Media CenterCRS Applauds Senate's $10 Billion Humanitarian Aid Inclusion in Recent Supplemental Package

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Kim Pozniak
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
571-263-1193

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, Feb. 7, 2024 – Bill O’Keefe, executive vice president for Mission, Mobilization and Advocacy at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international aid agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, issued the following statement about the inclusion of $10 billion in humanitarian assistance in the Senate’s recent supplemental package.

“We applaud the inclusion of $10 billion in humanitarian aid in the Senate’s supplemental package. We, as people of faith, cannot neglect the cries of countless families impacted by conflict, hunger and displacement. Basic resources – food, shelter and clean water – would breathe life into millions of our sisters and brothers suffering from compounding crises. Urgent funding, action and leadership by the United States government is necessary to prevent despair and foster peace from Sudan to Ukraine, and from Central America to Gaza.

While we support the life-saving assistance included in the package, we share the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ concerns about provisions that restrict access to asylum and curtail due process, as articulated in a recent letter.

People worldwide deserve safety, opportunity and dignity. We look forward to protecting these tenets and engaging with Congress in a bipartisan manner as they debate the various provisions in this bill.”

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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