A bill was filed last night asking for a $1.3 billion increase in AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis funding for 2007 - a full $300 million more than
the $1 billion increase ONE members urged for over the last two months.
If the bill passes, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis funding would be $4.5
billion in 2007.

Money and increases are extremely tight in the 2007 budget, and without
pressure from this community – without ONE members’ over 200,000
letters, emails, phone calls and faxes – it’s very realistic that that
this funding never would not have been recovered. At a critical moment,
however, ONE members came together and showed our representatives that
Americans don’t just care about extreme poverty, but we pay attention
and we act. Without exaggeration, your actions could end up saving
hundreds of thousands of lives in the world’s poorest countries.

Nothing is a done deal until the bill passes both houses of Congress. A
House vote is scheduled for tomorrow and a Senate vote is set for February
5. We will keep you posted on the ONE Blog on vote times and outcomes.

On Thursday, America expanded its life-saving efforts to help fight malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative, a $1.2 billion, five-year initiative to help fight malaria in Africa. Announced in 2005, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Senegal will now join Tanzania, Uganda and Angola as part of this initiative, and in 2007, the U.S. will add another eight countries.

America took another big step Thursday with the appointment of the first-ever U.S. Malaria Coordinator, Admiral R. Timothy Ziemer. This new position brings increased U.S. focus on the fight against malaria in Africa and the world’s poorest countries, making it Admiral Ziemer’s full-time job to help guide those life-saving efforts.

Bottom line, Thursday’s announcements mean that more people in poor countries will have access to the tools they need to help fight and beat malaria. With AIDS and TB, malaria is one of the biggest killers in the world’s poorest countries, especially for young children and pregnant mothers. A mosquito bite can mean life or death. The medicines needed to treat it can be found at any American neighborhood pharmacy but aren’t available to most Africans.

What’s even more striking than the number of lives lost from malaria is that it’s completely preventable and treatable. The good news is that effective solutions like bednets and medicines only cost dollars. When ONE recently visited Tanzania, we saw how just one bednet, as a cost of just $7, protected a mother and her children from malaria for up to five years. These kinds life-saving interventions are a bargain, and an example where we see so clearly how America’s investments are money well spent.

When ONE spoke with Mr. Ziemer, he expressed his commitment to the fight against global disease and poverty, saying about ONE that “the movement has caught on” and how to engage Americans in the fight against extreme poverty is “the question of the day”. While the President puts forward effective solutions such as his Emergency AIDS Plan and Malaria Initiative and Congress must then do its work to fund them, “ONE has a key role in clarifying the news, about what’s happening outside of Sioux City, Iowa and getting the word out.”

Ziemer said he was looking forward to getting to work, ready to focus on “accomplishing an ambitious program, one that’s all about saving lives in the countries that are hardest hit.” “Right now, we should be encouraged,” said Mr. Ziemer. “There are significant needs in these countries, but also opportunities for stabilizing and giving people hope.”

The President’ Malaria Initiative works in many countries with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, joining together in Angola this month to distribute bednets. Ziemer pointed to the successes of these joint efforts with the Global Fund: “It’s clear to me there’s a consensus on the goal. What I see and what we must do is continue to cooperate.” Ziemer’s staff seconded this, saying that “The Global Fund grants in a any given country are absolutely essential…it’s a good deal for the U.S., every dollar in is three out”, explaining how every dollar of America’s funding for the Global Fund must be matched by other countries 2-to-1.

At last year’s 2005 G8 summit, America and the world’s richest countries made an historic and ambitious promise to protect 85% of vulnerable Africans against malaria. Ziemer expressed support for the target, saying that G8 leaders are right to use their influence to further the fight against global disease and that “ambitious goals are good, let’s set our targets really high or else we’re going nowhere.”

You can read more about how the President’s Malaria Initiative and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are helping save and change lives in Africa and the world’s poorest countries.

“To see so much hope from people who have so little made
this an inspiring and life changing journey for me. The promises America and other rich countries have made to Africa must be more than words. Those promises need to
put hopeful children in school; help parents put roofs over the heads of their
children; and get life saving AIDS medicines to the patients who need them
now.”

His visit to Africa
draws attention to the need of so many around the world (over one billion!) who are
living on less than $1 a day. This is something that we here in the Unites
States – and in wealthy countries around the world – have an opportunity to
change. With the support of people like Matt Damon and the 2 million other ONE Campaign
supporters across the country, we are helping to make poverty history.

