Posts filed under ‘Issues’
Caring for Poor People: Should the Church Do It Alone?
By David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World
When I open my Bible, it isn’t hard to find a verse that underscores our responsibility as Christians to care for the least among us. Proverbs 19:17 tells us, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Unfortunately, some members of Congress don’t buy into this notion. They believe instead that taking care of the most vulnerable people in our society is for the church to do alone.
Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution for fiscal year 2013 that places a heavy burden on poor Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to feed their families. The House recommended cutting more than $169 billion from SNAP. Some representatives even argued that feeding hungry people is really the work of churches, not government.
But churches can’t be solely responsible for feeding poor women, children, seniors and disabled people. We also need strong government programs. In fact, all of the food churches and charities provide to hungry and poor people in the United States amounts to only about 6 percent of what the federal government spends on programs such as SNAP and school meals for students.
The Hartford Institute for Religion and Research estimates there are 335,000 religious congregations in the United States. If the House’s proposals to cut SNAP by $133.5 billion and $36 billion are enacted, each congregation will have to spend about $50,000 more annually to feed those who would see a reduction or loss of benefits. Some congressional leaders are essentially saying that every church in America — big or tiny — needs to come up with an extra $50,000 to feed people every year for the next 10 years to make up for these cuts.
In response, Bread for the World asked people to tell members of Congress that churches can’t be solely responsible for feeding hungry people. Thousands from around the country answered our call, telling us they just can’t afford to do more than they’re currently doing. Here are a few of their comments:
“As a small church in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, we are inundated with needs all around us. The proposed cost is more than we pay our full-time minister for compensation, the only full-time staff we have. We contribute to multiple charities that distribute food to those who are in need in order to ensure the best stewardship of our resources. And, yet, we are still not able to meet all of the needs. These cuts will overwhelm us.” –Sarah from Arlington, Texas
“Feeding the hungry is not a choice — it is a moral imperative. But the food pantries and soup kitchens in this area funded by the generosity of church members already are serving those in need at capacity and beyond in these tough economic times. We are doing our part. We expect that our government will do the same.” –Alexandra from Troy, N.Y.
“Addressing the needs of the hungry and poor is something that requires BOTH local congregation action and ALSO local and national government support. I urge our legislators at all levels to maintain strong support of government programs that help the poor and needy.” –Brian from Fond Du Lac, Wis.
“Already we get innumerable calls for emergency assistance. We have no idea how these families are sufficiently getting the necessary nutrients for their children and family. To increase the number of people would be overwhelming and those churches who try to help with their shrinking congregations might totally give up.” -Tempe of Jamestown, N.C.
“We fed over 32,000 people last year and we are tapped! We can barely pay our own bills, and if we are pushed any further we won’t be able to keep our doors open, thus NOT being able to feed the ones we already are!! PLEASE DON’T cut any feeding programs.” -Kirk of Sparks, Nev.
It’s time for members of Congress to tell people — like Brian from Wisconsin, Alexandra from New York, Tempe from North Carolina and Sarah from Texas — that they’re going to do their part and support legislation that creates a circle of protection around programs that are vital to hungry and poor people.
Farm Bill Proposal Would Cut $4 Billion from SNAP, Resulting in Lost Meals for Struggling Americans
(from FRAC)
Washington, D.C. – April 26 – The Farm Bill proposal passed today by the Senate Agriculture Committee includes a $4.49 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by limiting states’ ability to operate “Heat and Eat” policies.
“With millions of people struggling to pay for food, housing, health, and energy costs in this tough economy, the nation’s safety net must be strengthened — not cut. Today’s vote means less food in the refrigerator for struggling families,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “Attempts to dismiss such cuts as ‘accounting’ fixes obscures the fact that it is a cut in benefits with real impact on people and their ability to purchase food.”
