The Senate Appropriations Committee is about to decide funding levels for poverty-focused development programs within the international affairs budget and needs to hear from constituents immediately, the head of Christian advocacy group Bread for the World says.
Bread President David Beckmann said in an email alert sent to Bread supporters that the debt deal approved by Congress in August has created competition between funds for "development assistance that is focused on alleviating poverty, such as aid to small farmers so they can feed their families, and nutrition programs for mothers and children in poor countries," and military spending.
"Poverty-focused development assistance could bear the brunt of the budget cuts under the new spending plan, set to start Oct. 1," Beckmann wrote.
"There is no question that these programs are important, strategic investments that save us from costly intervention later on," he explained. "As former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently said, 'Development is far cheaper than sending in soldiers.'"
Beckmann said U.S. senators on the committee, including Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, need to hear from concerned constituents by 4 p.m. CST today (Wednesday, Sept. 21).
Bread for the World is right in calling for the committee to protect needed programs by preventing them from bearing disproportionate cuts that could affect the nutrition and health of poor parents and their children.
Call the Capitol switchboard at 1-800-826-3688 and ask for your senator.
