Welfare Reform, the vehicle of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), must be reauthorized, replaced or extended. Otherwise, it will disappear this Fall, leaving families all around the country without the support they need to break the cycle of poverty. United Methodist Women are writing their Senators, letting them know the importance of this re-authorization in order to move toward poverty reduction instead of reducing welfare rolls. They are asking Senators to 1) not increase the TANF work requirement beyond the current 30 hours per week; 2) support expanded education and training possibilities for people on TANF so they can get jobs that pay a family-supporting wage; and 3) increase child care funding by at least $11 billion over five years.

Paralleling the Restorative Justice mission study, United Methodist Women are writing their state governors to express their concern over the death penalty. The letters ask that state governments support moratoriums and the elimination of further capital punishment in all criminal codes. "Our mission is to focus on improving the criminal justice system and to eliminate the social conditions that breed crime and cause disorder, as opposed to depending on a false confidence in the effectiveness of the death penalty," says the letter.

United Methodist Women’s postcards to Senate and House members are asking that citizens have an opportunity to debate all aspects of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) legislation and that legislators vote "no" to the legislation.