Dear Friends,
 
Well, before we could pin down a decent analysis of the House of Representatives Tax Cut plan, they passed it.  They passed the bill this morning 227 to 205. 
 
It seeks a tax cut of $1.4 trillion – yes trillion – over 10 years, cuts the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% though without eliminating corporate deductions at all. 
 
However, it does eliminate deductions for ordinary people including the SALT deduction on State and Local Taxes.  High-tax states on both coasts would be harmed in paying into the federal system than the states receive back, and adding to that burden by removing the SALT deduction. 
 
This additional tax burden was sufficiently onerous that 8 New York and New Jersey Republican House members voted against it, but still the bill passed.
 
The Senate Tax plan
 
When House and Senate bills are at odds, they go to Conference Committee for reconciliation.  That will become important, because if the Senate plan passes – it has not yet been up for a vote – it has some very dangerous provisions that, if passed and incorporated into the final bill, will do Americans enormous harm.
 
“To Promote the General Welfare…”
 
Our nation has too often lost sight of our obligations to one another. In a world of hyper-individualism and personal accumulation, we are not committed sufficiently to the care of those whom the society has abandoned, kicked to the curb, or cannot help.  Now that indifference has moved upward on the economic scale, and the plan erodes many of the social programs we depend upon.
 
Under budget reconciliation, cuts in one place have to be paid for elsewhere. Tax cuts to the 1% will come out of social spending.  While technically Social Security, Medicare, etc. are protected, that protection is not absolute.  Still other programs are totally vulnerable to cuts. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
 

• Permanent repeal of the Affordable Care Act individual mandate. This is accompanied by loss of subsidies (if you’re not required to have it, the Senate decided you don’t need subsidies, right?)This will leave 13 million people uninsured, an increase of about $2000 for those who remain insured and are older. Raising middle and lower income health insurance rates will help billionaires get major tax cuts.

 

• Since tax cuts for the rich will create an annual $1.5 trillion deficit, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go law that requires deficits be paid for will seek other sources of “payment”. These will include deductions for student loans, medical expenses not covered by insurance, larger families. It will also include the part of Medicare that is not protected from PAYGO – about $25 billion per year.

 

• $300 billion will be cut from Medicaid – Medi-Cal in California. The poorest of the poor, whose health is already not good, will subsidize tax cuts for corporations and the very wealthy. This impacts seniors in nursing homes, homeless people already living on the margins, and low-wage workers whose incomes are too fragile to pay market rate coverage rates.

 

• There are new work requirements for some plans – ridiculous in the face of the infirm, those on disability, and especially seniors in nursing homes. Many recipients already work – but they’d be scrutinized and stripped of dignity by assumptions of fraud.

But what about tax cuts for the middle class?
 
In 2021 this Senate bill will raise taxes for households earning $10-30,000, and by 2027 that will include households of $30-75,000. The rationale offered by Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Mike Crapo is that if you are not required to pay for health insurance, you can afford this tax hike.  The sheer absurdity of stating that these two things are benefits boggles the mind.  But with health subsidies and those credits gone, the actual tax hike is significant. 
 
We must act against these policies that do so much harm – and do so NOW. This is a “Faithful Five Minutes” to do daily until we defeat these bills.
 
Please call your Senators at 202-224-3121.  If you prefer to write or email, go to:  http://www.churchimpact.org/take-action.html
 
Even if your senators are opposing these cuts, tell your brief story of how this would do you or someone you know real harm.  Legislators on our side still need your voice to share with those who are on the fence.

Keep calling or emailing your Representative – they need to hear your opposition to any kind of joint resolution on the House and Senate bills.
 
Tell friends and family in other states to do the same. 
 
Our rallying point is: 
 
Tax and health justice for the Common Good and for the General Welfare!
 
NONE of these cuts is acceptable, and we as people of faith call on our elected federal officials to vote against the Senate bill and any such provisions that may arise in a joint bill.
 
