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Elected Official Letter Archive
March 16, 2015 The United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator, The undersigned organizations write to urge you to oppose any effort in Congress, including through resolutions of disapproval, that would prevent two bills recently passed by the District of Columbia Council from taking effect. Both of these bills – the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 and the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 – take important steps to prevent discriminatory treatment of employees and students in the District. These bills are straightforward: they will ensure that those who work and study in the District are treated fairly. Unsurprisingly, opponents of these bills have unfairly mischaracterized them as “unprecedented assaults” on religious liberty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Religious liberty is a fundamental American value. It guarantees us the freedom to hold any belief we choose and the right to act on our religious beliefs, but it does not allow us to discriminate against or otherwise harm others.
March 26, 2015   Re: Oppose Any Amendment to S. Con. Res. 11 that Would Create a Private School Voucher Program Dear Senator: The 53 undersigned members of the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) write to express our strong opposition to any amendments to the Fiscal 2016 Senate Budget Resolution (S. Con Res. 11) that would support the creation of a private school voucher or tuition tax credit program. Rather than providing equal access to high quality education, setting high standards and ensuring accountability for all students, these programs have proven ineffective, lack accountability to taxpayers, deprive students of rights provided to public school students, and threaten religious liberty. Voucher and tuition tax credit programs would divert desperately-needed resources away from the public school system to fund the education of a few, select voucher students while ignoring overall student academic achievement. Indeed, according to multiple studies of the District of Columbia, Milwaukee, and Cleveland school voucher programs, students offered vouchers do not perform better in reading and math compared to students in public schools.1 Voucher programs targeted to students with disabilities are especially troubling, as they impose obstacles that prevent these students from receiving the special services that they need, while simultaneously removing essential public funds that would address the needs of all students with disabilities. Congress would better serve ALL children by directing funds to make public schools stronger and safer instead of creating a new voucher or tuition tax credit program.
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© Institute for Science and Human Values
Dear Representative,   We, the undersigned medical and public health organizations, stand in strong opposition to the addition of any provision to legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that would interfere in the relationship between students and health care providers by limiting access to information or health care services. On February 26th, 2015, during consideration of H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, a politically motivated amendment was added to the Manager’s Amendment that would do just that. The amendment was a misguided attempt to ban schoolbased health centers from sharing ageappropriate, medically accurate information about the full range of reproductive health care options, including abortion. Research has shown that access to comprehensive and medically accurate sex education and contraception enables young people to make healthy decisions, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. This helps young people delay having sex, use condoms and contraception when they do become sexually active, and reduces teen pregnancy, birth, and abortion. Young people need – and deserve – accurate, unbiased, and trusted communications with health care professionals.
April 23, 2015
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April 29, 2015
Re: Oppose Attempts to Curtail D.C. Civil Rights  Dear Representative: The undersigned religious, interfaith, and civil liberties organizations that advocate for freedom of religion and belief write to urge you to reject any and all congressional efforts, including resolutions of disapproval, that would prevent two D.C. civil rights bills from taking effect. The D.C. Council unanimously passed both the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 (RHNDAA) and the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 (HRAA) to support one basic underlying principle: fairness. The bills help ensure that others are treated fairly—as we all would like to be treated. These bills do not violate religious freedom, but instead protect freedom of conscience of and ensure equal treatment for all students and employees. We urge you to oppose H J. Res. 43, which seeks to overturn the RHNDAA. The RHNDAA strengthens the District’s existing nondiscrimination protections so that employees in D.C. and their dependents do not face employment discrimination because of their personal reproductive health care decisions. The RHNDAA would ensure that employees and their families can make their own private health decisions, based on their own consciences and in consultation with their own physicians, without fear of losing their job. Business owners are absolutely entitled to their personal religious beliefs—but they cannot use their beliefs to justify discrimination against their employees. Similarly, we urge you to oppose H. J. Res. 44, which would repeal the HRAA. The HRAA ensures that all educational institutions in D.C. provide access to school facilities and services for all student clubs equally. Contrary to opponents’ claims, the HRAA does not require religiously affiliated schools to provide LGBT student groups with funding or official recognition. The HRAA simply upholds students’ freedom of conscience by repealing a congressionally imposed exemption to D.C. law that allows religiously affiliated educational institutions to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
March 23, 2015   To the Right Honourable Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany   Dear Chancellor Merkel , 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995.   In connection with the United Nations Commission on the Status on Women and the commemoration of the Beijing Platform for Action, hundreds of organisations working for the promotion and protection of equality for women are in New York to assess and discuss the progress made for women and girls’ rights in the past 20 years.   Among the challenges to equality for women are many forms of discrimination against women, their poverty and their sexual exploitation which underpins their lack of status and opportunities worldwide. It is in this context that we ask you to ensure that Germany will finally ratify the UN human rights Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. This Convention was approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 317 (IV) of 2 December 1949 and entered into force on 25 July 1951. Its ratification by Germany is long overdue.
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 April 13, 2015   The Honorable Lamar Alexander The Honorable Patty Murray Chairman Ranking Member Senate HELP Committee Senate HELP Committee 428 Dirksen Senate Office Building 428 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510   Re: We Oppose Private School Vouchers in the Every Child Achieves Act Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray: The undersigned organizations write to express our strong opposition to the inclusion of any provision in the Every Child Achieves Act that would create or lead to a private school voucher, including language that would make Title I funding portable by allowing the money to follow a child to that child’s public or private school. Title I Portability Is a Stepping-Stone to Vouchers We are concerned that Title I portability, even when limited to public schools, is a stepping-stone for an expansion of vouchers for private and religious schools using either federal or state funds, which our organizations vehemently oppose.   Congress adopted Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965 to provide federal funding to local school districts and schools that serve large concentrations of students in poverty to address the compounded impact of poverty on student learning. Today’s Title I dollars flow to the states, which then distribute the dollars to school districts based on the number of students in poverty and the percentage of total students in poverty in each district. As a result, school districts and schools within the state receive different allocations of Title I funds. This weighted formula ensures that poorer, smaller, under-resourced districts receive a greater share of Title I funds than more affluent districts. The Title I portability language in this bill would dismantle Title I’s funding formula and the funds would “follow the child.”
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May 13, 2015   Mr. Jason Chaffetz Chairman House Oversight & Government Reform Committee 2236 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515   RE: NCPE Opposes Reauthorization of the D.C. School Voucher Program Dear Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings: The 54 undersigned organizations write to voice opposition to the reauthorization of the District of Columbia private school voucher program. We oppose this and all private school voucher programs because public funds should be spent on public schools, not private schools. But the D.C. program, in particular, has proven ineffective and unaccountable to taxpayers. Not only have multiple Department of Education (USED) studies1 concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students, but two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also identified its repeated management and accountability failures.2 We acknowledge that the Committee may be able to point to some students who have gone to exemplary schools and seen improvement from the program. But according to government studies and investigative reports, these students are, unfortunately, the exception rather than the rule. Congress should not reauthorize this unsuccessful and poorly managed program.
Mr. Elijah Cummings Ranking Member House Oversight & Government Reform Committee 2230 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
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       Nothing about us without us! Statement on the CSW Methods of Work Resolution As representatives of feminist and women’s organizations and organizations working to promote the full  realization of the human rights of women and girls, we express our   outrage at the way that we have been  excluded from both the negotiation of the   political declaration and the Commission of the Status of  Women (CSW) Methods of Work resolution. In a context of increasing attacks on the human rights of women and girls and closing    space for civil   society at all levels, from the national to the global, we had held up the    CSW as a place where we could   express our views and influence the development of  critical policies that affect our lives and futures.
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May 25, 2015
 June 23, 2015 
The Honorable Hal Rogers The Honorable Nita M. Lowey Chairman Ranking Member House Appropriations Committee House Appropriations Committee H-103, The Capitol 1016 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Dear Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey: The fiscal year (FY) 2016 draft of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies  (Labor-HHS) funding bill that was passed by the House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee  proposes a complete elimination of the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only dedicated  source of family planning funding. The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose this drastic  measure and protect the millions of poor and low-income women and men who depend on the Title X  program for affordable family planning and reproductive health care services. Our organizations collectively represent millions of administrators, providers, patients, researchers, and  advocates who share the common mission of supporting and protecting federal funds, like Title X, that  provide affordable family planning services. By standing with us and opposing Title X’s elimination, you  will help protect access to a public health program that serves nearly 4.6 million poor and low-income men and women across the country in 4,200 health care centers. These centers, and their dedicated staffs,  helped prevent 1.1 million unintended pregnancies in 2012, which would likely have resulted in 527,000  unintended births and 363,000 abortions. i    Moreover, supporting the Title X program makes good fiscal  sense. For every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning care, over $7 dollars are saved in  Medicaid spending. ii
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 June 24, 2015 
Family Planning Coalition
 c/o National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association 1627 K St. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20006 Phone: 202-293-3114 
The Honorable Thad Cochran The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski Chairman Vice Chairwoman Senate Appropriations Committee Senate Appropriations Committee S-128 The Capitol 503 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510   Dear Chairman Cochran and Vice Chairwoman Mikulski: The fiscal year (FY) 2016 draft of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) funding bill that was passed by the Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee proposes a significant and harmful cut to the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only dedicated source of family planning funding. The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose this drastic measure and protect the millions of poor and low-income women and men who depend on the Title X program for affordable family planning and reproductive health care services. Our organizations collectively represent millions of administrators, providers, patients, researchers, and advocates who share the common mission of supporting and protecting federal funds, like Title X, that provide affordable family planning services. By standing with us and opposing cuts to Title X, you will help protect access to a public health program that serves nearly 4.6 million poor and low-income men and women across the country in 4,200 health care centers. These centers, and their dedicated staffs, helped prevent 1.1 million unintended pregnancies in 2012, which would likely have resulted in 527,000 unintended births and 363,000 abortions.i Moreover, supporting the Title X program makes good fiscal sense. For every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning care, over $7 dollars are saved in Medicaid spending.ii
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June, 2015  Coalition Statement Opposing Reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule  We join together as diverse voices from a variety of sectors to oppose any effort to reinstate the harmful global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy. While the Helms Amendment restricts U.S. foreign assistance funding for abortions “as a method of family planning,” the global gag rule goes a step further by preventing foreign organizations using their own funds to provide information, referrals, or services for legal abortion or to advocate for access to abortion services in their own country from receiving U.S. international family planning assistance. The global gag rule causes serious harm in countries around the world. The policy interferes with the doctor-patient relationship by restricting medical information healthcare providers may offer, limits free speech by prohibiting local citizens from participating in public policy debates, and impedes women’s access to family planning by cutting off funding for many of the most experienced health care providers who have chosen to prioritize quality reproductive-health services and counseling over funding that restricts care and censors information. When in place, the negative impacts of the global gag rule have been broad and severe: health services have been dismantled in a number of communities; clinics that provided a range of reproductive, maternal, and child health care, including HIV testing and counseling, were forced to close; outreach efforts to hard to reach populations were eliminated; and access to contraceptives was severely limited, resulting in more unintended pregnancies and more unsafe abortions. Here is the testimony of one organization that experienced the impact of the global gag rule when it was last in place:
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July 14, 2015 Re: Co-Sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2654/ S. 1512)  Dear Member of Congress: As organizations committed to promoting the health and economic security of our nation’s families, we urge you to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2654/ S. 1512). This legislation promotes healthy pregnancies and economic security for pregnant women and their families and strengthens the economy. In the last few decades, there has been a dramatic demographic shift in the workforce. Not only do women now make up almost half of the workforce, but there are more pregnant workers than ever before and they are working later into their pregnancies. The simple reality is that some of these women—especially those in physically demanding jobs—will have a medical need for a temporary job-related accommodation in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Yet, too often, instead of providing a pregnant worker with an accommodation routinely given to other workers, her employer will fire her, depriving her of a paycheck and health insurance at a time when she needs them most. American families and the American economy depend on women’s income: we can’t afford to force pregnant women out of work. In Young v. United Parcel Service, the Supreme Court recently held that a failure to make accommodations for pregnant workers with medical needs could violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). This decision, which reaffirmed the purpose of the PDA, is an important victory for pregnant workers and will ensure that fewer women will be forced out of their jobs unnecessarily and denied the minor modifications to job duties, rules or policies that would enable them to continue working. But the need for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is as compelling as ever. Under the standard announced by the Court in Young v. UPS, a pregnant worker’s rights can turn on a determination of whether an employer accommodates a large percentage of non-pregnant workers who need it while denying accommodations to a large percentage of pregnant workers. Some individual women and employers will still face uncertainty as they try to apply this standard to determine whether the PDA requires accommodation in particular circumstances. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will strengthen and affirm the Supreme Court’s decision in Young, by providing employers and pregnant workers with a clear, predictable rule: employers must provide reasonable accommodations for limitations arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless this would pose an undue hardship.
