The presidents of both the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA urged House members to reject a budget reconciliation bill that they say will hurt society's poorest and most vulnerable members.

The House, which originally approved the budget agreement Dec. 19 by a 212-206 vote, was expected to vote again Feb. 1 on whether to go along with procedural changes made by the Senate, which passed the bill in a Dec. 21 vote that required Vice President Dick Cheney to break a tie.

Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., USCCB president, said in a letter to House members that the budget agreement "could prove harmful to many low-income children, families, elderly and people with disabilities who are least able to provide for themselves."

"Because of these concerns, we ask you to oppose the budget reconciliation conference agreement," he added in the letter, dated Jan. 24 and made public Jan. 30.

In an earlier letter, Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, told House members that the current legislation "will compromise the health and well-being of some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our nation."

He said the budget agreement approved by the Senate "attempts to exercise fiscal discipline by cutting programs crucial to the well-being of low-income children, vulnerable families, the elderly and the disabled."

"The bill cuts back funding for child support enforcement, adds new provisions to Medicaid that will harm low-income recipients, raises TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) work requirements that put additional burdens on states, and cuts kinship foster care," Father Snyder added.

Bishop Skylstad cited many of those same concerns and also opposed "cuts in agriculture conservation programs, which will undermine efforts to promote soil conservation, improve water quality, protect wildlife and maintain biodiversity."

He said the budget reconciliation plan had some positive elements, including "additional funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina and a program to promote marriage and healthy families." The bishop also expressed gratitude that proposed cuts to the food stamp program had been eliminated from the bill.

"However, we believe that, overall, the impact of this bill will be to fail to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us," Bishop Skylstad said.

"There are many challenges and much tumult in Washington that demand the attention of our leaders," he added. "However, an essential priority of government is to provide for the general welfare of its people, especially 'the least among us.'"

---CNS