Compared to other federal departments, USAID’s share of the budget is a sliver. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. allocated $916 billion for defense, or 3.4% of gross domestic product. The Defense Department requested $849.8 billion for fiscal year 2025. Compare this to over a nine-year period (from the 2013 to 2022 fiscal years), when Catholic Relief Services received $4.6 billion in funding from USAID, primarily for disaster assistance.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the top recipient of funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has continued to target USAID with a spending freeze, office closures and extensive staff cuts. These cuts to USAID will be devastating to CRS.
If you are interested in supporting CRS’s advocacy and humanitarian efforts, contact Linda Gall to learn more about the work of our State College CRS Chapter.