Bono calls on U.S. to give part of budget to poor

U2 frontman cites religious text at breakfast attended by Bush, top leaders

Associated Press
Updated: 12:17 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2006

WASHINGTON - Quoting from Islamic, Jewish and Christian texts, rock star Bono called Thursday for the U.S. government to give an additional 1 percent of the federal budget to the world’s poor.
Speaking to President Bush and members of Congress at the National Prayer Breakfast, the U2 front man said it’s unjust to keep poor people from selling their goods while singing the virtues of the free market, to hold children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents and to withhold medicines that would save lives.
“God will not accept that,” he said. “Mine won’t. Will yours?”