MARCH 14, 2005

GOVERNMENT
Federal budget item No. 1: values

Federal budget proposals generally toss about words such as deficits, subsidies, discretionary spending and annual appropriations. This year when President Bush unveiled his $2.57 trillion 2006 budget, another word emerged: values. In an effort to rein in the expanding deficit, Bush's budget eliminates or reduces a wide variety of education, health and housing programs that service mostly poor and low-income families. It also eliminates or consolidates more than a dozen community development block grants and environmental programs. In addition, it reduces funding for Medicaid.

Liberal social and religious groups traditionally have fought government cuts that affect the most vulnerable in society. What makes the debate different this year is that the groups are demanding that the Bush administration square its self-professed Christian values with the budget cuts to programs that help the poor. The budget cuts have caused varying degrees of unease for Christian conservatives as well. While many applaud the president's stand on abortion, gay marriage and faith-based initiatives, they also say they want to help the poor and protect the environment. Catholics, with the church's long tradition of social service, are in a similar quandary.

The Bush administration says its budget does preserve the values it espouses. Funding for abstinence education and faith-based initiatives has been increased, as has funding for global AIDS projects and international health-care programs. The administration also says that some of the eliminated programs will be replaced through increased funding elsewhere.

This clash in the face of deep budget cuts may force Americans to move beyond choosing among values, says Harlan Beckley, director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Instead, Americans will need to expand their definition of values in order to work together to keep social programs alive. That, he said, will require an understanding that values are not narrowly defined in categories of family, social justice or civil liberties.

Why it Matters
The federal budget reflects the government's priorities at a given time. In an age when citizens, parents, teachers, religious people, legislators and judges are talking about the role of values in their everyday decisions and everyday life, what role do values play - or should they play - in the federal budget?

Questions for reporters
• Ask public officials, religious leaders, voters and advocates: What values does government spending reflect? What values should it reflect? Can they give concrete examples about how government values translate into real effects in people's lives?
• How are the proposed budget cuts expected to affect your community?
• Are religious leaders in your community concerned by the proposed cuts? Are they taking any action?
• Where do congressional leaders in your state and district stand on the proposed cuts? Are they using the language of values?
• How do religious leaders think the cuts will directly affect their organizations and congregations?

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• The Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. He has said that while his group supports administration efforts to address religious liberty, democracy-building overseas and faith-based initiative, it is still concerned about poverty and the environment. Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@aol.com.
• William Beach, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, says an ethical budget calls for effective spending. Contact Khris Bershers, 202-608-6148, KhrisBershers@heritage.org.
• Ron Sider is president and founder of Evangelicals for Social Action and the author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving From Affluence to Generosity (W Publishing Group, 1997). Contact 610-645-9354, ronsider@esa-online.org.
• Helene Slessarev-Jamir is director of the urban studies program at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. She is an expert on anti-poverty policies and is writing a book on faith-based social justice work. Contact 630-752-5730, Helene.Slessarev@wheaton.edu.
• Jim Wallis is founder of the poverty-fighting coalition Call to Renewal, editor in chief of Sojourners magazine and author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005). Contact 202-328-8842.
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to Congress asking it to think of the needy when deciding on the budget. Contact Kathy Curran, 202-541-3188, kcurran@nccbuscc.org.
• The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy at the Rockefeller Institute of Government at State University of New York researches faith-based social services. Director Richard Nathan can speak about the proposed budget's impact on the poor and states. Contact 518- 443-5831.
• Sister Anne Curtis is head of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice advocacy group. In a statement on the 2006 budget, Curtis wrote that it was "clearly out of touch with the people's values of compassion, fairness and caring." Contact Stephanie Niedringhaus, 202-547-5556 ext. 21, sniedringhaus@networklobby.org.
• The Rev. Bob Edgar is general secretary of the National Council of Churches, which is made up of 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox member denominations. The group has opposed tax cuts at the expense of programs that help the poor. Contact Carol Fouke, 212-870-2252, news@ncccusa.org.
• Mark J. Pelavin is associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The group maintains that Bush's budget does not reflect the value of compassion. Contact mpelavin@rac.org or Alexis Rice, 202-387-2800 ext. 35, arice@rac.org.
• Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the central body of Reform Judaism in North America. The group has voiced concerns about the 2006 budget. Contact 212-650-4150, PresURJ@urj.org.
• Mohamed El-Sanousi is director of community outreach and communications for the Islamic Society of North America. He attended a recent White House conference on faith-based and community initiatives. Contact 317-839-1821 ext. 228, melsanousi@isna.net.
• Yonce Shelton is policy director for the Christian anti-poverty group Call to Renewal. Shelton says that while the group has supported Bush's faith-based initiative to help the government expand its ability to pay for social services through religious groups, the group has become increasingly critical of how little new money Bush is allocating to such programs. Contact through Helena R. Brantley, 202-328-8745 ext. 223, or yshelton@calltorenewal.org.
• Dan Daley is co-director of Call to Action USA, a Catholic social action group that maintains that the Bush budget lacks fairness and compassion. Contact Crystal Chan, 773-404-0004 ext. 285, crystalchan@cta-usa.org.
• The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy is president of the Interfaith Alliance. In an interview, he says that Bush fails his own test that a society is measured by how it cares for the "weak and vulnerable." Contact Don Parker, 202-639-6370 ext. 106.
• Robert Parham is executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville, Tenn., a group that promotes proactive and positive messages about the Christian community. Contact 615-383-3192, robert@ethicsdaily.com.

