PC(USA) signs on the letter expressing concerns over "Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015"

INTERFAITH WORKING GROUP ON TRADE AND INVESTMENT

To: Conferees to H.R. 644, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015”

CC: All Members of Congress

Dear Members of the Customs Conference Committee:

As faith-based organizations and religious bodies with a presence in the United States and in countries overseas, we write you today to express deep moral concerns related to H.R. 644, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015” (also referred to as the Customs bill), particularly the version that passed in the House.

While we speak from unique traditions, we share the common values that uphold the human dignity and worth of all people, protect God’s creation, and lead us to serve vulnerable populations such as subsistence farmers, workers of all conditions, the elderly, and children.

Based on these shared values, we respectfully ask you to reject the amendments to the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) law that are contemplated in Section 912 of the House version of H.R. 644. Below are a few of our concerns:

· Human trafficking – The discovery of hidden graves of human trafficking victims in
Malaysia and the lack of action from the Malaysian government in addressing this issue is horrific. We should not give privileged access to the U.S. market to countries that condone trafficking and the violation of human dignity. The House version of H.R. 644 aims to weaken the “No Fast Track for Human Traffickers” amendment to TPA proposed by Senator Menendez that passed the House and Senate and was signed into law. We ask you to reject any change or addition to the Menendez amendment in order to ensure that trade agreements do not foster, promote, or condone the scourge of modern day slavery.
Furthermore, we understand that the State Department may “upgrade” Malaysia’s designation from a “Tier 3” to a “Tier 2” status in its annual human trafficking (TIP) report to be released next week. This “upgrade” would ignore the experiences of trafficking survivors and victims, the slow pace of convictions, and the recent discovery of the mass graves. This confounding decision undermines the integrity of the TIP report and sets a disturbing precedent for trade agreements with other “Tier 3” designated countries. We urge Members of Congress to pressure the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons office to resist this political pressure and keep Malaysia’s “Tier 3” designation in its upcoming report.

· Climate change – Pope Francis and faith leaders of other major religious traditions have called for moral action on climate change. The House Customs bill included an amendment to the TPA’s negotiating objectives that would undermine efforts to address global climate change. As the world negotiates a climate agreement to protect impoverished and vulnerable communities and ecosystems from climate change, the United States must demonstrate moral leadership.

We know that people in poverty, the elderly, and children both in the United States and in developing nations already feel the impacts of climate change such as water and food scarcity, super-storms and other extreme weather events that cause displacement and even death. We ask you to reject the climate change amendment in the House version of the bill.

· Immigration – Welcoming our immigrant sisters and brothers and promoting just and humane immigration reform is a key priority for our community. The House Customs bill includes an amendment to TPA’s negotiating objectives meant to restrict trade policies from allowing for better immigration policies. We ask you to reject the immigration amendment in the House version of the bill.

We encourage you to consider how these changes to the TPA law would affect the lives of the most impoverished communities and God’s earth as you work to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Customs bill. We urge you to reject the amendments to TPA that are contemplated in Section 912 of the House version of the Customs bill and to preserve without alteration the Menendez amendment on “No Fast Track for Human Traffickers.”

Sincerely,

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Holy Cross International Justice Office
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Medical Mission Sisters, Alliance for Justice
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Institute Justice Team
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment is a group committed to asserting a stronger presence of communities of faith in public policy discussions on trade and investment. 

Contact Chloe Schwabe (Chair) at 202-841-1780 or cschwabe@maryknoll.org

Action Alert- Invest in Green Climate Fund

Carbon pollution, no matter where it occurs, causes climate change everywhere. As part of one world, we believe we must act for the good of all here and now, and for future generations to come.

A key aspect of addressing global climate change is building the capacity of developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change/disruption. People in developing countries suffer disproportionately from climate disasters that threaten their health and livelihoods. Our faith compels us to stand with the most vulnerable and to act with justice for all throughout God’s creation. We believe we are called to take a strong, active stand on the Green Climate Fund and work for its success.

 

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was conceived in 2009 to help poor and vulnerable countries to address these challenges. More than 30 countries have already pledged $10.2 billion to get the fund up and running. In his current budget proposal, President Obama has requested $500 million for the GCF. To maintain U.S. leadership in addressing the global climate challenge, Congress must approve this request.

Tell your members of Congress to invest $500 million in the Green Climate Fund; it is essential to combating global climate change. Click http://capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=65764676

Leading emitters of greenhouse gases have a moral obligation to act. The U.S. is the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. Developing countries must have the funds needed to move forward with sustainable clean energy, avoiding the dirty fossil fuels that created the current crisis. Countries who have profited the most and contributed the most to the current crisis, meanwhile, must have the courage and accountability to finance the solution.

