Tag Archives: Congress

Erasing the Black Vote

From the Supreme Court and Congress to State Legislatures, the Right to Vote is Consistently Under Attack

Min. Christian S. Watkins
May 15, 2026

My grandmother had to pay poll taxes after she was granted the right to vote. My mother was a Black Panther and community organizer, who still remembers drinking from separate water fountains while fighting for voting rights. They both taught me that voting is sacred. Not because it is somehow a magical fix, but because it is powerful to participate in our own liberation. It is one of the few tools Black communities have held that those in power have consistently tried to limit.

Every generation has faced new strategies designed to narrow participation while preserving the appearance of fairness, and this is our time to live into that rich legacy of overcoming.

In 2026, those strategies continue with renewed force. With the April 29 Louisiana v. Callais decision, the Supreme Court has further weakened key protections of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for state legislatures to redraw districts in ways that decimates Black political power and the influence of other communities of color, which they have begun to do with ruthless ferocity.

African American male holding right fist in the air and protest sign in front of U.S. Supreme Court Building

Min. Christian S. Watkins at the “Protect Birthright Citizenship” protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C.

This devastating blow and its fallout, which threatens to wipe out Black representation in Congress and state houses, especially in the South, are only part of the picture. At the same time, Congress has failed to restore protections, even as restrictive voting laws spread across the country. New federal and state-level proposals raise additional concerns.

Efforts to create national “verified voter” systems or impose stricter documentation requirements for registration are framed as security measures. In practice, these “show your papers” policies risk excluding those least likely to have ready access to passports or birth certificates: disproportionately Black, Brown, low-income, and naturalized citizens. These policies—as well as the disastrous Supreme Court decision—do not exist in a vacuum. They reflect longstanding patterns of exclusion dressed in new language.

Voting alone will not solve every injustice, but without it, the communities most affected by injustice are pushed even further from the decisions that shape their lives.

So, the task before us is clear. We must prepare, participate, and protect the vote:

Check and update your voter registration early and help others do the same.
Make a concrete plan to vote—early is preferable, but safely by mail or on Election Day if necessary.
Follow all instructions carefully if voting by mail and return ballots promptly.
Learn your rights and share voter protection resources within your community.
Support election integrity by volunteering as a poll worker or nonpartisan monitor.

These actions are practical, but they are also moral. Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that participation in public life is a form of charity because it shapes the conditions in which people either flourish or struggle. When access to the ballot is restricted, it is not just a procedural issue—it is a wound to human dignity and the common good.

Diverse group of faith leaders holding protest signs and in "selfie" style at a protest.

Min. Christian S. Watkins (right) and fellow faith leaders at the “Faithful Resistance” protest in Washington D.C.

Voting is not the whole of democracy, but it is one of its load-bearing walls. Without it, accountability weakens and exclusion deepens. With it, we create the possibility—however imperfect—of a more just and inclusive society.

In my own work, and in the mission of NETWORK, voting rights remain central because they sit at the intersection of so many struggles—racial justice, economic equity, and the fight against concentrated power. I carry both the weight of history and the hope of my faith: that every person is endowed with dignity and has a rightful voice in shaping our shared future.

The question before us is not simply whether we will vote. It is whether we will defend the conditions that make voting meaningful for everyone. That work requires persistence, solidarity, and a refusal to accept disenfranchisement as inevitable.

Min. Christian S. Watkins is NETWORK’s Senior Government Relations Advocate.

Affordability Breaking Point

The Housing Crisis Crushes Many American Dreams

Chase Tuller
May 8, 2026

What comes to mind when picturing the American Dream? For many, it’s owning a home, a decent-sized backyard, or even just having the space and stability to build a life. We all share a core human need: having a roof over our head. Yet today, that goal—which is also a human right—is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.

My roommate and I pay more than $2,800 a month for a 900-square-foot apartment near our universities. The property is owned by a major investment firm, and when we asked why the rent was so high, we were told it was necessary to “maintain market value.” The problem is that companies like this control much of the housing market itself. They buy up properties, so they can hike prices and turn a profit at our expense. They are not just reacting to the market, they are shaping it, in a way that harms all of us.

For many young people, this has become the new reality of the housing market. Americans are navigating one of the most severe housing affordability crises the country has ever faced. Home prices have skyrocketed while wages have remained relatively stagnant. Interest rates are significantly higher than they were just a few years ago, making mortgages increasingly difficult to obtain.

The result is record levels of housing unaffordability. Over half of Americans report struggling to pay their rent or mortgage, with Gen Z hit the hardest. What does it say about the future of the American Dream when our young adults are the first generation in U.S. history projected to have less financial prosperity than the generation before them?

