September 20, 2017
Re: Nomination of Damien M. Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Dear Senator:
We, the undersigned women’s organizations; reproductive health, rights and justice organizations; and civil rights organizations write to express our strong opposition to the nomination of Damien Schiff to a 15-year term on the United States Court of Federal Claims. While the Court of Federal Claims has limited jurisdiction, it frequently adjudicates legal issues of importance to women, and Mr. Schiff’s record makes clear that his judicial approach would imperil women’s rights and women’s interests.
Mr. Schiff, a prolific blogger and attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, is stunningly unfit for the federal bench. As an initial matter, his record amply demonstrates his lack of judicial temperament. He has impugned advocates whose views he does not share,1 raising serious questions about whether he will treat all litigants coming before him with respect and impartiality. He has made numerous outrageous and inflammatory statements, including referring to Justice Anthony Kennedy as "a judicial prostitute,"2 which are inconsistent with the judicial role.
(Read More)
July 31, 2017
OPPOSE THE CONFIRMATION OF ERIC DREIBAND TO SERVE AS ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
Dear Senator,
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the undersigned national and state organizations, we write to express our opposition to the confirmation of Eric Dreiband to be the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Dreiband – like many other individuals who have been nominated by President Trump to lead federal offices whose missions they have challenged and opposed during their careers – is the wrong choice for this position, and we urge you to vote against him.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Division. The American people deserve a leader of that office who will embrace its historic mission and statutory obligations, and fight for the civil rights of all in this great nation. We sent a letter to the Attorney General in February outlining the key qualities necessary for an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.1 Mr. Dreiband falls short of the mark and is ill-equipped to serve in that position.
(Read More)
July 12, 2017
Monica Jackson
Office of the Executive Secretary
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
1700 G Street, NW
Washington DC 20552
Re: Final Rule on Arbitration Agreements
The 310 undersigned consumer, civil rights, labor, community, and non-profit organizations write to state our strong support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s final rule to limit pre-dispute binding mandatory (or forced) arbitration clauses in consumer finance contracts. The rule, which will restore consumers’ ability to band together in court to pursue claims, is a significant step forward in the ongoing fight to curb predatory practices in consumer financial products and services and to make these markets fairer and safer.
Lenders and other financial services companies use forced arbitration to push consumers out of court and into a private arbitration system that is tilted against them. Forced arbitration eliminates the right to a civil jury trial, limits discovery, restricts or prohibits public disclosure of proceedings and outcomes, and makes meaningful appeals virtually impossible. It also often prohibits consumers from banding together in a class action to hold the company responsible.
(Read More)
July 12, 2017
Chairman Lamar Alexander
United States Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Washington, D.C.
|
Ranking Member Patty Murray
United States Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Washington, D.C.
|
Re: Hearings for National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor Nominees
Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Employment Law Project and the 47 undersigned organizations write to express our profound concern with the HELP Committee’s apparent rush to hold hearings on recently announced NLRB nominees William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan, and DOL nominee Patrick Pizzella. Each are nominated for extremely important positions critical to the effective enforcement of workers’ rights. They require not only exceptional qualifications, but also demonstrated impartiality and professional work experience that would advance the missions of these agencies. As there are significant questions about each of these nominees, we urge the committee to give members adequate time to hold meetings with them, explore their records in full, and prepare for a robust hearing on all three nominees. Instead, we understand that a hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 13. Mr. Pizzella and Mr. Kaplan were officially nominated on June 20, and Mr. Emanuel’s nomination wasn’t made until June 29. The Senate will have only been in session for 10 days before Mr. Pizzella’s and Mr. Kaplan’s hearings, and a scant four days before Mr. Emanuel’s hearing. In carrying out its important role to advise and consent on presidential nominations, the Senate must conduct meaningful hearings where members have adequate time to examine the records of all nominees and be sufficiently informed about them.
(Read More)
July 12, 2017
Mr. Rodney Frelinghuysen
Chairman
House Committee on Appropriations
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
Ms. Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
Dear Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey:
The 108 undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose the language in Section 116 of the 2018 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. This provision would make it effectively impossible for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to enforce a long-standing federal law, sometimes referred to as the Johnson Amendment, insofar as it applies to houses of worship.
The Johnson Amendment protects the integrity of tax-exempt organizations, including houses of worship, by ensuring they do not endorse or oppose candidates. Weakening current law would allow politicians and others seeking political power to pressure churches for endorsements, dividing congregations and opening them up to the flow of secret money. Americans do not want our charities and houses of worship to be torn apart by partisan campaign politics. We must keep this valuable safeguard that protects our houses of worship and our political process.
Under the current law, which has been in place for the last six decades, houses of worship have maintained robust free speech rights and can speak out on any political and social issues that they see as important. They currently can engage in public debate on any issue, host candidate forums, hold voter registration drives, encourage people to vote, help transport people to the polls and even, with a few boundaries, lobby on specific legislation and invite candidates to speak. They simply cannot endorse or oppose candidates and maintain their special tax-exempt status.
(Read More)
July 6, 2017
Dear Secretary of State:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights ("The Leadership Conference"), a diverse coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the undersigned allied groups, we write to condemn and oppose the data request by President Trump’s advisory commission (the "commission"). We applaud the principled actions that many Secretaries of State and election administrators have taken to reject the commission’s request for sensitive information about voters, and we urge those that have not yet responded to carefully consider any future responses to the commission.
We strongly believe that the commission’s request is an unprecedented overreach and a brazen assault on the founding principles of our democracy. We have three overarching concerns. First, we are concerned that this commission is laying the groundwork for potential voter suppression by the wrongful removal of eligible voters, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, older, and student voters, from the rolls through the problematic process known as Crosscheck. Second, the creation of a national database of voters’ detailed information raises serious privacy concerns. And finally, at a time when the focus should be addressing the possibility of past and continued Russian interference, including cyberattacks in the 2016 elections, the creation of a national database raises significant national security concerns.
(Read More)
June 28, 2017
Dear Representative:
We write to ask that you become an original co-sponsor of the Do No Harm Act, which Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott plan to introduce following the July 4 recess. This critical legislation would ensure that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) continues to protect religious freedom, but cannot be misused to harm others. The reintroduction of this bill is particularly timely and important, as President Trump’s May 4 executive order lays the groundwork for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to misuse RFRA and other protections for religious freedom to license taxpayer-funded discrimination.
Our organizations, including some that supported the passage of RFRA in 1993, have grown increasingly alarmed by the misuse of RFRA. For example, religiously affiliated social service providers that get government grants currently use RFRA to discriminate in employment with taxpayer funds. And, employers, including Hobby Lobby, have successfully invoked RFRA to deny their employees insurance coverage for contraception.
In August, a federal district court ruled that RFRA exempts a for-profit funeral home from the prohibition on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.1 The funeral home fired a transgender female employee after she informed her employer that she would be transitioning to present full-time as a woman. The funeral home said her gender transition was “unacceptable.” In December, a federal district court sided with healthcare providers who used RFRA alongside other claims to challenge the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination against transgender people and those seeking reproductive health care, halting enforcement of key ACA protections.
(Read More)
June 20, 2017
The Honorable Ron Johnson
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Claire McCaskill
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee
Washington, DC 20515
|
RE: Nomination of Professor Neomi Rao as OIRA Administrator
Dear Senator;
We, the undersigned consumer, small business, labor, good government, financial protection, community, health, environmental, civil rights and public interest groups, oppose the nomination of Neomi Rao, currently a professor at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School, for the position of White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator and urge you to vote against her confirmation.
The Trump Administration has taken a strong deregulatory stance and used their selection of individuals, such as Scott Pruitt as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education and Ajit Pai as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, who are actively hostile to the missions of the agencies they run to start the roll back of public protections from within. Coupled with the Trump anti-regulatory executive orders, deregulatory action is a top policy priority for the administration and a shared commitment among Trump-appointed officials to comply with those orders. Professor Rao’s nomination to head OIRA is another piece of the Trump deregulatory agenda.
(Read More)
June 2, 2017
Coalition Statement Opposing the Global Gag Rule
We join together as diverse voices from a variety of sectors to oppose the harmful global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy. While the Helms Amendment restricts U.S. foreign assistance funding for abortions "as a method of family planning," the global gag rule goes a step further by blocking aid to foreign organizations who use their own non-U.S. funds to provide information, referrals, or services for legal abortion or to advocate for access to abortion services in their own country.
