ACTION ALERT: March 4, 2005

1) Stop Genetic Discrimination in Life Insurance
2) Stop Discrimination Against Legal Travelers Abroad

Do a Mitzvah for the Jewish Community by taking action!

These Action Alerts are political capital for our lobbying effort in Olympia. Taking the 5 minutes to read and respond to an Action Alert is akin to a donation to the Jewish Community. Not a gift of money, but a gift of advocacy. The Jewish Federation has an agenda designed by its beneficiary agencies, and these legislative priorities need the support of the community to survive. Devastating cuts to nursing home funding, discriminatory practices by life insurance companies and inadequate funding for vital refugee resettlement programs will all be the consequences of not taking action! Legislators DO read these emails and it DOES make a difference. Please, be an active voice for the Jewish Community and respond to this Action Alert! And when legislators respond to you, please let us know! It is extremely helpful for us to know if a legislator has a question, concerns, or supports the legislation.

HOW TO USE THIS ACTION ALERT: Each week, we highlight several key issues before the Washington State Legislature which have a direct impact on our community and community agencies. This Action Alert contains brief summaries of the key issues before the Legislature this week. It also provides you with direct e-mail links to your legislators and Legislative leaders. We provide you with a draft e-mail text which you can directly send or which you can modify to better represent your thoughts on an issue. When you send an e-mail, please be sure to fill out all of the information so that your legislator can directly respond to you.

In this Alert
1) Urge Legislators to support legislation stopping genetic discrimination in providing life insurance.
2) Urge Legislators to support legislation to bar discrimination based on legal travel (Israel).

The Mood
Starting Tuesday March 8th the legislature will be spending most of its time on the floor considering bills as a full legislative body. This is the time that action heats up and the fate of legislation is in the balance. Some bills have already been considered by the full body. For example, yesterday House Bill 1154 concerning Mental Health Parity, one of our legislative priorities, passed 40-9 in the Senate. Click here to find out how your Senator voted.

Monday March 7th is the cut off for bills with a fiscal impact to pass out of committee. Due to the Monday deadline, the House Appropriations Committee will have a hearing all day on Saturday to consider bills, and today the Senate Ways & Means Committee will consider bills starting at 1:30 and lasting well into the evening.

You will see in this Alert a call to action on our life insurance bills (both Genetics and Life Insurance for Travelers) which are likely to be heard on both floors sometime during the next week. The forces of industry have gathered to try and defeat this legislation making your voice absolutely necessary. It is imperative that action be taken quickly, as timing is crucial and the fate of these important bills is uncertain.