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LCPPM Mission Statement:

Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota, in response to God's love, seeks to engage all people of faith in the promotion of public policy that supports peace, justice and care for all of God's Creation.

If you have any questions about our organization, the web site or wish to access your membership information, please contact Mark Peters. Your feedback is welcome.

A Call to Prayer, Conversation, and Action from the Lutheran Bishops of Minnesota

“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees
a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? (1 John 3:17)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Our state leaders are engaged in the most challenging legislative session in recent history. The projected state budget deficit of $944 million for the current budget and more than $7 billion for the next biennium is unprecedented and comes on the heels not of robust surplus, but following several rounds of painful cutbacks. The policy debate often moves between two poles: one seeking smaller government and further reductions in taxes and spending on the state level and one that seeks to recapture a larger role for state government by returning to previous levels of tax income and support for social programs and local governments. Partisan disagreements result in sound byte posturing rather than thoughtful engagement with significant and complex issues.

It’s an important debate. People’s lives are at stake. People who care deeply for the well-being of our state reach different solutions. And some thoughtful leaders and analysts say that neither pole has adequate answers and that we need to consider new ways to live and shape our lives together for the common good. It may even be that new ways might involve religious institutions like ours, long involved in caring for people directly.

As Lutheran Christians, we have a place in the public arena. Though we might not be policy wonks or political strategists, we aspire to be thoughtful citizens, holding our public leaders accountable for shaping public policy in a way that serves the neighbor, seeks a just society, and cares especially for the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized.

The difficult choices we make reflect the values that guide our decisions. Arising from our own faith are values that center on the well-being of our neighbors—all of them—particularly the neighbors most in need. In a culture that promotes “me first,” our faith makes clear that caring for the poor contributes to the common good.

We believe the faith community—and particularly we as Lutherans—have a role to play in these decisions. Our leaders listen to their constituents. They pay attention to the political climate. We—the more than 800,000 Lutherans in this state—are part of that climate, though we are not all of one mind. We are Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, urban and rural, long-time residents and new arrivals. But we share a faith commitment that compels us to care for the well-being of all, not simply to get a big slice of the pie for ourselves. We can shape the debate and hold the proposed solutions accountable to these principles.

Martin Luther, whose name we bear, is said to have written more than 1,000 letters to public officials of his day. It’s in our tradition to seek to be responsible and engaged citizens. Our citizenship arises from our being claimed by the God we meet in Jesus Christ and sent into the world to bear Christ’s love to the world. We are called to let our light shine.

So the six of us—the bishops of the six synods in Minnesota—join today in calling for A Call to Prayer, Conversation, and Action on Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Prayer: We hope you regularly hold up our elected leaders in your public and personal prayer. We ask that on Sunday, April 18, every congregation in the state participate in this common effort. The God we have met in Jesus Christ has called us to tend to people’s needs. Government is the vehicle we use together to shape the life that affects us all and expresses care for people’s need. So we pray for faithfulness and wisdom for those public leaders who serve the public good. Pray for them; they face difficult choices and even more difficult decisions.

Conversation: We invite groups of people in all our congregations to discuss together the decisions under consideration by our elected leaders. We suggest the week of April 18, when the legislative process will have only a month to go and far-reaching decisions will be made. We will pose some questions for you to use in beginning that conversation, but you may shape it in ways that will be most effective in your setting. You may want to invite legislators from your community to be part of this conversation.

Action: Take time to communicate with your legislators your thoughts and concerns. You don’t need to have all the answers. But many who are not powerful and who have little influence have much at stake in these decisions, and our faith calls us to be their advocates. Let your leaders know what kind of state you want this to be and how you want our communities to be healthy places for all of us. Speak your faith and your values. Over 25 percent of the 201 members of the House and Senate are Lutheran and most of our other legislators come from faith traditions that share these fundamental values. Speak up!

Minnesota has long been regarded as a state with a strong commitment to the quality of life that serves well all people across the economic spectrum. We have special concerns this year that in the midst of hard decisions, our common life together remains strong and those on the margins are not forgotten.

We call on Lutherans to be heard. To be seen. To let our light shine.

Grace and peace,

Bishop Tom Aitken, Northeastern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Jon Anderson, Southwestern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Craig Johnson, Minneapolis Area Synod
Bishop Peter Rogness, Saint Paul Area Synod
Bishop Harold Usgaard, Southeastern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Lawrence Wohlrabe, Northwestern Minnesota Synod

Fulfilling our Responsibility to Care For Our Neighbors and Neighborhoods

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s (ELCA) "Social Statement, "Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All" (ELCA, 1999) is a benchmark for our role as Christians in economic life. Because of sin, we have fallen short of our responsibilities to one another in this world, but we live in light of God’s promised future that ultimately there will be no hunger and injustice. This promise makes us restless with a world that is less than what God intends. In economic matters, this draws attention to:

  • The scope of God’s concern: "for all"
  • The means by which life is sustained: "livelihood"
  • What is needed: "sufficiency"
  • Long-term perspective: "sustainability"

As the Minnesota public advocacy arm of the ELCA, the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota (LCPPM) is working to fulfill our responsibility to care for our neighbors and our neighborhoods by promoting three legislative goals in 2010:

  • Create Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force
  • Close the Payday Lending Loophole
  • Complete Streets for Safer Roads

Create Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force

This proposal creates an official forum for the continuing discussion and development of ideas to assist people living in or near poverty to get a foothold toward financial stability. It is a way to bring together the public, private, non-profit, academic, faith and philanthropic communities around a subject in which they all have an interest and a stake.

