Leaders of faith support justice—and the fight to end slavery.
On May 23, 2017, the Trump Administration released its 2018 budget, which included a 29% proposed cut to the State Department and other international programs. That's why IJM and leaders in the faith community have signed a letter to Congress, urging our elected officials to protect these life-saving programs as they craft the budget for 2018.
This is a critical moment for Congress to hear from constituents who believe that the richest country in the world can and should spend one percent of its budget (or more) on protecting “the least of these” from unnecessary suffering and injustice.
Below is the text of the letter and the list of signatories.
Dear House and Senate Appropriators: We write to express our concern about large proposed cuts in the United States’ foreign aid budget. We respectfully urge you to maintain humanitarian programs that free slaves, feed the hungry, ensure child survival and provide shelter to those fleeing war and oppression. American Christians contribute generously to such causes at home and abroad. We ask that our government continue to reflect these core American values of courage and generosity by doing the same. Though the U.S. foreign aid program constitutes less than one percent of the federal budget, it has contributed to enormous anti-poverty gains over the past fifteen years. Thanks to U.S. foreign assistance, the world has seen huge gains in disease prevention, care and treatment, inoculation of children, girls’ education, nutrition and rule of law. Last year, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to create the “End Modern Slavery Initiative,” a foundation that will receive public and private funding to free and restore slaves and bring perpetrators to justice. If Congress enacts large cuts in foreign assistance programs, we are deeply concerned that the EMSI and other vitally important humanitarian efforts will be eroded. We respectfully ask that foreign assistance be funded at 2016 levels. Thank you for your consideration. | ||
| Gary Haugen | Founder & CEO | International Justice Mission |
| Rev. John Baumann, S.J. | Founder & Director of Special Projects | PICO Network |
| Dudley Rutherford | Senior Pastor | Shepherd Church (Los Angeles) |
| Mark Labberton | President | Fuller Theological Seminary |
| Francis Chan | Pastor, Author & Speaker | We Are Church/Crazy Love Ministries |
| Rev. Thomas Massaro, S.J. | Professor of Moral Theology | Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University |
| Dr. Joel Hunter | Senior Pastor | Northland: A Church Distributed / PastorJoelHunter.com |
| Andy Crouch | Author & Speaker | |
| Eugene Cho | Founder & Lead Pastor / Founder & Executive Director | Quest Church/Q Cafe |
| Jason Fileta | Executive Director | Micah Challenge |
| Brian McLaren | Author & Activist | BrianMcLaren.net |
| Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff | Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology / Senior Research Fellow—Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture | Yale University/The University of Virginia |
| Lisa Sharon Harper | Author, Activist & Speaker | |
| Nancy Ortberg | CEO | Transforming the Bay for Christ (San Francisco) |
| Rev. Tim Hartman, PhD | Assitant Professor of Theology | Columbia Theological Seminary |
| Kevin Kim | Executive Director/Co-Founder | Crazy Love Ministries/Basil Technologies |
| Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster | Director of Programs | Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights |
Over 300 faith leaders from around the country have added their names to this letter. View the full list of signatories.Add your name to the letter.
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