Dramatic church call for defeat of anti-poor US budget
-08/12/05
In a dramatic confront
Dramatic church call for defeat of anti-poor US budget
-08/12/05
In a dramatic confrontation with the Bush administration Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church USA, together with the leaders of four other mainline denominations, has called on the United States Congress to defeat the 2006 Federal Budget ìonce and for allî, because it betrays the poor.
The Christian leaders say that they ìhave asked that the Federal Budget be recognized as a concrete statement of our nationís values” that would truly bring ìgood news to the poorî (Luke 4). They link specific complaints about neglect of the needy with biblical and Advent themes.
Joining Bishop Griswold are the Rev Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev Dr Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA); the Rev John H. Thomas, General Minister and President,
United Church of Christ; and Mr James Winkler, General Secretary, Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church.
A board of the Church of the Brethren is among those who have subsequently endorsed the stand.
ìAt each stage of the complicated legislative process, we have viewed the
budget through the lens of faith and our values and found [it] wanting. Now we ask that it be defeated once and for all,î the church leaders declare.
Despite the exposure of poverty in the US revealed in the aftermath of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the statement says, ìCongress continues to make decisions which benefit the rich but are paid for by the poor and most vulnerable in our land.î
The leaders criticized the budget’s potential compromises which would cut funding for food stamps, heating subsidies, Medicaid and child support enforcement.
ìThey will seek to find compromise where there should be no compromise – that is with the lives and future of the poor of this country,î
the church leaders said of the budget conferees.
They asked that Congress reflect during the season of Advent, reject the
budget and join with the President to craft a budget that will reflect ìour
nation’s historic concern for justice and the least among us.î
It is unusual for US church leaders to be so unequivocal on a major political issue, but the frustration at the Bush administrationís hollow ëcompassionate conservatismí rhetoric has annoyed those who have to face Americaís divided society at the blunt end.
Critics say the President and his supporters regularly consort with the well-organised and wealthy lobbies of the religious right, but in recent years the government has tended to marginalise mainstream churches and those working for and with the poor in the worldís riches nation.
[Also on Ekklesia: Neglect of poor in US budget bill immoral, says leading evangelical; Church leaders say federal budget remains profoudly unjust; Lutherans back low-income homes in US and Caribbean; Bishop: Bush budget ‘does not reflect the gospel’; Christians rally against Bush budget; Bush budget ‘in opposition to biblical values’; Budget is a moral document, Bush warned; US churches challenge anti-poor law; McDonald’s under fire from US church body]
The full statement is as follows:
CONGRESS SHOULD DEFEAT BUDGET RECONCILIATION ONCE AND FOR ALL
Christians have begun the Advent Season in which we prepare to celebrate our Saviourís birth – the Savoir who began his public ministry by proclaiming that God had anointed him “to bring good news to the poor.” We view this as a time for purposeful reflection, recognizing that we live in a fractured and fearful world, but seeking to find hope for ourselves and to give hope to those without hope.
Throughout this year we, five leaders of Christian denominations representing close to 20 million followers, have asked that the Federal Budget be recognized as a concrete statement of our nation’s values, and as such that it “bring good news to the poor.” At each stage of the complicated legislative process, we have viewed the budget through the lens of faith and our values and found the FY ’06 Federal Budget wanting. Now we ask that it be defeated once and for all.
The traumatic events of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed the nation and the world the faces of poverty in this country. The statistics from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty presented hard numbers of 36 million Americans living below the poverty line, thereby verifying what our eyes had seen along the Gulf Coast but know to be true throughout the land. Yet Congress continues to make decisions which benefit the rich but are paid for by the poor and most vulnerable in our land.
Now the conferees must take hard decisions regarding the FY ’06 Federal
Budget. They will seek to find compromise where there should be no
compromise – that is with the lives and future of the poor of this country.
The House budget package cuts total .9 billion and the Senate billion necessitating hard bargaining and unacceptable choices. How can Congress compromise on food stamps when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that more than 222,000 people, primarily low-income working families with children and 70,000 legal immigrants, would lose food stamps if conferees follow the House budget? How can Congress compromise between the 1 billion US dollars for heating subsidies for low-income people included in the House bill but not in the Senate while knowing that heating bills are expected to rise 50 percent? How can Congress compromise on Medicaid provisions that will force low-income patients to forego needed health care or medications and relieve states of providing low-income children just above the poverty line with comprehensive preventive care and treatment? How does Congress compromise when the House proposal includes deep cuts to child support enforcement that will likely push children deeper into poverty when, already, nearly one in five children in this nation live below the poverty line? It cannot.
We pray that Congress will use this Advent season for purposeful reflection and in so doing conclude that the compromises required are unfair and will only cause greater hardship and suffering. They should vote down the FY ’06 Federal Budget. Then, Congress and the President should come together to present a budget that brings “good news to the poor,” reflecting our nation’s historic concern for justice and the least among us.
