LSA News

Lutheran Services in America issued the following statement in response to Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) release of his "Expanding Opportunity in America" discussion draft: Lutheran Services in America (LSA) welcomes the contribution made by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) to our national dialogue about poverty and opportunity with the recent release of the “Expanding Opportunity in America” discussion draft.

A representative from LSA's member Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, Sheri Ekdom, testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on Sept 18, 2014, on the topic of consumer financial services protection. Sarah Meek, the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for LSA's Disability Network (LSA-DN) also attended the hearing and provided us with photos.

In late October, LSA sent letters to key House and Senate appropriators, urging them to pass a full Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations bill with funding levels sufficient for states, communities, and providers to maintain and expand affordable housing options that serve the most vulnerable, and to stimulate community revitalization.

On October 23, 2014 1,200 leading national, state, tribal, and local organizations wrote to Congressional leaders, asking them to provide continued funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Congress must stabilize CHIP funding this year so that states can continue to operate these programs without interruption.

Top leaders from several of the nation's largest humanitarian organizations and advocates announced a new collaboration today to fight the War on Poverty. Brought together by Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), leadership from Feeding America, Save the Children, The Salvation Army, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Lutheran Services in America, United Way and The Alliance for Children and Families all agreed to work together in 2014 to educate, innovate and act to reduce poverty in communities across the country.

Lutheran Services in America and several of our member organizations are featured in the latest issue (Fall 2013) of Nonprofit Digest: The Journal of Innovation for Nonprofit Leaders and Scholars. We invite you to read the article and learn more about LSA's strategic direction and the legacy and impact of Lutheran social ministry in the United States.

Lutheran Services in America (LSA) convened with Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and several of the nation's largest humanitarian organizations on February 14, 2014 for a CEO Roundtable that resulted in the discovery of opportunities to educate, innovate and act to reduce poverty in the United States based on the needs of our time.

LSA is excited to welcome Nathan King and Caleb Rollins to the LSA team for the 2014 CAPS Fellows Program internship. Nathan and Caleb join us from Valparaiso University, a Lutheran institution founded in 1859 and located about an hour outside of Chicago in Indiana. Nathan is currently pursuing a major in Digital Media with a Theology minor and will provide advocacy support to Bob Francis, Director of Advocacy and Policy for LSA. As an International Service major and Philanthropic Leadership and Service minor, Caleb will work with Charlotte Haberaecker, President and CEO of LSA, on fund development.

When I hopped on a plane departing from Reagan National Airport in December 2013, I knew I wasn't leaving D.C. for the final time. After spending a semester studying and interning in the District through the Lutheran College Washington Semester, I was confident that I wanted to return to Washington at some point, but I knew figuring out my return would be a long row to hoe. It's funny how things work out.

On Tuesday evening, July 16, Lutheran Services in America joined Catholic Charities USA, Entergy, and other collaborators in the Future Without Poverty coalition to put on a poverty simulation for members of Congress and their senior staff in the Capitol Visitors Center. Representatives Jim McGovern (D-N.Y.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) co-sponsored this bipartisan event that hosted nearly a dozen House members. Many of the members of Congress who attended stressed the importance of trying to understand the difficulties that low-income families face in order to effectively combat the War on Poverty.