SALT UPDATES and much more: 

• SALT is in solidarity with our friends at NETWORK in this call to action: TELL DEMOCRATIC LEADERS TO CLOSE THE MEDICAID COVERAGE GAP NOW! Budget Reconciliation Will Bring Affordable Healthcare to 2.2 Million -- Email Congress and let them know: budget reconciliation must close the Medicaid coverage gap.

• SALT is uniting with the Commonwealth Institute and Tax Fairness for Virginia to we work together in advocating that wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share so that all Virginians, not just a fortunate few well-heeled Virginians, can flourish. To join, so you can advocate, click on Tax Fairness for Virginia.  SALT and The Virginia Coalition for Ending Homelessness successfully advocated in passing the initial “non-refundable”  Virginia EITC.  

• Update on SALT 2022 Legislative Priorities.

• A Boost to Working Families via a Refundable State EITC. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a commonsense way to support families with low to moderate incomes. Over 600,000 of Virginia’s working families currently receive the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which helps families to put food on the table, keep up with utility bills, and afford other necessities…read more.

• Read more about the EITC and other issues in this document prepared by The Commonwealth Institute: “Budgets are moral documents that reflect what and whom we value.”

ADVOCACY DIGEST and NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

• Important information from Virginia Organizing: Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to help people afford health insurance by extending subsidies that were originally passed under the 2021 American Rescue Plan. These subsidies have allowed a record 14.5 million people to afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, unless the Senate acts soon, all of the gains we’ve made in insuring millions more people will come crashing down. Please write a comment to Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine to make sure they understand how vital these subsidies—sometimes called "premium tax credits"—are to Virginians, or call them at 202-224-3121. 

• President Biden this past week awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor -- to longtime CHN (Coalition on Human Need) Board Member Sister Simone Campbell. Sr.Simone led NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, a CHN member group, from 2004 to 2021. She announced her retirement last year, and stepped down from her service on CHN’s Board of Directors. In 2013, CHN honored NETWORK with its annual Human Needs Hero award for its advocacy on behalf of immigrants.READ MORE .

• FIGHT POVERTY, NOT THE POOR. Message from God’s Politics by the Rev. Jim Wallis: Woe To You, Legislators – “The failure of Congress to extend the Child Tax Credit is a moral disgrace that will harm millions of families. It's time to start naming names.”

• Some web sites that may be of interest for justice advocates:  The Commonwealth Institute, NETWORK, The Humanization Project, Virginia Mercury, Catholic Charities USA, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,  Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Who’s my legislator, Offices of Justice, Peace, and Human Development--USCCB, Tax Fairness for Virginia.