Weill also noted recent polling data, which found widespread support for SNAP. Seventy-seven percent of voters said that cutting SNAP would be the wrong way to reduce government spending. “Americans recognize that SNAP works. Congress must stop these attempts to shred our safety net, and instead tackle hunger with the zeal that the situation – and that the public – demand,” said Weill.
Many low-income Americans face an impossible choice between paying for food or paying for energy, but “Heat and Eat” coordinates SNAP and the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help them afford both. Currently, the District of Columbia and 14 states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin) implement “Heat and Eat” policies, with California soon to join them. These states’ LIHEAP agencies provide small cash LIHEAP benefits directly to SNAP households. This targeted LIHEAP benefit helps meet LIHEAP’s requirement for outreach, simplifies the SNAP shelter deduction calculation, and, by increasing SNAP benefits to more realistic levels, alleviates some of the untenable “heat or eat” choices that households face.
Limiting SNAP “Heat and Eat” could trigger sizable reductions in monthly SNAP benefits for many households – an estimated $90 loss in benefits for households.
“Cutting SNAP this way means lost meals for hungry Americans,” concluded Weill. “This cut is at odds with every bipartisan deficit proposal discussed over the past year, including the Budget Control Act which protected SNAP from cuts. Bipartisan groups such as Simpson-Bowles, Domenici-Rivlin, and the Gang of Six have recognized that it is a fundamental mistake to cut SNAP.”
Invitations from our friends at the Oregon Center for Christian Voices
of Protection Advocacy Training Day that Bread for the World hosted last month,
that several of you were a part of.
part of the National Mobilizing effort called the Circle of Protection, an
nonpartisan movement of Christian leaders who are asking that the . As I’m sure
all of you know, this is a time of uncertainty and unrest politically, and the
current Occupy Portland and Occupy Wall Street are expressions of the current of
uncertainty and dissatisfaction that is prevalent today.
convening people of Faith all around the country who are asking for the National
Budget cuts to be handled in a way that does not ignore the needy, the
vulnerable and the poor among us. Over 20,000 people have already signed on.
The Bible has much to say about protecting the vulnerable, and working for
peace and justice of all types. Jeremiah 29:7 says, “Work for the peace and
prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it,
for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Religious leaders of all
stripes have signed onto the Circle of Protection petition, asking Congress to
remember the poor and vulnerable as they balance the national budget, and you
can too. http://www.circleofprotection.us/
16, we are having an action day when we will pray, fast (as you are able) and
stand together – in concert with thousands of others across the nation – to show
our support for a just National Budget, and as an act of solidarity with the
vulnerable in our country. I would like to ask you to join us, to share this
with those in your contact databases, and to come and stand to show that we,
too, as people of faith, will use our voices to protect social services that do
immense good, and to ask for shared sacrifice, morality and justice where budget
cuts are concerned.
The week of November 13 – 19 just so happens to be
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, and several events have
been planned, including
starting at Downtown Chapel
by Oregon Center for Christian Voices and Bread for the World)
Waterfront Park
asking your group, congregation or organization to participate.
these thoughts in your sermon that weekend.
make it a success.
SNAP(food stamps) Lifting 3.9 Million People Above Poverty Line
Census Bureau Releases New Poverty Data
SNAP Lifting 3.9 Million People Above Poverty Line
FRAC news release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer
Adach, 202.986.2200 x3018
Washington, D.C. – September 13, 2011 – The
Census Bureau reported today that 46.2 million people (15.1 percent) were living
in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009. This is the largest number of
Americans living in poverty since the Census Bureau started publishing these
estimates in 1959.
For struggling families, the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) is making a huge difference.
According to the Census Bureau, 3.9 million people – 1.7 million children – were
lifted above the poverty line in 2010 under the alternative computation that
counts SNAP benefits. In 2009, SNAP lifted 3.6 million people out of
poverty.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual report on
food insecurity showed levels of hunger and food insecurity for 2010 that were
the same as 2009, although still about one-third higher than in 2007 before the
recession wreaked havoc with America’s low-income and working families. The flat
food insecurity rates are generally attributed to the growth in SNAP
participation and the important boost in SNAP benefits that the President and
Congress put in place beginning in 2009.
