“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’” Luke 10:25-28 

The Episcopal Church has a long history of supporting international humanitarian and development assistance, calling for investments in health, education, and sanitation, as well as support for democracy, transparency, and the rule of law. We have committed to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and the previous global initiative, the Millennium Development Goals. It is with this long history and strong partnerships across the Anglican Communion that we express alarm at the changes made to the U.S. Agency for International Development. These changes, including a pause in funding and staff cuts, have impacted expert staff at the forefront of national interests as well as put longstanding and successful programs at risk. Abruptly cutting off vital humanitarian and development assistance is not in the best interest of the United States, nor does it align with the Gospel values that Jesus has taught us and for which our church advocates.  

Our church does not have a stance on bureaucratic structures; we do, however, have a commitment to loving our neighbor as ourselves. We also stand by our commitment to promoting democratic values, good governance, and human rights that reinforce the rights of all people around the world.  The human family is no less connected because of distance and circumstance. Foreign assistance is less than 1% of the federal budget, and yet we know that investment saves lives.  As Christians we must speak up for continued investments that help alleviate suffering and create conditions where humans and their environments can flourish. 

We call upon our leaders to find “the balance between legitimate military security needs and poverty alleviation programs.” We urge the Trump administration and Congress to continue investments in humanitarian and development assistance, to continue to pursue sustainable development initiatives that depend on U.S. commitments, and in particular to not risk losing momentum in areas where so much progress has been made, like disease prevention, global health, food security, and disaster preparedness.