Faithful Budget Updated for FY 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 15, 2013 CONTACT: Casey Schoeneberger, 202-569-4254, casey@faithinpubliclife.org

Prominent Faith Leaders Urge Congress & President Obama to Stand by Commitment to Fellow Americans Faithful Budget for FY 2014 demonstrates how federal budget choices can and must reflect America’s shared values (Click here to see the Faithful Budget (.pdf)) (Washington, DC) – A prominent coalition of America’s major national religious organization and leaders today unveiled the “Faithful Budget for FY 2014” an expression of the faith community’s budget priorities that stands in stark contrast to the partisan budget proposals currently under consideration. The document is a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget principles that promotes values shared by diverse faiths: protection of the common good, the value of each individual and lifting the burden on those living at the economic margins of society. “The Faithful Budget reflects our vision of a responsible fiscal plan that focuses on justice and economic opportunity for all,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, Network, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby. “While ensuring adequate resources through a fair tax system, it prioritizes human security and care for Creation while it supports measures to address the moral scandal of rising inequality. We call on Congress to adopt its core principles, which exemplify the values and compassion of our faith traditions and nation as a whole.” Joining with the release of Faithful Budget for FY2014, Sister Simone and Rev. Chuck Currie of the United Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon, published an op-ed in The Hill’s Congress Blog today, detailing why President Obama’s latest budget “…falls short of the moral vision many faith leaders have for this country and the president’s own ideals as he embodied in his second Inaugural Address.”  With the latest release, the faith community calls on Congress and President Obama to atone for their budgets’ more shortfalls by restoring economic opportunity, ensuring adequate resources for shared priorities, meeting critical human needs at home and abroad, accepting intergenerational responsibility, using the gifts of creation sustainably and responsibly, providing access to health care for all, and recognizing a robust role for government. “The Faithful Budget recognizes that our lives here in America are inextricably bound together with the lives of all others around the world,” said Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service. “God’s abundant provision means that there is enough for all, if we act with justice and compassion. As a people, we can be compassionate neighbors creating security and prosperity for ourselves and for all by helping to end hunger and extreme poverty throughout the world.” The Faithful Budget for FY 2014 Preamble, which has been endorsed by 44 religious denominations and organizations, calls on Congress and President Obama “to craft a federal budget that fulfills our shared duty to each other in all segments of society, to those who are struggling to overcome poverty or are especially vulnerable, and to future generations through our collective responsibility as stewards of Creation.” “As the prophets have taught us, our community is like one body, and when one part of it aches, the entire community awakens in a fever,” said Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director, Islamic Society of North America. “Now is the time to awaken to the pain of those who are poor and vulnerable among us, both here in America and around the world.  As people of faith, we are committed to ensuring that our nation’s federal budget reflects the moral conscience of the American people by providing protection to those in our community that need it most.” Faithful Budget for FY 2014 builds on the Faithful Budget for FY 2013 released in March 0f 2012 and the Faithful Budget Campaign, an effort launched by the religious community in May 2011 to lift up faithful voices on behalf of the nation’s most vulnerable in order to encourage the administration and Congress to maintain a robust commitment to domestic and international poverty assistance programs. “Our Jewish tradition commands us to ‘do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God’ (Micah 6:8),” said Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. “Is justice a father working full-time who still cannot support his family on a minimum wage salary? Is mercy a mother who is forced to choose between feeding her children and paying for their medicine? Are we walking humbly as we pass thousands sleeping outdoors each night? We can do better. We must do better. This Faithful Budget is a call to recognize the inherent dignity of each and every human being, a call to honor the spark of the divine that is present in every one of us, a call to action.” Additional details about the Faithful Budget Campaign can be found at www.faithfulbudget.org. The Faithful Budget for FY2014 was spearheaded by some of the nation’s most recognizable Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable and demonstrate that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperatives to promote the general welfare of all individuals. A full list of the faith-based organizations that endorsed the preamble-principles of the Faithful Budget are included below. xxx American Friends Service Committee Arkansas Interfaith Alliance Bread for the World  Center of Concern  Center on Conscience and War Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada Christian Connections for International Health Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice Church of the Brethren  Church World Service Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism Conference of Major Superiors of Men Council of Churches of Rhode Island Delaware Ecumenical Council of Children Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Faithful Reform in Health Care  Florida Council of Churches Franciscan Action Network Friends Committee on National Legislation Institute Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Interfaith Worker Justice – New Mexico Islamic Society of North America Jesuit Conference  Jubilee USA Network     Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, United States Province Leadership Conference of Women Religious Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Mennonite Central Committee US Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network Minnesota Council of Churches Muslim Public Affairs Council National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund National Council of Churches of Christ, USA NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby North Carolina Council of Churches Pax Christi USA Pennsylvania Council of Churches Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness Progressive National Baptist Convention Unitarian Universalist Association United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

