ONE Statement on the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for FY2012

Washington, D.C. – Sheila Nix, U.S. Executive Director of The ONE Campaign, today issued the following statement regarding the release of the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for FY2012:

“The House State and Foreign Operations subcommittee faced difficult choices in allocating a smaller portion of funds in its FY 2012 bill today. While the legislation does not contain much detail about specific funding levels, we are very concerned about the impact of what appears to be disproportionate and sharp cuts to international development, which could negatively impact priorities like agricultural programs that enable poor farmers to feed their families, and debt relief initiatives that have helped put more than 46 million kids in school over the last decade.

“We believe the current bill could have harmful consequences on America’s effective work in saving lives and lifting people out of extreme poverty. We look forward to working with both the House and Senate to restore funding in key global health and development accounts as the budget process moves forward.”