2020 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow     Bread for the World urges Congress to pass binding legislation that provides nutrition for vulnerable people in the United States and abroad.  Our faith calls us to stand alongside women and children around the world.  Our government should provide leadership toward a well-nourished world.

Coronavirus Vaccine Fairness — and Hunger

          UN says 130 countries have not received a single dose

adapted from Guardian UK, 17 February 2021

The UN secretary general António Guterres has sharply criticized the “wildly uneven and unfair” distribution of Covid vaccines, saying 10 countries have administered 75% of all vaccinations and demanding a global effort to get all people in every country vaccinated as soon as possible.  The UN chief told a high-level meeting of the UN security council on Wednesday that 130 countries had not yet received a single dose of vaccine.  “At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community,” he said.

Guterres called for an urgent global vaccination plan to bring together those with the power to ensure equitable vaccine distribution – scientists, vaccine producers and those who can fund the effort.  He called on the world’s major economic powers in the G20 to establish an emergency taskforce to establish a plan and coordinate its implementation and financing.  Guterres said the Group of Seven major industrialized nations – the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Canada and Italy – “can create the momentum to mobilize the necessary financial resources”.

The coronavirus has infected more than 109 million people and killed at least 2.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. As manufacturers struggle to ramp up production of vaccines, many countries complain of being left out, and even rich nations are facing shortages and domestic complaints.  The World Health Organization’s Covax program, a project to buy and deliver coronavirus vaccines for the world’s poorest people, has already missed its own goal of beginning coronavirus vaccinations in poor countries at the same time that shots were rolled out in rich countries. WHO says Covax needs $5bn in 2021.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council the Biden administration “will work with our partners across the globe to expand manufacturing and distribution capacity and to increase access, including to marginalized populations”.  President Biden has rejoined the WHO, and Blinken announced that by the end of February the US would pay over $200m in previously assessed and current obligations to the UN agency, which Washington will seek to reform.

China’s, India’s, and Mexico’s foreign ministers all called on the world to come together to reject “vaccine nationalism,” promote fair and equit-able distribution of vaccines, and make them accessible and affordable for developing countries, including those in conflict. “Hoarding superfluous doses will defeat our efforts towards attaining collective health security,” one warned.  They called for stopping the “monopolization of vaccines” and urged that priority be given to countries with limited resources, saying “these countries won’t have generalized access to vaccines until the middle of 2023 if current trends persist”.

In many developing countries, unchecked COVID-19 spread can decimate the workforce, and thus the food supply, through illness and deaths.  Many such nations do not have an adequate social safety net to provide survival income to workers who are ill or whose workplaces have had to close.  International aid for both provision of vaccines and for nutrition assistance is vital at this time.  Epidemiologists stress that countries which are unable to suppress the spread of COVID-19 are likely to become incubators for new, more problematic variants of the virus that can become an ongoing threat to the planet’s entire population.

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

     202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    374 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:                         

I am writing to urge you to support wise, generous funding in the new COVID relief legislation for international humanitarian assistance to developing nations who cannot afford to purchase enough vaccine for their people.  The Guardian reported one week ago that ten countries had administered 75% of all the vaccinations given to that point.  The UN secretary general stated that 130 countries had not yet received even one vaccine dose.  Please help Congress to provide funds to rectify that. 

 The pandemic undoubtedly also will increase hunger in low-income nations that lack social safety net resources, when sick farmers cannot produce food, and laid-off workers have no money to buy food.  Humanitarian nutrition assistance will be essential throughout this year. 

Stopping the pandemic everywhere, and helping meet the basic needs of people who suffer, are both in the security interest of the US.  They also are morally and spiritually the right thing to do.  Please urgently support funding for international vaccination efforts and food assistance.

                                                   Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org        Bread for the World       29 January 2020

BreadIndiana.org      Fast Once A Month

 2020 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow     Bread for the World urges Congress to pass binding legislation that provides nutrition for vulnerable people in the United States and abroad.  Our faith calls us to stand alongside women and children around the world.  Our government should provide leadership toward a well-nourished world.

2020 Offering of Letters Builds on 2019’s

Matt Gross, BFW director of organizing

In 2019, Bread had good success in building broad, bipartisan support for our global nutrition resolutions.  Our leaders and staff had hundreds of conversations with elected leaders about the importance of adequate nutrition.  In 2020, we are going to build on that work and that momentum in two ways — first, by seeking to pass binding legislation that strengthens our government’s leadership on global nutrition and increases funding for those programs; and second, we will be working to ask Congress to increase funding for domestic nutrition programs as well.