“SNAP lifted people out of
poverty, and it helped keep hunger rates from rising. Both the poverty and
hunger rates tell us that, while too many people continue to struggle, SNAP is a
program that’s extremely important in helping people weather challenging times,”
said FRAC President Jim Weill.
Other findings from the Census Bureau
report include:
- Since 2007, the poverty rate has grown by 2.6
percentage points, from 12.5 percent in 2007 to 15.1 percent in 2010. - Deep poverty (people living on incomes below
50 percent of the poverty line) grew from 6.3 percent (19 million people) in
2009 to 6.7 percent (20.5 million) in 2010. - Even more telling is the increase in the
number of families living below 125 percent of the poverty line, which means
they are income-eligible for most federal nutrition programs. This number grew
from 18.7 percent (56.8 million) in 2009 to 19.8 percent (60.4 million) in
2010.
The data further underscore the need for the
President and Congress to pursue policies that spur job and economic growth and
protect and improve safety net programs.
For further analysis, visit FRAC’s
website.
The safety net is getting weaker…
The safety net is growing weaker, this year it could get much worse. Please attend the Hunger and the Budget crisis conferecne on 9/17 (www.breador.org)
economistsview.typepad.com
Reaction to the debt deal from Breads President, David Beckman
After a long and drawn-out battle, Congress passed a deal today to raise the debt ceiling
and provide for budget deficit reductions of at least $2.1 trillion over 10
years. With your help, Congress narrowly averted defaulting on our country’s
obligations. The consequences for poor and hungry people would have been
especially devastating.
Bread for the World and its partners put a face on hunger and
poverty and managed to get members of Congress to focus on the most
vulnerable among us during the debate. Your letters, personal emails, phone
calls, congressional visits, and financial support made a huge
difference.
You helped change the conversation here in Washington, DC—and it
shows in the final bill:
- In the initial round of cuts, programs such as
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the
Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and unemployment insurance are
spared in the initial round of cuts. However, programs funded through the
discretionary budget such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Head Start, job-training programs, and
international poverty-focused development assistance are at risk. - In the event that overall spending caps are triggered, the first set of
programs listed above will be protected. The second set of programs is at risk.
Our work isn’t finished. The bill passed today is just the beginning. It
authorizes a bipartisan “super committee” to consider all parts of the
budget—including entitlement, tax reform, and defense spending—and grapple with
more deficit reductions to move our country toward fiscal sustainability.
Much is still at risk, and we will need your help to protect
these important programs during the next stage of this process.
We must ensure that long-term reforms are balanced and spending cuts are fair,
so that the burden of deficit reduction doesn’t fall on the most vulnerable
people. Please read our
analysis of this bill’s major components.
Thank you for your strong voice for hungry and poor people in the
United States and around the world.
Bread for the World Urges Congress to Put Hungry and Poor People Back in the Debt Ceiling Discussion
If Congress does not act quickly to raise the debt ceiling (our country’s credit limit), the United States will default on its financial obligations. In the ongoing debt ceiling and budget debate, hungry and poor people have been left out. Bread for the World issued the following statement today, urging Congress put hungry and poor people back in the discussion:
“Defaulting on our financial obligations will not only be disastrous for the global economy but also for the millions of hungry and poor families in the United States and around the world,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “Nearly one in four children in the United States lives in a household that sometimes runs out of food. Around the world, more than one billion people are hungry including 11 million people who are at risk of famine in the Horn of Africa, where tens of thousands have already died.
“People of faith must pray that the president and Congress can come to an agreement that avoids default and protects poor and hungry people in our country and around the world from further hardship.”
