PROPOSED legislation to introduce major cuts in both tax and spending in the United States have been criticised by the Episcopal Church (TEC) for its potential impact on “those at the margins of society”.
The new plans, described by President Trump as a “big, beautiful Bill”, seek to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “These benefited the wealthiest Americans, and, if extended, would necessitate cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) that protect the most vulnerable,” TEC’s Office of Government Relations said in a bulletin.
The Church is calling on Christians to oppose what it describes as “extreme tax cuts” in the Bill, which was narrowly passed by the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives last week — by just one vote. Two Republicans voted against the Bill; another 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 many of the President’s campaign pledges, including boosting spending on military and border enforcement, cancelling green energy incentives, and introducing new tax breaks for cars. It will, however, restrict eligibility to healthcare and food benefits.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that the plan would add about $3.8 trillion to the government’s debt bill. The income for the poorest ten per cent of US households would be reduced, and the wealthiest ten per cent would see an increase in income, it said. The CBO also estimates that about 8.6 million people would no longer have healthcare cover as a result of the cuts, and that three million people a month would stop receiving SNAP.
“As Episcopalians we believe the government should seek economic justice and protect 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 statement from TEC said earlier this year. “When individuals face an increased risk of suffering from preventable and treatable illnesses, barriers to employment due to 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 four in 10 children (eight in 10 children in poverty) and 41 per cent of all births in the U.S. It is also the largest payer of services for those with mental health and substance abuse disorders.
“The social safety net, of which Medicaid is a vital part, is a major way we collectively care for one another, as Christ bids us to do.”
Democrats have opposed the Bill. During the lengthy debate, the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Jesus talks about the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless, the people who are confined, strangers in a foreign land.
“It cannot 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 pray on Sunday and then comes to Washington, D.C., to prey on the American people the rest of the week.”