The global gag rule causes serious harm in countries around the world. The policy interferes with the doctor-patient relationship by restricting medical information healthcare providers may offer, limits free speech by prohibiting local citizens from participating in public policy debates, and impedes women’s access to family planning by cutting off funding for many of the most experienced health care providers who chose to prioritize quality reproductive-health services and counseling over funding that restricts care and censors information.
(Read More)
May 31, 2017
Re: Co-Sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (S. 1101/H.R. 2417)
Dear Member of Congress:
As organizations committed to promoting the health and economic security of our nation’s families, we urge you to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. This bipartisan legislation promotes healthy pregnancies and economic security for pregnant women and their families and strengthens the economy.
In the last few decades, there has been a dramatic demographic shift in the workforce. Not only do women now make up almost half of the workforce, but there are more pregnant workers than ever before and they are working later into their pregnancies. The simple reality is that some of these women—especially those in physically demanding jobs—will have a medical need for a temporary job-related accommodation in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Yet, too often, instead of providing a pregnant worker with an accommodation, her employer will fire her or push her onto unpaid leave, depriving her of a paycheck and health insurance at a time when she needs them most. American families and the American economy depend on women’s income: we can’t afford to force pregnant women out of work.
(Read More)
May 24, 2017
85 Organizations Support the Pay Equity for All Act
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our support for the Pay Equity for All Act (H.R. 2418) and urge you to become a cosponsor. This bill provides an important solution to address the pervasive pay gap that women and people of color experience; it would prohibit employers from relying on the salary history of prospective employees when making hiring and pay decisions.
You’ve heard that on average women typically make just 80 cents on the male dollar; it’s even worse for moms and women of color. The gender pay gap is a real problem that deserves targeted solutions. The Pay Equity for All Act provides one of those solutions. The bill would protect job seekers from having to disclose their salary history in order to be interviewed, to be considered for a job offer, or as a condition of employment, and from being retaliated against for refusing to disclose their prior salary. In turn, the bill encourages employers to pay employees based on job requirements and prior experience, rather than arbitrary prior wages.
(Read More)
May 4, 2017
US House of Representatives
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Government Operations
Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Members of the Joint Committees:
We, the undersigned members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, express our strong support for the Johnson Amendment because it serves as a strong plank to maintain the wall of separation between church and state.
It is a gross mischaracterization of the wide latitude of freedoms that houses of worship enjoy in the United States to claim that their rights of free speech are being abrogated by the Johnson Amendment. These claims mask the more sinister intentions to channel money directly into political campaigns to influence elections.1 In 2016, Rev. Jerry Falwell, Jr. was quoted in the New York Times saying that repealing the Johnson Amendment would "create a huge revolution for conservative Christians and for free speech." It is simply false to claim that churches and other houses of worship cannot engage in political speech or that pastors as individuals are unfairly fettered. Houses of worship can engage in political speech, and clergy are free to speak their mind in their personal capacity.
The limit on 501(c)(3) organizations, including houses of worship, pertains only to abstaining from endorsing or opposing candidates in political campaigns. In return for this restriction, 501(c)(3) organizations receive preferential tax benefits, including being exempt from federal income taxes and allowing donors to the organizations to deduct their donations from their income tax. Eliminating the Johnson Amendment would allow houses of worship to continue the preferential tax status they currently enjoy while simultaneously giving them the unlimited capacity to covertly funnel those donations to elected officials and their campaigns. Moreover, houses of worship are not required under current law to provide financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or federal government. All other 501(c)(3) organizations provide information about donations, expenses and assets to the IRS via the annual Form 990.
Removing the Johnson Amendment protections could allow houses of worship to create slush funds for politicians, transform clergy into mouthpieces for political candidates and threaten the integrity of both houses of worship and the democratic process. Churches, synagogues and mosques should not be political action committees. True religious liberty is a reflection of our democratic ideals in that it protects both freedom of religion and freedom from religion—safeguarding each individual’s liberty, without allowing any one religion to be imposed on all.
(Read More)
April 19, 2017
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128, TheCapitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
Vice Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
146A, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
H-305, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairman Leahy, Chairman Frelinghuysen, and Ranking Member Lowey:
As you work to prepare legislation to fund the government past April 28, we write to strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health.
Opponents of women’s health have long used the appropriations process to undermine women’s access to comprehensive reproductive care, including access to safe and legal abortion. We continue to strongly oppose policy riders that deny insurance coverage of abortion for women enrolled in Medicaid, women who work for the federal government, women who live in the District of Columbia, and others, as well as riders that
embolden health care entities to refuse to comply with laws that ensure women’s access to abortion services.
(Read More)
April 7, 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 819)
April 7, 2017
Dear Senator:
As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women and full enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, we strongly urge you to support and co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 819). The Paycheck Fairness Act has twice passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and it fell just four votes short of a passage in a Senate vote on its merits in the 112th Congress.
Eight years ago, Congress took an important step in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. That vital law reverses the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful compensation discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under the federal anti-discrimination laws. But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, critical as it is, is only one step on the path to ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work.
(Read More)
April 7. 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1869)
April 7, 2017
Dear Representative:
As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women and full enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, we strongly urge you to support and co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1869). The Paycheck Fairness Act has twice passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and it fell just four votes short of a passage in a Senate vote on its merits in the 112th Congress.
Eight years ago, Congress took an important step in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. That vital law reverses the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful compensation discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under the federal anti-discrimination laws. But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, critical as it is, is only one step on the path to ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work.
(Read More)
April 4, 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act
Dear Member of Congress:
As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women and full enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, we strongly urge you to support and co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act has twice passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and it fell just four votes short of a passage in a Senate vote on its merits in the 112th Congress.
Eight years ago, Congress took an important step in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. That vital law reverses the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful compensation discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under the federal anti-discrimination laws. But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, critical as it is, is only one step on the path to ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work.
(Read More)
March 30, 2017
85 Organizations Oppose the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 345)
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our opposition to the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 345). This inadequate bill suggests that there is just one solution to address the gender pay gap: a very weak non-retaliation provision that is so narrowly drawn it would do more harm than good. In addition, the bill includes a sense of the Congress that recommits to the legal principles previously passed in the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a law that requires strengthening to make meaningful strides in closing the gender pay gap.
It is encouraging to see bipartisan recognition of the gender pay gap, but this bill is insufficient to tackle all aspects of this persistent problem. The Workplace Advancement Act’s assertion that current law is good enough is naive at best and disingenuous at worst. Further, its non-retaliation provision does not adequately address the problem it seeks to remedy. In theory, this bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees for discussing their salaries – but only when the employees know and use certain magic words to initiate any discussions about pay. Otherwise, employees risk losing access to even the weak protections offered by the Workplace Advancement Act. This bill ignores the realities of today’s workplace conversations about fair pay, and could even give women a damaging false sense of security in the face of such weak protections.
(Read More)
March 7, 2017
Hon. Jason Chaffetz Chairman
House Oversight & Government Reform Committee
2236 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Hon. Elijah Cummings Ranking Member
House Oversight & Government Reform Committee
2230 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
RE: NCPE Opposes the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
Dear Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings:
The 62 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to the reauthorization of the District of Columbia private school voucher program. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2
(Read More)
March 7, 2017
Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose H.R. 985
The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi:
We understand that the House will soon consider H.R. 985, the "Fairness in Class Action
Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2015." The 123 signatory civil rights organizations and advocates write to strongly oppose Section 2 of H.R. 985. The bill will undermine the enforcement of this nation’s civil rights laws and upend decades of settled class action law. This sweeping and poorly drafted legislation will create needless chaos in the courts without actually solving any demonstrated problem. In this letter, we highlight the most egregious of its many harms.
As advocates for the marginalized and often invisible members of our society, we write to remind House members that class actions are critical for the enforcement of laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, education, and access to public areas and services. As the Supreme Court has recognized, class actions provide “vindication of the rights of groups of people who individually would be without effective strength to bring their opponents into court at all.” Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 617 (1997). Courts have interpreted Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the federal class action rule, over decades and the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules has, through its deliberative process, reviewed and amended the rule to ensure its fair and efficient operation. No further revisions are needed at this
time.
(Read More)
February 28, 2017
The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Virginia Foxx
Chair, Committee on Education and the Workforce
2176 Rayburn House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515
|
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
H-204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Robert Scott
Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce
2101 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Speaker Ryan, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairman Foxx, and Ranking Member Scott:
We the undersigned organizations write in strong opposition to H. J. Res 83, a Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval that would repeal an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule that clarifies an employer’s responsibility to maintain accurate records of serious work related injuries and illnesses. This resolution will undermine workplace health and safety in the most dangerous industries.
This OSHA clarifying rule does not impose any new costs nor any new obligations to covered employers, nor does it affect small businesses. It simply clarifies OSHA’s authority to hold employers accountable for their longstanding obligation to maintain accurate injury records, a requirement that has been in effect since the Nixon Administration. Further, the rule only covers larger employers in the most dangerous industries.
(Read More)
February 26, 2017
Strong support for the critical Federal data sources
February 2017 Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
US Senate Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Capitol S-128
Washington, DC 20510
|
Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Capitol H-305
Washington, DC 20510
|
Honorable Patrick Leahy
Ranking Member
US Senate Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Capitol S-128
Washington, DC 20510
|
Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Capitol H-305
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Chairmen Cochran and Frelinghuysen and Ranking Members Leahy and Lowey:
We write to provide our perspective on, and to express our strong support for, the critical Federal data sources that inform and strengthen our nation’s world-leading economic, educational, democratic and civic institutions and successes.
Our Federal statistical and data systems provide information that is uniquely accurate, objective, relevant, timely and accessible. America’s families, firms and policymakers are able to make informed decisions because they have open access to this unbiased high-quality information.
We are concerned that a lack of appreciation for the critical importance of our Federal statistical and data systems may worsen, and are worried that, after years of insufficient funding, these systems face deeper funding cuts and further marginalization. Our nation, economy, businesses and citizens rely on the nonpartisan, gold-standard data provided by several agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Center for Education Statistics, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, the Energy Information Administration, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income, the Social Security Administration Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, and the National Center for Health Statistics.
(Read More)
February 14, 2017
Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose H.R. 985
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.,
Ranking Member Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
|
Re: Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose H.R. 985
Dear Chairman Goodlatte and Congressman Conyers,
The 120 signatory civil rights organizations and advocates write to strongly oppose H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017. The bill will undermine the enforcement of this nation’s civil rights laws and upend decades of settled class action law. This sweeping and poorly drafted legislation will create needless chaos in the courts without actually solving any demonstrated problem. In this letter, we highlight the most egregious of its many harms.
(Read More)
February 14, 2017
RE: Vote NO on H. J. Res. 69
Dear Representative,
On behalf of our millions of members and supporters nationwide, we urge you to oppose H. J. Res. 69, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule. Voiding this vital rule would jeopardize iconic species in Alaska, subvert fundamental environmental laws and undermine management of federal public lands. H. J. Res. 69 is a blatant attempt to cede control of America’s wildlife on over 76 million acres of national wildlife refuges in Alaska to appease narrow state interests, and could have drastic implications for federal management of public trust resources across the country.
(Read More)
February 13, 2017
Dominic Mancini, Acting Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503
Dear Dr. Mancini,
We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issue guidance to federal agencies, reminding them that they are required under the Paperwork Reduction Act to give public notice before removing online government information.1 We are concerned, given recent reports that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other agencies have begun removing information on a number of important topics such as animal welfare, individuals with disabilities, climate change, and more from their websites,2 that the public is at risk of losing access to valuable government information.3 We respectfully request your attention be given to this matter and
that OMB take immediate action to ensure appropriate public notice is given.
(Read More)
January 31, 2017
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Capitol Building,
S-230 Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Minority Leader
Hart Senate Office Building, Room 322
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order. We are organizations dedicated to protecting workers, eliminating workplace discrimination and protecting access to justice. The Fair Pay regulations represent a much-needed step forward in ensuring that the federal contractor community is providing safe and fair workplaces for employees by encouraging compliance with federal labor and civil rights laws, and prohibiting the use of mandatory arbitration of certain disputes.
(Read More)
January 31, 2017
The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
H-204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order. We are organizations dedicated to protecting workers, eliminating workplace discrimination and protecting access to justice. The Fair Pay regulations represent a much-needed step forward in ensuring that the federal contractor community is providing safe and fair workplaces for employees by encouraging compliance with federal labor and civil rights laws, and prohibiting the use of mandatory arbitration of certain disputes.
(Read More)
January 30, 2017
RE: Use of the Congressional Review Act to repeal public protections
Dear Senator,
We, the undersigned consumer, small business, labor, good government, financial protection, community, health, environmental, civil rights and public interest groups urge you strongly to oppose the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal public protections that are critical to the public’s health and safety, the environment, and a stable financial system that works for Main Street and not Wall Street.
The CRA is an unreasonably blunt instrument that threatens to deny consumers tens of billions of dollars in pocketbook savings over the next few decades from rules that were fully vetted and considered over a long period of time. These rules enjoyed substantial support across all stakeholder communities.
By promising to use the CRA to indiscriminately block a variety of crucial public safeguards, the leadership of the 115th Congress has made clear that catering to special interests take precedence over public protections to ensure:
- clean air, water and climate change action,
- much-needed reforms to Wall Street to prevent the next financial crisis,
- banks are held accountable when they deceive customers,
- workplaces are safe from toxic chemicals,
- non-discrimination and fair pay are guaranteed for all,
- affordable access to broadband and secure communications,
- natural resource revenues are used to benefit citizens,
- heavy duty truck rule and air conditioner rule that increase efficiency and save consumers money,
- common-sense gun control measures for individuals with severe and disabling mental health issues,
- people can see the health care provider of their choice,
- paid sick days for employees of federal contractors, and
- schools are held accountable for fraud and students are not left stuck under mountains of debt when schools defraud them or abruptly close.
(Read More)
January 30, 2017
The Honorable Charles Grassley
Chairman
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Grassley:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 208 undersigned organizations, we write to express our profound concerns about a number of President Trump’s recent executive orders and policy statements and their connection to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. In his first week in office, President Trump has made extraordinary claims of executive authority, has called for a major investigation into voter fraud, and has outlined numerous policy changes that pose grave dangers to civil liberties and civil rights. Given the reported involvement of Senator Sessions in advising President Trump on some of these matters, we believe you have a profound duty as Chairman and ask that you do everything necessary to ensure that Committee members are fully informed about the role of Senator Sessions in developing these new orders and proposals and his plans to implement and execute them.
It would be hard to overstate the urgency and importance of these recent developments. The Senate cannot meaningfully carry out its constitutional obligation, under Article II of the Constitution, to exercise “advice and consent” on the nomination without Senator Sessions providing the Committee with his views on the president’s actions and proposals since his inauguration.
(Read More)
January 17, 2017
The Honorable Lamar Alexander
Chairman
Senate HELP Committee
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
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The Honorable Patty Murray
Ranking Member
Senate HELP Committee
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:
The National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) writes to request that during the confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, the nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, you inquire about her history of advocating for the use of public dollars to support private schools and that you seek clarity regarding her plans to support public education.
NCPE is a diverse coalition of national organizations that supports public schools and opposes funneling taxpayer funds to private schools. Our concerns regarding the nomination of Ms. DeVos stem from her statements that her goal as Secretary of Education will be to expand "school choice" options, including private school vouchers, for every child.1 This, coupled with her history of championing private school vouchers programs for many years, raises concerns among our coalition.
(Read More)
January 6, 2017
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
428 Senate Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions:
This is submitted on behalf of The Institute for Science and Human Values, a tax-exempt non-profit organization that promotes the well-being of society, the guarantee of various rights, including those of women, racial, ethnic, and other minorities, and supports education, health care, gainful employment, and other social benefits.
We ask you to vote against the confirmation of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor because we do not believe that Mr. Puzder will adequately discharge the primary duty of that post, which is to protect the rights of workers. Grounds for that belief are based on his anti-employee public record.
As CEO of CKE Restaurants, his businesses have repeatedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, the chief statute which he would be charged with enforcing as Labor Secretary. The Department of Labor has investigated Mr. Puzder’s restaurants often during his 16 years tenure in that position, and has found violations of wage and hour laws in most of those investigations. He has been an outspoken critic of the very overtime and minimum wage rules which guarantee employees a living wage
(Read More)
January 6, 2017
Chairman Chuck Grassley
Senate Judiciary Committee United States Senate
Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein
Senate Judiciary Committee United States Senate
Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein,
We write on behalf of 70 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in strong opposition to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as United States attorney general. Given his long record of hostility towards reproductive rights and his alignment1 with extreme anti-abortion organizations, we firmly believe that Senator Sessions is not capable of fair and impartial action as attorney general. His long-held bias will negate his ability to oversee Department of Justice obligations to protect without prejudice the constitutional right to abortion, as well as the patients and providers of reproductive health care.
