CV NEWS FEED // Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was the top recipient of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Forbes reported Feb. 3.
According to Forbes, CRS, a nonprofit, received $4.6 billion from 2013 to 2022. Other top recipients include Chemonics International, a for-profit organization that received $4.5 billion; FHI 360, a nonprofit that received $3.8 billion; and Development Alternatives, a for-profit organization that received $3 billion.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the acting director of USAID Feb. 3, as CatholicVote previously reported. The decision came after the agency attempted to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing its financial records.
CRS has been the subject of controversy in the past for supporting pro-abortion aid programs. As CatholicVote reported in 2023, the organization attempted to mislead senators by stating that African bishops were not opposed to an AIDS relief program that would promote abortion. Six African bishops, in fact, signed a letter organized by the conservative advocacy group The Heritage Foundation that opposed the Biden-era President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). CRS then claimed that the bishops did sign the letter but did not understand what they were signing.
“Heritage reached out to the bishops, who said they knew exactly what they were signing,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch said at the time. “A seventh African bishop sent a statement to point out that he wasn’t on the original letter and wanted to be added.”