300 Catholics Release a National Letter Calling on Congress to Protect SNAP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 21, 2018

​MEDIA CONTACT

Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202)735-7123

Mackenzie Harris, mharris@faithinpubliclife,org, (6610) 283-88879

300 Catholics Release a National Letter Calling on Congress to Protect SNAP

Washington, D.C. — More than 300 Catholics, including priests, sisters and lay social justice leaders, are urging members of Congress to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a vital lifeline that keeps millions of people from falling into poverty.

“As Catholics, you know that our Church’s social teaching calls us to serve the common good, and that the government has an important role to play in supporting our vulnerable neighbors,” said Catholic leaders in a national letter released today by Faith in Public Life. “There is nothing pro-life about making it harder for parents to put food on the table for their children.”

The U.S Senate will vote in the coming days on a bipartisan bill that makes common-sense reforms that strengthen SNAP. The House of Representatives is poised to vote Friday on an extreme bill that would dramatically alter SNAP, adopting untested work requirement programs with harsh penalties, and leaving 2 million people without food assistance. Most individuals in the program are children, seniors, and people with disabilities. The modest benefit averages to $1.40 per meal.

To read the letter and full list of signers, click here.

John Gehring, Catholic program director, Faith in Public Life:

“It’s unconscionable that Congress would even consider making it harder for working families to feed their children a few months after handing out a massive tax break for millionaires. Hunger is not a partisan issue. It’s a moral issue.”

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Faith in Public Life is a national network of nearly 50,000 clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice and the common good.