In a time of increased natural disasters, another important aspect of the GCF is that it will enable countries to build resilience to changing weather patterns, sea level rise, and extreme weather events. An investment of $500 million in Fiscal Year 2016 (the budget currently under debate in Congress) is a small but critical contribution to ensure vulnerable communities are prepared to avoid the hard-hitting impacts of climate change.

Contact your members of Congress today to ensure the U.S. does its part to fund climate solutions around the globe. Click http://capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=65764676

Earth Day Action- Expand Farm to School Program

Today is Earth Day. Are you celebrating Earth Sunday this weekend? Whether you already observed Earth Sunday or have yet to celebrate it, you can take this action any time!

Earth Day is a time for us to come together with our communities and rekindle commitment to a better future and a thriving planet. As we face increasingly severe storms, droughts in once fertile agricultural lands, and rising seas, it is critical that we use Earth Day as a catalyst to take decisive action to ease the harm we are causing to our ecosystems. 

This year, our ecumenical partner, Creation Justice Ministries, has prepared an Earth Day resource to engage our families and congregations in conversation and action for a healthier planet through the lens of food. It is called "Have You Anything Here to Eat?" and encourages us to reflect on how food production and consumption impacts the changing climate. It includes ideas for what you can do in your day-to-day life to live lighter on the land and give thanks for the abundance of God's creation. Please click here to download this wonderful resource and share it widely with your community. 

Click here to write to your Members of Congress about food this Earth Day.

On the national scene, we are drawing attention to the Farm to School Act of 2015, which helps children and their families make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy by funding projects around the country that connect children to food production, harvest, and preparation. This program makes grants on a competitive basis for schools, nonprofits, state and local agencies, agricultural producers, and Indian tribal organizations to increase local food procurement for school meal programs and expand educational activities on agriculture and food. It educates children about ecological preservation, increases the number of fruits and vegetables they eat daily, and provides organic farmers with a market for their produce in schools. This year, we are asking Congress to strengthen and expand the program’s scope through the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

Write to Congress in support of Farm to School here!

For many years, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been bearing witness to the ecological devastation that humans are bringing to the planet through global climate change. Presbyterian General Assemblies have called for changes at all levels of our lifestyle – from a national comprehensive climate plan to changing the way we use energy in our homes and churches. Together, we can make a difference.

Celebrating Public Witness Victories

Washington Report to Presbyterians, Spring 2015

Victory on Establishing Diplomatic Relations with Cuba

In December 2014, the U.S. made a historic step forward in its Cuba policy when the Obama Administration announced that the U.S. will have full diplomatic relations with Cuba, ease travel restrictions, and review the additional policies that hinder the free relationship between the two countries. This was a huge victory for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the many Presbyterians who have worked together with our partners in Cuba for over fifty years. The Office of Public Witness has worked to advocate and to help Presbyterians advocate for this change of policy. Through action alerts, meetings with Congress and the Administration, and hosting delegations of our Cuban church partners, we have continually pressed for a full and free relationship between the two countries. We are looking forward to making sure these changes are fully implemented in the coming year.

Standing with Low-Wage Workers

J. Herbert Nelson stands with low-wage
workers in April 2015

In July 2014, the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson stood with striking low-wage federal contract workers to call on the President to set a new standard in the U.S. labor market. As the largest creator of low-wage jobs in the country, the U.S. government, through its contracts, has tremendous power to lead the labor market and improve jobs for millions of workers. When President Obama signed an executive order last summer requiring federal contractors to pay their workers at least $10.10 per hour, he set a standard for American workers, and many corporations, cities, and municipalities followed his lead. Days after Reverend Nelson stood with striking workers at Union Station, the President signed the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order” that will ensure that federal contracts are scrutinized for their compliance with federal labor law, such as wage theft protections and safe workplace regulations. This effort to raise the floor of the U.S. labor market continues in 2015 as the Office of Public Witness stands with workers who are demanding more livable wages and contract preferences for good employers who undercut the poverty jobs market by using taxpayer dollars to create good jobs.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation in Iran

A central concern for the PC(USA) has been Nuclear Proliferation and adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Last year, the Office of Public Witness worked in coalition with our interfaith and ecumenical partners in support of negotiated solution to the Iran nuclear issue and in opposition to harmful sanctions proposed in Congress. Because of your response to our alerts and the coalition of faith partners working in DC, we stopped the additional sanctions that would have derailed an agreement. Early in spring 2015, a historic agreement with Iran was announced — the key parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program. The details remain to be worked out, but this is a tremendous step forward. We will continue to make the final agreement a key priority in public witness work this year.

