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	January 13, 2005 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 2

	LWR: Voice support on tsunami-related issues

	Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, is urging Lutherans
nationwide to contact their senators and President Bush to voice their
support on two tsunami-related issues.

	* Extending the charitable-deductions deadline for 2004 -- The
tsunamis struck on Dec. 26, giving donors just a few days to make
donations to help victims by Dec. 31, 2004, the cutoff for deducting
charitable contributions on 2004 taxes. As a result, U.S. Senators Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have introduced a bill that
would allow taxpayers to make donations through the month of January and
still claim the charitable donations on their 2004 returns.

	"Not everyone needs the tax deduction to be moved to donate --
thousands of people already have given generously," reads a news release
from LWR. "We believe, however, that an added incentive to give may be
just what some people need to give a first, second, or even third gift
to the charity of their choice."

	For information on contacting your senators, visit the Web site
www.senate.gov <http://www.senate.gov>	and scroll down to your state.

	* Debt relief for tsunami-affected nations -- Great Britain,
with U.S. support, has called for a "freeze" on foreign debt repayments
owed by the countries hit by the tsunami disaster. "While a freeze on
debt repayment would be helpful," according to LWR, "the reality is that
the countries affected by the disaster cannot afford the debt repayments
even under normal circumstances."

	Instead, LWR supports total debt relief for the most indebted
nations because "the world's poorest people do not have access to clean
water, adequate housing or basic health care. Their countries are paying
debt service at the expense of providing these basic services to their
citizens. When a poor country, like Indonesia or Sri Lanka, is hit by a
massive disaster, it can ill afford recovery and rehabilitation, much
less a crippling debt repayment."

	That sentiment is echoed by Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive
director of LCMS World Relief/Human Care. "The international debt of
developing countries remains a serious impediment to the long-term
well-being of peoples around the world," Harrison said. "LCMS World
Relief urges LCMS people to give serious consideration to this issue."

	LWR is asking Lutherans to call or fax the White House and the
Treasury Department, calling for "100 percent debt cancellation" for the
tsunami-affected nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia, Kenya,
Malaysia, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.

	For President Bush, please call (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-2461
or send an e-mail to president@whitehouse.gov. Send a fax message to
Treasury Secretary John Snow at (202) 622-6415.

	For more information on how to contact the White House and U.S.
senators, go to LWR's "Advocacy Tips and Tools" Web site at
www.lwr.org/advocacy/lettertips.asp
<http://www.lwr.org/advocacy/lettertips.asp>  .

	****************************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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