Activist Rally To Oppose 2018 Federal Budget

Faith leaders and community activists gathered Wednesday evening to rally against the federal budget soon up for consideration in Congress. The group is worried about deep cuts to federal health care programs.

Members of Congress will return to Washington next week to consider the 2018 budget. And about 250 people who attended an Indianapolis rally urged them to reject plans to slash health care spending over the next decade. The Rev. Derrick Slack is one of the attendees.

“When you have a budget that cuts Medicaid and other health care programs by $1.5 trillion you are attacking our families,” Slack says.

Cuts to Medicare and a call to privatize the system have also been proposed.

Representatives for U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) attended the event organized by IndyCAN, a non-partisan, multi-faith group of activists.

Several residents shared personal stories including April Barnes, a foster parent who says she worries about care for the most vulnerable.

“The first couple of weeks of being a foster parent are very hard because you're shuffling around from doctors appointment to doctors appointment,” says Barnes. “Imagine if that wasn't covered.”

Newly named Indianapolis Archbishop Charles Thompson also spoke at the event. He says when it comes to the budget, the Catholic church also prioritizes helping those in need.

“The quality and character of nation is not so much it's military power or it's financial budget but it's the way it treats its most vulnerable,” Thompson says.

More than two million Hoosiers are on Medicare or Medicaid.