Values and Priorities for 2009
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photo by Margaret W. Nea
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U.S. commitments to fight global hunger and poverty must be reflected in the federal budget
The U.S. federal budget is huge and the process of approving it is complex. But a lot is at stake. The federal budget is a moral document, reflecting this country's values and priorities.
Bread for the World focuses on the impact of budget decisions on hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world. We work to make sure adequate resources will be allocated to programs that give people the tools they need to overcome hunger and poverty. We work to ensure that the United States has a strong safety net for children, elderly people, low-wage workers, and others whose families struggle to put food on the table.
In February, the administration requested $3.1 trillion for fiscal year 2009. Since then, both the House and Senate have passed budget resolutions that reshape the president's request and recommend spending levels for broad areas of government programs.
The budget resolution is non-binding and does not finalize spending for specific programs. But it is a critical part of the process because it recommends changes in tax policy and mandatory spending and sets a ceiling on the total amount of discretionary spending.
For example, the president requested $38.2 billion for international affairs in FY 2009, which included a $1 billion increase over 2008 for poverty-focused development assistance. Then, during the budget committee process, the Senate committee cut this figure to $35.7 billion. On March 13, the full Senate restored the administration's original international affairs request in the budget resolution after Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Joseph Biden (D-DE), and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced an amendment on the Senate floor. That same day, the House recommended a funding level for international affairs that is $1.5 billion below the administration's request.
The administration's and the Senate's support of a $1 billion increase for poverty-focused development assistance next year would help many people in poor countries. But the increase is not yet secured.
In terms of domestic hunger programs, the administration's budget request included cuts and changes that would weaken the nutrition safety net for low-income families in the United States. Specifically, the administration proposed to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides monthly food packages to about 440,000 people in need, mostly seniors. The administration's request would also cut 300,000 low-income people, primarily working families, from the Food Stamp Program.
In recent years, this administration made similar proposals but Congress has rejected them and is likely to do so again this year. More than 35 million people in the United States live in households struggling to put food on the table. Now, rising food prices and a faltering economy are putting even more strains on the budgets of low-income families.
The votes on appropriations for FY2009 will not be finalized until this fall. Until then, there are still many opportunities to persuade members of Congress to make hungry and poor people a priority in budget decisions. In the meantime, the House and Senate are now in the process of reconciling their respective versions of the budget resolution. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun to discuss funding levels for their subcommittees, including the two State-Foreign Operations subcommittees that determine the funding for most poverty-focused development assistance. Now is as good a time as any to make your voice heard.
Bread for the World is calling for an increase of at least $5 billion for poverty-focused development assistance so the United States can fulfill its commitments to reduce hunger and extreme poverty and meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Together our letters can make a difference.
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A Different Kind of Bake Sale
By Rev. Jeff Carter
Life has a way of shaping youthful optimism into experienced realism. What begins as a mantra of "nothing is impossible" turns ever so slowly, with age and "experienced realism," into a mantra of "we can do what is possible." Therefore, hunger is far beyond a bake sale solution. After all, we know the issue of hunger is complex and intricate, influenced by powers and principalities who often meet our best efforts with doubt and disbelief. And yet, we claim a promise that nothing is impossible with God as we witness to the hope-filled power of our Easter season proclamation.
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With the help of a bake sale organized by the church's children, Manassas Church of the Brethern became a Bread for the World Covenant Church.
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So is there a bake sale solution to the issue of hunger?
Last summer, following Bread for the World's Gathering, I shared one of the most compelling and provocative ideas that I engaged while in Washington DC. We have the potential to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty in our lifetime. I asked the congregation I serve, "What if the legacy we leave our great-grandchildren is a world that knows no extreme hunger?" As I greeted people at the door following the worship service, the adults left the service affirming the idea. Then, with a certain "experienced realism," they said, "That would sure be nice to eliminate extreme hunger."
