Catholic Charities head criticizes budget as 'morally objectionable'

Published: 2006-02-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of Catholic Charities USA criticized the House of Representatives Feb. 1 for failing to take advantage of "one last opportunity to defeat a morally objectionable spending plan." Father Larry Snyder, who heads the Alexandria, Va.-based Catholic Charities, and Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, had urged House members to reject a budget reconciliation bill that they said would hurt society's poorest and most vulnerable members. The House, which originally approved the budget agreement Dec. 19 by a 212-206 vote, agreed on a 216-214 vote Feb. 1 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. House members "failed America's most poor and vulnerable today by passing a budget that further weakens an already fragile safety net," said Father Snyder in a statement.

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