This week, Congress approved the federal budget for 2020. You may have heard about it because, by approving the budget now, they avoided a government shutdown. But what you might NOT have heard is that the budget included a slight increase to the foreign assistance budget!
All year, you’ve been advocating to Congress alongside World Vision about the power of foreign assistance to save lives and help children around the world access the safety, health, and opportunities they need to thrive. Your voices were heard on Capitol Hill! Thank you so much for standing up, speaking out, and doing as God calls each one of us: “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9)
Now, while this is definitely a victory for children and families in extreme poverty around the world, the fight against poverty isn’t over. While Congress approving a small increase to foreign assistance is an encouraging bipartisan rejection of the White House’s suggested 24% cut to development and diplomacy programs, we know that the funding is not keeping pace with today’s growing global challenges. Conflict and violence currently drive 80 percent of humanitarian needs – and those issues aren’t going away.
In short, our advocacy for smart, compassionate foreign assistance programs and the funding to keep them going will continue in 2020! But for now, let’s celebrate. Thank you again for truly embodying 1 Timothy 6:18 when you email, call, or meet with your members of Congress by reminding them to “do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
Next: 10 things you didn’t know about foreign assistance.
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Top photo: Children in Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. (©2019 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren)