Legislative Advocacy -
Soroptimist Style!

Urgent Calls Needed: Violence Funding May Be Cut

Joining with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NOW and other organizations working to end violence against women.

Action Needed:

Please call the senators or representatives listed below, if you are a constituent of any one of them.

Congressional staff are working on the final fiscal year 2004 appropriations as you read this. It is crucial that we all take the time to send a quick message about the importance of full funding for work addressing violence against women. Congress has a very tight budget this year and must make cuts. It's up to us to make sure they understand that victim services have taken enough cuts already.

Even if your senator or representative is not on the list below, please take a few minutes to call his or her office and ask them to send the following message to the appropriators:

Your message:

I am very concerned about the survival of services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The field is experiencing such severe cuts on the state level that the capacity of local programs to meet the existing needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking is threatened—to say nothing of the future, growing needs of victims of these crimes.

We know that these are tough budget times. We know that Congress has the tightest budget constraints in a decade. But we cannot turn any more women and children away and back into violent situations.

We are counting on our representatives in Congress to protect the most vulnerable among us. As the Congress works on its omnibus spending bill, we ask for the following:

No budget cuts now! Keep the funding for the Violence Against Women Act and HHS shelter services programs at Fiscal Year 2003 levels.
Increase the Domestic Violence Hotline appropriation to the President's recommendation of $3 million to support their increasing call loads.
Provide an additional $15 million for the new Transitional Housing Program.
Fund the Victims of Crime Act at $675 million so that programs can maintain current services.

Please Call or Email Your Senators Today:

Sen. Ted Stevens—Alaska, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee (202)224-3004

Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) (CJS) (LHHS) (202) 224-2621

Sen. Larry Craig (Idaho) (LHHS) (202) 224-2752

How to Lobby without Breaking the Law

www.IndependentSector.org/CLPI.

About Foundation Advocacy Initiative

http://capitoladvantage.com/h2/products/5reasonsSum.html
http://www.allianceforjustice.org/foundation/about/index.html
http://www.alldc.org/whatis-p.htm
http://www.clarb.org/licensure/lobbying.pdf

Public Charities

509(a)(2) Exempt purpose activity-supported charities.

Form 5768 (Rev. December 1996) -
For IRS Use Only Department of the ... Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code. ... 5.

Section 509(a)(2) (relating to organizations ...
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5768.pdf

www.irs.gov search for publication 557, can be ordered free

http://www.tacs.org/service/dirtemplate.asp?pID=39

501 (h) Election

http://www.allianceforjustice.org/images/collection_images/Worry-Free%20Lobbying%202003.pdf

Email from Lisa Mangiafico on a specific federal bill on funding for domestic violence in response to an email asking exact direction from SIA:

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month:
Support VAWA Funding

The "Violence Against Women Act" (VAWA)
http://www.ncjw.org/advocacy/action-vawa6.htm

Soroptimists have always had a non-partisan requirement to our advocacy endeavors. You should contact your members of Congress and advocate for full funding for this act. Regardless of party affiliation, for those who already support full funding, you should be sure to thank them, and let them know that it matters. For those who don’t support the full funding, let them know that women living free from violence is one of Soroptimist’s strategic goals, and let them know that funding is important to assuring this basic human right to live free of violence. There are lots of ways of advocating a position that are non-partisan. What you cannot do is endorse a candidate, contribute to a political campaign, etc. even if the politician supports all the points that Soroptimist thinks are important. We advocate for the issue, not the politician or the party. Lisa

Trish Quinland
Legislative Advocacy, Chair
Soroptimist NW Region
2308 12th St.
Anacortes, WA 98221
360-293-6352
mermama@cnw.com