Since 1977, there have been 11 murders, 26 attempted murders, 42 bombings, 185 arsons, and thousands of incidents of criminal activities directed at abortion providers. In 2015, there was a dramatic increase in hate speech, death threats, attempted murder, and murder.2
Especially at this time, the importance of the Department of Justice, and specifically the leadership of the attorney general, in helping to stem the tide of violence against abortion providers cannot be overemphasized.
(Read More)
December 12, 2016
Support for B21-0038, the Death with Dignity Act of 2015
The Honorable Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
2136 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
The Institute for Science and Hunan Values firmly believes that Congress should not interfere in
the recently passed B21-0038, the District of Columbia’s Death with Dignity Act of 2015.
Washington, D.C. is poised to become the seventh jurisdiction in the U.S. where medical aid in
dying is authorized following an 11-2 vote by the D.C. Council and a pledge not to veto by Mayor
Muriel Bowser. B21-0038 would allow terminally ill, mentally competent residents of the District to
request and receive a prescription from their physician to shorten an unnecessarily difficult dying
process and achieve a peaceful death.
Across the country Americans are debating medical aid in dying in their own communities. Twothirds
of D.C. residents (67%) support giving terminally ill adults the option of medical aid in dying.
The Mayor of the District of Columbia and the D.C. Council were elected by D.C. residents to represent
their interests. Following a full and fair debate, they have determined that access to medical
aid in dying as an end-of-life option is the right choice for their people. We believe that Congressional
interference in this local matter is not only unfair but intolerable.
(Read More)
December 5, 2016
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Office of the Democratic Leader
H-204, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Leader Pelosi,
The undersigned atheist, humanist, nontheist, secularist, and religious freedom advocacy organizations respectfully request that you appoint a nontheistic commissioner to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Since its inception in 1999, there have been 44 commissioners (including the current members) and of those, only three have been of non-Abrahamic faith (not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim). One of these, Patti Chang, a Buddhist and women’s rights activist, was nominated by you to the Commission in 2003. The other two commissioners were Preeta Bansal representing Hindus from 2003-2009 and Firuz Kazemzadeh representing Baha’is from 1999-2003.
However, there has never been a nontheistic representative on USCIRF, yet according to the Public Religion Research Institute, those who are religiously unaffiliated now make up 25% of the U.S. population.1 Worldwide, the religiously unaffiliated number over 1.1 billion, per the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life.2
Representation of those who are nontheist on USCIRF is important because around the world people who do not have religious beliefs are targeted by blasphemy laws, labeled terrorists, macheted and murdered in the streets, and seek asylum and refugee status after such persecution. However, they don’t have a voice among those the U.S. has tasked with assessing international religious freedom concerns. This means those who do not have religious faith and are persecuted because of it are often afterthoughts when it comes to resources aimed at helping those suffering because of religious intolerance.
(Read More)
December 1, 2016
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE
Civil and Human Rights Organizations Oppose Confirmation of Jeff Sessions
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Democratic Leader Reid, Chairman Grassley, and Ranking Member Leahy:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 144 undersigned organizations, we are writing to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of Senator Jefferson B. Sessions (R-AL) to be the 84th Attorney General of the United States.
Senator Sessions has a 30-year record of racial insensitivity, bias against immigrants, disregard for the rule of law, and hostility to the protection of civil rights that makes him unfit to serve as the Attorney General of the United States. In our democracy, the Attorney General is charged with enforcing our nation’s laws without prejudice and with an eye toward justice. And, just as important, the Attorney General has to be seen by the public – every member of the public, from every community – as a fair arbiter of justice. Unfortunately, there is little in Senator Sessions’ record that demonstrates that he would meet such a standard.
(Read More)
October 7. 2016
Secretary Sylvia Burwell
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20201
RE: “Compliance with Title X Requirements by Project Recipients in Selecting
Subrecipients” (RIN 937-‐AA04)
Dear Secretary Burwell:
As organizations committed to improving access to health care for all people, the undersigned groups commend the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its proposal to update the regulations governing the Title X family planning program. We thank HHS in particular for proposing to clarify and reinforce the longstanding requirement that health care providers may not be excluded from the program for reasons unrelated to their qualifications to perform Title X-‐funded services. We ask that you expeditiously finalize these protections in their strongest possible form in order to safeguard access to the Title X program and continue its
success.
(Read More)
September 23, 2016
47 Organizations Support the Pay Equity for All Act
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our support for the Pay Equity for All Act (H.R. 6030) and urge you to become a cosponsor. This bill provides an important solution to address the pervasive pay gap that women and people of color experience; it would prohibit employers from relying on the salary history of prospective employees when making hiring and pay decisions.
You’ve heard that on average women typically make just 80 cents on the male dollar; it’s even worse for moms and women of color. The gender pay gap is a real problem that deserves targeted solutions. The Pay Equity for All Act provides one of those solutions. The bill would protect job seekers from having to disclose their salary history in order to be interviewed, to be considered for a job offer, or as a condition of employment, and from being retaliated against for refusing to disclose their prior salary. In turn, the bill encourages employers to pay employees based on job requirements and prior experience, rather than arbitrary prior wages.
(Read More)
September 8, 2016
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
H-305, The Capitol
Washington, DC 2051
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-146A, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
As you work to prepare legislation to fund the government past September 30, we write to strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women's health. Opponents of women's health have long used the appropriations process to undermine women's access to comprehensive reproductive care, including access to safe and legal abortion. We continue to strongly oppose policy riders that deny insurance coverage of abortion for women enrolled in Medicaid, women who work for the federal government, women who live in the District of Columbia, and others, as well as riders that embolden health care entities to refuse to comply with laws that ensure women's access to abortion services.
(Read More)
September 6, 2016
The Honorable John Barrasso
Chairman
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20510
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The Honorable Jon Tester
Vice Chairman
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
Re: NCPE Opposes S. 2711, the Native American Education Opportunity Act
Dear Chairman Barrasso and Vice Chairman Tester:
The 49 undersigned organizations submit this letter for the markup of S. 2711, the "Native American Education Opportunity Act," to express our strong opposition to private school vouchers in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). ESAs are effectively no different than vouchers; they place funding that would ordinarily support students attending public schools into an account for students to use on other education expenses, including private school tuition. Like vouchers, ESAs divert desperately-needed federal resources away from the primary school system students attend to fund the education of a few, select students in alternative settings. Furthermore, voucher and ESA programs lack accountability, do not improve educational outcomes of students, strip students of rights, and do real harm to the public school systems that educate the majority of students in a state or district.1 At a time when schools serving American Indian students are desperately in need of funding,2 Congress would better serve all American Indian students by using federal funds to make schools serving American Indian students stronger and safer than by allowing funds to flow to a separate voucher program.
(Read More)
August 25, 2016
The Coalition Against Religious Discrimination
The Honorable John McCain
Chair
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member
Committee on Armed Services
Russell Senate Building, Room 228
Washington, DC 20510
|
Representative Mac Thornberry
Chair
Representative Adam Smith
Ranking Member
Committee on Armed Services
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Re: CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
Dear Senator McCain, Senator Reed, Representative Thornberry, and Representative Smith:
The 91 undersigned religious, education, civil rights, labor, and women’s organizations write to voice our strong opposition to the sweeping language in Section 1094 of the House version (H.R. 4909) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 (NDAA). That provision would authorize taxpayer-funded discrimination in each and every federal contract and grant. We urge the conferees to reject this provision during negotiations on the conference report.
Notably, a bipartisan group of four Republicans and six Democrats—led by Representatives Charlie Dent and Adam Smith—submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee to strip Section 1094 from the House NDAA bill, but the Committee prevented the full House from voting on their amendment. The Senate bill (S. 2943) does not contain such a provision.
(Read More)
August 9, 2016
Oppose the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304)
The undersigned organizations oppose the Conscience Protection Act (S. 304) and urge you to vote “NO” when the bill comes to the House floor, expected on Wednesday, July 13. The Conscience Protection Act would allow employers, insurance companies, and hospitals to discriminate against women seeking reproductive health care, seriously undermining women’s ability to obtain safe, legal abortion care.
The Conscience Protection Act would significantly expand and make permanent the so-called “Weldon Amendment,” an annual appropriations rider that is intended to restrict women’s access to abortion care. Opponents of safe, legal abortion around the country have invoked the Weldon Amendment in attempts to block pro-women’s health policies at the federal, state, and local levels by pressuring policymakers with the potential loss of critical federal health and education dollars. These dollars fund programs like health research, job training, community service, and education. Some have even invoked the Weldon Amendment to argue that hospitals could refuse to provide an abortion in emergencies, even when a woman’s life is at risk.
