An Open Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President:

We are all leaders in the faith community, whose churches and faith-based organizations are on the front lines of fighting poverty. Many of us have supported your faith-based initiative from the beginning of the administration. Several of us have met with you to discuss the churches' role in overcoming poverty and have offered solid support to our friends John DiLulio and Jim Towey, who have led your office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. But while we have consistently backed faith-based approaches to poverty reduction, we have also insisted they must be accompanied by policies that really do assist low-income families and children as they seek self-sufficiency.

Mr. President, it is a critical time for poor people in America. Poor people are suffering; and our faith-based service providers see it every day in communities across the country. The poor are suffering because of a weakened economy. The poor are suffering because of resources being diverted to war and homeland security. And the poor are suffering because of a lack of attention in national public policy.

We are writing because of our deep moral concern about consistency in your administration's support for effective policies that help alleviate poverty. We believe a lack of focus on the poor in the critical areas of budget priorities and tax policy is creating a crisis for low-income people. We believe the budget your administration has put forward fails to protect and promote the well being of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens. The tax cut just passed by the Congress with your support provides virtually no help for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, while those at the top reap windfalls. The resulting spending cuts, at both federal and state levels, in the critical areas of health care, education and social services will fall heaviest on the poor. Budgets are moral documents.

You have taken many positive steps with regard to international aid and development, such as the HIV/AIDS initiative, and we would like to see that compassion manifest here at home. In significant social programs like welfare reform, we have supported the proposals of your administration to strengthen marriage and family as effective antipoverty measures; but the companion pro-family commitments to invest in adequate childcare, education and training for our poorest families have fallen short in your administration's proposals. The most effective and bipartisan policies for reducing poverty have not been adequately supported by your administration.

Over the past several years, we have advocated several policy initiatives in addition to the "faith-based initiative" that would help low-income people in this country. These include TANF reauthorization that makes poverty reduction a priority, targeted tax relief for low-income families and funding for proven programs that would effectively reduce poverty. We believe administration support for such policies would be consistent with your stated commitment of being compassionate toward the poor, especially since you have spoken more about issues of poverty than many of your predecessors.

We recall your Notre Dame address two years ago where you pointed out: "Government has an important role. It will never be replaced by charities . . . yet, government must also do more to take the side of charities and community healers and support their work . . . Government must be active enough to fund services for the poor - and humble enough to let good people in local communities provide those services."

Mr. President, "the good people" who provide such services are feeling overwhelmed by increasing need and diminishing resources. And many are feeling betrayed. The lack of a consistent, coherent and integrated domestic policy that benefits low-income people makes our continued support for your faith-based initiative increasingly untenable. Mr. President, the poor are suffering and without serious changes in the policies of your administration, they will suffer even more.

When you announced the faith-based initiative, you pledged that: "I want to ensure that faith-based and community groups will always have a place at the table in our deliberations." Mr. President, it's time to bring the faith-based organizations to the table where policy decisions are being made. We are concerned that the needs of the poor people in America seem to have little influence in the critical decisions your administration is making. The faith-based initiative seems to be the only place in your administration where poverty is prioritized, yet we know that faith-based initiatives alone will never be sufficient to solve the problems of poverty. As we have discussed with you the faith-based initiative, we now want to engage your administration in a serious conversation about domestic social policy.

Mr. President, it's time to talk.

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