WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 Hope Through Healing Hands and the ONE Campaign will host 10 Christian artists, pastors, and other faith leaders in Washington, D.C., on May 17 to conduct meetings with members of Congress and their staff and share their concerns about the devastating effects that could result from President Trump\u2019s severe proposed budget cuts to foreign assistance. Participants in this \u201cChristian Influencers Advocacy Day,\u201d include artists Jennifer Nettles, Steve Taylor, Matt Maher, Dan Haseltine and Brandon Heath, and Pastors Bob Griffith, Brandon Tubbs and Josh Rouse.<\/p>\n
These Christian influencers are the latest to join the drumbeat of calls to Congress to protect the international affairs budget. In February, more than 120 retired generals signed a letter warning that cuts to foreign assistance, even while increasing military spending, would not make the country safer. In March, over 100 Christian pastors, leaders, and artists signed a letter to Congress asking them to oppose the proposed cuts as their moral responsibility. Signatories included Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, both of whom prayed at the president\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n
That foreign aid helps ensure our national security while also protecting the most vulnerable populations is one of the arguments the leaders will make with congressional representatives on \u201cChristian Influencers Day,\u201d in hopes of preserving foreign assistance funding at FY17 levels. They will use similar language as that sent to President Trump in this recent letter from faith leaders:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can protect the lives of mothers and children, we can intervene not just to save lives but to establish a foundation of health and wellness to uplift communities, societies, and nations out of extreme poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond our calling to care for the world\u2019s poorest as a moral or economic commitment, this is also in the best interest of our national security. We know that development is a critical prevention tool that protects nations from becoming fragile and failed states that are ripe breeding grounds for violent extremism and terrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting foreign assistance isn\u2019t just the right thing to do, it\u2019s the smart thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, the letter from a group spearheaded by World Vision and sent to Congress, reflected more of these thoughts:<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew 25 tells us when we serve the least of these, we are serving the Lord. As people of faith, we cannot turn our back on those in desperate need. We are grateful for America\u2019s global development and diplomacy programs that have been instrumental in saving lives, safeguarding religious liberties, and keeping America safe and secure. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have strong legacies of supporting humanitarian and development programs that enable countless people to pull themselves out of poverty and live life with dignity. It is through these diplomatic and development tools that we\u2019ve seen countries and communities build peaceful, productive societies that do not turn to violence or terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than 50 percent of Americans still believe that our foreign assistance amounts to 25 percent of the U.S. budget. In actuality, it is less than one percent,\u201d said Jenny Dyer, Ph.D., Executive Director of HTHH. \u201cIf Congress accepts President Trump\u2019s 28% cut to foreign assistance, the historic progress we have led over the past twenty-five years to halve poverty, preventable, treatable diseases, and the deaths of mothers and children will halt. The world will become less safe at home and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Hart, the ONE\u2019s North America Executive Director echoed Dyer. \u201cOur foreign assistance programs are among the few places in the government where funding translates to lives saved. Cutting foreign aid would put in jeopardy those who depend on life-saving assistance like anti-retroviral medicines for HIV\/AIDS, food assistance for those in famine, bed nets for those fighting malaria, and anti-corruption measures. These programs have had strong bipartisan support for generations and we’re going up to the Hill to ensure it stays that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 Hope Through Healing Hands and the ONE Campaign will host 10 Christian artists, pastors, and other faith leaders in Washington, D.C., on May 17 to conduct meetings with members of Congress and their staff and share their concerns about the devastating effects that could result from President Trump\u2019s severe proposed budget cuts to foreign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"contributor":[],"class_list":["post-136625","one_press","type-one_press","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n