Faithful Alternatives to Sequestration – A Message to Congress

 This message was sent to Congress today on behalf of the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs.

It is with great concern over the effects of the sequester that I write to you today.  These budget cuts will harm real people; they are not an academic exercise and this is no laboratory for testing ideology around the role of government.  Indeed, a recent report by the Coalition on Human Needs shows that 600,000 children and women stand to lose WIC nutrition assistance, 70,000 children may be denied Head Start, and at a time when the need for better mental health care is brought into stark relief by recent violent events, 373,000 people stand to lose access to mental health treatment.  Arguments that the effects of the sequester will not be “that bad” fail to account for the real lives of people who depend on the services that we have committed to provide for the common good of all.

Please find attached Faithful Alternatives to the Sequester, a document offered last summer to Members of Congress by the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs.  In particular, we draw your attention to the following excerpt:

“Crushing poverty in a world of abundance is insufferable and our nation has allowed too much injustice and greed to govern our current economic structures.  Instead, we seek to increase equity and equality in this nation. We are alarmed at the growing economic divergence between rich and poor, creating permanent inequalities that are neither just nor socially sustainable. Over the past thirty years, tax policy has too often been used to perpetuate rather than address these inequalities…

“It is from this place of concern for the common good, right relationship, and the just working of the economy, that we seek a balanced approach to deficit reduction.  Sequestration was developed as a backstop – a last resort if Congress failed to act in a more thoughtful and balanced way.  Whether Congress uses sequestration or some alternative as a means of achieving deficit reduction, Congress can and must act in a way that reflects our shared values. There are core challenges facing our nation: rising income inequality, persistent unemployment, historically high rates of poverty and anemic economic growth. These challenges must be addressed with justice.

“Therefore, we refuse to accept additional spending cuts to programs that serve “the least of these,” and we support extending the tax cuts for low and middle-income families.  In particular, we support a strong, refundable Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, as they are some of this nation’s most effective tools for alleviating poverty.

“Our approach to upcoming sequestration needs to be rooted in our values – a balanced approach that addresses the deficit crisis with justice and compassion.  On the one hand, we need to be good stewards of the resources we already have, making judicious cuts to defense, earmarks, and other wasteful spending, while preserving that which is most important for the good of all.  On the other hand, we must increase revenue, in order to ensure that this nation can meet our need to operate a fair and just economy, which serves all of our human community. The nation’s deficit crisis cannot be solved through spending cuts alone – new revenues must be part of the solution. The need is great and the resources are abundant.  The budget choices we make must reflect this reality.

Please feel free to contact me at the contact information below, or my fellow Co-Chair, Amelia Kegan, Policy Analyst at Bread for the Word, should you have any questions.

With sincere hopes for a just resolution to Sequestration,

Leslie Woods
Representative for Domestic Poverty & Environmental Issues
Office of Public Witness
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Co-Chair of the Inter-religious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs

Ask Congress to Consider Matthew 6:21: Put Our Treasure Where Our Hearts Lie.

Click here to send a message letting your U.S. Senators and Representatives know you treasure God’s children and struggling families, and so should our Federal Budget.

In the past two years’ budget and deficit struggles, we have repeated the wisdom of Matthew 6:21: “where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also.” If we treasure God’s shalom - the biblical vision of wholeness for communities - we need a Faithful Budget that creates a Circle of Protection around programs that serve the most vulnerable. Prayers, letters, phone calls, and vigils make a difference. One Senate staffer told me half all the letters his office received about budget issues came from faithful constituents concerned about poverty.

