1.
Annual Membership Meeting on Monday, September 26th at Lake Avenue
Baptist Church, 70 Ambrose St., Rochester.
The
theme of this year’s event is One New York: Building Economic
Prosperity for All. This year’s keynote speaker will be
Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Executive Director of the Drum Major
Institute, a progressive policy institute founded during the civil
rights movement working for social and economic fairness. Her
address will focus on the shared concerns of low-income and middle
class New Yorkers and the possibilities for working together to
create policy changes. To download the meeting brochure, go to
http://www.hungeractionnys.org/amm_brochure.pdf
In
the afternoon at 1 PM, we will have workshops on: A. Food Justice:
Find out about an approach to ending hunger that builds stronger
communities, promotes economic development, and increases access
to fresh locally grown food.
B. Job Creation & Corporate Accountability: Corporate welfare
problems and solutions and the need for job creation.
C. A Real Safety Net: Strategies for Raising the Standard of Living
on Welfare: The basic welfare grant has been frozen since 1990
in NY. D. Health Care for All: This workshop will review statewide
efforts to enact universal health care in New York, lower the
costs of prescription drugs, and protect Medicaid
2. Final Assembly Hearing on Welfare Reform Wed., Sep. 21 in Albany
The
Assembly Social Services Committee seeks to gather further evidence
containing the essential facts related to the impact of welfare
reform policy in New York State. Both in preparation for any state
level changes that may be needed to implement federal Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization, and to enable
the Social Services Committee to complete a comprehensive evaluation,
this hearing will provide a second forum for the presentation
of testimony related to the impact of welfare reform policies
on New York’s citizens in need. The hearing notice is posted
at http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/comm/SocServ/20050818/
3.
Call State Senate to Continue Food Assistance Program for Immigrants
The
State Senate is coming back to Albany on Sep. 20 and 21. Advocates
hope they will take up the issue of continuation of New York State’s
Food Assistance Program (FAP), which helps low-income immigrants
buy food and is set to expire on September 30. Legislation to
extend the FAP has passed the State Assembly but the Senate has
thus far declined to act. Eligibility for FAP is severely restricted.
Only those immigrants who entered the United States before August
of 1996 (when the federal law was enacted), who are victims of
domestic violence or who are elderly, and who meet certain other
requirements can qualify. The number of people currently being
aided by FAP is in dispute. The State claims that its administrative
records show no more than a handful of people receiving FAP benefits.
However, a preliminary and very rough survey of a handful of service
providers conducted by advocates last spring yielded a count of
over 100 beneficiaries. The Assembly passed A.7486, which would
extend FAP for another two years, to September 30, 2007. The companion
bill is S.4349, sponsored by Senator Ray Meier (R-Oneida), who
chairs the Senate Social Services Committee. Until now, the Senate
has not indicated an intention to move this legislation. It has
not been voted out of Sen. Meier’s Committee. Calls are
needed to Sen. Meier and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
4.
Federal budget reconciliation bills to increase deficit with tax
cuts for the rich and program cuts for the poor
As
a result of the need to devote attention to legislation dealing
with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Congressional leaders
plan to delay action on reconciliation legislation (the deadline
for committees to act on the first of two reconciliation bills
was September 16) by two or three weeks. Congressional committees
are supposed to cut mandatory programs by $34.7 billion over five
years, arguing that “We have to do these painful cuts in
Medicaid, Food Stamps, Student Loans and other programs because
we must reduce deficits that are unacceptably large.” Yet
the reconciliation process will actually increase the deficit
because they plan to cut taxes by $70 billion. A significant part
of the budget cuts would come in programs serving low- and moderate-income
Americans, while the benefits of the tax cuts are likely to go
overwhelmingly to the best-off taxpayers.
The
tax reconciliation bill is expected to extend through 2010 the
provisions enacted in 2003 (and scheduled to expire at the end
of 2008) that lower the tax rate on capital gains and dividend
income. According to the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution
Tax Policy Center, 53 percent of the benefits from these two provisions
— or more than half of these tax cuts — now are going
to the 0.2 percent of households with incomes over $1 million
a year. More than three-quarters of these tax cuts — 78
percent — are going to the 3.3 percent of households with
incomes exceeding $200,000 a year.
