Lame Duck Session Needs Your Attention

While most folks have shifted their attention to holiday planning and spending time with family, Congress is back at work in a Lame Duck Session.  Members have returned to address key issues they didn’t act on before the November elections.  It is very important that we pay attention to what is happening in Washington, as much of the legislation under consideration will have a direct impact on Arkansas families.

The House is planning to vote THIS WEEK on the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The Senate passed this measure, sponsored by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, earlier in the year. Please be sure to call your Congressman TODAY.  Ask that he vote FOR the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This measure increases funding to help ensure children get the nutrition they need, helping them learn and grow into productive workers.  If the House fails to pass this bill, it will not come up again before the end of the year. That means your local school district could very well wait at least another year for funding necessary to help children get nutritious meals that help them be better students.

It is very important that you contact your Congressman TODAY! Call this number and ask for your Arkansas representative’s office: 202-224-3121.

Unemployment Insurance
Another big piece of legislation Congress is expected to tackle is the extension of federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. There are members of Congress who want to shut off this lifeline to the long-term unemployed right before the holidays. Some want to only extend these benefits for three months.  The reality of the situation, though, is that since World War II Congress has never eliminated these federal emergency funds while the national unemployment rate was higher than 7.6 percent. The current national unemployment rate is still at 9.0 percent and threatens to go higher in January. Ending UI benefits takes money away from small business and puts an enormous strain on the economy. These benefits go directly to people who need money to pay their bills, buy clothes, and pay for other necessary items. Eliminating the UI benefit means these people will no longer be able to buy things.

Bush Tax Cuts
Between now and Christmas we expect to see Congress finally address the Bush Era Tax Cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year. We continue to believe the best course of action is to continue these cuts for middle- and lower-income families, while allowing the tax rates for the highest income earners to return to their previous levels as scheduled. If Congressional members feel like they need to extend these cuts across the board-despite its impact on our national deficit-we strongly urge them to extend the upper income tax cuts for only one year.

As part of this tax discussion, the refundable child tax credit and the Earned Income tax Credit (EITC) have been targeted as possible ways to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. These two refundable credits are vitally important in keeping families out of poverty. If Congress fails to act before the end of the year, working families stand to take a $1,000 tax increase per child. We have called on both of our Senators in the strongest way possible to leave these credits alone. Quite simply, it is just wrong to make low-income families pay for tax cuts for millionaires.

Dream Act
Sen. Harry Reid (D – NV) has promised to bring up the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill before Congress adjourns, perhaps as early as this week. This offers an unprecedented opportunity to provide nearly 1 million children and youth with improved access to higher education and an earned pathway to citizenship, including an untold number of Arkansas high school graduates who are the children of immigrants. Under certain conditions, the DREAM Act would give permanent-resident status to undocumented high school graduates, providing them an opportunity to attend college or serve in the military before applying for permanent residency.

We want all Arkansas children to live up to their full potential, and without the Dream Act, that won’t happen. As Rafael Arciga, once an undocumented student himself, said in today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “It’s a no-brainer… What is right is providing them with an education so they can contribute to the community.”

As these important issues are debated over the next few weeks, we will keep you updated and will send alerts asking that you contact your Congressional member.  If you would like more information about a particular issue please contact Brett Kincaid at 501-371-9678, ext. 110 or bkincaid@aradvocates.org.