Social Work and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
On February 13, 2009 Congress passed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on February 17.  Many provisions of the law may be of interest to Social Workers in a variety of fields.  Furthermore, as part of the Act, all departments and agencies committed to contracting with minority owned businesses.  Grantees also have new data collection, prevailing wage, and similar requirements. Recovery.gov is a site set up to explain provisions of the act, as well as track the spending.

Ask President Obama to Appoint a Supreme Court Justice that Reflects our Diverse Nation
Justice David Souter is retiring from the United States Supreme Court after two decades of service. NASW commends Justice Souter’s service and wishes him well in his retirement. As President Obama selects a new candidate to replace Justice Souter on the Supreme Court, he must take into account a variety of different factors.

Tell Congress to Fund the Loan Forgiveness Provisions in the Higher Education Act!
On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed P.L. 110-315 into law, which fully reauthorized the Higher Education Act (HEA) for the first time since 1998 and included loan forgiveness for national need occupations. The loan forgiveness provisions directly benefit social workers by allowing a person with a degree in social work, who is employed by a public or private child welfare agency, to have part of his or her college loans forgiven. For each year of work,  up to $2,000 would be forgiven, up to a maximum of $10,000 over five years.  While the law authorized the loan forgiveness program, Congress needs to appropriate funding in order for the program to operate.  We are asking Congress to act quickly to fund this important program.