If you want to take action and do something TODAY to make a difference, call your
Senators and make sure they are fully funding the President’s budget request to
fight global AIDS and extreme poverty.
Dial 1-800-786-2663 and ask your Senators to support critical development
assistance.

I’ve called my Senators. It really takes only ONE minute,
and it’s free! Now it’s your turn…

Under the leadership of Congressman Jim Nussle (R-IA), Chairman of the Budget Committee, the House stripped more than $2 billion from the President’s proposed plan to provide life-saving assistance to the world’s poorest countries. And Representative Jeb Bradley (R-NH) introduced and passed an amendment that cut $800 million from the President’s budget request to fund the fight against AIDS and poverty.

Call Congressman Nussle and Congressman Bradley and let them know you’re disappointed with the cuts to
the International Affairs budget:

Congressman Nussle:
Davenport Office:  (563)
326–1841
Washington, DC Office: (202) 225-2911

Congressman Bradley:
Washington, DC: (202) 225-5456
Manchester, NH: 
(603) 641-9536

In the Senate, despite significant gains in life-saving funding through the efforts of Senators Santorum (R-PA), Durbin (D-IL), DeWine (R-OH) and Leahy (D-VT), there was also a failure to deliver on the President’s budget request to fully fund the fight against AIDS and poverty. Ultimately, the Senate slashed $2 billion from the President’s proposal.

Though we are all disappointed, there will be opportunities in the future to do more. Keep checking the blog for more information and chances to take action.

THIS WEEK, the House Budget Committee sits down to determine what
priority the U.S. puts on fighting global AIDS and poverty.

Check the end of this blog to see if your Representative is on the House
Budget Committee and send an email asking him or her to support life-saving
funding!

They’ll be putting it to a vote and lives are at stake, so let’s keep up the
positive pressure and ask the House to support funding that will help fight
global AIDS, TB and malaria and save the lives of mothers and children around
the world!

Check out the Des Moines Register and the Quad-City Times to see what Iowans have been doing to encourage House Budget Committee Chairman, Jim Nussle, to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty.

Alabama
Representative Jo Bonner
District – 1

Alabama
Representative Artur Davis
District – 7

California
Representative Dan Lungren
District – 3

California
Representative Lois Capps
District – 23

Connecticut
Representative Rosa DeLauro
District – 3

Florida
Representative Ander Crenshaw
District – 4

Florida
Representative Mario Diaz-Balary
District – 25

Florida
Representative Connie
Mack
District – 14

Florida
Representative Adam Putnam
District – 12

Florida
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
District – 18

Georgia
Representative Cynthia McKinney
District – 4

Hawaii
Representative Ed Case
District – 2

Idaho
Representative Mike Simpson
District – 2

Indiana
Representative Chris Chocola
District – 2

Iowa
Representative Jim Nussle
District – 1

Kansas
Representative Jim Ryun
District – 2

Kansas
Representative Dennis Moore
Kansas

Louisiana
Representative William Jefferson
District – 2

Maine
Representative Thomas
Allen
District – 1

Massachusetts
Representative Richard
Neal
District – 2

Michigan
Representative Thaddeus McCotter
District – 11

Mississippi
Representative Roger Wicker
District – 1

Missouri
Representative Kenny Hulshof
District – 9

New Hampshire
Jeb Bradley
District – 1

New Jersey
Representative Scott
Garrett
District – 5

North Carolina
Representative Patrick McHenry
District – 10

Pennsylvania
Representative Allyson Schwartz
District – 13

Representative John Spratt
South Carolina
District – 5

South Carolina
Representative J. Gresham Barrett
District – 3

Tennessee
Representative Jim Cooper
District – 5

Tennessee
Representative Harold E. Ford Jr.
District – 9

Texas
Representative Mike Conaway
District – 11

Texas
Representative Jeb Hensarling
District – 5

Texas
Representative Pete Sessions
District – 32

Texas
Representative Henry Cuellar
District – 28

Texas
Representative Chet Edwards
District – 17

Washington
Representative Brian Baird
District – 3

Wisconsin
Representative Paul Ryan
District – 1

Wisconsin
Representative Ron Kind
District – 3