Mainline Protestant Leaders Call Bush's Budget "Unjust"

The Episcopal Church USA, in conjunction with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society issued a press release today decrying Bush's FY06 budget, stating that it reminded them of "the Gospel story of Lazarus and the rich man and noted that the 2006 budget had much for the rich man but little for Lazarus".

Particularly poignant was this paragraph:

As we view the FY '06 Federal Budget through our lens of faith this budget, on balance, continues to ask our nation's working poor to pay the cost of a prosperity in which they may never share. We believe this budget remains unjust. It does not adequately address the more than 36 million Americans living below the poverty line, 45 million without health insurance, or the 13 million hungry children. Worldwide it neither provides sufficient development assistance nor adequately addresses the Global AIDS pandemic. Therefore, we ask Congress to reject this budget and begin anew.

Amen.