Statement by Catholic Relief Services on the President's Proposed FY '05 Budget

Catholic Relief Services
Wednesday, 4 February 2004

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) expresses concern over President Bush's proposed 2005 budget released Monday. As the international humanitarian relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic Community, we add our unique voice to help inform the larger debate over U.S. humanitarian aid overseas:

"President Bush's proposed 2005 budget modestly advances his commitment to fight HIV and AIDS and help struggling democracies around the globe. Catholic Relief Services applauds the increased funding for these efforts, which could save millions of lives and help certain countries escape the cycle of poverty. Nonetheless, we are concerned the President's proposal does not fully fund his own pledges while it also cuts other essential humanitarian and development programs. Such a move would leave millions of the most vulnerable without sufficient help to tackle disease, poverty, and malnutrition.

"The President's proposal cuts ongoing programs such as the Child Survival and Health Fund and core development assistance by nearly $400 million, weakening efforts to protect vulnerable children from life-threatening diseases, to prevent hunger in famine-stricken lands, and to assist victims of disasters. Countries that do not qualify for the President's initiatives for AIDS and the new Millennium Challenge Account, such as Ethiopia and much of Latin America, will not receive the help they need to develop their economies and to fight pandemic diseases.

"The budget proposal will force Congress to choose between funding new initiatives like the HIV/AIDS program for Africa and the Caribbean and cutting back basic development assistance programs. Support for such programs is an opportunity for our nation to demonstrate its humanitarian and economic interest in the well being of developing nations. The opportunities we create for people and the good will we engender are some of the best long-term protections against increasing support for terrorism. Without adequate federal resources to match their own, agencies like CRS and other humanitarian agencies cannot carry out the will of the U.S. Catholic community and the broader American society to respond to the poor, hungry and disenfranchised."

For more information, or to contact Catholic Relief Services, see their website at: www.catholicrelief.org