Press Release: NETWORK Releases Annual Catholic Social Justice Scorecard for Congress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2016
Media Contact: Paul Marchione, 202-601-7869, pmarchione@networklobby.org

Senator Rubio among those who scored 0%

Today, NETWORK – social justice advocates inspired by Catholic Sisters – released its annual Voting Record, reflecting the most critical votes from the past year when Members of Congress did, or did not, live up to the challenge of Pope Francis: to create an economy of inclusion.

“We are pleased that 44 Members of Congress – 17 Senators and 27 Representatives – recognized the breadth of social justice issues of critical importance to faith advocates and voted with us 100% of the time on key votes in 2015,” said Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK, the national Catholic social justice lobby group. These votes included votes on immigration, healthcare, trade, budget/appropriations, tax policy, and housing.

Just as Pope Francis did in his address to Congress in September, NETWORK challenges Congress to shape numerous federal policies to be consistent with the principles of Catholic Social Justice. NETWORK concurs with the pontiff’s challenge when he said to Congress that “you are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people.”
“This is not a partisan scorecard,” continued Sister Simone, “as this year’s Voting Record also contained many ‘non-party-line’ votes, which meant that 99% of Members voted with us on at least one issue. Unfortunately, four Senators – Rubio, Sasse, Scott, and Lee – all scored 0%.”
“I was most disappointed in Senator Rubio, who shares our Catholic faith, but failed to put these faith values into action” added Sister Simone.
In the Voting Record, released in the quarterly magazine, Connection, NETWORK also highlighted votes where the House and/or Senate worked across the aisle to tackle important social issues, including Medicare access, CHIP reauthorization, the Iran nuclear agreement, justice for victims of trafficking, and veteran homelessness.

One highlight in the Voting Record was NETWORK’s victory in making the 2009 improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit permanent. This was an issue that the lobby group has been championing for years. “While we thank Congress – as well as our members and allies for their tireless effort to get this bill passed in 2015,” said Sister Simone, “we also know that the bill was not perfect. The price for getting our provisions made permanent was having a much larger package of business tax credits made permanent also. But we can still celebrate the achievement, which provides key support to our struggling families.”

Copies of the full Voting Record can be found online at www.networklobby.org/connection2016.

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NETWORK, a national Catholic Social Justice lobby, which educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation, has a more than 40-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good.