According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, home prices now average nearly five times the median household income. At the same time, the average age of first-time homebuyers in the United States has increased to around 40 years old. In 1987, the age was just 29.

When housing costs rise beyond what most families can reasonably afford, the consequences extend far beyond the housing market itself. People struggling to keep up with rising rent or mortgage payments are also more likely to struggle to afford other basic necessities such as food, healthcare, transportation, and education. The affordability crisis is not limited to housing alone, but addressing housing costs would certainly be a meaningful place to start.

The Senate recently passed what could become the most comprehensive housing legislation in more than a decade. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has garnered bipartisan support and represents a feasible attempt to address the housing crises.

If enacted, the bill would introduce several reforms that expand housing supply and improve affordability. It includes pilot programs that provide grants and forgivable loans to address home repair needs and health hazards. It also cuts bureaucratic red tape, empowering state, local, and tribal governments to streamline development reviews and build more housing where it is needed most.

Another commonsense provision focuses on limiting large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes in bulk, helping ensure that families, not corporations, have a fair chance at homeownership opportunities.

While the bill has already passed in the Senate, its future depends on action in the House. In today’s political environment, even broadly supported legislation can stall without sustained pressure. One of the most effective steps citizens can take is contacting their representatives. Whether through an email, phone call, or letter, sharing personal experiences with housing costs can influence lawmakers’ decisions and help push this legislation across the finish line.

People are reaching a breaking point when it comes to housing affordability. Passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will not solve every problem overnight, but it would be a meaningful step toward protecting one of the most fundamental promises of the American Dream: the chance for every American to have a place to call home.

Tell Congress: Support Housing Affordability, Expand Our Country’s Housing Supply!

Chase Tuller is a student at John Carroll Universal in Cleveland and a Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.).

Profiles in Hunger

When States Cut Nutrition Programs, We See Immediate Harm

Erica Walden
May 6, 2026

The Farm Bill presents a timely and critical opportunity for Congress to restore and strengthen SNAP. But the current House Farm Bill—the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R.7567)—misses that opportunity as written. The Senate must reject the current flawed House Farm Bill that does not reverse any of the crushing SNAP cuts and program changes. Instead, Congress must take immediate action to restore critical SNAP funding. Will you join us today in writing to our Senators, asking them to vote NO on the flawed House Farm Bill (H.R.7567), and instead restore critical SNAP funding?

This reflection from Erica Walden, a 2026 Sr. Carol Coston Fellow with NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.), show the devastating difference that policy changes make in the lives of people who need access to food:

Lack of access to food is a source of systemic oppression in the U.S., deeply tied to public health, economic stability, and social equity. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves as a primary defense against hunger for millions of people, yet recent, inhumane changes to federal policy reveal how vulnerable these programs are.

Recent data from states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, and New York demonstrate that without strong federal advocacy, food assistance programs can quickly become unstable, leaving large populations at risk.

In Arizona, as a result of the state implementing changes in keeping with President Trump’s Big Budget Bill, including stricter work reporting requirements and limits on eligibility. According to recent data provided by ABC 15, “SNAP enrollment has fallen dramatically in Arizona in just three months,” with “about 533,000 people” receiving benefits in January, marking “a 31% decline from October.”

This significant drop highlights how quickly access to food assistance can change, often not because fewer people need help, but because of administrative or policy shifts. When hundreds of thousands of individuals lose access to benefits in such a short time, it worsens food insecurity, especially for low-income families who rely on SNAP as a primary food support.

Similarly, in Pennsylvania, policy changes at the federal level have directly impacted SNAP participation. Reports from WJACTV indicate, “Nearly 60,000 Pennsylvanians have lost SNAP benefits since September… likely tied to changes in work reporting requirements mandated by a Congressional Republicans’ budget bill signed into law by President Trump.”

Work reporting requirements, while intended to encourage employment, often fail to account for the realities faced by vulnerable populations, such as inconsistent work hours, caregiving responsibilities, or lack of access to transportation. The examples from Arizona, Pennsylvania, and New York (which also introduced stricter work reporting requirements, leading to 180,000 people leaving SNAP) clearly demonstrate that food security in the United States is highly sensitive to federal policy decisions.

Access to food assistance can vary dramatically depending on where someone lives. This creates a patchwork system in which some states may implement stricter requirements or administrative barriers, while others provide more accessible support. Advocacy at the national level helps establish baseline protections that ensure all people, regardless of geography, have access to the resources they need to avoid hunger.

Reliable access to food is closely linked to broader economic outcomes. When individuals and families have enough to eat, they are better able to work, attend school, and contribute to their communities. When children go to school, they can focus on their work instead of their hunger.

