JRS Says U.S. Humanitarian Aid Cuts Could Cost Lives
Tags: Jesuit, Jesuit Refugee Service, jesuits, JRS, Society of Jesus
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (JRS/USA) and other organizations sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the cuts to humanitarian assistance in recent budget proposals.
The letter said these cuts “would imperil the longstanding U.S. commitment to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance for those threatened by disaster and conflict.”
The letter stated that the cuts could potentially cost lives, as the U.S. would be unable to respond to major new emergencies, such as a natural disaster, famine or civil war, and that reduced funding for food assistance would ”decimate America’s capacity to respond to a worsening drought in the Horn of Africa.”
“It is urgent that the humanitarian accounts receive full funding now rather than be patched up with supplemental appropriations later in the fiscal year,” the letter stated. It also stressed that humanitarian funding should not come at the expense of other international poverty reduction and development accounts.