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Live! at the Legislature

On February 22, 2011 the Senate Business and Commerce Committee met for a hearing on SB 253 (Davis), SB 251 (West) and SB 254 (Davis). All three of these bills address limiting fees and abuse by payday lenders by closing the CSO loophole that allows them to operate outside the Texas Finance Loan Code. Below is excerpts of testimony by Suzii Paynter and Dr. Chad Chaddick of Northeast Baptist Church in San Antonio

• Suzii Paynter, Director, Christian Life Commission testimony on Payday Lending
• Dr. Chad R. Chaddick, Northeast Baptist Church, San Antonio testimony on Payday Lending
• February 22, 2011 Senate CSO Hearing News Coverage(.pdf)

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

According to the USDA, 17.4% of our state’s households are hungry or food insecure. In other words, a staggering number of families in our communities do not have appropriate access to nutritious foods that allow them to lead an active and healthy life. Though the problem may seem overwhelming, we have the tools to fix it. We produce enough food in America to feed everyone – the problem is getting food to the right people, at the right time, and at the right price. This is a logistical problem, not a resource issue, and so is solvable.

Texas leaders, organizations and communities are responding to food insecurity in Texas. Hunger has become a priority among our elected and appointed leaders for the first time in recent history, and the result of these efforts is the beginning stage of a paradigm shift on how we view hunger in Texas – including the steps we take to become food secure.

Now, alongside the great work happening in local communities, the 82^nd Legislature has begun to consider food-related bills on the state level. We will be monitoring these bills as this legislative session continues and will send updated e-mail alerts on their status. Now is also a great time to begin contacting legislators and their staff at the capitol about food policy! If you are interested in visiting legislative offices, please contact Anne Olson, Public Policy Specialist at the Christian Life Commission, or call 512-473-2288.

Bills of Interest:
You can also view the bills in more detail at Texas Legislature Online…

House Bills

HB 75 (Flynn):   Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products
Committee Referral: House Public Health
Identical Companion:   SB 237 (Deuell)

HB 127 (Alvarado):   Relating to the types of beverages that can be sold to students on public school campuses.

HB 642 (Rodriguez):   Relating to free breakfast for certain public school students.
Identical Companion:   SB 88

HB 643 (Rodriguez): Relating to summer nutrition programs provided for by school districts.
Identical companion: SB 89

HB 710 (Walle):   Relating to electronic imaging used in the financial assistance and supplemental nutritional assistance programs.

HB 1139 (Rodriguez):   Relating to the regulation of cottage food products and cottage food production operations.

HB 1151 (Raymond):   Relating to the prohibiting the purchase of certain food items under the supplemental nutritional assistance program.

Senate Bills

SB 39 (Zaffirini):   Relating to improving application and eligibility determination processes and efficiencies for certain benefits programs.
Committee Referral:    Senate Health and Human Services

SB 77 (Nelson):     Relating to certain requirements for sponsoring organizations and other institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Committee Referral:    Senate Health and Human Services

SB 81 (Nelson):     Relating to food manufacturers, food wholesalers, and warehouse operators required to hold a license.
Committee Referral:    Senate Health and Human Services
Hearing Date:   2/15/2011 11:00AM 2E.20

SB 88 (Lucio):     Relating to free breakfast for certain public school students.
Committee Referral:    Senate Education

SB 89 (Lucio):     Relating to summer nutrition programs provided for by school districts.
Committee Referral:    Senate Education

SB 171 (Hinojosa):     Relating to disclosure of calorie content and nutrition information by certain food establishments; providing an administrative penalty.
Committee Referral:    Senate Business and Commerce

SB 184 (Nelson):     Relating to the use of certain state property for community food gardens.
Committee Referral:    Senate Natural Resources

SB 199 (West):     Relating to the eligibility of nonprofit organizations that partner with certain schools to receive grants for agricultural projects.
Committee Referral:    Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs

SB 237 (Deuell):     Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
Committee Referral:    Senate Health and Human Services
Identical Companion:   HB 75 (Flynn)

SCR 9 (Lucio):    Urging the United States Congress to amend the list of allowable foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eliminate sweetened drinks and snack foods of minimal nutritional value.

