Washington Update
December 2004

Seeking New Hope and New Life in the 109th Congress
By Lynette Engelhardt Stott, LIRS Director for Government Relations

The 109th Congress will convene on January 3, 2005. Republicans added members in both the House and Senate, but the margins continue to be slim—meaning bipartisanship remains key for legislation to pass. However, bipartisanship in the 109th will likely be even more difficult to achieve than it was in the 108th. Moderate Democrats in the Senate were replaced with conservative Republicans, meaning the 109th Senate becomes a more ideologically polarized body like the House. And the November elections continued the trend toward a more conservative House.

Senate Republicans in the 109th will also increase their ratio on all committees, giving them further control of legislation that comes to the floor.

The 109th Congress will include 18 Lutherans, five fewer than before. None of the new members of Congress is currently Lutheran, but Representative-Elect Reichert (R-WA) was raised in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

The Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus lost four members through retirement or defeat. We are hopeful that more members will join to strengthen the caucus. If your representatives are not already members, visit www.lirs.org for a sample letter asking them to join.

The Senate gained a former refugee as a member. Senator-Elect Mel Martinez (R-FL) came to the United States as an unaccompanied refugee minor from Cuba.

We expect funding for refugee programs to continue to be scarce in 2005. Our first indication of funding levels will come when President Bush releases his fiscal year 2006 budget proposal—likely on February 7.

The November elections brought a renewed focus on moral values. According to a CNN exit poll, 22 percent of voters identified the most important issue in the election as “moral values.” It is now incumbent upon us to ensure that the needs of refugees and immigrants are seen and embraced as moral values. The Bible is clear on our responsibility toward the non-citizen: “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19: 33-34).

There’s no better time than the present to begin developing or nurturing your relationship with your elected officials. I encourage you to write letters to your senators and representative now. Congratulate those who are newly elected and urge all members to give high priority in the 109th Congress to the needs of refugees and other immigrants.
In the next issue of FYI we will introduce LIRS’s legislative priorities for the 109th Congress. As with every new legislative season, we will have our work cut out for us: speaking up boldly for fair and just policies. We are grateful to you who stand beside us in this work and make your voices heard on behalf of the most vulnerable!

Read past Washington Updates.