USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - U.S. Superpower Status Carries Responsibility to Assist Less Fortunate Countries

U.S. Superpower Status Carries Responsibility to Assist Less Fortunate Countries

WASHINGTON (April 4, 2000) -- The United States has an obligation to assist poorer countries, especially in a time of great economic prosperity, according to testimony delivered this week to a House Appropriations Subcommittee on behalf of the nation's Catholic Bishops.

"Foreign aid is more than an optional form of largesse," said Francis Carlin on behalf of the United States Catholic Conference and Catholic Relief Services. "It is a fundamental obligation of solidarity on the part of those who enjoy a plentiful share of earth's riches to promote sustainable development for those who have barely enough to survive."

Carlin, deputy executive director of CRS, reminded members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations that the United States lags behind other industrialized nations when it comes to its share of the economy devoted to development assistance.

"It is astonishing that, despite an era of unprecedented prosperity, the United States has not significantly increased aid to the most impoverished countries, many of whose economies continue to decline," Carlin said. "The meager amount of aid that our nation gives to Africa, in particular, is a scandal."

CRS, the international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops, has operations in more than 80 countries. It is headquartered in Baltimore.

Carlin highlighted concerns in four major categories of the foreign aid budget:

Debt Relief
"More than 40 of the world's poorest countries are bound in such a web of indebtedness that they have little hope for a better future," he said. The President's budget request for $800 million for bilateral and multilateral debt relief for fiscal years 2001-2003 "represents the cost to the United States of canceling the bilateral debt of 33 heavily indebted poor countries and the U.S. share of the multilateral debt reduction for these countries agreed to at the G-7 summit last June. Carlin urged that debt relief not be delayed.
Development and Emergency Assistance
- HIV/AIDS: Funding for HIV/AIDS should be double the Administration's $10 million request, and should be used primarily to care for children orphaned by AIDS.
- Transition from emergencies: Funding for the Office of Transition Initiatives, created to handle the transition and rehabilitation phases following emergencies abroad, should be at least $100 million.
- Micro-enterprise: "Micro-enterprise is a highly cost-effective method to reduce poverty by making small loans,"Carlin said. While the U.S. Agency for International Development is a leader in micro-enterprise, funding has not kept pace, he said, and has not been sufficiently targeted to the poorest of the poor. "Of the $167 million needed this year for micro-enterprise, half should go to programs serving the poorest."
- Inter-American Foundation: The IAF makes small grants for development assistance to subsistence farmers and community-based groups through Latin America. Carlin urged that it be funded at the Administration's request of $20 million.
- Lebanon: A substantial increase over last year's appropriation of $15 million is needed to assist Lebanon rebuild its infrastructure and economy after years of conflict, and to assist with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees currently in Lebanon.
- Population assistance: "Support for coercive population programs leads to violations of human rights," Carlin said. "We believe U.S. funding should be denied to agencies such as the U.N. Population Fund if they support programs using coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization."
Funding for Refugee Protection
Carlin expressed the Bishops' concern that U.S. leadership in the area of refugee protection is in decline. He pointed out that since 1993, the number of refugees admitted to the United States has decline 41 percent at a time when crises around the world "continue to spawn large numbers of refugees who require attention." He said the Administration's $660 million request for the Migration and Refugee Assistance account, which provides funding for overseas assistance and initial resettlement services, is "insufficient to the need." He urged an increase for MRA to $700 million, which should account for the admission of 100,000 refugees next fiscal year compared to the 76,000 the Administration's request could accommodate.
Supporting peace in areas of conflict
"The United States can play a pivotal role in supporting peace in areas of conflict," Carlin said. Citing specific situations in Congo and Colombia, he called for aid that supports the peace process and U.N. peacekeeping efforts. He also said all military aid, which constitutes over half of all U.S. foreign aid, "must be carefully monitored and conditioned on well-established human rights criteria."

In conclusion, Carlin urged the members of the subcommittee to make humanitarian and development issues a higher priority in U.S. foreign policy.

"We can assure you today that the legislation you are considering will make a dramatic difference in the ability of faith-based organizations to help a world of ever expanding human need," he said.