Category Archives: Budget

Legislative Review of 2023

Legislative Review of 2023

One of the Most Dysfunctional, Unproductive Congresses of Modern Times

Laura Peralta-Schulte
February 19, 2024

Laura Peralta-Schulte is NETWORK’s Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations.

Following the 2022 midterm elections, 2023 brought “divided government” to Washington, DC as Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while the Presidency and U.S. Senate remained under Democratic control.

Policymaking is always more difficult with a divided government because only compromise allows success. The federal system, by design, encourages deal-making and compromise, half-measures, and rare bipartisan achievements. The reactive nature of the federal system often frustrates those seeking revolutionary change.

The first session of the 118th Congress stands out as a year of abject legislative failure. It was a year of squandered opportunity, petty infighting, and deep frustration. The blame for this lack of progress lies directly at the feet of the House Republican Caucus and, by extension, former President Trump.

It is no secret the two major parties have competing visions on key policy issues. The key distinction between the parties is generally informed by what they believe to be the federal government’s proper role. These differences profoundly impact the lives of vulnerable people and the earth, our common home.

NETWORK’s Build Anew agenda requires an active federal government to address the social sins of the day: a broken, inhumane immigration and asylum system, shocking levels of wealth inequality and an ever-growing wage gap, increasing levels of child poverty, destruction of our planet, and more. NETWORK, in Washington and through the actions of our members back home, plays a critical role in bridging the divides to build support for core policy initiatives informed by Catholic Social teaching.

Why does this session stand out as being particularly troublesome? The design of the federal system remains the same; however, the norms of the system — civility and goodwill at minimum to a member’s party — have vanished. The problem did not start this year; institutional norms have slowly eroded, dating back to the speakership of Newt Gingrich and the government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996. The Trump administration accelerated this decay in Washington leading directly to the insurrection of January 6 and an attempted overthrow of the 2020 election.

The schism in the Republican party is most apparent in the House of Representatives and exists between two distinct factions: institutionalists, a quickly shrinking number of Members who respect traditional norms and recognize the need to compromise, and radicals, those who view compromise as capitulation and weakness and act with little regard for the institution or their fellow Republicans.

Tension between the two factions has been displayed in the House since the beginning of the term. This first became apparent during the nomination of Rep. Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House. A group of hardline House Republicans blocked McCarthy from securing the speakership to extract policy concessions to their radical agenda. McCarthy won the speakership after 15 humiliating votes. The nomination debate foreshadowed the tumult that was McCarthy’s short tenure as Speaker.

It is critical to note that Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have largely rejected chaos, instead opting to collaborate with Senate Democrats to achieve mutual policy objectives. As 2023 came to a close, it was sadly apparent that a core issue that intersects both House and Senate Republicans’ agenda is a strong desire to end the U.S. asylum system and “build the wall.”

The radical nature of House Republican conservatives — in policy and political norms — is nothing less than shocking. Action on key policy initiatives stopped except for must-pass legislation — lifting the debt ceiling and passing two continuing resolutions to keep our government operational. Each bill moved forward only after House Republicans attempted to use the deadlines to alter core human needs programs for struggling families significantly. Then, after failing to develop a consensus among their caucus, the government was kept afloat due to the support of House Democrats under the leadership of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Cuts to poverty programs are being heralded by House conservatives as necessary austerity measures. The great irony is that the same House conservatives proposing to take food from babies are poised to spend billions of dollars for more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations on top of the $2 trillion spent under President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017.

Then-Speaker McCarthy lost his speakership due to passing a bipartisan continuing resolution with the support of Democrats in September. Compromise is the enemy of House conservatives, regardless of the chaos resulting from policy failure. Chaos is a key tactic and desired outcome.

It is worth noting that these radical members are working very closely with former President Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Many are on record as election deniers and supporters of the insurrection. The former president urged these House Republicans to replace McCarthy in September. He rejected several candidates for Speaker to replace McCarthy, ultimately praising the nomination of ally Rep. Mike Johnson. It bears remembering that now-Speaker Johnson led the effort in the House to reverse Trump’s 2020 election loss.

The first session of a new Congress is typically a time when work gets done before the election cycle begins. Unlike previous congressional terms, the 2024 elections have been front and center in the House from day one. House legislative efforts have relentlessly attacked immigrants and U.S. asylum laws, voting rights, and the LGBTQ+ community.

There have been calls for book bans and ending diversity initiatives, attacks on the Internal Revenue Service as they actively work to ensure wealthy taxpayers pay their taxes, and drastic cuts on all key anti-poverty programs, including WIC, SNAP, healthcare, Social Security, Title One school funding, housing vouchers, and so much more. House Republicans also started formal impeachment processes for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and President Biden.

The House Agriculture bill provides a great example of the harsh austerity measures radical House members are seeking. After successfully making it harder for older Americans to receive SNAP in the new debt ceiling law, key provisions of the Agriculture bill were nothing less than a frontal attack on communities living with high rates of poverty. The bill had cruel cuts in funding to prevent hunger and food insecurity, including hallowing out key programs for fresh fruits and vegetables for children.

Shockingly, the bill would eviscerate long-standing bipartisan support for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at a time of great need. A lack of funding means waiting lists, poorer health outcomes, and other hardships for new families and their babies.

House conservatives are heralding cuts to poverty programs as necessary austerity measures. The great irony is that the same House conservatives proposing to take food from babies are poised to spend billions of dollars for more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations on top of the $2 trillion spent under President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017.

As the year ends, Congress, due to inaction in the House, has pushed all decisions on major legislation into 2024, making this the most non-productive, dysfunctional Congress in the modern era. The House of Representatives completely failed in their responsibility to the American people. As always, the high cost of inaction falls hardest on the most vulnerable.

This story was published in the Quarter 1 2024 issue of Connection.

This Advent, Remember the Promises

This Advent, Remember the Promises

Mary J. Novak
December 20, 2023

Read NETWORK’s Advent 2023 reflections here!

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24.

2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
Rom 16:25-27
Lk 1:26-28

The Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent speak beautifully of God’s promises. Time and again, God delivers great things, and people rejoice at these wonders. God is good, and God is faithful. 

This year, NETWORK had experience with keeping promises and remaining faithful.  

Too often, this has taken the form of making sure Congress did not slash funding to vital human needs programs including SNAP and WIC, even after promising not to in the deal averting a government shutdown.  

A few but powerful extremist Members of Congress called for cuts that would have harmed millions of people in the U.S. by jeopardizing their access to food, housing, and healthcare. And worse, they proposed these cuts as part of their demands to avert a government shutdown. Shutting down the government would have harmed millions more across the U.S. and disproportionately harmed Black and Brown communities. 

We lament the sin of indifference toward our neighbors and communities these cuts would harm. We also lament the dangerous brinkmanship that sees shutting down the government as an acceptable bargaining tool. This approach is corrosive to the very fabric of our democracy, and worse, those who engage in this practice seem to know it. 

Amidst these trials, we also saw beautiful reminders of the faithfulness of God, in our own NETWORK Advocates. Justice-seekers from across the country gathered throughout this year as part of NETWORK’s Thriving Communities campaign to call on Congress to pass a moral budget. Rallies in Erie, Pennsylvania and Youngstown, Ohio, as well as on Long Island and Capitol Hill made the appeal for “Care Not Cuts.”  You joined together and spoke out, and you continue to beautifully model your faithful commitment to the common good. 