But, with a Sequester eight days away, we’re not done yet. Send a message to your U.S. Senators and Representatives here.

The Sequester will undermine much of what our nation should treasure. For example, 600,000 babies and young children will lose the nutrition aid afforded by the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, and 70,000 young children will lose access to Head Start. We want to treasure our nation’s children, yet one in four kids under age five live in poverty. Please keep the faith and send a message to your members of Congress TODAY.

Lenten Blessings,

Shantha

Share Advent Hope with Your Community and Congress.

There are just a few weeks left to reach a deal that averts the “fiscal cliff.” While Congress is busy deal-making, many faith communities are taking up collections, putting up giving trees, or preparing food and gift baskets for those who might otherwise go without during the holiday season.

Any fiscal deal that doesn’t protect people in poverty goes against the spirit of generosity in our churches. If you haven’t yet, I hope you will click here to email your members of Congress and tell them about how your faith community is sharing Advent hope with neighbors in need.

Unfortunately, members of Congress are openly considering cuts to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a powerful tool for fighting hunger among the 20 percent of children who live in food insecure households. If government reflects who we are – our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers – we should not be considering cuts to programs that lift up struggling families.

Please email your members of Congress about sharing Advent hope with neighbors in need. Then, click here to use this easy tool to share the message with a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Let us keep Advent hope and prepare room in our hearts for the One who taught us how loving our neighbors leads us all to a more abundant life.

Response to Congressman Paul Ryan & All Who Say Faith Plays a Role in Budget Decisions

For Immediate Release:
April 10, 2012
Statement from the Faithful Budget Campaign in response to
Congressman Paul Ryan and others who have framed the ongoing budget/deficit debate as a faithful/moral issue

WASHINGTON – In an interview released Tuesday by the Christian Broadcasting Network, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) told CBN’s David Brody that his Catholic faith played a large role in the drafting of his budget proposal that passed the House by a party line vote last month. Congressman Ryan is the latest member of Congress, including Democratic Reps. James Clyburn and Jan Schakowsky, to claim a faith-based/moral responsibility or lack thereof in supporting or opposing the budget.

As members of Congress from both parties are drawing a connection between the House-passed budget and faith, the Faithful Budget Campaign, a coalition comprising the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish, Christian and Muslim denominations as well as other faith-based institutions are continuing its efforts to encourage the adoption of the “Faithful Budget,” a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget priorities that makes balanced investments into the country’s needs and priorities. The Faithful Budget
can be read in its entirety at, http://faithfulbudget.org/files/2012/03/Priorities-for-a-Faithful-Budget.pdf.

In response to the increase in religious comments surrounding the budget/deficit debate, the Faithful Budget campaign released the following statement: “As communities of faith we have long believed that the budget is a moral document and we judge each proposal not by the arbitrary fiscal support it provides, but rather by the
human impact it holds. A Faithful Budget protects the common good, values every individual and lifts the burden on the poor. In light of all the religious comments around the budget debate, we hope members of Congress will look at the Faithful Budget and make an honest effort to build a more just society and a healthier world.”

Additional details about the Faithful Budget Campaign can be found at www.faithfulbudget.org.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim institutions and other faith-based organizations united by shared beliefs to lift up the nation’s most vulnerable are mobilizing across the country to impact the national budget dialogue by demonstrating that America is a better nation when we follow our faiths’ imperatives to promote the general welfare of all individuals.
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Media Contact: Adam Muhlendorf, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications
adam@rabinowitz-dorf.com; (202) 265-3000 (o); (202) 641-6216 (c)

Work and Pray for a Faithful Budget

An interfaith coalition has been holding daily prayer vigils since July 11th to protect federal programs that serve people living in poverty. This coalition has formed the “Faithful Budget” campaign. Click here for worship, action, and news clip resources from the campaign.

Faith leaders met with President Obama to ask him to protect “the least of these” (Mt 25) in the budget and deficit debates leading up to the debt ceiling deal. The coalition brought religious leaders to Capitol Hill on July 26 to meet with the offices of Congressional leadership.

On July 28, it became clear we had to bring our prayers to the heart of the Capitol. Eleven faith leaders prayed there until they were forcefully removed and arrested.

Watch a video about our campaign here:

Sign our petition here.