Chairman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX) exemplified bipartisan leadership in navigating the $48.8 billion State-Foreign Operations bill though the House Appropriations Committee yesterday afternoon. After a few amendments, the bill passed by a near unanimous voice vote demonstrating solid support for live-saving, effective programs.

Over the past few months ONE members across the country contacted Members of Congress on the importance of fighting poverty, and it is clear that ONE has been heard. But no resting on our laurels, there is much, much more to do. The full House will take up the bill after the July 4th holiday, and the Senate Appropriations Committee will begin its work around the same time.

On our key programs, some funding levels are very good, and on others, we need to do more. For global health programs, the House Appropriations Committee provides $7.7 billion, which includes fully funding PEPFAR at $5.259 billion. The global health amount also includes $750 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and there is an additional $300 million in the Labor-Health and Human Services bill for a total of $1.05 billion, but the need is $2 billion, so we have some work to do in boosting the funding for this critical, proven program. Good news is that the bill fully funds the President’s Malaria Initiative at $585 million and the Millennium Challenge Account at $1.4 billion, both huge increases from last year’s levels. There is also positive funding for basic education, child and maternal health, and other development programs.

However, in addition to the Global Fund, there is another area of significant concern, and that is the funding of the President’s Food Security initiative. The President’s request was approximately $1.4 billion, but the bill provides about $1 billion, and we believe most of this cut will be felt by African and Latin American countries. This is a key initiative that will help the world’s poorest countries increase their agricultural productivity, reduce poverty, and provide economic prosperity.

Yesterday’s action marks an important step in the funding process, and also provides us with the opportunity to make a difference going forward.

-Arjun Mody