St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
CLERGY HERE CHALLENGE GOVERNOR'S PLANS TO MAKE DEEP CUTS IN MEDICAID SPENDING
By Tim Townsend
Of the Post-DispatchA broad spectrum of big-name religious leaders came together Tuesday to announce their intention to challenge Gov. Matt Blunt's proposed Medicaid cuts.
The meeting at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis came on the heels of a boisterous rally Sunday at Lane Tabernacle C.M.E. Church in St. Louis, which was organized by clergy members of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.
Tuesday's event was organized by two interfaith groups, All God's People and Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis. The speakers included Imam Nur Abdullah, the religious head of the Islamic Foundation in St. Louis; Archbishop Raymond Burke; the Rev. Suzanne Meyer of First Unitarian Church; the Rev. Dr. James T. Morris of Lane Tabernacle C.M.E. Church; George Wayne Smith, Episcopal bishop of Missouri; and Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation.
Orvin Kimbrough, executive director of the Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis, said the diversity of clergy leaders all working together for one goal was unique. "In terms of the wide spectrum of folks that fall on all sides, this is the first time in recent history we've done this,"
he said.The proposed cuts would eliminate working parents from the program if they earned about one-third the federal poverty level and would save $625 million. But Talve asked that the governor find a way to avoid balancing the budget "on the backs of the poor."
"Clergy of all denominations call on the governor to find a way to balance the budget without these cuts," she said.
Asked if the group would present Blunt with a specific proposal to accomplish what they're asking, Talve responded, "That's not our expertise, but we'll get into it if we need to."
Blunt's spokesman said Missouri's social welfare program is one of the most generous in the country, with a million out of 5 million residents receiving social welfare of some kind. "The governor's welfare reforms are essential to preserve the system and to ensure it is sustainable," said Spence Jackson.
Other clergy members stood behind the speakers and applauded when Meyer suggested that Republican legislators were going back on campaign promises to restore moral values to state government. "When they were candidates for office, they presented themselves as men and women of conviction," she said. "They were the ones who made family values and moral values an issue in the last election. Now Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders must call them into account."
Morris tried to put a face on the people who, he said, would be losing the most under the proposed Medicaid cuts. "They are the people I come into contact with every day in grocery stores who have to decide what to put back," he said. "These, Governor Blunt, are the desperate, the disinherited, the
disenfranchised, the disrespected, the despised, the debilitated and the dejected of Missouri. ...They are not nameless statistics."Morris urged people to "flood the Capitol phone lines with calls to your legislators." He said the group would ask to meet with Blunt to discuss their concerns.
Jackson said the governor had "met with people on every side of this issue." "If his schedule doesn't permit it, certainly someone from our office will be happy to sit down and talk with them," he said.
Reporter Tim Townsend
E-mail: ttownsend@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8221
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