Working on nutrition globally is important for many reasons. First and most importantly, Bread does it because, as people of faith, we believe every person is made in the image of God, and ensuring they have access to adequate nutrition honors that belief.

Second, it just makes sense. Nutritional interventions for pregnant and nursing mothers and children are an investment that pays off generationally. Those kids grow up and are able to realize their full potential to help their families, communities, and countries.

Finally, action on nutrition concerns can bring all of us together.  In the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of people across the country to talk about nutrition.  Everyone understands and supports it. In both the Democrat and Republican offices I have visited, lawmakers have genuinely sought to learn more, to figure out how they can be helpful.   At this time of historic political division in our country, participating in this benevolent outreach has the potential to unite us around a cause that can positively impact millions of people here in our country and around the world.

Here in the US, the hungriest time of the year for children is summertime because they no longer have access to the free and reduced-price meals they receive during the school year.  Bread’s domestic focus in 2020 will be to ask Congress to increase funding for the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) pilot program so more children can access nutritious food during the summer months.

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    374 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

I am writing to thank you once again for co-sponsoring and working for passage in 2019 of the Global Nutrition Resolution (H.Res.189 / S.Res.260), and to ask you to sustain that effort in 2020.

As important as 2019’s progress was and is, more must be done.  Hunger here and around the world has not been solved or eliminated, and millions (especially children and the elderly) remain vulnerable to malnutrition.  The disruption of agricultural cycles, loss of crops due to drought and flood, and the forced impoverishment and migration of large groups of people due to climate change are all working against resolving the issue of hunger and against promotion of a more stable, peaceful world. 

The ecumenical faith organization Bread for the World which I support is urging Congress in 2020 to continue and strengthen US leadership on this concern for both global and domestic nutrition.  We urge you to help accomplish that by crafting and passing legislation that is binding, that will legally build into long-term US policy the enduring future investments needed to assure the well-being of America’s and the world’s poor.   

For me, this concern arises from my faith that necessitates love for my neighbor, without exceptions.  It also is a matter of common sense and pragmatism.  And long experience teaches me that even hopelessly divided partisans can build bridges towards understanding by joining hands to rescue human beings who are in danger and distress.  Please help Congress in 2020 to be those leaders whose primary concern is the common good.

                                                  Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org        Bread for the World       30 October 2019

BreadIndiana.org      Fast Once A Month

2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow    Bread for the World urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs.  All children deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life and reach their full potential.

What Will We Send, Guns or Butter?

 adapted from Bread for the World                                                          17 October 2019

War is one of the leading causes of hunger around the world.  It disrupts the seasonal production and distribution of food.  War is especially devastating to civilians in developing countries where people are poor and have few if any backup resources, in places where land is marginal and weather is arid and erratic, and where medical and other humanitarian assistance is limited by poverty as well as danger.  Yemen checks all those boxes.

On October 17, 100 faith leaders from all 50 states released a public letter calling for an end to US arms sales and other military support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the war in Yemen. The letter was directed and sent to all 535 members of Congress, who have the power to end US support for the Saudi/UAE intervention that has led to a staggering humanitarian catastrophe, and who have the capacity to push Yemen’s warring parties to negotiate a political solution to the conflict.  The faith leader letter was organized by Bread for the World.  In addition, the letter’s text was placed in a Washington Post insert sent to all 535 Congressional offices, so that Senators and Representatives from both parties cannot ignore this call by American faith leaders to end US participation in Yemen’s ongoing war and humanitarian crisis.

“Our faith compels us to promote peace and seek to end strife,” said Rev. Dawn Barnes, a letter signer from Indianapolis, Indiana. “The war in Yemen is complex, but continued US arms sales to Saudi Arabia will only cause more harm and suffering.  Matthew 5:9 says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’  I pray that Congress has the wisdom and strength to make America a peacemaker in Yemen.”

Yemenis are trying to survive the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Twenty-four million people – 80 percent of the country’s population – need some form of humanitarian assistance and protection. By the end of the year, the UN estimates that the conflict will have directly or indirectly killed over 230,000 people.  The crisis in Yemen is clearly enabled by US arms sales and military support for the Saudi/UAE intervention in the conflict.  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates countries repeatedly have used US-made bombs and missiles to target homes, farms, and medical centers.  Saudi and UAE airstrikes are responsible for two-thirds of the direct civilian casualties in the Yemen conflict, and have destroyed infrastructure vital for preventing famine and responding to the cholera epidemic and other diseases. 