Most Texans, regardless of politics or party, agree that in a state as great as Texas hunger is simply unacceptable. Just like social problems of the past, we can end hunger through cooperation and creative problem-solving. There are people like you across Texas taking steps to end hunger in Texas each and every day, and together we have the power to end it for good!

Here’s how YOU and YOUR CHURCH can help:

Call or write your legislator. Let yourself be heard! As a constituent, you have an influence on what issues our state legislators pursue. Let your legislator know that ending hunger is a priority by calling, writing, or visiting your representative or senator. Not sure who your legislators are? Find out who represents you…

Become a Summer Food Site. Our colleagues at Texas Impact have created a wonderful toolkit for folks interested in helping with the summer feeding program. “Feeding Texas Kids with the Summer Food Service Program” gives you step-by-step information on the many different ways you can get involved with SFSP as a faith community.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON LOW-SKILLED AMERICAN WORKERS

In an effort to provide accurate, non-biased information on immigrants and immigration in the United States, the ISAAC Project presents a summary of a noteworthy study published by the Migration Policy Institute in January of this year. The study, Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States: Reflections on Future Directions for Reform, tries to gauge the impact of immigration on the wages and prospects of employment of less-skilled Americans. It also offers practical suggestions for policy makers.

The author of this study claims that the impact of immigration on high-school dropouts and other less-educated groups is not as big as people might expect. In fact, “even the most negative estimates of the impact on similar US workers suggest that in the long run, immigration accounts for only a small share of the deterioration observed in less-skilled Americans’ labor market employment and earnings”.¹

There are a few factors that explain such a small impact:  In the first place, immigrants are also consumers of American goods and services.  Their consumption creates a demand for labor in the United States.  A second factor is that immigrants tend to work in jobs that require limited verbal skills (such as agriculture, landscaping and restaurants).  This makes them compete more with earlier groups of immigrants than with American-born workers.  A third factor relates to employers, who are less likely to substitute capital and/or technology when there is a large pool of less-skilled workers available due to immigration.

Whereas the costs of low-skilled migration on the native-born, less-educated population are modest, the benefits go directly to the employers of these immigrants due to the lower wages they are paid.  But there is another benefit to the economy as a whole derived from the lower prices of goods and services that result from those lower wages.

The economic picture is very complex and too many uncertainties remain, the study says.  This makes it almost impossible to define an optimal level of less-skilled immigration.  Economics, however, points to significant improvements that could be made to our immigration system.  Much of the currently illegal immigration could be channeled through legal routes if low-skilled workers are granted employment-based visas that allow them to switch employers and gain a path to citizenship.  There should also be more flexibility in the numbers of low-skilled workers allowed so that they respond more realistically to macroeconomic conditions and employer demand.

Immigration is a federal concern, but states and local communities feel the brunt of costs involved in it.  This makes it necessary for policies to allow for state-level variability so that, for instance, guest worker flows may be determined by state need rather than by federal unemployment rates.  Policies that will facilitate immigrant integration may also vary across states.  National immigration policies must be re-designed so that benefits and costs of immigration may be better distributed between the federal, state and local levels.

These findings are most welcome, especially at a time in our country when immigrants, and especially undocumented immigrants, continue to be used as scapegoats of our economic downturn.  Most of the immigration policies becoming law in more than a decade are harsh, punitive, and focus exclusively on increased border security and dealing out harsher penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers.  The data contained in this study help put the plight of immigrants in a proper macroeconomic perspective.  The complexities and many uncertainties of the economic map of our dynamic country should give us pause as we try to assess the repercussions of documented and undocumented immigration in a fair and honest way.

__________________________________________

¹ Holzer, Harry J.  Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States at page 1. January 2011.  Found at http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Holzer-January2011.pdf.

“Did you ever stop to think that you can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world? You get up in the morning and…you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that’s poured into your cup by a South American.  And maybe you want tea, that’s poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you’re desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that’s poured into your cup by a West African… This is the way our universe is structured; this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.”

-Martin Luther King Jr., A Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967

This quote by MLK Jr. reminds me that stories are a powerful tool to awaken us to our interrelated world because stories have the capacity to penetrate the deepest places of our hearts and minds, thrust open the doors of our present worldview, and usher in a new reality—a Kingdom of God reality that offers peace, compassion, love, reconciliation, and justice for all people and the whole of creation.   Perhaps this is why Jesus so often chose parables to speak the truth.  Read on to find out about chocolate, coffee and teas.

With that said, I wish to share with you three stories about our global partners, specifically those producing food and drink items such as coffee, chocolate, and tea.   Although we will still most likely be dependent upon most of the world for these daily luxuries, by hearing their stories of struggle and hope combined with the startling fact that billions of people around the world lack access to food, basic healthcare, clean water, and education, we may yet give pause to the true cost of our daily routines and, with God’s grace and mercy, learn to be peacemakers and bearers of “good news to the poor” (Lk. 4:18) in “deed and truth” (1 Jn 3:18).

Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate is the first farmer-owned chocolate company in the world. They serve as a stark contrast to the slavery and injustice that dominate most of the world’s chocolate production. The cocoa beans that make up this chocolate are fairly traded, sustainably farmed, and irresistibly tasty.

The chocolate industry in West Africa is marred by violence, child labor, unfair business and accounting practices, and even slavery. The low prices we see here in America get lower on the backs of overworked, underpaid, and sometimes underage farmers in countries like Ghana and The Ivory Coast. These two countries farm about 2/3 of the world’s cocoa beans, and yet still face crippling poverty every single day. The farmers of Kuapa Kokoo believe that there has to be a better way.

Like all of our partners, Divine Chocolate combines an amazing product with a compelling story. In the early 1990s, a group of farmers frustrated with being cheated at every turn, pooled their resources and formed the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative. These farmers based their cooperative on fair trade principles, transparency, democracy, efficiency, and equality for women.

Thanksgiving Coffee Company- Peace Blend

In 2003, Ugandan farmer JJ Keki walked door-to-door asking his Muslim, Christian, and Jewish neighbors to leave behind a history of conflict, and unite to face their struggle against poverty caused by low coffee prices. The farmers came together, and founded a cooperative to build peace and prosperity in their community.

Since its founding in 2003, the coffee cooperative has grown to include over 1,000 members. JJ is 48 years old and has 25 children, more than half of whom he adopted after they lost their parents to AIDS. Thanks to Fair Trade, and his relationship with Thanksgiving Coffee Company, JJ has been able to increase the value of his organic, shade-grown coffee, expand his farm, and pay school tuition fees for all of his children.  His neighbors are also thriving and hopes for peace are high.

“…They have created a tangible expression of their unity—a fair trade/organic coffee that wakes our bodies and souls and fuels their vision of shalom.” –Lynne Hybels, author & activist

Choice Teas

In 2000 Choice Organic Teas became the first tea crafter to adopt Fair Trade Certified tea in the United States. Today, more than half of Choice Organic Teas’ offerings (and 100% of the teas sold through Good News Goods) are Fair Trade Certified, far surpassing the numbers of any other tea company in the United States.

On many traditional estates, tea workers live on the estate and toil long, hard hours for extremely low wages. The development of Fair Trade Certified tea standards guarantees fair wages, respectable living and working conditions, and a worker-managed premium. This premium represents additional funds, which are paid by Fair Trade registered importers like Choice Organic Teas directly to tea workers. It empowers them to improve their own lives because the workers collectively decide how they wish to manage and disperse the Fair Trade funds.

Want to host a Fair Trade market at your church, school, or organization?  Visit GoodNewsGoods.com to learn more or contact Charlotte Bumbulis

Missouri Baptists join hands with Texas Baptists to meet hunger needs around the world.

Missouri Baptists have joined with Texas Baptists to meet world hunger needs. Churchnet (the Baptist General Convention of Missouri) will promote the same offering projects in Missouri that the Christian Life Commission promotes in Texas. This means Baptists in each state will be supporting ministries in the other state, as well as the many other national and international projects.

This is an important expansion of the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, which will serve as the administrative framework for the Missouri offering.

