Faith leaders had mixed reactions to the bipartisan budget agreement passed by Congress this week. For many months religious groups have been urging the government, when slashing the nation’s deficit, to protect programs that serve the poor. The Christian lobby Bread for the World and others welcomed the $85 billion deal to limit automatic spending cuts, but said it was only a short-term solution. They also pointed out that the bill still leaves over one million Americans without unemployment insurance benefits after the year’s end.