The faith leaders’ letter emphatically states, “As Americans of faith, we call upon Congress to end all US arms sales and military support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the war in Yemen, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and put millions more at risk of famine, in what has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”

Last year, Bread for the World delivered petitions signed by more than 30,000 Christians and people of faith to the administration and Congress in DC calling on them “to use all tools available to the United States to avert further suffering and death in Yemen.”

 “Bread for the World has taken these actions for Yemen because the United States is complicit in this manmade crisis,” said Matt Gross, director of organizing at BFW.  “We cannot stand idly by while millions continue to suffer because of the actions of our government.”  

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

As an American of faith and as your constituent, I am writing to support and reiterate the message delivered to you in mid-October by 100 faith leaders calling for a complete end to US arms sales and other military support to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their war in Yemen.

US arms and military participation have enabled the fighting in Yemen that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and put millions more at risk of famine in what has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.  The Congress has the ability to end that military involvement and US complicity in that tragedy by explicitly prohibiting the expenditure of US tax dollars on the Saudi/UAE war effort in Yemen.

I further call upon you as my voice in Congress to support increased humanitarian assistance for the hungry, sickened, devastated people of Yemen, and to support robust diplomatic efforts through the UN and other stakeholders to bring the Yemen conflict to an end.  Please make every effort to help bring peace and relief to the people of Yemen, or explain to me why you will not do so.                                                 

Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org         Bread for the World        28 August 2019

BreadIndiana.org         Fast Once A Month

 2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow    Bread for the World urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs.  All children deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life and reach their full potential.

    Pass the 2019 Raise the Wage Act

Bread for the World                                         July 17, 2019

Poverty is the main cause of hunger in the world. This is true in rich and poor countries alike. It is true no matter whether people live in urban or rural areas. In the United States and other high-income countries, hunger is mainly caused by poverty that results from a lack of jobs or because jobs pay too little.  Hunger rates rise when the national or local economy is in a slump.  People lose jobs and cannot find work.  Once the economy improves some people continue to struggle to find work.  For example, people who have been in prison face wide-scale discrimination that makes it difficult for them to find jobs once they reenter their community.  In single-parent families, the parent may not be able to take a job or work enough hours because of no childcare options.

Bread for the World urges members of the House of Representatives to quickly pass the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582). The Raise the Wage Act was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (VA) and has over 200 co-sponsors. If passed, the Raise the Wage Act would lift wages for 27 million American workers, raising the earnings of the average low-wage worker by $1,600 annually.

“The Bible is clear, ‘the laborer deserves to be paid’ (1 Timothy 5:18),” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.  “Raising the minimum wage is critical to ending poverty and hunger in the US.”

The Raise the Wage Act would raise the federal minimum wage this year and increase it annually until it reaches $15 an hour in 2025. Thereafter, the minimum wage would be adjusted each year to keep pace with inflation.  If passed, the bill would phase out the tipped minimum wage and sunset the ability of employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage. Tipped workers experience higher levels of poverty than other workers. 

“Poverty and food insecurity in America are driven in part by low wages,” Beckmann said. “If the Raise the Wage Act were enacted, almost 1.2 million households would be lifted out of food insecurity.”  It would increase the wages of 27 million American workers and significantly decrease US poverty and hunger.

According to a May 2018 report submitted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty to the UN Human Rights Council, the US has the highest rate of income inequality and lowest rate of social mobility of all Western countries.  The Special Rapporteur attributes these statistics to the policy stances of government bodies, writing that “the persistence of extreme poverty is a political choice made by those in power.”  A serious effort by policymakers is needed to acknowledge and address the interlocking of hunger and poverty.  

The UN Report offers many suggestions to policymakers to address the income gap in the US.  Key among them is recognizing the social and economic impact of inequality.   A 2018 federal survey showed that 40% of US households cannot cover a $400 emergency expense.  A quarter of US workers earn less than $10 per hour.  The top 10% of US workers average nine times more income than the other 90% averages — and the top 1% averages forty times more than the bottom 90%.  The “Raise the Wage Act” would, for the first time ever, bring full-time minimum-wage earnings above the poverty line for a family of four.

