ELCA, Other Faith Groups Press Agriculture Committee for Farm Bill Reform

WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop
of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), joined other faith leaders
July 17 in a news conference calling on Congress for a bill that
would reduce poverty while helping farmers and rural communities
in the United States and around the world.
The U.S. Farm Bill, scheduled to be reauthorized in 2007,
determines agriculture, nutrition and conservation policy. The
U.S. House Agriculture Committee began debating the bill July 17,
hours after the news conference.
"We urge the Agriculture Committee and the leadership to
work for a bill that helps farmers both here and in other parts
of the world, that supports rural economies, that protects the
land from harm, and that ensures that all people have enough to
eat," Schneider said.
The faith leaders sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, urging the House leadership to make Farm Bill reform a
priority. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, was
among those who signed the letter.
"Our nation's farm policy needs to be guided by a strong
moral compass," said the Rev. David H. Beckmann, president of
Bread for the World. "An equitable system would not pour federal
dollars into the largest farms in America without addressing the
needs of those who need help the most." Beckmann is an ELCA
pastor.
Those participating in the news conference represented the
Religious Working Group on the Farm Bill, of which the ELCA is a
part. The working group has organized more than 700
congressional visits, generated 85,000 letters sent to Congress
and more than 8,000 phone calls, and mobilized Faith Farm Teams
in 38 states to write letters to editors and to contact their
members of Congress by telephone and postcard.
Other participants in the news conference included:
+ Father Andrew Small, OMI, policy advisor, United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops
+ The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, bishop, Episcopal Diocese of
Washington, D.C.
+ The Rev. Earl D. Trent Jr., pastor, Progressive National
Baptist Convention
+ Sister Simone Campbell, director, NETWORK, A National Catholic
Social Justice Lobby
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The text of the letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
is at http://tinyurl.com/2cspnx on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog