June Marks the Anniversary of UUSJ's Adoption of 8th Principle

“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountability dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

Two years ago, after careful deliberation and consideration, UUSJ’s Board concluded:

While UUSJ is not a member congregation of the UUA, we recognize, as a matter of conscience and our commitment as a justice-seeking UU-related organization, the importance of joining UU congregations nationwide that have adopted the 8th Principle. We recognize the importance of this principle for our work towards our mission and commitments to our moral owners.

This Spring, we are reminded of why UUSJ adopted the 8th Principle as we grapple with slow progress on voting rights, proposed cuts, caps, and eligibility changes for anti-poverty programs, a looming threat to unspool historic environmental funding, recent deleterious supreme court rulings, plus the advance of unacceptable curtailment of asylum. Across all our priority issue areas, we see a common thread, a fundamental lack of compassion and recognition of common dignity, a profound unwillingness to Side With Love.

The 8th Principle's sentiment helps us remember what Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II describes as the “interlocking injustice of federal policy,” harming low-wealth and low-income Americans and, therefore, all of our society.

UUSJ Annual Meeting, 2023
Friday, June 16
1:00pm ET • 12:00n CT  • 11:00am MT • 10:00am PT

The agenda and related materials will be available to Board members in advance. Board meetings are open to UUSJ members, who may request an opportunity to speak briefly in advance. For more information, contact: info@uusj.org

General Assembly, Let's Grow Our Movement For Federal Advocacy

UUSJ is going to Pittsburgh! Pablo DeJesus, our Executive Director, will attend his first in-person General Assembly (GA)! 

Our goal this year is to raise the profile of UUSJ. We want to get more folks cognizant that they have a UU organization based in DC, focused on federal engagement. To do that well, we could use your assistance – tell everyone you know what UUSJ does and encourage them to learn more and connect.

If you are attending GA, please let us know, be sure to introduce yourself and tell Pablo what federal issues matter to your UU Congregation and community. 

Please take note:

1. UUSJ has booth #305, be sure to stop by to say hello and encourage others to do so.  Consider signing up for a shift at the booth here: UUSJ 2023 GA Exhibit Booth Sign Up. (We will provide ingathering in preparation before GA.)
2. Join our breakfast reception Saturday, June 24 9:30am - 10:30am ET to celebrate your affiliation with UUSJ with new friends and old allies. Help celebrate our UU movement for direct federal advocacy. If you will attend please let us know HERE.
3. Meet our volunteers Saturday, June 24, from 11:00 - 11:45am ET at an in-person meet-up at Exhibit Hall Networking Table #1. Our Democracy Action Team (DAT) and Immigration Action Team (IAT) have partnered in the production of an on-demand workshop, “Faithfully Becoming UU Federal Advocates for Justice” (#624). They will be available to discuss their volunteerism. The On-Demand Workshop will be available to view before and during GA. 

This year, with the attendance of our Executive Director, and several Board Members, General Assembly allows us to discuss our work with legislators, UU congregants, and our moral owners in a new, profound, and proud way. Help us do that.

Public Comment Alert:

Submit Comments in Favor of the HHS Proposed Rulemaking to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy

Due by, June 16^th, 2023 at 11:59pm ET

See our official comment
See our sample you can tailor/personalize via Google Docs

We have a time-sensitive opportunity to advocate for additional regulatory protections of women’s reproductive health care privacy. This public comment to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is a clear federal matter and, therefore, consistent with UUSJ’s mission and our economic justice work — not only for people of color, especially women of color but also for women who, as a group, have a long and troubling history of inadequate care. 

On April 12, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at HHS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to strengthen reproductive health care privacy. The proposed rulemaking is one of many actions taken by HHS in support of President Biden’s two Executive Orders (EOs), issued weeks after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, to protect access to reproductive care, including abortion. 

Under EO 14076 - PDF, President Biden directed HHS to consider taking additional actions, including under HIPAA, to protect better sensitive information related to reproductive health care and bolster patient-provider confidentiality.

Why now? UUs have a unique opportunity to show support, in force, for a technical issue that matters in the fight for reproductive justice.

See our Public Comment Alert for more background and a sample comment that you should tailor.

SNAP: Access to Healthy Food is Vital
Take Action

We must urge the U.S. Congress to prioritize people and protect critical anti-poverty programs like SNAP. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of lower-income families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency. 

False narratives about low-income people are abundant in Federal policies (including current budget negotiations). These false beliefs include the belief that people are lazy and need to work more, that recipients only want handouts, the mistaken belief that people get what they deserve, or that poverty is the individual's fault. Protecting SNAP is crucial to protecting short- and long-term health, education, and employment outcomes for children and families. SNAP needs to be a positive program that works for those who need it.

Tell Congress to Reintroduce and Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act
Take Action

In the last Session of Congress, the bi-cameral, bi-partisan Afghan Adjustment Act of 2022 nearly passed as part of the December 2022 Omnibus negotiations. Congress must reintroduce and pass this bill so that Afghans who only have temporary protection gain the security and stability they need to rebuild their lives and thrive. This legislation will be important to:

• Help veterans keep their promises to their Afghan allies 
• Provide the gold standard in the vetting of Afghans
• Demonstrate support for Afghans who aided the U.S. mission
• Provide stability and protection for Afghan refugees and asylees

The Afghan Adjustment Act allows Afghans who reside in the U.S. and have passed the requisite security checks a clear pathway to permanent status, circumventing the need for Afghan evacuees to go through the current overburdened processes to get permanent residency. In the past, the U.S. has implemented similar adjustments for those fleeing repression in Vietnam, Cuba, the USSR, and Iraq.

Stop Anti-Asylum Policies
Take Action

Now is the time to call on our national leaders to reject anti-immigrant, anti-asylum, and anti-family legislation and instead invest in concrete solutions that expand our capacity to welcome those fleeing violence, oppression, and natural disasters. Tell your legislators that the U.S. can do better. Let’s welcome in the spirit of inherent worth and dignity.

General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Participants worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through the democratic process. Learn More

The 2023 Program Book and Schedule Grid

The big items of interest this year are:

• The candidacy of Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt to be the next President of the UUA
• The Proposed Revision of Article II
• The Business Resolution – Complete Divestment from the Fossil Fuel Industry and Subsequent Reparations (Review a 1-pager by the UU Young Adults Divestment Caucus, explaining their position and proposal.)

How the Supreme Court Is Dividing America
Tuesday, June 13
6:00pm ET • 5:00pm CT • 4:00pm MT • 3:00pm PT
RSVP to attend this event in person or livestream

The most extreme Supreme Court in decades is on the verge of changing the nation — again. In 2022, the Court’s conservative supermajority radically loosened gun safety laws, overturned the constitutional right to abortion, and limited the federal government’s power to fight climate change. Next up: redistricting, voting rights, and affirmative action — and the potential to fundamentally alter how the country deals with racial justice. 

The Supermajority
Wednesday, June 21
1:00pm ET • 12:00n CT • 11:00am MT • 10:00am PT
RSVP for this free virtual event

Today's Supreme Court is the most extreme in decades. Nine unelected justices hold lifetime seats with great power and driven by the majority’s originalist desires, they rapidly upended American life as we know it. Brennan Center President Michael Waldman, author of The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America, for expert analysis on the current Court's threat and what must be done to shore up democracy.

Democracy: Its Value and for Whom?
Youtube Video

On May 19, the UUSJ Democracy Action Team co-sponsored an event that was part of the First Parish in Concord, MA, Democracy Festival. We hope you will take the time to watch it. The panelists were excellent.

• Danielle Allen, Harvard professor and founder of Partners in Democracy
• Irena Koval, Ukrainian playwright, novelist, and essayist
• Shanique Spaulding, Executive Director,  MA Voter Table  
• Jim Tull, an expert in international conflict management

In May, the UUSJ Immigration Action Team (IAT) helped develop two Action Alerts that went to UUSJ members and friends. One to Defend Asylum and one to Reintroduce the Afghan Adjustment Act. These two actions advocate for the positive treatment of immigrants and migrants with both dignity and respect. Please take them.

Movement On Asylum

Following the end of Title 42, UUSJ asks people to contact Congress to reject inhumane, deterrence-based approaches that have too often characterized U.S. immigration policies. Specifically, we asked people to write to speak up against the provisions in The Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), recently passed by the House, and legislation proposed by Senators Sinema and Tillis in the Senate, which would effectively dismantle the U.S. asylum system while doing little to manage the border constructively. The action shares our priorities and asks Congress to decry regulatory plans to replace Title 42 with policies that curtail asylum. 

The IAT meets weekly with our partners in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC). On May 25, we participated in the IIC’s Virtual Advocacy Days with Senate offices to discuss recent asylum bills going around the U.S. Senate. This includes opposition to S. 1473 -- the Sinema-Tillis bill which would put in place an asylum policy just as harmful as Title 42, especially for families and children -- as well as our concerns regarding S. 1600, which was introduced by Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Gary Peters (D-MI). 

Welcome With Dignity, of which UUSJ is a member, is circulating a May 2023 report by Human Rights Watch and others, “Lives at Risk: Barriers and Harms As Biden Asylum Ban Takes Effect.” 