Jim Hill, executive director of Churchnet, says it this way: “We are delighted to be partners with Texas Baptists in promoting our World Hunger Offering. Missouri Baptists, like our Texas friends, know our commitment to love God includes a commitment to love others, particularly the poor and vulnerable in our world.

“Our partnership with Texas Baptists is allowing us to provide information and resources to our churches as they help church members to learn about hunger needs and provide an opportunity for them to give to meet these needs. We would not be able to provide some of these resources without our partnership with Texas Baptists. …

“It is staggering to learn about the hunger that exists in our own communities. … We believe our partnership with Texas Baptists can be a very effective and efficient way for us to provide resources to our churches, channel our World Hunger offerings, and help provide food for the hungry in our world.”

Recalling Jesus’ encounter with a wealthy man who was unwilling to part with his material possessions, Hill noted: “We have to get our focus off ourselves and off our possessions. Jesus pointed the man to the needs of the poor.”

That’s good instruction for all of us. Texas and Missouri Baptists are now working together, taking our focus of ourselves and doing something about the needs of the poor.

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.

Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Video | Feeding the Hungry in Del Rio

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – March 27, 2011.  Prepare now. Download 5th Sunday video

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

This month, we want to share our public policy issue areas. You will find a synopsis of each of our issue-areas. At the end of each synopsis, you will find a link to the CLC’s website to read more about each area, including what bills have been filed this session.

PayDay Lending

Currently, almost all payday and auto title lenders operate in a loophole in state law that sets no limits on the rates and fees they can charge Texans on small dollar, short term loans. These high cost loans are hurting Texas families. They are immoral, unethical and in direct contradiction of the religious values that most Texans hold.

Read more about this issue and how we can close the loophole…(.pdf)

Gambling Expansion

Our state faces a daunting budget shortfall that has many Texans looking for new sources of revenue this session. In considering our options, policy makers should look for revenue that enhances our healthy business climate, supports families, prepares our state for the future, grows along with demand for services, and does not undermine citizen’s efforts to save for the future like gambling does.

Read more about why we oppose the expansion of gambling in the state of Texas…(.pdf)

Food Policy

Severe malnutrition rarely occurs in this state thanks to programs designed to prevent low-income families from going hungry. However, food insecurity, or the struggle to afford adequately nutritious food on a regular basis, plagues 17.4% of Texas households.

Read about how we can help make Texas food secure…(.pdf)

Environmental Stewardship

Scripture affirms the beauty of creation and God’s love for all creation—both human and non-human. Being stewards of God’s resources means careful consideration of how our actions impact the planet and all its inhabitants, including not only how much energy we consume but also how our energy in produced.

Read about ways Texas seeks to become energy efficient…(.pdf)

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world after drug dealing, and it is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Between 14,500 and 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the U.S. every year, and nearly 20 percent of human trafficking victims in the U.S. have been identified in Texas.

Read about ways the Texas legislature is addressing human trafficking in our state…(.pdf)
Read about the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force…(.pdf)

Prison Chaplaincy

There are many essential services required by TDCJ in the protection of the public and security- secure buildings, guards and personnel, basic needs. In addition to these essential services, prison chaplaincy is also an essential service as it is the most judicious and proven application to guarantee the First Amendment exercise of religious liberty.

Read more details about the importance of retaining professional chaplaincy in our prison system…(.pdf)

Alcohol Excise Taxes

It has been 27 years since alcohol excise taxes were increased in the state of Texas. Bringing Texas beer and wine taxes in line with the current liquor or cigarette taxes could raise $768 million to $1.4 billion in revenue for our state during this budget crisis.

Read more details on the revenue impact of raising alcohol excise taxes…(.pdf)

Smoke-Free Texas

In Texas, 34 cities are currently covered by comprehensive smoke-free indoor workplace ordinances. As the nation’s second largest state, a statewide smoke-free workplace ban in Texas would provide clean indoor air to 5.6 percent of the U.S. population.

Read more about making Texas workplaces smoke-free on page 2 of this informational sheet…(.pdf)

New Texas Census and Re-Districting by Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman

Congress
Texas will gain four additional seats — the most of any state — in the U.S. House, bringing its total to 36. It is not yet clear where those seats will be, but the suburbs around Dallas and Houston, the Interstate 35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio and some South Texas counties experienced the most population growth, so they could be in line for the new seats.