At the next meeting of the church board, our summer intern suggested that Manassas Church of the Brethren become a Bread for the World covenant church. A round of questions ensued: What will we have to do? How much will it cost? What will they expect from us? Will it compete with other programs or outreach opportunities? What will we receive from the relationship? As the discussion centered on pragmatic questions of finances and expectations, a board member and teacher for the third through fifth grade Sunday school class asked if she could share the idea with the children. The board agreed and for the moment left the relationship with the Sunday school class.
The children met and heard again the challenge: We have the potential to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty in our lifetime. They planned a bread sale with the goal of raising enough money to be a Bread for the World covenant church. A few weeks prior to the bread sale, they stood during our sharing time and invited the church to participate. They shared the UN Millennium Development Goals with the congregation and ended by saying, "We want to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty in our lifetime. Will you join us?"
The children gathered and baked bread, made cookies, and prepared signs for the sale. That morning, all during worship, the congregation smelled the work of the children. Following the service, everyone was buying bread.
The children baked the bread. They sold the bread. And they presented a check to the church for more than $1,000, along with the paperwork to become a Bread covenant church. Yes, there just may be a bake sale solution to the issue of hunger, for truly nothing is impossible with God.
Rev. Jeff Carter is pastor of Manassas Church of the Brethren in Manassas, VA. To learn how your church can become a Covenant Church, contact Bread for the World’s church relations department at 1-800-82-BREAD.
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David Beckmann Featured on "Bill Moyers Journal"
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photo by Robin Holland
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Bread for the World President David Beckmann appeared on the PBS series, "Bill Moyers Journal," on two consecutive weeks, April 4 and April 11.
On the April 4 broadcast, following a special report on hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Moyers interviewed Beckmann about the global context of hunger and poverty. He spoke about the progress that has been made worldwide in the fight against hunger, and what development assistance could yet accomplish.
The following week, after a report on U.S. farm subsidies, David addressed how the farm bill affects low-income families in the United States and poor farmers here and around the world. This episode aired at the height of the farm bill debate in Congress.
The program is aired weekly by the 394 PBS member stations. It has an estimated broadcast and online audience of 90 million people. These episodes are archived at the Journal’s Web site.
2008 Offering of Letters Kit Now Available in Spanish
You can now order Bread for the World's 2008 Offering of Letters kit in Spanish. This 16-page handbook includes facts about hunger, poverty, and development assistance. It also features a step-by-step guide to holding an Offering in Spanish-speaking congregations or groups.
Accompanying the handbook is a DVD that illustrates how writing letters to Congress can help hungry families in developing countries. The DVD has Spanish narration and subtitles.
The kit is available for $3, plus shipping and handling. Please order online at www.breadstore.org or by calling 1-800-822-7323.
Rick Steves Among Those Featured on Breadcast
Rick Steves, host of the PBS series "Rick Steves' Europe," travel book author, and a long-time supporter of Bread for the World, was in Washington on March 4, meeting with the press and six members of Congress on this year's Offering of Letters. Bread for the World hosted a reception on Capitol Hill and a lecture at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church featuring Steves.
You can hear an interview with Steves on the April edition of Bread for the World's podcast, Breadcast. (A podcast is like a personalized radio show with features and updates.) April's edition also features a discussion of David Shipler's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America. Visit www.bread.org/podcast for access to all Breadcast editions. See page 7 for upcoming episode topics.
Bread for the World Remembers Rep. Tom Lantos
Bread for the World is grateful for the many years of service to hungry and poor people given by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, who died in February. Lantos, born in Budapest, Hungary, was the sole Holocaust survivor elected to Congress and the founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Bread for the World is particularly appreciative of Lantos' leadership on the Millennium Challenge Account. Without Lantos, it is unlikely that this important legislation would have secured bipartisan support and passed into law.
The Washington Post wrote, "Mr. Lantos pushed the U.S. government … on a path of leadership in human rights issues. We hope that his work will inspire further championship of the world's downtrodden."
