FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2021
Contact: Jessica Felix Romero jromero@sojo.net
Sojourners President on Failure to Move Build Back Better and Voting Rights Protections Forward
Statement from Sojourners President Rev. Adam Taylor
WASHINGTON, DC - In reaction to Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) weekend announcement withdrawing his support for President Biden's Build Back Better legislation, Sojourners President Adam Taylor said the following:
“In these last days of Advent, which is meant to be a season of hope, it is imperative that Senator Manchin reverse course and honor his commitment to negotiate in good faith and ultimately pass the Build Back Better Agenda. Build Better Back Better represents the most pro-family and pro-common good legislation in a generation. The millions of children and families that rely on the Child Tax Credit to make ends meet will be deeply impacted, putting them at risk of descending into poverty, and depriving them of basic necessities once these resources are no longer available at the start of the new year.
Before the Senate leaves for the holiday recess, they have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. These bills would help to safeguard both the right to vote and our democracy in a moment in which both are under assault. This will require the legislative foresight and courage to enact a change in the Senate rules to overcome the ongoing obstruction of Republican Senators that is holding our country’s progress hostage. Senator Manchin publicly supports these bills; in fact, the Freedom to Vote Act is a result of his working partnership with his colleagues. Delivering a victory on voting rights would be Christmas gift to the nation and to our democracy and would build momentum for the passage of the Build Back Better agenda.
We need people of faith of all traditions to march towards justice. We need to be louder, more organized, more passionate than the people who want to turn things back. Politics alone will not get us where we need to go but the democratic tools available to us in the U.S. are indispensable. Congress must do everything to strengthen these tools. We also need stronger civic movements and sustained action. There is absolutely nothing that sustains us more than our faith. People of faith need to stand together and for each other.”
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About Sojourners - Sojourners, a faith-inspired nonprofit, works with Christians to put their faith into action in the passionate pursuit of social justice, peace, and environmental stewardship. Sojourners articulates the biblical call to social justice through its independent magazine and online publication and convenes, equips, and mobilizes people while building alliances for effective advocacy and working in partnership with people of conscience and from other faith traditions. sojo.net