Voting Rights is a Blessed Liberty

Yesterday, the Senate introduced its companion bill for H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023. 

• Review a letter of support to the Senate as well as faith leader quotes by Faithful Democracy, of which UUSJ is a member 
• See the list of hundreds of organizations officially supporting the act

Now, we must tell both Chambers that Voting Rights is a Blessed Liberty (Press Release, UUSJ). To do so, we have replaced our prior action targeting the House with an action that includes the Senate. 

Take action: Support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JRLVRAA)

Reparations via Restorative Justice

As we open Women’s History Month and close Black History Month, let us acknowledge that the U.S. has both racist and sexist economic structures to contend with. As Shahrzad Shams wrote for the Roosevelt Institute, “Any vision for a better tomorrow requires addressing the centuries of economic, political, and social exclusion borne by Black communities. To do so, policy design and implementation must deliberately seek to repair past race-based harms; it is not enough to focus solely on the future without accounting for and repairing past harms.” And, here’s a fresh look by Kathrine Schaeffer at gender gains – and gaps – in the U.S., based on Pew Research Center surveys and analyses and federal data .

Remember that in June 2022, our denomination endorsed an Action of Immediate Witness, Anti-Racism and Reparations Via Restorative Justice, which calls us to act.  Join UUSJ to tell Congress that true national unity can only emerge with acknowledgment of harm. It's one of the first steps in pursuing restorative justice.

Take Action: Tell Congress, Pass H.R. 40 & S. 40...

Let Asylum Seekers Work

Watch the powerful new video from our allies in the Let Asylum Seekers Work coalition.

Take action: #LetAsylumSeekersWork

Amid historic labor shortages in critical sectors across the country, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act (H.R. 1325) was introduced in Congress to bolster the workforce by allowing asylum seekers to apply for work authorization and get to work faster while their asylum claims are adjudicated.

For more on immigration and work dynamics, see The economy is roaring. Immigration is a key reason, according to Rachel Siegel, Lauren Kaori Gurley, and Meryl Kornfield for the Washington Post.

The Earth Bill

Time is running out. We must stop our climate pollution now to slow or halt the compounding impacts of climate change. Every nation in the world must take such actions. Passing the Earth Bill is one of the key steps we can take in the U.S. 

The Earth Bill works by requiring car manufacturers, utility companies, and publicly traded agriculture corporations to change their ways by 2030. These mandates allow businesses to structure transitions that reflect their market conditions while meeting today's consumer and client expectations in a timely manner. 

Moving to electric cars, cleaner electricity, and regenerative agricultural practices can help us move concertedly to stop climate pollution in time to save ourselves and our posterity! 

Take Action: The Earth Bill, urge your House Member to cosponsor and support H.R. 598

Tell USDA to Support Fruit & Vegetable Farmers

UUSJ has been engaged in Farm Bill Advocacy for over a year, and we proudly join Farm Action in asking you to take action.

The U.S. increasingly relies on importing fruits and vegetables from other countries to feed our people. But we have enough farmland to grow enough produce to feed America — so why aren't we?

The answer comes from a need for farm system support for our “specialty crop” producers who grow fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts. Currently, row crop production — like corn and soybeans used for livestock feed — receives the lion's share of government support.  Meanwhile, specialty crop growers struggle to compete against imported produce while receiving little support from the government.

As a result of this imbalanced farm support system, we are losing our specialty crop producers and have jeopardized the security of our nation's food system. But you have the power to change this in just a few clicks!

Take action: Tell USDA to support our fruit and vegetable farmers

Texas Lawsuit Against Catholic Charity

We joined our #WelcomeWithDignity (WWD) partners from across the country to side in love with Annunciation House of El Paso, Texas, for their work welcoming immigrants. See the recent article in The New Yorker about Annunciation House.

Read the Press Release statement by Welcome with Dignity, which includes text by UUSJ.

The Fight To Defend Asylum Continues

In February, the IAT continued to forcefully advocate for protecting the fundamental right to asylum and for the rights and safety of migrants as Congress and the White House debated various proposals that threatened those moral values. The Senate negotiators of “compromise” released their text, and UUSJ quickly issued a statement opposing it.