Texas House
The total number of House seats, 150, will remain the same. Census figures appear to indicate that there will continue to be six Travis County seats in the Texas House. Williamson County now has two House seats, but rapid growth in the county could push that number to three. Growth could also give Hays County its own state House seat. It now shares the District 45 seat with Caldwell and Blanco counties.

Texas Senate
Travis County is likely to continue to have two state senators because the county is too large to fit into one district. The number of Senate seats also remains the same at 31.

What if the Legislature can’t agree on new boundaries?
If lawmakers fail to agree on plans, the redrawing of state legislative districts will go to a the Legislative Redistricting Board, an all-Republican panel made up of four statewide elected officials and the state House speaker. The plans will inevitably face court challenges.

The drawing of new congressional districts would go straight to the courts if lawmakers don’t come up with a plan.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

ABORTION

• Senate committee moves sonogram bill on, with amendments | Requirements softened in anti-abortion measure after day of testimony, tinkering by senators.
• Senate panel to consider abortion law requiring women to view sonograms

ALCOHOL | ADDICTION

• Retailers divided on proposed Sunday liquor sales
• Bill proposes deferred adjudication in Texas DWI cases
• Bill would change way state punishes first-time DWI offenders - Proponents say plan would ease court backlog and make it easier to jail repeat offenders
• Texas lawmakers move to ban synthetic marijuana
• Bill Would Outlaw Synthetic Marijuana
• New Poll Shows Support for Indoor Smoking Ban

BUDGET

• Voters want schools and health care spared from cuts, poll finds | Public wants two major areas of budget protected
• Texas PTA rallies for rainy day funding, other new revenue
• Texas Lawmakers Begin Spirited Debate Over Budget
• Some Eying Sales Tax Increase to Plug Budget Hole
• Spartan budget plan calls for broad cuts | Public schools, universities, health care providers take major hits as Texas proposes to balance two-year budget without raising taxes or using rainy day fund
• Proposals show fat-trimming alone won’t balance the budget
• How do you cut $25 billion from Texas’ budget?
• ABCs of budget bill show cost of proposed cuts
• Perry: Texas budget cuts likely ‘across the board’
• Consumers, watch your wallets | Lawmakers eschew tax hikes, but they’re looking at other ways to raise revenue
• Faith-Based Groups Brace for Brutal Budget Cuts
• Lawmakers sobered by budget reality as details on impact emerge

CHILDREN

• Texas budget cuts may scuttle plan to help region’s most-traumatized children
• Bill would overhaul Texas foster care | Proposal would keep children closer to home, change contracting, reimbursement procedures
• A Report on the Bottom Line: CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN AND THE TEXAS OF TOMORROW (.pdf)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

• Sunset Advisory Commisson says Texas Youth, Juvenile Probation commissions should be merged
• Sunset panel: Merge TYC and TJPC
• Prison agency proposes 1,000 layoffs, less drug treatment, fewer convict meals
• Lege leaders: Revised prison cuts okay
• A Texas Tribune Interview With Prisons Expert Michele Deitch
• Jail Officials: Mental Health Cuts Hurt Everyone

EDUCATION

• Texas slips in per-pupil education spending among states
• Rural schools, communities suffer in the face of Texas’ budget cuts | $10 billion proposed reduction in direct school aid could drive small, rural school districts out of business
• Pre-K Programs Vulnerable as Schools Confront Cuts
• Fewer college students to get financial aid under House and Senate proposals | Number of Texas Grant recipients would drop from 86,830 to 27,135
• Texas Has a $10,000 Degree — But for How Long?
• Key Education Mandates Could Be Cut to Save Money
• Legislative fight looms on class-size limit in elementary schools
• Central Texas school districts prepare for state funding cuts
• Ed Commissioner: Don’t Lose Cool Over Cuts
• Education: Public Education Senators Grill Texas Education Agency Over Cuts
• New State Board of Education a lot like old board

