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After public outcry and pressure from pro-life and family groups, Republicans in the House and Senate have agreed to the restore adoption tax credit in their pending tax reform legislation. No Images? Click here The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day. Congressional Republicans Promise to Save Adoption Tax CreditAfter public outcry and pressure from pro-life and family groups, Republicans in the House and Senate have agreed to the restore adoption tax credit in their pending tax reform legislation. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced an amendment that “preserves the current law non-refundable credit for qualified adoption expenses.” The suggested removal of the adoption tax credit (ATC) came as a surprise to many groups. Initially passed in 1997, the ATC has had broad, bipartisan support for its entire existence. The credit eases the financial burden families face when growing their families through adoption. Since 1997, hundreds of thousands of families have used the tax credit to make adoption financially feasible. The adoption tax credit is available for families who adopt through foster care, private domestic adoptions, and intercountry adoption. The credit is currently $13,570, but families making more than $243,540 may not claim the credit, and families making more than $203,540 may only claim a partial credit. Families who adopt special needs children may claim the entire credit. Families who adopt children without special needs may claim their qualified expenses, up to $13,570. (Read more about why the ATC matters.) Over the past few weeks ERLC has had numerous conversation with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives explaining the importance of the ATC and encouraging its reinstatement in tax reform legislation. ERLC president Russell Moore said he was “very thankful” for the change. “This is not just some other policy but a lifeline to children in need and families trying to welcome them into their homes,” Moore told Christianity Today. “It is in the national interest to see to it the vulnerable children are protected, not exiled in a system. I’m glad to see that interest upheld rather than torpedoed in the Senate’s proposal.” This week on ERLC podcasts: Daniel Darling talks to Kyle David Bennett, professor at Fuller Seminary and author of Practices of Love: Spiritual Disciplines for the Life of the World about the connection between vertical piety and horizontal relationships. On the Capitol Conversations podcast, Matt Hawkins and Steven Harris discuss the adoption tax credit and the Conscience Protection Act. And on the new ERLC podcast series, “How to Handle,” Trillia Newbell talks to Chris Horst about fatherhood. Other IssuesAmerican CultureA Top Reason for Church Shootings: Domestic Abuse There were actually two attacks on Sunday, showing how violence at home often enters God’s house. FEMA rethinking ban on disaster aid to church buildings FEMA grants are available to religiously affiliated schools, health care providers and nursing homes. And FEMA also can provide money to repair church-run facilities that function like community centers, but only if less than half the space or use is for religious purposes. Now the federal disaster agency is rethinking its policy after religious organizations sued, saying they are being discriminated against based solely on their faith. Opioid Deaths Are Surging Among Single and Divorced Americans, Especially Men Never-married and divorced adults accounted for 71% of opioid deaths. Trump signs law to honor 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass' birth The law, which sailed through the House and Senate in recent weeks, will establish a federal panel to carry out the upcoming festivities to honor Douglass. 'Unborn children' qualify as college savers in GOP tax plan The tax bill unveiled by House Republicans on Thursday would allow expectant parents to start putting away money for college and private school tuition, wading into the battle over when human life begins. BioethicsSurrogacy Reaches the Supreme Court Surrogacy is out of control in the United States. All those who care about justice, the Constitution, and human rights must fervently hope that the Supreme Court will decide to hear this case. Christianity and CultureShootings don't stop churches, say Moore, past victims Church shootings like the massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, will not intimidate the body of Christ, according to a Washington Post op-ed by Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore. Congregations that have experienced shootings are offering testimony to support his assertion. What John Wesley Would Say to Bernie Sanders and Diane Feinstein The post-Reformation theologian has suggestions for post-Christian America. So. Bapt. chaplains respond to hurting TX community "It's a pretty somber place," Scottie Stice said of the community left behind after Sunday's horrific mass shooting at a Southern Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Family IssuesWhy Would Republicans Scrap the Adoption Tax Credit? It doesn't cost taxpayers much money, but it makes an enormous difference in the lives of adoptive families. International IssuesWhat Arab Leaders Think of USAID Funding Persecuted Christians Middle East believers pray more American money won't mean more problems. Germany’s top court has ordered a third gender option for birth certificates The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany today ruled that there must be a third-gender option on birth certificates to allow for the registration of intersex babies, as part of their constitutional rights. Assailed Believers Remembered on International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Christian persecution is not a first-century phenomenon. Nor is it confined to remote places or even a handful of geographic regions. For hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide who daily experience verbal harassment, discrimination, imprisonment, displacement, torture, rape, and even death, the threat and the struggle are real. Marriage IssuesThe Marriage Divide: How and Why Working-Class Families Are More Fragile Today When it comes to the structure and quality of marriage and family life, America is increasingly divided by class. Religious LibertyThe Quiet Religious-Freedom Fight That Is Remaking America A federal law was supposed to put an end to the use of local zoning laws as tools of discrimination. It hasn't. of the Southern Baptist Convention 901 Commerce Street, Suite 550 Nashville, TN 37203 You are receiving The Weekly because you signed up at ERLC.com or at one our events. Like Tweet Forward Preferences | Unsubscribe |
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