Statement of Bob Edgar upon posting bail after arrest today for civil disobedience

“Whatever their politics are, Americans believe in fairness. Now is the time for all of us to take a stand on its behalf.

“We must speak and act in ways large and small until Congress and the President strike a budget deal that honors our debts, requires the rich and corporations to pay their fair share, and keeps America’s promise to working families and the neediest among us.

“We cannot save America’s promise through emails and phone calls alone, though both are needed. It will take courage and sacrifice.

“The budget plans being debated in the House and Senate would slash vital services and break promises our nation has made to the elderly, the infirm, the poor and our veterans. They could send our fragile economy into a new tailspin that would decimate what’s left of the middle class.

“They would do all that while asking for no sacrifice – none – by the millionaires and corporations that have already achieved the American Dream and have continued to prosper while most Americans struggled through the Great Recession.

“Common Cause and the faith leaders I was pleased to pray with in the Capitol Rotunda today believe that’s’ un-American, immoral, and intolerable. I pray that with time and the hard work of people of goodwill, a majority in Congress will adopt our view.