NATIONAL ADVOCACY CENTER OF THE SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD for CONFERENCE OF PROVINCIALS OF NORTH AMERICA
What was lobbied
15 issue areas, each in the filer's own words, with who lobbied on it and where.
Civil Rights/Civil Liberties CIV
Advocated in the support of the For the People Act to protect voting rights and democracy. Advocated for the DOJ to condemn and file suits against those states that are trying to enact anti-protest laws. Advocated for the Senate to make the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act a priority when the Senate returns from recess.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX
Advocated for a budget reconciliation package that would reform the tax code in order to raise at least $4 trillion for corporations and the wealthy over the next ten years. Advocated for a recovery package that will bring more fairness and equity to our tax code, particularly as a means to invest in Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and other communities of color. Advocating to Congress to close off-shore tax loopholes.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Veterans VET
Supported the Veterans and Counsumers Fair Credit Act, which would extend the Military Lending Acts 36% interest rate cap on consumer loans to all Americans, including veterans, Gold Star Families, and unactivated reservists.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Immigration IMM
Advocated to restore asylum protections, end the inhumane Title 42 policies, and welcome asylum seekers and unaccompanied children. Advocated for for the government to give deported Salvadoran and Honduran nationals the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States. Advocated for TPS designations to be given to Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala in light of the destruction wrought by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. Advocated for the Department of Justice to cease using the term "alien" to refer to noncitizens, which dehumanizes immigrants. Objected to the Texas executive order that ordered the state to remove licenses from children's shelters that serve unaccompanied children. Advocated for Lebanon to be given Temporary Protected Status due to the unstable political climate, economic collapse, humanitarian crisis, and armed conflicts. Advocated for Ethiopia to be given Temporary Protected Status due to ongoing violence in the country. Objected to DHS's continued implementation of Trump-era regulations to replace the Flores Settlement Agreement, which has acted as a check on the government's treatment of immigrant children in federal custody. Advocated for the FY2023 budget to divest from immigrant detention and enforcement and invest in communities. Endorsed the Immigration 2021 Action Plan, which contains a set of concrete, actionable, and fully articulated proposals addressing every stage of immigration policy and processing for a new administration. Advocated for the end of the BAR Act, which restricts lawfully present immigration from being eligible for federal assistance programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP. Advocated for visa reform, which include:1) recapture of unused visas from prior years, 2) ensure that unused visas from FY2021 are able to roll over into subsequent years, 3) exempt derivatives from the worldwide visa limits, and 4) provide visas to people who won the diversity visa lottery during the Trump administration but were denied visas due to Trumps discriminatory bans. Advocating against the Remain in Mexico program. Advocated for President Biden to set the Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions for FY 2022 at 200,000, immediately engage in meaningful consultations with Congress, as required by law, and provide robust investments to ensure that the U.S. resettlement program can meet todays humanitarian crises. Advocated for the reimplementation of the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which is the sole pathway to enlistment and later naturalization for recipients of DACA and TPS. Advocated for Congress to help communities in the United States be fully ready to welcome Afghan refugees and help them integrate and thrive, that they resettlement and integration services and have the chance to apply for legal permanent residence.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Indian/Native American Affairs IND
Advocating in support of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, which would establish the first formal commission in United States history to investigate and document the attempted termination of cultures and languages of Indigenous peoples, assimilation practices, and human rights violations that occurred against American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians through Indian Boarding School policies.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Welfare WEL
Advocated for a FY2022 budget that designates at least $6 trillion for families that struggle with employment, childcare, poverty, and racism. Advocating in support of the expansion of the Child Tax Credit. Supported the paid leave plan in the Build Back Better package, which includes 12 weeks of universal, comprehensive, and equitable paid family and medical leave. Advocated for Congress to make permanent the temporary expansions of the CTC and the EITC.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Law Enforcement/Crime/Criminal Justice LAW
Advocated for DHHS to issue guidance and provide technical assistance for implementation to states that promote and stress the importance of youth crisis mobile response models that do not involve law enforcement. Objected to Secretary Blinken's remarks that many trafficking victims were compelled into "sex work", including when referring to children, which contributes to the normalization of the the system of prostitution. Advocating against the Biden administration's fentanyl classwide scheduling policy, which would exacerbate pretrial detention, mass incarceration, and racial disparities in the prison system. Supported the NDAA floor amendment that would place a moratorium on the transfer of all military equipment and weapons to law enforcement agencies. Advocated for the Senate to take immediate steps to pass important sentencing reform legislation that builds upon the beginning steps taken with the enactment of the 2018 First Step Act.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Budget/Appropriations BUD
Opposed the size of the Pentagon budget, particularly the $25 billion increase that came out of the markup of the NDAA in the House Armed Services Committee.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Medicare/Medicaid MMM
Advocating in support of the Medicaid is Your Right Act. Advocating in support of the Medicaid Saves Lives Act. Advocating for the final Senate reconciliation package to include robust Medicare drug price negotiation language and improves the Medicare dental benefit language.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Foreign Relations FOR
Advocated for humanitarian assistance to Cuba in light of recent social unrest. Advocated for the White House to finish reviewing the administration's sanctions policy review, to make those finding publics, and to implement significant and structural changes to U.S. sanctions policy. Advocated for the implementation of a long-term and comprehensive diplomatic, development, and peacebuilding strategy in Afghanistan as the U.S. completes its military withdrawal. Advocating for the United States to have an extensive humanitarian response in our assistance of Afghans in danger, and to expand opportunities for refugees to seek asylum. Urging President Biden to to take on a global leadership role and fulfill his promise of addressing COVID-19 around the world at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Particularly, advocating for a global vaccine manufacturing program and reallocation of excess vaccine doses from wealthy countries in the Global South.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities FIN
Advocating for student debt cancellation as a racial justice issue.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace LBR
Advocating in support of the Senate passing the Right to Organize Act.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Health Issues HCR
Supported the maternal health provisions included in the Committee on Energy and Commerce print of the Build Back Better Act.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Environment/Superfund ENV
Urged the Biden administration to protect part of the Tonto National Forest that the San Carlos Apache Tribe and others hold sacred from mining. Advocated for the Clean Electricity Payment Program to be designed to exclude fossils fuels and false solutions from qualifying as "clean energy". Advocated for the Senate Appropriations Committee to increase financing for international climate control.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Pharmacy PHA
Advocated to lower the cost of prescription drugs as part of the FY2022 Budget Resolution and in Build Back Better.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Shown as published by the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The official filing is the record; open it for the full form.