Speaking with Our Faithful Voices

 

Advocating for a Moral Budget The budget reconciliation package  approved by the House of  Representatives earlier this year cuts almost $300 billion in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over 10 years. According to organizations like Bread for the World, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), this is the largest single reduction of domestic food assistance ever enacted. (See CBPP chart).   A subsequent Senate proposal seeks similar or even deeper cuts than the House has proposed. One Senate plan forces most states to pay a portion of food benefit costs for the first time. "If a state cannot fully pay its required share, it would have two main options: significantly reduce the number of people receiving food assistance to the point where the state can afford its required share of benefits for the remaining households, or terminate the state’s SNAP program entirely," the CBPP said in a briefing on June 13. "This bill would slash billions in food assistance for millions of Americans to help pay for a $3.8 trillion package that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy, FRAC said in a similar analysis  on June 12. . Non-profit organizations, coalitions, faith groups and  many others in New Mexico have signed a letter to our congressional delegation urging them to oppose the cuts.  "We are living in a time of rising food costs, high inflation, and, for many working families, incomes that simply cannot keep pace. Across our country and across our state, exhausted parents are feeling the pain of putting their children to bed hungry. Seniors who worked their whole lives are having to make a choice between buying medicine and buying food. Veterans who served this great country with honor are scraping by to pay rent and afford groceries," said the letter coordinated by the New Mexico Association of Food Banks on June 20. On Bread for the World's Lobby Day on June 11, six of us from New Mexico (Lynette Schurdevin, Kendra Poole, Rev. Andy Stokes, Kamatara Johnson, Sergio Mata-Cisneros and Carlos Navarro)  met in Washington with aides to Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan and Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger-Fernandez and Gabe Vasquez to urge our representatives to oppose the cuts.  Some friends from Puerto Rico joined us at Sen. Ben Ray Lujan's office. We also encountered Rep. Melanie Stansbury and NM State Sen. Harold Pope at Rep. Gabe Vasquez's office. Cuts 'Completely at Odds with the Gospel' Faith leaders are speaking out on the latest cuts.  "The massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP– programs that support the most vulnerable- add up to a trillion dollars. That political calculus of this historic bill which will define the budget of our nation for years to come is completely at odds with the gospel calculus," Rev. Jim Wallis in God's Politics blog "Cuts to SNAP would result in job losses in the agriculture, food production, and grocery industries. Both would lead to worse health outcomes and add financial stress to millions of families and children in every community across the nation... It is morally indefensible to extract resources from food and healthcare assistance in order to advance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and businesses," said  a letter to congressional leaders from more than 150 Jewish organizations nationwide.  "The church and the bishops of the United States should lead the way in speaking against this bill and calling on Catholics to work for its defeat. Because of its overall effects on those who are most in need, passing this budget would be a moral failure for American society as a whole. Unless the church opposes it in the clearest possible terms, we will squander the credibility of our witness to the Gospel and Christ’s command to care for the "least of these," said a statement from Archbishop John Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Over the years, people of faith have spoken out against efforts to cut SNAP and other food programs. “The proposed budget cuts are of great concern to the humanitarian community. We stand united against any policy that leaves our poor and vulnerable in more perilous conditions," former Islamic Relief USA CEO Anwar Khan said in 2017 in response to proposals during the first Trump administration to cut funding for domestic food programs. "It’s the very safety net programs that the current budget fight is targeting, and to me this is wrong. It, quite frankly, is immoral" said  Sister Simone Campbell, founder of Nuns on the Bus and former director of the Catholic Social Justice lobby Network said in the  PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. At the Urban Way of the Cross in Albuquerque in 2019, we spoke about a moral budget and urged protections for the most vulnerable.  Watch a Video And we carry on faithfully with our efforts to oppose cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable people in our society. We invite you to join us in the following event.  Catholic Sisters and Friends will gather in front of the Federal Court at 4th and Lomas in Albuquerque  Thursday, June 26   4:30-5:30 Faith leaders and friends will reflect, make statements, pray and hold signs reminding all that a Budget is a Moral Document. Jason Riggs, a member of our IHC steering committee, will offer a brief statement on the impact of SNAP cuts on families in New Mexico Other people of faith will reflect on areas that are threatened by budget cuts, including housing, veterans affairs, global nutrition assistance, medical research, environmental protection and much more.  The gathering is in conjunction with a similar event in Washington, D.C., on the steps of the Capitol on June 24, also led by Catholic Sisters and Friends. Local events are planned in about 20 locations around the United States. The public is encouraged to join the Albuquerque gathering of faithful demanding a moral budget.