ENVIRONMENT

• Share of Wind on Texas’ Electric Grid Keeps Rising
• Texas OKs New Wind Power Transmission Lines
• Federal Court Denies Greenhouse Gas Stay for Texas
• Texas leads states’ attack on EPA’s climate-change rules
• Texas Challenges EPA’s Unlawful Attempt To Take Over State Air Permitting Program
• House Republicans, Abbott criticize EPA | GOP lawmakers, Texas attorney general take EPA chief to task over greenhouse gas rules
• How faith-based organizations can protect the planet
• Offer to Austin: Swap coal for nuclear power | City leaders mum on whether they support such a deal with South Texas Project owner

GAMBLING

• Say goodbye to slots gravy train?
• Perry reasserts opposition to expanding gambling in Texas
• Ghosts of gambling lingers on Arlington hilltop
• Gambling interests hope Texas budget deficit will help their cause
• Expanded gambling pushed to ease budget
• Bingo in Texas: Lots of cash, little regulation | Critics say bingo – a $700 million gambling industry – is subject to lax laws and inadequate state enforcement
• Casino Gambling Mulled to Help Close Texas State Budget Gap
• Corpus Christi City Council to consider pro-gambling resolution | Panel expected to vote Tuesday in pursuit of legislation allowing slot machines at race tracks
• Should Galveston roll the dice on gambling?
• Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Casinos in Texas | Slot machines at existing race tracks

HEALTH

• Texas agency says new health care law will help families get coverage
• Suehs Warns Lawmakers on Health Cuts
• Health Group Says Cuts More Like 33 Percent
• Medicaid cuts could lead to higher taxes, insurance premiums | State lawmakers have proposed reducing entitlement, but health care experts warn maneuver could backfire
• Are Payment Reform, Texas Budget in Conflict?
• As State Fights Reform, Some Seek to Implement It
• Health Care Advocates Offer Emotional Pleas
• Opinion: Lessons from a cough

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

• Reagan: Human trafficking is as much a part of Texas as cowboys and oil
• North Texas Law Enforcement, Attorney General’s Office Prevent Human Trafficking Surge At 2011 Super Bowl | Attorney General Abbott credits enforcement, public awareness, and deterrence
• Dallas-area police watch for sex trafficking ahead of Super Bowl
• Authorities struggle to combat human trafficking in Texas
• Opinion: Why should Christians care about human trafficking?

HUNGER & POVERTY

• San Angelo summer meals program to continue | Initiative feeds children during summer
• Report: Cost of Obesity Rising
• With praise from Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart announces healthy food campaign
• Restaurant Nutrition Draws Focus of First Lady
• Scouts plan hunger drive

IMMIGRATION

• Report: Illegal immigrant levels in USA remain the same
• Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States
• New bill targets employers who hire illegal immigrants | Crime would carry penalty of state jail time
• Texas Lawmakers File Far-Ranging Immigrant Bills
• Advocates: Immigration legislation would devastate Texas | Bill authors say Texans want secure borders
• Amid talk of ‘sanctuary cities,’ Austin police, other agencies say immigration enforcement not their job
• E-Verify Battle Could Soon Greet Texas Lawmakers
• Illegal immigration by Asian Indians on the rise | South Texas authorities find more and more Indians crossing Texas border
• Undocumented Population in Texas Increasing
• Students in Legal Limbo After Immigration Fight
• Dr. Romero To Present Immigration Seminar

PAYDAY LENDING

• February 22, 2011 Senate CSO Hearing News Coverage (.pdf)
• Legal loan sharks | Beware: Predatory lenders lurk just around the corner. (But help may be on the way…)
• Christmas future | For next year, we wish better protection for those who must use payday lenders
• Closing ranks to close loophole
• Editorial – It is time to close the payday lending loophole
• Tribal Land Helps Payday Lenders Skirt State Laws

VOTER ID

• Stricter voter ID measure zips toward vote | Measure would require more forms of identification; Dewhurst hopes for a vote by tonight

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

…doers of the Word by: Jeremy Everett

I have enjoyed opportunities to be a witness to incarnational agents who seek food security for the hungry over the past two years of working with the Texas Hunger Initiative.  These agents for justice manifest Christ’s presence among us and can be found in all sectors of society.  They are people in organizing communities like Carol Rigby-Hiebert and Mary Herbert in San Angelo.  They are pastors like Dan Trevino in San Antonio.  They are policy advocates like JC Dwyer with the Texas Food Bank Network. They work in government like Bill Ludwig and Leslie Lankster at USDA.

