Government & Politics

WASHINGTON, July 23 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Bread for the World today called for more support from Latino members of Congress for the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 2139). Presently, the bipartisan bill has 83 congressional co-sponsors, including some members of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus.

"Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus can help make a world of difference by supporting a smarter approach to foreign assistance," said Rev. Lee de Leon, Bread for the World board member and president of the Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation in the Los Angeles area. "Latinos from L.A. to Miami are urging our lawmakers to take the first step by cosponsoring H.R. 2139."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Howard Berman (D-CA) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced H.R. 2139 in April. The bill would require President Barack Obama to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy for global development, to improve evaluation of development programs, and to increase the transparency of U.S. foreign assistance to developing countries.

U.S. global development programs are designed to reduce hunger and poverty in poor countries through projects such as agriculture, nutrition, clean water, education, and health care. Despite the fact that such programs account for only one-half of 1 percent of our annual budget, the United States is still the world's largest contributor of development assistance to poor countries.

Currently global development policies and programs are scattered across 12 departments, 25 different agencies, and nearly 60 government offices. U.S. foreign assistance is still largely governed by a law passed in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy.

"The Latino community knows what it means to help our neighbors, whether they live in the next house, the next state, or the next continent," said Rev. de Leon. "Our eyes and hearts are wide open to the hundreds of millions of people who go to bed hungry every night. But we have to use our heads and our voices to help give hardworking people have a chance to feed their families and earn their own way out of poverty."

Bread for the World ( http://www.bread.org ) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

SOURCE Bread for the World