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The recent elections will bring a new governor and administration to Albany and changes to the New York State Legislature.

This fresh mix in the Capitol has the chance to advance or ignore initiatives on social justice, pro-life and anti-poverty issues - all important to Catholics around the Albany Diocese and the state. Sen. Hugh Farley (R,C,I-Schenectady), a Catholic, told The Evangelist that the people in the pews have a crucial job to do.

"It's very important that people lobby and get their point of view out there," Sen. Farley said.

Topics of concern for Catholics include preserving public assistance, helping charities and Catholic schools, safeguarding the right to life and protecting workers' rights.

The state budget crisis makes cutbacks likely, and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has promised to bring spending back in line with tax collections. But many Cath-olics worry that cuts in spending will hurt poor and vulnerable populations most of all.

"He's got a tough job ahead of him," said Dennis Poust, director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's bishops. "We're hoping that if there are cuts, he'll make them as painless as possible."

The Catholic Conference will also urge Governor-elect Cuomo to be mindful of the needy, the elderly and persons with disabilities when making cuts to Medicaid and affordable housing programs.

"The needs for those services only increase in poor economic times," Mr. Poust explained.

Health care
The increased reliance on Medicaid worries Assemblyman Jack McEneny (D-Albany), a Catholic. He wants to preserve the safety net and reduce financial inequities.

"New York State has probably the biggest imbalance between the very, very rich and the very, very poor," he said. One of his priorities is to lower property taxes, which are not based on people's ability to pay.

The assemblyman said he'll watch out for the threat of state funding cuts to non-profit organizations serving the poor. He offered the example of Community Maternity Services, an Albany Catholic Charities agency that serves young, unmarried and pregnant mothers in high-need areas with alternatives to abortion.

"I think everybody is concerned" about cuts to such services, Assemblyman McEneny said.

One bright side to the economic woes, he speculated, is that forced retirements will likely lead people to donate their time to non-profits: "I think that's something that we can count on happening."

Education
Both the assemblyman and the Catholic Conference lamented the growth of state-funded charter schools, which compete with Catholic schools.

"People send their children to Catholic schools for discipline, manners and safety, but not all of the students are Catholic," said Assemblyman McEneny, himself a product of Catholic schools and colleges.

He said that these pluses can also be found at charter schools, but for free. Catholic educators argue that they do a better job instilling these traits on the basis of religious faith.

Mr. Poust said that sending children to Catholic schools saves New York State about $8 billion a year. He recommends the state dole out education tax credits for tuition and other expenses if a parent chooses a Catholic school.

In another effort at equity, Assemblyman McEneny has long lobbied for a bill that would allow city residents to be bused to Catholic schools. But "something like that, in hard times, is going to have even less of a chance," he cautioned.

Life issues
In the pro-life arena, Mr. Poust is concerned that the new governor will push through the Reproductive Health Act, which would limit government's ability to restrict abortion and endanger conscience rights for Catholic health facilities.

"We're hoping that he'll stand up for women who choose to keep their babies," Mr. Poust stated.

The state's bishops and many other Catholics are eager for action on the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, which would give farmworkers protections like a day of rest, workers' compensation and the right to collectively bargain.

"We need to find a way to balance the difficulties of the farming industry with the basic human rights of workers," Mr. Poust said, adding that the employers of such workers are the strongest opponents of the bill because of cost.

(11/18/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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