Congressional Meeting
Apr 21st, 2009 8:57 PM UTC
By Field
I recently met with Rep. Gary Peters’s Congressional Liaison, Alex Greenfield. Over the course of almost an hour, Mr. Greenfield and I discussed many issues. I led the conversation to the status of the International Affairs Budget. I told him that my purpose in meeting with him, in addition to familiarizing the Congressman with ONE, was to ask for the Congressman’s support of the Senate 150 account level at $53.8 billion. He was familiar with the issue.
I explained to him that maintaining the proposed budget level of investment in the poorest nations helps to provide an essential infrastructure, which increases financial stability of those countries and improves the health of their citizens. I told him that, while some are looking for a means of offsetting our domestic stimulus budget by reducing foreign aid, the United States derives a direct benefit from maintaining foreign aid, because it helps persons in those nations to become productive and lead healthier lives, and because it reduces the influence of extremist factions which threaten security both here and abroad. He stated that these are among the issues which the Congressman and his staff are addressing. He said that he both understood and agreed with the connection between foreign aid and the benefit to the US.
Alex stated that the Congressman has been supportive of the President’s other proposals and that, while he cannot speak for the Congressman, he expects that he will support the International Affairs Budget as it stands. He will address this first with the other staff members and then will review it with Rep. Peters. He asked whether I would be available to meet with them again in the coming weeks, and I agreed to do so. He indicated that after learning more about ONE, he is supportive of its goals and would convey that to Rep. Peters. He also asked me to feel free to contact him about any other issues or pending legislation which ONE would like the Congressman to consider.
-Stephen Scapelliti, Michigan ONE Volunteer
Students from the College of William and Mary in partnership with ONE hosted their congressman, Rob Wittman at a ONE Town Hall in Williamsburg, VA yesterday to discuss global poverty and American foreign policy. The event drew many interested community members as well as students, faculty and staff from the College who were as anxious to show their first district representative their knowledge and involvment in the issues as they were excited to learn about his plans in the 111th Congress.
Rotaract, a university-level Rotary club, first partnered with ONE on this event after a great in district meeting with the Congressman in Yorktown. The panel discussion was also cosponsored by AIDSTanzania, Students Helping Honduras, and William and Mary Medical Relief, all of which are international service trips led by William and Mary students to provide housing, education, and medical resources to developing communities abroad. Professor Michael Tierney, who leads Project-Level Aid (PLAID) at the College, an interdisciplinary program dedicated to offering detailed, accessible information on the flow of international aid, moderated the panel discussion.
Congressman Rob Wittman eloquently spoke about the need to prevent military intervention by promoting development and sustainable economies in poor countries. As a member of the Armed Services Comittee, he is especially invested in alternatives to the use of military force and employed the three Ds stool analogy emphasizing the need to increase funding for development in addition to diplomatic efforts.
Matthew Bartlett, ONE Senior Manager of Field Training and Development, enthusiastically relayed anecdotes to the crowd about ONE champions from both sides of the aisle, such as Senator John McCain and President Obama, emphazing the fact that the issues discussed are not partisan and can only be effectively addressed through bipartisan collaboration. It’s evident in the state of Virginia; this town hall with Williamsburg’s Republican congressman was the second of its kind in Virginia. Less than one week prior, Congressman Glenn Nye, a Democrat from just an hour further down the peninsula, participated in a similar panel discussion at Old Dominion University.
Christian Peratsakis, a senior at the College, represented the students on the panel and spoke to their involvement in international development issues through service, research, and advocacy. The Congressman congratulated the students on their activism and encouraged them to continue their efforts here and abroad as “ambassadors” of the United States.
We thank Congressman Wittman for his eloquence and his advocacy and 1st district ONE members look forward to a continued dialogue on these issues!
-Lauren Conn
Check out this great update from some ONE members in Tennessee. A huge thanks to Claire Lovelace, Patte Earley and Jim Rugh for doing a great job representing ONE!
-Chris Berg
On Thursday, April 9, a couple ONE members and I from Tennessee’s First District met with our Congressman, Representative Phil Roe. He and his staff were very cordial.
We asked the Congressman to support a robust increase in the International Affairs Budget and specifically requested that he ask the Ranking Republican on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Rep. Kay Granger, to work for full funding for the 302B allocation for the Foreign Affairs Budget. Congressman Roe committed to doing that.
From our conversation, we gathered that Congressman Roe had been greatly impressed by the African heads of state that spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast and thanked President Bush for the PEPFAR funds that helped their countries so much. When he mentioned the Prayer Breakfast, we presented him with a copy of the book, On the Move, which contains Bono’s speech from the 2006 Prayer Breakfast. Coincidentally, my friend Patte and I attend the same church as Congressman Roe and our pastor used information from On the Move in a Lenten sermon to inspire us to action on issues related to poverty.
At the end of our meeting, we thanked the Congressman for his time and posed for a picture with him underneath the seal of his office.
-Claire Lovelace, ONE Member
The Old Dominion University community gathered on Global Health Day yesterday to host their congressman, Glenn Nye of Virginia’s 2nd district at a ONE Town Hall on global poverty and American foreign policy. There were no empty seats to be had in the Board of Visitors room as guests from outside the campus community also joined the students and faculty for this important panel discussion. It seems passion about fighting global poverty knows no limits of age or background in the 2nd district – a trend we see with ONE members all over the country who truly come from all walks of life. Graduate and undergraduate students, fraternity brothers and Model United Nations award-winners all came together to bring this event to campus!
ODU President John R. Broderick kicked off the event with a warm welcome to Congressman Nye, the panelists and guests. The Congressman began by saying that he owed his interest in international humanitarian issues to the organization represented by his fellow distinguished panelist, Brigadier General Ron Sconyers, President and CEO of Physicians for Peace (physiciansforpeace.org). Rep. Nye first traveled abroad with his father on Physicians for Peace missions and saw firsthand global health challenges in the developing world. General Sconyers, acknowledging the flaws in our own American system, emphasized the dramatic discrepancy between health care in United States and health care in poor countries. He also pointed out that medicine can heal across language, religious, and cultural barriers. Congressman Nye shared his experiences from his days with the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development. Both the General and the Congressman said that development aid is not only a moral imperative, but in the interest of national security for the United States. General Sconyers learned from diplomacy as a doctor that it is difficult to hate someone who saves your son or daughter’s life.
The students asked the panel how they could take action to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease. International Studies graduate student and ONE member John Applebaugh, who represented ODU students on the panel, eloquently encouraged his peers to stay informed and involved in these issues by becoming an advocate. He pointed to his advocacy work with ONE and cited one.org as an excellent resource to learn more about the issues and how to take action.
Matthew Bartlett, ONE Senior Manager for Field Development and Training, reminded the audience that we could only have success by reaching across the aisle to work together on issues that are not Republican or Democrat, but human. Congressman Nye applauded Matthew and ONE for finding common ground for bipartisan champions of increased and better aid to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB. He committed to continued efforts to collaborate with members of both parties on these issues.
Congressman Nye’s staff told us that he insisted on finding time in his schedule while in district to participate in this panel on the ODU campus after having interacted with ONE members in his district on several different occasions. This panel discussion was the first of its kind for ONE and a direct result of efforts by ONE volunteers to reach out to their congressman and engage him in these issues. A little advocacy goes a long way – keep up the good work and continue to keep fighting for the world’s poorest people at the forefront of the discussion! We thank Congressman Nye and his staff for making it a priority to have this important dialogue with his constituents during his very busy time in district – and we look forward to other congressmen following his example and hosting similar town halls in their home districts! GO ONE VA!
-Lauren Conn
