Weekly Justice Highlights

Promoting Peace: Urge President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney to issue a joint call asking Congress to reinstate the expired federal assault weapons ban.   

Food Security:  Urge President Obama to end hunger in countries by expanding the New Alliance to include at least 15 countries by the end of the year and double that amount at the end of next year.   

Challenging Unjust Practices: Urge U.S. legislators to stop the rubber-stamp approval of Genetically Engineered crops (supported by Monsanto) and to remove these provisions from the 2012 Farm Bill.  

Last week, the U.S. Senate approved the Middle Class Tax Cuts Act (S. 3412) and voted to end the Bush tax breaks above $250,000/year.  Express a thank you or disappointment to your Senators. 

Call and urge U.S. Representatives (1.202.224.3121; charges apply) to co-sponsor H.R. 3619 to make the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act permanent (this bill would permanently extend federal protections for renters facing foreclosure). 

Call and urge your Senators 1.202.224.3121; charges apply) to co-sponsor S. 489, and your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 1477. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) introduced bills that would capitalize the National Housing Trust Fund through profits from the Treasury Department’s sale of Troubled Asset Relief Program warrants. These bills would provide much-needed funding for the NHTF. 

Kentucky citizens are urged to file comments in writing until October 1 on a recent decision of the executive branch that filed a new regulation to govern how the state will kill inmates through lethal injection.  The new regulations are located here  (Comments can be sent to Ms. Amy Barker, Assistant General Counsel, Department of Justice, 125 Holmes Street, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601; or fax them to 502.564.6686.) 

New reports from Americans for Tax Fairness, Citizens for Tax Justice and the National Women's Law Center demonstrate how public investments and taxpayers in each state would be affected by the competing approaches to the Bush tax cuts.  These are located here.