Churches press Obama to protect poor in budget talks

WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama agrees with religious officials'
concerns about protecting the poor as Washington debates the nation's
debt ceiling crisis, according to leaders who met with him this week.

A delegation representing Catholic and Protestant organizations met
with Obama and high-level White House staffers for 40 minutes on
Wednesday (July 20).

"The president basically endorsed our concern for protecting the
poor as we work on balancing the budget," Galen Carey, vice president of
the National Association of Evangelicals, said after the meeting.