Letter
Joint Letter to Senate on FY2018 Agriculture Appropriations. July 18, 2017
Joint Letter to Senate on FY2018 Agriculture Appropriations signed by Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Oscar Cantu, Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace, Sr. Donna Markham, President & CEO, Catholic Charities USA, Mr. Sean Callahan, President, Catholic Relief Services, and Mr. James Ennis, Executive Director, National Catholic Rural Life, July 18, 2017
"On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development and International Justice and Peace, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Rural Life, we wish to address the moral and human dimensions of FY 2018 Agriculture Appropriations. The nation’s priorities must include robust funding for both domestic and international food aid, conservation and rural development programs, and resist harmful cuts. Many of these program areas have already been subject to reductions over time. Further cuts would be detrimental to vulnerable people and communities.
In For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food, the U.S. bishops wrote, “The primary goals of agricultural policies should be providing food for all people and reducing poverty among farmers and farm workers in this country and abroad.” Adequate nutrition is essential to protect human life and dignity. We must also promote good stewardship of the land and natural resources. In our soup kitchens and parish food pantries, we see the faces of poor and hungry people every day both domestically and internationally. As a faith community, we feed those without work, pregnant women and children, and seniors on limited incomes across the globe. With more than over 42 million (1 in 7) living in food insecure households in the U.S. alone, our nation must prioritize programs that assist poor and hungry people and promote good stewardship."