22 May SCLC Calls on Congress to Vote No on the Debt Ceiling Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2023
Press Contacts:
Jerry Thomas
(312)-804-7999
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Calls on Congress to Vote No on the Debt Ceiling Bill
The Poor, Officials Say, Can Not Sustain Any More Cuts
ATLANTA– The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization co-founded and first led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., today called on Congress to vote no on the bill calling for cuts in the debt ceiling spending. President Joe Biden, officials said, should not be forced by “radicals” to cut the budget by $1 trillion to raise the ceiling.
“As is always the case with elected officials who don’t have our best interests at heart or have malice towards us, these members of Congress want to force cuts on programs that help the poor, underserved, and minorities,” said Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president and CEO of the SCLC’s national office. “I do not believe this is right. In keeping with the principles of the “Poor People’s Campaign and Kingsian Economics, I am demanding Democrats, especially members of the Congressional Black Caucus, hold firm and vote no on any debt ceiling bill that cuts spending for those who need help.”
Dr. Steele said this is an urgent appeal, because Black Americans receive very little from the government.
“We do not get our fair share of government contracts and are denied access to block grant spending to the states,” he said. “We do not get federal grants and are generally left out of the economic largess of all federal expenditures.”
He added, “Even the vast majority of Social Security payments go to White Americans (roughly 75 percent) with African Americans receiving around 10 percent. In the meantime, we have lost the protections of the Voting Rights Act and much of the Civil Rights Act.”
Dr. Steele also issued a call for citizens to contact their Congress members and Senators and demand they vote no on any debt ceiling limit increase.
“We cannot sustain any more cuts to the little money we get from the government,” he said. “We must demand more. All of us must take a stand now.” ###
ABOUT THE SCLC: Established in 1957, the SCLC, whose first president was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is an international organization made up of chapters and affiliates with programs that affect the lives of all Americans: north, south, east, and west. Its sphere of influence and interests has become international in scope because the human rights movement transcends national boundaries. For additional information about the SCLC, visit www.nationalsclc.org.To arrange an interview with Dr. Steele, contact Jerry Thomas at jerry@jerrythomaspr.com, or (312) 804-7999.
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