The Conscience Protection Act would allow even more discrimination against women seeking health care by creating a new right for health care entities—defined broadly to include insurance companies, employers and others well outside a normal understanding of the phrase—to refuse to engage in an extremely broad range of activities related to abortion care. The Act would not only interfere with a woman’s ability to access comprehensive health insurance coverage that enables her to make personal medical decisions with those she trusts, but it would also put a woman’s health at serious risk in emergency situations. For example, a hospital could rely on the Conscience Protection Act to turn away a woman in a serious emergency situation who needs an abortion or even to refuse to provide a woman information about her treatment options.
July 14, 2016
The Honorable Paul D. Ryan
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Ryan,
We are writing to you as reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations deeply committed to protecting and expanding access to abortion. We demand that you act immediately to put an end to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel (the Panel). The Panel’s baseless attacks on access to safe, legal abortion impede life-saving medical research and threaten the lives and safety of researchers and doctors.
We join the 181 House Democrats who have urged you to disband this dangerous panel, as well as the 26 organizations which this week made the same request. The Panel was founded upon highly-edited and misleading videos released by anti-abortion extremists, that have been discredited time and time againi, including by a Texas grand jury. In fact, the Texas grand jury instead indicted the extremists that created these falsified videos.ii Texas and a dozen other states also launched investigations into Planned Parenthood as a result of the videos and failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing. Yet, in a desperate attempt to justify its existence, the Panel is violating House rules and customs and continues to use bullying and fishing tactics to find new ways of targeting researchers, physicians, and patients.
(Read More)
July 12, 2016
Dear Representative:
Re: Oppose the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304)
The undersigned organizations oppose the Conscience Protection Act (S. 304) and urge you to vote “NO” when the bill comes to the House floor, expected on Wednesday, July 13. The Conscience Protection Act would allow employers, insurance companies, and hospitals to discriminate against women seeking reproductive health care, seriously undermining women’s ability to obtain safe, legal abortion care.
The Conscience Protection Act would significantly expand and make permanent the so-called “Weldon Amendment,” an annual appropriations rider that is intended to restrict women’s access to abortion care.1 Opponents of safe, legal abortion around the country have invoked the Weldon Amendment in attempts to block pro-women’s health policies at the federal, state, and local levels by pressuring policymakers with the potential loss of critical federal health and education dollars. These dollars fund programs like health research, job training, community service, and education. Some have even invoked the Weldon Amendment to argue that hospitals could refuse to provide an abortion in emergencies, even when a woman’s life is at risk.
The Conscience Protection Act would allow even more discrimination against women seeking health care by creating a new right for health care entities—defined broadly to include insurance companies, employers and others well outside a normal understanding of the phrase—to refuse to engage in an extremely broad range of activities related to abortion care. The Act would not only interfere with a woman’s ability to access comprehensive health insurance coverage that enables her to make personal medical decisions with those she trusts, but it would also put a woman’s health at serious risk in emergency situations. For example, a hospital could rely on the Conscience Protection Act to turn away a woman in a serious emergency situation who needs an abortion or even to refuse to provide a woman information about her treatment options.
(Read More)
July 6, 2016
The Honorable Jason Chaffetz Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
Cancel July 12 Hearing on Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Bill
Like millions around the world, we were heartbroken by the murder of 49 people and the wounding of 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12. The overwhelming majority of the victims of this attack were Latino/Latina/Latinx and LGBT. As President Obama movingly reminded the nation just hours after this horrendous attack:
The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and sing-to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub -- it's a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have long come together to raise awareness, speak their mind and advocate for their civil rights. So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American -- regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation -- is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.
(Read More)
June 22, 2016
RE: NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations Bill
Dear Representative:
The 56 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to reauthorizing the District of Columbia private school voucher program as part of the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations bill. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2
(Read More)
June 22, 2016
Support Senator Murray’s amendment funding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s implementation of the EEO-1
Dear Senator:
As organizations committed to equal pay and equal opportunity in the workplace, we urge you to support Senator Murray’s amendment to the FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. The measure would provide funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to implement a rule supplementing the information collected through the Employer Information Report (EEO–1) to include pay data from many employers. By collecting pay data, the EEOC can better uncover pay discrimination and target enforcement resources to help ensure that all Americans enjoy the fair and level playing field that is the basis for economic security for all. This is particularly important because many victims of pay discrimination are unaware that they are being paid less than their male coworkers, and so are unable to challenge the discrimination.
(Read More)
June 8,2016
Valerie Jarrett
Chair
White House Council on Women and Girls
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
RE: Request for Presidential Action to Ensure the Availability of Pregnancy Accommodations for Federal Employees
Dear Ms. Jarrett:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations dedicated to equality and opportunity in the workplace for women, we write to urge the Administration to provide critical leadership to protect pregnant workers’ health and workplace rights—actions that are particularly important in light of the potential threat posed by the Zika virus. Specifically, we request that the President direct all federal agencies to immediately adopt an interim pregnancy accommodations policy to address federal employees’ requests in Zika-affected areas, as a first step in developing and adopting comprehensive pregnancy accommodations policies for federal employees that will serve as a model for employers across the country. Such action by the Administration also will help preempt discriminatory actions against pregnant workers, including an employer’s imposition of workplace restrictions or conditions based on its unilateral assessment of what is medically necessary or appropriate in that particular circumstance, instead of acting in response to an accommodation request initiated by a pregnant worker with a medical need.
(Read More)
June 7, 2016 |
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The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
House Committee on Appropriations
2406 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
2365 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
RE: NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations Bill
Dear Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey:
The 56 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to reauthorizing the District of Columbia private school voucher program as part of the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations bill. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2
We acknowledge that the proponents of the program may be able to point to some students who have gone to exemplary schools and seen improvement from the program. But according to government studies and investigative reports, these students are, unfortunately, the exception rather than the rule. Congress should not reauthorize this unsuccessful and poorly managed program.
(Read More)
May 24, 2016
The Honorable Virginia Foxx
Chair
Subcommittee on Higher Education and
Workforce Training
Committee on Education and the Workforce
2176 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Rubén Hinojosa
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Higher Education and
Workforce Training
Committee on Education and the Workforce
2176 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
RE: Subcommittee Hearing "Demanding Accountability at the Corporation for National and Community Service"
Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Hinojosa:
The undersigned organizations submit this letter for the record of today’s hearing, "Demanding Accountability at the Corporation for National and Community Service." We oppose further restrictions on women’s health care for those served by AmeriCorps members.
This hearing follows a recent investigation1 by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which reported that a few AmeriCorps members provided emotional support to women during abortion procedures at several New York City community health centers. CNCS OIG came to the flawed conclusion that the support in question violated the Serve America Act’s (SAA) restriction on "providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services.
(Read More)
May 23, 2016
Oppose Any Amendment to Defund EEOC Implementation or Revision of the EEO-1 in the FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill
Dear Representative:
As organizations committed to equal pay and equal opportunity in the workplace, we write to urge you in the strongest possible terms to oppose any attempt to defund the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) implementation or revision of the Employer Information Report (EEO-1). Earlier this year, EEOC, in cooperation with the Department of Labor, proposed revising the EEO-1 to collect pay data from large private employers and federal contractors. Collecting these pay data will serve as a critical tool to identify pay discrimination, improve enforcement of pay discrimination laws, and increase voluntary employer compliance with those laws.
(Read More)
May 18, 2016
Re: CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
Dear Representative:
The 84 undersigned religious, education, civil rights, labor, and women’s organizations write to voice our strong opposition to the sweeping language in HR 4909, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017, that authorizes taxpayer-funded discrimination in each and every federal contract and grant.
The government should never fund discrimination and no taxpayer should be disqualified from a job under a federal contract or grant because he or she is the "wrong" religion.
We appreciate the important role religiously affiliated institutions historically have played in addressing many of our nation’s most pressing social needs, as a complement to government-funded programs. Indeed, many of us are directly involved in this work. We also recognize that the separation of church and state is the linchpin of religious freedom. In our view, effective government collaboration with faith-based groups does not require the sanctioning of federally funded religious discrimination.
