Earlier this month Congress passed a resolution that allowed the government to remain fully operational until November 17, 2023. The budget negotiations for Fiscal Year 2024 have resumed and it is time to urge Congress to swiftly pass a budget that reflects the morals the United States was founded upon. This budget should protect people and the planet without cuts to domestic programs supporting our communities. This budget must prioritize protecting programs that provide nutrition and food assistance, housing, health, and safety. The budget ought to decrease spending for military aid and create sanctuaries of refuge for migrants.  It needs to promote global initiatives that bring sustainability, development, and hope. 

As Presbyterians, we believe that our nation’s federal budget is a moral document and an act of stewardship showing care to God’s creation and providing for all people. Scripture gives us clear guidance that those with political power should use their positions to benefit those marginalized by society. Deuteronomy gives clear instructions to those who hold wealth. “If among you, one should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against the poor, but you shall open your hand to them and lend them sufficient for their need, whatever it may be... Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” 

The FY24 budget provides a moral backbone for our nation, and at its best strengthens communities and care for God’s creation. As people of faith, we decry a budget that prioritizes military spending and further alienates the vulnerable. We call upon policymakers to pass a budget that shares the values of our faith and nation. 

Congress must pass a FY24 budget swiftly, as shutdown or lapse in funding will undoubtedly harm our nation with the consequences immediately and disproportionately felt by society’s most vulnerable. 

Tell Congress that the FY24 budget must: 

• protect communities and vital programs that promote nutrition, create increased access to affordable housing, provide healthcare and safety to its citizens. 
• provide refuge for migrants seeking safety. 
• decrease military spending and prioritize programs that bring peace and build up other nations. 
• international programs that support sustainability, development and hope.