We defeated the elimination of the Affordable Care Act that is hidden within this tax bill.  We can and must defeat this Senate plan now!.. All we have worked for and accomplished is at risk – raise your voice now for justice!
 
Thank you!

Dear Friends,

In a world gone mad with 24-hour blasts of information that doesn’t inform, breaking news that isn’t news, angry attacks on everything from Mom to apple pie, what and whom are you supposed to trust?

California Church IMPACT exists to do its utmost to be a trusted source of information, a reliable guide to understanding secular policy as it intersects our faith world, and — most of all — not to lie.

There is nothing you and your congregations do that is not affected by public policy.  How we take care of “the least of these” in our midst, when we pay taxes and for what, what services exist or are to be cut that makes our outreach to those in need better or worse – all of these things affect us.

We do our level best to bring you accurate information, especially beyond what seems obvious, to counteract the avalanche of information that spills down on us daily.  We work to cut through the fog of double speak. We look under the surface to find what else is lurking that might have grave consequences to our collective work that are not apparent.

Are we perfect? Goodness, no!  But we strive to be honorable and accurate in what we see within our state and federal policy.  And we tackle many diverse topics so you can get somewhat closer to “truth” than you will find anywhere else.

What would you do without us?

Then we ask you to act. We ask you to mobilize; to speak “truth to power”. We can do that only by offering the best analyses of what that truth is, what facts are clear, what lies behind a particular legislative bill or policy, and why it all matters. 

We are engaged – and engage you – in advocating for policies that enrich our nation, not just the few. We stand for health care, racial justice, civil rights for all people, food security and other essential assistance to those our society has left behind. We work to find within our state the path to funding programs the federal government seeks to eliminate but that are desperately needed nonetheless.

We ask you to raise your voice on behalf of what is just and right – on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves – and to make clear that half a loaf is not better than none. It’s just as bad morally when there is money for more.

We ask you to be brave, to defy convention, to take the road less traveled in what we affirm within our democracy. We provide you with the tools, the resources, and the pathway so that your voice is effective.  And we are constantly reminded that they know us well in the Capitol, even in the Governor’s office, because we never let up, never back down, never stop.

We will keep working to keep you well-informed, to counter the “fake news” and sloppy thinking, so you can keep working to make California and America a just and moral place for all.

What would you do in this work if IMPACT were not here with you?

We have never backed down from standing up to anyone, Democrat or Republican, who violates our principles of respect and equity for all God’s children.  No exceptions.

We therefore need two things from you:

Now we need your donations to help keep us moving forward. Every penny will help us continue being your voice and source of analysis in both Sacramento and in Washington DC.

We need you to help expand our reach. Please get others who are not on our advocacy alerts to sign up.  The more voices we have, the more effective we can be. Work with us to include more youth and young families in this work.

We need your help to make sure our progressive allies can stand up and state clearly and strongly that a significant portion of the faith community is solidly behind them. We respect the right of anyone, especially those in the faith community, to express differing opinions and positions on social issues. The problem right now is that only the regressive faith-based voices seem to be getting the media attention. Many legislators want to do the right and compassionate things – but they need our support to be able to take the public heat.

Please support the important work of California Church IMPACT with your generous support.  Help us be the voice of the voiceless.  Help us stand for justice and compassion. Help us be faithful to the Gospel call to prophetic ministry.

Please make your contribution today by mail or online below.  We need to hear from you soon!

For those of you already donating, especially monthly, thank you!!  Your support means the world to us.

Rick Schlosser, Executive Director, and Libby Sholes, Director of Public Policy

Dear Friends,
 
SB 54, the California Values Act, will likely pass the Assembly.
 
This bill that we have been tracking all session, prohibits open-handed cooperation between CA governmental agencies, including law enforcement, and ICE, on rounding up and deporting people from our state. This is critical to assuring due process for all people and especially to protecting the role of immigrants, documented or not, as witnesses to crimes and their rights as victims of crimes. People cannot live in the shadows, powerless to engage with our police if they are living in fear of them.
 
