Reaction to White House Outline of Foreign Affairs Budget

Bread for the World
Wednesday, 28 February 2001

"The President's request for a modest boost in the foreign affairs budget is an encouraging first step. If we truly want to make the right kind of investment for millions of poor and hungry people around the world, Congress should up the ante on the President's opening bid. His call for the next installment of debt relief should be a shot in the arm for the world's poorest countries struggling to escape the yoke of crushing debt. However, debt relief is most effective when paired with effective foreign aid.

"President Bush has often pledged to 'leave no child behind.' For millions of chronically undernourished children in sub-Saharan Africa, the risk of being left behind is real, but the answer to their plight is right in front of us. The President and Congress can truly make good on that pledge where need is the greatest by providing at least an additional $1 billion a year in poverty-focused assistance for Africa.

"For foreign aid that helps reduce world hunger, the evidence is clear, the need urgent, and the cost reasonable. Aid that invests in development priorities like agriculture, education, infrastructure, health care and HIV/AIDS clearly works. The need in sub-Saharan Africa is urgent: 291 million people live on less than a $1 a day and one in three is chronically undernourished. And the cost of cutting world hunger in half by 2015, which we know we can do, is quite reasonable, especially in times of trillion dollar budget surpluses. For just a penny per day per American, we could lead an international drive to cut world hunger in half by 2015."

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