Demand Care Not Cuts: Don’t Take From the Poor to Feed the Rich
No economic challenge facing the country can be morally or practically solved by cutting life-saving programs for those that have the least. Everybody needs an affordable place to call home, healthcare to prevent illness and to heal when sick, and nutritious food to grow and sustain life.
Today, Members of Congress in the House are debating and voting on a budget proposal that reflects the priorities of the majority party for the future of our nation and curtails access to vital programs serving our communities! Today’s vote will serve as a moral statement that reveals who is most valuable in our society and how we respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and historically under-served.
The budget proposal being considered is attached to negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, or legal limit on how much the United States can borrow to pay its bills. For decades, Congress has repeatedly increased the debt limit, so that the U.S. does not fail to pay its debts. However, in recent years, some lawmakers have used debt ceiling negotiations as leverage to force federal budget cuts that harm vulnerable communities. This is shameful since the debt ceiling is not tied to future spending, but funds what Congress has already spent, including on services such as housing, health care, veteran’s supports, and child care.
Unfortunately, this Congress is no different. The majority party in the House has introduced a dangerous proposal that has nothing to do with the debt ceiling and is an attempt to make further cuts to programs many in our communities—perhaps even ourselves—use to survive. The plan increases day-to-day costs for hardworking Americans —from health care, to housing, utility bills and child care costs — and threatens Social Security and kids’ lunches, just to give more tax breaks and less accountability to billionaires and big corporations.
As people of faith, we share a common call to work for an end to hunger, homelessness, and poverty. All of our sacred texts inform our passion for mercy and justice. In the Christian tradition, Jesus calls the faithful to prioritize the needs of the "least of these" and to be moved by compassion and love to meet the needs of one’s neighbor.
By emailing your Representative today, you can match the energy of James 2:14-16, which reminds us that faith without works is dead. People of faith are called to do more than offer thoughts and prayers in the face of suffering—we must move quickly to put our faith into action to prevent suffering and address inequity!
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