July 11, 2023

The Honorable Kay Granger Chairwoman House Appropriations Committee 1026 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515	The Honorable Rosa DeLauro Ranking Member House Appropriations Committee 2413 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Mario Diaz-Balart Chairman House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 374 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515	The Honorable Barbara Lee Ranking Member House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 2470 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Granger, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chairman Diaz-Balart, and Ranking Member Lee:

Global Health Council (GHC) is the leading member organization with more than 120 members devoted to advancing global health priorities by uniting advocates, implementers, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

As a community of global health and development advocates, we are deeply concerned with the steep cuts being proposed to the House State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPS) budget at a time when the world is facing concurrent destabilizing events, such as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, further instability and food insecurity caused by the war in Ukraine, and the continuous threat of emerging infectious diseases.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget being proposed by the House Appropriations SFOPS Subcommittee falls woefully short of the resources needed to address these converging crises and severely undercuts critical global health and humanitarian assistance programs, which are a key component of how the U.S. engages with the world. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, these cuts would reverse gains made to combat infectious diseases, including through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), programs to prevent maternal and childhood deaths, and funds to support health workers and global health security.

This bill is a dangerous signal to the rest of the world that the U.S. is ceding leadership on the global stage. Therefore, as FY24 appropriations negotiations progress, GHC, and the undersigned organizations, strongly encourage robust funding for global health and humanitarian assistance programs within the International Affairs (150) account and, at a minimum, support investments for these programs in line with the FY23 enacted levels. Additional funds should come as an increase to the overall topline and not at the expense of any other accounts.

If you have any questions about our recommendations, please feel free to contact the Global Health Council at advocacy@globalhealth.org.

Sincerely,

Abt Associates
Action Against Hunger
Advancing Synergy
AHF Global Public Health Institute
Aidsfonds
American Academy of Pediatrics
Amref Health Africa
American Heart Association
American Jewish World Service
American Leprosy Missions
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
AVAC
Better World Campaign
CARE
Center for Biological Diversity
ChildFund International
Children’s HeartLink
Christian Connections for International Health
CORE Group
Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi)
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Fast-Track Cities Institute
Global Health Council
Global Health Technologies Coalition
Global Justice Center
Global Network of Black People working in HIV
Heartland Alliance International
Health GAP (Global Access Program)
Helen Keller Intl
HIV Medicine Association
Integrate Health
IADR – International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
International Center for Research on Women
International Medical Corps
IntraHealth International
Ipas
JSI
Management Sciences for Health
Marked By Covid
Medical Impact
MPact Global Action
M2M
NCD Alliance
Operation Smile
PAI
Pandemic Action Network
PATH
Pathfinder International
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Policy Cures Research
Population Connection Action Fund
Population Institute
Preventing Pandemics At The Source (PPATS) Secretariat Project HOPE
Public Citizen
RESULTS
RH Impact
RTI International
Save the Children
Shot@Life
Spark Street Advisors
Stop TB USA
Task Force for Global Health
TB Alliance
The END Fund
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
United to Beat Malaria
University of Miami Health Policy Lab
VillageReach
WaterAid America
WI-HER
Women’s Refugee Commission
World Vision