This does not ban deportations. It simply means immigrants — the aliens among us God has directed we care about — be given strong rights before our laws. The Constitution of the United States requires this. SB 54 ratifies that process.
 
SB 54 does the following:

• Disentangle ICE and local law enforcement: No state or local resources will be used to investigate, detain, detect, report, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes.
• Require a judicial warrant in order to detain any person for deportation purposes: Regardless of whether state or local resources are implicated, no state or local law enforcement agency will detain or transfer any person for deportation without a judicial warrant.
• Protect sensitive locations: California schools, health facilities, courthouses, and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement will remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status.

 
You may email the Governor directly via his site: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov39mail/
 The office phone and FAX numbers are also located on this page.
 
The Governor also has two field offices:
Los Angeles — phone: 213-897-0322 or FAX: 213-897-0319
San Francisco — phone: 415-703-2218 or FAX: 415-703-2803
 
The message is simple:
Hello, my name is______ and I am a member of California Church IMPACT (and/or your congregation or group). I am asking you to sign SB 54 to offer the immigrant populations of California due process in all potential deportation operations. This law protects people from unlawful and over-zealous actions by ICE and keeps our local state law enforcement people focused on their job of protecting us all, not abetting a horrible and abusive federal policy. SB 54 upholds the Constitutional directions to provide aliens with due process and assures that they receive full and fair hearings on their status. We need a strong, thoughtful law to keep people from harm, and SB 54 is it. Please pass this bill as it stands. Thank you.
 
Please begin your contacts with the Governor now. We are in the final month of this session, and time is of the essence. Justice for all people requires this of us.
 
Thank you!

​





​from our friends at Church World Service:

CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TODAY!
Background: Senators Cotton (R-AR) and Perdue (R-GA) introduced the “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy” (RAISE) Act, which has garnered support from President Trump and white nativists. We urge all Members of Congress to reject this anti-family and anti-refugee legislation that would:

• Permanently cap refugee admissions at 50,000 per year, the lowest resettlement goal in U.S. history, during the largest global refugee crisis in world history.
• Eliminate the ability of U.S. citizens to sponsor their brothers and sisters, and create an impossible process for them to sponsor their parents for five-year visas, during which time the parents would not be able to work and the child would have to cover all expenses and health insurance costs.
• Stop green card holders from sponsoring their children over the age of 18.
• Make family-based visas for spouses and children harder to access by reducing the overall number of visas available based on the number of individuals who overstay their visas.
• Bar individuals from applying for U.S. citizenship if their family sponsor has not reimbursed the government for any expenses incurred.
• Delete individuals’ applications for eliminated visas, unless they have only one more year in the backlog, leaving approximately four million people, who have been promised a visa but are waiting in line for it to become available, without any opportunity to reunite with their family members
• Essentially only permit individuals who have certain education levels, work history, English-language ability, or high-paying job offers to enter the United States
• Reduce legal immigration channels by 50-70 percent, with an 85 percent cut to family-based immigration,
• Not increase skills-based immigration, or increase jobs or wages for the U.S.-born, as such policies have failed in the past since immigrants do not depress wages or reduce job growth

CALL YOUR SENATORS & REPRESENTATIVE TODAY: 202-224-3121
Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and I am strongly OPPOSED to Senators Cotton and Perdue’s RAISE Act. Thi bill would permanently cut refugee resettlement numbers to historic lows, make family reunification inaccessible, and essentially only permit individuals who have certain education levels, employment history, and English-language ability to enter the United States. I urge you to reject this bill and do everything in your power to see that it does NOT become law.”
Feel free to share a personal story about standing in solidarity with refugees and immigrants.
You can also tweet at your Representatives & Senators:

• .@[REPRESENTATIVE] Welcome #refugees & #families & #immigrants. Say NO to the RAISE Act #RefugeesWelcome #NoBanNoWallNoRaids #GreaterAs1
• ..@[SENATOR] The RAISE Act would separate families, reject refugees & dishonor American values. Stop this anti-family, anti-refugee bill. #VoteNo

Please spread the word and send this alert to your networks! Please tell us if you take action!
Follow @CWS_global on Twitter and “like” CWS Immigration and Refugee Program on Facebook for up-to-date alerts.