Bread for the World and other faith leaders are part of the Circle of Protection, a nonpartisan movement that insists budgets are moral documents and that poor and vulnerable people should be protected—not targeted—in efforts to reduce long-term deficits. Members of the group have met with President Obama and both Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress.
Oregonians may now apply for SNAP online
(from Partners for a hunger free Oregon)
Oregonians who wish to apply for SNAP benefits may now do so using an online application. Help get the word out by sharing the news with your colleagues and neighbors.
Apply Here
The application can be completed and submitted online, but applicants will still need to complete an interview, either in person or over the phone. A representative from a local branch will contact applicants to schedule an interview time.
Questions about the online application can be sent to SSM.Program@state.or.us
Learn More about SNAP in Oregon
The US House is targetting the most vulnerable in society.
More bad news in the US House. The deficit cannot be balanced by targetting the poor. I have never seen worse proposals coming out of DC than I have this year from the US House.
The Circle of Protection
This is taken fron the website – www.circleofprotection.us. Its an effort to not balance the budget on the backs of poor people while other groups make little to no sacrifices. Groups that work on these issues see the potential of 30 years of anti-poverty work being sweeped away by the budget plan that has already passed the US House. Now is the time to stand with our neighbors and oppose these short sighted cuts.
What is the Circle of Protection?
In the face of historic deficits, the nation faces unavoidable choices about how to balance needs and resources and allocate burdens and sacrifices. These choices are economic, political—and moral.
As Christians, we believe the moral measure of the debate is how the most poor and vulnerable people fare. We look at every budget proposal from the bottom up—how it treats those Jesus called “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45). They do not have powerful lobbies, but they have the most compelling claim on our consciences and common resources. The Christian community has an obligation to help them be heard, to join with others to insist that programs that serve the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world are protected. We know from our experience serving hungry and homeless people that these programs meet basic human needs and protect the lives and dignity of the most vulnerable. We believe that God is calling us to pray, fast, give alms, and to speak out for justice.
As Christian leaders, we are committed to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice. We are also committed to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people. Therefore, we join with others to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.
Key Principles:
- The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people.
- Funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. It should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.
- We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world.
- National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits.
- A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits.
- The budget debate has a central moral dimension. Christians are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “What would Jesus cut?” “How do we share sacrifice?” As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people.
- God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As Christians, we are rooted in the love of God in Jesus Christ. Our task is to share these blessings with love and justice and with a special priority for those who are poor.
- Budgets are moral documents, and how we reduce future deficits are historic and defining moral choices. As Christian leaders, we urge Congress and the administration to give moral priority to programs that protect the life and dignity of poor and vulnerable people in these difficult times, our broken economy, and our wounded world. It is the vocation and obligation of the church to speak and act on behalf of those Jesus called “the least of these.” This is our calling, and we will strive to be faithful in carrying out this mission.
What’s Being Cut?
The following is a summary of federal programs focused on assisting hungry and poor people. It is provided for informational purposes and should not be read as an unqualified endorsement of any particular program in its current form by any organization or individual.
DOMESTIC:
Food Assistance
- SNAP (formerly food stamps)
- Free and reduced-price school meals
Low-Income Child Care and Early Education
- Head Start
Low-Income Health Care
- Medicaid
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Tax Credits and Income Support
- Refundable tax credits (EITC: the refundable component of the Child Tax Credit)
Low-Income Education and Training
Shelter and Homelessness
Preventing Child Maltreatment
Refugee Assistance
INTERNATIONAL:
International Food Assistance and Emergency Response
- P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace
- McGovern-Dole International Food for Education
Global Health
- Global Health and Child Survival—State Department (includes PEPFAR)
- Child Survival and Maternal Health
Sustainable International Development Programs
- Development Assistance
International Poverty Focused Financial Services
International Refugee Assistance and Post-Conflict Support
Peacekeeping
Sustainable International Development Programs
International Poverty-Focused Financial Services (in ways that serve the poorest of the poor)