5.
Farm bill Nutrition Forum in NYC on Thursday, Sep. 29 –
Your attendance and support is important!
On
September 29, 2005, the Northeast Region of the USDA Food Nutrition
Services (FNS) will host a Farm Bill Nutrition Forum. A good turnout
would show the USDA our strong support for these federal programs!
The Forums are intended to build a common understanding of objectives
and accomplishments for the 6 USDA programs being reauthorized
by the 2007 Farm Bill: the Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Food
Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Commodity
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), The Emergency Food Assistance
Program (TEFAP), the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
(SFMNP) and the Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico (NAP).
The Forum, chaired by Eric Bost, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition
and Consumer Services, will be at the Alexander Hamilton Custom
House Auditorium in NYC, 9 a.m., Thursday, September 29, 2005.
If you wish to attend and/or present remarks, respond to The Public
Affairs Office at pa-nero@fns.usda.gov,
617-565-6395 or fax at 617-565-6472 by Sept. 26.
6.
Thanksgiving Action Against Hunger on Monday, November 21
Our
annual Thanksgiving Action Against Hunger will take place on Monday,
November 21, 2005. We especially need people to organize local
press conferences and local events. Thanksgiving is the one time
of the year when communities join together to make sure that no
one goes hungry. But hunger is a 365 day a year problem. Justice,
not holiday charity, is the solution to hunger. To get involved,
please call Hunger Action at 212-741-8192, ext. 3# or 518-434-7371,
ext. 2#.
7.
State Court Overturns Pataki’s reduction of PA benefits
for SSI households
The State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)
will be forced to restore lost benefits to thousands of households
following a Monroe County Supreme Court ruling last month. OTDA
slashed benefits in July 2004 for families with a disabled family
member receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), arguing that
these households were "double dipping." But a lawsuit
brought by the Empire Justice Center found that the change, estimated
to affect 40,000 families statewide, would leave already vulnerable
families in peril. In his July 13 decision Justice David Egan
said OTDA Commissioner Robert Doar had overstepped his authority.
"The cost savings and policy choices attempted by the Commissioner
in this matter are a subject which can only be addressed by the
Legislature," the court ruled. "Therefore the regulation
is invalid and contrary to law." (C. Feldman) [08/15/05]
8.
Urge Senator Bruno and Senate to Support Health Care for All
Assemblymember
Richard Gottfried hopes to get agreement on the proposal to create
a Legislative Commission on Health Care Coverage when the legislature
comes back into an expected Special Session in December to tie
up loose ends in the budget. A6575 would fund a Commission to
hold public hearings and do a cost-benefit analyses of the various
ways that NY could provide quality health care to all NYers –
from single payer to Medical Savings Account. While the Senate
has been seriously considering the proposal, they have not yet
agreed to it. Contact your state Senator and Senate Majority Leader
Joe Bruno to say: “The solution to our state health care
crisis is a universal health program that control costs while
providing quality health to all. Support A6575 to create a Legislative
Commission on Health Care Coverage." Address for all Senators:
NYS Senate, LOB, Albany NY 12247. Switchboard: 518 455-2800. Sen.
Bruno 518 455-3191.
9.
Congressional Sign-On Letter: Abandon cuts in vital services and
new unaffordable & unnecessary tax cuts
Be part of a united human needs community. Call upon Congress
to abandon cuts in vital services and new unaffordable, unnecessary
tax cuts. The Campaign for Human Needs is circulating a letter
that they hope will be signed by large numbers of organizations
in the broad human needs community. They are seeking national,
state and local organizations. (Not individuals.) The letter will
be sent to all members of Congress. The deadline for signing on
is Friday, September 30. To sign on, please fill out the questions
below and email it to Steve Wamhoff at swamhoff@chn.org
or fax it to the Coalition on Human Needs at 202-223-2538.
Name
of organization signing on:
Is the organization national, state or local?:
Contact person:
Contact person's email:
Contact person's phone:
Organization address: (we hope to get organizations from many
states)
