Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., has criticized recent funding legislation passed by the U.S. House, describing it as “inconsistent with American values and interests” due to significant cuts to humanitarian funding.

The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025—approved by the House on June 28 with a 212-200 vote—reflects Republicans’ commitment to reducing overall expenditure. The bill represents a reduction of approximately $7.6 billion compared to its previous version.

The legislation allocates $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel amid its conflict with Hamas and includes funds aimed at countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region and addressing illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. However, it also entails cuts to various programs, including some environmental and humanitarian efforts.

Bill O’Keefe, executive vice president for Mission, Mobilization, and Advocacy at CRS, expressed disappointment over the allocation provided to the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee for Fiscal Year 2025. In a statement released on July 1, he noted that “the steep cuts to life-saving foreign assistance in the House-passed bill...would have dire consequences for millions of families facing hunger, humanitarian crises and infectious diseases.”

O’Keefe further criticized the bill's lack of investment in climate adaptation initiatives despite their moral, economic, and security benefits. He stated that severe weather shocks such as droughts, flooding, and extreme heatwaves have significantly impacted self-sufficiency and food production globally.

While acknowledging "the strong funding levels approved for a select few accounts such as nutrition and malaria," O’Keefe emphasized that deprioritizing overall humanitarian and development funding contradicts American values and interests. He called for serious efforts from the U.S. in combating global poverty through effective foreign assistance programs.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, defended the legislation stating it builds on policy achievements from Fiscal Year 2024 while safeguarding taxpayer dollars. He highlighted a 19% reduction from the President’s Budget proposal and an 11% cut from Fiscal Year 2024 enacted levels as victories.

Diaz-Balart asserted that this legislation reestablishes American leadership weakened under previous administration policies by supporting allies like Israel and Taiwan while countering adversaries such as China, Iran, Cuba, Hamas, Hezbollah among others.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized House Republicans' approach before its passage on June 18. He argued that proposed budget cuts undermine strategic foreign policy objectives by slashing staffing and programming at foreign affairs agencies like USAID.

In April earlier this year, both CRS along with U.S bishops urged Congress members to safeguard peacebuilding initiatives within this budget framework emphasizing human dignity protection impacts upon vulnerable populations alongside advancing common good principles echoing Pope Francis's January message stressing moral responsibilities against poverty towards holistic global development fostering peaceful coexistence among nations.