Washington Wire
October, 2004 Vol. 6, No. 3

Congress has adjourned for the elections. This provides us with an opportunity to update you on what the OU/IPA Washington Office has accomplished since our last newsletter.

PRIORITY ISSUES

Homeland Security Funding Assistance Appropriated – In the wake of the events of 9/11/01 and subsequent events around the globe, the Jewish community and its institutions have become much more concerned with their physical security and their ability to withstand, God forbid, a terrorist attack. Over the past year, the OU/IPA has joined with United Jewish Communities and other concerned groups to develop a proposal by which federal funds would be made available through the Dept. of Homeland Security to assist non-profit institutions – including synagogues and day schools – in improving their physical security. During the summer, we succeeded in having legislation for this purpose approved by committees in both the House and Senate. Critically, we fought off an amendment sponsored by Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) which would have explicitly excluded synagogues, day schools and other religious nonprofits from participating in this program.
http://www.ou.org/public/statements/2004/nate18.htm However, with the crush of business facing Congress, this stand-alone legislation was unlikely to pass.

Therefore, in the closing days of the 108th Congress, the OU/IPA worked intensively with UJC and allies on Capitol Hill to have the provision of funds for security assistance grants for non-profits inserted into the homeland security appropriations bill and in this we were successful. With the assistance of critical allies including Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tn), Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md), $25 million was appropriated specifically for the purpose of assisting nonprofits at risk of terrorist attack. These appropriation and disbursement of these funds will compliment the disbursement of grants from a larger pool of federal homeland security grants, administered by state governments, for which, at our behest, the Dept. of Homeland Security has issued guidance that they too may be used to protect at-risk nonprofits. http://www.ou.org/public/Publib/sec-np.htm The OU/IPA will continue to work intensively on this critical issue on behalf of our community.

Education – We have continued to make progress in achieving greater equity for special needs children through the process of reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), the federal government’s primary funding program for special education services. We have been working over the past year with key staffers and allies toward improving IDEA’s treatment of special needs students in non-public schools. Too often, children with special ed. needs who attend religious schools are underserved by this federally funded program. We must improve the processes and accountability measures for ensuring that all eligible children, including those attending Jewish schools, receive IDEA funded services. Last year, the House passed its version of IDEA and this week the Senate passed its version of the reauthorization bill in which we secured language that addresses our concerns further. The House-Senate conference committee has convened with an eye toward finally enacting the bill during a “lame duck” session of Congress in November. We are working intensively to secure the best provisions possible for the children of our community in this period. See more information about this issue at http://www.ou.org/public/Publib/speced.htm

Faith Based Initiative - To our disappointment, the bipartisan proposal known as the CARE Act (a package of tax incentives for increased charitable giving plus a $1.5 billion increase in federal social service grant funding) fell victim of internecine Senate politics, despite having previously passed the Senate and House by overwhelming votes.

Religious Liberty - ‘WRFA’: The Workplace Religious Freedom Act, sponsored by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and John Kerry (D-MA) remains a top priority on our policy agenda. While chances are slim, we are working to see if this critical, bipartisan legislation can be passed during the lame duck session of Congress.

JUDICIAL DOCKET

The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted cases for the purpose of reviewing two important issues in the realm of religion-state jurisprudence and the OU/IPA expects to participate through amicus curiae briefs. First, the Court has accepted a case in which it will review the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). The OU/IPA worked intensively with a broad coalition of organizations to have this law enacted in 2000 in the wake of an earlier Supreme Court decision striking down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. RLUIPA contains 2 provisions: one protects houses of worship from common forms of unfair treatment through abuse of zoning and land use rules; the other provides prison inmates with an additional measure of protection for their religious liberties. The Court has accepted a case questioning the constitutionality of RLUIPA’s prisoner provision. The OU/IPA will join with those vigorously defending the statute before the Court.

Second, the Supreme Court has taken two cases through which it will review the constitutionality of displays of the Ten Commandments on public property – and thereby again review its jurisprudence on religion in the public square in general. The OU/IPA is presently reviewing the cases and petition to determine how we will participate in this case.

IN THE ELECTION ARENA

In the Media In the run-up to the 2004 election, the Nathan Diament has served as a commentator in various media outlets analyzing the contest and the role the Jewish vote, and the Orthodox community in particular, will play. For examples, see: http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=4081271;
http://www.ou.org/public/news/move64.htm; http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=10021

With the Campaigns The OU/IPA has been in regular communication with representatives of both presidential campaigns as well as many congressional campaigns to express the community’s views and perspective on various issues. On October 21, the OU/IPA sponsored a national conference call during which OU and synagogue leaders from around the country had the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of senior representatives of both the Bush and Kerry presidential campaigns.

Urging Out the Vote The OU/IPA has placed advertisements in one dozen Jewish community newspapers in major communities around the U.S. to highlight issues of concern to our community and urge our constituents to get out and vote on election day. The ad also directs people to visit our website where it can interactively inform them about key public policy issues. See http://www.ou.org/public/vote/2004/vote.htm

UPCOMING EVENT

Nathan Diament will be participating in a panel discussion on Impact and Influence: Jewish Values in the American Public Arena on November 8th at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan sponsored by the Y and Sh’ma. See here.

BARUCH HA’BA

Darren Scheider has joined the staff of the OU/IPA as our Associate Director. Darren is a resident of Potomac, Maryland where he lives with his wife and newborn son. He is currently completing an advanced degree in public policy at the University of Maryland.

 

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