(Read More)
May 10, 2016
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
H-305, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-146A, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Chairman Cochran Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
As you continue consideration of individual appropriations bills for FY 2017, we write to strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health. Opponents of women’s health have long used the appropriations process to undermine women’s access to comprehensive reproductive care, including access to safe and legal abortion. We continue to strongly oppose policy riders that deny insurance coverage of abortion for women enrolled in Medicaid, women who work for the federal government, women who live in the District of Columbia, and others.
A number of new anti-women’s health policy riders were included in individual FY 2016 appropriations bills as they moved through the House Appropriations Committee. Additionally, a debate around funding for Planned Parenthood health centers threatened to shut down the entire federal government. This year we have already seen renewed interest by anti-women’s health organizations and Members of Congress to attach--or further expand-- harmful riders to FY 2017 appropriations bills. We oppose the poison-pill riders we have seen in past years, listed below, and any additional policy riders that would defund Planned Parenthood or harm women’s health.
(Read More)
May 10, 2016
Re: CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
The Honorable John McCain
Chairman
Senate Committee on Armed Services
218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Armed Services
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator:
The 82 undersigned religious, education, civil rights, labor, and women’s organizations write to voice our strong opposition to any amendments to S. 2814, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017, that would sanction taxpayer-funded employment discrimination.
The government should never fund discrimination and no taxpayer should be disqualified from a job under a federal contract or grant because he or she is the "wrong" religion.
We appreciate the important role religiously affiliated institutions historically have played in addressing many of our nation’s most pressing social needs, as a complement to government-funded programs. Indeed, many of us are directly involved in this work. We also recognize that the separation of church and state is the linchpin of religious freedom. In our view, effective government collaboration with faith-based groups does not require the sanctioning of federally funded religious discrimination.
(Read More)
April 27, 2016
The Honorable Richard Cordray Director
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Director Cordray:
The undersigned organizations commend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) for moving forward on a rulemaking to address the widespread harm resulting from forced arbitration, which blocks consumers from joining together to seek justice and forces them into individual arbitration. Lenders and other financial services companies use forced arbitration to push consumers out of court and into a private arbitration system that they tilt to favor large financial interests. The CFPB’s empirical findings in its comprehensive and evidence-based report on the use of arbitration clauses unequivocally demonstrate that forced arbitration imposes conditions that restrict consumers’ rights and block their access to courts, giving lenders an effective license to steal.
(Read More)
April 27, 2016
RE: NCPE Opposes H.R. 4901, the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
Dear Representative:
The 56 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to H.R. 4901, the reauthorization of the District of Columbia private school voucher program. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2
We acknowledge that supporters of this program may be able to point to some students who have gone to exemplary schools and seen improvement from the program. But according to government studies and investigative reports, these students are, unfortunately, the exception rather than the rule. Congress should not reauthorize this unsuccessful and poorly managed program.
(Read More)
April 26, 2016
The Honorable Mac Thornberry
Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Adam Smith
Ranking Member
Committee on Armed Services
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the Kline amendment entitled “Nonapplicability of Certain Executive Order to Department of Defense and National Nuclear Security Administration” to the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act and to express our deep support for the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order. We are organizations dedicated to protecting workers, eliminating workplace discrimination and protecting access to justice. The Executive Order, as well as the regulations and guidance implementing it, represent a much needed step forward in ensuring that the federal contractor community is providing safe and fair workplaces for employees by encouraging compliance with federal labor and civil rights laws, and prohibiting the use of mandatory arbitration of certain disputes. The Kline amendment would gut the implementation of the Executive Order’s many important protections and, as a result, we urge you to reject it.
(Read More)
April 21, 2016
Re: Senate Consideration of Supreme Court Nominee
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations committed to advancing women’s legal rights and protections, we write to urge you to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s decisions give meaning to legal rights for women, including women's constitutional right to equality under the law and to make the most personal and private decisions, such as whether to have an abortion or to use contraception. The Court's decisions likewise are key in determining the scope and interpretation of statutes prohibiting sex discrimination at work and at school, and laws establishing civil rights, voting rights, and health and safety regulations. The Court’s decisions in these and many other areas of the law, such as affirmative action and immigration, affect the lives of women and girls across the country for generations. That is why women, and all those who rely on the courts for justice, need the Court to be functioning at full force.
(Read More)
April 13, 2016
The Honorable John Barrasso
Chairman
House Oversight & Government Reform
Committee
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
The Honorable Elijah Cummings
Ranking Member
House Oversight & Government Reform
Committee
2230 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
RE: NCPE Opposes H.R. 4901, the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
Dear Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings:
The 56 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to H.R. 4901, the reauthorization of the District of Columbia private school voucher program. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures
(Read More)
April 5, 2016
The Honorable John Barrasso
Chairman
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
The Honorable Jon Tester
Vice Chairman
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20510
|
Re: NCPE Opposes S. 2711, the Native American Education Opportunity Act
Dear Chairman Barrasso and Vice Chairman Tester:
The 45 undersigned organizations submit this letter for the hearing on S. 2711, the “Native American Education Opportunity Act,” to express our strong opposition to private school vouchers in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). ESAs are effectively no different than vouchers; they place funding that would ordinarily support students attending public schools into an account for students to use on other education expenses, including private school tuition. Like vouchers, ESAs divert desperately-needed federal resources away from the primary school system students attend to fund the education of a few, select students in alternative settings. Furthermore, voucher and ESA programs lack accountability, do not improve educational outcomes of students, strip students of rights, and do real harm to the public school systems that educate the majority of students in a state or district.1 At a time when schools serving American Indian students are desperately in need of funding,2 Congress would better serve all American Indian students by using federal funds to make schools serving American Indian students stronger and safer than by allowing funds to flow to a separate voucher program.
(Read More)
March 23, 2016
INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR THE FY 2017 STATE-FOREIGN OPERATIONS BILL
Organization: 61 organizations supportive of international family planning and reproductive health programs
(see list of endorsers below)
Contact: Craig Lasher [email protected] (202) 557-3442
Jonathan Rucks [email protected] (202) 557-3422
Funding Request: a total of at least $1 billion for family planning and reproductive health programs, both bilateral and multilateral, with funding provided from the Global Health Programs account and the Economic Support Fund and from the International Organizations and Programs account in order to provide a $65 million voluntary contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Rationale/Background:
U.S. investments in family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs are cost-effective and deliver real results. FY 2015 funding of $610 million for international FP/RH programs (of which $35 million is a contribution to the United Nations Population Fund)—the last fiscal year for which programmatic impact data is currently available—made it possible to achieve the following:
h 28 million women and couples receive contraceptive services and supplies;
h 6 million unintended pregnancies, including 3 million unplanned births, are averted;
h 2.4 million induced abortions are averted (1.9 million of them unsafe); and
?h 12,000 maternal deaths are averted.1
(Read More)
March 18, 2016
The Honorable Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell
US Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
RE: Protect Women’s Access to Federally Supported Health Care
Dear Secretary Burwell:
As organizations committed to safeguarding and improving access to health care for all women, the undersigned urge the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take affirmative steps to protect peoples’ access to care under federally-supported programs. We thank HHS for its sustained commitment to expanding access to affordable, high-quality health care for Americans through implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In service of this commitment, we urgently request that HHS prevent states from excluding qualified women’s health providers from essential public health programs.
(Read More)
March 16, 2016
The Honorable Roy Blunt
Chairman
Appropriations Subcommittee on
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
260 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Patty Murray
Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Tom Cole
Chairman
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies
House Appropriations Committee
2467 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies
House Appropriations Committee
2413 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Chairman Blunt, Ranking Member Murray, Chairman Cole, and Ranking Member DeLauro:
As you develop Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies, the 61 undersigned members and associated organizations of the Family Planning Coalition respectfully request that you provide $327 million in funding for the Title X family planning program. Title X is the sole source of dedicated federal funding for family planning services for underserved populations. Strong support for the program is incredibly important given that four out of ten women who receive care at a Title X-funded health center consider it their only source of health care and six in ten women consider it their main source of care.i Moreover, more than 4.1 million women and men access life-saving health care such as birth control, cancer screenings, and testing for sexually transmitted infections through Title X health centers.ii
The organizations listed below collectively represent millions of administrators, providers, patients, researchers, and advocates who share the common mission of supporting and protecting federal funds for critical, cost-saving programs that provide family planning services to millions of women, men and families. By restoring resources for the Title X family planning program you will help protect access to the public health safety net for millions of poor and low-income women and men in need of high-quality health services.