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April 20, 2015   Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to support the Healthy Families Act, a common sense bill that would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from short-term illnesses like the flu, access preventive care, care for a sick family member or seek assistance related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Without paid sick days, workers are forced to make impossible choices when illness strikes: stay home, lose pay and risk their jobs; or go to work sick, risk their health and spread disease to their co-workers and communities. Paid sick days keep families financially secure, workplaces and communities healthy and productive, and businesses and the economy strong. At least 43 million private sector workers in the United States cannot earn paid sick days to use when they get sick.1 Millions more cannot earn time to care for a sick child or family member.2 Unpaid days off have real consequences. For a family without paid sick days, on average, 3.1 days of pay lost to illness are equivalent to the family’s entire monthly health care budget, and 3.5 days are equivalent to its entire monthly grocery budget.3 ( Read More )
July 27, 2015 Dear Senate Majority Leader McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, and House  Minority Leader Pelosi, The undersigned 92 organizations stand with Planned Parenthood Federation of America during this time of  vicious political attack. And we stand with the millions who rely on Planned Parenthood for health care.  Planned Parenthood has provided compassionate and critical health care to women, men, and young people  for over 100 years and is an integral and necessary part of our health care system. The organization that released heavily edited video did so as part of an extreme and entrenched campaign to end the availability of lawful and safe abortion in this country. This is not the first time that Planned  Parenthood has been targeted in an underhanded manner by those who want to take away the right to abortion and the full range of reproductive health services. There have been other heavily edited videos, attempts at both the federal and state levels to take away Planned Parenthood’s funding, and attacks targeting  organizations that work with Planned Parenthood (such as the recent outrageous decision to delay a bill establishing a commemorative coin that would raise funds for breast cancer research because one of the  beneficiaries would have been Susan G. Komen For the Cure, which funds Planned Parenthood to provide  breast cancer screening). Through it all, Planned Parenthood has continued to provide 2.7 million women and men annually with high  quality affordable health care. Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of health services, including abortion, birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and STD and HIV screenings. For many  uninsured and under-insured people, Planned Parenthood is the only source they have for these services.
 July 31, 2015  Stand Up for Women’s Access to Healthcare Services: Oppose all Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood Dear Senator: On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 95 undersigned civil and human rights and labor organizations, we urge you to oppose all efforts to defund Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). We strongly condemn the distorted and fraudulent campaign against PPFA, a critical provider of vital health services to low-income women and women of color. As a result of the false claims based on selectively edited videos by the so-called “Center for Medical Progress” infiltration of PPFA, we expect a number of Senate proposals will be offered on this Monday at 5:30pm to defund the organization. The group behind this fraud has undertaken 10 separate attack campaigns like this over the last eight years. Their real agenda is now clear—they want to defund PPFA and block access to basic health services, particularly for low-income women, women of color, women with disabilities, and young women. This is also an attack on all women and their basic civil and human right to health care. PPFA provides affordable, and critically needed quality preventive health care and treatment to 2.7 million women, men, and young people across the country. Their clinics provide routine examinations, cancer screenings, contraceptive services, HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infections) testing. Approximately one in five women in America will rely on PPFA for health care in her lifetime.
June 2015 Coalition Statement Opposing Reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule We join together as diverse voices from a variety of sectors to oppose any effort to reinstate the harmful global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy. While the Helms Amendment restricts U.S. foreign assistance funding for abortions “as a method of family planning,” the global gag rule goes a step further by preventing foreign organizations using their own funds to provide information, referrals, or services for legal abortion or to advocate for access to abortion services in their own country from receiving U.S. international family planning assistance. (Read More)
The Institute for Science and Human Values Stands with Planned Parenthood Planned Parenthood health centers play an important role in helping women meet their sexual and reproductive health needs. Although Planned Parenthood health centers comprise 10% of all publicly funded family planning centers, they serve 36% of all clients who obtain care from the clinic network. Similarly, Planned Parenthood health centers serve a disproportionate share of clients in the Title X system, comprising 13% of Title X clinics but serving 37% of clients. Each Planned Parenthood health center on average serves nearly 3,000 contraceptive clients per year—far more than other clinic types. In other words, women vote with their feet, and about one-third of women who rely on safety-net health centers for their family planning care get that care from Planned Parenthood. If Planned Parenthood health centers were defunded, it is impossible to know what would happen to the several million clients currently relying on these centers for their family planning services. There is no way to predict whether other health care providers throughout the country could step up—how quickly they could fill the gap or for how many clients.