PROPOSED laws to introduce major cuts in each tax and spending within the United States have been criticised by the Episcopal Church (TEC) for its potential impact on “those on the margins of society”.
The recent plans, described by President Trump as a “big, beautiful Bill”, seek to increase the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “These benefited the wealthiest Americans, and, if prolonged, would necessitate cuts to programs comparable to Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) that protect probably the most vulnerable,” TEC’s Office of Government Relations said in a bulletin.
The Church is asking on Christians to oppose what it describes as “extreme tax cuts” within the Bill, which was narrowly passed by the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives last week — by only one vote. Two Republicans voted against the Bill; one other fell asleep and was unable to vote. It will now go on to the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority.
The Bill delivers on lots of the President’s campaign pledges, including boosting spending on military and border enforcement, cancelling green energy incentives, and introducing recent tax breaks for cars. It will, nonetheless, restrict eligibility to healthcare and food advantages.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that the plan would add about $3.8 trillion to the federal government’s debt bill. The income for the poorest ten per cent of US households could be reduced, and the wealthiest ten per cent would see a rise in income, it said. The CBO also estimates that about 8.6 million people would now not have healthcare cover consequently of the cuts, and that three million people a month would stop receiving SNAP.
“As Episcopalians we imagine the federal government should seek economic justice and protect probably the most vulnerable communities, the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the marginalized,” the statement said.
“Episcopalians have affirmed that healthcare is a human right,” a press release from TEC said earlier this 12 months. “When individuals face an increased risk of affected by preventable and treatable illnesses, barriers to employment because of untreated conditions, and experience a diminished quality of life, it harms families, communities, and generations.
“Of the non-elderly receiving Medicaid, six in ten are people of color and 57 per cent are women. Medicaid also covers 4 in 10 children (eight in 10 children in poverty) and 41 per cent of all births within the U.S. It can be the most important payer of services for those with mental health and substance abuse disorders.
“The social safety net, of which Medicaid is an important part, is a significant way we collectively look after each other, as Christ bids us to do.”
Democrats have opposed the Bill. During the lengthy debate, the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Jesus talks concerning the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless, the people who find themselves confined, strangers in a foreign land.
“It can’t be the case that one goes to synagogue or goes to the mosque — or one goes to church, as I do — but one goes to church to hope on Sunday after which involves Washington, D.C., to prey on the American people the remaining of the week.”
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