Alerts about Local, State and National Advocacy Efforts

Click here for a summary of the housing bill that was recently signed.
Shortcut to: http://www.chapa.org/pdf/h3221finalsummaryJuly282008.pdf
Source: Washoe County

On August 1, after months of delays and to advocates' great relief the Senate passed H.R. 2608, a bill that extends Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for two years for qualified refugees and asylum seekers. More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Action to improve the Child Tax Credit stalled in the Senate last week.More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

DWSS will conduct a public meeting ‘To Adopt Temporary Assistance to Needy Families,Medicaid, Food Stamp, and Child Care Program Policy and State Plan Amendments’ on August 19, 9am, via video-conference at Legislature Building, 402 South Carson Street, Room #3138, Carson City and Grant Sawyer Building, 555 East Washington Avenue, Room #4401, Las Vegas. The children, seniors and families affected by these changes need our support. Click here to see agenda. Letters to the Welfare Division are needed before August 8th. Please send to:
Nancy Ford, Administrator, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, 1470 College Parkway, Carson City, NV 89706 and Michael Willden, Director, Department of Health and Human Services, 4126 Technology Way, room 100, Carson City, NV 89706-2009. Please also email Jan Gilbert (jgilbert@planevada.org) a copy of your letter so she can get packets of them to Elected Officials.
See below for talking points regarding changes proposed by DWSS:
I. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) State Plan and Policy
A. Roll back the TANF earned income wage disregards to levels in effect prior to February 2007. This change causes recipients who are successful in getting jobs lose their entire cash grant 9 months earlier in most cases. It will hurt Nevada’s work participation rate, thus increasing chance of losing federal funds. No projections of savings or impact on work participation rates have been provided. There is no need for such drastic action because without it we will still have a $6 million TANF reserve on 6/30/09. It is okay to spend down reserves during a recession when people need TANF the most.
B. Impose a three month sit-out period for TANF cash recipients and TANF-Related adult Medicaid recipients for families who fail to meet the terms of their Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP). DWSS is seeking a “bigger stick” to make recipients comply with PRP. There is no evidence that a “bigger stick” will work, that high percentage of those cut off are reapplying and fear that many being punished may not be at fault. The change may increase fair hearing requests and will cause children to suffer through no fault of their own.
II. Medicaid State Plan and Policy: Roll back the TANF-Related Medicaid (TRM) and Children’s Health Assurance Program (CHAP) earned income wage disregards to levels in effect prior to February 2007. This change causes low income families and children whose primary caretaker is successful in getting a job to lose of their Medicaid coverage 9 months earlier in most cases. No projections of savings or impact on work participation rates have been provided. Cutting these children off of Medicaid increases uninsured rate, passes cost to counties/hospitals who don’t get matching federal funds, reduces access to primary care and is bad for the economy. These changes should be made only if they are included in $106 million in budget cuts recommended by the Governor and approved by IFC per the compromise reached at the special session.
III. Food Stamp (FS) Program State Plan and Policy: Impose a whole-household (instead of the current individual) sanction when the recipient in non-compliance with Food Stamp Employment and Training requirements. The cost of Food Stamps is 100% federal. Why are we rejecting federal funds during a recession? NV already has one of the lowest FS participation rates in the country. Why take food off of a child’s plate due to inaction by parent. Little evidence that the FS E&T program is successful in getting jobs. There are no federal sanctions for lower work participation rates in this program.
IV. Medical Assistance for the Aged Blind and Disabled State Plan and Policy: Clarify DWSS policy when an asset is given away, sold, or disposed of for less than fair market value to obtain or retain Medicaid eligibility. In the specific instance when excessive guardianship fees, especially those paid to a relative, and attorney fees are collected without a detailed justification of services provided or of reasonableness of fee charged, will be considered a transfer of assets for uncompensated value. Why disqualify incompetent seniors/people with disability from medical insurance due to the actions of their guardians/attorneys?
Source: Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada

