Interaction Letter To House Re Fy09 Cr 8sept08

September 8, 2008 President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington Chair Charles MacCormack, Save the Children Vice Chair Ritu Sharma Fox, Women Thrive Worldwide Treasurer Amy Coen, Population Action International

Board of Directors Nancy A. Aossey, International Medical Corps Kenneth Bacon, Refugees International David Beckmann, Bread for the World Carol Bellamy, World Learning Sekyu Chang, Korean American Sharing Movement Julius Coles, Africare Helene D. Gayle , CARE USA Anne Lynam Goddard, Christian Children’s Fund Lee H. Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps Elizabeth Lathem, US Committee for UNDP Lelei Lelaulu, Counterpart International Jo Luck, Heifer International John McCullough, Church World Service Stephen F. Moseley, Academy for Educational Development Daniel E. Pellegrom, Pathfinder International Linda Pfeiffer, INMED Robert Radtke, Episcopal Relief and Development Yolonda C. Richardson, Centre for Development and Population Activities George Rupp, International Rescue Committee Zainab Salbi, Women for Women International Ron Sconyers, Physicians for Peace Kathy Spahn, Helen Keller International Richard Stearns, World Vision Tsehaye Teferra, Ethiopian Community Development Council Sam Worthington (Ex-Officio)

1400 16th St., NW Suite 210 Washington, DC 20036 PHONE: (202) 667-8227 FAX: (202) 667-8236 E-MAIL: [email protected] http://www.interaction.org

Dear Chairman Obey, Ranking Member Lewis, Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Wolf, On behalf of the 170 InterAction member organizations working around the world to fight global poverty and provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, I am writing to urge you to approve the highest possible level of funding for humanitarian and development programs in the FY 2009 continuing resolution, taking account of both regular and emergency FY 2008 appropriations. We remain very grateful for the strong support Congress gave humanitarian and development programs during the FY 2008 appropriations process and appreciate your leadership on these issues. As you craft the FY 2009 continuing resolution, we respectfully request that you continue this strong support by acting to ensure that, if FY 2008 levels are part of the funding formula in the CR, the total FY 2008 appropriations, including emergency funds, serve as the base funding levels. Among humanitarian and development accounts, International Disaster Assistance, Migration and Refugee Assistance, Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance, Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities, Peacekeeping Operations and Global Health received emergency funding. Particularly for the humanitarian accounts, this approach would help ease the pressures that have arisen from the reliance on supplementals to fund ongoing programs and core operations—an irregular process that results in disrupted programs, costly inefficiencies such as having to let go and then rehire staff, and diminished credibility with the people we serve. Even worse, disruptions can harm the world’s most vulnerable people. We cannot go back in time and retroactively provide safe deliveries of babies, inoculations, food and other services that often mean the difference between life and death. Our request for the humanitarian accounts is based on current humanitarian needs. The number of refugees and internally displaced persons has been on the rise. With the flare-up of tensions in Georgia, the continued uncertainty of the Iraq crisis and deteriorating conditions in a number of other countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan, it is clear that funding requirements for basic protection and essential lifesaving services will only increase in FY 2009. Increasing costs of food, energy and transportation are reducing the amounts of essential commodities available for displaced populations and driving up operational costs. This makes it all the more urgent to ensure that base funding levels in the

continuing resolution reflect at least total FY 2008 levels. An accurate baseline is obviously important for the development accounts as well. The programs those accounts fund underpin and help reduce the need for emergency programs in the future. Our members thank you again for all your efforts to ensure sufficient funding for humanitarian and development assistance and look forward to working with you to continue U.S. leadership in protecting the world’s most vulnerable people. Sincerely yours,

Samuel A. Worthington President and CEO InterAction CC: Speaker Nancy Pelosi Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Minority Leader John Boehner