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

According to Bread for the World, poverty is the main cause of hunger in the world, including in our own country.  By cosponsoring and supporting  HR 582 / S 150, the “Raise the Wage Act of 2019,” you have an opportunity to help, for the first time ever, to bring fulltime minimum-wage earnings above the US poverty line for a family of four.

This legislation would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, then adjust the minimum wage annually for inflation, and phase out the “tipped minimum wage” of $2.13 for tipped workers.  Data shows that this would lift the wages of 27 million working Americans, end food insecurity for over one million households, and generate $144 billion in additional income for families who need it most – including 23.1 million women and 4.5 million single parents. 

As a follower of Christ, I feel it is a spiritual and moral imperative to treat workers fairly and help those who are struggling.  I urge you to support the “Raise the Wage Act of 2019” (HR 582 / S 150) to reduce hunger and to strengthen the minimum wage as one of the country’s most basic labor protections, or explain to me why you will not do so.

                                                   Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~

bread.org         Bread for the World        26 June 2019

BreadIndiana.org         Fast Once A Month

2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow    Bread for the World urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs.  All children deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life and reach their full potential.

Global Nutrition Resolution

On Tuesday, June 11, more than 350 advocates from Bread for the World visited 200 DC congressional offices urging them to co-sponsor and pass the Global Nutrition Resolution (H.Res.189/ Collins-Coons Resolution). 

To date, a total of 42 representatives (21 Republicans and 21 Democrats) have signed on as cosponsors to H.Res.189. The bipartisan resolution recognizes the progress made against malnutrition due to strong U.S. leadership, but that more needs to be done. This includes support for the U.S. global nutrition strategy and increased efforts to scale up maternal and child nutrition. 

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) are expected to introduce a similar version of H.Res.189 in the Senate in late June.  As of Monday, June 17, twenty-one Senate offices (seven Republican, fourteen Democrat)  have agreed to become original cosponsors — a 50 percent increase following the Bread members’ visits. The original cosponsors include: Richard Blumenthal (CT), John Boozman (AR), Sherrod Brown (OH), Maria Cantwell (WA.), Ben Cardin (MD), Bob Casey (PA), Susan Collins (ME), Chris Coons (DE), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Mike Crapo (ID), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Dick Durbin (IL), Ed Markey (MA), Jerry Moran (KS), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Patty Murray (WA), Chuck Schumer (NY), Tina Smith (MN), Jack Reed (RI), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Todd Young (IN). 

Additional senators are expected to be added before it moves to passage on the Senate floor.  Please help follow up Bread’s in-person visits with phone calls or emails to urge your representative and senators to co-sponsor and pass H.Res. 189 / Collins-Coons Global Nutrition Resolution.  (And thank Sen. Young for already agreeing to cosponsor!)

Sample Letter  

 Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

I am writing to reinforce the message of recent visitors to Capitol Hill from Bread for the World who came requesting your co-sponsorship and support for the Global Nutrition Resolution (H.Res. 189 / Collins-Coon Resolution).  Thank you, Sen. Young, for already agreeing to co-sponsor the resolution when it is introduced in the Senate in late June or early July.

The Global Nutrition Resolution acknowledges the importance of sustaining US leadership in accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition, and of supporting the United States Agency for International Development’s commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition strategy.  That means ensuring robust funding in the FY2020 budget for international nutrition assistance, agricultural development programs, poverty mitigation efforts, international disaster relief, and other programs designed to help and protect the planet’s most vulnerable inhabitants. 

 Expenditure on those life-giving programs is a much wiser, more effective investment in long-term security and peace than is the massive cost of our defense industry.  Global citizens who have adequate food, healthcare, education, and opportunities and who feel secure in their lives as a result of help from the USA will have far less interest in harming us.

Please support and co-sponsor the Global Nutrition Resolution (H.Res. 189 / Collins-Coon), or explain to me why you will not do so.

                                             Sincerely,

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org         Bread for the World        29 May 2019

BreadIndiana.org         Fast Once A Month

2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow    Bread for the World urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs.  All children deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life and reach their full potential.

Immigration and Hunger

Bread for the World                   23 May ‘19

Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World applauds the bipartisan leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for its unanimous passage of the United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act (H.R. 2615). The bill would provide $577 million in foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) to address the root causes of migration, including hunger and malnutrition.

“H.R. 2615 would ensure that aid continues to flow to a region that is dealing with some of the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition in the world,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.  According to US Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan, hunger is a primary reason that many families from Central America flee their home countries. Nearly half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished.  In Guatemala’s Huehuetenango province, which sends more migrants to the US than any other region, the malnutrition rates are near 70 percent.

