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Spending Bill Allows 10x Increase in Campaign Contributions
Debate over the “CRomnibus” spending bill closed out the 113th Congress—and 2014—with a bang. Ultimately, Congress passed the bill to avoid another shutdown and to fund the government until September 2015, the end of the fiscal year. But, lawmakers opposed the bill for its harmful policy riders, which, as my colleague Melanie Fineman explained, are amendments attached to legislation in its last stages to alter the language or to attach a new idea on a bill on which a compromise has already been reached.
One rider of particular concern will allow wealthy political contributors to give even more money to political parties. The provision creates three distinct funds within each national party, allowing individual donors to contribute up to $97,200 to each fund, each year. That’s $324,000 per year, or $648,000 per two-year election cycle. Until now, individual contributions to national parties were limited to $32,400 per year, or $64,800 in a two-year cycle. So, individual donors are now allowed to give 10 times the previous limit to finance national party activities, opening a dangerous door for wealthy contributors to gain undue influence on our political system.
FDA to Replace Ban on MSM Blood Donations with One-Year Deferral
Following a recent vote by the Department of Health and Human Services panel, which recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reverse its policy banning men who have had sex with men (MSM) from donating blood, the FDA announced yesterday that it will be replacing its current indefinite deferral policy with a policy that allows MSM to give blood if they have not had sex with another man in the past year. While this change will allow some MSM who were ineligible to donate blood in the past to donate blood, this new policy still raises questions about judicious, equal treatment for MSM in this particular situation.
Still No Representation for the Nation’s Capital
Though 40 states voted on 139 ballot measures last November, there were voters in the country who were not fully heard: those in the District of Columbia. Ironically, those who live where Congress meets lack full representation.
There is no one representing the District in the Senate, and the House of Representatives has one DC member non-voting delegate. While Americans living in the District pay federal taxes, serve on juries, and participate in the Armed Services, they do not have full representation. Further, all locally passed laws and the District’s local budget require Congressional approval. The District is subject to this oversight, yet its citizens cannot make their voices heard in the legislative body that regulates them.
After The Torture Report
Earlier this month, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee’s report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program was released to the public. The hope of all who oppose torture is that the report will serve to prevent the behavior described within it from ever happening again, including the key findings that prisoners held by the U.S. or our allies on our behalf were grossly mistreated and abused. After years of opacity, we are finally able to know definitively how inhumane and ineffective “enhanced interrogation” has been.
Ensuring our LGBT Advocacy is Truly Trans-Inclusive
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending the Center for American Progress’ event, “We The People: Why Congress Must Pass a Comprehensive LGBT Non-Discrimination Act,” where Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Senate, announced his intention to introduce comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination legislation. While the speakers at the event were captivating, the part of the event that stood out to me the most was during the question and answer section when Diego Sanchez, Director of Policy at PFLAG National, spoke about the importance of trans-inclusive advocacy.
Getting Ready for the New Elections in Israel!
As a parliamentary democracy, Israel is slated to have elections every four years, but they can be held earlier if the governing coalition dissolves. Few governing coalitions last the full four years, but even so, it was a bit of a surprise when Prime Minister Netanyahu called for elections last month, less than two years after the last election. Elections will be held on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, and with such little time between now and then, it seems like every day is chock full of new developments that will shape the elections.
Two Birds with One Stone
In this age of intersecting social justice imperatives -- when advocates are looking for important overlaps between traditionally defined policy areas -- it's important to remember one key issue that has serious repercussions for both our public school system and the separation of church and state: vouchers.
Vouchers (and some private school tax credits), known to some as "school choice" efforts, essentially take money away from public schools and funnel it towards private, often parochial schools. The public schools system epitomizes the American values of opportunity and equality, and the Jewish people have historically been major supporters of our public school system in keeping with the values laid out by Maimonides who wrote that "any city that does not have a school in it shall be cut off [all contact] until they find a teacher for the children" (Hilchot Talmud Torah 2:1).
Reflecting on the AIDS Epidemic and Stigmatization this World AIDS Day
Today marks World AIDS Day, a day devoted to raising awareness of the AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) epidemic. Despite many advances in the treatment for AIDS since the AIDS epidemic first began in the 1980s and increased knowledge on how to prevent the spread of HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus), 1.5 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2013 alone.
And, AIDS continues to be a serious issue around the world. Jewish tradition emphasizes the importance of bikur cholim, pikuach nefesh and gemulit chasidim—caring for the sick, saving lives and deeds of loving kindness—and these are the values that spur us to take action to educate others about HIV/AIDS in order to empower them to take control of their own health and advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention.
Anti-LGBT Bullying Persists Despite Decreased Media Attention
Seth Walsh. Tyler Clementi. Jamey Rodemeyer. In 2010 and 2011, these names were all over the news as the media reported on a wave of teen suicides as a result of anti-LGBT bullying. In response, columnist Dan Savage launched the It Gets Better Project, a project which highlighted the increasing acceptance for LGBT individuals and featured videos from a wide variety of contributors, from President Obama to the staff here at the Religious Action Center. In the past couple of years, however, news coverage of anti-LGBT bullying and teen suicides has decreased, yet, anti-LGBT bullying continues to be an important and pertinent issue.