The nation marked the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty this week with vigorous debate about whether government efforts have succeeded at pulling Americans out of poverty. For months, the U.S. Catholic bishops and other religious leaders have called on Congress to protect those who are unemployed or on food stamps. This week there was surprising bipartisan movement in the Senate to extend unemployment benefits for the 1.3 million long-term jobless. But the bill still faces more hurdles. This came as Congress neared a deal on a farm bill that will likely include $9 billion in cuts to food stamps over ten years.