Last month, we asked ONE members to petition their Senators to sign a bi-partisan letter to Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking-Member Judd Gregg (R-NH) of the Senate Budget Committee. This letter urged them to fully fund the administration’s request of $58.5 billion for international affairs (also known as the 150 account). Thanks to your hard work and energy, over 40,000 ONE members secured signatures from 31 Senators.
Then two weeks ago, under the leadership of Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), the Senate Budget Committee passed a Senate budget resolution which included a $4 billion cut to discretionary spending, the entire amount of which was taken from the President’s $58.5 billion request for international affairs (the 150 account). Of equal concern to us, last Friday, Congressional Quarterly reported that Congressman Spratt, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, said if given an opportunity to move a House budget, his committee will likely maintain this $4 billion cut to the 150 account.
ONE is strongly protesting this misguided cut. The 150 account funds all diplomatic and peacekeeping operations, and our priorities such as debt relief for countries like Haiti, life-saving treatments to assist impoverished people infected or affected by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; and other poverty-fighting programs that empower women; provide food aid and promote agricultural development and enroll millions of children in school. In short, the 150 account demonstrates America’s values of helping the least among us, and helps stabilize fragile regions to strengthen our national security.
But it’s not over. 31 Senators have already made our point, and now we must see this through. ONE members have some serious work to do in the next few weeks to restore the international affairs budget request to $58.5 billion. We’ve learned that if Senator Conrad’s budget proposal goes to the floor for a vote, it will happen with very short notice. The good news is that we have strong bi-partisan champions in the Senate who will likely sponsor an amendment to restore the $4 billion cut. If that happens, we need all ONE members to be ready to contact their Senators, at a moment’s notice, and help deliver the votes to restore the account to the administration’s request. We’ve done this before and have won every time. This time is just as important- so stand by for the alert!
As we approach the homestretch of the budget process for fiscal year 2011, we remind ourselves that we are fighting for funding increases for effective aid programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; put millions more children in school; save the lives of millions of mothers and young children; provide millions more with access to clean water and relieve the crushing burden of debt for devastated countries, like Haiti. We are trying to make fragile states and economies stronger, and making a safer world for America. In November 2009, more than 50,000 ONE members participated in a campaign asking Members of Congress to sign a letter to President Obama, expressing their support for a robust request for international affairs in his FY2011 budget. And we won BIG! A whopping 244 members of the U.S. House of Representatives Senate signed the letter.
President Obama also answered our call by requesting $58.5 billion for international affairs (also known as the 150 Account). He further explained in his recent State of the Union address that “America takes these actions because our destiny is connected to those beyond our shores. But we also do it because it is right.” Since then, all our efforts have been to urge the remainder of the United States Congress to uphold this number. ONE members, our staff and partner organizations have collectively made hundreds of touches to Congress in support of our poverty-fighting account. These include making phone calls and writing letters, congressional in-district meetings, approaching and banding congressional targets at public events, and signing and delivering our 33,515-strong petition in support of the bi-partisan senate letter, all of which urged them to uphold the administration’s request of $58.5 billion for international affairs.
Today, the Senate Budget Committee will consider the budget resolution and put out an initial number for the 150 account. $58.5 billion is the magic number. We’ll keep you updated in the developments. Keep your fingers crossed and watch this space!
Great news! In the middle of partisan divisions and debate about budget deficits and domestic issues, a group of Senate champions are circulating a bipartisan letter in support of the 150 account that is currently making its way around the U.S. Senate. The letter asks Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking-Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) to uphold the administration’s FY11 request of $58.5 billion for International Affairs.
Since bipartisanship is one of ONE’s key principles, this is a great vehicle for ONE members to rally around as we continue to advocate for funding for our key priorities. Widespread, bipartisan support will help secure these necessary increases. These increases will in turn support a comprehensive approach to life-saving global health programs, sustainable global agricultural development, and investments in basic education, debt relief, and economic development programs.
So far, Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) are all signatories to this letter. We need to get as many Senators as possible to sign on to this letter to show Senators Conrad and Gregg that full funding of the international affairs account is the prevailing wisdom in the U.S. Senate. You can help by contacting your Senators’ offices and asking him/her to sign onto this important letter (currently housed in Senator Kerry’s office).
