Letter
Letter to Congress on International Assistance Funding for Fiscal Year 2026, June 9, 2025
June 9, 2025
Dear Representative,
On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, Committee on Migration, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), we urge Congress to fund international poverty-reducing humanitarian and development assistance under the jurisdiction of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, in Fiscal Year 2026 to at least the levels indicated in the attached chart.
The Catholic mandate to serve the common good takes on an increased urgency in 2025 as the Church celebrates a Jubilee Year—a Holy Year of grace when we are called to bring hope to our global family. This Jubilee Year coincides with a realignment of U.S. international assistance to ensure that all programs make the U.S. safer, stronger, and more prosperous. As Congress considers how to accomplish these priorities, we welcome the opportunity to share a Catholic, life-affirming vision for U.S. international assistance.
A Catholic vision begins with the foundational understanding that both Church institutions and states have a shared responsibility to promote human life and dignity. Catholics and the Catholic Church have a moral duty to respond to our neighbors in need, whether near or far. This work cannot be left to individuals and the Church alone. Catholic teaching has long asserted that governments must actively pursue the common good, not only for their own citizens, but for all members of our global family. This also means that a Catholic vision for U.S. international assistance rests on strong partnerships between the U.S. government and the U.S. Catholic Church.
An effective, life-affirming approach to international assistance should exemplify three core principles: inherent human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity:
- A commitment to inherent human dignity means investing in lifesaving responses, such as emergency food assistance that keeps families from resorting to early child marriage, recruitment by gangs, and forced migration. It also means investing in development programs that help farmers increase yields, communities improve their potable water infrastructure, and children receive a basic education.
- A commitment to solidarity means investing in programs that are grounded in authentic partnerships with civil society, governments, and the private sector. In Ethiopia, for example, CRS’s U.S.-funded poverty-reduction programming aligns with the existing national safety net and public works program.
- A commitment to subsidiarity means investing in local community organizations that sit closest to a challenge, with the recognition that they best understand how to address it. For example, CRS’ efforts to support Church partners across Latin America have enabled 24 faith-based organizations to take responsibility and leadership for disaster response in their countries. Efforts to promote subsidiarity strengthen local communities and thus mitigate the need to migrate.
Given the vision for international aid that Catholic teaching provides, we urge Congress to prioritize the following in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations:
- Reinforce humanitarian response capacities: We ask Congress for a robust allocation to the International Disaster Assistance account, which provides aid to families in emergencies, stems instability, and protects the dignity of our brothers and sisters living amid conflicts and natural disasters. We also ask Congress to prioritize the Migration and Refugee Assistance account, which supports displaced individuals and helps them return home or settle in safer locations, while decreasing the drivers of irregular migration.
- Invest in development programming and poverty reduction:The Development Assistance account and the Economic Support Fund promote self-reliance through long-term improvements in food security, water security, literacy, and care for creation. We urge Congress to further advance shared prosperity with contributions to the World Bank’s International Development Association, which provides financing to low-income countries that are experiencing high debt burdens and cannot invest in growth. The international debt crisis seriously constrains development in many countries.
- Build on the legacy of U.S. global health programs: Funding for the Global Health Programs account supports some of the most successful foreign policy programs in U.S. history, including PEPFAR, as well as efforts to eliminate infectious diseases before they reach our shores. The Catholic Church has principled concerns about certain health activities inconsistent with Catholic teaching, including artificial family planning. We have long advocated for maintaining the Helms Amendment and all related pro-life riders as well as supported the inclusion of the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy in the SFOPS/NSRP bill. The USCCB will oppose any bill that expands taxpayer funding of abortion, including any appropriations bill. Nevertheless, we support strong funding for morally-appropriate Global Health Programs given the scale at which they advance the dignity and well-being of our collective family, including Americans.
- Fund mechanisms that bolster the private sector and strengthen government institutions: In line with the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, international assistance goes further when it is complemented by a thriving private sector and strong government institutions. We ask Congress to robustly fund the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which promotes private investment in low-income countries, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which incentivizes good governance while partnering with countries to address critical infrastructure needs. Congress must ensure improved coordination with other U.S. humanitarian and development assistance and leverage these agencies to create supportive environments for the most vulnerable families.
Ensure mechanisms to translate funds into effective programs: Congress should see to it that any U.S. agencies managing international assistance have technical expertise, and the operational capacity to deliver timely assistance.
As members discern FY26 spending priorities, we ask Congress to keep human dignity front and center. We thank Congress for its steadfast commitment to a stronger America and a more peaceful world.
Sincerely,
The Most Reverend A. Elias Zaidan
Chairman
Committee on International Justice and Peace
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz
Chairman
Committee on Migration
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Sean Callahan
President and CEO
Catholic Relief Services
USCCB-CRS Letter on Foreign Assistance Sent to House of Representatives, June 9, 2025.pdf