Oppose Budget Balanced on Backs of Poor People

Today the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives started debating their 2016 budget resolutions. Votes on these budgets will determine anti-hunger policy for the rest of this year and beyond.

If passed, the proposed budget cuts could lead to devastating increases in hunger and poverty in the U.S. and abroad. For example:

• The House budget proposal drastically cuts SNAP (formerly the Food Stamp Program) by at least 34 percent, the equivalent of up to 220 missed meals annually for each SNAP participant.
• Both budget plans would repeal the Affordable Care Act and block grant Medicaid, making deep cuts to health coverage for low-income people.
• Lifesaving international programs would be cut by 16 percent in the House budget. Funding for our international humanitarian aid budget has already been cut by 22 percent – we can’t afford any further cuts.
• Sixty-nine percent of the budget cuts in both the House and Senate come directly from programs impacting low-income people – placing the burden on those who are already suffering.
• Both House and Senate budgets allow to expire critical tax relief for the poorest workers, through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), plunging 16 million people, including 8 million children, into deeper poverty.
• Both budgets keep the automatics budget cuts of 2011 (called sequestration) in place – and cut even further. This puts programs like WIC, food aid, and poverty focused development assistance in grave danger.  

Raise your voice with thousands of faithful advocates. Call your Senators and Representative at (800) 826-3688 in the next 24 hours. Urge them to oppose cuts to programs that are working to end hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world.

For more information on proposed budget cuts to programs that serve the most vulnerable people, visit our blog.

* Many thanks to Bread for the World for use of their 800-number and permission to reprint an excerpt of their action alert.

Post-Election Webinar: Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead: What do the 2014 elections mean for those still waiting for poverty relief?

Join faith leaders for an analysis of the 2014 midterm elections and hear the key takeaways for anti-poverty advocacy. With featured speakers:

Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson; Director; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness

Barbara Weinstein; Associate Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Eric Mitchell; Director of Government Relations; Bread for the World

Thursday, November 20^th

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST

Register at www.rac.org/calls

Who won, who lost, and other key takeaways from the 2014 mid-term elections.

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Are there new potential anti-poverty champions?

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What are the top priorities for the new Congress starting in January?

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What are the threats and opportunities for the programs that lift people out of poverty?

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How can the faith community shape their anti-poverty agenda to respond to a changing Congress?

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/

Religious Leaders Arrested In Capitol Protest

The Reverend J. Herbert Nelson is arrested in protest over debt ceiling negotiations

Washington, DC, July 28, 2011 – The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, Director of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness in Washington, DC, together with nearly a dozen other religious leaders, was arrested this afternoon in the U.S. Capitol Building while engaging in prayer and civil disobedience.   Frustrated that their pleas to the Administration and Congress to protect funding for the nation’s most vulnerable people are being ignored, the leaders refused to end their public prayers for an equitable resolution to the debt ceiling debate, despite repeated warnings from the U.S. Capitol Police.

As the August 2nd deadline approaches, negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling seem to have reached a stalemate.  The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, along with interfaith partners in ministry, is indignant that, in order to break that stalemate, spending cuts to programs that serve the most vulnerable in the U.S. and around the world will likely be included with an increase in the nation’s credit limit.  The PC(USA) has expressed grave concern about the nation’s mounting debt and deficits.  The PC(USA) General Assembly shares elected officials’ concern at leaving to the next generation a legacy of debt, but neither does the PC(USA) support leaving behind a legacy of poverty, neglect, and underinvestment. 

After Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, accompanied by Reverend Nelson, met with Congressional leadership and staff earlier this week, it became clear that Members of Congress themselves have little hope and do not know how this impasse will come to an end.  But both possible scenarios present dire consequences. 

On the one hand, Members of Congress may come to an agreement to increase the debt ceiling, but it will certainly include severe spending cuts to the programs and services that support the poorest and most vulnerable people living in the U.S. and around the world.  On the other hand, Members of Congress may not come to an agreement by next Tuesday, at which point the U.S. will begin to default on its financial commitments for the first time in its history, resulting in increased hardship for the poor and untold national and global economic consequences.  In either case, the poor and vulnerable will bear the overwhelming and disproportionate burden while those who can afford to pay more escape additional sacrifice.

Joined by Presbyterian ministers Jennifer Butler, Executive Director of Faith and Public Life, and Michael Livingston, past-President of the National Council of Churches, Reverend Nelson led religious leaders in prayerful civil disobedience, kneeling down in the Capitol Rotunda to pray for a debt ceiling deal that does not sacrifice the poor on the altar of political ideology.  His participation was a matter of personal conscience and public witness.  He said, “We are in a political quagmire. Due to the inability of the Congress to work together, the good of people across the globe is being compromised by the self interest of our political leaders. I am convinced that this is not the fault of Republicans, Democrats or Tea Party members alone. Too many Congresspersons of all parties are trapped in a space where commitment to the common good is diminished for the sake of personal gain and the seduction of power. In this process, the American people and others all over the world are left to suffer.  Our denomination cannot stand idly by and watch while the mandate of the gospel to love our neighbors is violated in the halls of Congress.”

Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons Calls To Protect Vulnerable In Debt Ceiling Talks

Washington, DC, July 27, 2011 -- “Inspired by a common spiritual conviction that God has called on all people to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all individuals living in society,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons joined other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders on Tuesday to meet with Republican and Democratic Congressional leadership, lifting up those struggling with poverty in the U.S. and abroad.

As elected leaders in Washington, D.C., continue to squabble over a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling, the faith community is urging them to protect the poor and vulnerable from the effects of indiscriminate budget cuts.  In a time of anemic economic recovery, millions of people are relying on Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), and countless other federally funded services that make a difference in the lives of millions of people.  Severe cuts to any of these programs, or even across-the-board budget changes like a global spending cap, debt trigger, or Balanced Budget Amendment, would increase suffering and exact the most sacrifice from those who can least afford it, while exempting from additional responsibility those who can afford to pay more.

In addition to meetings with Congressional leadership and their staff, the religious leaders led a daily prayer vigil on the grounds of the United Methodist building on Capitol Hill, where Reverend Parsons said, “We have come to Washington to meet with Congressional leaders and to join with you in daily prayer for a global economy and a federal budget that breaks the yokes of injustice, poverty, hunger, and unemployment throughout the world.” 

After their meetings with Congressional leadership, religious leaders were struck by the pessimism they encountered when they expressed hope for a productive, balanced approach to the nation’s fiscal woes.  The Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, PC(USA) Director for Public Witness, who attended the meetings with Reverend Parsons said, “There seems to be no movement and no hope among political leaders.  Now is the time for faith leaders and the faith community to take deliberate and forthright action to express disgust at the current situation and to demand a fair solution.  We must be actively involved in this debate, both in Washington, D.C. and across the country.”

As the likelihood of a federal default on the nation’s debt grows and the August 2nd deadline looms, PC(USA) leaders, together with interfaith partners in ministry, are growing increasingly alarmed.  If a deal is reached, they are concerned that a raise to the nation’s debt ceiling will be coupled with callous and draconian cuts to programs that serve the “lease of these.”  Conversely, if the federal government is forced to default on its debt, they fear that the affects of such a failure will be catastrophic for millions of individuals and families both nationally and worldwide.  

If Over 150 CEOs Had Been Assassinated in Colombia Over the Past 3 Years, Would You Still Think It a Safe Place for Investment?

Read Representative James McGovern's (D-MA) most recent Dear Colleague Letter against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).  Click here to call your own Representative and ask him/her to vote NO on this agreement that will lead to human rights violations, poverty, and death.

If Over 150 CEOs Had Been Assassinated in Colombia Over the Past 3 Years

Would You Still Think It a Safe Place for Investment?

Dear Colleague,

            That’s how many labor leaders and activists were targeted and murdered in Colombia, according to the annual reports of the International Trade Union Confederation.  Each year, the number of trade unionists assassinated in Colombia has equaled or surpassed the total number of such murders in the rest of the world combined.  That’s why Colombia remains #1 as the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. 

           
               And 2011 is no different.  So far, this year, 17 labor activists have been murdered, as documented by the National Labor School (ENS/Escuela Nacional Sindical) based in Medellín.   These are real people – not just statistics.  They were teachers and workers in factories and farms.  We should care about their lives and their deaths.

               I support the measures outlined in the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan (LAP) – but they don’t go far enough and it’s a plan that rewards intentions, not results.  Congress should demand that the increased protections called for under the LAP actually result in protecting and reducing the violence against trade unionists before the U.S.-Colombia FTA is debated.  Congress should require that Colombian workers are able to organize, speak freely and negotiate directly with their employers – without fear of violence and death aimed at them and their families – before taking up the FTA for debate and approval.

         
               Please take a look at the names of the 17 labor activists murdered so far this year in Colombia.  Remember that they had families, children, friends, neighbors and colleagues.  Remember the 150 trade unionists targeted and assassinated over the past three years.  Demand that conditions change and improve on the ground in Colombia before the House takes up the Colombia FTA for consideration.

Sincerely,

James P. McGovern

Member of Congress

Colombian Unionists Killed January 1 – June 21, 2011 (ENS):

1.     Alejandro José Peñata López, teacher and member of the Asociación de Maestros de Córdoba – ADEMACOR (teachers’ association of Córdoba), affiliated to the CUT, was murdered on June 20.   After he disappeared after leaving school, his body was found with signs of torture.  He had been hanged with barbed wire.                          

2.     Margarita de las Salas Bacca, judge on the Sixth Circuit Labor Courtand member of the Asonal Judicial union, was killed in Barranquilla on June 9, 2011, after leaving the courthouse.  She was survived by her husband and daughter.

3.     Jorge Eliecer de los Rios (pictured left), teacher, environmental campaigner, and member of the Ser union, killed June 8, 2011 in Pereira, Risaralda department.  He was shot several times from a motorbike while on his school’s campus.  A leading member of the Meedrua non-governmental organization, he had led a campaign to expose the damage wreaked by an open air mine belonging to multinationals.

