wfn.org | 52 ELCA Synod Bishops Urge Congress To Stop Budget Reconciliation

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 12, 2005

52 ELCA Synod Bishops Urge Congress To Stop Budget Reconciliation
05-194-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Saying they are "religious leaders seeking
justice for millions of vulnerable and dispossessed people in our
nation," 52 bishops representing synods of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wrote to the U.S. Congress
urging members to oppose attempts to move forward on budget
reconciliation measures Congress is considering.  Copies of the
letter were delivered Oct. 12 to members of Congress.
     The bishops said they represent diverse regions but speak
with one voice about the "fundamental responsibility of the
government, as an expression of the will of the people, to
protect the least of its citizens and provide for the poorest in
our society."
     The synod bishops' letter follows a similar request from the
Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.  He joined with four
other U.S. religious leaders Sept. 13 urging Congress to stop the
federal budget reconciliation process for 2006.
     This year's federal budget resolution binds Congress to
reconcile or cut mandatory or "entitlement" programs by
$35 billion, said Karen Vagley, director, Lutheran Office for
Governmental Affairs, the ELCA's federal public policy office,
Washington, D.C., in remarks to the recent ELCA Conference of
Bishops meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 3.  The Gulf Coast hurricane
disaster and its consequences have added pressure to stop the
reconciliation process for this year, because the programs to be
cut are an important part of the disaster relief services that
are needed, she said.
     In their letter the bishops noted the cuts to mandatory
spending called for in the reconciliation package "would decrease
valuable assistance to millions of low-income families, children,
elderly and people with disabilities."
     "Even as the number of people living in poverty and without
insurance has increased dramatically in the past five years, the
last few tragic weeks in the Gulf Coast area have put a face,
indeed, thousands of new faces, on poverty in the heart of our
society," the letter said.
     Examples of programs to be cut in the reconciliation process
cited by the bishops included Food Stamps, Medicaid, the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
     The programs "help to keep struggling families together and
assist low-income working families in moving to higher economic
ground. This is not the time to cut such important programs while
using the cuts to pay for tax breaks for those who don't need
them," the bishops told members of Congress.
     The "biblical record" is clear, the bishops said. "The
scriptural witness on which our faith tradition stands speaks
dramatically of God's concern for and solidarity with poor and
oppressed communities while speaking firmly in opposition to
governments whose policies place narrow economic interests driven
by greed above the common good."
     Jesus "speaks and acts unequivocally on behalf of those on
the margins of society," and St. Paul wrote forcefully about the
importance of community and expands the definition of those we
call brothers and sisters in Christ, the bishops said.
     Noting that Americans have opened their homes to help people
from the Gulf Coast states and that non-profit and religious
organizations are providing relief services, the bishops strongly
urged each member of Congress "to reflect on your role as a
government official in providing for the least in our society and
(we) ask that you oppose any attempt to move forward with the
budget reconciliation process."
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     A copy of the ELCA synods bishops' letter to Congress is at
http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news