(Read More)
March 15, 2016
Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy:
We write to you as organizations strongly opposed to the continued attacks on women’s health care. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing, “Late-Term Abortion: Protecting Babies Born Alive and Capable of Feeling Pain,” represents yet another tired, wasteful, and harmful attempt to push abortion out of reach for women. Abortion has been and will always be a part of women’s lives. While some members of this Committee are pursuing an anti-women’s health agenda and seeking to force women back into the dark ages and alleys, the undersigned organizations reject their efforts and stand firmly in support of a woman’s constitutional right to safe and legal abortion.
A woman’s health, not politics, should inform important medical decisions. This deeply personal decision should always be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, family, and other individuals she trusts, not politicians. When a woman needs to end her pregnancy, it is important that she have access to safe, legal medical care, not roadblocks to that care.
(Read More)
March 14, 2016
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Representative
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Representative
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Chairmen Cochran and Rogers and Ranking Members Mikulski and Lowey:
On behalf of the 80 undersigned organizations, dedicated to the health and welfare of our nation’s youth, we respectfully request your support for the requests below during the fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding deliberations. As organizations committed to supporting adolescent sexual health programs—the Office of Adolescent Health’s (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH)—we know firsthand the vital role these federal programs play in supporting the health of young people and communities.
The current federal investment in adolescent sexual health promotion programs is an important step in the right direction, but much remains to be done to strengthen, enhance, and expand these efforts. The availability and quality of sexual health information and sexuality education varies drastically across the country. Less than half of all high schools and only 20% of middle schools in the U.S. provide all 16 of the CDC-identified topics critical to ensuring sexual health. In addition, many young people face systemic barriers to accessing health information and services, resulting in persistent inequity and disparities.1
While the measure of sexual health and well-being is about more than just the absence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended pregnancy, or sexual violence, the data on these points alone remain largely unchanged in recent years, continuing to highlight the need for additional resources to serve young people most in need of sexual health education.
(Read More)
March 2, 2016
The Honorable Shaun Donovan
Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington DC 20503
Dear Director Donovan,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our support for the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order and to urge you to release the final rule as soon as possible.
We are organizations dedicated to eradicating all forms of discrimination in the workplace and promoting good jobs for women. This executive order is the latest in a series of important steps the President has taken to bring the federal contractor community closer to achieving these goals.
Employers that have the privilege of doing business with the federal government also have a responsibility to abide by the law. This executive order is crucial to the communities we represent because it helps ensure that federal contractors behave responsibly and ethically with respect to labor standards, civil rights laws and more. The executive order will ensure that companies applying for federal contracts have every incentive to comply with federal labor and employment laws, including for example the Fair Labor Standards Act (which includes the Equal Pay Act), Title VII, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and their state law equivalents. This will lead to fairer treatment for workers in the federal contractor workforce and raise awareness among other employers about their legal obligations. The executive order will also ban compulsory arbitration of claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which is critical to ensuring that workers can have their day in court.
(Read More)
February 17, 2016
The Honorable Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
United States House of Representatives
2101 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Re: The Pay Stub Disclosure Act
Dear Congressman Scott:
The undersigned organizations write in enthusiastic support for H.R. 4376, The Pay Stub Disclosure Act, which you and Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced on January 13, 2016. As you know, wage theft is an epidemic that costs mostly low-wage workers tens of billions of dollars each year in unpaid wages. The legal tools they have at their disposal, be it thinly-resourced departments of labor or private lawsuits, are not available to far too many workers seeking to be properly paid for all of their work. The Pay Stub Disclosure Act is an important weapon in the fight against wage theft.
(Read More)
February 16, 2016
Dear Member of Congress:
As organizations dedicated to eliminating sex discrimination in the workplace and promoting policies that benefit women and working families, we urge you to support the Restoring Statutory Rights and Interests of the States Act of 2016 (“Restoring Statutory Rights Act”), introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Restoring Statutory Rights Act would restore the rights of workers to pursue their state and federal law claims and obtain remedies in court rather than forcing arbitration of their claims. For women and all workers, access to courts is critically important to pursue remedies of civil rights violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and family and medical leave claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
The practice of forced arbitration is widespread and damaging. In a 2010 survey, 27 percent of employers—covering over 36 million employees, or one-third of the non-union workforce—reported that they required forced arbitration of employment disputes.1 Although arbitration can be a valid and effective method of dispute resolution when both parties voluntarily agree to arbitrate, forced arbitration clauses that limit an employee’s legal rights in a non-negotiable contract are abusive and erode employees’ traditional legal safeguards. For example, the ability to obtain key evidence necessary to prove one’s case is often restricted or eliminated in arbitration proceedings, and it can be nearly impossible to appeal adverse decisions by arbitrators.
(Read More)
February 2, 2016
The Honorable John Kline
Chairman
Education and the Workforce Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
The Honorable Bobby Scott
Ranking Member
Education and the Workforce Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
Re: NCPE Opposes Private School Vouchers
Dear Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Scott:
The 56 undersigned organizations submit this letter for the hearing "Expanding Educational Opportunity through School Choice” to express our strong opposition to private school vouchers. Vouchers divert desperately-needed resources away from the public school system to fund the education of a few, select students, with limited, if any, real impact on student academic achievement. Instead of providing equal access to high quality education or setting high standards for accountability, voucher programs have proven ineffective, lack accountability to taxpayers, and deprive students of rights provided to public school students. Congress would better serve all children by using funds to make public schools stronger and safer than by creating a new voucher program.
(Read More)
January 21, 2016
Cosponsor the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act (WAGE Act)
Dear Senator: (This same letter was sent to the House of Representatives)
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 39 undersigned organizations, we urge you to co-sponsor the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act (S. 2042/H.R. 3514). Introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), this important legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by strengthening protections for working people who organize and promote change through collective action. The WAGE Act would increase protections for all working people and will help open up pathways to equal pay, increased safety in the workplace, and higher wages. The very best way to raise wages and turn the tide back in favor of working people is to protect and strengthen their right to speak out together. We applaud Senator Murray and Representative Scott for their work on this legislation, and urge you to co-sponsor it.
The Leadership Conference believes that our current labor laws protect American working people on paper, but that they lack tangible deterrents or penalties for employers that break the law and violate workers’ rights. This deficiency has a particularly pernicious effect on people of color and women. The WAGE Act would put teeth into the 80-year-old NLRA by establishing penalties for employers that illegally fire a worker or violate a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) order. The WAGE Act is a long overdue and much needed update to the NLRA that will protect working people’s fundamental right to discuss such topics as their wages, fair scheduling, sick leave, and equal pay. Currently, the NLRA protects the right of working people to join together in mutual aid and protection to make positive change at their workplaces – whether they are seeking to form a union -- but the penalties are too weak to meaningfully deter employers from breaking the law.
(Read More)
January 15, 2016
Celebrate Religious Freedom Day 2016
Dear Member of Congress,
This weekend, the United States will celebrate Religious Freedom Day 2016, which marks the 230th anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of the landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This Statute, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted in part thanks to advocacy by James Madison, provided the basis for the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects several foundational rights including freedom of religion.
We write as a diverse coalition of national religious, secularist and other organizations that advance religious freedom, to urge you to support the core principles emphasized within this Statute, and reflected in the First Amendment. These principles include two in particular that we deeply value.
-
Robust freedom of religion, belief and expression: “All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion.”
Jefferson and Madison believed—as did others involved in drafting and adopting the Statute and First Amendment—that religious freedom is a fundamental and expansive right.
It is a fundamental right because each human being is endowed with a conscience, to which they alone have access and control. Government cannot coerce its people to change, abandon or adopt religious beliefs. It must respect that America is a nation comprised of individuals of varied and different religious and philosophical backgrounds; each person has the right to hold their own theological and moral views.
(Read More)
December 11, 2015
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-146A, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
H-305, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
The undersigned organizations write in strong opposition to the inclusion of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), or similar language, in a year- end funding agreement. ANDA is an extreme, poison pill rider that would undermine women’s ability to obtain abortion care, including in life-threatening circumstances. In the Hobby Lobby decision, the sharply-divided Supreme Court allowed certain bosses’ beliefs to trump women’s health. Like the result in Hobby Lobby, ANDA would allow women’s health and lives to come second to the beliefs of others—with dangerous results for women. It would radically expand the Weldon Amendment, a harmful annual appropriations rider that already obstructs access to abortion care. ANDA would create a new right for health care entities to refuse to “participate in” abortion care—“participate in” is a vague term that could result in a hospital turning away a woman in a life-threatening situation who needs emergency abortion
care or a health care provider refusing to give her complete information about her health, including whether abortion is a treatment option. Not only that, it would open the door to frivolous lawsuits by allowing a wide range of individuals and entities to sue in federal court in order to block a range of policies that help ensure women have access to abortion.
