Heal the sick, feed the hungry: Philly Black clergy members call for government shutdown to end
The news conference Sunday at the historic Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church came as the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month and funding to SNAP is disrupted.
At the historic Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church on Sunday afternoon, members of Philadelphia’s Black clergy and two state senators called on Congress to reopen the federal government and support healing the sick and feeding the hungry.
The news conference came as the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month and funding to the country’s largest food assistance program is disrupted.
» READ MORE: These local businesses are offering discounts and free meals while SNAP benefits are cut off
“It is unfair for elected officials to shut down the government when federal workers are not getting paid, but yet elected officers are still being paid,” said the Rev. Wayne Weathers, first vice president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity.
Weathers added: “It is unfair for SNAP benefits to be cut, and yet money can be invested to tear down part of the White House. … It is unfair to shut down over subsidies for the Affordable Care Act when people need healthcare.”
The shutdown began Oct. 1, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on short-term fixes to fund the government. Congressional leaders remain at an impasse over whether to extend Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, subsidies. Healthcare costs would soar if the tax credits expire.
Despite causing the second-longest shutdown on record, the parties appear no closer to reaching a compromise.
» READ MORE: Government shutdown: What’s been affected so far and what could be next
“Democrats in Washington are fighting to make sure the sick can be healed — and that used to not be a partisan thing,” said State Sen. Sharif Street, a Democrat who was an architect of Pennie, the commonwealth’s official health coverage marketplace. On Pennie, premiums are set to rise an average of about 21% next year according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
As the shutdown continues, food assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, face funding disruptions. On Friday, two federal judges ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore the critical program using emergency funds, but it could take up to a week for benefits that were due Nov. 1 to reach recipients.
For former U.S. Rep. and Philly Democratic Party leader Bob Brady, who was in attendance Sunday, his message to Washington, D.C. was simple: “Go back to work.”