ELCA Advocacy Action Alert: Support Lifesaving International Programs
In July, the Senate began consideration of Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) regular appropriation bills to fund various government programs and services. One of the 12 bills under consideration is the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs). This appropriations bill provides total discretionary funding for numerous international programs, including for emergency humanitarian assistance, long-term development support, conflict prevention and peacebuilding programs, protection of forcibly displaced populations, environmental and global health programs, and many more others.
At the end of June, the House of Representatives passed an SFOPS appropriations bill with an 11% funding reduction. This is cause for concern. These funding cuts will weaken our nation’s ability to respond to humanitarian emergencies and fight hunger, diseases, extreme poverty and climate change. As senators work to allocate funding levels, we need to ask them to reject proposals to cut funding for these lifesaving international programs; instead, they should show leadership by ensuring these essential programs are sufficiently resourced.
Lifesaving programs which would benefit from sufficient resourcing include:
Appropriate $4.85 billion for International Disaster Assistance, which provides vital humanitarian assistance to civilian populations in response to natural disasters, conflict and insecurity, and other sudden onset emergencies;
Allocate $4,447,236,000 for Migration and Refugee Assistance, which will help ensure that families fleeing life-threatening situations can find temporary protection in the countries where they seek refuge;
Earmark no less than $6.79 billion for Global Health Programs at the Department of State, including $5.14 billion for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), $1.65 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and $350 million to fund USAID HIV/AIDS programs;
And allocate a total of $1.75 billion for the Green Climate Fund and for related USAID bilateral accounts toward Adaptation, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Landscapes.
“We affirm that our nation has responsibility to contribute a portion of its wealth to people in poorer nations through effective economic assistance,” reads the ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World. “Assistance should come in the form of both humanitarian aid needed to relieve the consequences of disasters and development assistance that contributes to improvements in the quality of life in developing economies.”
Urge your members of Congress to protect international food programs, while ensuring built in flexibility to allow providers to use appropriate tools when serving those in need. Flexible and efficient food aid programs mean more people can be fed and community resilience is enhanced.
