For Immediate Release: September 28, 2023

WASHINGTON—In response to the introduction in Congress of the Universal Basic Income Pilot Program by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Mary J. Novak, NETWORK Executive Director, said:

“NETWORK Lobby is proud to endorse Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s Universal Basic Income pilot legislation. UBI has proven extremely effective in reducing poverty at the local level. Providing a guaranteed income floor below which no individual or family can fall can raise people out of poverty. The doubling of child poverty in the U.S. revealed in the latest Census data has been especially devastating to Black and Brown communities, making this federal legislation even more urgent. NETWORK is hopeful this pilot will lead to a much-needed national UBI program.”

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Founded by Catholic Sisters in 1972, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, NETWORK is an inclusive, national, Catholic advocacy organization open to all who share our values, working to achieve equity and justice for everyone. Grounded in Gospel values and the Catholic social justice tradition, NETWORK transforms our society by shaping federal policies that achieve racial, economic, and social justice; serve the common good; and honor the dignity of all.