To the surprise of many, a Medicare bill canceling a scheduled 10.6 percent pay cut to Medicare physicians and which included various improvements for low income Medicare beneficiaries became law on July 15. More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

There is a sense of urgency among Congressional lawmakers and the Administration that they must enact legislation to address the looming mortgage crisis before leaving for the August recess.More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Researchers and policy experts testified in favor of modernizing the nation's poverty standard at a hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support on Thursday, July 17. More> Source: Coalition on Human Needs

The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty are leading a national campaign to prevent and end hate-motivated violence against people experiencing homelessness. NCH and NLCHP invite organizations at the national, state, and local level to stand with us in this effort, including: advocacy and direct service organizations that are concerned with civil rights, justice, crime prevention, homelessness, housing, and/or poverty. NCH and NLCHP have prepared two policy statements. The first offers recommendations for preventing and ending hate crimes and violence against people without homes, written for policymakers at all levels of government. The second is an endorsement letter for homeless hate crimes statistics legislation (HR 2216) currently before the U.S. Congress. Both documents are linked here: Joint Position Statement: http://console.mtgcp.com/_images/NLImages/JointPositionStatement.doc Endorsement Letter: http://console.mtgcp.com/_images/NLImages/endorsement_letter.doc
If your organization is able to add its voice to this anti-violence effort, please email hatecrimes@nationalhomeless.org. Be sure to include your organization name and full contact information. We will be collecting organization endorsements on a rolling basis, with a first-round of responses requested by Friday, July 25. For more information, please contact Michael Stoops at mstoops@nationalhomeless.org or Tulin Ozdeger at tozdeger@nlchp.org.
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

On June 24, the House passed unanimously by voice vote the Fostering Connections to Success Act, H.R. 6307. More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Chairman Obey (D-WI) had just finished praising some retiring Republican members of the House Committee on Appropriations, but the bipartisan friendliness was soon to be shelved. More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Three tax issues that Congress will need to resolve this year are interwoven House and Senate tax bills. More>
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Help us show Sen. Reid that the Nevada community supports the House CTC provisions, which offer greater benefits to working families. Deadline for signing is Monday, July 7 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. Middle- and many upper-income families receive a $1,000 Child Tax Credit (CTC) for each child age 17 and under. Some poor working families who do not owe federal income taxes benefit from the CTC, but current law requires they have minimum earnings of $12,050 to receive at least a partial credit. If their earnings are lower they are too poor to qualify! (A parent working 30 hours a week for 50 weeks a year at $7.25 would be excluded.) Further, every year the minimum is adjusted upward for inflation. It started at $10,000 in 2001; the annual increases have excluded low-wage-earners every year. Congress is working to extend certain tax benefits to corporations and individuals. The House has already passed a tax bill (H.R. 6049) that includes a big improvement for low-income families: it lowers the minimum for receiving CTC to $8,500 and removes the inflation adjustment. Families of over 13 million children would become newly eligible to receive the credit or would receive larger credit under the House bill. The Senate has not acted, but Finance Committee Max Baucus (D-MT) has introduced a bill with a $10,000 minimum. The families of more than 1.5 million children would either receive no CTC or a smaller refund at the higher $10,000 level. Congress must not delay in enacting tax legislation that includes the $8,500 refundable CTC threshold and ends annual inflation increases. To sign your organization on the letter go to: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/125/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1294. Please sign only if you are authorized to do so by your organization. Individuals can send an email to their members of Congress by here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/125/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25071.
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

The Governor is calling a special session of the Legislature beginning on June 23 (lasting no more than five days) to address the state’s financial crisis and has proposed using Nevada Tobacco Settlement funds to balance the budget. Independent Living Grants are targeted for the budget shortage – this affects the Nevada Division for Aging, and hundreds of elders across the state who are dependent on the services in one of the worse recessionary periods of our time. Most of these recipients who receive the services are low-income, frail and disabled. Without these services in place, many seniors will turn to the County or City hospitals. Ultimately, the demand will be taken up in local budgets as the burden will shift. I urge you to immediately communicate the impact of the loss of ILG funds to those in your network. Call upon your network to: contact their legislators and the Governor by phone, email or letter or by attending the Session if they are able; to tell their State elected officials in their own words very briefly how the loss of ILG, or state Aging, Medicaid, or Mental Health services will hurt their family members or themselves; and secure the names of people receiving services who will talk with the media about the value of the services in their lives.
Source: Nevada State Office, AARP