The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise is Jesus, and the Gospel reading this Sunday finds the angel announcing to Mary that she would bear a son. Just as God’s faithfulness resulted in the creation of a family, the Holy Family, so the faithfulness of NETWORK Advocates has allowed countless families to flourish with the assistance they urgently need.  

Call to Action 

So far, the dedication of NETWORK Advocates has paid off in protecting vital human needs programming. But we must stay alert because the human needs programs we are called to care about are still very much at risk. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is not finalized till January. 

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to keep their promise and fund this vital program. 

 

Join the Thriving Communities Campaign So We All Thrive

Thriving Communities

Thanks for your advocacy!

NETWORK’s Thriving Communities Campaign ran MARCH 28 to JUNE 2, but our advocacy and lobbying for social justice continues. We thank all who joined our community of Spirit-filled supporters to advocate for food, medical care, housing, and other human needs.

We look forward to working with you again soon to continue the push for thriving communities for all of us — no exceptions!

Thriving Communities Campaign

No matter where we live, how we pray, or the size of our paycheck, most of us want to be sure our families are well-fed, have a warm place to sleep at night, and can see the doctor when needed. Some politicians want to cut food, medical, and housing assistance programs that struggling folks need to pay down our country’s debts. It is immoral to place the debt ceiling burden on the backs of struggling people. Our national budget is a moral document that must allow everyone to thrive — not just the wealthy. When wealthy corporations and billionaires stop getting unfair advantages from the government that let them dodge what they truly owe in taxes, our budget will have what it needs to take care of veterans, families, and anyone in need — no exceptions. Just as we did when we fought for the Affordable Health Care Act 15 years ago, and last year for the Infrastructure Reduction Act, we will press our elected leaders to provide the supports and services our families need. Will you join the campaign?

Get Started with the Thriving Communities Toolkit

We know what our communities need to thrive, and we have the faith and love to advocate for our neighbors, and we have the strength to advocate for what we need, because we are seeking justice together!

Ready to get started? View our Thriving Communities Toolkit here, download it here. You can also view LTE’s that justice-seekers have had published in their communities around the country. See a selection of letters to the editor here.

We know that resources are bountiful in God’s beloved community. There’s enough for all of us — Black, white, and Brown — to thrive. But House Republicans want to meet the burden of our shared budget debt by cutting vital programs that those struggling in our country need to survive, like WIC, SNAP, housing assistance, and Medicaid.

We cannot balance a budget on the backs of poor people. It’s time that wealthy corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.  Spirit-filled justice seekers are coming together through the Thriving Communities Campaign to advocate for a moral budget that provides for all of us… no exceptions!

The Thriving Communities Campaign has actions that we all can take to demand that Congress protect spending for vital human needs programs — so that everyone can have the food, shelter, and medical care they need to thrive. See our Thriving Communities Campaign Toolkit here. 

The toolkit has guidance, messaging help, social media hashtags and posts, images to share, and more to make it easy for you to participate in the way that best suits you.

Watch Our Thriving Communities: #CareNotCuts Rallies

Long Island

Erie

Youngstown

Learn More with Campaign Support Guides and Videos

Thriving Communities One-Pager

The Thriving Communities One-pager helps you share the message of our campaign at events that you organize. It’s also a resource to help you persuade friends, family, and others to join our campaign.

This Work Requirements 1-pager helps you learn about existing work requirements and why adding such requirements is unnecessary and unjust.

Feel confident when you spread the goals and underlying messages of the Thriving Communities Campaign with this comprehensive talking points document.  url=”

Watch the Government Relations team explain why a moral budget is needed and how the country can fund our federal budget to cultivate thriving communities.

Watch LTE Training: Let’s Talk Debt Ceiling facilitated by the Grassroots Mobilization team. See the Letter to the Editor Training slides.

See a selection of letters to the editor written by NETWORK advocates here.

Join the Campaign!

Let Congress know you want to protect Medicaid, housing, and food programs like SNAP!

Call Your Members of Congress!

Tell them to protect vital human needs programs in our federal budget!
*Dial 1-888-897-9753 to reach your House Representative
_____________________________

*Dial 1-888-496-3502 to reach your Senators
(Call this number two times to reach both Senators.)

When you call, here’s what you might say:

“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR TOWN]. I want to ask [MEMBER OF CONGRESS’S NAME] to protect SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, housing, and other vital human needs programs from any harmful budget cuts.

Hard working families, people with disabilities, kids aging out of foster care, and others who need the life-affirming support are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones, and our nation’s budget must prioritize their needs. As a person of faith, I believe that it is immoral to balance the budget on the backs of those who are struggling the most.

Congress must reduce the deficit by having the wealthy people and corporations pay what they truly owe in taxes, not by making cuts to our neighbors who need the support that our social safety net provides. [MEMBER OF CONGRESS’S NAME], as the budget process moves forward, please reject all proposals that weaken access to healthcare, food, or housing programs.”

Our Values Root Our Call for Vital Human Needs Programs

No matter our background, faith, or color, most of us work hard for our families. ​This includes people that receive assistance from vital human resource programs like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid. Congressional Republicans want to make cuts in these programs to pay down our country’s budget. Instead of pointing the finger of blame at people struggling to make ends meet, our elected officials must make wealthy corporations and billionaires pay what they owe to our shared economy — so that everyone in our communities can thrive, not just the rich.

Every Member of Congress serves constituents that rely on Medicaid, SNAP, and housing, and other programs that help people and families eat food at night and see a doctor when they are sick. We must tell our federal budget makers to love their neighbors and protect these life-affirming programs.

Keep Up with NETWORK

Just Politics Catholic Podcast Season 2

Working for Transformation

Working for Transformation

New York Advocates Show the Power of Commitment to Issues, People, and Communities

Mark Pattison
November 10, 2023

 

Justice-seekers from New York and NETWORK staff participate in a Zoom meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York in 2021.

Getting involved in the work of justice-seeking takes many forms. For Anne Kiefer of Penn Yan, N.Y., it was as simple as receiving an email. “There was an invitation: If you would like to become more active, come to a New York NETWORK Advocates Team meeting,” she recalls. “If you have an inclination to do advocacy for social justice issues,” Kiefer says, “NETWORK makes it easy. I can’t say enough for the support you get.”

She’s had letters to the editor published in her local Finger Lakes Times newspaper and in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle on preserving the expanded Child Tax Credit. With issues-based advocacy, Keifer notes, “it’s really great to turn aside from the partisan part of it, which has gotten toxic in the last few years.”

NETWORK, with its long and vibrant history of over 50 years of educating, organizing, and lobbying on federal policy affecting the common good, has in recent years built Advocates Teams in strategic states across the U.S. With Catholics coming together with people of other faith traditions as well as secular justice-seekers, these teams exemplify the power of organizing and advocating for the common good. And the New York NETWORK Advocates Team, after just a couple of years, has shown what members dedicated to the issues of NETWORK’s policy agenda can do to serve people impacted by these issues, to each other, and to their communities.

Building Relationships

Janet and Lou Tullo, along with Bill Hurley, present a 2022 NETWORK Voting Record certificate to Rep. Pat Ryan (N.Y.-18). The Congressman received a 100 percent rating from NETWORK for his votes in the second session of the 117th Congress.

Catherine Gillette, NETWORK’s senior grassroots mobilization organizer, convened the New York team in mid-2021. With her from the start was Jane Sutter Brandt, a communications professional who now serves as team lead. The group meets monthly on Zoom, with Gillette providing policy updates and opportunities for advocacy as the team’s liaison to NETWORK. “Jane’s leadership has been invaluable,” notes Gillette.

Sutter Brandt says of Gillette, “She sends out the links to the NETWORK policy position on its website,” plus messaging to New York’s congressional representatives. “They make it so easy for us to be advocates, and to encourage family and friends to be advocates.”

“I know it’s in line with where I want to go as a Catholic.” —William Hurley

NETWORK first came to Rev. Peter Cook’s attention through a Nuns on the Bus tour. Cook, executive director of the New York State Council of Churches and its 7,500 congregations, and himself an ordained United Church of Christ minister, said the council collaborated with Nuns on the Bus on tax policy and a threatened rollback on the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this year, he collaborated with NETWORK on the “Care Not Cuts” rally NETWORK held in Long Island.

“With NETWORK, we thought they’d have the right approach, and they had a pretty good plan. We kind of piggybacked on that,” he says. “We’re always down for a fight at the federal level because it always has such an impact on the state.”

Peter Cook, executive director of the New York State Council of Churches, participates in a NETWORK “Care Not Cuts” rally NETWORK on Long Island on May 22.

The NETWORK partnership works, says Cook: “Roman Catholics are well grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, which has a lot of depth — theological depth — to it, and it’s very compatible with the position statements of our (nine) denominations. But I appreciate the depth of thought that goes into the social positions, and also particularly among religious …sisters.”

“We trust them, and they give a good social justice opinion on issues before Congress. They’ve already done their homework,” echoes William Hurley, a team member from Washingtonville, N.Y. “I know it’s in line with where I want to go as a Catholic.”

Members of the New York team met in February with the staff of their representative, Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24), a Republican who is not often aligned with NETWORK on justice issues.

“The staff expressed gratitude for the opportunity for conversation. Tenney puts out a weekly newsletter and puts out her record and an explanation on why she voted [as she did],” Kiefer says. “We commended her staff for that.”

Transforming Politics

Jane Sutter Brandt speaks at an August 2022 reparations vigil in Rochester, N.Y., one of four reparations-themed events sponsored by NETWORK’s New York Advocates Team.

In addition to building relationships, whether in their communities or in engagement with elected officials who may or may not share their priorities, the New York Advocates team has a robust track record of taking action to raise awareness on key issues and spurring people to greater action.

Team member and organizational partner Serena Martin Liguori is the executive director of New Hour for Women and Children on Long Island, which advocates for marginalized women and mothers who have been arrested or incarcerated, or have had family who have been incarcerated. Martin Liguori helped to organize and participated in NETWORK’s Care Not Cuts rally on Long Island in May. The event, which drew over 85 attendees and 12 community organizations, opposed proposed cuts in the federal budget to essential human programs providing food, housing, and healthcare.

“It was wonderful to bring together the faith-based and the local community — justice-impacted folks, folks who really rely on the system,” says Martin Liguori.

Other New York NETWORK Advocates Team members planned and hosted a “repair and redress” reparations prayer vigil last year in Rochester. The event pressed for support for H.R. 40, a bill that would create a commission to study the lasting impacts of slavery and Jim Crow in the U.S. and the possibility of reparations for Black Americans. It was one of four reparations events held by members of the team in different parts of the state—one of which included Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), H.R. 40’s chief proponent.

Jim Buckley and Joseph Molinatti join NETWORK Advocates Carol DeAngelo and Lois Harr in presenting a 2022 NETWORK Voting Record certificate to Rep. Ritchie Torres (N.Y.-15).

H.R.40 was first introduced in 1989 by former Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and has been introduced in every Congress since. The bill has yet to come to a House vote, and during the 2020 campaign, President Biden promised to set up such a commission. NETWORK has urged him to do so by executive action.

Sr. Phyllis Tierney, an Advocate Team member and justice coordinator for her community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, says reparations go well beyond slavery and require drawing connections for people to help them understand racist structures and policies through the years that have excluded Black communities from opportunity and deprived them of wealth. One example: the widespread destruction of Black neighborhoods across the country to build interstate highways.

“It really destroyed cities and neighborhoods. That was one of the things that we’ve talked about: to give examples, and local examples, that people would talk about and understand,” Sr. Phyllis says of the education, conversion, and the dismantling of systemic racism that must precede political transformation. “It really brought out the reason for doing this prayer vigil. …It was certainly good consciousness-raising.”

This story was published in the Quarter 4 2023 issue of Connection. 

Build Anew Series – Tax Justice

Build Anew Series — Part 5
Tax Justice

Virginia Schilder
October 20, 2023
Welcome back to our Build Anew Series, with weekly posts covering the people, policies, and values at the heart of the issues we work on. This week, we’re talking about tax justice, and specifically, the need to bring back the expanded Child Tax Credit.   

 

It’s budget time in Congress, and many of our representatives are pretending that we have a scarcity of funds with which to fund our government. But that’s patently untrue. There is a simple reality: If the wealthiest Americans and corporations paid their fair share of taxes, we would have more than enough to pay for all the public programs our communities not only need, but deserve. To visualize this, I invite you to try out NETWORK’s tax justice calculator tool, in which you can build your own federal budget with programs you care about and see how equitable tax policies can fund them. The United States has one of the greatest — and

most dangerous — degrees of wealth inequality in the world. The concentration of wealth into the hands of an ultra-wealthy few is facilitated and maintained, in large part, by our tax system. For example, consider Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s Founder and Executive Chairman, who enjoys a net worth of $155 billion, but did not pay a single cent in federal income taxes in 2007 or 2011.

A just tax system is a foundation of a just society, and a multi-faith, multi. In our past Build Anew Series piece on Economic Justice, we talked about how we as a collective have enough resources to ensure that everyone has what they need to thrive — it is only a matter of distributing those resources justly. Taxes can help us do that.

Congress now has less than 30 days to pass a FY24 federal budget. As part of NETWORK’s Congress, Keep Your Promise! Campaign, we’ve been urging our leaders to ensure that vital human needs programs like food, housing, and health care assistance are fully funded in the budget, and that the necessary policies are enacted to ensure that the wealthiest individuals and corporations contribute their fair shares.

A central part of a just tax system in the current budget process is the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). An expanded CTC combats child poverty, supporting families as they provide necessary care and resources for their children. The expired, temporary expanded CTC in 2021 (the American Rescue Plan increased the child tax credit for one year) was a resounding success. The child poverty rate was dramatically reduced to a record low 5.2%. It kept roughly 2.1 million children above the poverty line ― including an estimated 752,000 Latino children, 649,000 white children, 524,000 Black children, 89,000 American Indian and Alaska Native children, and 56,000 Asian children ― and lessened differences in poverty rates between children of all races and ethnicities (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities). Our children need it back!

In this week’s installment of the Build Anew Series, we’ll learn more about the CTC and the urgency of strengthening it in the ongoing appropriations process. First, let’s learn more about tax policy in the U.S., and why a just tax system is critical for a ju st nation.

Facts and Figures on Taxes in the U.S.
  • Refundable tax credits moved 7.5 million people out of poverty in 2019, according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
  • A 2019 Congressional Research Service report calculated that the 2017 Tax Revision law reduced federal revenue by about $170 billion in FY 2018, with corporations benefiting most from the tax cuts.
  • According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the wealthiest 1% of Americans may be evading as much as $163 billion in income taxes each year — many doing so legally via our unjust tax laws.
Present Realities

Our unjust tax code is directly related to the economic instability experienced by individuals and families across the U.S., and it affects the wellbeing of our country overall. Taxes enable us to have the public services we all want and benefit from, and to make the investments in people and neighborhoods that are needed for our communities to thrive. If we want good schools and accessible higher education, safe and efficient transportation infrastructure, a strong health care system, and healthy communities with affordable housing, clean water, and food security, we need to collectively contribute to funding them.

Decades of tax cuts for the wealthiest people and corporations have harmed our communities. Our tax code actively creates economic inequality — one of the most pressing problems in the United States. Our tax code treats income from capital more favorably than income from labor, which means that those at the very top — whose income largely relies on investments rather than work — end up paying a lower effective rate. This tax structure enables the wealthiest people and corporations to pay little to no taxes at all, hoarding resources that they gained off the labor of everyone else. The 2017 Republican Tax Law benefitted corporations by substantially lowering effective corporate tax rates and by generating a flood of stock buybacks and dividends for corporate shareholders. Meanwhile, the law reduced federal revenue by about $170 billion in FY 2018.

Most nefariously, our tax system maintains the racial wealth gap. In 2016, the median income of white households was $117,000, while Black households had only $17,000. This vast racial inequity is not incidental, but is a direct result of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Jim Crow, and centuries of racist federal policies — particularly policies that shaped our tax code. Our tax system continues today to maintain the wealth of the white ruling class. For example, our tax code privileges white couples in the structure of the married joint filing bonus; it rewards how wealthier white folks spend money (with tax incentives for buying a home, but not renting); and it facilitates the largely un-taxed intergenerational transfer of wealth in white families across history. The outcome is what we see today: our nation’s wealth concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority of white folks.

Tax justice means ensuring that wealthy individuals and corporations contribute a fair share, so that we can support the public services that help our communities to thrive. It hurts everyone in our country when we have insufficient funding for public programs, assistance for families experiencing homelessness or hunger, or the infrastructure we all rely on every day. A just system of taxation recognizes that we are one community with responsibilities to one another, and our wellbeing is tied together.

Learn more at NETWORK’s Tax Justice For All page.  

Our Values

“The obligations of justice and love are fulfilled only if each person, contributing to the common good, according to his own abilities and the needs of others, also promotes and assists the public and private institutions dedicated to bettering the conditions of human life.” —Gaudium et spes

One of the key principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching is, “Rise above individualism for the good of the whole community.” This means rejecting an ethic that places individual gain above collective flourishing, and instead taking seriously our call and responsibility to promote the wellbeing of our neighbors. Taxes are a key way in which we can do this.

A just tax structure affirms the moral responsibility of each person to contribute to the community according to their ability. Material prosperity never arises in a vacuum. The resources that wealthy individuals and corporations have accumulated are generated by the labor of workers and supported by social goods like roads, bridges, schools, and fire departments that we collectively fund. Therefore, paying taxes is a serious ethical responsibility for those with abundance. It is also the responsibility of governments to use tax dollars in ways that meet the real needs and goals of our communities.

A just tax code can be a structure through which the values of sharing, reciprocity, and participation are lived out. These values were modeled by the community of Jesus’ early followers, of whom it is written:

“No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had… And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” —Acts 4:32-35

As a community, the apostles model the Catholic notion of “the universal destination of goods:” the deep conviction that resources are to be shared — used to respond to need and to better the community. Scripture emphasizes the moral responsibility for those with means to share: “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:10-11). Yet, it is important to remember that in today’s society, in which unjust economic structures enable the accumulation of wealth often through the exploitation of workers, paying taxes is not just a matter of charity and sharing. Rather, it is a matter of justice — returning to communities what has been unjustly extracted.

This is why a just tax code is a moral obligation. Tax structures can serve to widen the gap between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of us, or they can work as a mechanism of justice. In the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral Economic Justice for All, the bishops insist that, “The tax system should be continually evaluated in terms of its impact on the poor.” This also means that families below the poverty line should not bear the burden of paying income taxes. Pope John XXIII put it plainly: “In a system of taxation based on justice and equity it is fundamental that the burdens be proportioned to the capacity of the people contributing.”

The Catholic tradition teaches that paying taxes is part of one’s responsibility to contribute to the common good. We are called to equitably share resources so that each person has what they need to live well, and that our society as a whole has the structures and programs that help all of our communities flourish.

The Child Tax Credit

Advocates and faith leaders in West Virginia gather in May 2022 to call for a continuation of the expanded child tax credit.

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) was enacted in 1997 and currently provides a tax credit of up to $2,000 per child. Studies overwhelmingly demonstrate that the CTC directly reduces child and family poverty. In 2018, the CTC lifted 4.3 million people, including 2.3 million children, out of poverty. However, the current CTC law provides the greatest benefits to higher income families, in effect penalizing the lowest wage workers in our communities.

In 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan, the CTC was increased to up to $3000, and penalties on low-income families were removed. This expansion finally allowed all families to benefit from the full CTC, regardless of their income. The 2021 expansion was an incredible success: it extended the CTC to the families of 27 million children who previously did not have access, and it reduced the national child poverty rate from an anticipated 8.1% down to 5.2%(!).

Lived Experience

Nakkita Long is a mom in Winston-Salem, NC with a master’s degree in criminal justice. She shares,

This past year (2020) has been devastating for my family in ways that I cant even explain…. Giving $300 to families may not seem like a lot, but when you’re working minimum wage or you’re underpaid, it’s everything. It’s the difference between where you live, what you eat, and how your family enjoys leisure.   

For my family, the child tax credit has benefited me because my daughter started college in the middle of the pandemic, and my son is starting kindergarten. I was able to buy my daughter a laptop so she could do her studies at home. I was able to do things with my family that I wasn’t able to do before because my income was low, I was living paycheck to paycheck. 

Look at the cost of living, and look at what people actually need to sustain themselves on a daily basis. For my family, just the basic needs of bread, lights, water, having a car to get back and forth to work, have been a challenge for me. And the benefits of incentives such as the child tax credit, extended unemployment, free child care, free college, is astounding, and it takes my family to a different place as far as what we can do successfully and how we can grow. It’s important to understand that giving people what they deserve… empowers those families to build businesses, become homeowners, invest in their communities, attend great schools, become great leaders, and do great things in society.”  

From the Domestic Human Needs Story Bank

Despite this success, Congress decided to allow the 2021 CTC expansion to expire – with detrimental impact to our most vulnerable children. Child poverty has risen, and an estimated 19 million children are deprived of all or part of the CTC simply because of their families’ low wages. This has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown families, affecting approximately 45% of Black children and 39% of Latine children. It has also hurt rural communities, as 33% of children in rural areas have been negatively impacted by the expiration of the CTC expansion.

This is why we need to bring back the expanded CTC. A strong CTC helps provide essential resources for child care and other support services, and thus enables parents to work. It also promotes healthy children, as lifting children out of poverty is directly related to improved health and education outcomes. We know how well the expanded CTC works! To support flourishing families and protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of society, Congress must expand the CTC to its 2021 levels. Our children need and deserve it.

Click here to learn about how you can take action to demand that Congress enact a strong, expanded Child Tax Credit. And to learn more about the CTC, check out NETWORK’s CTC leave-behind.

