ELCA Washington Office Letter to Congress - Economic Stimulus Package
January 24, 2008
Dear Members of Congress:
We write to you as representatives of various faith traditions who together form the Inter-Religious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs. As you consider various options for an economic stimulus package, we want to be faithful to our enduring message to you in support of programs that serve vulnerable communities and those most in need in our nation. Faith-based organizations are some of the largest service providers in United States, and we know with certainty and from experience that employment, housing, nutritious food, healthcare, education and childcare are the most basic needs and are essential for human dignity and community prosperity. We also know that when these basic needs are not met, the result is poverty, inequality, and injustice.
Federal programs that provide assistance to meet these basic needs have served our nation as a safety net-protecting working families, individuals, and children from falling into desperate poverty. We believe that programs that serve the most vulnerable among us must receive funding at adequate levels, not only in times of economic prosperity, but especially in times of economic decline, when even more families will need to rely on safety net programs for their survival. Economic hardship during an economic decline affects the poor first and most deeply, but poor families are usually the last to enjoy the fruits of a general economic recovery.
We are all concerned by the current economic challenges our country faces. As you, our elected leaders in Congress, and the President design a stimulus package to strengthen the U.S. economy, we urge you to include measures that will mitigate the immediate harsh effects of recession on low income families. As the most effective and efficient response for working poor families and other vulnerable members of our communities, we urge you to strengthen the following programs as part of the economic stimulus package: Food Stamps, Unemployment Insurance, LIHEAP, Medicaid/Medicare, and childcare.
We look forward to additional opportunities to work with you this year and in future years to reduce the persistent fact of poverty among us in the wealthiest nation in the world. We believe in the generous spirit of the millions of Americans who gather for worship in our congregations and work together in service to their communities, who know that with blessings come responsibilities. These generous and faithful people are our constituents and yours; we believe that they look to you for an economic response that will serve the poor among us. We urge you to meet that responsibility.
Sincerely,
Robert D. Francis
Director for Domestic Policy
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Washington Office
122 C Street NW, Suite 125
Washington, DC 20001-2172
Office: 202.626.7936
www.elca.org/advocacy