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> Highlights of the 2008 Legislative Year

Full report available at: 

http://act.ucc.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=9361&em_id=6021.0

What an intense year it has been. With the elections looming large in 
our memories it's easy to forget that anything else happened in 2008. 
But rest assured, much was accomplished and it was achieved with your 
help and involvement.

JPANet highlighted 38 distinct issues in the past year and you 
responded with an impressive 20,000 letters to Congress and the 
President. Here are a few legislative successes that you contributed 
in to this year!

> Poverty

Poverty As the real estate bubble popped and unemployment climbed 
steadily, you were constant in reminding Congress not to forget our 
most vulnerable brothers and sisters. It's taken them awhile to catch 
on, but Congress and President-elect Obama are in the process of 
putting together a plan to stimulate our economy and protect families 
who are struggling all around the country.

In the meantime we saw several important safety-net programs get a 
boost. Unemployment benefits, which are crucial for keeping families 
out of poverty, were extended twice in 2008. The first extension 
passed in June and provided an extra 13 weeks of benefits to former 
employees who exhausted their benefits by March 2009. The second 
extension, which passed in October, provided these individuals with 
the option of an additional seven weeks of Unemployment Insurance for 
most and thirteen weeks for individuals in states where the jobless 
rate is higher than 6 percent.

In addition, advocates secured additional funding for Low-Income 
Heating Assistance as part of a continuing resolution for the 2009 
budget. This increase, up $2.5 million over last year's budget, is 
helping families heat their homes through what has proven to be a 
very cold and financially challenging winter.

> FDA Tobacco

Tobacco Regulation After much effort you and other advocates pushed 
the House of Representatives to pass a bill giving the Food and Drug 
Administration the power to regulate tobacco products. This is a 
significant step. Tobacco-related disease is the leading preventable 
cause of death in our country. It kills more than 438,000 people each year.

Tobacco legislation has a history of near misses, but the House vote 
this year and strong support in the Senate make it likely that 
similar legislation will have a good chance of becoming law in the future.

> Colombia Free-Trade Agreement

Columbia The House voted to delay consideration of a U.S.-Colombia 
FTA in 2008, and Latin America advocates celebrated! Critics charge 
that FTAs encourage a "race to the bottom" that favors the rights of 
corporations over the rights of workers and small farmers at home and 
abroad. You stood up and Congress took notice. Thank you!

> Americans with Disabilities Act

Americans With Disabilities ActOn September 25, President Bush signed 
a bill that expanded the category of those classified as disabled. 
The bill ncluded protections to ensure that protections under the 
1990 ADA are not withheld from anyone meeting those standards. This 
important rewrite of the original ADA was in response to a series of 
Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the definition of disability, 
creating a category of persons who were not considered disabled 
enough to be protected under the law. In particular the new law 
states that a person cannot be disqualified for protection under the 
ADA by his/her ability to mitigate the effects of a disability 
through medications, prosthetics, hearing aides, etc. This was an 
important human rights victory.

Thank you for all that you do. Please know that in times like these 
your voices will be needed more than ever. As the challenges facing 
our families, friends and neighbors mount, it will be important that 
you continue to speak out on behalf of those in need. Keep taking 
action in 2009!

As you make that list of new years' resolutions, think about adding 
one more for justice.  Pledge to encourage at least five new members 
to join the Justice and Peace Action Network in 2009.

> Happy New Year!