Aug 22nd, 2011 12:45 PM UTC
By JD Bryant
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A couple of weeks ago, five ONE members let Illinois’ junior senator know that his constituents care about smart and effective programs that are helping people fight disease and lift themselves out of poverty. I had the privilege of visiting Senator Mark Kirk’s Chicago office with some of ONE’s most passionate and knowledgeable volunteers in the city: Kofi Aluka, Susan Eloy de Vitale, Tom McElligott and Richard Smiley.
The five of us met with Matt Abbott, Senator Kirk’s director of global and economic affairs. Matt, having just traveled to the Horn of Africa, understood our urgent push to let world leaders know they need to close the funding gap for aid and keep their long-term promises to the region.
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May 27th, 2011 2:46 PM UTC
By JD Bryant
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 On Wednesday I had the honor of joining ONE’s Great Lakes Regional Field Director, J.D. Bryant, at a meeting at the office of Senator Dick Durbin in Chicago. At our meeting with Senator Durbin’s aide Maria McElwain, we thanked the Senator on behold of more than 70,000 ONE members in Illinois. The focus of our meeting was to ask Senator Durbin to sign a letter to USAID Administrator Raj Shah, requesting that the U.S. pledge $450M over three years to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) at the upcoming pledging conference on June 13th, 2011. As someone with a background in international development, Ms. McElwain had some great questions for us.
We presented the Senator 25 handwritten thank-you cards from Illinoisans for his leadership on funding for programs that help the world’s poorest people, including the Global Fund and PEPFAR, along with a ONE poster with the following acknowledgement: “Senator Durbin: Thank you so much for protecting critical life-saving programs in the 2011 budget. Thanks to you, America will continue to save millions of people from extreme poverty and preventable disease, and help African farmers to feed their nations.”
As a ONE team member in the Great Lakes Region, this meeting was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the staff of a Senator with such extensive foreign relations experience. I look forward to the continued collaboration with Senator Durbin and his legislative team on the important issues that ONE is addressing now and in the coming years.
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May 11th, 2011 11:02 AM UTC
By JD Bryant
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On Friday, former Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe came to Northwestern University. The 8th Congressional District of Arizona’s former congressman spoke to Northwestern’s Political Union, a community of students interested in global affairs that hosts weekly informal debates. We were excited to bring the former congressman, a fellow Wildcat himself, to a lively discussion about American leadership in foreign aid and international development. Mr. Kolbe reminded us all why we should bother caring about the world’s poorest people even as we tend to our own fiscal house.
Mr. Kolbe speaks to members of Northwestern University’s Political Union
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Apr 27th, 2011 5:05 PM UTC
By JD Bryant
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On Tuesday, ONE volunteer Trevor Wiles and I headed to Kenosha, Wisconsin to attend one of Rep. Paul Ryan’s town hall meetings.
After the town hall event, Trevor and I were able to meet the Congressman. He immediately recognized our ONE gear and was happy to see us at yet another one of his events! Afterward, we spoke with two members of Rep. Ryan’s staff and asked them to carry on the great work for the world’s poorest people that was championed in the past by people like Sen. John Sununu and Gov. John Kasich. We also implored them to urge the congressman not to attempt to balance the budget on the backs of the world’s poorest people.
Finally, Trevor and I reminded Rep. Ryan’s staff of the fact that foreign aid accounts for less than one percent of the federal budget — something the congressman himself has said publicly time and again. We reiterated that with such a small fraction of our budget, we can do a world of good — including saving 4 million kids’ lives by 2015 with effective vaccines. Speak out now to let our leaders know that you support funding for two new vaccines that will prevent two of the deadliest killers of children, pneumonia and diarrhea.
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Apr 20th, 2011 1:29 PM UTC
By JD Bryant
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On Monday, ONE volunteer Matthew Lowe and I headed to Mukwonago, Wisconsin to catch up with Rep. Paul Ryan at a town hall meeting. At the end of his presentation, Rep. Ryan fielded a question on foreign aid and its impact on the federal budget. The question was essentially, “Why bother?” and “Why should this country keep spending money on foreign aid?”
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Mar 30th, 2011 12:23 PM UTC
By JD Bryant
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On Saturday, nine of my fellow ONE members and I attended a town hall meeting with Senator Mark Kirk and Rep. Adam Kinzinger in Normal, Illinois. Sen. Kirk and Rep. Kinzinger spoke about the US federal budget and congressional efforts to deal with the current deficit.
As you know, the Senate just rejected the House-passed funding bill that would disproportionately cut US contributions to life-saving international programs. Under the recently passed House bill, 4 million children around the world will not have access to improved nutrition, resulting in stunting and increased child mortality. Millions more will not be vaccinated against life-threatening, yet preventable diseases. So, 5,683 Illinoisans signed the ONE petition opposing these cuts that could cost lives.
After the town hall meeting, Sen. Kirk, a longtime champion of ONE, spoke with our group about the impending cuts to the US Foreign Affairs budget. It was exciting for us to be able to engage our senator face-to-face at such a critical time in the budget process!
We thanked the senator for his record of championing poverty and disease-fighting programs in the House of Representatives and asked him to continue his bipartisan leadership in the Senate on issues affecting people in dire need. We made sure to tell the senator that Illinoisans know we can’t balance the budget on the backs of the world’s poorest people.
We need your help to spread the word! Please urge your senators to protect the proven, effective programs that help support the people who need them the most.
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