Church Blog

Congress is on recess until September 7. Your Senators and Representatives are home and it is critical that they hear from you during this period at home in your district. When they return to Washington D.C., they will be forced to make decisions that will have an impact on almost every program as they attempt to reduce the national debt. A bi-partisan “super committee” will be tasked with drawing up plans to aggressively reduce funding levels, and programs that serve those in need will doubtless be at stake.
 
We urge you to communicate with your members of Congress to let them know about the challenges that are facing families in your community.
 
What you can do:
 
Participate in a town hall meeting:

During the summer recess, many representatives will hold town hall meetings and other events to hear directly from their constituents. It is critical that community members take part in these events and share the challenges they are currently facing with their elected officials.  To find out if your elected officials are planning a town hall meeting, please click here.  For information on participating in a public forum, please click here.

Call your member of Congress and urge them to continue to fight to ensure that those in need are not affected disproportionately by federal cuts to critical services. To identify your legislators, please visit this link.

Take the time to cultivate relationships with your members of Congress. Schedule a visit with your member’s district office to discuss issues affecting your community, or invite your member of Congress to visit your programs. Click here for information on conducting a visit with your legislator. For information on how to conduct a site visit, please click here.
 
Please be sure to provide Catholic Charities USA staff with feedback regarding any meetings or interactions that you have with your legislators as this is helpful to our advocacy efforts during meetings with congressional offices in Washington, DC.
 
 
What you can ask your legislators:
 
·         As a local social service provider, I am seeing more and more people coming to my agency for help and we simply cannot meet the need. What are you doing (and/or) will you do to ensure that those in need are not disproportionately affected by the cuts to reduce the nation’s deficit?
·         Our organization believes that spending can be cut without those living in poverty being denied critical services.  Data has shown that as much as twenty to forty cents of every dollar allocated to certain existing federal initiatives that provide greatly needed assistance to Americans are lost in the bureaucratic red tape associated with those programs.  What will you do to ensure that the government focus on creating and maximizing bureaucratic efficiency and not on sacrificing vital services?
·         Nearly 45 million Americans are living in a crisis of poverty and rely on the worn safety net system that is threatened by many of the potential cuts. This is a critical time for our nation – We need to find ways to address the needs of so many in our country, and help provide greater self-sufficiency for the millions of Americans currently living in need. Are you willing to engage in discussion on how we can permanently make a difference in the lives of those living poverty?
·         Much of the discussion in Congress has been around the budget and reducing the national debt. What steps will you take to help create jobs in our community?
 
 
Background:
 
On August 1, the President signed into law legislation to allow the U.S. government to increase the national debt by $2.1 trillion. However, the legislation that was passed requires that this spending be offset by equivalent reductions in spending over a 10-year period.
 
While the legislation does not affect mandatory spending such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, it does call for significant reduction in discretionary spending. The measure calls for a bipartisan “super committee” to determine spending cuts, and for Congress to vote on these reductions by December 23, 2011. If Congress fails to approve the committee’s recommendations, the legislation would enact an automatic trigger that would result in $1.2 trillion in reductions to defense appropriations, domestic spending, and some Medicare programs. Given that both parties have substantial reasons to be displeased with the triggers if they fail to approve the Committee’s recommendations, it is likely that they will work on reaching an agreement to reduce spending in the next couple weeks.
 
In anticipation of potential cuts to programs, there is likely to be an all-out lobbying frenzy by special interest groups to protect their programs. Now is a critical time for the Catholic Charities USA network to mobilize and explain our vision of transformative change in the social service delivery system in America.
 
For more information, please contact Lucreda Cobbs, Senior Director, Policy and Legislative Affairs or Ron Jackson, Senior Director, Government Affairs.