 

OPW Staff J. Herbert Nelson and Leslie Woods join religious
leaders to meet with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy

A Step in Addressing Global Climate Change

In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized new regulations under the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Power plants are the largest carbon emitter in the U.S. economy, contributing 30 percent of U.S. carbon pollution. Absent more comprehensive action from Congress, this regulation by the EPA is the largest step the U.S. has taken toward reducing its carbon emissions and beginning to address global climate change and disruption. The faith community was active in calling for these regulations. The Office of Public Witness provided official comments and testimony during the rule-making process, provided resources for hundreds of Presbyterians to weigh in on the rules, and joined with the inter-religious community to raise a voice for Creation Care in the EPA’s efforts to reduce carbon pollution.

PC(USA) Comments on EPA Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule

NOTE: If you have not submitted comments on the EPA's proposed Carbon rule, you may still do so by the end of the day on Monday, Dec. 1, at our Action Center.

December 1, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20460

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602

Dear Administrator McCarthy:

First, let me begin by thanking you for meeting with my colleagues and me the week before Thanksgiving in the Faith Leader meeting at which we delivered thousands of comments on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule from concerned people of faith. I am truly grateful for your leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency and your proactive approach to protecting the Creation with which God has blessed us.

Adding to that cloud of witnesses and representing the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the highest deliberative body in this denomination, I am writing to support strongly the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule, which will limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.  Knowing that carbon pollution is the leading cause factor in global climate change, that the U.S. economy has historically been the largest greenhouse gas emitter, and that power plants are the single largest contributor of such pollution in the U.S. economy, we believe that this rule is essential for addressing global climate change. Climate change is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time, endangering the well-being of current and future generations and all of God’s creation.

In 2008, the 218^th General Assembly wrote:

With our Lord, we stand with the ‘least of these’ and advocate for the poor and oppressed in present and future generations who are often the victims of environmental injustice and who are least able to mitigate the impact of global warming that [is falling] disproportionately on them.

As citizens of the U.S., which has historically produced more greenhouse gases than any other country, and which is currently responsible for over a fifth of the world’s annual emissions, we implore our nation to accept its moral responsibility to address global warming [through public policy, as well as through our own actions individually and as communities]…

As advocates for justice, we reject the claim that all nations should shoulder an equal measure of the burden associated with mitigating climate change. Industrialized nations like the U.S. have produced most of the emissions over the last three centuries and deserve to shoulder the majority of the burden… (The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, approved by the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA))

This policy statement went on to outline numerous policies that could and hopefully will yet be employed to achieve the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (many requiring an act of Congress). At the time, we called for a national response to climate change that would be based on the best available science, would mitigate the worst impacts of increased prices on people living in poverty in the U.S., and would provide ample adaptation support for the poorest and most affected communities around the globe.  While it is not in the EPA’s jurisdiction to accomplish all this, the Clean Power Plan is an important step in the right direction.

Further, our most recent General Assembly “affirm[ed] the vital importance of sustainable development through faithful stewardship of natural resources and the Precautionary Principle. Such methods of preventing irreversible ecological impacts are part of the basis for a responsible, moral, and scientifically-informed human flourishing, affirming the sacred in societal and creation care, and protecting the earth for future generations.” Clearly, a Clean Power Plan is vital to the principle of sustainable development and future energy decisions should be strongly advised by the Precautionary Principle.  

We know from our global church partners that climate change is already changing life on earth, as we know it. Multi-year droughts in some areas, sea-level rise and extreme flooding in others, are impacting communities and people around the world, particularly those who are most vulnerable, lacking the financial and technological resources required to adapt to a changing climate. Climate change is also already impacting global agriculture, both food supplies and prices. Reducing hunger and alleviating poverty are key concerns for the Church. Yet, we know that climate change is increasing the need and reducing our capacity to respond to it effectively.

By setting limits on the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in our economy, the proposed rule will not only begin to reduce the U.S. economy’s contribution to this overwhelming problem, but also will improve public health by decreasing the number of unhealthy air days.  Too often, the people that bear the burden of harmful emissions are communities of color and low-income families.  By reducing our emissions from existing power plants, we will be cleaning up the air that was gifted by God, so that all may breathe freely.

If we hope to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and protect communities around the world, reducing carbon emissions from power plants must be a top priority for our country.  The proposed rule will make important progress towards that goal while still allowing states the flexibility to implement standards in ways that make the most sense for their economies and power needs.

Climate change is already affecting all of us.  But mostly, it will affect our children, our grandchildren, and our most vulnerable neighbors, if we fail to take bold action now to curb its worst impacts.  As Presbyterian Christians, we believe that we have a moral obligation to leave our children a healthy and safe world and to care for our neighbors.  This proposed rule is an important step on the path to meeting that obligation.

Thank you for taking this bold step to protect our future.

Sincerely,

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II

Director for Public Witness

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)