"I insist fighting poverty is a moral values issue, too. And protecting the environment, otherwise known as God's earth. Going to war is a religious matter, and a moral one too."

The critical needs of poor families must become the top priority of our government. The blatant inequalities of race and poverty in America - especially in the critical areas of education, jobs, health care, and housing - that have come to the surface must now be addressed. How we help families build assets and take responsibility for their futures must be central to the discussion.

Each "side" of our political landscape ignores too many valid concerns of the other side. Poor families do not need us to take sides. Much could be accomplished with a merging of personal and social responsibility, a commitment to reverse family breakdown, and a more honest assessment of both the personal decisions and social systems that trap people in poverty. The lives of poor people must no longer just prompt a debate between the left and right; but rather, overcoming poverty must become a bipartisan commitment and a nonpartisan cause.

I'm asking you to help ensure decisions to be made by Congress in the next few weeks that impact all people in our country - especially "the least of these" - are not ignored. I'm asking you to speak and act to prevent unjust budget and tax plans now on the table. Priorities that ignore and hurt those most in need while enriching the wealthy call out for religious resistance. We must proclaim that budgets are moral documents - and current proposals fall short. As we recover from these natural disasters, with the nation at war and deficits rising at record rates, Congress is still planning $35 billion in cuts for Medicaid and Food Stamps, low-income health care and nutrition programs, and more - plus $70 billion in new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Just this week, President Bush asked Congress to increase its social program cuts from $35 billion to $85 billion.