US development and humanitarian programs have been making a difference. In some regions of Guatemala, these programs have contributed to a 15 percent decrease in poverty and a 12 percent decrease in stunting caused by malnutrition.  According to Beckmann, “US assistance lets families choose to stay close to home while trying to give their children a better future and contribute to their communities, rather than fleeing to the United States.  Legislation like HR 2615 is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.”

Immigration and Hunger – Another Dimension

       adapted from Dara Lind, VOX                                     12 Mar ‘19

In March 2019, the House Judiciary Committee received a major piece of immigration legislation that would allow as many as 2.5 million people to apply for legal status and put them on a path that could ultimately lead to US citizenship.  The bill, HR 6 — called the Dream and Promise Act — combines the longstanding DREAM Act, a legalization bill for DACA recipients (unauthorized immigrants who came to the US as children), with a proposal to allow some immigrants with TPS (temporary humanitarian protections due to war or natural disaster in their home countries) to apply for permanent legal status.

Both of those immigrant groups have put down roots in the US, generally living here for more than a decade but without permanent status. Both groups also stand to lose protections under the current administration’s move to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (which protects many DREAMers from deportation) and its refusal to renew temporary protections for many thousands of immigrants under the Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure humanitarian programs.  Sending DACA and TPS recipients back to countries of origin would put them squarely into the crises of hunger, poverty, and violence which so many thousands currently are fleeing. 

HR 6 is likely to pass the House without major changes, but it is unlikely to pass the Senate or be signed by the president in its current form.  Still, the bill matters because it is a statement of humanitarian and faith communities’ consensus on immigration.  That will matter if the administration makes another effort to pass an immigration bill of their own.  It also is important as the 2020 election campaign gets underway and candidates start articulating what they would do on this crucial issue.

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

I am writing to urge your support for two pieces of legislation on which you may be asked to vote this summer.  The Dream and Promise Act (HR 6) would provide avenues to legalized status for DACA and TPS recipients currently threatened with deportation.  The United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act (HR 2615) would assure crucial foreign assistance funding to the Central American nations from which many migrants are fleeing due to hunger, poverty, and violence. 

As Rev. David Beckmann of Bread for the World says, addressing the root causes of the current spike in immigration is both the right thing and the smart thing to do.  The relatively small amount of money in HR 2615 could help families choose to stay in their home countries rather than risk the long journey to the US.  As for HR 6, it makes no sense to deport DACA and TPS residents, many of them here for decades, into the very situations from which so many people are fleeing. 

I am a follower of Jesus, who taught his disciples to welcome the stranger and to feed the hungry because it is the right thing to do.  In that spirit, I ask you to support HR 6 and HR 2615, or tell me why you will not do so.

                                                Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org         Bread for the World        21 April 2019

BreadIndiana.org    Fast Once A Month

2019 Offering of Letters: Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow    Bread for the World urges our government to accelerate progress toward ending hunger by increasing funding for global child nutrition programs.  All children deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life and reach their full potential.

Can Your Church Spare an Extra $4 Million?

Bread for the World                                                              March 13, 2019

Washington, D.C. – The country’s religious congregations will need to raise an additional $400,000 each year for the next ten years to make up for the proposed cuts to anti-hunger and poverty programs found in the administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposal, according to Bread for the World.

“There is no way our country’s 350,000 religious congregations can make up for the proposed cuts to programs that help people facing hunger and poverty, including children and the elderly,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.  “While religious congregations and charities play an important role, federal programs provide ten times more in food assistance.”

The proposed budget would cut $1.4 trillion from domestic and international assistance programs over ten years.  Domestically, these cuts include $220 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), $1.1 trillion from Medicaid, and $1.7 billion from child nutrition programs such as school meals.

The proposed budget cuts to international humanitarian and development assistance include a reduction of $66.5 million to global nutrition programs and a $508 million cut to Feed the Future – nearly a halving of both programs.  The budget eliminates the McGovern-Dole international school feeding program and the Food for Progress program.

According to Friends Committee on National Legislation analysis, the administration’s budget unfortunately proposes investing $750 billion of all those “savings” in war spending in FY2020 – an inflation-adjusted sum above what our country spent at the height of the Vietnam war.  To utilize that increased military funding while cutting expenditures on nearly everything else, the White House is proposing dumping $174 billion into emergency spending and the off-budget Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund  that was initially created as a temporary way — a gimmick really, designed to avoid oversight and effective review — to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That proposed $174 billion is two and a half times what was enacted for OCO just last year (FY 2019).

