Press ‘send’ and Washington Office will do your thinking and lobbying
The Layman Online, February 13, 2003
The Washington Office wants to do your political thinking and lobbying.
The official lobbying arm of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has installed what’s known as a CapWiz on its Web site, complete with letters written by the Washington Office that would go out over your signature to your U.S. senators and representatives.
A link on the home page of the Web site, under the heading “Urgent Alerts,” takes you to the CapWiz page from which you can digitally transmit the Washington Office’s letters to members of Congress.
But, before hitting the send button, read carefully what the Washington Office wants to put into your e-letters. They represent the left-leaning stance of the Washington Office staff and may not reflect what you believe about an issue.
You can change the letter and customize it to fit your political persuasion, but that rarely happens on CapWiz sites. CapWiz is a program that is used by organizations to generate e-letters from like-minded partisans. Those organizations are counting on you to transmit their appeal.
A political action tool
In fact, the Washington Office says in a press release that it is now using “the nation’s premiere political action tool” in order to “enhance its advocacy efforts” — not your view if it isn’t compatible.
As of Feb. 12, the Washington Office had posted three “action alerts,” calling on CapWiz users to “Oppose HR 4, the Current TANF Bill,” “Slow the Rush to War — Support S. Res. 32” and “Protect Funding for Domestic Programs.”
Washington Office letter opposing HR 4
TANF is the acronym for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. HR 4 is the Republican proposal, titled “Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003.” One of the principal aims of HR 4 is “developing and implementing innovative programs to promote and support healthy, married, 2-parent families.” Its provisions include ending the marriage tax penalty.
Without modifying the text, the user of the Washington Office’s CapWiz service would send the following letter to members of congress:
- “As a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), I urge you to oppose HR 4 and to support a TANF alternative that will:
- “*Maintain current work requirements for TANF recipients of 30 hours per week, and 20 hours for mothers of pre-school children; ”
- *Expand state flexibility in educating and training recipients;
- “*Increase child care funding by $11 billion over five years, and
- “*Give states flexibility to serve legal immigrants, with regard to TANF benefits. The president and H.R. 4 would retain the current ban.”
Kennedy-Byrd resolution
The second letter in the “Action Alert” lobbies against congressional authorization for President George W. Bush to use military action against Saddam Hussein.
Senate Resolution 32 by Democrats Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd was introduced on Jan. 29, 2003, in an attempt to convince Congress to recant its October 2002 resolution that authorized the president to preemptively strike Iraq.
But Kennedy and Byrd now say, “The President has not yet made a compelling case to Congress, the American people, or the international community that the use of armed force is the only alternative to disarm Iraq.”
The Washington Office’s CapWiz would send the following letter:
- “Please support S. Res. 32, which was recently introduced by Senators Kennedy and Byrd. The resolution calls on the President to give the UN weapons inspectors more time to safely disarm Iraq without war and to come back to Congress for a vote before proceeding with the war in Iraq.
- “I do not think the U.S. should rush to war with Iraq, particularly without the support of our allies. Iraq can be safely and effectively disarmed through the UN. It is not an imminent threat to the U.S. or its neighbors. The U.S. should not undertake a preemptive strike, and it should definitely not attack without a full Congressional debate and formal declaration of war.”
Iraq v. domestic programs
The third “Action Alert” deals with broad domestic issues. It deplores cutting domestic spending as a consequence of spending for military intervention in Iraq or the war on terrorism.
This is the text of the Washington Office’s letter:
- “I am a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and am concerned about the needs of low-income working families. I urge you to truly take their needs into account as you prepare to deliberate on the federal budget for fiscal year 2004.
- “I am concerned that people – young and old – will be harmed if domestic social spending is reduced. The U.S. government has a moral obligation to provide programs that help those most in need.
- “Resources dedicated to the war with Iraq or the war on terrorism should not result in inadequate funding for domestic social programs. An increase in military spending is not a justifiable rationale for cutting funding for social programs that are needed to help American families keep from falling into or remaining in poverty.
- “We urge you to:
- “*Fully fund the TANF block grant and provide additional funding for childcare and education/training services;
- “*Allocate additional resources for Head Start;
- “*Commit to full funding of Child Nutrition programs;
- “*Provide adequate funding for the Workforce Investment Act;
- “*Understanding that homeland security begins at home, ensure that everyone in the United States has access to affordable housing.
- “Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns.”
Other ways to express your views
There are other ways to express your views via the Internet. Both the House and Senate have user-friendly Web sites that help you find out (by zip code, if necessary) who your representatives and senators are so that you can write directly to them by e-letter or snail mail.
But they lack one feature on the Washington Office site. They don’t write your letters for you.