4.     Carlos Julio Gómez, teacher and member of the Sutev union, shot and killed May 29, 2011 in Cali, Valle department.  

5.     Freddy Antonio Cuadrado Nuñez, teacher and member of the Edumagunion, killed May 27, 2011 in Cienaga, Magdalena department. He was shot in the head and killed as he celebrated his 46^th birthday.

6.     Carlos Arturo Castro Casas, 41, engineer, member of the Sintraemcali union, and father of three, shot in the neck by two armed men and killed May 23, 2011 in Cali, Valle department.

7.     Juan Carlos Chagüi Cueter, prison guard and member of the Sigginpec union, killed May 15, 2011 in Barranquilla, Atlántico department.

8.     Dionis Alfredo Sierra Vergara, elementary school teacher and member of the Ademacor union, killed May 15, 2011 in La Apartada, Córdoba department.

9.     Luci Ricardo Florez, 28, teacher and member of the Ademacor union, shot by armed men on motorbikes and killed May 3, 2011 in Ayapel, Córdoba department as she was walking home with her mother.

10.  Antonio Ramiro Muñoz Sánchez, member of the Asotmem union, killed April 8, 2011 in Puerto Boyacá, Boyacá department.  According to witnesses, he was shot repeatedly by two men riding a motorbike as he was leaving a union meeting. According to Justice for Colombia, the union had been organizing workers and the local community to demand that oil companies hire local labor.

11.  Héctor Orozco, 35, father of three and Vice-President of the Astracatol union, killed March 30, 2011 in Chaparral, Tolima department.  In the days before he died, Orozco had reported to the local office of the Reiniciar human rights non-governmental organization that he and several other persons had been threatened by an army officer named John Jairo Velez. 

12.  Hernán Yesid Pinto Rincón (pictured left), member of the CGT union and Founder and member of the national board of the new farmers’ organization, killed March 19, 2011 in Tibacuy, Cundinamarca department.  Before his death, he had taken the lead in the struggle of farm workers.

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13.  Carlos Alberto Ayala Moreno, member of the Asepunion and Director of the Caucasia Rural Education Institute, killed February 5, 2011 in Puerto Asís, Putumayo department.  He was shot and killed by gunmen as he left his home.

14.  Humberto de Jesús Espinoza Díaz, teacher in the Mistrato Agricultural Institute and member of the Ser union, shot and killed by armed men in January 30, 2011 in Mistrató, Risaralda department.

15.  Jairo Enrique Veloza Martínez, 35, member of the Sigginpec union, shot three times in the head by gunman and killed January 27, 2011 in Bogotá, Cundinamarca department.

16.  Silverio Antonio Sanchez(pictured left), 37, member of the union Ser, killed on January 24, 2011, from an intentional explosion which caused burns to 80% of his body on December of 2010.

17.  Manuel Esteban Tejada, teacher and member of the Ademacor union, shot and killed in his home by armed men on January 10, 2011 in Planeta Rica, Córdoba department.

Update on the Federal Budget: What’s Ahead for the Social Safety Net

As part of his work at the OPW this summer, Beatitudes Society Summer Fellow Chris McCain discusses proposals for the FY2012 federal budget and their potential implications for programs that support poor and vulnerable populations.

On preparing and sharing his presentation, Chris writes:

As a moral document, the federal budget expresses the values and priorities of the American people. In the current debt-ceiling negotiations, both Congress and the President have proposed plans that, to varying degrees, would make significant cuts or changes to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and other programs that serve low-income and vulnerable populations. For the most part, if any of these changes are passed, many people would experience a decrease in benefits or a complete dis-enrollment from programs they depend on for their livelihoods.

As a person of faith who seeks to heed Jesus' call in Matthew 25 to pay particular attention to "the least of these" in our midst, I am very concerned that the forthcoming deficit reduction package would place disproportionate burdens on those who can least afford it -- the poor, sick, disabled, and elderly. To whatever extent possible, we must not allow this to happen.

In this presentation, I explain and examine the social implications of some of the basic proposals that have been suggested by Democrats and Republicans. From the budget proposal introduced by the GOP and passed by the House of Representatives to possible changes to the Medicaid program which serves poor and disabled persons, I discuss several ideas that may make their way into a final compromise bill. While I firmly believe that reducing the long-term deficit is essential for our country's fiscal health and an important step toward stabilizing and growing the U.S. economy, it is critical that it be done morally and responsibly.

The fight over the federal budget will not be over anytime soon. Even if Congress meets the August 2, 2011, deadline to increase the national debt ceiling, the debate over the size and scope of the federal government will continue. To that end, I encourage you to contact your senators and tell them that the health and well-being of our brothers and sisters, as well as future generations, depends on essential investments and that a deficit reduction deal must include new revenues from those in society who can afford to pay.

Click here to download a PDF of Chris's PowerPoint presentation.