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'Nun On The Bus' Coming To Kansas City

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Sister Simone Campbell, an outspoken proponent for Medicaid expansion who has appeared on several prominent TV talk shows, will address a public forum on social justice issues in Kansas City, Mo., next week.

Campbell, who led the national “Nuns on the Bus” campaigns in 2012 and 2013, is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Community Christian Church, 4601 Main St.

Though free and open to the public, Campbell’s appearance also serves as a fundraising event for NETWORK, a faith-based organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of disenfranchised populations. A free-will offering will be taken.

“In the halls of Congress, NETWORK and Sister Simone are well-known for standing up for working families and for the poor,” says Sister Therese Bangert, social justice coordinator of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. “They’ve been around a long time.”

Bangert says Campbell also is likely to discuss immigration reform, minimum wage laws and building a "faithful budget."

Campbell addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2012. She’s also the author of “A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community,” published earlier this year by HarperCollins.

Her outspokenness led to appearances on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The O’Reilly Factor."

The “Nuns on the Bus” tours were designed to call the attention of the public — as well as the Catholic Church — to issues affecting the poor and uninsured.

In Kansas, Republican lawmakers and Gov. Sam Brownback have shown little interest in expanding the state’s Medicaid program, citing concerns about its future costs. Missouri officials also have not expanded Medicaid eligibility.

Dave Ranney is senior writer/editor with KHI News Service, an editorially independent reporting program of the Kansas Health Institute.

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