Federal Budget

 
"...the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on."
—Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1908

USCCB LETTERS TO CONGRESS ON 2013 FEDERAL BUDGET

Letters to Congress on FY 2014 Budget Resolution
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates, March 18, 2013

Letter to Congress on Budget Deliberations
Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop Richard Pates, December 14, 2012

Letter to Senate Regarding Sequestration
Letter to House Regarding Sequestration
Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop Richard Pates, November 13, 2012


Current Advocacy Position

The Catholic bishops have established three fundamental criteria for discerning the morality of budget decisions:

1. Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.

2. A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects the lives and dignity of "the least of these" (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first.

3. Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times.

faithful-citizenship-capitol-tulips-montageWe join with other Christian leaders in calling for a "circle of protection" around our brothers and sisters at home and abroad who are poor and vulnerable and the programs that serve their needs. The Catholic bishops of the United States stand ready to work with leaders of both parties for a budget that reduces future deficits, protects poor and vulnerable people, advances the common good, and promotes human life and dignity.

Click here to learn more.

Legislative Documents, Letters, and Statements

Fiscal Year 2013


Background on Federal Budget: Advocating a Circle of Protection
February 2013

Letter to Senate
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates, May 16, 2012

Letter to House Regarding Budget Reconciliation
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, May 8, 2012

Letter to House Committee on Ways and Means Regarding
Budget Reconciliation Cuts to Low-Income Tax Credits
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, April 17, 2012

Letter to House Committee on Agriculture Regarding Budget Reconciliation
Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, April 16, 2012

Letter to House
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates, March 6, 2012

Letter to Senate
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates, March 6, 2012

Letter to Chairman and Ranking Member of  House Appropriations Committee
Bishop Richard E. Pates and Dr. Carolyn Woo, April 17, 2012

Letter to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, FY 2013
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates, April 16, 2012

Testimony by Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations
Mr. Sean Callahan, Executive Vice President for Overseas Operations, C.R.S., March 30, 2012

Letter to Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Bishop Richard E. Pates and Dr. Carolyn Woo, March 28, 2012

Letter to Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Bishop Richard E. Pates and Dr. Carolyn Woo, March 23, 2012

Letter to Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Bishop Richard E. Pates and Dr. Carolyn Woo, March 20, 2012

Letter to Congress on the 2013 Federal Budget
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Bishop Richard E. Pates, March 6, 2012

Letter to Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations
Bishop Richard E. Pates and Dr. Carolyn Woo, March 1, 2012

Fiscal Year 2012

Letter to Finance Committee and Ways & Means Committee on Unemployment Insurance, Child Tax Credit
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, February 9, 2012

Letter to US Congress on Agriculture Spending
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, October 20, 2011

Letter to Congress on Cuts to Affordable Housing
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, October 20, 2011

Letter to Senate Appropriations Committee on Cuts to Poverty-Focused Assistance
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Ken Hackett, August 24, 2011

Letter to Senate on FY 2012 Budget Resolution
 Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, May 5, 2011
Letter to House on FY 2012 Budget Resolution
 Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, April 13, 2011

The Budget Control Act (The Deficit Deal)

Letter to Super Committee: Treatment of Jobless, Hungry and Homeless is Moral Measure of Deficit Reduction
 Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, August 31, 2011

Letter to House on Debt Ceiling Debate
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, July 26, 2011

Fiscal Year 2011

Letter to the US Senate on the Continuing Resolution: Put the Poor First
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire,  March 4, 2011

Letter to Senate on Cuts in Poverty-Focused International Assistance
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Ken Hackett, February 22, 2011
Letter to House on Cuts in Poverty-Focused International Assistance
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Ken Hackett, February 14, 2011

Letter to the House of Representatives on the Continuing Resolution: Put the Poor First
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, February 14, 2011

Letter to Congress on Low-Income Tax Credits and Unemployment Insurance
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, December 6, 2010

Letter to House, Senate on Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
Bishop William Murphy, September 20, 2010

Letter to House on Funding for Elderly and Disabled Housing Programs
Bishop William Murphy, April 21, 2010


For previous fiscal years, please visit the federal budget archive page.


Primers, backgrounders, and educational materials

Background on the Federal Budget: Advocating the Circle of Protection
February, 2012

Radio PSAs by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard: Protect Lifesaving Foreign Assistance in the Federal Budget!
                 - 60 Second Public Service Announcement
                 - 30 Second Public Service Announcement
The Deficit "Super Committee" and Protecting the Poor at Home and Abroad
September 23, 2011

Report on the Debt Ceiling Debate
John Carr, August 3, 2011

Article on recent conference call “Let’s stop Congress from Balancing the Budget on the Backs of Poor People”
 March 1, 2011





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