On Friday, ONE member Keith Spano traveled to Peterborough, NH, to see Gov. Richardson. Keith has been a ONE member for a while and always makes sure to call Congress during ONE action alerts.
In a black ONE Vote ’08 shirt and white ONE band, Keith made sure Gov. Richardson saw him and recognized his shirt.
All over New Hampshire, and across America – ONE members are taking to the campaign trail to make sure the bottom billion people in the world are not forgotten in the 2008 presidential campaign. ONE Vote ’08 will ensure that the next President of the United States is a global leader in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa.
This is an abridge legislative update — it is August recess after all.
The Farm Bill – The U.S. Congress has an unique moment to reform the Farm Bill this year to help small farmers in America and in developing countries.
Updates:
- Last week, Speaker Pelosi said on camera that she has “always wanted” a tougher limit on farm subsidies (a payment limit so wealthy farmers don’t continue to receive a government check) than the one included in the House-passed farm bill.
- The Senate Farm Bill will likely to be marked-up in committee during the third week of September and the Senate’s support for a tougher payment limit is growing – Obama, Durbin, Brown, Dorgan, Grassley have all come out publicly supporting a stronger cap.
The Millennium Challenge Account – A U.S. government program that rewards countries that do right by their citizens through long-term, larger than typical grants. Beyond working as an incentive against corruption, the process is additionally unique because it is transparent and citizen led.
Update:
-The list of signatories is growing. Republicans: Senators John Sununu, Norm Coleman, Johnny Isakson, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Gordon Smith, Richard Burr, John Warner and David Vitter. Democrats: Senators Christopher Dodd, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman and Sheldon Whitehouse
Sen. Hillary Clinton was in New Hampshire yesterday so ONE Vote ’08 caught up with her at a small local bookstore in Warner, NH.
Because there were so many people that showed up to see Hillary, we set up behind the lines so when Hillary came out she would definitely hear from ONE members. We waited patiently and noticed that Hillary was traveling with her NH campaign co-chairs, Judge Bill Shaheen, and NH Speaker of the House Terie Norelli – both have pledged their support as NH ONE Ambassadors.
When Hillary came out of the bookstore there was a mad rush of people to speak with her and shake hands. I could not get close to the senator but ONE member Lindsay, decked out in her ONE Vote ’08 shirt, was able to thank her for the Education for All Act that she introduced with Sen. Smith, and if passed EFA would help enroll millions of children in the developing world into basic primary education.
Hillary immediately lit up to Lindsay’s comment, thanked her and told the crowd how the EFA is one of her top priorities. Hillary then looked around and I was able to stand on my tip toes and give her the thumbs up and thank her for her efforts on behalf of the bottom billion in the world. Hillary thanked me and all of the members of the ONE Campaign for our efforts.
By staying informed with the ONE Campaign, we have the ability to articulate the change we want to see in the world. From Sammi in Seattle, WA – to Lindsay in NH, and all of the ONE members across the nation – we can use our voice to make sure our country is doing all we can to help end the suffering of millions of people around the world, and finally make poverty history.
The volunteers in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin are at it again! The latest issue of the ONEwsletter for the Midwest, finished earlier this month, features an article on the Farm Bill; ideas on speaking with your children on the issues of extreme poverty; tips for your ONE group; an introduction to ONE VOTE ’08; as well as stories about what volunteers have been doing throughout the region.
Years ago, I lost my newborn son to an infection for want of a readily available antibiotic. No child should suffer this fate. Yet, every year, nearly 10 million children under the age of 5 die from completely preventable causes.
It doesn’t have to be like this. We have the power to save these children’s lives.
There is a bill in Congress right now that would provide some of the much needed money to save these children, but it’s currently at a standstill. In order to move, the bill desperately needs the political support that ONE members like you and me can bring to bear.
These children die from a variety of causes, from pneumonia to malnutrition and diarrhea. For us, diarrhea is a nuisance. For a child in the developing world, it is a death sentence. In 2007 it is estimated that 1.8 million children will die from dehydration due to diarrhea. In many cases, all that it takes to re-hydrate these children to save their lives is a handful of sugar, a bottle of clean water, and a pinch of salt.
Sadly, there is one more ingredient needed to save these children: the will to do it. The Global Child Survival Act is an expression of that will. It would dramatically scale up funding for effective and affordable child and maternal health programs and it would require the government to develop a comprehensive plan for improving children’s health around the world.
Right now while Congress is in recess, some of us have been going on lobbying visits to our local congressional offices, and talking about the Global Child Survival Act. That’s been a great step forward, but we all can do more. If you send a message now, you’ll drive home the message we have been delivering in person, so that when Congress reconvenes in September, the Global Child Survival Act will be high on the list of priorities.
Thank you. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.
Today in Spartanburg, SC, Republican Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee referred to the ONE Campaign as being rooted in a “true sense of humanitarianism”. His campaign staff, which includes his daughter, Sarah Huckabee, was very helpful in ensuring that the ONE Campaign had an opportunity to hear directly the thoughts of Governor Huckabee towards the cause and the Campaign.
We asked the governor two questions.
The first question we asked was whether or not he believed that the United States has the responsibility to lead in the fight against extreme global poverty and AIDS, TB, and Malaria. His response was excellent. It strongly echoed one of the United Nations MDGs in that he realizes we need to “keep money out of the hands of corrupt governments to ensure that the people receive the aid”.
Next we asked Governor Huckabee about the ONE Campaign in general, “Out of all of the special interest campaigns, why the ONE Campaign?” He answered that the ONE Campaign is “unique because it is not rooted in politics and is based on a true sense of humanitarianism”.
We were extremely thankful for all of his time and support and we look forward to meeting with him again in the near future.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