Reintroduction For Afghans And Vets

The IAT continues its direct federal advocacy on Capitol Hill to support the principles of stability for Afghans and keep the promises made by Veterans. The best vehicle for those goals seems to be the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) which gives Afghan evacuees a pathway to stable immigration status and sets up processes to help people who supported US and allied forces remaining in danger in Afghanistan.

UUSJ met with several key House Republicans, the critical players in this Congress, to raise our principled concerns. Meetings were held or have been scheduled with Representatives Issa (CA-48), Wenstrup (OH-2), Joyce (OH-14), Roy (TX-21), and Crenshaw (TX-02). We are working on scheduling additional meetings. 

UUSJ’s IAT will also participate as organizers and attendees for Congressional meetings organized by the Evacuate Our Allies coalition during its Advocacy Week beginning June 12.

Solidarity On Visa Issues And Family Migration 

The IAT met with the Executive Director of the Value Our Families campaign. UUSJ will participate in their Week of Action featuring Congressional meetings during the week of June 5 centered around reintroducing the Reuniting Families Act (RFA). Representative Chu (CA-28) first introduced the measure in 2018.

This bill lays out the elements of a decent family immigration system, addressing such issues as refugee family separations, backlogs in requests, the 3- and 10-year bars which dramatically limit family reunification, plus many technical fixes.

The IAT supports improvement to our immigration system, including the update of its visa programs, and is also in favor of legal family reunification.

Webinar Series – Root Causes of Migration

Immigration and migration policy issues are increasingly recognized as intertwined and intersectional. Seeking to help advocates and activists understand this dynamic, our Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) friends, Migration and Refugee Service, are offering a session grounded in the Catholic experience that can help faith advocates more fully appreciate how these issues are connected.

Make Peace, Not War: The Role of Conflict in Displacement
Wednesday, June 28 
2:00pm ET • 1:00pm CT • 12:00n MT • 11:00am PT
Register Here

Conflicts rage around the world, and it is generally the most vulnerable who suffer the greatest consequences. Forced to flee their homes to escape threats of violence, those displaced often have nowhere to turn for help. As a root cause of migration, war and other forms of conflict can leave large swathes of land uninhabitable. We will further explore some of how conflict can be mitigated, people can have the opportunity to return to their homes, and how support can be provided to the displaced throughout this process.

Why Migrate? The Underlying Economic Pushes and Pulls that Drive Migration
Wednesday, July 26
2:00pm ET • 1:00pm CT • 12:00n MT • 11:00am PT
Register Here

Why aren’t more immigrants currently coming from Norway? From the last quarter of the 19th century to just a handful of years before WWI, almost 1 million people from Norway immigrated abroad, mainly to the U.S. These Norwegian immigrants were not only the least educated but also among the poorest in their country. Upon arriving in the U.S., most unskilled Norwegian immigrants took the lowest-paying jobs, mostly manual labor. This reality has repeated throughout American history; economically ambitious migrants who want to provide more opportunities for themselves and their families leave a country with limited opportunities.

House Priorities On The Farm Bill 

June 9th marks an important shift in Farm Bill negotiations, it is the House deadline for submission of priorities to its Agriculture Committee. 

Moving forward, negotiations and discussions will move deeper into the technical ground. These first days of June are a good time to use UUSJ’s action urging Congress to propose a Climate-Smart Farm Bill if you have not already. Take the UUSJ Farm Bill Action.

National Week Of Action
End the ERA of Fossil Fuels
June 8 - 11th
Framing Video (2:15 min)

We learned these past days that fast-tracking the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) was included in the draft debt ceiling deal, the “Fiscal Responsibility Act  (H.R. 3746),” along with other measures the People Versus Fossil Fuels (PVFF) coalition views as poison pills. See Senator Kaine’s (D-VA) Tweet about his amendment to remove MVP from the new Act.

These measures would roll back the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and strip social benefits for disadvantaged communities. Consequently, Sacrifice Zone constituencies are asking PVFF to mobilize everyone possible to join in urging Congress to vote on a clean debt ceiling bill and reject these fossil-fueled poison pills. 

• Use this debt ceiling action alert by Appalachian Voices to engage Congress.

The whack-a-mole politics on the permit deal, what some activists have come to call the Zombie Deal since it will not die, serves as a clear reminder that President Biden needs to be pushed to End the ERA of Fossil Fuels. You can participate in a June pressure campaign centered on distributed actions organized across the United States by joining or organizing an action: 

• Join in on the national week of action to demand Biden take immediate action to stop fueling the flames and end the era of fossil fuels.

Dovetail with UUSJ:

• June 8: Join frontline leaders from Appalachia for a #StopMVP action at the White House in D.C.

