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Press Release (pdf) on the results of OAW 2009
Productive Overseas Americans Week 2009
Overseas
Americans Week 2009 (OAW) during the week of March 30th once again brought the
voice of overseas Americans to Washington D.C. OAW sponsors are the Association
of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), American Citizens Abroad (ACA) and the
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, Inc. (FAWCO).
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more...)
OVERSEAS
AMERICANS WEEK 2009
A record delegation
is making final preparations for Overseas Americans Week 2009
in Washington D.C.
March 30 - April 3,
2009
Representatives of
3 major overseas citizen advocacy organizations, AARO, ACA and FAWCO*,
will once again meet throughout the week with legislators and their
staffers, and key government agencies and departments. OAW is
reaching out in particular to White House as President Obama made an
encouraging statement of support for overseas Americans during his
election campaign. The OAW Delegation looks forward to meeting with
the Consular Service in the State Department.
Once again, the
voting issue will be a key focus of appointments as participation of
overseas Americans in the 2008 elections was very significant, yet
many would-be voters could not successfully vote, because of
difficulties in registering and especially because of late arrival
of their ballots. The double tax liability on overseas Americans
will also be given priority as Congress is currently preparing its
fiscal reform bill. Furthermore, OAW aims to draw
Washington’s
attention to other issues where current American law excludes,
penalizes or denies access to overseas Americans. These issues
involve Medicare, Social Security, Citizenship and Access to U.S.
banking facilities.
OAW looks forward
to enhancing its collaboration with members of the Americans Abroad
Caucus. This Caucus currently represents the only structure in
Washington
focusing on “overseas Americans” issues. A reception has been
organized for members of the Americans Abroad Caucus and a number of
other Members of Congress. It will also spotlight the newly-formed
Alliance for Military and Overseas Voting Rights, of which all three
organizations are founding members. The reception is being
sponsored by Clements International
http://www.clements.com, a leading insurance provider for
expatriates and businesses operating internationally.
The Americans Abroad Caucus
Formed in 2007, the
Americans Abroad Caucus now has 25 members who, in joining, have
affirmed their understanding of the issues of concern to overseas
Americans, such as voting, taxation, transmission of citizenship,
access to Medicare. One of the first things the two Co-Chairs did
was to urge their colleagues, in two letters to Congress, to change
their websites to make them more accessible to their overseas
constituents. In the 110th Session of Congress, legislation was
proposed by two of the Caucus members to simplify procedures for
overseas voters and to ensure enfranchisement of all eligible
citizens. A member also introduced the Working Americans
Competitiveness Act in the 110th which would alleviate the unfair
taxation that overseas Americans face. OAW is working now for the
reintroduction of comparable bills in the 111th Session. The
delegates to Overseas Americans Week will be strongly encouraging
and supporting these upcoming legislation proposals.
The members of Americans Abroad Caucus
are:
Carolyn B.
Maloney (D-NY) co-chair
Joe Wilson (R-SC) co-chair
Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Donna Christensen (D-VI)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Kay Granger (R-TX)
Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Michael Honda (D-CA)
Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Susan Davis (D-CA)
Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)
Michael Conaway (R-TX)
Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)
Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Jim Moran (D-VA)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
James McGovern (D-MA)
André Carson (D-IN)
Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
David Wu (D-OR)
Gregorio Sablan
(MP) Northern Mariana Islands
Gerald E.
Connolly (D-VA)
James Clyburn
(D-SC)
AMOVR: the Alliance for Military and Overseas Voting Rights
AMOVR was formed in
the fall of 2008 following the Pew Summit on “Democracy at a
Distance”. It groups overseas citizens’ advocacy organizations;
state, local and federal election officials; and all branches of the
military including active and retired service members and their
families. The stated goals of the Alliance are to effect real
change in voting procedures for UOCAVA voters before the 2012
elections and to ensure that absent military and overseas civilian
voters enjoy the equal right and ability to vote.
* AARO:
Association of Americans Resident Overseas, founded 1973, based in
Paris
ACA: American
Citizens Abroad, founded 1978, based in Geneva
FAWCO: Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas
Inc., founded 1931, worldwide network
For more
information on Overseas Americans Week 2009, contact:
AARO:
contact@aaro.org
ACA:
info.aca@gmail.com
FAWCO:
USLiaison@fawco.org
2009 Goals of
Overseas Americans
Participants at Overseas Americans Week look forward to
establishing a productive dialogue with
President Obama and Congress based upon President Obama’s
campaign statement supporting Americans living overseas.
“As
president, Obama will restore
America’s moral leadership in the world and the understanding that
the world shares a common security and a common humanity.
(President) Obama understands the special concerns and issues of
Americans living abroad and will seek to address these as
president…(President) Obama believes it is important to understand
the role of Americans abroad in determining
U.S. policy. (President) Obama will work with members of the
Americans abroad community and the
U.S. embassies to determine how the
U.S. government can be responsive to the concerns of overseas
Americans…As
president, Obama will work to establish a direct dialogue with
Americans abroad.”
¨
Representation:
OAW
organizations hope to see established soon an
Office for Overseas
Americans which would provide a
vital focal point in the Executive Branch of government for overseas
Americans and a platform for a direct dialogue with the President.
OAW is thankful to the Americans Abroad Caucus for its support in
Congress and looks forward to continuing a fruitful collaboration
and to expanding the Caucus membership.
¨
Voting:
Legislation
is needed to amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act (UOCAVA) to eliminate many obstacles facing Americans
voting from abroad and to ensure that no U.S. citizen abroad is
disenfranchised. The implementation of UOCAVA should make broader
use of technology and should provide equal benefit to civilians and
military personnel overseas. Timely ballot delivery and transparent
vote counting procedures for UOCAVA voters should be given
priority.
¨
Taxation:
Section 911 of the Tax Code needs to be amended to correspond to
economic reality. Our national interest dictates that U.S. tax
policy should allow Americans to be fully competitive when working
overseas representing American interests, promoting exports, and
obtaining the international experience so necessary for our
sustained future leadership in global markets.
¨
Citizenship:
All
Americans should enjoy the same right to transmit U.S. citizenship
to their children at birth, including children born to or adopted by
a U.S. citizen abroad. Children born abroad should be defined as
“natural born” U.S. citizens.
¨
Banking
services:
A dialogue with Congress, the Department of Treasury and the
American Bankers’ Association is urgent to ensure that American
citizens with a foreign address are not refused banking services in
the United States because of the Patriot Act and can have access to
their credit history according to Paragaph 614 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
¨
Medicare:
Americans civilians who retire abroad cannot receive Medicare
benefits in their country of residence even though they are eligible
for these benefits in America. Military Veterans who retire abroad
do receive medical coverage analogous to Medicare through the
Tricare for Life program. A program similar to Tricare should be
crafted to deliver health care benefits to civilian retirees abroad,
based on the institutional framework operating for military
personnel.
¨
Social Security:
The
Windfall Elimination Provision, which inter alia unfairly reduces
Social Security pension benefits to Americans who have worked abroad
during their careers, should be repealed. All Americans working
overseas should be allowed to contribute voluntarily to U.S. Social
Security.
¨
Warrantless
Searches Abroad:
Government
practices which deny Americans overseas their Constitutional right
to privacy though warrantless electronic surveillance should not be
allowed.
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