On November 4, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, presided over by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), held the confirmation hearing for Daniel Yohannes, nominee for CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Yohannes began his testimony by praising MCC efforts; the MCC, he said, “lays innovative foundations” to address the problems of global poverty.

Senators Menendez and Lugar both questioned the place of the MCC within the larger development agenda: Lugar asked if the MCC should remain a separate agency while Menendez stressed that it should be complementary to other aid initiatives, rather than replace them. Yohannes agreed, noting that the MCC has been created from the best practices learned from past endeavors and therefore extremely effective, but that it cannot be successful alone. It is imperative to work with other agencies such as USAID and groups on the ground, he said, to take a coordinated approach and prevent duplicity.

Menendez also praised the country-ownership aspect of the MCC and asked Yohannes how he would ensure that governments are working with a broad cross-section of civil society organizations (CSO), including those who are often not consulted, such as women. Yohannes emphasized he would make CSO input a priority, making certain that a variety of groups and CSOs are consulted.

Lugar encouraged Yohannes to highlight the impacts of the MCC, lamenting that it sometimes takes years to develop projects, compacts and see results, frustrating Congress and others. Yohannes agreed that it was time to show the American people concrete results and emphasized that the U.S. can be proud of its efforts to eradicate deep-seated poverty around the world. Yohannes promised to continue the MCC’s efforts to partner with others to create a “global culture of opportunity.”

“The issues that we face today- from chronic poverty and hunger to violent acts of terrorism- require that we work seamlessly toward identifiable goals.” Senator Richard Lugar opened with a strong statement on the importance of aid reform yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that I attended called The Case for Reform: Foreign Aid and Development in a New Era. Witnesses at the hearing included Peter McPherson, President of Public and Land Grant Universities and former administrator of USAID, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Rev. David Beckmann, President of ONE partner organization, Bread for the World and Co-Chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

The hearing highlighted a bill written by Senators Kerry, Corker, Menendez and Lugar that seeks to strengthen USAID and thereby strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance. The bill has three main facets:

• To strengthen the monitoring and evaluation program of USAID by creating an “internal evaluation and knowledge center” and reinforce the partnership between USAID and the State Department to make sound decisions relating to development.
• To coordinate all U.S. agencies that have a role in foreign assistance by promoting information sharing and appointing a Mission Director at USAID to coordinate all development and humanitarian assistance within all countries where the U.S. works.
• To create a high-level task force at USAID and increase training within USAID and other U.S. development programs to alleviate the disorganization that has arisen with increased funding and decreased staffing at USAID.

McPherson, Sachs and Beckmann spoke very highly of this bill and were in agreement with the idea that the U.S. must increase their capacity in foreign assistance through higher level leadership and monitoring and evaluation. If these steps are taken, USAID will become an effective long-term development agency rather than the short-term disaster relief organization, which it has evolved to in recent years according to Senator Kerry.

Jeffrey Sachs had many strong words of advice to the United States development community. He stated that the framework of development assistance should focus on agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, small business development and climate change, emphasizing that progress on these issues will promote resources which would in turn reestablish law and order in countries like Kenya where it is lacking.

Rev. Beckmann mentioned that the American people value aid reform and increased resources to developing countries, even in hard economic times. He praised ONE along with other NGOs for reaching out to members to voice these opinions and encourage their representatives to support initiatives such as the Water for the World Act and the Global Food Security Act.

- Leah Moriarty

Senator Casey and I recently introduced the Global Food Security Act of 2009 (S.384) to re-orient U.S. foreign assistance to focus on hunger and poverty. We very much appreciate that ONE has endorsed the bill. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently approved the bill.

Roughly one billion people today suffer from chronic hunger. World population is projected to grow from 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. Agricultural productivity will need to at least double by then, but instead it has been stagnating especially in Africa. Farmers will be hard pressed to meet growing demand given the challenges of land, water, and environmental pressures brought about by climate change, soil degradation, deforestation, and volatile fuel prices.

