notice the question asks if you are shareholder, not a card holder.

Credit cards are financing mass shootings. More than half of the deadliest shootings in the last decade were financed through credit card purchases. It’s time Visa does something about it. 

Take Action for #NoBorderWall and equal protection under the law for the borderlands!

Background: The Trump Administration is mocking the law and the American people. Congress already gave Trump about $3 billion for border walls, but he wants more, so he’s raided about $1 billion from the military and intends to take even more. That money has already been awarded to profiteering border wall construction companies, even though the call for public comments on the project remains open!  

Next, Homeland Security waived 32 laws for new border walls in New Mexico and Arizona, bringing the total number of laws waived under this administration to a whopping 49. 

Please take action and tell them it’s not OK to impose lawless, wasteful walls!

TWO WEEKS left to save the Clean Water Act

The last chance to comment on a Trump administration proposal that would gut the Clean Water Act is April 15. The proposal, which has no basis in science, would be disastrous for our waterways, removing safeguards from historically protected rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and other waters.
  

   SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

Just as a child with the flu can infect a whole classroom, pollution in these waterways could taint all the waters they connect with, imperiling drinking water sources and endangered species from coast to coast.

Just a few examples:

• Sixty percent of creeks and streams in California could lose Clean Water Act protection.
• The Central Closed Basin, a 14,605-square-mile sub-watershed of the Rio Grande, stretching from Albuquerque into Mexico, could lose protection.
• Irrigation ditches that run for 250 miles along just one creek in the Rogue River watershed could lose protection.
• Montana’s Big Hole River, home to the last native sustaining population of Arctic Grayling in the lower 48 United States, could lose protection.

Our complete work on this proposal is here.

“It’s vital to the health of our larger rivers that these smaller rivers are protected,” says Wade Fellin, program director of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper.

All our waters deserve protection. Speak up now to preserve the Clean Water Act’s protections for waterways around the country. We are close to 5,000 comments from our supporters. Please share this with a friend and help us get there!

Note: Please personalize your comment by including the reasons why clean water is so important to you and any other concerns you have.

UNANIMA International News from the UN and Around the World

The second edition from UNANIMA International News from the UN and Around the World is here in English and Spanish.

Want to stay up-to-date on all the action within UNANIMA between newsletters? Following them on Facebook and Twitter!

February 22 is National Skip the Straw Day

Tomorrow is National Skip the Straw Day. At Environment America, we're celebrating with a pledge to say "no" to single-use plastic products we don't need, starting with the humble plastic drinking straw.
Every individual straw may be small, but straws -- and other single-use plastic products -- have an out-sized impact on the environment. That's why we're skipping the straw this Friday -- and why we think every day should be Skip the Straw Day.
Will you take the pledge to skip the straw, and commit to reducing the amount of single-use plastic in your daily life?
You probably won't use any individual plastic straw for more than a couple of minutes, but once you throw it away, it will stay in the environment for decades, if not centuries. Some plastic products take 450 years to completely break down -- and some may never disappear at all.¹
Instead, plastics just break into smaller and smaller pieces. That's bad news for birds, turtles, whales and other ocean wildlife who can then mistake garbage for food. Last year, a sperm whale washed ashore with over 1,000 pieces of plastic in its stomach.²
More than 8 million metric tons of plastic flow into the ocean every year.³ Plastic straws may be convenient, but the planet just can't afford any more disposable plastic "stuff" entering the environment. If you can, quitting straws is a great place to start.
Participate in National Skip the Straw day this year by pledging to say "no" to plastic straws.
As individuals, we can't solve the problem of plastic waste on our own. But each action makes a difference -- by dumping less waste on the planet AND by making bolder changes possible. Whether you swap your plastic straw for a renewable or reusable alternative, or just decide to go without, your choice to cut back on plastic use is important.
Join Environment America and our friends at U.S. PIRG in taking this step towards a future free of plastic pollution. Take the pledge: Say "no" to plastic straws tomorrow, and commit to reduce your use of single use plastic.
Thank you,
Ed Johnson
President

1. Laura Parker, "We Made Plastic. We Depend On It. Now We're Drowning In It," National Geographic, June 2018.
2. Trevor Nace, "Yet Another Dead Whale Found With Pounds Of Plastic In Its Stomach," Forbes, November 26, 2018.
3. Jenna Jambeck, et al., "Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean," Science, February 12, 2015.

Donate today. A cleaner, greener future is within our reach. Your donation today can help us bring the vision we share a little closer to reality. Environment America, Inc. 1543 Wazee Street, Suite 410, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 801-0581 Federal Advocacy Office: 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20003, (202) 683-1250 Member Questions or Requests: 1-800-401-6511. Facebook | Twitter

Establish background checks through HR 8

Good news. The House held its first hearing on gun safety reform in eight years. It’s about time. While President Trump will have you believe there’s a national emergency at the border that requires a “big, beautiful wall” paid for by American taxpayers, the real crisis facing our country is the epidemic of gun violence. We must take action to reduce gun violence, and establishing universal background checks is a commonsense measure that 90 percent of Americans support.  While this legislation moves forward in the House, we need to make it clear to the Republican-controlled Senate that this expansion of background checks on all gun sales and most transfers is what the American people want and, more importantly, deserve. That’s where you come in: will you add your name today to send a strong message to the Senate in support of establishing universal background checks through HR 8? ADD YOUR NAME