U.S. bishops urge Senate to act to protect the poor and vulnerable

While commending the provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that promote the dignity of human life and support parental choice in education, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), implored Congress to be consistent in protecting human life and dignity and make changes to the bill to protect those most in need.

We encourage you to take action and customize the sample messages to Senators Ernst and Grassley that can be found here. The Iowa bishops have written to our members of Congress in support of Medicaid/SNAP and call for the reinstatement of international food aid.

Archbishop Broglio’s intervention comes as the U.S. Senate considers the budget reconciliation bill:

“The bishops are grateful that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes provisions that promote the dignity of human life and support parental choice in education. These are commendable provisions that are important priorities for the bishops. Still, Congress must be consistent in protecting human life and dignity and make drastic changes to the bill to protect those most in need.

“As Pope Leo XIV recently stated, it is the responsibility of politicians to promote and protect the common good, including by working to overcome great wealth inequality. This bill does not answer this call. It takes from the poor to give to the wealthy. It provides tax breaks for some while undermining the social safety net for others through major cuts to nutrition assistance and Medicaid. It fails to protect families and children by promoting an enforcement-only approach to immigration and eroding access to legal protections. It harms God’s creation and future generations through cuts to clean energy incentives and environmental programs.

“I underscore what my brother bishops said in their recent letter to find a better way forward and urge Senators to think and act with courage and creativity to protect human dignity for all, to uphold the common good, and to change provisions that undermine these fundamental values.”

The USCCB’s letter on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” proposed by the Senate may be found here. As press time, there are reports that the school choice provisions will be struck from the legislation.

U.S. Supreme Court concludes term with major rulings

Last week marked the end of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term and several decisions of interest were announced:

• In Medina v. Planned Parenthood, the Court said states can deny funding to organizations that perform abortions. (Iowa does this)

• The Court decided in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents have a right to opt-out of LGBTQ+ instruction in public schools.  

• In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the Court ruled a state may enforce age-verification restrictions on adult websites

• Trump v. Casa: The Court granted the administration’s request to limit a district court's nationwide injunction regarding birthright citizenship. The Court did not rule on the issue of “birthright citizenship” itself.

And finally,

We extend our prayers and condolences to the family of state Senator Rocky DeWitt of Sioux City, who died last week.