Letter
Letter to House Appropriations Committee on FY 2014 Agriculture Budget, June 11, 2013
Letter to House Appropriations Committee on FY 2014 Agriculture Budget, June 11, 2013, signed by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace
"On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we wish to address the moral and human dimensions of the FY 2014 Agriculture Appropriations legislation. The bishops’ conference urges you to resist significant cuts to both domestic and international food aid, as well as conservation and rural development programs. Major reductions at this time of economic turmoil and rising poverty will hurt hungry, poor and vulnerable people in our nation and around the world.
In For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food, the bishops wrote, “The primary goals of agricultural policies should be providing food for all people and reducing poverty among farmers and farm workers in this country and abroad.” Adequate nutrition is essential to protect human life and dignity. We urge support for just and sufficient funding for agriculture policies that serve hungry, poor and vulnerable people while promoting good stewardship of the land and natural resources. In our soup kitchens and on our parish doorsteps, we see the faces of poor and hungry people every day. As a faith community, we feed those without work, pregnant women and children, and seniors on a limited income. The Catholic community at home and abroad includes farmers, ranchers, farmworkers and business owners who grow food, care for the land and help rural communities prosper.
The bishops’ conference acknowledges the difficult challenges that Congress, the Administration and government at all levels face to match scarce resources with growing needs. A just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons; it requires shared sacrifice by all."