The $60 billion in spending cuts for the current fiscal year passed by the House last week impact global relief and development, and "human lives hang in the balance," according to Lutheran World Relief.

“At less than one percent of the total national budget, global development assistance is one of the best investments our country can make," said LWR President and CEO John Nunes in a letter to U.S. Lutherans.

“It is incredible to imagine that in response to the next humanitarian crisis, the next Haiti or Darfur, that our country might simply fail to show up,” says LWR Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Annalise Romoser.  “But that is precisely what could happen if this bill (H.R. 1) becomes law.”

The budget cuts passed by the House last week cut global disaster aid by 67%, global refugee assistance by 45% and emergency food aid by 41%, according to Lutheran World Relief. Ironically, in addition to life threatening cuts to disaster relief programs, the bill could effectively eliminate U.S. assistance to help farmers in the developing world grow more of their own food, thus making already vulnerable communities more susceptible to food shortages and more reliant on emergency food aid.

• Read LWR's full release.