JCPA, Other Religious Orgs. Defend Social Safety Net against Cuts

Jason Attermann — July 18, 2011 – 3:58 pm | Barack Obama | Congress | Domestic Policy Comments (0) Add a comment

An interfaith group comprised of representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths banded together to urge Congress and the White House to protect funding for social services during ongoing budget talks. The coalition released a statement on July 14th that explained their goal of “protect[ing] those struggling to overcome poverty in the U.S. and abroad and to exclude programs that protect people in poverty from the budget deficit debates.”

The campaign to secure these federally-aided safety net services includes an 18 month public policy campaign as well as a daily prayer vigil each day on Capitol Hill.

The Jewish community was represented by Rabbi Steve Gutow, the President of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. According to the press release, he stated:

‘To hurt the poor by trying to balance the budget or lessen the debt is a little bit ridiculous.’  He went on to say, ‘We were known by our founders as a city on a hill with a light of justice that emanated forth and we cannot and we must not be any less than who we are.’

The coalition sent a letter to President Obama and congressional leadership, making their argument for maintaining funding for crucial social services [emphasis theirs]:

People who are served by government programs - those who are poor, sick, and hungry, older adults, children, and people with disabilities - should not bear the brunt of the budget-cutting burden. Economic disparities in our nation are both symptomatic of our current fiscal situation and one of its causes. Thus, cuts to programs that serve the neediest not only violate the core values of our nation, but also place us on a path of even greater economic peril. They have suffered enough and increasing their level of deprivation would be a terrible injustice.

The letter went on to say:

Houses of worship and communities of faith cannot meet the current need, much less the increased hardship that would result from severe cuts in federal, and consequently, state programs.  We need the public-private partnership that has for decades enabled us as a nation to respond to desperate need, both human and environmental.

Click here to read the full press release.

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