NATIONAL ADVOCACY CENTER OF THE SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD for CONFERENCE OF PROVINCIALS OF NORTH AMERICA
What was lobbied
16 issue areas, each in the filer's own words, with who lobbied on it and where.
Immigration IMM
Address Southeast Asian deportation with regards to enforcement guidelines, prosecutorial discretion, the 234(d) sanctions and bilateral agreements, and OCC policies. Support a pathway to citizenship for essential workers, Dreamers, and TPS holders in the next economic recovery package. Revise policy that keeps asylum seekers detained by ICE for long periods of time. Extend for 18 months and redesignate TPS for Somalia, to publish a Federal Register Notice, and to launch a public information campaign to notify the impacted community of the decision and any actions they must take by July 19, 2021. Prioritize the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, essential workers, and their families, in the next economic recovery legislation that moves forward via budget reconciliation. Advance the well being of children of immigrants in the United States,through: a path to citizenship; advancement of the health, educational success, and economic security of children and their families; and promotion of child well being and family unity in immigration policy. Request funding for asylum seeker case management and border shelter pilot programs funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Adopt a pardon process that includes immigration. Provide relief to those harmed by the Muslim and African immigration bans. Immediately sign a new, revised FY21 Presidential Determination of 62,500 refugee admissions. Re-designate/extend TPS for Yemen by July 5, 2021. Finish processing cases affected by Sanchez vs. Mayorkas. Declare a resolution reaffirming the importance of the United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons. Urge the Vice President to underscore on her trip to Mexico and Guatemala that protecting human rights, addressing corruption, and standing with the human rights defenders and communities organizing for change must be central to U.S. strategy towards the northern countries of Central America and Mexico. Ensure that no appropriations for Central America may be used to finance infrastructure or energy projects that contribute to environmental damage, violate labor laws, disregard community land rights (including ancestral Indigenous land rights), are opposed by local residents, and/or increase private sector participation in the delivery of essential public services such as water, electricity, education, and health care. Support a provision in the upcoming Violence Against Women Act (H.R.1620) which would establish a pilot program allowing some immigrant victims of domestic violence and their children to apply for lawful temporary status independent of their abusers.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Civil Rights/Civil Liberties CIV
Stand up against felony disenfranchisement laws that deprive our neighbors of the fundamental right to vote. Pass H.R. 40: man-dating the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act. Designate increased funding for DOJs Civil Rights Division for the addition of positions in the Voting Section to enforce the Voting Rights Acts protections against discrimination in elections. End qualified immunity and restore the full force of our civil rights laws that provide accountability when government officials deprive individuals of their rights. Support statehood for Washington, D.C. Support S.1 the For the People Act.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Agriculture AGR
Support the Farm System Reform Act (soon to be reintroduced) to address the harm caused by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which have far-reaching negative environmental and public health impacts, causing direct harm to nearby communities, which are often predominantly communities of color.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX
Support the corporate tax transparency Tax Havens and Offshoring Act (H.R.3007 and S.1545). Support the Inclusive Prosperity Act, which would raise massive revenue for critical services, such as free public college, infrastructure, expanded healthcare, affordable housing, and climate change mitigation. Support for the Child Tax Credit as a key measure to the alleviate child poverty. Support appropriations for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Support the Wall Street Tax Act of 2021 (S.817 and H.R.328). Support tax reform measures in President Biden's Build Back Better plan. Call for mandatory climate and sustainability disclosures from public companies and banks that raise money in the public markets. These disclosures are important so that investors can make sustainable decisions about their investments that align with their values, and hold corporations accountable for their climate impacts, poor treatment of workers, tax avoidance, and hidden political spending.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Unemployment UNM
Support of comprehensive unemployment insurance reform in the Build Back Better plan. Reform the unemployment insurance system and fix problems including outdated eligibility, inadequate benefit levels, and rickety administration and technology.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Economics/Economic Development ECN
Support the Congressional Budget Office FAIR Act, which would, among other measures, require the Congressional Budget Office to perform a distribution analysis by both race and income for all economically significant legislation, showing what effect the proposal would have on Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and people in the top 1% or bottom 10%.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Health Issues HCR
Include robust Medicare drug price negotiation in the American Families Plan package and to reinvest the significant savings from negotiations back into the Medicare program. Call for the inclusion of hundreds of thousands of good new jobs in public and community health in the American Rescue Plan Act to combat COVID and advance health equity and racial justice. Urge Congress and the Biden administration to let the Trump administration temporary class-wide emergency scheduling of fentanyl-related substances expire in May 2021. Class-wide scheduling would exacerbate pretrial detention, mass incarceration and racial disparities in the prison system, doubling down on a fear-based, enforcement-first response to a public health challenge. Expand access to Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) AND address the needs of the direct care workforce that provides those services. Make the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) permanent for over 9 million children and hundreds of thousands of pregnant women who rely on CHIP for their coverage. Significantly boosting the allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education bill for FY 2022 at least to match the Presidents request in order to provide needed services for the American public. Increase funding for the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education. Support appropriation requests for healthy housing programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Close the Medicaid coverage gap for the 12 states that have refused to expand Medicaid, renew Medicaid funding to U.S. territories, and expand Medicaid coverage to the immigrants and incarcerated individuals. Send COVID-19 vaccines to Haiti, which so far is the only country to not have received a single vaccine dose.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Foreign Relations FOR