Conversely, food insecurity can lead to increased healthcare costs, reduced productivity, and long-term developmental issues for children. Dramatic declines in SNAP enrollment and the implementation of stricter work reporting requirements reveal how quickly access to food assistance can be reduced, often affecting millions of people. It diminishes the consideration of people’s humanity, treating access to food as if it were a business.

By prioritizing food security at the national level, we can better protect our neighbors and promote a healthier, more stable society. By advocating for strong federal food assistance programs, we can address not only immediate hunger but also the long-term economic health of the country.

Erica Walden is a student at Xavier University of Louisiana and a Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.).

A Moral Budget is Possible

If Congress Works for the People

Laura Peralta-Schulte
May 1, 2026

Congress is pushing an immoral budget that prioritizes billions more for detention and deportation while families struggle to afford food, health care, and housing. At a time when communities are facing rising costs and deep insecurity, our tax dollars should be used to help people thrive—not fund harm and division. Take action today and tell your Members of Congress to reject this deportation-focused budget and invest instead in the dignity and well-being of all.

And don’t forget—visit NETWORK’s 2026 budget landing page to print and share our new (!) budget zine and rally posters.

The Big Bad Budget law (H.R.1) has had over nine months to do real harm in communities across our country, and people are really feeling it now. Food, health care, and housing are less affordable than ever, and masked agents have terrorized and trampled on the rights of people in our city streets. But as Congress prepares to fund the government next year, we can begin the work of mitigating that damage.

Last year, President Trump and Congressional Republicans upended the normal way of funding our government and used the reconciliation process—which fixes differences between the versions of a bill passed in each chamber—to force their extreme agenda onto our country. Now they’re planning to do the same thing again, with Senate Republicans releasing a budget resolution that would use reconciliation to end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. They also want to use the process to make further harmful cuts to vital human needs programs and environmental protections.

Enough is enough.

Budgets are moral documents, and they reflect the priorities of a country and its government. In our outreach to leaders in both the House and Senate, NETWORK has urged lawmakers to promote the common good by funding programs that serve individuals, families, and communities, respecting the dignity of each person and their ability to thrive. And we demand that our lawmakers pursue that goal through the normal appropriations process, allowing the guardrails that help promote responsible policy.

NETWORK has reached out to both houses of Congress to urge a vision of a budget that works for all people. Here’s some of what we are asking for:

Access to Food and Healthcare

Fully fund the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which moves food from farms to food banks to people facing hunger. This program (TEFAP) helps food banks meet the nutritional needs of families and benefits farmers with hundreds of millions of dollars in food purchases.

Fully fund programs that meet the needs of women, infants, children, and elderly people in the country.

Fully fund research and services that keep mothers and infants safe and healthy.

Participation in Society

Help Americans exercise their right to vote by investing in the enhancement and modernization of our election infrastructure security.

Fully fund Second Chance Act programs, which serve people returning from prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. These programs improve public safety by reducing the likelihood that returning citizens will re-offend and return to incarceration.

Care for Immigrants

Support no new funding to deport or detain immigrant families and ensure guardrails to protect human rights in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) funding.

Fund assistance for refugees, including trafficking survivors and unaccompanied children, and ensure legal services for children in removal proceedings.

Housing and Jobs

Fully fund Rental Assistance Programs: Today, 1 in 4 renters in the U.S. spend more than half of their income on rent, and rates of homelessness are rising in communities across the country as growing numbers of people are unable to afford a place to call home.

Fund workplace innovation, adult education programs, apprenticeship programs, youth violence prevention, and other services provided by the federal government.

We know that when Members of Congress work together across divides for the common good our people do better. We call on Congress to prioritize the needs of those living paycheck to paycheck to create a future were all can thrive.

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

Food: a Necessity, Not a Choice

Realizing What Families Are Going Through Should Be Enough to Ensure We Fund SNAP

Leslie Gracia
April 21, 2026

As Congress considers the Farm Bill, lawmakers must reject the current House proposal, which fails to reverse these cuts, and instead restore critical SNAP funding. Please write to your Members of Congress today urging them to vote NO on the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R.7567). This reflection from Leslie Gracia, a 2026 Sr. Carol Coston Fellow with NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.), show the difference that food assistance makes in the life of a family.

Growing up I remember my family struggling to make ends meet to the point where we almost lost our house. My dad worked in construction but then had an accident where his thumb got cut off due to a brick falling on him while working. After this incident, he struggled to find a job and he was the main household provider. My mom had just given birth to my younger sister, so that meant that a lot of the money went toward baby necessities.

My mom would also take care of the neighbors’ children for free, and I would see how my mom would put food on everybody else’s plates while her plate would be filled with any remaining food. It was not until my parents applied for SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as food stamps) that we would see the refrigerator and pantry full of food.

My family’s experience with food insecurity allows me to see other families struggling with food insecurity as if they were my own. It is so hard to see parents struggling the way mine did to provide food on the table or not eating enough so that they can give more food to their children.

Laurie Carafone and Ralph McCloud at People's Pantry event

NETWORK Executive Director Laurie Carafone and NETWORK Fellow Ralph McCloud protest cuts to human needs programs in the federal budget at the People’s Pantry event in Washington, D.C. in 2025.

I currently attend St. Vincent DePaul University, named for the saint whose mission is to defend against hunger and poverty. St. Vincent would distribute bread and soup to the starving population in France. His mission was based off the Corporal Works of Mercy outlined in the Gospel of Matthew. For I was hungry and you gave me food” (Mt 25:35). In the Catholic Church it is a reminder to feed people who are hungry and take care of those who are impacted by poverty.

St. Nicholas also answered the call to feed the hungry by asking ship captains to donate food to those in need At first the captains rejected St. Nicholas’ pleas, but when St. Nicholas promised the captains that in God’s name their cargo would not lessen, the captains ended up donating. His story inspires me to advocate and organize to provide food to those who need it. Lobbying your representatives, whether that is meeting with them in person, via a video call, a letter, or a phone call, can bring awareness to the need to fund SNAP.

My passion for keeping SNAP funded comes from personal experiences and religious beliefs. Nobody deserves to go on with their day or for several days starving. We all deserve access to food because it is a necessity that can impact every aspect of our lives. For example, food insecurity, can exacerbate or even cause a variety of health issues; which is another problem on its own because health care is already unaffordable.

SNAP supports parents who feel guilty for not being able to provide food for their family, children who struggle to stay awake while in school because they are hungry, and many others. No family should have to go through what my family went through. We know SNAP is an effective way to alleviate hunger while people get back on their feet. It is important that we continue to bring awareness to SNAP and similar programs in order to fix our hunger crisis.

Leslie Gracia is a student at DePaul University and a Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.).

Protecting Our Vote Protects Our Future

It’s Time to Look Toward Midterm Elections, Where the Real Work Toward Preserving and Protecting Democracy Happens

Mia Lazo
November 5, 2025

With the 2025 off-year elections behind us and the 2026 midterm elections just one year away, it’s a good time to start looking ahead to next year’s election.

It may be easy to dismiss midterm elections as less important than presidential elections. But midterms are where so much of the real work of democracy happens. Governors, senators, representatives, mayors, and local officials all make decisions that ripple through our daily lives. Whether it is health care, education, housing, or infrastructure, these choices impact us directly.

Mia Lazo

Today, threats to voting are real, starting with barriers to voter registration.

Voter registration is more than paperwork; it is a vital first step toward protecting our democracy and building the common good. The common good depends on broad participation. When more of us are registered and engaged, government decisions reflect the needs of the many, not just of the wealthy or politically powerful.

But there are constant efforts to impose burdensome identification requirements to voter registration being proposed by the President, members of Congress, state legislatures, and before regulatory agencies. The single demand of requiring U.S. citizens to show in person a birth certificate, passport, or other document proving citizenship when they register or re-register to vote could bar from voting as many as 21 million U.S. citizens who don’t have these documents readily available. This attacks women, Immigrants, those affected by weather disasters, working people, and those living in rural communities.

Even more troubling, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently banned registering new voters at citizenship ceremonies, a time when new Americans should be most welcomed into democratic life. Add to that the growing restrictions on mail-in ballots, such as reduced drop boxes and stricter ID requirements, and you see the trend: Some of our lawmakers protect the elite by making it harder for so many of us to exercise our basic right to vote.

My family has our own story of what can happen when We the People don’t have a say in our own future. My parents fled to the U.S. to escape the oppressive and corrupt Marcos dictatorship of the Philippines. In 2022, the son of the former dictator was elected president, as the wealthy wanted to protect their interests. While billions of pesos went into fraudulent infrastructure projects, cities living without infrastructure continued to suffer devastating floods. Typhoons damaged farms, roads, and other infrastructure, affecting nearly 907,000 families, or more than 3.4 million people (about the population of Oklahoma). With landslides, flashfloods, electrocution, and drownings, communities saw their homes washed away while those in power enriched the pockets of their billionaire friends. This kind of corruption does not happen in a vacuum; it thrives when leaders face little accountability and when citizens are too discouraged to demand better.

The same risks exist here in the United States. When fewer people vote, including in midterms, entrenched politicians have more room to cater to their donors rather than the communities they represent. Just as Filipino citizens watch their tax dollars vanish into the pockets of the elite, people in the U.S. face leaders who prioritize corporate lobbyists over working families. The connecting thread is clear: Unchecked political power always bends toward self-interest. Voting is how we check it.

Democracy does not collapse in one dramatic moment; it unravels slowly when people disengage, when voters participation falls, and when power ends up in the hands of wealthy elites able to buy figureheads and power centers in the government. By the time citizens realize what they’ve lost, it can be too late.

In Venezuela, democratic institutions were slowly hollowed out, one law and one election at a time. Leaders stacked the courts with loyalists, rewrote the constitution to expand executive power, and silenced opposition through censorship, harassment, and arrests. Elections became hollow performances to legitimize those already in power. The cost to ordinary citizens has been catastrophic. A country once among the wealthiest in South America now suffers from hyperinflation, poverty, and chronic shortages of food, medicine, and electricity. Millions have fled in search of stability, and those who remain endure long lines for basic goods, while corrupt elites live in luxury.

Here in the United States, we still have the tools to prevent that fate. Tanks in the streets may grab headlines, but the quieter erosion of voting rights is the greater danger. That is why registering now to vote for the 2026 midterms matters. Government leaders already line the pockets of their wealthy friends through tax cuts. But every voter registration represents a person who is ready to hold people in power accountable. Every ballot cast is a reminder that this country belongs to all of us, not just the privileged few.

The example of the Philippines shows us what happens when corruption goes unchecked. My family back home knows it more than anyone else. Venezuela reminds us how quickly democracy can unravel. But the U.S. has a chance to choose differently if we show up. So, please check your voter registration, start thinking about your voting plan for next November, and encourage your loved ones, your colleagues, your neighbors, and even the barista who makes your coffee to do the same.

Visit vote411.org to register to vote, check your registration status, and more.

Mia Lazo is an environmental studies major at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles and a Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L).

The Ash Wednesday Call for a Compassionate Budget

The Ash Wednesday Call for a Compassionate Budget Faith

Leaders, Members of Congress Hold Ash Wednesday Prayer Service Calling on Congress to Choose Families Over Billionaires

Sr. Erin Zubal, OSU, NETWORK Chief of Staff, distributes ashes at the March 5 prayer service for a compassionate budget on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jim Clyburn

Representatives of different religious traditions offered prayers as Members of Congress joined with them for a service, “Ash Wednesday: A Call to Action for a Compassionate Budget,” on March 5 on Capitol Hill. After a ceremonial distribution of ashes to mark the holy day, those gathered lamented the the harms the GOP plans on Budget Reconciliation pose to health, food, taxes, immigration/militarization, and democracy.

The Democratic Faith Working Group led by Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-06) and members of the Washington Interfaith Staff Community came together in the wake of President Trump’s address to Congress and decried how the proposed budget would gut health care and food programs for families to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and the mass deportation of beloved immigrant communities.

Joan F. Neal

Joan F. Neal, Interim Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice addressed the tax injustice at the heart of the Budget Reconciliation:

“Right now, the House Budget Resolution calls for giving at least 4.5 trillion dollars in additional tax cuts to billionaires, which they intended to pay for by taking food from families, and healthcare for millions — this at a time when so many people in this country don’t know where their next meal is coming from or are one medical bill away from financial ruin. That is immoral. The faithful ask Congress today: Whose side are you on?”

The service marked the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent and offered prayers for strength and guidance while lamenting the passage of a budget resolution that would significantly harm millions of hardworking people and families to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, if it becomes law. The faith leaders, including NETWORK Chief of Staff Sr. Erin Zubal, OSU distributed ashes to the people gathered.

Rev. Camille Henderson, the Senior Executive Director for Advocacy of the General Board of Church and Society offered the opening gathering prayer. United Methodist Bishop Julius C. Trimble, General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society was among the Christian faith leaders who spoke — along with Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, President and National Secretary, National Council of Churches; Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Disciples of Christ; Bridget Moix, General Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation; Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, Political Director at Faith in Action; and Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.

Rep. Clyburn opened the service with his close reading of Matthew 25. He noted that most people jump to the “whatever you did for the least among you, you did for me” portion of the Scripture. But his focus, he said, is on Jesus speaking of how people are to use their talents–things of great value–out in the world. This question, he said, could be reflected in the priorities reflected in the Federal Budget.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05) echoed this sentiment:

“Show me your checkbook and I will tell you what your values are,” said Rep. Cleaver. “The checkbook of the United States declares who we are. … To talk about cutting Medicaid is a sin and an insult to the God who lets us walk around and breathe.”

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

Cleaver shared what he wanted to call out during Trump’s address to Congress:

“Elon Musk, how much did you get? The poor got nothing! Speaker Johnson, how much did you get? The poor got nothing! Donald Trump, how much did you get? The poor got nothing!”

Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11) connected the values of her faith to concrete human needs.

“This is not a call of faith but a call to action. Our faith isn’t about what we believe, it is about how we serve,” she said. “Seniors are choosing between groceries and medication. Parents are working multiple jobs but can’t make ends meet. … We are called to walk with one another.”

