Yesterday a team of ONE members, interns and staff delivered our Upgrade Aid petition with more than 45,000 signatures from ONE members across the country.

We were well-received in every office we visited, reflecting the bipartisan nature of the bill we support: S.1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act. This bill will give USAID, the agency handling most of our U.S. foreign aid, the tools and people it needs to better fight hunger and poverty around the world.

After repeated delays due to lack of sufficient grassroots support, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is now on-track and scheduled to discuss and mark up S.1524 next Tuesday, November 10. The fact that the Senate is making time for this bill now, despite Capitol Hill’s preoccupation with healthcare and other domestic concerns, is a big win for our movement and proof that when we come together, we can influence our legislators and really make a difference.

Your phone calls and signatures on this petition told our senators loudly and clearly that Americans care about the quality of our foreign aid. That was a message they really needed to hear. We may still have a fight to see this bill and other critical components of aid reform enacted. But better, smarter, stronger U.S. foreign aid is on the horizon — thanks in part to the ripple effects yesterday’s petition delivery is bound to have on the Senate and beyond.

Keep watching the ONE Blog for an update after the mark up on Tuesday.