In the midst of ONE members’ activism to preserve President Obama’s FY2011 request of $58.5 billion for International Affairs, Representative Howard Berman (CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, recently addressed an audience at the Center for American Progress on the topic of sustainable Security. In a well articulated speech on what the focus of U.S. foreign policy should be in order to achieve sustainable security, fighting poverty and the promotion of well-being and development in other parts of the world featured prominently.
He told the told the crowd that “We make it a priority to reduce poverty and alleviate human suffering around the world because it is the right thing to do, and because it reflects the compassion and generosity of the American people.” He also explained how helping others through a modernized, well-funded and foreign aid regime will serve to strengthen U.S. national security: “Poor and unstable countries make unreliable trading partners and weak markets for U.S. goods and services…Done right, development assistance is a sound investment in a better, safer world.”
To better understand the role of development in U.S. national security and the challenges of providing the most effective aid, I highly recommend you check out his full speech here.
On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Maxine Waters’ bill, (H.R. 4573)- the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act. It passed under what is known as ‘a suspended rule’ meaning that it is not considered controversial, so the vast majority of the House Members voted for it. This legislation directs the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to seek the cancellation of Haiti’s $1.2 billion debts to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other multilateral development institutions. It also directs the Secretary to urge other bilateral, multilateral, and private creditors to cancel all debts owed by Haiti to such creditors. We expect the Senate to take up and pass the Waters bill in the next few weeks, so President Obama can sign it into law.
The voices of ONE members and our partners are being heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill. We will keep monitoring the progress of this legislation, and its implementation, when it becomes law.
On Friday the U.S. Senate passed, by unanimous consent, the Haiti Recovery Act (S.2961), introduced by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The bill addresses the long-term needs that are critical to Haiti’s recovery, particularly its governance and public infrastructure. The bill does 2 specific things:
1) It instructs the Treasury Secretary to direct America’s representatives at each of the multi-lateral financial institutions to advocate within institutions:
a. relieving Haiti of its outstanding international debt– currently totaling over $1 billion– as well as any additional debt incurred in the aftermath of the earthquake. It also encourages these institutions to make future financial assistance available to Haiti in the form of grants, rather than loans.
b. the provision of debt service relief for all payments remaining on the date of the enactment of the Act.
2) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to advocate the creation of an international infrastructure fund for Haiti to invest in electric grids, roads, water, sanitation facilities, and other critical infrastructure projects.
Debt relief and grants to rebuild Haiti’s lost infrastructure are critical to its recovery. We congratulate Senators Dodd and Lugar and the United States Senate for their bi-partisan cooperation to pass this important legislation. Stay tuned for news on the progress of similar legislation in the House.
When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti 3 weeks ago, killing 150,000 people and causing immeasurable damage, the Americans, and indeed the world rallied to provide immediate relief to save lives. ONE and other partners however also quickly began to build a campaign to ensure that help for Haiti included not only short and medium term assistance, but also the ability to rebuild and recover in the long-term. That means canceling, in full, the $1 billion debt hanging over Haiti. We know from history that debt servicing undermines the ability of poor countries to invest in public health, education and the infrastructure necessary to develop their societies and economies. So ONE, Jubilee USA and other partners launched a campaign to urge U.S. and global leadership to cancel Haiti’s bi-lateral and multilateral debt. 200,000 of our members signed the petition and this is building the pressure or our leaders and momentum of our cause.
Last week ONE Champion, and congressional leader on debt issues, Representative Maxine Waters (CA), and 94 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to US Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, urging him to instruct our representatives at the World Bank, IMF and Inter-American Development Bank to use every tool at their disposal to build consensus among the stakeholder countries to cancel Haiti’s debts to those institutions. Rep. Waters has also introduced bi-partisan legislation with 37 others members of the House to mandate the use of U.S. voice and vote at these institutions for the same purpose.
In the Senate, Senators Dodd and Lugar have introduced a bill urging the US Treasury to work multilaterally to cancel Haiti’s debt. We have a very strong chance of succeeding in making this happen. So keep urging your family and friends to sign the petition, keep calling your Representatives to cosponsor the Waters and Dodd/Lugar bills, and watch this space.
To see a full list of the signers, click “more” below:
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
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.
