February 1, 2019

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Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) with JAC members in Chicago. (l to r: Linda Rae Sher, Marcia Balonick, Howard Swibell, Michael Arkes, Peggy Shapiro, Eric Swalwell, Kristine Schanbacher, Jennifer Brown, Laura Gold, Hollis Wein, Jacki Parmacek, Howard Levin

Each week, Congressional committees and subcommittees hold hearings to obtain information, hear from experts, and analyze data as they debate proposed legislation before it is sent to the House floor for a vote. Hearings are on a wide range of subjects from health, border security, energy, to information technology and public lands. This is an important part of the Congressional process.

However, Congress has not held a hearing on gun safety in eight years. In those eight years, the rate of mass shooting has tripled and we have seen each year more than 124,000 Americans became victims of gun violence.

The NRA-backed representatives were more loyal to the NRA than the safety of their constituents during that time. Gun violence plagues every Congressional district - even those where the representative sides with the NRA.

The 2018 election brought change. Finally this Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will have a hearing on HR 8, a universal background check bill. This important bill will expand the Brady Background Check bill to cover all private firearm sales, including those at gun shows, over the internet, or in classified ads.  Closing these loopholes will save lives.

Introduced in 1987, the Brady bill took six years and seven votes be signed into law. After the bill went into effect, gun murders fell by 32 percent. States that have expanded their own background check laws saw a dramatic drop in gun violence against women.

HR 8 was introduced during the first week of the new Congress. We can't afford to wait six years for this bill to be passed. People's lives are depending on Congress to act quickly and swiftly.

Call your Representative at 202-224-3121. Make sure he or she is a cosponsor of the bill.

It is critical to have more Republican cosponsors on the bill. Once the House passes the bill, it will be sent to the Senate. The Republicans in the Senate need to see that their Republican friends in the House are ready to make gun safety a priority.

Voters showed that gun violence was one of their top issues when they went to the polls in 2018. We need to make sure that Congress remembers that.

Don't stay silent. Congress needs to hear from you.


source: Mother Jones
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Do you know a high school or college student who would like to intern at JAC during the school year or next summer? Call the JAC office at 847.433.5999 about opportunities.

ISRAEL
A U.S. Law Is About to End Security Aid to the Palestinians, and Israel Is Not Happy  
  
U.S. security funding to the Palestinian Authority is set to dry up by midnight Thursday unless administration officials find a workaround to circumvent a law that was intended to help American victims of terrorist attacks secure damages, but which has also sparked concerns that it may hurt Israel's security. The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, passed unanimously by the House and Senate last year, goes into force Friday, leaving the Palestinian Authority open to huge lawsuits if it accepts U.S. funds.
Continued Reading

Veterans of IDF Search and Rescue Unit Take Battle of Saving Lives to the Street
ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
80 Years Ago Today, Hitler Threatened Genocide of European Jews - Was Anybody Listening?
 
January 30, 1939. Adolf Hitler had been chancellor of Germany for exactly six years. Thousands of Jews were already imprisoned in concentration camps. Legally defined as anyone possessing at least one Jewish grandparent, Jews were prohibited from marrying so-called Aryans, and had their businesses destroyed. But his annual speech to the Reichstag, Germany's legislative body, delivered as usual on the anniversary of his election to the chancellorship, was the first time Hitler publicly called for the annihilation of the Jewish people in Europe.   
Continued Reading
CHOICE
How the Supreme Court's Inaction Could Decide the Future of Abortion

Unless the Supreme Court takes action by Monday, Louisiana may be down to one or two abortion-care doctors for nearly a million women of reproductive age across the state. 
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: 'God Wanted Donald Trump to Become President'

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with CBN News, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says that God wanted Donald Trump to become President of the United States. "I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that He wanted Donald Trump to become president," Sanders told CBN News. 
Continued Reading

BEYOND THE CORE
Mitch McConnell Admits That Republicans Lose When More People Vote

Democrats have long accused Republicans of restricting access to the ballot because Republicans are likelier to win when fewer people vote. The GOP leader in the Senate appeared to admit that they're right. On the Senate floor, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition to a relatively uncontroversial measure that would make Election Day a federal holiday in order to make it easier for people to get to the polls. He called it a "power grab" that would help Democrats win elections.
Continued Reading


POLITICAL BYTE
The Lessons That Could Sustain Nancy Pelosi's Power   
  
As the first female speaker, Pelosi must look at the dour portraits of her predecessors and think there's no way to connect with them. But with Rayburn's lessons to learn from, along with the words of my mother, Pelosi can depend on the wisdom of those who came before her, as she sets a precedent all her own.
FYI
Daughter of Hitler's War Architect Has Made Fighting Anti-Semitism Her Life's Work
 
Schramm, 82, is the daughter of Albert Speer, who was Adolf Hitler's chief architect and later armaments minister. She inherited paintings from her father - which hadn't been stolen, as so much art was during World War II - that she decided to sell in order to start the Zurückgeben Foundation, which offers financial support for Jewish female artists.   
JAC II
Introducing JACII, a JAC group for young professionals, advocates, and those young at heart who are looking to get involved. Groups have started in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Events will feature elected officials and speakers in lively settings. JACII is by and for young people. Now is the perfect time to get involved.

Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at [email protected]. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.
The Last Word
"Making sure every citizen can exercise their right to vote isn't a 'power grab.' A power grab is blocking the President from appointing a Justice to SCOTUS, packing courts with extremists, and giving tax giveaways to rich donors, something [Leader McConnell] is very familiar with."

- Rep. Mark Tokano (D-CA)    
    
 
 
Join JAC in Washington, D.C. for our  
Annual Conference
March 13-14
 
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Monday, February 4
Talking Points with
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8)
110:00 am - 12:30 pm 
Highland Park, IL
 
  _____________________________________
 
Monday, February 11
Come discuss going to Washington, DC with JACPAC 
5:30 - 7:30 pm 
Los Angeles
call the JAC office for details
847.433.5999
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(Want to host a JAC event? Contact the office and we will help organize it. 847.433.5999 or [email protected]) 
Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
Federal law requires political committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer for each individual who contributes over $200 in a calendar year. Maximum contribution per person may not exceed $5,000 per calendar year. According to law, JACPAC cannot accept corporate contributions. Membership, gifts, or other payments to JACPAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.