Bishop Laments Government Shutdown; Leaders Warn of Harm to Poor

Compiled from news and staff reports

United Methodists and other Christian leaders are sounding alarms over the effects of the U.S. government slowdown that began this week as Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to reach agreements over the federal budget.

Republicans, spurred on by extreme right elements of its party led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), refused to approve any budget resolution without defunding the Affordable Care Act, termed by the GOP and others as "Obamacare" for its champion, President Barack Obama. Democrats were united by the president, who has publicly asserted that defunding the ACA, signed into law two years ago, is not negotiable.

As the week wore on, the impasse became a war of photo ops, sound bites and rhetoric in the media. Faith leaders were among those who took to national media to urge compromise in order to adopt a budget that would resume federal services, especially to the poor, the elderly and children and families.

Although generally called a "shutdown," the action is in reality a government "slowdown," since not all federal services were discontinued, according to Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. In the interview with the National Public Radio program "The Takeaway," Dr. Jamieson stressed that the terminology could make a difference in how the public perceives the federal crisis and how Congress approaches its negotiations.

While "essential" federal services continued, many branches were closed and the national government limped along. Some 800,000 federal employees were furloughed without pay, unsure of when they would be called back to work. Even "essential" employees were being required to work without pay, since the federal fiscal year began Oct. 1 without Congress having approved a budget.

On Sept. 30, the day before the federal slowdown, a group of faith leaders organized by Bread for the World, a global hunger charity, held a telephone press conference to warn of impending harm to poor people because of the congressional impasse.

In a United Methodist News Service article by Linda Bloom, the Rev. John McCullough, a United Methodist pastor and president of Church World Service, a humanitarian agency, said, the “inability” of the U.S. House of Representatives to compromise on a federal budget “is literally taking food away from the mouths of hungry children.”

A letter signed by 33 faith leaders, including Bishop Peter Weaver, executive secretary of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, urged members of Congress to keep the government open. Unfortunately the letter had no effect on the congressional impasse. The letter said in part:

“Our democracy rests on principles of reason, compromise, and a commitment to the common good,” the letter said. “To hold our governance processes and financial credibility hostage to narrow priorities is not only dangerous to the nation’s near term financial being, it threatens the very foundations of our democratic process and our capacity to live united.

“We ask that congressional leadership of both parties stand strong in opposing efforts to allow the will of the few to threaten the common good.”

Increase in food charity

Bloom's UMNS article quotes the Rev. David Beckmann, Bread for the World president, noting ta substantial increase in the services provided by churches, temples and mosques to the poor since 2008. Food charity offered through faith groups totals about $5 billion a year.

The House vote Sept. 19 to cut $4 billion annually from food stamps would mean that these congregations “would have to double” their food commitments for the next decade, Beckmann said.

“Shutting down the government is much, much bigger than that,” he added. “There will be a lot of poor people and middle income people who are suddenly cut off from various forms of assistance.”

While congregations of all faith traditions continue to respond to the needs of the poor, “the other side of that is the reality that many of our congregations are aging,” McCullough noted.  “As they are aging, many of those folks themselves are feeling more and more vulnerable.”

A shutdown also would have a global impact, McCullough was quoted by UMNS.

“Internationally, the U.S. government will not be able to make any new contributions to agencies that deliver food aid and other services to poor and hungry people around the world, nor respond to new humanitarian emergencies,” he explained. “Over time, hungry people relying on U.S. aid will not receive food and children will not receive inoculations against disease.”

Although international humanitarian aid comprises less than one percent of the U.S. budget, it already has been cut by 20 percent since 2010 and some House members want to cut another 20 percent, McCullough added.

Once the government slowdown went into effect, Bishop Marcus Matthews, the resident episcopal leader of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, issued a "lament" for the situation. In a letter posted on the conference website, Bishop Matthews stated:

"As people of faith, we lament the impasse that has caused the shutdown of the federal government. If the situation is not resolved immediately, this political standoff will affect the financial stability of more than 800,000 government workers and their families. The furlough is also expected to have a ripple effect in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding communities.

"We are a nation that trusts in God. This is not a time for finger-pointing or political one-up-manship. Rather, it is a season for strong and principled leadership based on the soundest principle of our democracy. I urge United Methodists to call upon your elected officials to stand with integrity and oppose efforts by a few to threaten the common good.

"Our churches are places of prayer, and I know each of our congregations will be committing themselves to a prayerful resolution of our economic crisis. In addition to the conflicts over the Affordable Care Act, Congress must, in the weeks ahead, address the nation's $16.7 million debt ceiling and the very real possibility that unless it is raised, the U.S. Treasury will run out of money to repay the country's debt obligations. These are times for wisdom, for leadership, and for claiming the principles of justice and hope for all people.

"I also urge all United Methodists to stand with the poor and those who live in our society's margins who, in the days ahead, may find themselves cruelly effected by the unintended effects of a government shutdown. We are a people who put our love and our faith in action and I encourage all our churches to reach out in the spirit of shalom to all who may be vulnerable or suffering. We live certain in the knowledge that what we do for the least of these of God's children, we do for the Lord.

"It is my prayer that God grant our political leaders the courage and wisdom to confront the tough decisions in a manner that gives credence to our belief that 'In God We Trust,' and that you and your neighbors weather this storm with grace.  God is with us."

Information from United Methodist News Service, the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, and National Public Radio was used in this report.