Representative Carolyn Maloney and two of her colleagues on the Americans Abroad Caucus, which she chairs, have introduced HR 5828, “A Bill to amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to permit an absentee ballot application submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter with respect to an election for Federal office to serve as an absentee ballot application for each subsequent election for Federal office held in the State through the next regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.”  The bill also allows for early submission of a ballot request, ensuring finally that military and overseas voters will be enfranchised throughout an entire election cycle (primary, regular, special, and run-off elections).

Overseas voters can and should support this important legislation by urging their Members of Congress (find them at www.house.gov) to sign on to the bill as co-sponsors, and contacting the Committee on House Administration (see below), responsible for election reform legislation, reminding them that, given the distances involved and the difficulties inherent to overseas mail, it is important to be assured of the ability to vote in every federal election in each cycle.

Click here to see the text of the bill and here to see the press release from Congresswoman Maloney’s office.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) has issued a 2011 version of the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) form military and overseas voters use to register to vote and request a ballot.

The language on the form differs radically from the previous version and asks the civilian overseas voter to indicate clearly whether he/she intends to return to the voting district/state.  No provision is made for those uncertain of their future plans or for those to whom “return” does not apply since they were born overseas and have not yet established residency in the U.S.

FAWCO and its partner organizations have written to the FVAP in the name of the newly formed CLOVE (Clear Language for Overseas Voter Enfranchisement) Initiative and participated in 3 conference calls with the FVAP and a wide range of other stakeholders in a joint attempt to find solutions acceptable to all.  For the moment, we strongly advise voters to register and request ballots over the FAWCO/OVF website accessible from this page, where they will find the less challenging 2005 version, which is still being accepted for the 2012 election. 

Click here for a more detailed explanation of the implications of the different FPCA versions and here to see the recent New York Times article about the issue.

FAWCO is pleased to announce the launch of the Expat Youth Scholarship sponsored by Clements Worldwide. Into its fourth year, this scholarship supports expatriate children between the ages of 13 and 18 to embark on any new experience they desire. Be sure to apply for your chance at a share of $10,000!

Click here to apply: www.expatyouthscholarship.com

Clements’ EYS contest reaffirms the international insurer’s commitment to both expatriates and educational initiatives, with total scholarship contributions since 2009 reaching the $40,000 mark this year. 

FAWCO  has been working towards equal tax and banking rights for Americans abroad for many years and we was recenty featured in a Reuters special report titled, "Tax time pushes some Americans to take a hike".

Currently Americans abroad are facing stricter tax and banking compliance regulations than ever before. Tax and banking were very important topics at our annual conference in Dublin last month with a workshop presented by FAWCO sponsor US Tax and Financial Services  and FAWCO US Liaison, Lucy Stensland Laederich 

Laederich, who represents FAWCO in Washington DC,  stated that in part FAWCO opposes new IRS rules because they are pushing some membes to renounce their citizenship."Your options are to ignore the IRS and stick your head in the sand; take your name off of all the accounts and live in a completely cash economy; divorce; or renounce U.S. citizenship," Laederich says. "We've seen all of these things happen."  Genette Eysselinck, a FAWCO member was also a feature story. Read full article here

On Tuesday, March 20, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, put a direct question to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner concerning the difficulties overseas Americans are increasingly encountering in maintaining or opening bank accounts abroad, where they live and work and need access to financial services.

In response, Secretary Geithner pledged to work with her office to make sure that, while pursuing the goal of preventing tax evasion, the Treasury Department can still be as "responsive as possible to those concerns". 

This recognition of the needs of "legitimate American citizens" abroad must be seen as an encouraging sign to all organizations like FAWCO that seek to protect and defend America's overseas constituency.  See the relevant portion of the Financial Services Committee hearing here (Congresswoman Maloney's question concerning overseas Americans begins at the 3:12 mark).