Join us again next week for part 6 of the Build Anew Series on democracy, a follow-up to the third installation of our White Supremacy and American Christianity series this Saturday. And don’t forget to stay tuned on Instagram (@network_lobby) and Facebook for our Build Anew video series!

Build Anew Series – Food Justice

Build Anew Series — Part 4
Food Justice

Virginia Schilder
October 12, 2023
Welcome back to our Build Anew Series, with weekly posts covering the people, policies, and values at the heart of the issues we work on. This week, we’re talking about food justice, and the Farm Bill.   

 

A group of people gather outside a government building with brightly colored signs that read "Hands off SNAP!", "Hunger Hurts," and "#HousingMatters." They stand behind a woman at a podium, with a sign "Care Not Cuts: We Need a Moral Budget." The woman at the podium is holding a mic and raising her fist.

Advocates gathered for a “Care, Not Cuts” rally on Capitol Hill in April 2023 to demand a moral federal budget that protects human needs programs like SNAP.

Did you know that most of our funding for nutritional assistance programs comes from the Farm Bill? The Farm Bill is a giant legislative package that contains nearly all of our federal agriculture and food policy — and a large part of that is funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which has proven to be one of our most effective policy tools in reducing hunger and promoting healthy and safe communities.

The Farm Bill must be reauthorized every five years, and it just expired on September 30, 2023. Congress issued a 45-day continuing resolution on the budget to avert a government shutdown, and the expiring Farm Bill policies were temporarily continued as well. But over the next month, as Congress needs to decide on a budget or face another shutdown, it is up to us to ensure that SNAP is protected in the Farm Bill, without onerous work-reporting requirements. And in order for those SNAP benefits to be accessible, we must make sure that the Farm Bill includes the RESTORE Act, which will remove unjust and illogical restrictions that exclude some of our most vulnerable neighbors from SNAP.

This week on the Build Anew Series, we’ll explore what we’re doing to promote food security and expanded SNAP access, through advocating the inclusion of the RESTORE Act in the upcoming Farm Bill. But first, let’s put this advocacy in context by talking about the current status of food insecurity in the United States and what our Catholic teaching has to say on the importance of feeding our neighbors.

Facts and Figures on Food Security in the U.S.
Present Realities

Despite a national surplus of food, millions in the United States go to bed hungry each night. According to the Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data from September 2023, over 26 million adults reported not having enough to eat in the last seven days. Billions of tons of food are produced every year, but the USDA estimates that up to 40% of that food is wasted — while many of our communities go without. This is a gross injustice.

Food insecurity persists for millions of people in the U.S., but especially for Black and Brown communities. Access to nutritious food continues to be a racial justice issue. 40% of Black and Latine families were food insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Black and Latine children are twice as likely as white children to experience hunger. This is compounded by the fact that food deserts — neighborhoods without feasible access to affordable and healthy food — are disproportionately found in Black and Brown communities.

Food insecurity is linked to other forms of economic stress — like soaring housing costs and health care bills. In times of financial stress, we may be compelled to skip or shrink meals in order to pay other bills. This creates a vicious cycle of harm, as lack of nutritious foods leads to increased risks of illness and hospitalization.

We know that nutrition assistance programs work. SNAP has proven to be our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. It is the main form of nutrition assistance for many low-income people and families, including elderly and disabled community members. SNAP overwhelmingly supports households living at or below the poverty line, and a quarter of SNAP beneficiaries are children. Programs like SNAP help our families and neighbors— including people who work full-time — to make ends meet and stay afloat through hard times. Yet, several Republicans in Congress have made it clear that they are not only willing but actively seeking to cut funding for SNAP and similar food security programs in the upcoming budget — an unconscionable neglect of basic human needs that urgently calls for our advocacy.

Our Values

“What we would like to do is change the world — make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.”
—Dorothy Day, The Catholic Worker, June 1946

Catholic Social Justice Teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of each person as an equally valuable member of the global family. Because dignity refers to what people deserve by virtue of their humanity, upholding dignity means ensuring that each person has what they need to live well. At the most basic level, each person needs to eat.

Food was essential to Jesus’ ministry: in feeding the five thousand and sharing in meals with his disciples, he demonstrated that God cares about the sustenance of our spirits and bodies. Jesus affirms in the Gospel, For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink (Matt 25:35-36). Scripture broadly emphasizes the immorality of allowing siblings to go without: “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16).

Moreover, Catholics worship and share fellowship at a table, and the core of the Catholic faith — the Eucharist — is built on a meal! In the Bible, the Church, and our communities, food is communal. Feeding one another is both a central theological command and the substance of what it means to live in a community and to love our neighbors.

It is a moral failing that we allow communities, especially children and families on the margins, to experience hunger. It is our most fundamental obligation to work to eradicate hunger in all its forms, especially through policy. We believe that our food policy should exhibit a preferential option for the most vulnerable among us — focusing on eliminating food insecurity for children, the elderly, and all people experiencing poverty. Food assistance programs should never include burdensome, capitalist, and scientifically un-based restrictions, like work requirements or other standards. Programs should allow people to receive nutrition assistance with dignity, enabling people to meet dietary and cultural needs and access a variety of foods necessary for good health, like fresh fruits and vegetables.

Bolstering our nutrition assistance programs is crucial, but ultimately, intervening to end hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity will demand that we re-think our systems of food production. Agro-business and industrialized agriculture, with its monocultural and toxic farming methods, is extremely ecologically destructive and fails to produce a diversity of nutritional food, and often exploits workers. It also makes our communities reliant on outside sources for our food — with produce often having to travel far to reach us. We are called restructure our food systems around accessibility, ethical and sustainable practices, community engagement, ecological health, and eliminating waste. Ecologically- and community- oriented food systems align with the Catholic view of the human person by affirming our interconnectedness with the Earth, making nourishment accessible, and strengthening our communities.

The RESTORE Act

SNAP serves 42 million people each year, but many otherwise eligible beneficiaries cannot access SNAP assistance. Some of these barriers include administrative burdens, or lack of accessible transportation to the nearest government center.

A huge barrier, however, is structural exclusion. There is currently in place a lifetime ban on SNAP for people convicted of drug felonies. While most states have opted out of the ban, 21 states continue to have modified bans.

This ban is completely unjust, immoral, and illogical, directly harming people who are usually leaving prison with little to no assets or income (and who then face difficulty finding employment because of workforce discrimination against formerly incarcerated persons). The SNAP ban punishes people who have already served their sentences, and it punishes their families, which often include children. And because mass incarceration targets Black and Brown communities, this ban has a disproportionate impact on people and families of color— especially women. Women comprise the majority of SNAP recipients, are also disproportionately incarcerated for drug-related felonies.

Research shows that full access to SNAP benefits reduces the likelihood of recidivism by 10 percent for people previously incarcerated for drug offenses. Our neighbors returning from prison are simply seeking to create stable lives for themselves and their families. The SNAP ban is totally antithetical to the creation of thriving communities, it denies dignity, and it is flat out wrong.

As part of the current Congress: Keep Your Promise! campaign, NETWORK and our partners are advocating that the Farm Bill include the RESTORE Act, which would end the lifetime ban on SNAP for people convicted of drug felonies. The RESTORE Act would ensure that people returning from prison can access nourishing food for themselves and their families, and help them get steady as they re-enter their communities outside of prison. Learn more about how you can take action here.