Rep. Shontel Brown

Rep. Brown added: “In my district, one in five families, thirty-two percent of seniors, and fifty-one percent of people with disabilities rely on SNAP. These numbers represent people, our neighbors, our friends, and our fellow congregants. This is not about politics, this is about people getting the help they need.”

Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04) lamented that cuts to vital programs will go to tax cuts for billionaires, as well as mass deportation efforts by the Administration.

Rep. Chuy Garcia

“My ask is that Republicans give up billionaires for Lent and to reflect deeply on the needs of ordinary people across the country, especially the condition of 11 million undocumented migrants needing a pathway to citizenship,” he said.

“I pray that we will also reflect on the violent rhetoric that has been used by President Trump and other Members of Congress, which is rooted in lies and distortions,” he added.

“Immigrants give so much to this country. Let’s not forget that they pay taxes — over $580 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. They are our neighbors, small business people, they are the other children who attend school with our own. They are human beings. ”

Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) spoke of a different kind of reconciliation than the budget process:

Rep. Robin Kelly

“Ash Wednesday is a holy day that marks the beginning of repentance and reconciliation,” she said. “But what I cannot reconcile is a budget that harms hardworking Americans.”

She questioned how her Republican colleagues could justify to their constituents back home the cuts they are proposing.

“Thousands of their constituents, just like ours, rely on Medicaid for health care,” she noted. In her own district, she added, over 300,000 people risk losing their health care under the GOP budget.

Rep. Tim Kennedy (NY-26) said a budget that fails in this way is essentially a betrayal of the founding principles of the United States.

Rep. Tim Kennedy

“We have the opportunity right now to actually uplift hardworking families, help our seniors, protect our children,” he said. “Though we humans are not perfect, our forefathers built a democracy that helped lift so many out of poverty, illiteracy, and oppression.”

He added, “Tyrants have no place in our society. We fought to protect our democracy, a system that gives each person a voice in our nation, a voice that time and time again we as Americans have chosen to use for the common good.”

Of the numerous faith leaders from across traditions who spoke at the event, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould of Faith in Action asserted that the moral and policy perils presented by the Budget Reconciliation require action.

“This season of Lent was the season when Jesus went into the temple and flipped the tables over,” she said. “Our job is not to sit by silently.”

Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould of Faith in Action speaks at the March 5 Ash Wednesday service for a compassionate budget on Capitol Hill

Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould of Faith in Action speaks at the March 5 service, “Ash Wednesday: A Call to Action for a Compassionate Budget,” on Capitol Hill.

This Advent Calls for Vigilance

This Advent Calls for Vigilance

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM
December 1, 2023

Advent 2023, Week One Reflection: A Call for Vigilance

Readings for the First Sunday of Advent, December 3

Is 63: 16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
Ps 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
1 Cor 1: 3-9
Mk 13:33-37

The readings on the First Sunday of Advent call for vigilance. In the Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples to be alert and watchful, careful not to be found sleeping when the time is nigh.

This year, the NETWORK community has had countless opportunities to stay awake and to practice the virtue of vigilance. At a moment’s notice, we have called on faith-filled justice-seekers to protect the rights of asylum seekers in the United States. From the racist and problematic U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP1 App, to the threat to cut funding to programs that serve asylum seekers, some Members of Congress continually proposed drastic changes to the asylum process. And how did you respond? Nearly 10,000 of you signed on to our letter calling on Congress to invest in welcoming communities. You have also called your Members of Congress and visited them.

To receive all of NETWORK’s Advent 2023 reflections in your email inbox, sign up here!

We cannot grow complacent; we must stay awake and vigilant. Just this week, some Members of Congress are trying to decimate the asylum system in order to pass a funding bill. We cannot ignore their attempt to re-institute an asylum ban.

In this Sunday’s first reading, Isaiah tells us the story of the people who longed for God to come down from on high with a force that would shake the mountains, but, instead, we are reminded that “we are the clay and you are the potter: we are all the work of your hands.” To participate in the building up of Welcoming Communities, we, too, seek to do the work of God. With the Psalmist, we turn our face to God, eager to have God show us the way to the building up of the Kin-dom here on Earth.

To do this, we must all participate in the work to bring more abundant life to all of God’s people, because the hope for abundant life does not end at our borders. It does not stop to decide if someone has the proper documents. Abundant life is God’s hope for all of us—and we will continue to be vigilant and respond to any threat to take away someone’s chance at abundant life.

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Fortunately, we are not alone in this work. Fortunately, the NETWORK community lives out this mission together. Our Spirit-filled community of justice-seekers has significantly influenced elected officials this year to ensure the federal government makes room for the people most in need in our communities.

