Advocacy.While it is still early in the 109th Congress, League advocacy efforts are in full swing. League staff, board and volunteers are promoting the League's priorities on Capitol Hill and in communities throughout the country. In January, the LWVUS LWVUS League of Women Voters of the United States Board set the League's priorities in the Democracy Agenda: election reform, campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. , civil liberties and nonpartisan redistricting redistricting: see legislative apportionment. (see Out Front). The LWVUS also will respond to legislation affecting DC voting rights Voting rightsThe right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. voting rights The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. , clean air, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) covers 19,049,236 acres (79,318 km²) in northeastern Alaska, in the North Slope region. It was originally protected in 1960 by order of Fred A. Seaton, the Secretary of the Interior under U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (ANWR ANWR Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska, USA) ) and Social Security. The first coordinated League advocacy effort of the year was a real success. Thanks to the considerable efforts of League activists, the so-called "Clear Skies Clear Skies could refer to:
pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. Committee on a 9 to 9 tie vote. The League was an essential member of the coalition to defeat this bill that would have weakened and delayed implementation of the Clean Air Act. Just before the committee vote, dedicated League leaders flew to Washington, DC, on short notice to urge their Senators to oppose the bill. Our coalition partner, Clear the Air, made it possible for grassroots leaders to come to Washington to convey the League message and create opportunities for dialogue with undecided Senators. While proponents of the pollution plan are already plotting the next move, this vote was a major setback for them. A victory for the League, and for clean air! LWVUS Advocacy staff continues to monitor developments on a wide range of election reform issues, from Election Day registration to a constitutional amendment on voting rights. LWVUS continues to work closely with the Election Assistance Commission to realize the full implementation of the Help America Vote Act The Help America Vote Act (HAVA, Pub.L. 107-252) is a United States federal law passed the House 357-48 and 92-2 in the Senate[1] and was signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002. (HAVA). In February, League President Kay Maxwell testified before the EAC EAC an abbreviation used in studies of complement, in which E represents erythrocyte, A antibody, and C complement. at their national hearing in Columbus, Ohio on provisional balloting, bringing the League's recommendations on needed improvements to the Commission. In addition, she wrote to the EAC outlining key HAVA implementation issues and to the Technical Guidelines Development Committee explaining the League's Convention action on voting systems. See http://interactive.lwv.org/NewsforYou/NewsforYou.cfm?ID=1397&c=64 or http://interactive.lwv.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1337&c=7 for further information. Many states are facing a time crunch to meet the statewide computerized voter registration system requirement of HAVA. Leagues who have technical or policy questions, or who would like guidance on how to work within their state should contact the LWVUS for support. Civil liberties efforts in the first few months of the 109th Congress have included official LWVUS endorsement of two major civil liberties bills: the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2005, S.737, and the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government (OPEN) Act of 2005, S.394. On April 5, LWVUS President Kay J. Maxwell joined Senators Larry Craig (R ID), Richard Durbin (D IL), Ken Salazar (D CO) and Russ Feingold (D WI) on Capitol Hill as they introduced the SAFE Act. The LWVUS Lobby Corps has visited House and Senate offices on a variety of issues. In addition to clean air, the Lobby Corps has carried the League message on Social Security and campaign finance reform to the 109th Congress. The Lobby Corps took LWVUS President Kay Maxwell's letter opposing the privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned of Social Security to the Hill in February. In March, the League asked the Senate to close the "527" loophole in our campaign finance laws. To learn more about LWVUS lobbying activities with your members of Congress, contact Angela Canterbury, LWVUS Grassroots Lobbyist, acanterbury@lwv.org. Many thanks to the League's growing Grassroots Lobby Corps of online activists for their terrific response to action alerts on clean air, ANWR and Social Security. The thousands of personal e-mails and phone calls to Congress on our important legislative issues make a tremendous impact. Join the Grassroots Lobby Corps and make a difference! Stay informed and take action with the League on important upcoming battles for responsible policy. Sign up to receive action alerts and legislative updates by e-mail: http://takeaction.lwv.org/lwv/mlm/signup/. It takes just a few minutes to make your voice heard! Learn how you can take action on the League's priority issues. See the Hill Bulletin, p. 12. |
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