In the fall of 2011 as the presidential primaries approached, Catholic Democrats sent a letter to then-Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, detailing the theological flaws in arguments by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) in favor of a federal austerity budget that proposed drastic cuts in healthcare, food stamps, and other services for the poor. The organization asked the U.S. bishops to vigorously address the challenges of increased poverty, unemployment and income inequality, and to reaffirm the principles that the U.S. bishops unambiguously laid out in the 1980s and again in the 1990s in their pastoral letter, Economic Justice for All. Archbishop Dolan replied in a letter to the leaders of Catholic Democrats, “One of the reasons defense of religious liberty is such a high priority is because this is necessary to protect our efforts in the promotion of charity, justice, peace, service, and advocacy. Likewise, I worry when any attempt to dialogue with Republicans is interpreted as turning one’s back on the poor. Nevertheless, I very much welcome your comments and have taken them seriously.”