Faith Action For People-Centered Development

February 27, 2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Faith Action for People-Centered Development represents a spectrum of Protestant and Catholic religious and faith-based organizations that come together to advocate for policies that promote justice, reconciliation, and the reduction of poverty worldwide.

As your Administration develops its foreign assistance budget for the coming year we write to share the concerns of our faith communities. A new millennium is upon us. In the spirit of the biblical passages, we have called for a Jubilee in today's world to provide a fresh start to those living in hunger and need. The God we strive to follow is one who hears the cry of suffering people and inspires us to work for a better world. Jesus, whom we also call the Prince of Peace, reminds of the need to pursue policies that promote justice and reconciliation. As churches and faith-based organizations, we believe that these teachings lead us to advocate for public policies and laws based on justice and compassion.

We are extremely concerned with many trends in foreign assistance, especially the disproportionate amount that is provided for military, not humanitarian purposes. We are disturbed in particular by the 29 % reduction in worldwide assistance to sub Saharan Africa since 1990. As you build your budget for this year, please don't set the bar too low.

We urge your Administration to show a high level of support for programs that eliminate barriers to effective and sustainable development and make room for Jubilee:

Health and HIV/AIDS Response: Responding to the global AIDS pandemic must be seen as a paramount moral and security concern for your Administration. We urge you to fulfill our commitment to the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Act, and to expand this initiative. It is estimated that it will take $4 billion a year globally to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa alone, and other infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis take an additional toll. Please provide at least $1 billion for HIV/AIDS response in Africa, and an additional $1 billion above present levels of spending for other global health needs.

Debt Relief: Our churches and organizations have been active in the international Jubilee 2000 movement to cancel the crushing debts of the poorest countries. We appreciate the support that you

c/o Faith Action for People-Centered Development Policy - 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-544-2350 Fax: 202-546-6232 e-mail: lisaw@ncccusa.org

showed for this initiative through the campaign, and now urge you to demonstrate this support in your budget package. We ask you to provide $375 million to fully fund existing debt relief commitments and we encourage you to consider including other countries and provide greater relief to those who qualify. It is critical that funding for debt relief not come at the cost of reducing funds available for other development or lending programs.

Education - especially for girls: There is no doubt that literacy and primary education are the cornerstones of development and economic growth for any country. We urge you to double US funding for aid to international education to $300 million for countries with commitments to achieve universal primary education and increase US funding for UNICEF to $165 million. It is critical that there be universal access to education since girls are most often those who do not get schooling when families face financial difficulties. Access to education is also a critical to efforts to combat child labor.

Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, Landmines and Refugees: Truly sustainable development will be impossible for those regions torn by conflict. We urge you to fund programs that contribute to conflict resolution and reconciliation and support multilateral peacekeeping efforts at as high a level as possible. Additionally, we urge you to seek full funding for demining operations and provide at least $800 million to fund Migration and Refugee Assistance. We also urge you to sign on to international treaties that support these concerns, including the Protocol on Child Soldiers and the Ban Mines treaty.

We also have several regional concerns that we hope your budget will reflect:

Africa: We urge you to provide an additional $1 billion to programs in sub-Saharan Africa above and beyond current levels. The 29% decrease in funding to this region over the last decade is nothing but shameful. Funding for this region must be sufficient to fully implement the critical array of programs for Africa, including debt relief; education - especially for girls; food support; microenterprise lending; child survival; conflict resolution and peacekeeping; and the Africa: Seeds of Hope Act.

Latin America & Caribbean: We urge you to provide further funding for reconstruction in the region -- especially El Salvador. We urge that this assistance be provided with great transparency of purpose, and as grants, not loans. Additionally, we are concerned about the dramatic increase over the last few years in counter-narcotics assistance, particularly because a considerable portion will be channeled into security forces in countries with severe human rights violations, such as Colombia. We urge you to reconsider "Plan Colombia." Current funding undermines the fragile peace process, and is not supportive of poverty alleviation.

Middle East: We are encouraged by the decision of Israel voluntarily to accept an annual reduction of its economic assistance. We urge your administration to direct that economic aid toward economic and human development programs for Israel's most needy people, including Israeli Arabs, and toward projects that promote reconciliation within Israel and the implementation of peace agreements made by Israel with its neighbors. We further request that your Administration reconsider the Clinton Administration's promise to provide for the next eight years an annual increase, equal to one-half of their economic aid reduction, in military assistance grants to Israel. Economic aid to the Palestinians should continue and be increased. It is in the interests of both the United States and Israel that the neglected and recently destroyed Palestinian infrastructure be developed.

Sustainable development is not just an issue of justice, but also the foundation for peace and conflict resolution, economic growth, and a reduction in refugee flows. We urge you to bring your personal leadership and your vision of compassion to the struggle to increase our foreign aid budgets. We hope that you share these humanitarian concerns that we have outlined above, and urge you to include them among your priorities for this coming year.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Edgar, General Secretary
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

John McCullough, Executive Director
Church World Service

Wendy Pomeroy, Director
Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program

Larry Goodwin, Director
Africa Faith and Justice Network

James H. Matlack
Director, Washington Office
American Friends Service Committee

David Beckmann, President
Bread for the World

Michael J. Dodd, Director
Columban Fathers Justice & Peace Office

Tiffany L. Heath
Director, Washington Office
Church Women United

Corinne Whitlatch, Director
Churches for Middle East Peace

Thomas H. Hart,
Director of Government Relations
The Episcopal Church

Mark B. Brown,
Assistant Director for International
Affairs and Human Rights
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr., President
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Marie Dennis
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

J. Daryl Byler
Director, Washington Office
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.

Kathy Thornton, RSM, National Coordinator
NETWORK: A National Catholic
Social Justice Lobby

Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Jaydee R. Hanson, Assistant General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society
The United Methodist Church

Leon P. Spencer
Executive Director
Washington Office on Africa

c.c: Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice, Assistant for the President for National Security Affairs
Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., Director Office of Management and Budget