Earlier, UUSJ sent a letter to the White House that expressed our “strong opposition to measures that would undermine the long-established legal right to seek asylum, even as I would also add our thanks to the Biden Administration for its efforts over the past few years to improve the safe operation of our immigration system and to remove some of the worst abuses of the previous administration. Please know we support proposals to modernize, reform, and fully fund our immigration-asylum system.”

We also joined several organizational letters with our faith and immigration allies, opposing the legislation and advocating for improvements throughout the system for migration management, such as additional resources for the humane treatment of arriving migrants and fair and efficient processing of their claims.

Although compromise legislation did not pass, Congress and the Administration are still considering stricter immigration measures, and UUSJ will continue to monitor developments.

No Pathway To Citizenship, A Seismic Strategic Shift

"But there is a long-term cost to this. The bargain always was that Democrats would trade border security for a path to citizenship for the 11 million or more undocumented immigrants here now. That was the basic framework of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, a bargain between the Democrats and Ronald Reagan. Now Democrats have said they could trade border security for other priorities, like military aid. The millions of undocumented are the collateral damage." 
- Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, Border Wars 

As the circumstances of the asylum fight showed, regrettably, there are candidates and members of Congress, particularly in the House, who want to restrict access to asylum severely, even shut our borders to all asylum seekers, and impose other restrictions on asylum and immigration. Shockingly, more than a few Senators are willing to negotiate on these points while failing to include any consideration of pathways to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented in the U.S.

Sadly, there are also signs that the White House is considering adopting executive orders to implement some objectionable parts of the proposed “compromise” legislation. In a volatile political environment with images and stories of asylum seekers lined up at the border and straining the resources of cities and states reflected in the polls, it is impossible to predict what action the President may take. UUSJ has already joined with 150+ others to oppose such executive action: read the letter here, see exclusive coverage by Politico here, and review a joint statement.

Democracy Action Team, Actions for 2024

On February 28th, the UUSJ Democracy Action Team met with democracy leaders from UU congregations nationwide. We provided them with useful materials to help them form their own Democracy Action Teams and engage members of their congregation in the effort to save our democracy.

One of the tools we provided is available now for everyone to use. It’s called Your Personal Plan to Help Save Our Democracy, and it has 50 actions you can take leading up to the November elections. You can download a copy from our Democracy in 2024 page on the UUSJ website.

Meet Nora at the UU the Vote Launch

Thursday, March 14
7:00 p.m. ET -  6:00 p.m. CT - 5:00 p.m. MT -  4:00 p.m. PT
Registration: On-line event

Sign up for the UU the Vote Launch Event. You will hear about their plans for 2024 from our UU President, Rev. Dr. Sophia Betancourt, as well as the new full-time Democracy Strategist for UU the Vote, Nora Rasman.

Nora previously worked for Side With Love but spent the last few years building political power and working on local campaigns in Milwaukee. This included a statewide race for Senate alongside local organizing fights like the fight to Stop Line 5, ongoing election defense work, and doubling down on experiments in decriminalization. 

UUSJ has been meeting with Nora to coordinate our efforts, and we welcome the spirit of collaboration Nora brings.

Check Your Voter Registration

With the Presidential Primaries occurring around the country, it’s a good time to check to be sure you are registered to vote and to register if you’re not (even if it’s too late to vote in the Primaries). Vote.gov takes you directly to the state elections site for the selected state.

The majority of states and D.C. now have online voter registration. You’ll need your driver's license number or another form of ID the state accepts to register. The eight states that do not have online voter registration are Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Join the #SaveJuliana campaign ASAP!

Our Children’s Trust reports that the Juliana v. United States case has arrived at a critical juncture. These allies in the People Versus Fossil Fuels campaign, of which UUSJ is a member, are asking for urgent help fighting alongside the 21 Juliana youth plaintiffs. UUs are asked to join the #SaveJuliana campaign to protect all of our—and future generation's—constitutional rights to a livable climate.  

Take action with the campaign: Email the Biden Administration and the DOJ.

