WHY YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS ALERT: Congress has returned to Washington after the August recess and it is time to resume our fight to ensure that critical foreign assistance programs are properly authorized and adequately funded in FY04. USCCB and CRS are collaborating with Bread for the World on a national call-in to elected officials this week, September 8-12, to bring attention to this very important issue.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Please call the President and your Senators this week and ask that they take the necessary action to authorize and adequately fund critical international relief and development programs.

BACKGROUND: For months you have joined us to advocate for a minimum of $18.8 billion to fund the FY04 Foreign Operations Appopriations bill so that essential ongoing relief and development programs are adequately funded (see the 9/3/03 letter from Bishop Ricard to the Senate, www.usccb.org/sdwp). Later this month, the full Senate is expected to consider its version of the foreign aid bill, which currently contains only $18.1 billion. In addition, the Senate bill falls $1 billion short of the President’s stated commitment for the fight against Global AIDS, TB and Malaria, and $300 million short of his promise for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).

Also, the Senate has not yet authorized the MCA, which is contained in S. 925, the State Department FY 2004 Authorization bill. Failure to pass such legislation may mean that MCA funds will not be appropriated with key principles necessary for effective development (see the 6/6/03 USCCB/CRS letter to the House International Relations Committee, www.usccb.org/sdwp).

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Please call and urge the President and your Senators to work together to:

1. Appropriate a minimum of $18.8 billion for FY04 Foreign Operations Appropriations, including:
   • $3 billion for morally appropriate programs to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases;
   • $1.3 billion for the MCA
   • $927 million for the MRA account and $50 million for the ERMA account to assist migrants and refugees
2. Ensure that the above funding is additional to (not in substitution for) existing funding for child survival and other core development assistance accounts; and
3. Retain the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten appropriations rider.

1. Limiting eligibility for the MCA to the world’s poorest countries;
2. Establishing a strong “second tier” of eligible countries in order to ensure that MCA eligibility is not limited to an unduly small number of the poorest countries; and
3. Authorizing at least $1.3 billion for the MCA for FY04 (in addition to funding for core development accounts).

• To contact the President: Call the White House (202) 456-1414.
• To contact the Senate: Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free, 1-800-826-3688, and ask to be connected to your Senators’ offices. Then ask to speak to the Senator’s Chief of Staff. If you do not know who your Senator is, please contact us at 1-800-235-2772 x 7462 or visit our website www.catholicrelief.org/actioncenter.cfm to do a simple zip code search.

Email us at sdwpmail@usccb.org
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