A Declaration on an Issue of Importance On our National Budget
American Baptists are persons who take seriously the gospel call to care for the needy, to protect the vulnerable, to advocate for the oppressed, and to engage in ministries of healing and wholeness. In a range of Policy Statements, including the Policy Statement on Human Rights (7021:12/76), the Policy Statement on Hunger (7015:6/75), the Policy Statement on Housing (7033:6/83), and the Policy Statement on Family Life (7036:6/84), we call on our people and our churches to advocate for government programs and policies that strive to ensure the well-being of all people. In the Declaration on an Issue of Importance on Children in Poverty, adopted unanimously by the General Board in its June 2005 meetings, we called upon American Baptists to recognize and prioritize the needs of economically disadvantaged children and to work to change systems that create and perpetuate poverty.
On Friday, November 19, 2005 the United States House of Representatives passed the House Budget Reconciliation Bill by a vote of 217 to 215. It proposes a national budget that will cut $50 billion from some of our most vital anti-poverty programs ? food stamps, Medicaid, child care, student aid and loan programs and more. The Bill, if enacted, will immediately harm the most vulnerable in our land and thus further imperil the well-being of all U.S. citizens. In the upcoming weeks the budget will face negotiations in the House and Senate, followed by separate votes in each chamber.
We, therefore, call upon our Office of Governmental Relations, our churches and members to advocate for the poorest among us by calling upon our legislators to refuse the passage of any budget bill that eviscerates vital programs that ensure basic human needs and to work to restore necessary funding to anti-poverty programs so that all people in our nation might experience the wholeness and shalom God intends for us.
Approved by the ABC General Board ? November 2005
Yes: 69; No: 0; Abstentions: 4
Posted by tripp at December 20, 2005 04:09 PM