You may remember that Levi Draheim, one plaintiff in the case, was raised a Unitarian Universalist in Florida. See a 2018 UU World Article and a 2023 UU World Article.

After nearly nine years and 22 attempts to kill Juliana v. United States, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking one final swing to try to silence Juliana 21 for good. The DOJ is abusing emergency powers in an unprecedented attempt to rip the case out of the normal legal process—a move known as a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus. 

No other case in history has faced this level of government persecution. Out of 40,000+ cases currently in front of the DOJ, these extreme legal tactics have only been used against ONE case: Juliana. 

If the DOJ succeeds, the Juliana 21 won’t be heard in open court. If the campaign succeeds, the youth will go to trial, and they will win—and compel the United States, the biggest contributor to climate change in the world, to make systemic change and phase out fossil fuels.

Join the Line 5 Petition 

(Line 5 is a 645-mile pipeline from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. The 30-inch diameter pipe transports up to 540,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily.)

The Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN) is sharing a petition drive and a new video just released highlighting Indigenous women leaders fighting to stop Line 5 and protect water, climate, and Indigenous rights. The petition drive joins growing national and regional efforts to stop Line 5 permanently.

• Watch the new WECAN video here.
• Join the petition here.

Petition signatures will be delivered ahead of the premiere of the Bad River documentary film, taking place in Washington, D.C., with invited government leaders and officials. Indigenous women leaders, WECAN, Sierra Club-Wisconsin, and others will deliver the petition signatures on March 13 to the Army Corps offices in Washington, D.C.

It Ain't over for the Child Tax Credit

The Senate still needs to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 before legislating slows in deference to the election season. H.R. 7024 passed the House with overwhelming and rare bipartisan support. The Senate needs to do the same if we want to get the Child Tax Credit to help children in poverty. Families in every state and around the country continue to struggle with high food, housing, and energy costs, and they need this relief. (See a bill endorsement from the Coalition on Human Needs for more information.)

Take Action: Tell your Senators and House members to support the CTC.

The Power of Reparations

Recently, the podcast Into America with MSNBC’s Trymaine Lee has been a buzzworthy topic among economic justice advocates and history buffs. In his series Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations, Lee provides interesting, insightful, and historically minded content. For example, in the first episode, Lee interviews descendants of Gabriel Coakley, one of the only Black Americans ever repaid–yes, compensated–for slavery.  

Speaking of reparations, remember, in June 2022, our denomination endorsed an Action of Immediate Witness, Anti-Racism and Reparations Via Restorative Justice, which calls us to act.

Take Action: Tell Congress, Pass H.R. 40 & S. 40, UUs Endorse Anti-Racism and Reparations Via Restorative Justice

Federal Taxes and Racial Disparities

The Tax Policy Center has published a great new blog and data visualization showcasing How the Federal Income Tax System Can Worsen Racial Disparities. 

In a nutshell, “White families hold nearly every type of asset (such as retirement accounts and businesses) at higher rates than families of color.” As such, they benefit from two factors less available to other groups.

• First, incomes from these various assets are taxed lower than income from wages and salaries.
• Second, Capital gains are similarly taxed at lower rates, but, in addition, they are taxed only when “realized” or when the underlying asset is sold, even if that occurs at death. 

Consequently, The U.S. Department of the Treasury estimates that “92 percent of the tax value of the preferential treatment of long-term capital gains went to White families in 2023.” Yet, White families represent only 67 percent of all families in the U.S. This racial disparity has been widening the racial wealth gap in the U.S. since the 1980s.

Old Money Political Power Plays

In his substack, Robert Reich writes that Timothy Mellon is the poster child for the perils of dynastic wealth, saying, “If Donald Trump takes power this November, he’ll owe his victory in no small part to one of the richest Americans alive - in 1920. I’m talking about the Pittsburgh banker and industrialist Andrew Mellon, who, as treasury secretary for Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover, changed the U.S. tax code in ways that allowed — more than a century later — part of his fortune to bankroll Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. Andrew’s grandson, Timothy, has contributed $20 million to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC.” Reich then asserts that the Mellon family heir is also funding others with an eye on key national and state races, giving him wider national political influence.