We draw strength and encouragement from living this shared mission together, and we draw our hope from the God who, according to St. Paul, remains faithful and will keep us firm to the end.

Call to Action:

Congress is now back in session, and their first order of business is passing a package to meet the President’s supplemental funding request for aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Unfortunately, some Members of Congress are pushing to decimate asylum in the U.S. as a condition of this deal.

Tell your Senators to protect asylum in the United States and not give into demands to change asylum law in order to get a funding deal passed.

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The legislative priorities not passed before the end of the 117th Congress will continue to be priorities of NETWORK in 2024 and beyond!

Restore Basic Function

Restore Basic Function

Fixing America’s Immigration System Starts With Updating the Registry

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres
March 7, 2023

When something isn’t working like it should—such as a car making a strange noise or a computer laboring to perform basic tasks—our human reaction is often to ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. We do this as long as possible, even as our avoidance is clearly allowing the situation to get worse.

In the United States, this is the path we have taken with our immigration system, which we have left broken and ignored for too long.

The problem is that we have no real function to allow people who come to this country, and who work hard and contribute to our communities, to pursue legal status. And because we have avoided addressing the problem, more than 10 million people in our communities live in the shadows, without legal status, and barred from full participation in society. People even wait 30-40 years in line for their documents to be processed. That is all part of the systemic failure we have seen.

We call the U.S. immigration system broken because it doesn’t perform the basic functions it’s intended to carry out.

Now, how often when we finally seek help and take a car to an auto mechanic do we hear that one little part is causing all the problems? It’s a relief and almost an embarrassment to know that our long-avoided problem has such a simple answer.

This too is reflected in U.S. immigration policy.

The Immigration Act of 1929 set up a registry to assist people who came to the U.S. without legal status. It was understood even then that we are better off knowing the people around us are not hiding in the shadows. The registry, which is still the law of the land, offered a rigorous process by which long-time residents could obtain permanent legal residence, and one of the provisions of that process was that a person resides in the U.S. before a cutoff date. Originally, this date was June 3, 1921. It has been updated four times through the years and is currently Jan. 1, 1972.

That’s a long time ago. I had just come to the U.S. two years earlier, at age 5, with my uncle, from Guatemala, which was embroiled in a dangerous civil war. I became a citizen 20 years later. The system worked for me. And that is part of why, in the 117^th Congress, I co-led H.R. 8433: Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929. This bill would simply update the cutoff date that, again, exists in current law.

It shouldn’t surprise us that one little provision in our system that hasn’t moved in half a century is broken and needs to be replaced. This bill is a simple change that would have a major impact on the quality of life of so many people. People will be able to present themselves at financial institutions, register their kids at school, go to the doctor, and contact federal, state, and local agencies without being afraid because they don’t have a legal document. While it wouldn’t solve every problem for every person in the U.S. without legal status, it would be a major step forward.

For the thousands of immigrant workers, our neighbors and friends who have been in the community a long time and who have been good Americans in every way, except on paper, we have an opportunity to be better neighbors to them. Delay and avoidance will lead to only more brokenness, and now, we have a path forward.

Let us work to make our communities whole—the time to do registry is now.

Rep. Norma J. Torres represents California’s 35^th District. She has served in Congress since 2015.

This story was originally published in the 4th Quarter issue of Connection. Download the full issue here.

What We Can Do

What We Can Do

Persistence Under Adverse Conditions is Essential for Seeking Justice

Dr. Mara Rutten
Jan 12, 2023

Sr. Kathy Thornton, Sr. Carol Coston, and Sr. Nancy Sylvester

Sr. Carol Coston, OP (center), Sr. Nancy Sylvester, IHM (right), and Sr, Kathy Thornton, RSM (left), served as NETWORK’s first three directors, their tenures spanning the first 30 years of the organization’s existence.

My community recently watched the 2019 Oscar-winning film “Jojo Rabbit,” the story of a young German boy growing up in the last year of World War II. In one scene, Jojo and his mother pass through the public square, where Nazis had recently hanged members of the Resistance.

“What did they do?” Jojo asks her.

She answers, “What they could.”

For those of us who strive for justice in this world, elections can be both inspiring and terrifying, especially when the two main parties refuse to work together. As the House changes hands, we are rightly concerned about what will become of the issues that animate NETWORK’s Build Anew policy agenda: dismantling systemic racism, rooting our economy in solidarity, building inclusive community, and transforming our politics. But whether Congress champions or stymies them, we must carry on, and do what we can.

NETWORK has been in this place before. Although early on it enjoyed the ear of both major parties, that moment was short-lived. Starting with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, it faced the dilemma of how to lobby “in a milieu in which basic assumptions and values were increasingly alien to ours.” How it persevered through decades of opposition to its mission can be instructive on how to work steadfastly for Catholic Social Justice and the common good in adverse political climates.

