Office of Public Witness Offers Information on Washington’s Debt Ceiling Deal

On Tuesday, August 3rd, Office of Public Witness staff worked with colleagues in the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs (DHN) to present a webinar on the content of the debt ceiling deal approved by Congress and signed by the President earlier this week.  The deal will increase the federal debt ceiling by at least $2.1 trillion and cut federal spending by about the same amount.

The goal of the webinar was to present the details of the new law, in addition to outlining the faith community’s concerns in this debate and the steep road of work ahead.  To learn more about the newest law of the land, watch a recording of Tuesday’s webinar.

About five minutes before the webinar began, the hosting software reached its capacity, so that many people were unable to login to the webinar.  Because of this overwhelming interest, this webinar will be presented again on Tuesday, August 9^th, and 2pm eastern time.  Instructions for logging in will be available as soon as possible on the Office of Public Witness website, blog, and Facebook page.

The Faith-based advocacy community is gearing up for several more months, and even years, of witness on behalf of those who can least afford to bear the cost of budget cuts.  In Tuesday’s webinar, representatives from the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, and Bread for the World, explained that there is much work to be done in the months ahead.

“Whatever you think about [this bill], this is only the first phase.  This was not the final card,” said Amelia Kegan, Policy Analyst from Bread for the World.

Watch the recorded webinar or join the reprise presentation on Tuesday, August. 9^th. http://umc.adobeconnect.com/p52l9dkkrln/