[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 26 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         JOINT STATEMENT BY LEADERS OF PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 2005

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, Budgets are moral documents, which reflect 
the values and priorities of our nation. Drawing from my own faith, the 
Catholic Bishops have stated, ``The obligation to provide justice for 
all means that the poor have the single most urgent economic claim on 
the conscience of the nation.'' The more I hear this Administration's 
justification for the harsh decisions within their budget, the more I 
believe that there is no justification. This budget simply reflects the 
wrong values and priorities. That is why I would like to enter for 
today's Record a joint statement by the leaders of five mainline 
Protestant denominations representing over 20 million followers in the 
United States. These religious leaders today called President Bush's 
2006 federal budget ``unjust.''
  The statement is signed by: the Most Reverend Frank Griswold, 
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, the Right Reverend Mark 
Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, 
the Reverend Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General 
Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ General 
Minister and President John H. Thomas, and James Winkler, General 
Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society of the United 
Methodist Church.

                            Joint Statement

       Washington, DC, Mar. 8, 2005.--We are preachers, and so, in 
     explaining our opposition to the 2006 Federal Budget that 
     President Bush has sent to Congress, it seems only fitting 
     that we should begin with Scripture.
       There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine 
     linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate 
     lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed 
     to satify his hunger with what fell from the rich man's 
     table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor 
     man died and was carried away by the angels to be with 
     Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, 
     where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham 
     far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ``Father 
     Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of 
     his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in 
     these flames''
       The passage comes from 16th chapter of the Gospel according 
     to Luke, and it contains a warning that should deeply trouble 
     those of us who live in a wealthy nation. As the story 
     continues, the rich man implores Abraham to raise Lazarus 
     from the dead and send him to the house of his brothers so 
     that they may be spared his torment.
       ``They have Moses and the prophets,'' Abraham replies. 
     ``They should listen to them.'' The rich man says, ``No, 
     father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, 
     they will repent.'' And Abraham answers, ``If they do not 
     listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be 
     convinced even if someone rises from the dead.''
       In telling this story, Jesus makes clear that perpetrating 
     economic injustice is among the gravest of sins. Yet self-
     interest is so deeply ingrained in each one of us, he says, 
     that we will not renounce it, even should someone rise from 
     the dead. Jesus was right about that. It was he who rose from 
     the dead to save us from greed and myriad other sins. Yet 
     those who have much continue feasting, even as those who have 
     little remain at their gates.
       Like many Americans, we read our daily newspaper through 
     the lens of faith, and when we see injustice, it is our duty 
     to say so. The 2006 Federal Budget that President Bush has 
     sent to Capitol Hill is unjust. It has much for the rich man 
     and little for Lazarus. According to the White House's own 
     numbers, this budget would move 300,000 people off food 
     stamps in the next five years. It would cut the funds that 
     allow 300,000 children to receive day care. It would reduce 
     funding for Medicaid by $45 billion over the next ten years, 
     and this at a time when 45 million Americans--the highest 
     level on record--are already without health insurance.
       These cuts would be alarming in any circumstances, but in 
     the context of the 2006 budget, they are especially 
     troubling. For even as it reduces aid to those in poverty, 
     this budget showers presents on the rich. If passed in its 
     current form, it would make permanent tax cuts that have 
     bestowed nearly three quarters of the ``relief'' on one-fifth 
     of the country. If passed in its current form, it would 
     include whopping new cuts that would benefit, almost 
     exclusively, those with household incomes of more 
     than $200,000 per year. If passed in its current form, it 
     would take Jesus' teaching on economic justice and stands 
     it on its head.
       Some contend that these cuts will stimulate the economy and 
     improve life for all Americans, but we believe that stocking 
     the rich man's larder is a peculiar strategy for getting 
     Lazarus more food. Not only does this policy rest on dubious 
     economic assumptions, but it asks the poor to pay the cost 
     for a prosperity in which they may never share.
       Some contend that works of mercy are not the business of 
     the government but of private citizens. But in what other 
     area of our national life do we formulate policies uninformed 
     by our deepest values?
       Some contend that with the proper support faith-based 
     charities will step forward to fill the gap created by the 
     government's retreat. But this flies in the face of the 
     lessons that we, as religious leaders, have learned first 
     hand. Our churches operate thousands of charities from the 
     parochial to the international. Believe us when we tell you 
     that neither we, nor our Evangelical brothers and sisters, 
     nor our friends of other faiths have anywhere near the 
     resources to turn back the rising tide of poverty in this 
     country. We know that programs, whether governmental or non-
     profit, can change people's lives for the better. New 
     situations challenge us to respond to new conditions and to 
     support those who are in transition out of poverty. Sadly, 
     the 2006 budget will send more people searching for food in 
     cupboards that, quite frequently, are bare.
       Our churches will continue their ameliorative ministries. 
     But it is not enough for us as a Church or a society to be 
     merciful. We must remember the admonition of the prophet 
     Micah. ``And what does the Lord require of you but to do 
     justice, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your 
     God?'' Micah's choice of verbs is instructive. We are not to 
     love justice or preach justice, we are to do justice--to act, 
     and, when necessary, to struggle.
       We urge the members of our churches, of other churches and 
     other faiths, and all whose conscience compels them to do 
     justice to join us in opposing this budget. Write to your 
     representatives. Write to your local newspaper. Join the 
     organizations working to obtain justice for the 36 million 
     Americans living below the poverty line, the 45 million 
     without health insurance and the unknown millions struggling 
     to keep their families from slipping into these ever 
     increasing ranks. Together, let us pledge ourselves to 
     creating a nation in which economic policies are infused with 
     the spirit of the man who began his public ministry almost 
     2,000 years ago by proclaiming that God had anointed him ``to 
     bring good news to the poor.''
       Signed by:
     The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold,
       Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, USA.
     The Right Reverend Mark Hanson,
        Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
     America.
     The Reverend Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
       Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church, 
     (U.S.A.).
     The Reverend John H. Thomas,
       General Minister and President, United Church of Christ.
     Mr. James Winkler,
       General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society, 
     United Methodist Church.

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