Three bishops urge new U.S. budget priorities
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Resources for children should be a priority in
developing the U.S. budget, say three United Methodist bishops in a
letter to President Bush and Congress. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
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By United Methodist News Service
Feb. 15, 2007
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Bishop Janice Riggle Huie
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Three United Methodist bishops are asking President Bush and the U.S.
Congress to place the needs of children and the poor at the heart of
the budget debate.
“The debate among elected leaders over the federal budget is at its
core a debate over how the nation’s abundance is shared,” the bishops
say in a Feb. 15 letter to the president and members of Congress.
“We are alarmed by recent trends in the federal budget that have
squeezed investments in education, child care, food nutrition programs
and other anti-poverty measures to accommodate dramatic tax cuts for the
wealthiest citizens in the United States and to fuel military conflicts
abroad. These policies turn the teachings of Christ on their head.”
The letter was signed by Bishops Janice Riggle Huie, president of the
Council of Bishops; Gregory Vaughn Palmer, the council’s
president-designate; and Beverly Shamana, president of the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society, which is the social advocacy
agency for The United Methodist Church.
The Council of Bishops has focused for years on lifting up the
well-being of children and combating poverty, the letter noted. "We will
not remain silent as the most vulnerable populations in the United
States and around the world are sacrificed at the altars of greed and
war."
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Bishop Beverly Shamana
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Saying the United States is enjoying “unparalleled abundance,” the
bishops said the budget “is as much a moral as a financial document.”
They called for a “reordering of our nation’s budget priorities” and
urged development of “a budget that reflects our shared commitment to
justice and compassion for all God’s children.”
Bush, who is a United Methodist, sent his $2.9 trillion spending plan
to Congress on Feb. 5. In his written message to Congress, the
president said his blueprint “reflects the priorities of our country at
this moment in its history,” including keeping the economy strong,
protecting the homeland and combating terrorism. Bush said his plan
would reduce the U.S. deficit annually and balance the government’s
books by 2012.
The Coalition on Human Needs, a coalition partner with the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society, said the Bush budget cuts vital
services for the poor, near-poor and middle class and increases funding
for the military.
The budget will put $739 billion in tax cuts into the hands of
millionaires alone between 2008 and 2017, according to the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities, an organization that researches and
analyzes how proposed budget and tax policies impact budget choices for
low-income Americans.
“Spending for education, housing, the environment and other programs
requiring annual appropriations will total nearly $392 billion in the
Bush budget, $13 billion below the cost of keeping up with inflation,”
according to the Coalition on Human Needs. The squeeze would be felt by
children losing health insurance, low-income seniors losing food aid and
others.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Council of Bishops
Full Text of Bishops' Letter
United Methodist Board of Church and Society
Coalition on Human Needs
Bush Budget | 
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