There is little reason for anyone to be hungry in a world in which we have the knowledge and resources to improve food availability and access. The entire world is facing difficult times in this global recession, and now more than ever we need your support to ensure that billions of people do not go hungry and will not in the future. Please contact your Senators and ask them to join us in cosponsoring the bill. If you would like to learn more about the bill and the issue, please visit the food security page of my website.

-Senator Richard G. Lugar, Indiana

Yesterday was a good day for the developing world – and for ONE – with several positive outcomes from the G20 meetings in London. What capped off the day really well was a tidbit mentioned by President Obama in his evening remarks. He announced that he will work with Congress to double support for agricultural development to over $1 billion “…so that we are giving people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.”

In details released today, the White House specified that this funding – which will be requested for the FY2010 budget – aims to modernize developing country agriculture in order to increase productivity and rural incomes. Specific assistance areas include increasing the use of technology, linking farmers to markets, increasing access to quality inputs like seeds, tools, fertilizers, irrigation, and rural credit, and encouraging private investment in agriculture. The White House is also committed to reducing dependency on food aid, bringing the poorest into the growth process through social safety net programs, and building/strengthening partnerships with the international community, private sector, NGOs, and U.S. universities.

In 2008, the U.S. provided approximately $450 million to agriculture in the developing world. In our proposal to the Obama Administration earlier this year, ONE requested at least $850 million for the FY2010 budget for agriculture. For the U.S. to reach a funding target of more than $1 billion for agricultural development initiatives in the developing world certainly exceeds our request.

The commitment to exceed $1 billion for agriculture in the developing world also aligns well with the Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Robert Casey (D-Penn.)’s proposed Global Food Security Act, which was introduced in the 111th Congress and cleared the Senate Foreign Affairs committee on Tuesday by unanimous vote. The bill requests almost $1.5 billion in FY2010 for agricultural development initiatives, research and technological innovation, training, and emergency food assistance.

As the White House noted, “…We can directly improve the lives of poor populations by growing rural economies through broad-based agriculture growth.” This funding comes at a crucial time for developing countries where food prices remain high and families are facing decreased incomes and remittances due to the global financial crisis. Investing in agriculture will not only bolster food security in the developing world, but it will enable families and communities to increase their incomes through agriculture-driven economic productivity.

The funding will be targeted in 25 countries and 8 regions; in Africa this includes Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, and Eastern and Southern Africa. Other targeted areas are South and East Asia, Latin America, and the Near East. We applaud President Obama and urge him to follow through speedily with meeting this commitment. ONE will be following this topic closely and will be sure to keep you updated.

-Beth Adler

As you know, the Senate Budget Committee is threatening to cut $4 billion from the President’s budget that would otherwise be used to fight poverty. You can call your senators here. Maryam Aminu from our Government Relations team provides some analysis and background on the Kerry-Lugar amendment.

-Chris Scott

This is going to be a very important week for us who belong to ONE. In February, President Obama made a promising request to Congress for $53.8 billion dollars for the International Affairs (150) account, which funds most of the programs we care about including PEPFAR, Malaria, debt relief, basic education and child survival. It represented a $4 billion increase from the $49.8billion in total spending in 2009. Last week, the House and Senate Budget Committees released their budget resolution with very disappointing allocations for the 150 account. The Senate allocated $49.8 billion, which is a flat-line from last year, which means that we would not be able to increase the number of people with AIDS on ARV treatment and make progress on ending Malaria deaths in Africa, among other important programs that will be stalled. In the House, we are facing an even worse situation.

The good news is we have an opportunity to change these numbers. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced an amendment to restore $4 billion to the 150 account, which would bring it back up to the level of President’s request of $53.8 billion in the Senate bill. If the amendment passes, the 150 account will have a better chance of receiving an increase, when they reconcile the House and Senate budget resolutions and begin the appropriations process. The amendment will come to the floor this Wednesday or Thursday. We will need to secure 60 votes to pass the amendment. We need your voice now! As a Senate constituent and ONE member, you have the chance, with a simple phone call, to deliver your Senator’s much needed vote to get us to 60 and close the deal. Tomorrow when you get the budget alert from ONE, make haste and make your call to your Senator. Then ask your family and friends to call too. Last year, we won the vote by a huge margin of 73-23. Let’s try and win another decisive victory this year!

