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Legislative Priorities for Week 3

The session is moving rapidly with more than 1500 bills released. Please consider taking action on the following:

HB 1140 Establishing empowerED scholarships using educational savings accounts. Good news, this bill has been scheduled for a committee hearing on Feb. 6. Please sign in pro before 7:00 AM on Feb. 6. Sending written comments to the committee about the need for lower income parents to have access to school environments that may be best for their children is also encouraged. The bill would provide up to $12,700 in an individual educational savings account which a family at or below 100% of the state family median income could use for K-12 tuition, uniforms, fees, computers, tutors, extracurricular and other educational expenses at private and public schools. The bill provides a preferential option for the poor and recognizes the rights of parents to seek educational services that best meet the needs of their child. 

HB 1232 Concerning private detention facilities. Private prisons and detention facilities make human life a commodity. This bill would impose basic health and safety requirements on these facilities to better protect the dignity and sanctity of life for undocumented immigrants detained in the existing private facility in Tacoma and any others that may be opened in response to the federal actions on immigration. Please sign in pro on this bill before 3:00 PM on Feb. 4

HB 1307 Easing the financial burden on families by removing sales and use tax on diapers and essential child care products. Diapers for babies, older adults and others with medical needs requiring incontinence products are expensive commodities. Though necessary for the heath of the individual, for lower income families, the cost of these products creates a significant financial burden. Easing the costs by eliminating the sales and use tax, the bill helps "improve public health, reduce economic strain, and support the dignity and quality of life for individuals across all ages." The bill will be heard in committee Feb. 7. Please sign in pro by 12:30 PM Feb. 7.

HB 1404 and SB 5352 Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools. No child should go without food. Studies show that hungry children struggle academically but for many families, three meals a day is a luxury they cannot afford. This bill promotes the dignity and sanctity of life by providing free meals to all public school students. A House committee will consider HB 1404 on Feb. 3 and the Senate will discuss its bill in committee on Feb. 4. Sign in pro for the House bill by 3:00 PM on Feb. 3 and for the Senate bill before 7:00 AM on Feb.4. 

SB 5436 Interfering with access to a place of religious worship. As hostility toward religion grows, this bill makes it unlawful to interfere with a person's lawful exercise of religious freedom by prohibiting individuals from coming within 8 feet of a person at a place of worship with the intent to harass, intimidate or threaten the person. Sign in pro before 7:00 AM on Feb. 4.

HB 1211 and SB 5375 Concerning the duty of clergy to report child abuse and neglect. In the Senate committee hearing, reference was made to an ongoing Attorney General investigation of abuse in all three of our dioceses. There is no such investigation. The Attorney General issued a subpoena to the Archdiocese of Seattle seeking to show that charitable funds were misused to address abuse cases. That effort was dismissed by a court of law. 

As a reminder, all three Washington state dioceses have enacted policies requiring all church personnel to report reasonable suspicions of abuse to law enforcement.  We are not opposed to declaring clergy mandatory reporters. We are opposed, however, to the state stepping into the sanctity of the Sacrament of Confession. Doing so will not make kids safer, but may have the opposite effect by discouraging people from confessing to abuse, thereby prolonging the abuse. HB 1211 will be heard in committee on Feb. 4. Please send in your written comments expressing support for mandatory reporting with the exception of communications made during the Sacrament of Confession before 12;30 PM on Feb. 4.

Federal Advocacy

International Humanitarian Assistance

While the executive action to freeze federal funding for multiple programs winds through the court processes, the threats to critical programs serving the most vulnerable globally remain far too real. Let your members of Congress know that you are deeply concerned about the Administration’s recent decision to stop work on almost all U.S. foreign assistance programs. This freeze will be detrimental to millions of our sisters and brothers who need access to lifesaving humanitarian, health and development assistance.

U.S. foreign aid is not a handout. It has real impact on human life and dignity and advances U.S national interests. It provides lifesaving assistance in emergencies and supports long-term development programs that help families and communities build resilience, reducing the need for humanitarian aid in the future or for migration away from home countries. 
By advocating today, your voice can help: 

•    Infants access clean water.
•    Farmers feed their families.
•    Children receive critical medications to fight disease.

Send your message HERE.

Education Choice

During Catholic Schools Week, members of Congress released the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) in both the House and Senate. By passing the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), Congress can dramatically expand school choice for more than one million students across all 50 states – directly empowering parents, helping to improve educational outcomes, and making a lasting and positive impact on students’ lives.  

Send a letter to your congress members today asking them to support the ECCA (the bills had not been numbered as of this writing, but text is available) so that more students can have access to the school or education service that best meets their unique needs!  

Good News from Around the State:

Washington State Catholic Conference Goes to the U.S. Supreme Court

Photo by Mark Thomas from Pixabay

The WSCC has joined on amicus brief with our cohorts in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Tennessee in support of Catholic Charities in Wisconsin and the religious nature of the work done by Catholic Charities nationwide. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the case which involves a decision by the Wisconsin unemployment services that held that Catholic Charities were not eligible for an exemption from the unemployment system because their work was not religious activity. The department defined religious activity narrowly, requiring, among other things, that an entity must serve only members of the faith. The case is an important test of religious freedom and the ability of Catholic dioceses to exercise our faith through works of mercy.

Upcoming Events

February 8

International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the International Union of Superiors General has designated February 8 as an annual day of prayer and awareness against human trafficking. February 8 is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, who was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery in Sudan and Italy. Once Josephine was freed, she became a Canossian nun and dedicated her life to sharing her testament of deliverance from slavery and comforting the poor and suffering. She was declared a saint in 2000.

On February 8, Catholics all over the world are encouraged to host or attend prayer services to create greater awareness about this phenomenon. Through prayer, we not only reflect on the experiences of those that have suffered through this affront to human dignity, but also comfort, strengthen, and help empower survivors.

Visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Become a SHEPHERD page to help you host an awareness raising event locally. 

February 7-14

 

The observances of National Marriage Week (February 7-14) and World Marriage Day (Sunday, February 9) are an opportunity to focus on building a culture of life and love that begins with supporting and promoting marriage and the family. Our theme for 2025 is “Marriage: Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!

Let Us Pray

WSCC staff

We invite you to contact us at any time.

Jean Welch Hill, Executive Director

jean.hill@wacatholics.org                               

Tracey Wilson Yackley, Operations Manager 

tracey.yackley@wacatholics.org

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