ONE, World Vision and broad faith-based coalition urge U.S. Senate on humanitarian aid

Washington, DC – A coalition of 30 Christian and Jewish organizations in the U.S. have joined together with the ONE Campaign to urge senators now considering fiscal 2011 budget measures to reverse the disproportionate and devastating cuts to international assistance approved by House lawmakers last week.

In a letter to Senate members today, leaders of an array of faith-based groups voiced deep concern for the vulnerable families worldwide who would be put in jeopardy by the drastic reductions to foreign disaster assistance, food aid, global health and other life-saving programs. The reductions to those accounts far outstrip cuts to other discretionary spending, in percentage terms, while making minimal impact to savings in the overall budget.

“We believe it is morally unacceptable that the deepest cuts have targeted programs that are saving lives and investing in our own national security,” says the letter, signed by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., and Sheila Nix, U.S. executive director of the ONE Campaign. By contrast, “the cuts reverse broad bipartisan support behind these programs and jeopardize lives across the world.”

“We urge you to take bold steps to bring spending and revenue in line, focusing particularly on the major budget categories and tax policies that add the most to our deficit,” the groups concurred in the letter.

Along with World Vision and the ONE Campaign, 28 religious groups also joined the letter, including Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Alliance to End Hunger, American Baptist Churches, American Jewish World Service, American Leprosy Missions, Bread for the World, Catholic Medical Mission Board, Evangelical Environmental Network, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelicals for Social Action, Food for the Hungry, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, India Partners, National Association of Evangelicals, One Day’s Wages, Operation Blessing International, Reformed Church in America, Sojourners, World Concern and World Relief.