-Maryamu Aminu, Government Relations

There’s a huge amount of attention this week on Capitol Hill focused on the economy – and rightly so. The economics dominating the news affects all of us. It’s important to note that the current financial crisis could also adversely impact poor countries already suffering from both high food and fuel prices. Understandably, most of the responses to the food crisis to date have been short-term, immediate aid. Governments and aid organizations have been working to get help to the people who are suffering, and that must not be delayed. But short-term responses only treat the symptoms. We need a long-term strategy to prevent future crises from occurring.

This week in the Senate, bipartisan legislation was introduced by Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana and Democratic Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania to begin to target the root causes of the food crisis. This bill, the “Global Food Security Act” (S. 3529), is a smart step forward in what must be a comprehensive and global response to the situation facing millions of people.

According to the Senators’ offices, the bill would authorize $10 billion over 5 years for agricultural productivity and rural development. Drawing on the experience and expertise of U.S. land grant colleges and universities, the bill would create a new program to strengthen institutions of higher education in the areas of agriculture sciences, research, and extension programs. Investments in human capital and institutional capacity are important to developing a robust agricultural sector. It calls for increasing collaborative research on the full range of biotechnological advances including genetically modified technologies. The legislation also would improve the U.S. emergency response to food crises by creating a separate Emergency Food Assistance Fund that can make local and regional purchases of food, where appropriate. The legislation would provide USAID with the flexibility to respond to emergencies more quickly, without supplanting other food programs.

That last point is particularly important in emergency response. Too often, when a food crisis hits a region, current U.S. law limits the American response. This proposal, if enacted, would allow U.S. funds to purchase food supplies in regions much closer to the crisis zone. Instead of waiting for the first shipments of food to arrive from the United States, which can take many days if not weeks, local officials would be able to purchase food from that region’s suppliers, speeding help to the people who are starving.

ONE also believes that we have to address the root of the problem: building the capacity for people in Africa and elsewhere to grow enough food to feed their families while increasing support for long-term rural development efforts. Put simply, the United States should help to provide people with the tools that they need to fend for themselves. When we take those steps, we begin to address the core of the food crisis.

The Lugar-Casey bill is a good approach, and ONE looks forward to working with the Senators to see it approved by Congress.

-Sara Rogge, Senior Trade Policy Advisor

After weeks of ONE Campaign members relentlessly writing and calling their senators, and great work by so many partner organizations, we’ve successfully unstuck billions of dollars in AIDS, TB and malaria funding tonight!

We dodged several potentially devastating amendments over the last 2 days – pieces of legislation that would have put millions of lives at risk. We did lose one amendment-fight, however, so the total funding for PEPFAR for the next five years will now be $48 billion, instead of the original $50 billion.

After tonight’s successful Senate vote, the bill will go back to the House and then onto the president to sign. We are hopeful those processes will be swift.

Given how much we had to fight to reauthorize this bill this year- this is a great victory for us. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members of Congress to pass PEPFAR. Literally, millions of lives will be saved with this funding.

Below, a quote from our Legislative Director Tom Hart:

“Even as Americans face serious concerns at home, the Senate has proved America’s commitment to providing lifesaving medicines to the world’s most vulnerable people. PEPFAR is an investment in people around the world; but it is also an example of America’s generosity and a critical piece of American diplomacy. By treating and preventing disease and saving lives, we can help to create more stable communities and a more secure future for Americans.

Senators Biden, Lugar and Reid are true heroes for their persistence and patience in passing this bill. This legislation received strong support from co-sponsoring Senators on both sides of the aisle, including both Presidential candidates.”