Dovetail with SWL & UUMFE:

• Add Your Event to the Side With Love Action Center so that other UUs can find you!
• Add your action to the Side With Love Story & Report form
• RSVP for Movement Chaplaincy led by UUMFE to debrief: June 15, 2023 at 7pmET •  6pmCT • 5pmMT • 4pmPT

The Inclusion Imperative in Climate Change
Thursday, June 15th
12:00n ET • 11:00am CT • 10:00am MT • 9:00am PT
Live captions will be provided during the session.
RSVP

Climate change is a global challenge that requires collective action from diverse communities, technical teams, journalists, and environmental program, policy, and design professionals. However, many global climate initiatives are not accessible to persons with disabilities, leading to exclusion and marginalization. Learn more about this dynamic and factor.

Green Gold Rush For Federal Incentives

A recent Washington Post article discusses how federal subsidies to various clean energy incentives have spawned a new race towards cash. “Incinerators, plastics companies and big agriculture among polluters racing to position as green as billions in federal subsidies flow.” 

Friends of the Earth, a leader in monitoring these trends, similarly reports Freedom of Information Act Findings Reveal Covert Incinerator, Lobby Blitz. “Expanding the already broken Renewable Fuel Standard to subsidize dirty electricity directly contradicts this administration’s environmental justice and climate commitments,” said Sarah Lutz, Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “Burning wood or trash is about as far removed from renewable energy as possible. The EPA must not tie the growth of EVs to new subsidies for dirty energy that harms our communities.” 

While focused on the agriculture sector, Jim Walsh, National Policy Director, Food and Water Watch, described a similar dynamic for UUSJ during an April talk on the Farm Bill (video).

Food & Water Watch Information

• Carbon Capture and Blue Hydrogen
• How Green is Blue Hydrogen
• Carbon Capture and Sequestration
• Factory Farms Make Us Sick

UUSJ Debt Ceiling Deal Statement

We underscored in our statement that "we should not have been put in this position," and federal leadership would be better focused on "debating how our budget can reflect the best of American values and strategizing what policy agenda can deliver that outcome." 

The Debt Ceiling Milieu 

• Estimate of the Budgetary Effects of H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (CBO)
• U.S. House Passes Debt-Limit Bill, Easing Default Fears (BQ Prime)
• Debt limit rule adopted after Democrats ride to rescue (Roll Call)
• Debt ceiling live coverage: Chorus of ‘no’ votes grows (The Hill)
• White House defends debt deal, leaves vote-counting to Hill (Roll Call)
• Corporate Tax Cuts Don’t Always Lead To More Jobs, New Research Says (Forbes)
• Debt ceiling deal could fuel Biden economy’s problems (Politico)
• In the Debt Ceiling Standoff, the Democrats Are Letting Themselves Get Pantsed by the GOP (Jacobin)
• The Auto-CR Dilemma (The American Prospect)
• Senate braces for last-minute conservative demands on debt deal (Politico)
• Congress Should Consider Attaching Work Requirements to the Biggest Tax Break for the Rich (ITEP)
• Republicans Preparing Major Tax Cut Bill For After Debt Ceiling Crisis (HuffPost)
• We Are Not Taxing the Very Wealthy Enough’: Runaway Inequality About to Get Worse (Inequality.org)
• Once a fringe theory, "greedflation" gets its due (Axios)

Gender And Debt Ceiling Negotiations

In May, UUSJ joined a letter organized by The National Women’s Law Center to urge Senate Majority Leader Schumer and House Minority Leader Jeffries to remain strong and reject any debt ceiling proposals that increase poverty and raise costs for women and families.

Life After the Death Penalty
Wednesday, June 7 
3:00pm ET - 2:00pm CT - 1:00pm MT - 12:00N PT
RSVP for this free virtual event

There is substantial evidence that the death penalty is applied inequitably in the United States and that people sentenced to death suffer in ways that may violate the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Despite this evidence, thousands of people are currently sitting on death row. Live panel discussion with Alex Mar, author of Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy, and journalist Josie Duffy Rice.

The Poor People's Campaign (PPC): National Call for Moral Revival (NCMR) Returns To Washington
In Washington, DC, June 19-22

• The PPC: NCMR will bring together hundreds of poor and low-income people, clergy, faith leaders, social justice advocates, and activists from across the country
• At the Congress, participants will gather to strategize, learn, share lessons and experiences, and act.
• The Congress will include workshops and plenary sessions that support social justice movement building, as well as panels and discussions on critical policy issues.
• While the Congress RSVP deadline was May 26, the PPC: NCMR will also take action in DC to lift the voices of low-wealth and low-income Americans – stay tuned for witness details.