Morning Briefing

"Washington is in an era of budget-cutting, so we frequently hear calls to shrink or eliminate U.S. foreign-assistance programs," which is why "several religious groups ... are highlighting how these programs reduce global poverty and hunger, saving millions of lives," Richard Stearns, president of World Vision USA, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. However, he says "evangelical Christians [are] largely absent from this religious coalition" and notes that "a Pew survey earlier this year found that 56 percent of evangelicals think 'aid to the world's poor' should be the first thing cut from the federal budget."