Dear Friends:​

Yesterday's firing of the FBI Director, James Comey, has led to what is now a grave Constitutional crisis.  Comey was the key figure investigating whether American citizens, including key federal office holders and staff, colluded with a foreign government to corrupt our 2016 presidential election.

Firing the man in charge of the investigation is a most dangerous step toward totalitarianism and certainly to a cover up.  Our system requires unfettered access to information by our duly elected representatives.  Anything that thwarts this action is anti-democratic and a threat to the survival of truth and the operation of a functioning Republic.

While Congress continues its own work, we now must have an absolutely neutral outside force continuing the inquiry. 

Please call or contact the Department of Justice and contribute your voice to the call for an independent investigation. 

Contact information is here                     

You may make a written comment on this site or call the DoJ main public comment number   202-353-1555   Tell Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that you want him to appoint and independent investigation of the issues and people involved in the ongoing inquiry to Russian tampering with our election.

We never thought this would be an issue for us again.  After the lessons of Watergate 1972-1974, we thought our nation and beloved democracy was safe from craven personal manipulation, from exploitation and abrogation of due process.  We at Church IMPACT are charged with examining public policy, but we did not excpect to have to mobilize all of you to defend the basic principles of open and honest government, especially not at the federal level.  But we cannot stay silent in the face of such a threat to our system of justice and right.

Please pass this on to your friends, allies, family - anyone who thinks we must speak out on the basic principles of democratic justice.  Please encourage them to sign up with us to stay abreast of developments and actions they can take.  We face a real crisis in our government, and it will take all of us working together to make sure we pass safely through these rough seas. 

They may sign up at http://www.churchimpact.org/take-action.html

Thank you.  May Peace and Justice prevail for us and our nation.

Dear Friends!   

California Church IMPACT is joining with Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity to send a powerful message to our Governor and State Legislators.

Please Sign and Circulate this California Faith Leaders Sign on Letter.   (e.g.  lay and professional congregational, spiritual and religious leaders)

We have 5 days to collect 100+ signatures!
_________________________________________________

"Do you not wish that God should forgive you?" (Quran 24:22)

Faith Sign-On Letter to Governor Brown & CA State Legislature
A Call to Compassion, Courage & Common Humanity

 Click Here to Sign on

Message of the Letter:
 
"Our faith traditions not only have a special protection and care of the migrant, but also the deep values of forgiveness and compassion for those who were formerly incarcerated.  Our faith traditions call out the possibility for transformation and redemption, mercy and restorative justice.  

"Let them forgive and overlook: do you not wish that God should forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran 24:22, Islam)   
 
"I was naked and you clothed me.  I was sick and you looked after me.  I was in prison and you visited me."  (Matthew 25:35-40, Christianity)

"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt, I am the Lord your God."   (Leviticus 19:33-34, Judaism)
​
We ask for your support for SB 54 and SB 6 and final legislation that will be as strong and as inclusive of all California immigrants targeted by the aggressive, rogue and inhumane deportation policies. We are disconcerted by the harmful discourse and potential amendments that would leave out from these important protections those most targeted by immoral and indiscriminate federal deportation policies.

We urge you to uphold your moral and ethical courage to stand on the side of righteousness and justice, forgiveness and redemption. Immigrants who are formerly incarcerated deserve to be reunited with their families and communities just like any other returning resident, and not deported.   [click here to read full letter]

We call on religious leaders of all traditions to add your name to this letter.​

Add your signature here

Now more than ever our voice is needed!

Amplify the sound with us!  Join us today!

Visit us at www.im4humanintegrity.org and urge others to join California Church IMPACT www.churchimpact.org to voice support for key legislation upholding these cherished values!     

Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Nor. CA office: 
310 8th St. #310, Oakland CA 94607
Sent by dlee@im4humanintegrity.org

Thank you!