Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World responded to President Donald J. Trump’s first speech before a joint session of Congress. The following statement can be attributed to Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World:
“President Trump and our new Congress have this week started to slash programs that help hungry people. Their actions don’t square with the lofty rhetoric of the president’s first speech to Congress.
“President Trump promised a better future for all Americans, but the day before his speech he began a process of deep funding cuts to many domestic programs. While the president spoke about making sure that no one is dropped from Medicaid, the House of Representatives is moving forward with plans to cut Medicaid.
“The president promised to create jobs through infrastructure and tax cuts, including tax cuts for the middle class. But Trump has yet to translate his campaign rhetoric on these issues into specific proposals. Fulfilling all the big promises in his speech to Congress will require funding cuts, and the cuts are likely to fall heavily on programs that help struggling Americans.
“President Trump’s speech ended with hopes for a world of justice and peace. Yet he is deporting many immigrants who are living and working peaceably in this country, and the White House just announced that the president wants to cut U.S. assistance to hungry and poor people around the world by 30 percent.
“Bread for the World welcomes President Trump’s new appeal for unity in our badly divided nation. But the president’s newly positive tone is in tension with the cuts that he and Congress are making in programs that help families who are struggling with hunger and poverty.”
Afghanistan would be considered likely to have high rates of hunger because at least two of the major causes of global hunger affect it—armed conflict and fragile governmental institutions.
Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all preventable deaths among children under 5. Every year, the world loses hundreds of thousands of young children and babies to hunger-related causes.
Bread for the World is calling on the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to build a better 1,000-Days infrastructure in the United States.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition.
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.