wfn.org | People of Faith Declare Proposed Federal Budget 'Immoral'

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

CONTACT:  Leslie Tune, National Council of Churches USA
		  202/544-2350, ext. 11

		Don Parker, The Interfaith Alliance
		202/639-6370, ext. 111

**PHOTOS AVAILABLE**

People of Faith Declare 'This Budget Does Not Reflect Our Values';
Hundreds Attend March 14 Rally at U.S. Capitol 

Washington, D.C., March 15, 2005 -- As the U.S. Senate began debating the
2006 fiscal year budget resolution yesterday, more than 300 people of faith
participated in a rally on Capitol Hill to declare that the federal budget
that has been proposed by the Bush Administration does not reflect their
values.

In the rally, sponsored by the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) and The
Interfaith Alliance (TIA), people of faith from across the country gathered
at the United Methodist Building, located at 100 Maryland Ave., NE, and
marched to the West front of the U.S. Capitol to speak out against the
proposed budget, which favors military spending and tax breaks for the
wealthy and corporations and largely ignores the needs of the poor, children,
the elderly, families and communities. 

The rally came on the heels of the 2005 Ecumenical Advocacy Days event, which
drew close to 900 Christian pastors, ministers and church leaders from across
the country and worldwide. The event began on Friday, March 11 and ended
yesterday with participants visiting their representatives in Congress and
participating in the rally.

The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary, encouraged rally participants
to remind their representatives in Congress that "this budget is immoral and
does not reflect the values we hold as people of faith. The proposed budget
spends about half on defense and the deficit but very little on addressing
the needs of the poor, the dispossessed, children and those who are most in
need."

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest
American Jewish congregation, said, "We are here today to say that when we
look at this budget, we see that American politics right now are
fundamentally broken - corrupted by abuse, world indifference, and
politicians who spend their days dialing for dollars."

He went on to say that the task of people of faith is to share their bread
with the hungry and "to send a message to our President and to leaders of
both parties that despite squalor for the poor and gated communities for the
rich, the great majority of Americans have not given up on 'We, the People.'"

According to Arun Gandhi, grandson of the founder of the nonviolence
movement, Mohandas Gandhi, and founder/president of the M.K. Gandhi Institute
for Nonviolence as well as a member of the Board of Directors of The
Interfaith Alliance, "The 2006 budget is immoral because while it cuts
programs that help the poor and the needy it showers presents on the rich.
Clearly, this budget seeks to make the rich richer while reducing the poor to
panhandlers."

Believing that the budget is a moral document, those gathered offered an
alternative vision of the federal budget - one that rather than further
burden the poor, families, and communities would provide them with the tools
to meet their basic needs such as access to nutritious food and quality child
care, accessible and affordable housing, comprehensive and affordable health
care, high quality education at every stage of life, a fair and just tax
system, job creation and a livable income to sustain their future.

Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance, led participants
in a litany that declared, "Fairness, compassion, integrity, and justice are
the moral principles that should drive the crafting of the federal budget. As
a moral document, the federal budget should not, and cannot, be built on the
backs of the poor, the elderly and future generations."

Three Members of Congress also joined the rally and offered remarks,
Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey, (CA-6th), Lois Capps (CA-23rd) and Donna M.
Christensen (D-U.S. Virgin Islands). Rep. Woolsey, who conducted a workshop
on SMART Security (Sensible, Multilateral American Response to Terrorism) at
the 2005 Ecumenical Advocacy Days, spoke of a time in her life when she was
on welfare although she is educated and in good health. She thanked the rally
participants for speaking out and urged those gathered to continue to
advocate for a budget that helped those living in poverty. 

"Don't think for a minute that you aren't being heard. If they (Members of
Congress) think they'll lose their jobs over this, they will listen," she
said.

Rep. Christensen encouraged participants to say no to the tax cuts for the
wealthy that have been proposed by the Bush Administration. "Giving the
richest people in the country more money takes away from educating our
children. It robs our people, our families and communities of the opportunity
to compete on a fair playing field. It takes safe, strong roofs from over our
heads, and leaves us at salaries below a living wage or without any job at
all," she said.

Quoting President Bush's 2005 State of the Union address in which he said
that society is measured by how it treats the weak and vulnerable, the Rev.
Brenda Girton-Mitchell, NCC Associate General Secretary for Justice and
Advocacy, asked, "The President said he wants to 'pass along freedom'â?¦but
how can we experience freedom when the basic values of our society are mocked
by a budget that makes so many morally indefensible choices?"

###

EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos are available from the March 14 rally. For photos or to
schedule follow-up interviews contact, Leslie Tune, NCC, at 202/544-2350 or
202/297-2191 (cell) or Don Parker, The Interfaith Alliance at 202/639-6370.