September 27, 1996

Domestic Violence Identification and Referral Act

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Those with an interest in domestic abuse issues should check out an amendment (S. 697 and H.R. 1521) to the Public Health Service Act being introduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). These legislators want to give funding preferences to health institutions that provide “significant” training in identifying, treating and referring patients who are domestic violence survivors. Women Leaders Online (WLO) is endorsing the current amendment and encouraging voters to contact their senators in support of it. The WLO Web site will direct you to the phone/fax/e-mail address of your senator.

Speaking of voting, your excuse not to do it just got weaker. Xballot is a new non-partisan Web site that allows voters to register online. Just fill out the application, print it out and send it via snail mail to the appropriate registration office (address provided). Democracy was never this easy.

Bill-Watchers Beware!

One final note: An excellent time to push through potentially unpopular bills has always been just before the end of another congressional session, when attendance and attention levels are comparable to the final days of school before summer vacation. As the 104th Congress squirms towards its adjournment, be on the lookout for unusual and partisan legislative efforts. You can track the latest bills as they wend their way through the House and Senate with THOMAS’ floor activity overview, “Congress this Week.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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