by Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action on February 19, 2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) has set its 2013 legislative priorities for the 113th U.S. Congress. The priorities include several issues in the headlines recently, such as immigration reform and reducing gun violence. There are also holdovers from 2012, such as a combating human trafficking and fully funding international family planning.<\/p>\n The priorities support social-justice stances approved by The United Methodist Church\u2019s highest policy-making body, General Conference. The priorities are based on the denomination\u2019s \u201cSocial Principles\u201d and theBook of Resolutions<\/i>, which contains statements on Christian social concerns.<\/p>\n GBCS\u2019s legislative priorities are determined by the social action agency\u2019s work area directors in consultation with the agency\u2019s top executive Jim Winkler. He said the priorities all represent areas to which the faith community can bring a unique voice to the legislative process through a focus on justice.<\/p>\n The legislative priorities are not intended to be a comprehensive list of the advocacy efforts of GBCS, which is charged by General Conference to \u201cseek to bring the whole of human life, activities, possessions, use of resources, and community and world relationships into conformity with the will of God.\u201d Instead, he said the priorities tend to represent areas in which the U.S. Congress is expected to take action.<\/p>\n Winkler pointed out that advocacy efforts targeted at overcoming poverty and improving health resonate with The United Methodist Church\u2019s four focus areas.<\/p>\n The 2013 legislative priorities are:<\/p>\n Following are descriptions of the 2013 legislative priorities:<\/p>\n \u201cConcern for the most vulnerable in our community, particularly low-income women, men and children and people with disabilities, is at the heart of the Gospel and an affirmation of our common humanity,\u201d said the Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of Alcohol, Other Addictions & Health Care. \u201cWe envision a society where each person is afforded health, wholeness and human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n We envision a society where each person is afforded health, wholeness and human dignity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Abrams emphasized that all individuals, regardless of their age, income, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, geography, employment status, or health status, deserve equal access to affordable, quality health care. \u201cThreatening health-care security for some people based on any of these factors is profoundly unjust,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Congress will be encouraged to protect critical health programs like Medicaid, Medicare and The Affordable Care Act\u2019s Prevention Fund, according to Abrams. She said these are vital to closing the gaps to equal health-care access for all people.<\/p>\n The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 provides important protections against unfettered access and expansion of gambling, according to Abrams. \u201cIts enactment had a profound effect on online gambling by cutting off their main market, U.S. customers, including young people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Abrams said well-funded, powerful lobby groups want to repeal or seriously weaken UIGEA. She said this would provide unrestricted expansion of gambling by creating a virtual casino on any computer or smart phone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need more gambling in the U.S.,\u201d Abrams emphasized. \u201cWe will seek to protect UIGEA as an important law that curbs gambling growth and gambling addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Abrams said advocacy efforts will also support full funding of The Sober Truth in Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act. She said this act seeks to \u201cenact important evidence-based measures based upon landmark Institute of Medicine recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n Reducing addictions will also continue to receive attention, according to Abrams. She said advocacy will support state and local smoke-free, tax and other evidence-based initiatives to reduce tobacco and alcohol availability and addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cIn responding to the biblical call to welcome the sojourner, we call on Congress to pass just, humane immigration reform,\u201d said Bill Mefford, director of Civil & Human Rights. He said that reform should provide a pathway to full citizenship for undocumented persons, reunite families and stop deportations until reform legislation is passed.<\/p>\n Scripture teaches that the criminal justice system is meant to be a source of healing for all the land, according to Mefford. \u201cTherefore, we call for an end to mass incarceration through sentencing reform, eliminating privatization of prisons, and supporting citizens returning from prison to their home communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo protect the most vulnerable in our communities,\u201d Mefford said, \u201cwe call on Congress to pass legislation that mandates universal background checks for every gun purchased, eliminates high-capacity ammunition magazines, and bans military-style assault weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince 1994, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has saved countless lives and promoted safer homes and communities,\u201d said Amee Paparella, director of Women\u2019s Advocacy. She said Congress will be encouraged to reauthorize VAWA and expand its protections to all victims, including American Indian, Alaskan Native, immigrant and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer survivors of violence.<\/p>\n Paparella said the Senate overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize VAWA last week, so advocacy efforts will be focused on the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n Every two minutes somewhere in the world a woman dies from complications during pregnancy or childbirth, according to Paparella. She said Congress will be encouraged to increase U.S. funding for international family-planning programs that promote healthful timing of pregnancies, which saves lives and empowers women.