Join NCC’s Advocacy Thursdays to Protect Critical Nutrition Program for Women and Children
While the House is in recess and members of Congress are working from their district offices, NCC urges member communions to participate in NCC’s Advocacy Thursdays to oppose H.R. 4368, the FY 2024 appropriations bill for agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, which makes harmful cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program that provides healthy foods to pregnant women, breastfeeding, and post-partum women and children under five years old. The House bill will affect more than 5.3 million women and young children.
The NCC strongly opposes H.R. 4368. We ask you to call your member of Congress in their district office on Thursday and tell them to vote “NO” on this detrimental legislation.
NCC Strongly Condemns Florida’s Efforts to Systematically Eradicate Key Parts of U.S. History
With Governor Ron DeSantis’ approval, the Florida state legislature passed CS/HB 7, a controversial bill that proponents tout as protecting individual freedom by banning African-American history from being taught in schools. According to HB 7, teaching African-American history, “constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.”
Amongst other things, the law seeks to prevent white students from experiencing “guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress,” from learning about the actions of whites who inflicted various forms of harm on Black people throughout history.
HB 7 achieves this goal by “requiring the department to prepare and offer certain standards and curriculum; authorizing the department to seek input from a specified organization for certain purposes; prohibits instructional materials reviewers from recommending instructional materials that contain any matter that contradicts certain principles; requires DOE to review school district professional development systems for compliance with certain provisions of law.”
Florida’s efforts to systematically eradicate a pivotal narrative of United States history are morally reprehensible. It is counter to racial healing and reconciliation, which calls for truth-telling, empathy, and repair.
The NCC strongly condemns Florida HB 7 and others like it emerging around the country and looks forward to working with member communions to develop a coordinated response.
Action Alerts
Action Alert! Protect Food and Health Aid to Needy Families
Tell Congress to Pass a Debt Ceiling Bill with NO CONDITIONS.
Congress and the President are currently negotiating how to raise the debt ceiling to pay for past spending that has already been approved. Part of those discussions include harmful proposals that would result in millions of Americans losing vital help that enables them to purchase food, access medical care, and cover other essential expenses like housing and transportation.
TODAY, call your member of the House of Representatives by calling 202-224-3121 and asking to be transferred to your member (click here to find your representative).
On Tuesday May 30, call the Capitol again at 202-224-3121 TWICE and ask to speak with both of your Senators (click here to find senator).
When you speak with the offices of your Members of Congress, make sure to highlight the following:
- You are a person of faith and their constituent
- The debt ceiling should be raised without any conditions
- Programs that provide food, healthcare, and money for household expenses should not be cut nor have other onerous eligibility requirements added
- Feel free to share any personal experiences you have with these essential programs. Stories are powerful tools of persuasion.
ACT NOW and tell Congress that defaulting on America’s bills is irresponsible, taking food and healthcare from people is immoral, and that they should pass a debt ceiling bill before the June 1st deadline with no conditions,
Action Alert! Tell Congress to Protect Critical Nutrition Program for Women and Young Children
Tell Congress to Protect Critical Nutrition Program for Women and Young Children. Vote NO on House Agriculture Appropriations Bill H.R. 4368.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy postponed a critical vote on H.R. 4368, the FY 2024 appropriations bill for agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, until after the August recess.
Congress could consider the legislation as early as after Labor Day, a few weeks before funding for current government programs expires on Sept. 30.
The House appropriations bill makes draconian cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program which provides healthy foods to pregnant women, breastfeeding, and post-partum women and children under 5 years old.
If passed, H.R. 4368 would inflict harm on, and dramatically change the lives of millions of people. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the bill would cut food assistance for, or take it away altogether from nearly 5.3 million women and children.
TAKE ACTION! We must not sit idly by while efforts are underway to take food out of the mouths of millions of women and young children and deny critical food and nutrition assistance to those who need the help most. TODAY, call your member of Congress in their district office (click here to find the phone number) and tell them to Vote NO on the House agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 4386).