Reagan’s approach to cutting programs he didn’t like was to defund them. In his first year, he introduced no new initiatives other than the budget, which drastically cut domestic spending. In this way, he could avoid going through the legislative process, which allowed for public debate about the merits of these programs.

With the regular channels of debate cut off, NETWORK turned to the field, where sisters and social workers could testify to the hardships people were experiencing. It provided members with lobbying kits to help mobilize communities and provide Congress with the much-needed perspective on how its policies affect those in need. It also partnered with 175 organizations to highlight that perspective in a week of HOUSING NOW! events to address rising homelessness.

Despite having a friend in the White House, the 1990s were just as difficult. The GOP’s “Contract with America” promised to shrink government by way of cutting social programs, specifically welfare. The suggested cuts were “mean-spirited calling for harsh, punitive measures for poor women and their children.” Again, NETWORK’s impact was dulled when Congress bypassed traditional hearings, shunting aside organizations protesting its agenda.

“Denied clearance to stand outside House and Senate chambers – where the most effective floor lobbying takes place,” it joined with Pax Christi and several women’s religious congregations to form the Welfare Reform Watch Project. Collecting statistical and anecdotal information about the effects these cuts had on people’s lives, they issued a paper in preparation for a Lobby Day “to insist that welfare reform is about getting people out of poverty not just off welfare.”

George W. Bush also took on social spending under the guise of “compassionate conservatism.” Bush, an evangelical Christian, summed up his governing philosophy by noting, “It is compassionate to actively help our fellow citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on responsibility and results.” This would mean encouraging people to build better lives for themselves without government assistance and to expand responsibility for federally funded programs to religious and community organizations.

NETWORK cautioned that the “proposal implies that individual conversion of ‘morally flawed’ people is the answer to society’s ills, including poverty. This disregards government’s role in shaping social and economic structures that keep people poor” and would enable the government “to abdicate its larger responsibility to protect the rights of the individual and promote the common good.”

Insisting on the government taking responsibility for the welfare of all its citizens is a tenet of Catholic Social Teaching and the thread that has run through NETWORK’s 50-year history. The first Nuns on the Bus tour promoted resistance to Rep. Paul Ryan’s harmful budget, and our members and staff have continued to engage in lobbying and organizing efforts on behalf of such issues as fair tax policies, immigration reform, Medicaid expansion, and reparations.

There have been both wins and losses, but we continue to do the work because we know that the U.S. government’s time is not God’s time. Until our dreams of a just and equitable society come to fruition, we do what we can.

Dr. Mara Rutten is a candidate with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and NETWORK’s historian.

Erasing the Black Vote

From the Supreme Court and Congress to State Legislatures, the Right to Vote is Consistently Under Attack

Min. Christian S. Watkins May 15, 2026

Affordability Breaking Point

The Housing Crisis Crushes Many American Dreams

Chase Tuller May 8, 2026

Profiles in Hunger

When States Cut Nutrition Programs, We See Immediate Harm

Erica Walden May 6, 2026

A Moral Budget is Possible

If Congress Works for the People

Laura Peralta-Schulte May 1, 2026

Access to Food and Healthcare

Participation in Society

Care for Immigrants

Housing and Jobs

Food: a Necessity, Not a Choice

Realizing What Families Are Going Through Should Be Enough to Ensure We Fund SNAP

Leslie Gracia April 21, 2026

Protecting Our Vote Protects Our Future

It’s Time to Look Toward Midterm Elections, Where the Real Work Toward Preserving and Protecting Democracy Happens

Mia Lazo November 5, 2025

The Ash Wednesday Call for a Compassionate Budget Faith

Leaders, Members of Congress Hold Ash Wednesday Prayer Service Calling on Congress to Choose Families Over Billionaires

This Advent Calls for Vigilance

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM December 1, 2023

Advent 2023, Week One Reflection: A Call for Vigilance

Call to Action:

Restore Basic Function

Fixing America’s Immigration System Starts With Updating the Registry

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres March 7, 2023

This story was originally published in the 4th Quarter issue of Connection. Download the full issue here.

What We Can Do

Persistence Under Adverse Conditions is Essential for Seeking Justice

Dr. Mara Rutten Jan 12, 2023

This story was originally published in the 1st Quarter issue of Connection. Download the full issue here.

Min. Christian S. Watkins
May 15, 2026

Chase Tuller
May 8, 2026

Erica Walden
May 6, 2026

Laura Peralta-Schulte
May 1, 2026

Leslie Gracia
April 21, 2026

Mia Lazo
November 5, 2025

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM
December 1, 2023

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres
March 7, 2023

Dr. Mara Rutten
Jan 12, 2023