Priorities Questioned in Budget Debate

As the political debate surrounding the country’s spending priorities, tax policy and the reduction deepens, the Catholic community continues efforts to prevent the needs of the poor and vulnerable from being heaped onto the pile of expendables. The effort is rooted in the biblical call for justice for people on the margins—children, the elderly, the sick, the poor. Employing tactics from a rolling fast involving 36,000 people—including 27 members of Congress—to town hall meetings, the broad-based effort has stressed that spending priorities must reflect basic moral principles. Advocates say cuts approved by Congress on April 14 disproportionately target programs benefiting the poor.