Home Press Room

President’s Budget Request Cuts Vital Funding for Refugees

New York, NY

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children is deeply concerned about proposed cuts in critical humanitarian assistance programs, including funding for refugees, in President Bush’s FY 08 federal budget request.

"With the growing Iraqi refugee crisis, continued instability in Sudan, and ongoing needs in other countries in Africa and Asia, this is no time to make cuts in programs that provide life-saving assistance to people displaced by conflict,” said Women’s Commission Executive Director Carolyn Makinson. “Eighty percent of the displaced are women and children, and they are often the most at risk of violence and abuse. Cutting funding to programs that help these women and children will increase their vulnerability and further reduce their already limited access to quality health care, education, and other basic services.”

The Women’s Commission is particularly concerned about the proposed reductions in the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) program and the International Disaster and Famine Assistance (IDFA) program which provide vital assistance to refugees and to people displaced within their own country due to conflict. The proposed 2008 budget request for MRA is $66 million less than the 2007 request. For IDFA, the President’s 2008 request is $52 million less than the 2007 request.

The Women's Commission welcomes the increase in funding for HIV/AIDS programs, but is alarmed by the proposed reductions in funding for the U.S. government’s international family planning and reproductive health programs. These programs are key to saving women’s lives and protecting their safety and well-being, particularly during conflict, where rape and other forms of abuse are prevalent.

"The U.S. has a strong tradition of humanitarian support for people whose lives have been devastated by conflict," said Makinson. "We will urge Congress to continue that tradition by restoring funding for refugee and other assistance programs that represent a true lifeline for the most vulnerable.”