Lived Experience

Serena Martin-Liguori from New Hour, Long Island, NY

Serena Martin-Liguori, New Hour. Image from newhourli.org.

The inclusion of the RESTORE Act in 2023 Farm Bill will literally create safety. [At New Hour], every year we work with 2000-3000 women returning to our community. Access to healthy food is at the top of their list. 1 out of 3 Americans has a conviction. If you ban people from accessing healthy food, it means that you are indeed creating an unsafe environment for yourself and your community…. we are harming ourselves because it means more people in our community are not getting the support and services they need to simply put food on their table, and that is unconscionable.

As a formerly incarcerated Latina myself, the struggle to make sure that basic needs are met for women and children who have been impacted by incarceration is huge. We believe that when you have taken accountability for any harm done… once you are released, that should be the end of your sentence. You should no longer be penalized. And yet we know, in the US, the mass incarcerator that we are, we continue to penalize people for the rest of their lives — and not just them, but their children, grandchildren, and financial stability. And that has to end this year. We need to continue to find ways to create equality, and the inclusion of the RESTORE Act would certainly do that. Here on Long Island, we continue to advocate for the RESTORE Act.”

Click here to watch NETWORK’s recent Congress, Keep Your Promise! webinar to learn more about the RESTORE Act and our advocacy this fall for a moral budget. 

Join us again next week for part 5 of the Build Anew Series on taxes. And don’t forget to stay tuned on Instagram (@network_lobby) and Facebook for our Build Anew video series!

Build Anew Series – Economy

Build Anew Series — Part 3
Economic Justice

Virginia Schilder
October 6, 2023
Welcome back to our new Build Anew Series, with weekly posts covering the people, policies, and values at the heart of the issues we work on. This week, we’re talking about our economy.   
A group of advocates stand together behind a podium holding multi-colored signs that read, for example, "Protect Housing, "Protect WIC," "Protect Health Care."

Earlier this week, advocates rallied in Louisville, KY to demand a federal budget that funds critical social safety net programs.

This week, we’re celebrating a big win! Thanks to the advocacy of our communities, supporters, and partners, including our interfaith coalition and our actions to tell “Congress, keep your promise!”, Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a clean, 45-day continuing resolution to fund the government. That’s the power of the people!

However, our advocacy continues. The budget resolution passed by Congress is only a temporary measure. Congress now has 45 days to pass a budget, and we have work to do to ensure that that budget includes vital funding for the human needs programs — like WIC, SNAP, Head Start, and housing and childcare programs — that help create economic stability in our communities.

A moral budget is fundamental to ensuring our economic security — the topic of this week’s installation of the Build Anew Series. That’s because the economy is a moral structure that guides not just how we “buy and sell,” but how we take care of one another. A just economy is one in which everyone has the resources they need to thrive.

Facts and Figures on the U.S. Economy
  • Census Bureau data showed that in 2022, there were nearly 38 million people (11.5% of the population) in poverty in the U.S. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) poverty rate increased by 4.6% from 2021 — the first increase in the overall SPM rate since 2010.
  • According to the Census Bureau, Social Security continued to be the most important antipoverty program in 2022, moving 28.9 million people out of SPM poverty. Refundable tax credits moved 6.4 million people out of SPM poverty.
  • Millennials are the first generation in U.S. history who are not expected to earn more than their parents did, despite being the most educated generation in American history.
  • Income inequality in the U.S. is the highest of all the G7 nations.
  • The difference in median household incomes between white and Black Americans has grown from about $23,800 in 1970 to roughly $33,000 in 2018. The wealth gap between America’s highest- and lowest-wealth families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016.
  • Women and children are disproportionately affected by poverty. Nearly one in eight women (over 15.5 million) and nearly one in six children (nearly 11.9 million) lived in poverty in 2018. And from 2021 to 2022, the SPM child poverty rate more than doubled. Women are the primary or sole breadwinner in 4 out of 10 households with children under 18. Insufficient support for child care further burdens these families.
Present Realities

Right now, our economy is structured not around real human needs, community well-being, and a preferential option for the vulnerable. Instead, it serves the accumulation of wealth for the wealthiest among us. As economic inequality grows and the racial wealth and income gap persists, people living in the United States are experiencing immoral levels of inequality and poverty every year.

Low- and mid-wage workers face ongoing financial insecurity, only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Low wages, especially the inadequate federal minimum wage and subminimum wage for tipped, youth, and disabled workers, perpetuate systemic racism and disproportionately prevent Black and Brown workers from earning wages that allow them to meet their basic needs and save for the future. This is why economic justice is a matter of racial justice. Without just wages, millions of workers across the country hold two or three jobs just to make ends meet and are one unexpected bill away from financial disaster. Unpredictable scheduling and wage theft cause hundreds of dollars of lost income a month. This economic insecurity and its resulting stress largely fall on women, especially women of color. Women of color provide financial stability to their families and communities, but experience racial and gender discrimination in securing jobs and equitable wages.

Unjust and insufficient labor policies also contribute to economic insecurity. Today, only 13% of workers in the U.S. have paid family leave through their employers, and fewer than 40% have access to personal medical leave through employer-provided short-term disability insurance. In fact, 34.2 million people in the U.S. do not have a single paid sick day! And even with access to unpaid sick days, for many low-wage workers, the lost wages of time off may be too burdensome to take the proper time off to recover from illness, care for a sick child or loved one, receive counseling, or pursue justice after an experience of violence.

Luckily, our policies can change, and have changed. For example, pregnant workers in the U.S. have long faced workplace discrimination in all industries, in every state, across race and ethnicity. Black, Brown, and immigrant birthing parents are at particular risk, as they more frequently hold inflexible and physically demanding jobs that pose additional challenges for pregnant workers. Thanks to the advocacy of communities like NETWORK, such discrimination is now illegal, because of legislation like the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act — the passage of which we celebrated in late 2022.

However, our economic policies overall continue to serve profit and fail to recognize our interdependence with one another. Inhumane conditions and unjust compensation deny the dignity of the worker and work alike. The costs of housing, medical needs, child care and education have increased dramatically in recent decades, but wages have not kept up. No one should be without access to safe, affordable housing, clothing, food, water, and rest — yet, this continues to be a widespread reality in the U.S., even among people who work full-time (or more). A livable income is a human necessity in order to provide for oneself and one’s family with dignity.

Lived Experience

When Darius started working at a McDonald’s in Boston, he was offered $8/hour. After three years of working there, his pay increased by only 25 cents. That was the first time he went on strike. He recalls telling his store manager that he would strike until something changes, asserting, “We deserve more. We’re worth more.”

Darius continues, “It’s not like we choose to work in fast food. We have a family to feed, we have to provide for our loved ones, for the people we got to keep safe.… We don’t have that opportunity to go on vacation with our families. We work every day, 365, seven days a week if we have to, two or three jobs. I know people that work four jobs.” Darius explains how some workers never get a chance to see their kids, recalling how his friend missed his daughter’s graduation because he wasn’t allowed a day off work.

Darius’ employer cut his hours from 40 hours per week all the way down to 10. He says, “I lost my apartment because of them, I lost my way of living… But the one thing I never lost, which they can never take, is my faith. I will never be lost without it…. This is a world that deserves a better economy, a better working economy, an economy that we can be proud of.”

Our Values

“The dignity of work and the rights of workers” is a central principle of Catholic Social Teaching. As the U.S. bishops write,

“The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected.”