To read the full text of the bill in the House and in the Senate, click on the links below:
House File 2062 – Lead Author Representative Morrie Lanning
Senate File 1770 – Lead Author Senator Michael J. Jungbauer

Background

LCPPM has worked tirelessly to inspire and promote a statewide, ecumenical, interfaith movement to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020. This collaboration includes many people of faith and organizations under the umbrella of "A Minnesota Without Poverty" (LCPPM Executive Director Pastor Mark Peters serves on their Board). From these efforts the Minnesota Legislative Commission to End Poverty (LCEP) was established in 2007 and finalized its recommendations in January of 2010. The Ladder Out of Poverty proposal flows directly out of the solutions identified by the LCEP and has bi-partisan authorship.

Main Points to Emphasize with your Legislators

It emerges from Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020 findings and has bi-partisan authorship and is structured so that there is zero fiscal cost to the state.

  • Focuses on building and maintaining financial assets as a key to leaving poverty permanently;
  • Addresses predatory lending practices that erode or deplete financial assets, and supports increased financial literacy to enhance skills for achieving and maintaining economic self sufficiency;
  • Establishes a Task Force to generate recommendations for the legislature to take action and draft policies that help Minnesotans to escape (or avoid) poverty through the accumulation and maintenance of financial assets.
At a minimum, the following will be included in Task Force recommendations:
  • Expand Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM), and other culturally specific IDA programs
  • Support the development of non-predatory financial products and proposed regulatory actions to address predatory financial practices in Minnesota
  • Provide incentives for financial institutions to offer alternatives to, and education about predatory financial products
  • Assist efforts to offer financial education to low-income households

Close the Payday Lending Loophole

This proposal requires that all payday lenders follow the rate structure the legislature established for payday loans in 1995 under the Consumer Small Loans Act. To do otherwise is to violate the intent of the law regulating these transactions. 390% Annual Percentage Rate should be sufficient!

To read the full text of the bill in the House and in the Senate, click on the links below:
House File HF 3170 – Lead Author Representative Jim Davnie
Senate File 2837 – Lead Author Senator Kevin L. Dahle

Background.

A small number of lenders make the vast majority of payday loans in Minnesota. In 2008, three of the 32 licensed companies made 70% of the 231,000 loans made by Minnesota companies to Minnesota consumers. These companies have discovered a loophole in the law that permits them to charge significantly higher rates for exactly the same loan.

In 1995, the Minnesota Legislature authorized payday lending by passing the Consumer Small Loan Act. It capped the amount that could be lent and how much could be charged for the loan. Even under this law, annual percentage rates are exceedingly high. For instance, the APR for a $100 loan is 391%.

In 2003, some companies discovered, and thereafter began exploiting, an unintentional loophole in the law that allowed a payday lender – if big enough to become an "Industrial Loan and Thrift" – to lend at even more outrageous rates. These companies can make that same $100 loan for 693% APR (and if the loan is made as a "line of credit," they can charge 2,145% APR!).

The Industrial Loan and Thrift was never intended for payday lending. There is no justification for customers in one part of the state (or one side of town) entering into the exact same transaction but being charged dramatically different rates based on a loophole in Minnesota law.

For a detailed report on how Minnesota payday lenders are exploiting this loophole in Minnesota law, please read, “History Repeats Itself:  A New Generation of Payday Lenders Exploit a Legal Loophole to Pick Minnesotans’ Pockets” by Ron Elwood and Kari Rudd for Legal Services Advocacy Project.

The LCPPM Policy Council identified Predatory Lending Reform as a top priority in 2009 and remains a top tier issue for 2010.

ELCA Policy Basis. "This church will support legislation, ordinances, and resolutions that guarantee to all persons equally: access to legal, banking, and insurance services." (Freed in Christ: Race Ethnicity and Culture. ELCA Social Statement - 1993)

"We call for: Appropriate government regulatory reform so that governments can monitor private sector practices more effectively and efficiently in an ever changing global economy." (Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All. ELCA Social Statement - 1993)

Complete Streets For Safer Roads

This proposal has the potential to transform the planning process Minnesota uses to build its transportation system taking into sharper consideration the following concerns: safety, public health, environment, access, traffic congestion, economic development and tourism.

To read the full text of the bill in the House and in the Senate, click on the links below:
House File 2801 – Lead Author Representative Mike Obermueller

Senate File 2461 – Lead Author Senator Tony Lourey

Background.

This policy means that our streets are planned and designed to be safer and more accessible for drivers, pedestrians, transit riders, and bicyclists – all users regardless of age or ability. Complete Streets is about flexibility – it is not a prescriptive one-size-fits-all roadway design. It recognizes that needs are different in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It is about building roads right the first time rather than through costly retro-fits. This does not create an unfunded mandate for local governments but will instead allow local cities and town’s flexibility to create safer roads based on their distinctive context. Complete Streets is all about maximizing the long term benefits from our transportation investments by working toward multiple goals such as: safety, access, public health, environment, traffic congestion, economic development and tourism. Complete Streets has bi-partisan support.

For more information on the Minnesota Complete Streets effort, visit www.mncompletestreets.org

Complete Streets For Safer Roads - Press Release (2/6/2010).

Complete Streets For Safer Roads - Download Complete Streets FAQ Sheet.

Complete Streets For Safer Roads - Star Tribune Editorial Dated 2/15/2010

ELCA Policy Basis. "We call for policies that promote stable families, strong schools and safe neighborhoods; addressing the barriers individuals face in preparing for and sustaining livelihood (such as lack of education, transportation, child care, and health care." (Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All, 1999)

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