(Read More)
December 11, 2015
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
2406 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
2365 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
|
RE: NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
Dear Chairman Cochran, Ranking Member Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
The 55 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to reauthorizing the District of Columbia private school voucher program as part of the FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2
(Read More)
November 19, 2015
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Attorney General Lynch,
We, the undersigned, urge the Department of Justice to investigate the recent attacks on reproductive- health clinics using all appropriate federal statutes, including domestic terrorism. Since the release of the first deceptively edited video from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) intended to vilify Planned Parenthood, and, by proxy, all abortion providers, anti-choice extremists have launched an unprecedented and multi-pronged assault against women's reproductive rights.
As you know, beginning in July when the first video was released and continuing through recent weeks, there have been multiple arson attacks and an outrageous number of threats against abortion providers. It's clear that anti-choice extremists are using these videos as an excuse to commit violent attacks against trusted women's health clinics. When hate rhetoric and threats incite violence, those responsible for committing violence need to be investigated for their acts of domestic terrorism.
(Read More)
November 19, 2015
75 Organizations Oppose the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 2200)
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our opposition to the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 2200). This inadequate bill suggests that there is just one solution to address the gender pay gap: a very weak non-retaliation provision that is so narrowly drawn it would do more harm than good. In addition, the bill includes a sense of the Congress that recommits to the legal principles previously passed in the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a law that no longer has the teeth necessary to make meaningful strides in closing the gender pay gap.
(Read More)
November 19, 2015
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Vice Chairwoman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-146A, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
H305, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
As you complete fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations, the undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose funding cuts for programs that family planning providers rely on to provide quality care to millions of women, men, and young people, as well as to oppose ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health.
We are encouraged by the recent passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) and the critical sequestration relief that legislation provides to nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs. Funding for NDD programs including public health remains far too low: even with the passage of BBA, NDD funding for 2016 will be 12% below the 2010 level when adjusted for inflation. But as Congress continues its attacks on publicly funded family planning providers that deliver critical, high-quality health care services to millions people each year, we are concerned the essential public health programs that support providers’ work, such as the Title X Family Planning Program, will remain targets for politically motivated cuts in FY 2016 appropriations legislation.
(Read More)
November 19, 2015
The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
Committee o Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Ranking Member
Committee o Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
Committee o Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510
|
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
Committee o Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510
|
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey:
As you head into the final negotiations on FY 2016 appropriations, we encourage you to fund international family planning and reproductive health at no less than $612.6 million, including $35 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the amounts requested by President Obama and approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. We believe this is an important step toward meeting the United States’ fair share of global need—calculated at just over $1 billion—for these critical programs which are cost-effective, save lives, and support our broader global health, development, and foreign policy priorities.
(Read More)
Posts prior to November 19, 2015
|
|
September 20, 2017
Re: Nomination of Damien M. Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
July 31, 2017
We write to express our opposition to the confirmation of Eric Dreiband to be the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.
July 12, 2017
Re: Final Rule on Arbitration Agreements
July 12, 2017
Re: Hearings for National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor Nominees
July 12, 2017
The 108 undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose the language in Section 116 of the 2018 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.
July 6, 2017
Condemn and oppose the data request by President Trump’s advisory commission
June 28, 2017
We write to ask that you become an original co-sponsor of the Do No Harm Act
June 20, 2017
RE: Nomination of Professor Neomi Rao as OIRA Administrator
June 2, 2017
Coalition Statement Opposing the Global Gag Rule
May 31, 2017
Re: Co-Sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (S. 1101/H.R. 2417)
May 24, 2017
85 Organizations Support the Pay Equity for All Act
May 4, 2017
Strong support for the Johnson Amendment
April 19, 2017
We strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health.
April 7, 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 819)
April 7, 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1869)
April 4, 2017
Co-Sponsor and Support the Paycheck Fairness Act
March 30, 2017
85 Organizations Oppose the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 345)
March 7, 2017
NCPE Opposes the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
March 7, 2017
Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose H.R. 985
February 28, 2017
We the undersigned organizations write in Strong opposition to H. J. Res 83
February 26, 2017
Strong support for the critical Federal data sources
February 14, 2017
Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose H.R. 985
February 14, 2017
On behalf of our millions of members and supporters nationwide, we urge you to oppose H. J. Res. 69, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule.
February 13, 2017
Guidance to federal agencies, reminding them that they are required under the Paperwork Reduction Act to give public notice before removing online government information.
January 31, 2017
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order
January 31, 2017
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.
January 30, 2017
Use of the Congressional Review Act to repeal public protections
January 30, 2017
The 208 undersigned organizations, write to express our profound concerns about a number of President Trump’s recent executive orders and policy statements and their connection to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
January 17, 2017
The National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) opposes the confirmation of Betsy DeVos
January 6, 2017
We ask you to vote against the confirmation of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor because we do not believe that Mr. Puzder will adequately discharge the primary duty of that post, which is to protect the rights of workers.
January 6, 2017
We write on behalf of 70 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in strong opposition to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as United States attorney general
December 12, 2016
Support for B21-0038, the Death with Dignity Act of 2015
December 5, 2016
Advocacy organizations respectfully request that Nancy Pelosi appoint a nontheistic commissioner to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
December 1, 2016
Civil and Human Rights Organizations Oppose Confirmation of Jeff Sessions
October 7, 2016
Letter by 45 Organizations in support of the Title X proposed rule
September 23, 2016
47 Organizations Support the Pay Equity for All Act
September 8, 2016
We write to strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women's health
September 6, 2016
NCPE Opposes S. 2711, the Native American Education Opportunity Act
August 25. 2016
CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
August 9, 2016
Oppose the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304)
July 14, 2016
Organizations deeply committed to protecting and expanding access to abortion
July 12, 2016
Oppose the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304)
July 6, 2016
Cancel July 12 Hearing on Discriminatory
Anti-LGBT Bill
June 22, 2016
NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations Bill
June 22, 2016
Support Senator Murray’s amendment funding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s implementation of the EEO-1
June 8, 2016
Request for Presidential Action to Ensure the Availability of Pregnancy Accommodations for Federal Employees
June 7, 2016
NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY 2017 Financial Services Appropriations Bill
May 24, 2016
Accountability at the Corporation for National and Community Service
May 23, 2016
Oppose Any Amendment to Defund EEOC Implementation or Revision of the EEO-1 in the FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill
May 18, 2016
CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
May 10, 2016
We strongly oppose the inclusion of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health
May 10, 2016
CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination
April 27, 2016
The undersigned organizations commend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
April 27, 2016
NCPE Opposes H.R. 4901, the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
April 26, 2016
The undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to the Kline amendment
April 21, 2016
Senate Consideration of Supreme Court Nominee
April 13, 2016
NCPE Opposes H.R. 4901, the Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program
April 5, 2016
NCPE Opposes S. 2711, the Native American Education Opportunity Act
March 23, 2016
Recommendations for Family planning and reproductive health programs
March 18, 2016
Protect Women’s Access to Federally Supported Health Care
March 16, 2016
The Family Planning Coalition respectfully request that you provide $327 million in funding for the Title X family planning program
March 15, 2016
Organizations strongly opposed to the continued attacks on women’s health care
March 14, 2016
Organizations committed to supporting adolescent sexual health programs
March 2, 2016
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order
Feburary 17, 2016
The Pay Stub Disclosure Act
Feburary 16, 2015
Organizations dedicated to eliminating sex discrimination in the workplace and promoting policies that benefit women and working families
Feburary 2, 2016
NCPE Opposes Private School Vouchers
January 21, 2016
Cosponsor the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act (WAGE Act)
January 15, 2016
Celebrate Religious Freedom Day 2016
December 11, 2015
NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program in the FY Omnibus Appropriations Bill
December 11, 2015
Strong opposition to the inclusion of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act
November 19, 2015
We, the undersigned, urge the Department of Justice to investigate the recent attacks on reproductive- health clinics using all appropriate federal statutes, including domestic terrorism
November 19, 2015
Organizations Oppose the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 2200)
November 19, 2015
The undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose funding cuts for programs that family planning providers rely on to provide quality care to millions of women, men, and young people
November 19, 2015
Fund international family planning and reproductive health
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