These rights include the right to work, to just wages, and to the organization and joining of unions. We have a call and obligation to join with workers to build an economy that works for all people, serves actual community needs, and facilitates the equitable distribution of resources.

The Catholic tradition insists on the dignity of each person, and the Church has spoken on the urgent need to reject an economy of exclusion that treats both the Earth and human beings—especially Black, Brown, and Indigenous human beings—as disposable objects to be used for the accumulation of wealth. Labor policies must affirm the things that make us human: balance, rest, time for recreation and creativity, and care for selves and others. No one should have to work so many hours to make ends meet that all they do is work. Moreover, no one should ever feel compelled to come to work when they are ill, much less lose their job for being sick, grieving, or tending to sick loved ones.

Scripture is a clear source on this point: “Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4-6), and “Woe to him or her who builds their palace by unrighteousness, their upper rooms injustice, making their own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor” (Jeremiah 22:13). Refusing to properly compensate labor fails to respect the dignity of the human person, because it reduces humans to tools from which to extract wealth. Workers must be treated with respect and fair compensation, as a matter of protecting right relationships in society and guarding against a culture of use and exploitation. This is why NETWORK enthusiastically supports the recent United Auto Workers strike, and the critical PRO Act which would end “right to work” (which actually takes away worker’s rights). Even further, labor should ultimately be structured to serve the actual needs of our communities, not the profits of corporations.

Finally, Pope Leo XIII, all the way back in Rerum novarum states, “When there is a question of protecting the rights of individuals, the poor and helpless have a claim to special consideration. The rich population has many ways of protecting themselves and stands less in need of help.” This reflects Catholic notion of the preferential option for the marginalized: the idea that we have a particular obligation to prioritize the needs of those who our economy makes vulnerable. We can do just that by ensuring that Congress protects vital human needs programs like WIC, SNAP, the Expanded Child Tax Credit, and more in the upcoming budget.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus warns his listeners against worshipping money and accumulating wealth at the expense of their neighbors. Hoarding resources is incompatible with living in right relationship with others and God: “Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss” (Proverbs 22:16). Instead, to build a just society in which all communities can thrive, we need an economy built around solidarity, care for the vulnerable, human dignity, and what the Catholic tradition calls the “common destination of created goods.” This phrase means that, as Pope Francis writes in Fratelli tutti, “If one person lacks what is necessary to live with dignity, it is because another person is detaining it… The world exists for everyone, because all of us were born with the same dignity.” The Earth has sufficient resources for all of us to flourish; it is up to us to responsibly, ethically, and justly distribute them. A key way to justly distribute resources is through policies that ensure that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes — which would be more than enough to fund the programs our communities desperately need to thrive.

It is clear that we are all called to structure our economy not around generating profit for a select few, but around serving our real community needs — especially those of Black and Brown communities, low- and middle- income workers, and all those who our economy has historically left out. We must build anew our economy in a way that justly distributes our abundant resources and enables everyone in our communities to access what they need in order to live in accordance with the fullness of their incalculable worth. That’s the meaning of true economic health.

 

Join us again next week for part 4 of the Build Anew Series on food security. And don’t forget to stay tuned on Instagram (@network_lobby) and Facebook for our upcoming Build Anew video series!

WATCH: Click here to watch a recording of NETWORK’s Congress, Keep Your Promise webinar about our current campaign to ensure Congress funds critical human needs programs and to learn how you can get involved.

Louisville, KY Rally for a Better Federal Government

Get Beyond ‘Bandage’ Work in the Federal Budget

David J. Dutschke,
Guest Contributor from the Kentucky NETWORK Advocates Team
October 13, 2023
Oct 2, 2023, Louisville Rally Speakers Speak Out for a Better Federal Budget at the Ali Plaza in Louisville, KY

Louisville, KY advocates spoke out for a better federal budget at the Ali Center Plaza

We often talk about a “living wage.” Now it’s time to talk about a “living budget.” A

On Monday, October 2, 2023, a group of about 15 persons of faith and action gathered under the NETWORK umbrella at the Mohammed Ali Center Plaza in Louisville, Kentucky to challenge our elected officials to pass a budget that includes those on the margins struggling to afford housing, meals, health care, and more.

David Dutschke was the Oct. 2 Louisville Rally emceeSpeakers at our gathering included George Eklund, Director of Education and Advocacy, Coalition for the Homeless; Mary Danhauer, a retired nurse practitioner from Owensboro working in low-income clinics; the Honorable Attica Scott, former state Representative and Director of Special Projects at the Forward Justice Action Network; and the Rev. Dr. Angela Johnson, pastor of Grace Hope Presbyterian Church. They all spoke from different perspectives, but highlighted the fundamental role that you, me, and our government must take to provide for people in the margins. All of the speakers shared stories of the “bandage” work, or what I’d call charity or direct service work, that they do–myself included at St. Vincent DePaul. But all of us also emphasized the need for work to transform structures. The systemic change work that I do is with NETWORK and Clout (Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together). And to start that systemic change work, Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP, an organizer with NETWORK, and leader of the Kentucky Team, provided very specific actionable items.

So here are some of my takeaways from our gathering: first, the largest provider of assistance to those on the margins is the U.S. people, at the direction of the federal government, in the form of rent assistance, housing programs like Section 8, SNAP, and Medicare assistance. We have to support these programs and ensure that Congress bolsters them, not slashes them.

George Eckland, Coalition for the Homeless and Rev. Angela Johnson, Grace Hope Presbyterian Church

George Eckland, Coalition for the Homeless and Rev. Angela Johnson, Grace Hope Presbyterian Church

Second, we don’t have a living wage mandate. In Louisville, a family of 3 needs at least $66,893 per year of income. Translated to wages, they need one job that pays at least $32.16 per hour. We can talk about food pantries, shelters, assisted living spaces, assisting our neighbors with paying rent and utilities, but eventually one comes down to the question: how many jobs do you have to have to raise a family today? Third, we have to reject the myth of scarcity.
There are 5,671,005 Americans with a net worth of over $3 million. There is $381 billion in unpaid taxes. And there are 37.9 million persons in the U.S. who live in poverty.
Finally, we need to do both charity work and system change work. All together, we the people of the U.S., have the resources to pay our bills and to shrink the margins. Our federal budget is a moral document to help us move forward. Solutions require the change of the system. And to do that, we have to organize. In organizing work, we say that there are only 2 sources of power—organized money and organized people. We have the people.

David Dutschke, a member of the Kentucky NETWORK Advocates Team, is former director of Parish Social Ministry and Housing Development at Catholic Charities of Louisville.

Watch Video from Louisville, KY Rally for a Better Federal Government

We must act, always with others, to make the Good News of our communal action THE news. We are all challenged to make our policies, including our budget, a beacon of moving forward on this great shared cosmic journey on which the Cosmic God leads us. Peace be with you all.
                                                               ~David Dutschke

Youngstown, OH Justice-Seekers Supported Safety Net Programs at the Care Not Cuts Rally

Sister Eilis McCulloh, HM
Grassroots Outreach and Organizing Specialist
June 27, 2023

NETWORK organizer Sr. Eilis McColluh, HM, speaks to the media about the Youngstown, OH Care Not Cuts RallyAs Congress was in the final days of negotiations around the debt ceiling and trying to avoid a default, more than 40 faith-filled justice seekers gathered in Youngstown, Ohio at St. Patrick’s Church on the city’s southside.

