WASHINGTON (May 22, 2017) – CARE, in addition to leading humanitarian, development, and global health organizations, is calling upon Congress to sustain and protect the International Affairs budget in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 2018) as it did for Fiscal Year 2017.
United States global leadership has never been more important. We face daunting global challenges, including the presence of famine conditions threatening 30 million lives in several countries across Africa and the Middle East, more than 65 million refugees and displaced people, and repeated disease outbreaks around the world. The International Affairs budget comprises just 1 percent of the federal budget, and even a smaller portion is dedicated to achieving humanitarian, development, and health outcomes for the world’s most marginalized children, women and men.
As U.S. non-profits that operate in nearly every country across the globe, we are committed to working with vulnerable people and those living in poverty and to alleviating human suffering to make the world a more peaceful, just and prosperous place. Our work is often done in partnership with the U.S. government and has produced dramatic and demonstrable results, including bringing us to the brink of controlling some of the globe’s most deadly diseases.
We are deeply concerned with the Administration’s FY 2018 International Affairs budget request, which proposes slashing effective, lifesaving accounts that help create a safer and more secure world.
Foreign assistance funding is fundamental to America’s global leadership and essential to shaping a world where our national interests will thrive. Disproportionate cuts to these accounts will not make the world safer. They will have life-and-death consequences for the poorest people in the world, and they will reduce the lifesaving and economic impacts that we see every day.
From providing education, health and economic assistance that forms the building blocks of many growing nations, to addressing humanitarian disasters, preventing conflict and containing deadly pandemics – this small portion of our budget is molding the face of our world’s future and building a better and more stable world with prospering economies.
Time and time again, Congress has acted in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to support smart American global engagement through programs, budgets and policies that demonstrate American values while advancing our national interest. Now more than ever, we urge Congress to continue to ensure U.S. leadership, reject any proposed cuts to these vital programs, and to fight against removing tools from our foreign policy toolkit when even more are needed. We call on Congress to support no less than $60 billion for the International Affairs Budget in FY 2018.
About CARE
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in 94 countries and reached more than 80 million people. To learn more, please visit www.care.org.
Media Contacts
Nicole Ellis, +1-202-560-1791, nicole.ellis@care.org