Fewer Newsletters, More Web Content
With this double April-May issue, Bread will be published eight times this year, rather than nine. You can expect to receive five more 2008 issues: June, July-August, September, October-November, and December. We're making this change due to the increasing costs of postage.
But we still want you to have all the information you need to be effective advocates for hungry people. Bread for the World's Web site, www.bread.org, is hosting greater amounts of original and up-to-date information and multimedia features. You can always get the latest news and updates there.
Have You Listened Lately?
Did you know you can listen to Breadcast, Bread for the World’s monthly podcast audio show, with one click at our Web site? No additional software is needed to listen to current and archived episodes. In the upcoming months, Breadcast will feature stories of reconstruction from Musicians’ Village in New Orleans, Bread for the World staff taking the Food Stamp Challenge, Dixieland jazz, and indie rock from the band Danielson.
Bake Muffins! Fight Hunger! |
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The fifth annual Great American Bake Sale is now underway. Organized by Share Our Strength, the sale is a national campaign that mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities. Share Our Strength has been a financial supporter of Bread for the World for more than a decade. Funds raised from the sale—running through June 30—will be granted to organizations to support summer and after-school feeding programs for low-income children.
For more information, visit www.greatamericanbakesale.org | |
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Having a Heart for Hunger
"Almost every time I pick up and read the Bible, whether it's the Old Testament or the New Testament," says Bread for the World activist Heidi Lidtke, "I hear God's heart telling us to keep working against the things that are wrong."
"When there appears to be little progress, or at least not as much progress as I want to see," she continues, "I am still inspired by my faith. I go back to Christ and what he stands for. I ask him to shape my heart to be like his——to break over the things that break his heart and to celebrate what his heart celebrates. I always come back to that."
Lidtke, who lives in San Jose, CA, explains why she likes Bread for the World's approach to engaging people of faith to overcome hunger. "A lot of times, when faith organizations are working on hunger, it's about going out into the community and helping individuals, which is great and it's needed. But it can be easy to forget that we need to see the bigger picture and work on structural injustices. Bread for the World helps people become engaged in these larger systems."
Lidtke says she would encourage other Bread for the World activists to "remember that politicians are just people like you and me …. Even though it might be your first time to talk to your member of Congress about hunger, he or she may have been involved in 10 other issues that day and not necessarily know a lot about hunger policy. So don't underestimate how much you know.
"For example, the farm bill certainly has a lot of policy intricacies. But in my experience, my elected officials don't know all those details either. Often Bread for the World provides enough information, or you can do just a little research, and then you can shed some light on parts of the policy for members of Congress—the parts that most affect hunger and poverty."
Lidtke adds that hunger is an issue where it’s possible to find some common ground. “I respect Bread for the World’s efforts to be a kind of bridging organization. It connects the kind of people who normally wouldn’t be connected to each other—people of different faiths or different political outlooks—around a cause.”
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Register Now to Attend Lobby Day on June 17
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Bread for the World members met with Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) to discuss the U.S. farm bill at 2007's Lobby Day.
photo by Jim Stipe |
Plan now to come to Washington, DC, on June 17 for Bread for the World's Lobby Day. Join with other Bread members to meet with your senators and representatives in Congress.
After a morning briefing on this year's legislative issues, we'll head to Capitol Hill as one powerful voice calling for an end to hunger and extreme poverty. We'll be urging Congress to pass the Global Poverty Act and increase funding for effective programs that help developing countries in Africa and other poor parts of the world.
One especially exciting development is that this year we'll be joined by the first class of Bread for the World's Hunger Justice Leaders. These 18- to 35-year-olds will have completed a four-day event of learning, worship, and advocacy training. The response to this initiative has been amazing. We've received nearly 350 applications for 75 spots. Don't miss the opportunity to join with this extraordinary class of leaders on June 17. Together we'll change history!
Find out more and register to attend.
Rising Food Prices Increase Distress of Poor People Worldwide
Worldwide, the prices of basic food staples such as wheat, corn, and rice have jumped 50 percent or more in the past six months. Among the causes of the rising prices are increasing demand due to higher incomes in developing countries like China and India, rising demand for ethanol, weather-related disasters, and skyrocketing oil prices, which have increased the cost of producing and transporting food.
People who live on less than $1 per day and are most likely to be undernourished are being hit hardest. But the World Food Program reports that many families who usually eat three nutritious meals each day are now eating twice or once and relying largely on one staple food.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has asked for an additional $500 million to allow the World Food Program to keep pace with rising costs. The World Food Program expects to feed 73 million people this year. Ban also said that longer-term strategies such as building agricultural productivity and strengthening safety-net programs are more necessary than ever.
Read more about this developing issue.
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Children's letters always catch the attention of members of congress. They can also create lifelong advocates for hungry people.
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How do you bump up the number of letters collected for an Offering of Letters? Jeanne Anderson-West discovered three key strategies at her church.
Jeanne is pastoral associate for mission and outreach at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Sacramento, CA. She recently attended an Offering of Letters workshop in Sacramento and shared what she has learned. Bread's regional organizers hold these workshops across the country early in the year. They help both first-timers and people who have previously held Offerings in their churches or on campus learn about the hunger issues in each year's campaign and hear how others plan successful Offerings. (Check www.bread.org/events to see if any workshops are scheduled in your area.)
Here's Jeanne's advice:
Get your pastor's support.
Rev. Gerald Robinson, S.J., has been a Bread for the World supporter for many years. His enthusiasm for the organization's mission helped to fire up the parishioners at St. Ignatius.
"If there's a strong commitment to engage in letter-writing from the pastoral team, people in the pews will be more willing to write," Jeanne says. Though she still met some resistance to advocacy in her church, Jeanne was not deterred.
"If this is the work of the Gospel, then we have to push for it. Giving people the opportunity to be advocates is also pastoral work. We're bringing people to a prophetic witness through advocacy."
Advertise and educate, early and often.
"Offerings don't work unless you educate the congregation early," she says.
One month before the Offering, Jeanne began running information in the church bulletin. She included hunger facts and announcements of the Offering date. She also spoke to religious education classes at different age levels to explain what the Offering was about and why letter writing is important. She made announcements each week from the pulpit.
Jeanne got these ideas from Hunger Sunday, Bread for the World's bimonthly publication for churches. (If your church would like to receive Hunger Sunday, please call Bread's church relations department at 1-800-82-BREAD.)
Write letters during the church service.
"We used to have people take home information and write their letters from home. But we had no idea how many letters were being written," Jeanne says.
Bread has heard many times over that churches generate far more letters when they are written during a service. On the weekend of the Offering, Jeanne made things easy for letter-writers by having sample letters and pencils placed in the pews for each Mass.
All these efforts paid off when, in 2007, St. Ignatius gathered 400 letters to Congress asking for broad reform to the farm bill to help hungry people and struggling farmers in the United States and in developing countries.
For more ideas on how to increase the number of letters your Offering gathers, please contact your Bread for the World regional organizer.
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Urge your members of Congress to provide more and better poverty-focused assistance to poor countries around the world. Ask for an increase of at least $5 billion in poverty-focused development assistance for 2009. If your senators are not yet cosponsors of the Global Poverty Act (S. 2433), ask them to cosponsor the bill.
Points to make:
- An additional $5 billion will help the United States keep its commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 – including cutting hunger in half.
- The Global Poverty Act will encourage better coordination of U.S. policies and programs, improving U.S. efforts to fight poverty and hunger around the world.
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
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For the complete newsletter in its print version, please contact:
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Publications, Bread for the World
50 F Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20001
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Fax: 202-639-9401
Email: publications@bread.org |
