Week Ending 9/23/2005
This E-Newsletter is a weekly summary of the events taking place in the United States Congress that effect the State of Michigan and primarily Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
This Week In Congress:
H.R. 250- Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act
This measure authorizes $2.1 billion for various activities intended to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, including partnerships between businesses and nonprofit centers to provide technical assistance to manufacturing firms and research to improve manufacturing technology. It also calls for the creation or the designation of government committees to coordinate and advise on federal research to improve the U.S. manufacturing sector. The House with a vote of 394-24 passed the bill. I voted for the legislation.H.R. 3768 - Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005
This legislation allows penalty-free distributions of up to $100,000 from tax-qualified retirement plans to individuals who have sustained a loss due to a federally declared natural disaster if those distributions are made within one year after the disaster declaration. The measure also allows repayment of a disaster-related distribution to a tax-qualified retirement plan if made within three years after an initial distribution. The bill excludes from gross income certain non-business cancellations of indebtedness for victims of Hurricane Katrina by; extending the deadlines for filing certain tax returns and for payment of those taxes until February 28, 2006; allows taxpayers in the Hurricane Katrina disaster areas to use earned income for the previous tax year to compute the earned income and child tax credits for the tax year which includes August 28, 2005; and suspends limitations on personal casualty losses incurred by victims of Hurricane Katrina. This bill passed the House by a voice vote.H.R. 3827 - Immigration Relief for Hurricane Katrina Victims Act of 2005
This bill provides special immigration status to: An alien beneficiary of an immigration petition or labor certification application filed on or before August 29, 2005 if the petitioner or applicant died or was disabled, or whose place of employment was destroyed; and an alien who is the grandparent of a child whose parents died as a result of Hurricane Katrina, if at least one of the parents was a U.S. citizen, national, or legal permanent resident. This measure passed the House by a voice vote.H.R. 2123 - School Readiness Act of 2005
This bill extends the Head Start program through Fiscal-Year 2011, authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide financial assistance to Head Start agencies for five-year periods. This legislation authorizes $6.9 billion in Fiscal-Year 2006. The controversy with this legislation is over an amendment offered by Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Charles Boustany, Jr., that allows faith-based organizations providing Head Start services to hire and fire on the basis of religious affiliation. The measure passed the House with a vote of 231-184, however, I voted against this bill because of the Boustany Amendment. This Amendment drives a wedge within the faith-based community. The Head Start program was first established in 1964 through the cooperation of African-American churches throughout the segregated South. From its birth, Head Start and the religious community have developed a strong partnership in the delivery of critical educational and social services that have been the building blocks to escaping poverty. This relationship has worked well for generations and now it will be jeopardized if this provision is allowed to remain in the bill. Many faith-based organizations that sponsor Head Start programs have experienced no problems in fulfilling their spiritual mission and honoring the non-discrimination in hiring requirements under the Civil Rights Act. Permitting faith-based organizations to use federal dollars to discriminate in hiring is a step backwards in the continuing struggle for civil rights, a step I am not willing to support.Congressional Black Caucus Issue Forum
I would like to thank everyone who attended my issue forum on Thursday, "After Katrina: African-American Leaders Respond." The discussion was both enlightening and informative. I would like to thank all of the panelists:Ms. Marian Wright-Edelman Mr. Reggie Turner/President National Bar Association Dr. Michael Lomax/President & CEO United Negro College Fund Ms. Melanie Campbell/Executive Director Nat'l Coalition on Black Civic Participation Ms. Tangie Newborn/Executive Director National Association of Black Journalists Dr. Lisa Aptaker Mr. Derrick Miller/Chief Executive Officer City of Detroit Thank you all for a spirited conversation
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