“A budget is more than a financial statement—it is a statement of the morality of our nation’s priorities and values.  It should be measured on how it treats the most vulnerable people among us,”  Beckmann said.  Bread for the World asks all people of faith to urge Congress to reject the administration’s proposed cuts and to fully fund our nation’s social safety net and humanitarian assistance programs in the FY’20 budget.

Sample Letter  

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

       202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

I am writing to urge you to reject the heartless, immoral cuts to domestic and international anti-hunger and poverty-mitigation programs in the administration’s FY’20 budget proposal.  

According to Bread for the World’s analysis, every one of the nation’s 350,000 churches would have to raise and donate an additional $400,000 per year for the next ten years to make up for the administration’s proposed cuts to compassionate programs.  The church here in Winchester where I worship is deeply invested  and involved in compassionate outreach, but we already end every year in a financial hole.  Most other churches here are even worse off.  Only the federal government has the capacity and means to meet the needs of the poor and hungry in this nation and beyond.

As you debate and vote on FY’20 federal authorization and appropriation bills, please never forget that every vote is an expression of the morality of your (and ultimately our nation’s) values and priorities.  Please support full funding in the FY’20 budget for life-giving, compassionate nutrition and health programs that mitigate hunger and poverty, or explain to me why you will not do so.

                                             Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org         Bread for the World        27 February 2019

breadIndiana.org    Fast Once A Month

Another Attack on the Hungry and Food Insecure

By Amelia Kegan, Andre Gobbo, FCNL           February 21, 2019

On Feb. 1, 2019, the current Administration proposed a new rule to restrict states’ flexibility to provide vital food assistance to individuals and families who struggle with hunger.

This new attack against the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) directly contradicts Congress’s intent in the recently-passed Farm Bill reauthorization. If this proposed rule change goes through, it will make it harder for people to access SNAP and more people will go hungry. By USDA’s own estimate, at least 755,000 people would lose access to life-saving nutrition benefits.

This proposal is harmful and ignores the reality of many struggling Americans. We have an opportunity to stop this rule before it goes into effect.  Whenever a new rule is proposed by the federal government, there is an opportunity for the public to express their support or opposition. The administration must consider what impact their proposals will have on the nation. We know that making it harder to access food assistance won’t help people find a job.  Citizens’ voices are needed. 

 FCNL is joining Bread for the World and other interfaith and secular organizations to encourage comments against this rule. Government officials reviewing the proposed rule are required to read and consider every single comment. The more comments submitted, the longer it will take for the rule to go into effect.  It will also demonstrate that this proposal is widely opposed because it will adversely affect individuals and families across the US.  The talking points below are offered to help you craft your comment.

What’s at Stake    Under current law, states can acquire a waiver that allows them to extend SNAP benefits to some childless adults who are struggling to find work or maintain steady employment, beyond the strict three month time limit on benefits. Typically such waivers are applied during times of high unemployment or economic recession when jobs are most difficult to find.  This new proposed rule would severely restrict state’s ability to waive the time limit, making it even harder for people who are already struggling to access food assistance.  This harsh rule was in one early draft of the Farm Bill, but it was pointedly removed by Congress before the final bill was approved.

How to Talk about the Proposed Rule   Create your own comment based on your beliefs. Use these statements to help make your point:

·         By USDA’s own estimate, the proposed rule change would result in 755,000 people losing access to life-saving nutrition benefits.

·         This proposal is out of touch with the reality of struggling Americans. Taking away food from people who are underemployed and unemployed won’t help them find a job.

·         It ignores the realities of people who work inconsistent hours, lack access to transportation, live in areas where the economy has been slow to recover, or are unable to access employment and training programs—all of whom could fail to meet the harsh time limits imposed on SNAP recipients.

·         Religious congregations and charitable organizations cannot make up the difference. National nutrition programs provide over 10 times more food assistance than private charity.

·         This new attack against SNAP is an attempt to circumvent congressional intent as laid out in the recently-passed bipartisan Farm Bill reauthorization.  Instead of rulemaking that jeopardizes food assistance, USDA should focus on implementing the 2018 Farm Bill provisions that will help Americans get back to work.