MAX FINBERG – Recently, I had an opportunity to interview an incarnational agent, Max Finberg. Max has spent his adult life advocating for the hungry in Washington, D.C., in the non-profit sector until recently being appointed in May 2009, by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to direct USDA’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Housed in the Office of the Secretary, the Center’s mission is to build partnerships between USDA and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to better serve individuals, families and communities.  Max is a gifted collaborator, inspiring communicator, and a patient listener.  Here is an excerpt from our recent interview:

Jeremy:  What is the scope of hunger in the U.S. in 2011?
Max:  Almost 1 in 6 Americans struggle to put food on the table.  That means 50 million brothers and sisters, 17 million of them children, do not have enough access to food to survive and thrive.

Jeremy:  Why do we have so much hunger in such a wealthy nation?
Max:  We have not decided that hunger is something we want to end.  We have the ability.  There is plenty of food, we have a strong social safety net, and there are many people of faith and goodwill that provide access to emergency food.  However, we have not made the decision to plug the gaps for people to have access to food all the time.  It will require the public and the private sectors working together to become food secure.

Jeremy:  Why as a person of faith is ending hunger a priority to you?
Max:  Because Matthew 25: 31-46 says, “I was hungry and you gave me some food, I was thirsty you gave me something to drink…and the righteous will answer, ‘When was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?’…Then the king will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Faith is my motivating factor in trying to end hunger since Scripture is full of references to helping the poor and hungry.  We cannot get around it.

Jeremy:  Why do you feel called to public service?
Max:  I grew up with a strong sense of call to working in public service that was modeled for me by my father and my community in the Catskill Mountains of New York.  I have been honored to join the Obama administration to answer the call to feed hungry people, and I have been inspired by Secretary Vilsack’s similar sense of call.

Jeremy:  How do you see Texans answering the call to ensure food security in our state?
Max:  Well, first of all, I commend the Texas Hunger Initiative, Texas Baptists, Texas Impact, the Texas Food Bank Network, and all of your partners including Health and Human Services, Department of State Health Services, and the Texas Department of Agriculture for already demonstrating results.  It is fabulous to see a collaborative effort yield Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program resources to an additional 700,000 people in your state over one year!  That is a boost for everyone!  It put an estimated billion dollars in food insecure families’ hands to purchase healthy food in grocery stores and farmers markets across the state that helped create jobs during our recession.  It is great to see leadership form Commissioner Staples and Commissioner Suehs, to see the public and private sector working well together, and to see churches expanding the food pantry ministries to including SNAP outreach and Summer Meals programs for children.

Jeremy:  Thank you for your time.  I have one final question.  What would you like to see Texas do better?
Max:  Although, we have increased participation in public and private programs over the past year, the programs and resources available to hungry families are still underutilized in Texas.  That means increased hardship for families that are already having a difficult time.  Many Texans trust their pastors and so pastors need to step up.  Pastors can use their influence to encourage their congregations to do more for hungry families in their communities.

My hope for Texas is that we will heed the call of Matthew 25 like Max has done.  I hope that we will realize the wisdom of the Jesus’ words in the Gospel passage that the least of these are members of His family…and thus our own.  Together we can make Texas food secure.

Jeremy Everett is the Director of the Texas Hunger Initiative in the Baylor University School of Social Work.

Max Finberg previously was the Director of the Alliance to End Hunger, a non-profit organization that engages diverse institutions in building the public will to end hunger, both in the United States and worldwide.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Mr. Finberg served Ambassador and former Representative Tony Hall (D-OH) for 12 years in a variety of capacities. He was Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, Italy.  Mr. Finberg was also Senior Legislative Assistant covering domestic hunger and poverty issues for Representative Hall.

Mr. Finberg graduated with honors from Howard University’s School of Divinity with a Master’s degree in Social Ethics.  He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife, Kate, and two children, Eliana and Matthias.

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