ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 2, 2009

ELCA Washington Office Staff Responds to 2010 Federal Budget Blueprint
09-054-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Senior staff of the Washington Office of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) noted that U.S.
President Barack Obama's 2010 federal budget outline affirms many
ELCA domestic and international priorities. Staff also expressed
concern about other items in the proposal.
     The Obama administration unveiled first details of its
$3.6 trillion budget request Feb. 26. More information is
expected when the budget request is released in April.
     Lutheran priorities and Christian values such as domestic
and international anti-poverty work, care for the earth,
peacemaking, development and human rights are reflected in the
budget outline, said Andrew Genszler, director, ELCA Washington
Office. A unit of ELCA Church in Society, the Washington Office
staff manages the church's advocacy efforts at the federal level.
     Genszler said the budget outline has many positives,
including projecting the budget out 10 years instead of five.
He also noted attempts at "transparency and honesty," such as
including the full cost of military operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
     "We look forward to working with the administration on
priorities important to the ELCA, and to our nation and the
world," Genszler said.
     On domestic issues the budget blueprint shows a commitment
to key domestic priorities, notably health care and education,
said Robert Francis, director for domestic policy issues. The
increase in funding for domestic programs overall signals a
concern for the needs of people with low incomes and others who
are financially vulnerable during the current economic distress,
he said.
     The budget blueprint makes health care a top priority by
creating a $634 billion reserve fund for health care system
reform, and it adds $1 billion to capitalize the National Housing
Trust Fund, part of an effort to provide affordable housing and
prevent homelessness, Francis said. He commended the Obama
administration for including increased funding for several key
nutrition programs -- such as child nutrition programs and the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and
Children. But Francis expressed concern the proposed investments
"will not accommodate the anticipated increased demand for these
services" or the administration's goal of ending child hunger by
2015.
     Kim Stietz, director for international policy issues, noted
that the administration's blueprint requests $51.7 billion for
the International Affairs Account for 2010. Compared to
anticipated expenditures for 2009, the request is an increase of
$4.5 billion.
     Steitz applauded the president's stated commitment in the
budget outline to double U.S. foreign assistance, but said the
request "is not large enough to realistically achieve that goal
by the end of Obama's first term as candidate Obama committed to
during the campaign."
     The Obama Administration and the Congress must ensure that
poverty-focused programs in the international affairs account
receive significant increases through the ongoing budget and
appropriations process, Stietz said. These programs include the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Malaria
Initiative, debt relief, the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
development and humanitarian programs, and peacekeeping
operations, she said.
     On environmental matters, the budget outline places much-
needed resources into development of clean, renewable energy
technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
the threat of global warming, said Mary Minette, director for
environmental education and advocacy. Including revenues from
projected cap and trade legislation to address climate change
signals that "swift action" on the issue is a priority for the
president, Minette said.
     "We applaud President Obama and his administration for
taking these first and long overdue steps," she said. Minette
urged the administration to work with Congress to meet the needs
of people living in poverty in the United States and around the
world through climate change legislation.
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     Information about the ELCA and its advocacy work is at
http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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