<\/p>\n An estimated 27 million people worldwide are held in forced labor, bonded labor or forced prostitution, according to Joe Kim, GBCS director of Children\u2019s Advocacy. \u201cAs people called to liberate the oppressed, we will advocate for the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and its full funding,\u201d he said, \u201cand implementation to protect at-risk populations and victims, to prosecute perpetrators, and to build global partnerships in this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim said that in the United States each year more than 750,000 teenaged women become pregnant, with more than 80% of them unintended. Young people account for over one-third of the estimated 50,000 new HIV infections each year, according to him.<\/p>\n \u201cCongress will be encouraged to legislate and fully fund medically accurate and age-appropriate programs that reduce teen pregnancy and associated risk behaviors,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n An estimated 655,000 people died from malaria in 2010, mostly children in Africa. Each day, more than 7,000 people are newly infected with HIV, including 1,000 children. \u201cCongress will be encouraged to fully fund global-health initiatives that protect the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters,\u201d Paparella said.<\/p>\n \u201cAmid talks of scarcity and austerity, we as a people of faith continue to embrace God\u2019s economy of abundance,\u201d said John Hill, director of Economic & Environmental Justice. \u201cCongress and the administration must place the needs of those on the economic margins in the center of the debate on budget and tax reform.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill emphasized that in addressing the long-term fiscal health of the country, U.S. leaders \u201ccannot ignore responsibility to our brothers and sisters struggling with poverty at home and abroad.<\/p>\n Another area of effort will be to reform farm policy, according to Hill. He said the goal is to support local, sustainable and small-scale agriculture that increases access to quality food and strengthens communities where it is grown.<\/p>\n Worker justice is also a concern. Hill said advocacy efforts will be targeted at support of unemployed, underemployed and unjustly employed workers through policies that value work, honor the dignity of all workers and ensure a living wage for all.<\/p>\n \u201c2012 was the warmest year on record in the United States,\u201d Hill pointed out. \u201cThe impacts of a changing climate are being felt in communities around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill said GBCS will support efforts by Congress and the administration to reduce global warming pollution, shift to a clean-energy future, and assist communities in adapting to threats of climate change.<\/p>\n Enforcement of the Clean Air Act and other environmental statutes that protect vulnerable populations from exposure to harmful pollutants will also receive support, according to Hill.<\/p>\n \u201cUnited Methodists live in countries where the majority of people are poor,\u201d pointed out Mark Harrison, director of Peace with Justice at GBCS. \u201cThere is a lack of jobs, food and nutrition security, clean water and sanitation, adequate housing, education and health care. God has given us the knowhow and ability to overcome poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrison pointed out that the General Conference and the Council of Bishops have called on United Methodists to support sustained programs and campaigns to overcome poverty. He said GBCS advocacy will focus on prioritizing U.S. foreign-aid funding to address global poverty with a special concern for Africa and Haiti, and support funding for the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Cutting U.S. military spending will also get attention, according to Harrison. \u201cWe will also support defense transition assistance for communities affected by military spending cuts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program boards of The United Methodist Church. Prime responsibility of the board is to seek implementation of the Social Principles and other policy statements on Christian social concerns of the General Conference, the denomination\u2019s highest policy-making body. The board\u2019s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education & Leadership Formation, United Nations & International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Immigration reform, reducing gun violence, \u2018moral federal budget,\u2019 combating human trafficking targeted by Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action on February 19, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) has set its 2013 legislative priorities for the 113th U.S. Congress. The priorities include several issues in the headlines […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":3481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[157,32,3],"tags":[97,163,217,158,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-3480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-immigration","8":"category-news","9":"category-umns","10":"tag-gbcs","11":"tag-gun-control","12":"tag-human-trafficking","13":"tag-immigration-2","14":"tag-legislation"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/2013LOGOLP.jpg?fit=600%2C333&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-U8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3480"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3487,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3480\/revisions\/3487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2013 legislative priorities<\/h3>\n
\n
Health-care security<\/h3>\n
Internet gambling<\/h3>\n
Just, humane immigration reform<\/h3>\n
End mass incarceration in the U.S.<\/h3>\n
Reduce gun violence<\/h3>\n
Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act<\/h3>\n
Fully fund international family planning<\/h3>\n
Combat human trafficking<\/h3>\n
Comprehensive sexual education [for teens and young adults]<\/h3>\n
Fund global-health initiatives
\n[to combat Malaria, HIV\/AIDS and Tuberculosis]<\/h3>\nSupport a faithful federal budget<\/h3>\n
Address the global climate crisis<\/h3>\n
Fund foreign aid to overcome poverty<\/h3>\n