Although there are significant differences to resolve between the House and Senate versions of the Emergency Supplemental spending bill once Congress returns from the Memorial Day recess, both bills include moratoria on all 7 Medicaid regulations. The Senate version also includes a moratorium on the August 17th directive. Last week the House voted on its version of the Emergency Supplemental, passing domestic spending and Iraq policies pieces, but not funding for the war in Iraq. The Senate took up the House bill, substituted its version of the domestic spending piece and added funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and stripped out the war policy language included by the House. The domestic component was adopted by a veto-proof margin of 75-22. This means both the House and Senate have both approved extending all seven Medicaid moratoria and extending UI. Despite preliminary procedural concerns, the Senate bill also retains a moratorium on the SCHIP directive. It's also quite a victory that the Senate supplemental was passed with the moratoria on the regs intact. The Administration attempted to give Republican Senators cover to vote against the domestic piece of the supplemental by announcing that it would "voluntarily refrain from making these rules [the public provider cost limit and graduate medical education (GME) rules] effective until August 1, 2008, more than 60 days after the moratorium expires." This announcement means that those two rules won't go into effect on May 25th (the date on which the original moratorium expires). Despite this announcement, the provider community continued to push strongly for passage of the domestic piece of the supplemental spending bill to secure a year-long moratorium on all of the regs. Rather than go to a formal conference committee, the bill is likely to continue to "ping-pong" back and forth between the House and the Senate. The House did not approve the war funding, and supported controversial war policy language. The House version provides $52 billion veterans’ education package was offset by a tax increase on the wealthiest households; the Senate veteran’s education provision is not offset. The Senate also added more than $10 billion in discretionary spending that was not included in the House package. After both bodies approve the same legislation, the final bill will go to the President. It remains to be seen whether the President will sign or veto it because of his objections to the domestic spending pieces it is likely to contain.
To help diminish the likelihood of a veto, if you have Republican governors or Republican state legislators who have expressed concern about the impact of the regs in your state, ask them to convey their support for the moratoria to the White House, Senate Minority Leader McConnell, House Minority Leader Boehner and House Minority Whip Blunt. The more the White House and Republican leaders hear from other Republicans that the moratoria are important, the better our position.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

On May 21 the House passed legislation including improvements for low-income families in the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Source: The Coalition on Human Needs

The Farm Bill is law, but another vote will occur just to make sure. More>
Source: The Coalition on Human Needs

Cutting poverty in half in the US over the next decade is an achievable goal. The Coalition on Human Needs is proud to have joined with three vitally important organizations and with former Senator John Edwards in a new campaign to turn that goal into reality. On May 13, CHN joined with The Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to introduce Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity, a campaign chaired by Senator Edwards and coordinated by the four organizations. Half in Ten will seek federal and state solutions to cut poverty in half within ten years. Meeting in Philadelphia with many ACORN members as well as leaders from community action agencies, anti-hunger groups, children's advocacy organizations, labor, leaders from the faith community, and other advocates, Senator Edwards called poverty "a moral cause facing every single one of us," and the imperative of reducing poverty "a question of fundamental fairness that this country was founded upon." He has been in touch with the three major presidential candidates about making commitments to the half in ten goal. You can read about their poverty positions at the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity website. Check out the new Half in Ten website (www.halfinten.org)...
Source: The Coalition on Human Needs