Help stop this rule by submitting a public comment against this proposal before April 2.  Go to this web page (or search fcnl.org for this material) to enter your comment in the Federal Register:

https://cqrcengage.com/fcnl/app/act-on-a-regulation?0&engagementId=496965

Sample Comment  (limit of 5000 characters)

I write to oppose the administration’s proposed rule making it harder for individuals to access food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  It is a disrespectful violation of Congress’ intent expressed in the 2018 Farm Bill, and it is cold and heartless to the poor.

Clients at the food pantry I support in Winchester, IN, are deeply worried that they will lose SNAP food, driving them to seek more assistance from the pantry at a time when many other new clients also will need help, while the pantry is provided no additional resources to share.  Private charity cannot possibly meet the increased need this rule will cause.

There is little if any evidence that stricter work requirements and time limits on food benefits are effective in reducing poverty or helping individuals find work. Instead, it will weaken SNAP and increase hunger for the 755,000 current SNAP recipients who would be impacted.

My Christian faith calls me to work to ensure that everyone can live with dignity and the opportunity to realize their full potential. This new rule will do the opposite.  Please reverse the effort to impose this rule on the SNAP program.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bread.org          Bread for the World         30 January 2019

BreadIndiana.org    Fast Once A Month

 January 16, 2019

Bread for the World Urges Support for

“Raise the Wages Act” of 2019

At Bread for the World, we believe that the preferred way to end hunger is to ensure that everyone who wants a job can get one, and that it pays a living wage.  Wages have been stagnant for decades – meaning that workers are earning less, inequality is rising, and families can’t make ends meet.

If enacted, the “Raise the Wages Act” would raise the federal minimum wage this year, then increase it annually until it reaches $15 an hour in 2024. Thereafter, the minimum wage will be adjusted each year to keep pace with inflation.  This would lift wages for 41 million American workers and significantly decrease poverty and hunger in the United States.

According to the May 2018 report submitted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty to the UN Human Rights Council, the US has the highest rate of income inequality of Western countries.  Compared to other nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US also has the highest rates of youth poverty, infant mortality, and incarceration.

The report states that the framing of the US as “the land of opportunity” does not match the modern day reality in which the nation has the lowest rate of social mobility of any rich country. The Special Rapporteur attributes these statistics to the policy stances of government bodies, writing that “the persistence of extreme poverty is a political choice made by those in power.”

A serious effort is needed to acknowledge and address the interlocking of hunger and poverty.   Policies and practitioners must help people rise above the circumstances that lead them to need food assistance. That effort must include aiding those applying to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other public assistance programs to maintain the health needed for employment, and helping the previously incarcerated to find meaningful work.

The UN Report offers many suggestions to policymakers to address the income gap in the US.  Key among them is recognizing the social and economic impact of inequality.   A 2018 federal survey showed that 40% of US households cannot cover a $400 emergency expense.  A quarter of US workers earn less than $10 per hour.  The top 10% of US workers average nine times more income than the other 90% averages — and the top 1% averages forty times more than the bottom 90%.

“The United States is alone among developed countries in insisting that, while human rights are a fundamental importance, they do not include rights that guard against dying of hunger, dying from a lack of access to affordable health care, or growing up in a context of total deprivation,” the report states.

The “Raise the Wage Act” would, for the first time ever, bring full-time minimum-wage earnings above the poverty line for a family of four.  The Bible is clear, ‘The laborer deserves to be paid’ (1 Timothy 5:18).  We urge all members of Congress to co-sponsor and pass this bill.

Sample Letter

Sen. Todd Young    400 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.    Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-5623                            www.young.senate.gov

Sen. Mike Braun    B85 Russell Senate Off. Bldg.     Washington, DC  20510

      202-224-4814                           www.braun.senate.gov

Rep. Greg Pence       222 Cannon HOB          Washington, DC  20515

      202-225-3021                           www.pence.house.gov

Rep. Pence, Sen. _____________:

Please support and cosponsor the newly introduced “Raise the Wages Act of 2019.”

This legislation would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024, index the minimum wage to the national median wage, and phase out the “tipped minimum wage” of $2.13 for tipped workers.  Data shows that this would directly or indirectly lift the wages of 41.5 million working Americans and generate $144 billion in additional income for families who need it most – including 23.1 million women and 4.5 million single parents. 

I urge you to support the “Raise the Wage Act of 2019” and preserve the minimum wage as one of the country’s most basic labor protections, or explain to me why you will not do so.

                            Sincerely,