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More Than 100 Christian Leaders Oppose Trump's Foreign Aid Budget Cuts

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Mar 17, 2017

More than 100 top Christian leaders have signed and sent a letter urging Congress and President Trump not to approve drastic cuts to the U.S.’s budget for foreign aid.

The Trump administration released its new budget proposal on Thursday, included in which was a 28 percent cut to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Christian leaders argued that it is America’s responsibility, as a country blessed with resources, to aid countries in need.

“As followers of Christ, it is our moral responsibility to urge you to support and protect the International Affairs Budget, and avoid disproportionate cuts to these vital programs that ensure that our country continues to be the ‘shining city upon a hill,’” the leaders stated.

Some of the leaders who are urging legislators not to cut back on humanitarian aid funding include two men who prayed at Trump’s inauguration: National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Samuel Rodriguez and Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

According to Christianity Today, other leaders include Southern Baptist Convention president Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Christian songwriter/singer Michael W. Smith, HOPE International CEO Peter Greer, and World Vision president Rich Stearns.

“For more than 50 years, World Vision has worked alongside US government partners to address the needs of vulnerable children and families living in poverty around the world,” stated Stearns. “While World Vision proudly raises millions of dollars from the American people each year, government funding enables us to expand our programs and increase their sustainability.”

We risk losing the hard-won progress against poverty, wasting billions of dollars and decades of efforts,” Stearns continued.

 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 17, 2017