Title: Lutherans Oppose Balanced Budget ELCA NEWS SERVICE - NEWSBRIEF February 11, 1997 LUTHERANS OPPOSE BALANCED BUDGET The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., has added its support to an open letter opposing a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. LOGA, the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is one of 125 signers of the Jan. 16 letter from the Coalition for Budgetary Integrity including labor, nonprofit, political and religious organizations. "The proposed constitutional amendment is not the answer to the nation's economic problems," it stated. "The amendment would require larger spending cuts or tax increases in years of slow growth than in years of rapid growth, precisely the opposite of what is needed to stabilize the economy and avert recessions." The letter continued, "The American public has a right to know how a balanced budget will be achieved before a balanced budget amendment is enacted. Which important programs -- education, health care, social security, transportation, job training, environmental protection -- will either be dramatically cut or eliminated, threatening America's vital interests?" For information contact: Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html