Background

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
• Bush's fiscal 2006 budget proposal

NEWS ARTICLES
• A Feb. 28, 2005, Christian Science Monitor article interviews religious leaders about the Bush budget.
• A Feb. 22, 2005, Associated Press article in USA Today looks at the Bush budget cuts.
• Read a Feb. 18, 2005, Christian News Service article on the expected budget showdown. The article is posted on the web site of Tidings, the official newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
• Read a Feb. 9, 2005, Christian Science Monitor article on the budget battle.
• A Feb. 8, 2005, Reuters article posted by MSNBC News records Republican lawmakers' reactions to the Bush budget.
• A Feb. 7, 2005, Washington Post article provides an overview of the budget. The section also provides links to charts and graphs looking at cuts in various departments.
• A Feb. 7, 2005, article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy looks at the impact the Bush budget cuts would have on charities.
• A Feb. 5, 2005, New York Times article looks at the proposed Bush budget cuts in health care programs.
• Read a transcript of a story in the Feb. 4, 2005, edition of PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. The story looks at the expectations religious leaders have about Bush's second term, including his budget.
• A Religion News Service article posted by Beliefnet.com explores how some religious leaders and the White House differ on the budget.

STATEMENTS FROM RELIGIOUS GROUPS
• Statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism on the Bush budget.
• Statement from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on the budget.
• Statement from Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and Call to Renewal, in which he calls for a "values audit" of the budget.
• A letter posted on the liberal social action group Center for American Progress' web site signed by dozens of religious leaders. The letter says the Bush budget lacks fairness and compassion.
• The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church, all members of the National Council of Churches USA, joined with the NCC to hold a news conference March 8, 2005, to declare the Bush administration's proposed budget unjust. In addition, the NCC and the Interfaith Alliance are co-sponsoring a rally at the U.S. Capitol on March 14 to declare, "This budget does NOT reflect our values." Contact the Rev. Leslie Tune, 202-544-2350 or 202-297-2191, ltune@ncccusa.org.
• A paper, "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility," released by the National Association of Evangelicals. The document aims to expand the political platform of evangelicals to issues, including poverty, that are beyond the fight against abortion and same-sex marriage. Read a March 11, 2005, New York Times article about the effort.
• A description of the third annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days, scheduled March 11-14, 2005, in Washington, D.C. Organizers said the event would focus on encouraging U.S. policies that reflect a broader understanding of moral values, including a need to alleviate poverty and work for economic justice.

STATEMENTS AND REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND THINK TANKS
• The conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation has a variety of reports and statements on the Bush budget.
• An analysis of the Bush budget from the liberal group Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
• An editorial by political columnist Mary Mostert, who says the Bush budget is an attempt to return to the free enterprise system. The column is posted on the web site of the conservative group RenewAmerica.
• An analysis of the 2006 Bush budget from the liberal group Center for American Progress.