AARP Nevada is convening health care advocates to discuss the upcoming legislative session and to look at ways we can support each other during what will be a very difficult session. Finding common ground and establishing communication will be crucial for any success. There will be an “introductory” meeting on Thursday, June 5th at 1 pm in the Washoe County Complex at Ninth and Wells in Reno. It will be in Bldg C – in the first floor conference room. The plan is to have meetings both in the North and South. During this first meeting we could be looking at who else needs to be involved, do a quick scan of what we have lost due to budget cuts, and begin discussion of what we think we can accomplish next session. This is not intended to be a formal coalition, but an opportunity for health care advocates to come together and look at what may be overarching principles we can support and find ways to help each other – more than the usual “my bill is being heard this Friday, can you come and support it”. There is no need to RSVP. The plan is to convene meetings in June, August/September, and November. We should also determine how to continue this effort after the session starts.
Source: AARP Nevada

Congress is poised to pass the Farm Bill, which provides millions of dollars of funding to improve the lives of hungry Americans. However, President Bush has stated that he will veto the bill, and Congress needs 2/3 of its members to vote “yes” for the Farm Bill to override the veto. Senator Ensign and Representatives Heller and Porter have both stated they will not vote for the Farm Bill. Hungry Nevadans and Food Banks both north and south (AND around the US) need your help to ensure this important legislation passes! Please take a moment to call both offices and request their “yes” vote on the Farm Bill on behalf of our citizens in need.

Representative Heller’s office can be reached at (202) 202-225-6155 (Office) 202-225-5679 (Fax). Verita Black Prothro is Heller’s key contact here in Reno, at 686-5760.
Senator Ensign’s office can be reached at (202) 224-6244, Fax: (702) 388-6501 Alexis Bayer is a key staff contact for the Food Bank in DC. Sam Hudson is the manager of Ensign’s local office at 686-5770

If you reach the office after hours, please leave a message with your name, state that you are a constituent, and ask that the Congressperson vote yes on the Farm Bill. Five minutes of your time to make these calls will make all the difference. Here is a bit more detail on the policies at stake:
· The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides food commodities to distribute through food banks, will be increased by $100 million and indexed for inflation….crucial program for millions of people needing food assistance.
· The Commodity Supplemental Food Program will finally be included in the Farm Bill, such that it cannot be arbitrarily eliminated annually by lack of inclusion in the President’s budget, as has been the case these last 5 years or more.
· The minimum benefit for Food Stamps, which provides vouchers for people in poverty to buy groceries, will be increased for the first time in thirty years (from $10 to $14), and the benefits will be indexed to inflation as well. At a time when food prices are increasing rapidly, it is critically important that benefits keep pace to allow low-income families to purchase nutritious foods. There are also provisions to make it easier for people to apply for this needed benefit.
Representative Jim Walsh (R-NY) is circulating a sign-on letter to his Republican colleagues in the House urging final passage of the Farm Bill, emphasizing the improvements in the Nutrition Title. It is critical that the final House vote demonstrates overwhelming bi-partisan support in order to send a strong message to the White House. We urge you to target the House members listed below and urge them to sign-on to this important letter. Rep. Walsh sent the letter to all House Republican offices. The deadline for the letter is Tuesday, May 13 (close of business) since we expect the Farm Bill to be on the House floor as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, May 14th. Dean Heller and Jon Porter – voted against Farm Bill in July 2007 (could be due to tax provisions) and no record of 2002 Farm Bill vote (didn’t vote, new district or new to Congress) (possible opportunity for sign-on letter?). Shelley Berkley voted yes in 2007 and in 2002.
Source: The Food Bank of Northern Nevada

After contentious negotiations and multiple temporary extensions of current law, Congress is finally poised to vote on the Farm bill reauthorization, H.R. 2419.
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Efforts to bring a modest set of domestic priorities to a vote in the House were stalled last week as Blue Dog Democrats raised objections to funding veterans' education benefits without finding other program reductions or revenue increases to cover the cost.
Source: Coalition on Human Needs

A bill to keep a set of harmful Medicaid regulations from taking effect passed the House with overwhelming veto-proof support.More>
Source :Coalition on Human Needs