The president and his allies in Congress are continuing to advocate for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and cuts backs in health care and other essential social services for the poorest of the poor. United Church News reports:

UCC General Minister and President John H. Thomas joined with Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid on Oct. 13 to call upon members of Congress to abandon the federal budget reconciliation process, saying the proposed document was immoral because it drastically weakens programs for the poor.

“More and more people are walking on a tightrope over a flawed safety net,” said Thomas, speaking to a group of about 10 national reporters assembled by conference call.

Thomas gave a new twist to the wildly-popular, yet wildly-fictitious “Left Behind” book series by Tim LeHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, which tells stories of persons being ‘left behind’ after believers are raptured to heaven.

“What we saw in New Orleans is the reality of those ‘left behind’ after the rupture of the social contract in this country,” Thomas said, emphasizing that poverty was and is one of Jesus’ primary concerns. “[Tax cuts for the wealthy] is a failed approach. More and more people are being left behind.”

Reid, a Mormon who has represented Nevada in the Senate since 1987, said the budget -- which passed the House and Senate earlier this year -- includes $35 billion in cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and student loans, while it rewards the rich with $70 billion in tax cuts.

All three leaders said that, despite the new fiscal realities that have come to light after Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing war in Iraq, the budget reconciliation process seems to continue without regard to the need for newer numbers and priorities.

Thomas said the budget process now requires “a complete rethinking of how we address the challenging problems affecting this country.”

Griswold, who leads the 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church in the United States, used strong words for the proposed budget, referring to it as “blasphemy” and “heresy,” and said the Bush Administration was out of lock step with mainstream Republicans and Democrats alike when it wrapped itself in religious platitudes but ignored the needs of the poor, especially after Hurricane Katrina.

“Nothing could be more clearly stated in the gospels than Jesus’ identification with the poor,” Griswold said. “… I feel morally obliged to call upon Congress to abandon the budget reconciliation process … a budget that further impoverishes poor people.”

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