Because I grew up in Youngstown, I have a soft spot for the city that is still trying to claw its way out of the devastating effects of the steel mill closures in the 1970s. I often talk about the grit and determination the city and its people have to build itself anew.  Folks have come together – in  faith-based and secular organizations, local government, and churches–to make sure everyone has access to human needs resources.  Fresh food is provided through a mobile pantry and housing resources, food assistance, medical assistance, and so much more are being delivered, too. But, from the rally’s speakers, we learned that they cannot do that alone.

Tom Hetrick, President of City Council, told us that more than one-third of all residents rely on SNAP to feed their families. However, the city is considered to be a food desert, so most people do not have access to fresh food within their neighborhoods. What good is SNAP when locations to access the benefit are lacking? Additionally, many residents rely on Medicaid and housing subsidies. Youngstown would be decimated if these vital social safety net programs were cut. Local non-profits are stepping up to fill the gaps, but they cannot do this forever.

“No matter how many organizations will come to the rescue, we need our federal government and Congress to stand up, as we strive to give you the benefit of the doubt…Because each and every one of us needs food, clothing, and shelter. And we ask that you would consider and not make these severe cuts to humanity, to our communities. As we gather together as organizations, we are striving to do our part, but we cannot do it without our Congress and federal government stepping up and doing the right thing by the people. “   ~ Rev. Carla Robinson

Watch Video from the Youngstow, OH Care Not Cuts Rally

NETWORK thanks the community advocates who spoke out to protect the social safety net at the Youngstown, OH Care Not Cuts Rally.

Tom Hetrick
Youngstown City Council

Michael F. Stepp
St. Vincent de Paul

Fred Berry
Humility of Mary Housing, Inc

Elder Rose Carter
ACTION

Minister Joseph Boyd
UU of Youngstown

Rev. Carla Robinson

Dr. Alexis Smith

At the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA, Justice-Seekers Called for a Moral Budget

At the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA, Justice-Seekers Called for a Moral Budget

Mary Nelson,
Guest Contributor from the Erie NETWORK Advocates Team
June 8, 2023
NETWORK organizer Sr. Eilis McColluh, HM, and Mary Nelson, justice-seekers in Erie PA speak to the media about the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA

May 23, 2023: NETWORK organizer, Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM, left, and Mary Nelson, in the blue sweater, speak to the media about the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA

On May 23, 2023, I gathered with a group of community and religious leaders in Erie, Pennsylvania for a “Care Not Cuts” rally. Speakers and attendees were advocating for a moral federal budget as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden negotiated a bill that would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for significant cuts to critical human needs programs in our community. Over 60 people from the Erie community joined together to protect Medicaid, housing, and food assistance in our community.

 

Erie, PA NETWORK Advocates Team members Cynthia Legin-Bucell (far left), Mary Nelson (fourth from right), and Michael Bucell (second from right)

Erie, PA NETWORK Advocates Team members Cynthia Legin-Bucell (far left), Sister Eilis McCulloh, HM (second from left), Mary Nelson (fourth from right), and Michael Bucell (second from right)

Our Erie Advocates Team of NETWORK supporters had been following the federal budget negotiations with concern, hearing proposals of drastic cuts to the social safety net that aids Erie’s vulnerable populations. Attempts by the House of Representatives to balance the budget on the backs of people living in poverty, while not raising taxes for the ultra wealthy and corporations, seemed a painful and immoral way to address the country’s debt.

Erie is fortunate to have three orders of religious women (Sisters) who have served the community and northwest PA for decades: the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, the Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ), and the Sisters of Mercy. They serve the people of God in Erie and the surrounding counties in a myriad of ministries and remind us of what it means to be in relationship with God and with each other. They lead by example to inspire and educate. They show up in all kinds of weather to protest, protect and advocate, and to call out the best in us. The Sisters demonstrate what a thriving community can become, if only we can be brave enough to work together and to care.

Sisters of St. Joseph and friends, pose with Erie, PA Mayor Joe Schember at the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA

May 23, 2023: Women Religious from the SSJ community and friends pose with Erie, PA Mayor Joe Schember at the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA

And so, on that sunny, warm spring day, most of the people who responded to NETWORK’s call to attend the “Care Not Cuts” rally in Erie were Sisters and allies from the Erie area. One of the speakers was Sr. Dorothy Stoner, OSB, who works with refugees and people seeking job training at the St. Benedict Education Center. Sr. Dorothy shared about the extensive services the Benedictines offer, from food pantries and soup kitchens to environmental education and safe-space programs for children. She called out the irony of certain members of Congress seeking to cut funding for the very support of food, housing, and Medicaid, while insisting people work in such low-wage jobs that they are unable to afford food, housing, and healthcare!

Another speaker, Susannah Faulkner, who works for the SSJ Neighborhood Network and serves on the Erie City Council, noted that “The city of Erie’s child poverty rate is three times higher

Susannah Faulkner of the SSJ Neighborhood Network & Erie City Council speaks at the Erie, PA Care Not Cuts Rally

Susannah Faulkner of the SSJ Neighborhood Network and Erie City Council speaks about poverty and policy choices at the Care Not Cuts rally in Erie, PA

than the state and national average…[they are] trapped in this situation depriving them of opportunity, good health, and stability.” If we believe that poverty is a policy choice, we should be able to mold a federal budget that is also a moral budget.

Betsy Wiest described how St Patrick’s Haven, another ministry of Sisters of St Joseph that provides temporary overnight shelter and a ministry of friendship for unhoused men, was supported by the community after a fire last year. The proposed 2023 budget would strip a significant portion of their federal HUD funding, which provides emergency shelter for men with nowhere else to go, critical during Erie’s frigid winters. She asked, “How is this practicing love of neighbor without distinction?”

Jennie Haggerty spoke to how the Mercy Anchor Center for Women was recently expanded at a repurposed Catholic elementary school. This transitional home for women and children also includes extensive support services for the community. Since 2017, none of their clients have become homeless again, which should be an indicator of its success in reducing homelessness and improving the dignity and employability of its clients.

Mayor Joseph Schember demonstrated his Catholic heart by sharing what the city is doing to address economic and racial inequities. He noted that evidence has shown that by providing housing and support services to people with addiction first — instead of requiring them to meet certain requirements before receiving assistance — gives people a better opportunity to turn their lives around and reduce chronic homelessness. New initiatives seek to revitalize long-neglected areas that will require federal investment but will recoup significant financial payback. There are local, state, and federal investment programs, neighborhood coalitions, and downtown partnerships which are primed to move us forward to prosperity and equality, if they are funded.

Gary Horton, of the Minority Community Investment Coalition, exhorted everyone to get involved politically, and like Congressman John Lewis said, to make good trouble. He said, “Democracy is on the line, and we must vote like our lives depend on it.”  We must speak up for people who have been disproportionately impacted by bad policies that have created generational poverty, which is so evident in the divided and high poverty areas in Erie and the surrounding counties.

Their passionate pleas to protect federal funding for these programs that help vulnerable people in our communities  is a call to the rest of us to contact our legislators, to advocate for those whom some policy makers in Washington have ignored for far too long.

People gathered in Erie, PA to listen to local leaders talk about love and care for all in the community at the Care Not Cuts Rally.

Together, by speaking out in support of federal safety net programs, and the local organizations that tend to our struggling neighbors, we can build thriving communities. “Care, not cuts,” indeed.

Watch Video from the Care Not Cuts Rally in Erie, PA