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A System of Justice: Using Taxes to Help Fight Ebola
Earlier today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued two new items of guidance regarding the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first guidance offers special relief for leave-based donation programs to aid Ebola victims in the aforementioned countries. The other guidance names the Ebola outbreak in these West African countries a “qualified disaster” for federal tax purposes.
The leave-based donation guidance would allow employees to donate their paid vacation, sick or personal leave and employers will make cash payments to tax-exempt organizations that are providing relief for the victims of Ebola in Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone. This program will allow for employer cash payments until January 1, 2016. For this period, the donated leave will not be included in the sum of income or wages of the employees. Furthermore, employers will be able to deduct the amount of the cash payment, also a boon for them.
Action Still Needed for Unaccompanied Minors
The crisis at the United States’ southern border, caused by violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle region, has quieted since this summer. The gang violence there still rages on, but due to seasonal factors, the number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum has dropped sharply. After Congress failed to give the governmental organizations stretched by the crisis any additional funding, the slowdown in new arrivals has allowed the House and the Senate to avoid another round of funding debates that would likely end in stalemate.
Barriers to Forming Loving Families: Adoption Laws and Same-Sex Couples
After a historic summer for marriage quality and the decision by the Supreme Court to deny review of seven petitions challenging state bans on same-sex marriage, 32 states and the District of Columbia now allow same-sex couples to marry. Although these marriage equality victories helped remove some barriers to same-sex couples looking to start a family, many barriers still exist to same-sex couples—in both marriage equality and non-marriage equality states—that want to raise children.
Green Cheshvan Challenge: Turn Down Your Thermostat
Welcome to the month of Cheshvan!
Reform Movement Responds to Election Results
In response to the 2014 midterm election results, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued a statement:
A Win for Gun Violence Prevention in Washington State!
Yesterday, along with the US Senate and House of Representative elections and numerous elections on the state level, voters in Washington state chose not to stand silently by any longer in the face of gun violence. Ballot Initiative I-594 to institute universal background checks including for private sales in Washington passed by an overwhelming majority of 59.7% while the counter-initiative that would have prevented background checks in Washington State failed resoundingly. Laws similar to this one have been passed by other states, including last year in Maryland where the new law has already led to a significant drop in gun deaths state-wide.
Jacobs Camp Welcomes Kids of Active Duty Service Members
By Ellen Alexander
The URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp is proud to offer a Camper Incentive Program for Jewish Military Families on Active Duty. Jacobs Camp is nestled in the beautiful state of Mississippi and has served over 10,000 Jewish children primarily from the Deep South- Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Florida Panhandle since opening its gates in 1970. Jacobs Camp is the only camp within the URJ Camping system that offers a military incentive to all Jewish active duty families from across the United States and beyond.
Using Our Tax System To Help the Most Vulnerable Among Us
As we look forward to Congress coming back for one last session in 2014, we need to think about future actions that Congress can take to pass policies that can positively impact Americans and can ameliorate economic inequality. One potential measure is the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable credit. Since the EITC only benefits individuals in the workforce, the antipoverty measure is seen as helping encourage people to work and to participate in the workforce. This federal credit applies to low and moderate income workers by encouraging work, offsetting federal income and payroll taxes, and ultimately increasing family income. The EITC increases as a low-income workers’ income level rises and is slowly phased out, meaning that a worker can eventually earn too much to be able to qualify for this.
Midterms 2014: What the Election Means for Jewish Social Justice
With a few days' distance from the 2014 midterm elections, we are beginning to put the results of this election in context -- for what it means for Congress, state legislatures, state laws and of course our work to advance social justice in the United States. The day after the election, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center released a statement welcoming the resounding success of three key state ballot initiatives and noting our long history of working successfully with members on both sides of the aisle to advance shared priorities. We look forward to another exciting chapter in Washington, D.C. and in the states.
On Thursday, Rachel Laser moderated a conversation between RAC Director Rabbi David Saperstein, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Executive Vice President and Director of Policy Nancy Zirkin and RAC Senior Advisor Michael Horowitz. To watch the exciting conversation, visit our Election Day resources page, or watch it here:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBlxf9xu3c[/embed]
Election Day Yields Mixed Results for Reproductive Rights
With the Election Day results in, the door is now open for serious threats to reproductive rights and health in the Volunteer State. Voters approved Amendment One by a margin of 53-47%, erasing language in the state constitution that defines abortion as a fundamental right. The state legislature now has the authority to “enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”
Though the Amendment does not immediately change any abortion laws in Tennessee, lawmakers have already announced their intention to advance abortion restrictions when the legislative session begins in January. These could include dangerous and restrictive policies like the building regulations and physician admitting privileges in Texas (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider laws, known as TRAP laws), the mandatory 72-hour waiting period in Missouri, or the 20-week bans that limit abortion access in nine states. And, as Amendment One dictates, the legislature would not be required to include exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s life is in danger.