For Immediate Release: March 28, 2022
Contact: Colleen Ross | [email protected] | 202-601-7877

Catholic Lobby Affirms Need for Billionaires Tax in President’s FY 2023 Budget
Mary J. Novak: “As we recover from the pandemic and grapple with the effects of inflation, we call for a budget that cuts costs for working families, invests in true human security, and creates a society where all people can thrive.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice welcomed the release of President Biden’s FY 2023 federal budget. The President’s budget would require the wealthy to pay their fair share while investing in health, housing, and other critical human needs.

NETWORK calls for federal spending and policies that build our systems and structures anew by dismantling systemic racism, cultivating inclusive community, rooting our economy in solidarity, and transforming our politics. President Biden’s budget proposal recognizes the challenges facing families in the United States today and seeks to make permanent, structural changes to support the wellbeing of people and communities.

Mary J. Novak, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice’s Executive Director, said:

“We know that budgets are moral documents. NETWORK is pleased to see President Biden’s commitment to advancing legislation that Builds Anew by increasing funding for safe, affordable housing; dedicating $10 billion over the next 10 years to protect secure and fair elections; reinvigorating federal civil rights enforcement and the prosecution of hate crimes; and requiring the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share through the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax. We look forward to seeing the effects of reduced funding in immigration detention centers and increased investments in creating a clear pathway to citizenship.

“President Biden’s request to increase military funding is unwarranted. Our security depends on peacebuilding, not the never-ending buildup of weapons. As the United States works to recover from the pandemic and grapples with the effects of inflation, we call for a budget that cuts costs for working families, invests in true human security, and creates a society where all people can thrive.“

Laura Peralta-Schulte, NETWORK’s Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, said:

“Our budget is a reflection of our values, but past budgets have too often caused harm by underinvesting in our people and our communities. I am grateful the Biden administration continues urging Congress to extend the enhanced Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit along with other key poverty reduction programs in budget reconciliation. Since December 2021, 3.7 million children have fallen back into poverty from the lapse of monthly Child Tax Credit payments. This is an outrage and must be remedied immediately.

“By funding affordable housing, including $35 billion to increase the supply of affordable housing; investing in mental health services and addiction treatment services; expanding access to health care to end the Black maternal health crisis; investing $100 million in an innovative national initiative to provide comprehensive workforce development services to people in federal prisons; reducing immigrant detention and more, President Biden’s budget prioritizes those who are pushed to the margins by our current systems and structures. President Biden has made racial and gender equity a priority, and a key aspect is his proposal to restructure the tax code, finally rolling back many of the unjust and inequitable tax provisions of the 2017 tax law.”