Catholic Sisters and Advocates of NETWORK Lobby Condemn Budget Deal and National Emergency

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2019
Contact: Lee Morrow, lmorrow@networklobby.org, 202-601-7856
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Catholic Sisters and Advocates of NETWORK Lobby Condemn Budget Deal and National Emergency
Sr. Quincy: “This devil’s bargain and overreach of power has been forced on the nation by politicians who have taken a sledgehammer to regular order.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the recent vote in Congress on FY 2019 appropriations and the President’s decision to declare a national emergency, the Catholic Sisters and Advocates of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, released the following:

“Even after this long, terrible process that President Trump forced the nation to endure, it is impossible to feel relief from a deal that avoids a shutdown while throwing immigrants under the bus and throwing our nation into a state of emergency,” said Sister Quincy Howard, OP. “As a Catholic Sister, I condemn any plan that will militarize border communities, build an immoral wall on our Southern border, and increase detention for immigrants seeking a better life in the United States.

“This devil’s bargain and overreach of power has been forced on the nation by politicians who have taken a sledgehammer to regular order. The President’s inability to govern, and the GOP’s unwillingness to oppose to the President’s worst instincts, has become crystal clear. We have averted another damaging shutdown, but it’s assured that more taxpayer dollars will be wasted on President’s hateful policies.

“I pray that the rapidly approaching budget negotiations for Fiscal Year 2020 are nothing like this broken process. For now, Congress must turn to the legislation the people of the United States are crying out for: voting rights protections, fair pay, and tax justice!”

The President’s fraudulent invocation of a national emergency is an end run around Congress and the Catholic Sisters and Advocates of NETWORK Lobby condemn it. While avoiding a shutdown, this deal includes $1.375 billion in funding for barriers at the border and increases the number of immigrants that the Trump administration is allowed to hold in detention to a daily average of 45,274 immigrants. It also paves the way for the President to do exactly what he always intended – despite a border wall being exceedingly unpopular.

“This deal substantially increases funding for border enforcement and has a 12% increase in detention funding. This deal and the fraudulent national emergency are bad for our nation,” said Laura Peralta-Schulte, Senior Government Relations Advocate for NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.  “This Administration has already separated mothers from their children and wants to jail asylum seekers. It is immoral to give in to these racist policies.

“President Trump cannot be allowed to steal money for his border wall from other government accounts. The Catholic Sisters and Advocates of NETWORK Lobby will continue the fight to end harmful and wasteful spending at the border. We reject the militarization of vibrant communities that allows more immigrant families to be jailed.”

NETWORK Lobby members from all around the nation urged their Members of Congress to reach a deal that funds the government without wasting the taxpayer’s money on anti-immigrant policies proposed by the Trump administration.

“We unreservedly condemn President Trump’s national emergency declaration. A deal that abandons immigrants and creates a nationwide state of emergency is no deal at all,” said Tralonne Shorter, Senior Government Relations Advocate for NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “Another shutdown would have devastated our nation, but we don’t support many of the spending provisions in the Department of Homeland Security budget.”

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NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. NETWORK Lobby 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.