Restore the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) regarding Cuba to their status on January 20, 2017. Urge President Biden to consider a secure and sustainable path forward for U.S.-North Korea relations. Urge the president to follow through on the Doha agreements negotiated May 1st Afghanistan withdrawal deadline to support the safety of our troops, better steward vital American interests, and uphold the will of the American people. Ensure conflict prevention and peacebuilding programs are robustly funded and integrated in the U.S. governments COVID-19 strategy and foreign assistance funding from the American Rescue Plan. Address the delays in finalizing the Global Fragility Strategy and selecting the priority countries/regions. Prevent the Israeli governments forced displacement of thousands of Palestinians. Ensure that no appropriations for Central America under the heading Development Assistance or Economic Support Fund may be used to promote or incentivize private-public partnership initiatives that could result in the privatization of public services and natural resources. Stop the violence against protestors in Colombia and suspend US security funding for the country. The US and Russia should declare a joint commitment that their nations will not use nuclear weapons first under any circumstances. support a SHARE-sponsored delegation of religious and community leaders traveling to Honduras to promote local sources of food and solidarity as communities confront the devastation, dislocation and hunger caused by the recent natural disasters, the endemic violence and corruption plaguing their countries, and the recent hurricanes that further devastated the region. Call for the integration of conflict prevention and peacebuilding approaches throughout USAID programming, policies, and strategies. Fund the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. Send COVID-19 vaccines to Haiti, which so far is the only country to not have received a single vaccine dose. Recognize the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttlaw as Myanmar's only legitimate governing authority and provide them with financial and technical assistance.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Housing HOU
Call for new investments in rent assistance, expanding the supply of affordable homes, ensuring emergency rental assistance, and expanding renter protections. Support appropriation requests for healthy housing programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pass the Choice in Affordable Housing Act (S.1820).
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Budget/Appropriations BUD
Support the Alliance to End Hunger FY22 domestic nutrition programs. Support appropriations for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Significantly decrease spending on the military and nuclear weapons for FY2022 and re-allocate that money into true national priorities like public health, diplomacy, infrastructure, and addressing climate change. Request funding for asylum seeker case management and border shelter pilot programs funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Significantly boosting the allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education bill for FY 2022 at least to match the Presidents request in order to provide needed services for the American public. Designate increased funding for DOJs Civil Rights Division for the addition of positions in the Voting Section to enforce the Voting Rights Acts protections against discrimination in elections. Support appropriation requests for healthy housing programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Increase appropriations for climate finance. Ensure that no appropriations for Central America may be used to finance infrastructure or energy projects that contribute to environmental damage, violate labor laws, disregard community land rights (including ancestral Indigenous land rights), are opposed by local residents, and/or increase private sector participation in the delivery of essential public services such as water, electricity, education, and health care. Ensure that no appropriations for Central America under the heading Development Assistance or Economic Support Fund may be used to promote or incentivize private-public partnership initiatives that could result in the privatization of public services and natural resources. Fund the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Environment/Superfund ENV
Comment on the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crises, recognizing the fact that equity is a foundational basis for tackling the climate crisis. Pass a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in the infrastructure package that rejects gas and other false climate solutions. Call for mandatory climate and sustainability disclosures from public companies and banks that raise money in the public markets. These disclosures are important so that investors can make sustainable decisions about their investments that align with their values, and hold corporations accountable for their climate impacts, poor treatment of workers, tax avoidance, and hidden political spending. End the billions in fossil fuel subsidies that the United States gives every year to oil, gas, and coal producers. Pass legislation that furthers climate justice for marginalized communities in the US and around the world by committing to reaching net-zero climate pollution by 2050 and contributing $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund, among other measures.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Government Issues GOV
Amend title 13, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Commerce to provide advance notice to Congress before changing any questions on the decennial census.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Education EDU
Urge the inclusion of Healthy School Meals for All in the upcoming federal infrastructure bill, which would ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to a nutritious breakfast and lunch at school to support their academic success. Take immediate action to cancel student debt owed by all public service workers who have completed a decade of public service. Significantly boosting the allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education bill for FY 2022 at least to match the Presidents request in order to provide needed services for the American public. Increase funding for the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education. Support H.R.2028, the Fostering Postsecondary Success for Foster and Homeless Youth Act, which would create a national center to help colleges implement campus-based supports for these students, such as mentorship programs, housing programs, and life and workforce skills development.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace LBR
Support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (S.1486 and H.R.1065). Call for mandatory climate and sustainability disclosures from public companies and banks that raise money in the public markets. These disclosures are important so that investors can make sustainable decisions about their investments that align with their values, and hold corporations accountable for their climate impacts, poor treatment of workers, tax avoidance, and hidden political spending.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Law Enforcement/Crime/Criminal Justice LAW
Urge Congress and the Biden administration to let the Trump administration temporary class-wide emergency scheduling of fentanyl-related substances expire in May 2021. Class-wide scheduling would exacerbate pretrial detention, mass incarceration and racial disparities in the prison system, doubling down on a fear-based, enforcement-first response to a public health challenge. Place a moratorium on the federal death penalty. End qualified immunity and restore the full force of our civil rights laws that provide accountability when government officials deprive individuals of their rights. Improve upon the House-passed version of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (HR 1280). Pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S.937).
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| LAWRENCE COUCH | — |
Welfare WEL
Support the Alliance to End Hunger FY22 domestic nutrition programs. Urge the inclusion of Healthy School Meals for All in the upcoming federal infrastructure bill, which would ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to a nutritious breakfast and lunch at school to support their academic success.
| 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.