Last week you scored a major victory on behalf of the world’s poorest people.

After ONE members placed thousands of calls to Senate offices last week, the Senate unanimously passed the Dodd-Smith amendment restoring $2.2 billion of poverty-fighting funding to the international affairs budget.

Congratulations on this incredible victory. Please take a moment to thank your senators.

By restoring this money, the Senate matched the president’s international affairs budget request which represents a $3.7 billion increase over 2007 levels. This is just the first step in what could be the greatest increase to the international affairs budget in recent history. We still need the House and Senate to agree on a final budget and only then will the appropriations process begin, but this is a critical first step.

The success of this amendment comes on top of a string of great victories for ONE in recent months.

In the closing minutes of the 109th Congress in December, after hundreds of thousands of letters and phone calls, we renewed a special trade benefit within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which saved hundreds of thousands of African apparel jobs.

Then in January, again by e-mailing, faxing, and calling your members of Congress in both the House and Senate, you were able to not only protect $1 billion in poverty-focused development assistance that was at risk, but Congress actually increased the funding to $1.45 billion.

Please take a moment to thank your senator for supporting this amendment to fight extreme poverty and global AIDS.

This string of successes is no accident. Your dedication and hard work has made all of this possible.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your energy. And most of all thank you for uniting as ONE to become a powerful anti-poverty advocacy force. We are saving lives, changing the American political scene, and changing the world.