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Religious Leaders In Maine Condemn GOP Tax Bill As 'Unjust, Inhumane And Greedy'

As the Senate sat poised to vote on a GOP tax overhaul plan in Washington, religious leaders in Maine's traditionally conservative 2nd District convened an emergency press conference Thursday to deliver a message to Sen. Susan Collins:

"The proposed Republican tax plan is an oppressive statute, which turns aside the needy from justice and robs the poor of our people," said Church of Christ minister Sue Davies, paraphrasing a biblical verse.

Davies said 2,700 years after Isaiah the Prophet condemned government greed and corruption in Israel, God's demand for "just relationships" has not changed.

The GOP tax plan, she said, fails to deliver on Christian principles by harming those who need to deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses, as well as state and local taxes and student loan interest.

And Davies said the plan slashes the child tax credit for parents, while permanently lowering taxes for the country's wealthiest elite. "We oppose it because it is unjust, inhumane, and greedy. Are you listening Sen. Collins?"

Rabbi Darah Lerner of Temple Beth El in Bangor says from a Jewish perspective, the issue comes down to “responsibility.”

“I want to emphasize that; Judaism is a faith that emphasizes the notion of responsibility and that’s our underlying principle here. Is that Congress and the United States have a responsibility to all Americans,” she says.

Davies and Lerner were among 12 religious leaders to speak in opposition to the cuts described in the GOP tax bill Thursday.