Mainline Protestant statement on Bush's 2006 budget

Leaders of five mainline Protestant denominations representing more than 20 million followers in the United States Tuesday called President Bush's 2006 federal budget "unjust." In a joint statement, representing the Episcopal Church, USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, says in part,

"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 county. 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.

After asserting 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," the five urge all of us to join in opposing the budget:

"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."

May it be so.