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Food Stamp Protection Faces Uphill Fight
By Stan Friedman
CHICAGO, IL (October 21, 2005) - Religious leaders from across the country,
including Glenn Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church,
welcomed the news that the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee decided not
to cut nearly $600 million from the Food Stamp Program.
Earlier this week, committee chair Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) dropped
the proposed $574 million in cuts to the program in his package of $5
billion in spending reductions from the Agriculture Department that
passed out of committee. The committee's recommended budget cuts -
without any reduction in the Food Stamp Program - have been sent to the
full Budget Committee. If approved by the full committee, the proposal
will be presented to the Senate for a vote.
Chambliss said Tuesday that he would drop the proposed cuts largely
because many conservative religious and service organizations had
campaigned against them, characterizing the proposed cuts as immoral.
Many Covenanters and North Park University students participated in
letter-writing efforts opposing the cuts.
"It's very gratifying that people from both parties are willing to
address poverty as a moral issue," Palmberg said in response to the
committee's action. "We as Christians have a moral responsibility to
work with the political process and sometimes find ourselves out of step
with both parties."
Palmberg participated in a national telephone press conference
co-conducted on Tuesday by David Beckmann, president of Bread for the
World, and Jim Wallis, the founder of Call to Renewal.
Wallis praised Covenanters for their assistance in fighting the cuts.
"The Evangelical Covenant Church has been at the heart of this," he
said, taking special note of the work by students at Calvin College and
North Park University. "Something very powerful is happening."
Beckmann said he is "delighted" by Chambliss' decision and praised him
for his "moral leadership." Calling the decision an "initial victory,"
he added, "we're far from done here. We've got a real uphill fight."
Wallis praised Senators Jim M. Talent (R-Missouri) and Rick Santorum
(R-Pennsylvania) who prompted the reversal of a Republican plan to cut
food stamps, according to news reports.
The food stamp cut would have affected 11 states, where some low-income
families are automatically eligible for the benefits even though they do
not receive welfare, according to Beckmann. The net affect of the cut
would have been to remove 300,000 recipients from the program. The House
Agriculture Committee is considering cuts to the program of more than $1
billion. Any difference in the bills between the two houses will be
worked out in conference committee.
"It's unnecessary and downright wrong to cut food stamps and other
programs from low-income people," said Beckmann. He noted that the
people cut from the program still are part of the working poor who had
lifted themselves out of welfare, but not above the poverty line. "I'm a
fiscal conservative," Beckmann added. "I do not like the fiscal
recklessness of the last few years, but to save $600 million or a
billion dollars by taking away food stamp benefits is not the way to do it."
"We must draw a line in the sand - a moral line in the sand - against
further service cuts for poor people and tax cuts for the wealthy,"
Wallis stressed. "People don't know they are considering $70 billion in
tax cuts for the wealthiest and $35 billion in program cuts for the
poor. It's amazing to me how they tinker with levels for families that
are the working poor. They quibble and tinker about levels for these
poorest people, but they won't even tinker with tax cuts for the
wealthiest of the Americans."
Palmberg and leaders of other religious organizations, including the
National Alliance of Evangelicals, have asked Congress to pass the
Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005, which they say would eliminate
hunger in the United States by 2015. The act would increase federal
funding available to local organizations working to reduce hunger in
communities nationwide.
The bill has bipartisan support including 120 sponsors in the House and
31 in the Senate. "We think we have a chance now to pass it by the end
of the year," Beckmann said. Introducing the bill took five months, but
has gained steady support thanks to letter-writing campaigns from
religious organizations. "That changes the debate from how much are we
going to cut food stamps next year to . . . how are we going to move
forward."
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
