Action Alert: Congress Must Move on Immigrants' Rights & Gender Equity

by Leigh Graham · 2009-06-24 12:00:00 UTC
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Apparently all the dawdling in Congress is getting under the skin of the NY Times Editorial staff, evidenced by three editorials yesterday demanding Obama lead on the Dream Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, and legal aid.  Read on to learn more about these bills and why we must nudge the Senate (and House) towards passage of these bills that will go a long way towards fighting poverty.

Dave has written extensively about the Dream Act, and we had a great guest post about it here some months ago.  For those not familiar, the Dream Act would provide citizenship for undocumented high school graduates who complete two years of college or military service.  The benefits of the Act are manifest for our country.  Most of these kids have been brought to this country illegally as minors but now have a high school diploma and an opportunity for higher education and the earnings potential that follows or the willingness and desire to serve our country.  Denying these residents their citizenship is punitive and short-sighted.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was originally introduced with the Lily Ledbetter Act, signed into law in January.  The Paycheck Fairness Act offers more civil rights protections for workers who discuss salaries with one another and require employers to prove that wage gaps are skill-related, not gender-related.  The bill needs Senate approval; Dodd (D-CT) and Mikulski (D-MD) have recently signed on as co-sponsors.

Finally, federal legal aid comes with three key crippling restrictions, which the Senate now has the power to eliminate. Like the House, it should lift the restriction on legal aid attorneys' ability to collect defendants' attorneys' legal fees in fraud cases. It should also go further than the House and remove the restriction on legal aid clients to participate in class action law suits, and remove these restrictions for non-federal legal aid funds in states that receive federal $$.  As the NYT writes, "In New Jersey, for example, where only 13 percent of the financing for legal services programs comes from Washington, the federal restrictions dictate how the other 87 percent may be spent. The only thing accomplished by such federal overreach is to narrow poor people’s access to justice."

The need for legal aid services is on the rise around the country.  Women still make $.78 for every man's $1.  We've got a chance to expand opportunity for service-oriented, driven immigrant youth.  Let's not miss these opportunities while we've got the chance. 

Contact your representatives and tell them to support the Dream Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, and to lift the oppressive restrictions on the Legal Services Corporation in the Justice Department financing bill.

(Photo of the US Capitol by Seansie)

Leigh Graham
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