[Available from Ekklesia: two books by Jim Wallis – God’s Politics, Why the American Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It; and Faith Works, Lessons on Spirituality and Social Action]
Dramatic church call for defeat of anti-poor US budget
-08/12/05
In a dramatic confrontation with the Bush administration Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church USA, together with the leaders of four other mainline denominations, has called on the United States Congress to defeat the 2006 Federal Budget ‘once and for all’, because it betrays the poor.
The Christian leaders say that they ‘have asked that the Federal Budget be recognized as a concrete statement of our nation’s values” that would truly bring ‘good news to the poor’ (Luke 4). They link specific complaints about neglect of the needy with biblical and Advent themes.
Joining Bishop Griswold are the Rev Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev Dr Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA); the Rev John H. Thomas, General Minister and President,
United Church of Christ; and Mr James Winkler, General Secretary, Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church.
A board of the Church of the Brethren is among those who have subsequently endorsed the stand.
‘At each stage of the complicated legislative process, we have viewed the
budget through the lens of faith and our values and found [it] wanting. Now we ask that it be defeated once and for all,’ the church leaders declare.
Despite the exposure of poverty in the US revealed in the aftermath of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the statement says, ‘Congress continues to make decisions which benefit the rich but are paid for by the poor and most vulnerable in our land.’
The leaders criticized the budget’s potential compromises which would cut funding for food stamps, heating subsidies, Medicaid and child support enforcement.
‘They will seek to find compromise where there should be no compromise – that is with the lives and future of the poor of this country,’
the church leaders said of the budget conferees.
They asked that Congress reflect during the season of Advent, reject the
budget and join with the President to craft a budget that will reflect ‘our
nation’s historic concern for justice and the least among us.’
It is unusual for US church leaders to be so unequivocal on a major political issue, but the frustration at the Bush administration’s hollow ëcompassionate conservatism’ rhetoric has annoyed those who have to face America’s divided society at the blunt end.
Critics say the President and his supporters regularly consort with the well-organised and wealthy lobbies of the religious right, but in recent years the government has tended to marginalise mainstream churches and those working for and with the poor in the world’s riches nation.
[Also on Ekklesia: Neglect of poor in US budget bill immoral, says leading evangelical; Church leaders say federal budget remains profoudly unjust; Lutherans back low-income homes in US and Caribbean; Bishop: Bush budget ‘does not reflect the gospel’; Christians rally against Bush budget; Bush budget ‘in opposition to biblical values’; Budget is a moral document, Bush warned; US churches challenge anti-poor law; McDonald’s under fire from US church body]
The full statement is as follows:
CONGRESS SHOULD DEFEAT BUDGET RECONCILIATION ONCE AND FOR ALL
Christians have begun the Advent Season in which we prepare to celebrate our Saviour’s birth – the Savoir who began his public ministry by proclaiming that God had anointed him “to bring good news to the poor.” We view this as a time for purposeful reflection, recognizing that we live in a fractured and fearful world, but seeking to find hope for ourselves and to give hope to those without hope.
Throughout this year we, five leaders of Christian denominations representing close to 20 million followers, have asked that the Federal Budget be recognized as a concrete statement of our nation’s values, and as such that it “bring good news to the poor.” At each stage of the complicated legislative process, we have viewed the budget through the lens of faith and our values and found the FY ’06 Federal Budget wanting. Now we ask that it be defeated once and for all.
The traumatic events of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed the nation and the world the faces of poverty in this country. The statistics from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty presented hard numbers of 36 million Americans living below the poverty line, thereby verifying what our eyes had seen along the Gulf Coast but know to be true throughout the land. Yet Congress continues to make decisions which benefit the rich but are paid for by the poor and most vulnerable in our land.
Now the conferees must take hard decisions regarding the FY ’06 Federal
Budget. They will seek to find compromise where there should be no
compromise – that is with the lives and future of the poor of this country.
The House budget package cuts total .9 billion and the Senate billion necessitating hard bargaining and unacceptable choices. How can Congress compromise on food stamps when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that more than 222,000 people, primarily low-income working families with children and 70,000 legal immigrants, would lose food stamps if conferees follow the House budget? How can Congress compromise between the 1 billion US dollars for heating subsidies for low-income people included in the House bill but not in the Senate while knowing that heating bills are expected to rise 50 percent? How can Congress compromise on Medicaid provisions that will force low-income patients to forego needed health care or medications and relieve states of providing low-income children just above the poverty line with comprehensive preventive care and treatment? How does Congress compromise when the House proposal includes deep cuts to child support enforcement that will likely push children deeper into poverty when, already, nearly one in five children in this nation live below the poverty line? It cannot.
We pray that Congress will use this Advent season for purposeful reflection and in so doing conclude that the compromises required are unfair and will only cause greater hardship and suffering. They should vote down the FY ’06 Federal Budget. Then, Congress and the President should come together to present a budget that brings “good news to the poor,” reflecting our nation’s historic concern for justice and the least among us.
[Available from Ekklesia: two books by Jim Wallis – God’s Politics, Why the American Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It; and Faith Works, Lessons on Spirituality and Social Action]