For Immediate Release: March 9, 2023
Contact: Don Clemmer | [email protected] | 202-347-9797
Catholic Lobby Welcomes President Biden’s FY2024 Federal Budget
Mary J. Novak: “Our democracy is stronger when all people have the resources they need to flourish.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Biden released the text of his FY2024 federal budget. The budget increases investment in vulnerable communities, lowers costs for families, shores up vital programs for seniors, all while reducing the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. Rather than draconian cuts to health, housing, and food programs as suggested by the House Budget Committee to reduce our nation’s deficit, the President’s budget strengthens those programs. These investments are paid for by asking the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. As low-income families and low-wage workers struggle to make ends meet due to inflation, the President’s budget provides needed tax relief by expanding the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Much of the President’s budget reflects NETWORK’s call 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.
In response to President Biden’s budget, Mary J. Novak, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice’s Executive Director said:
“Budgets are moral documents; how we tax and how we spend reveals a set of moral choices. President Biden’s budget calls for faithful investments in our families and our country’s future. The President’s bold budget calls for critical investments in people and communities that move us closer to building a multiracial democracy where all people are valued and thrive. NETWORK envisions a country where equity is at the center of our criminal legal system rules, where all people have basic economic security, including access to quality food, housing, and healthcare. Our democracy is stronger when all people have the resources they need to flourish.
“Too often, policymakers wrongly believe that opportunity and investments in people and community trickle down, that the market on its own somehow builds shared prosperity. All too often, wealthy corporations choose not to pay workers for the true value of work and refuse to pay our country what they owe. This budget calls the wealthy to contribute. It also bolsters wages for low-wage workers through the Earned Income Tax Credit, cuts costs on essential medicines, and provides families resources to pay their bills and retire with dignity.”
Laura Peralta-Schulte, NETWORK’s Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations said:
“We know that budgets are moral documents. NETWORK is pleased to see President Biden’s commitment to advancing legislation that increases funding for safe, affordable housing; expands food security for low-income workers, seniors, children, and babies; funds programs to protect secure and fair elections; lowers the cost of drugs and expands healthcare by closing the Medicaid Coverage Gap and tackles the Black Maternal health crisis. We affirm the need for the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share through the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax and closing loopholes that encourage companies to move jobs overseas.
“President Biden’s request to increase military funding and additional funding for enforcement at our Southern border is unwarranted. True security depends on peacebuilding, not the never-ending buildup of weapons or the militarization of communities at the border. As the United States continues to grapple with the effects of inflation, we are grateful the Biden Budget cuts costs for families through the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, expansion of quality childcare, and fully funding paid family, parental, and medical leave. This is an investment in true human security.”
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NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice – advocates for justice inspired by Catholic Sisters – educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. With a 50-year record of accomplishment and more than 100,000 supporters across the country, NETWORK advocates for federal policies that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good. www.networklobby.org