Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Church Leaders Call for Compassionate Budget ELCA NEWS SERVICE
May 17, 2007
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Church Leaders Call for Compassionate Budget 07-085-AL
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- As members of the U.S. House and Senate negotiated the federal budget for fiscal year 2008, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), along with leaders of four other Christian denominations, sent a letter May 10 to members of the U.S. Congress calling for the budget to be just and compassionate.
In the letter the group expressed thanks for House and Senate resolutions that made positive changes to the president's proposed budget and retained positive elements of that budget. The budget proposal was released in February.
The group applauded congressional resolutions making fiscal responsibility a priority while providing needed funding for children's health insurance and nutrition programs. The group also expressed appreciation for the Senate's resolution which restored $2.2 billion of international assistance funding, which had been cut from the president's budget request. The group urged budget negotiators to keep funding for all those programs in the budget as Congress holds final votes on the budget this week.
The letter was signed by Hanson; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Bishop Beverly Shamana, president of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society; the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; and the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president, United Church of Christ.
The House-Senate conference committee reached an agreement May 16 on the budget. Full details of the conference committee agreement were unavailable. The budget now must pass the full House and Senate before it is sent to the president.
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The text of the letter is available at
http://tinyurl.com/32bwpj on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog