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An Open Letter to the President
CHICAGO, IL (June 11, 2003) - Dear Mr. President:
We are all leaders in the faith community, whose churches and faith-based
organizations are on the front lines of fighting poverty. Many of us have
supported your faith-based initiative from the beginning of the
administration. Several of us have met with you to discuss the churches'
role in overcoming poverty and have offered solid support to our friends
John DiLulio and Jim Towey, who have led your office of Faith Based and
Community Initiatives. But while we have consistently backed faith-based
approaches to poverty reduction, we have also insisted they must be
accompanied by policies that really do assist low-income families and
children as they seek self-sufficiency.
Mr. President, it is a critical time for poor people in America. Poor
people are suffering; and our faith-based service providers see it every
day in communities across the country. The poor are suffering because of a
weakened economy. The poor are suffering because of resources being
diverted to war and homeland security. And the poor are suffering because
of a lack of attention in national public policy.
We are writing because of our deep moral concern about consistency in your
administration's support for effective policies that help alleviate
poverty. We believe a lack of focus on the poor in the critical areas of
budget priorities and tax policy is creating a crisis for low-income
people. We believe the budget your administration has put forward fails to
protect and promote the well being of our poorest and most vulnerable
citizens. The tax cut just passed by the Congress with your support
provides virtually no help for those at the bottom of the economic ladder,
while those at the top reap windfalls. The resulting spending cuts, at both
federal and state levels, in the critical areas of health care, education
and social services will fall heaviest on the poor. Budgets are moral
documents.
You have taken many positive steps with regard to international aid and
development, such as the HIV/AIDS initiative, and we would like to see that
compassion manifest here at home. In significant social programs like
welfare reform, we have supported the proposals of your administration to
strengthen marriage and family as effective antipoverty measures; but the
companion pro-family commitments to invest in adequate childcare, education
and training for our poorest families have fallen short in your
administration's proposals. The most effective and bipartisan policies for
reducing poverty have not been adequately supported by your administration.
Over the past several years, we have advocated several policy initiatives
in addition to the "faith-based initiative" that would help low-income
people in this country. These include TANF reauthorization that makes
poverty reduction a priority, targeted tax relief for low-income families
and funding for proven programs that would effectively reduce poverty. We
believe administration support for such policies would be consistent with
your stated commitment of being compassionate toward the poor, especially
since you have spoken more about issues of poverty than many of your
predecessors.
We recall your Notre Dame address two years ago where you pointed out:
"Government has an important role. It will never be replaced by charities .
. . yet, government must also do more to take the side of charities and
community healers and support their work . . . Government must be active
enough to fund services for the poor - and humble enough to let good people
in local communities provide those services."
Mr. President, "the good people" who provide such services are feeling
overwhelmed by increasing need and diminishing resources. And many are
feeling betrayed. The lack of a consistent, coherent and integrated
domestic policy that benefits low-income people makes our continued support
for your faith-based initiative increasingly untenable. Mr. President, the
poor are suffering and without serious changes in the policies of your
administration, they will suffer even more.
When you announced the faith-based initiative, you pledged that: "I want to
ensure that faith-based and community groups will always have a place at
the table in our deliberations." Mr. President, it's time to bring the
faith-based organizations to the table where policy decisions are being
made. We are concerned that the needs of the poor people in America seem to
have little influence in the critical decisions your administration is
making. The faith-based initiative seems to be the only place in your
administration where poverty is prioritized, yet we know that faith-based
initiatives alone will never be sufficient to solve the problems of
poverty. As we have discussed with you the faith-based initiative, we now
want to engage your administration in a serious conversation about domestic
social policy.
Mr. President, it's time to talk.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
