Bill Reports

We read each bill and determine if the proposed legislation is one that we should support or oppose based on the Bishops’ legislative agenda. We will continue to add new bills to the report as well as edit reports as we have more information available. Below you can find a list of legislation that we have added to our site this week. You can view our entire bill report list here:

Life & Family Life  |

Immigration  |

Education  |

Health & Human Services  |

Criminal Justice Reform

There are no new bills this week.
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 News 

Capitol Comments: First Do No Harm: The Art of Legislative Compromise
The foundational principle of medical ethics is the principle of nonmaleficence, commonly referred to as, “First, Do No Harm.” The second moral principle, beneficence, is to “Do Good.” When the Texas Legislature meets, the Texas Catholic Conference is blessed to be able to offer our full support to some of the proposed legislation and on other legislation, we are obliged to oppose. These are usually clear and straightforward positions for us to take. In other cases, however, the Bishops are asked to compromise with other stakeholders in order to achieve an incremental success. Read Full Story >> 

Bishops Call on Senate to Protect Poor and Vulnerable People in Budget Debate
 “The moral measure of this budget debate is not which party wins or which powerful interests prevail, but rather how those who are jobless, hungry, homeless or poor are treated,” said the U.S. bishops in a letter to the Senate May 5. The bishops recognize the “difficult choices about how to balance needs and resources and allocate burdens and sacrifices” that Congress and the Administration face, but insist that the moral and human dimensions of those choices must be addressed in the ongoing budget debate in the Senate and the nation. Read Full Story >> 

Father Juan Molina Named Director for Church in Latin America
Trinitarian Father Juan J. Molina has been named associate director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Office of National Collections and director for the Church in Latin America. Father Molina is currently serving as policy advisor for Latin America and Global Trade in the Office of International Justice and Peace at USCCB and previously served as advocacy program coordinator in the Southwest regional office of Catholic Relief Services, based out of San Antonio, Texas. “Father Molina’s qualifications and skills made him a perfect choice for this position,” said Patrick Markey, executive director of the USCCB Office of National Collections. Read Full Story >>

Vatican working group calls for concrete steps to combat climate change
Nations and individuals have a duty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enact policies that mitigate global warming, said a Vatican-sponsored working group.  "The business-as-usual mode will not be possible because of both resource depletion and environmental damages," the group said in a report released by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences May 2. The cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing reforestation, cutting air pollutants and helping poor regions adapt to climate change "pales in comparison to the price the world will pay if we fail to act now," it said. Read Full Story >> 

Legislative Links

• Legislative Agenda - listing of our legislative priorities
• Bill Reports - listing of all bills that we are publicly support and opposing
• Action Alert Archive - listing of our action alerts
• Testimony and Letters Archive - listing of testimony that we have submitted
• Capitol Comments - monthly articles on legislative topics
• Guidelines for Pastors and Parishes on Advocacy and Political Participation 

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