After the jump find all the proposed amendments, their results, and those who voted for and against this bill.

-Virginia Simmons

(more…)

Yesterday, two amendments which would have limited the scope of PEPFAR Re authorization were overwhelmingly defeated.

The first, sponsored by Senator DeMint would have limited the countries to which PEPFAR assistance could be distributed:

The Senate voted, 70-24, to table, or kill, the amendment from Jim DeMint , R-S.C., to limit the five-year, $50 billion bill to 15 poor countries where it already operates.

The second, sponsored by Senator Bunning, was defeated even more resoundingly:

Sen. Jim Bunning’s (R-Ky.) amendment to reauthorize the program for five years at $15 billion also failed by a vote of 16-80.

Senators Sam Brownback, and Hillary Clinton were among the Senate champions taking the floor yesterday in support of PEPFAR reauthorization and in opposition to the failed amendments. Senators Joe Biden and Dick Lugar have been shepherding the bill through the Senate.

The $50 billion PEPFAR re-authorization bill keeps the core intent of the universally acclaimed President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and expands the amount of funding and breadth of distribution. By providing over 2.1 Million with life-saving retroviral treatment, PEPFAR has been responsible for giving an entire generation a second chance at life, and saved millions of children from the challenges of living without parents.

ONE members nationwide have been calling in to their Senators’ offices in overwhelming numbers to declare their support of PEPFAR Re authorization at the $50 billion level and to declare their opposition to any proceedural measures which could derail this critical, life-saving bill.

No one can be certain about how any bill will fare in the US Senate, but if yesterday’s proceedings are an indication there’s good reason to be optimistic.

Click here, to register your phone calls and keep up the pressure. Things look promising, but there’s a long way to go.

Yesterday, ONE members in 16 states launched a campaign to get PEPFAR going in the Senate. PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) is America’s primary vehicle for working with countries in the developing world to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. In its first five years, PEPFAR has saved millions of lives, and now it’s up for reauthorization for five years and $50 billion dollars, a substantial increase in America’s commitment to battling these deadly, but treatable diseases. Unfortunately, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and six other senators are blocking all action on the bill. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and John Sununu (R-NH) have written an urgent letter seen below at the bottom of this post) to the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, asking them to do whatever it takes to get PEPFAR reauthorization to the floor of the senate.

Coburn’s concerns should be debated out in the open, not hidden behind a procedural block. There is a now a serious chance that PEPFAR reauthorization won’t happen until next year. Millions of people across the developing world can’t wait that long. The challenge to us is to convince key senators to sign that letter and show that there is strong, bipartisan support for reauthorizing PEPFAR this year, and continuing America’s commitment to moral leadership in the fight against global AIDS.

Live in Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Utah, Mississippi, Wyoming, Georgia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Virginia or Missouri? We need you to write to your senator or senators and ask them to sign the Lugar-Sununu letter and get PEPFAR going: http://www.one.org/pepfarletter

If you’re not in one of those states, you can still ask your senators to co-sponsor PEPFAR here: http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate/

Make sure to follow our progress on the PEPFAR Co-Sponsor Senatometer

You also learn more about PEPFER here: http://www.one.org/pepfar

April 30, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Majority Leader and Mr. Minority Leader:

We are writing to urge you to act expeditiously in scheduling floor time for the consideration of S. 2731, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.

As you know, the programs the Act would reauthorize — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and tuberculosis programs — have had an enormously positive effect in combating these diseases in Africa and throughout the developing world. PEPFAR is on schedule to achieve its topline goals of supporting treatment for 2 million AIDS patients with life-saving antiretroviral therapies, preventing the transmission of 7 million new cases of the disease, and supporting care for 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children. Through its multilateral efforts, the U.S. will have also supported the distribution of 46 million mosquito bed nets to protect families from malaria.

Since its inception, PEPFAR has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and strong cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. PEPFAR also has served as a powerful demonstration of U.S. leadership and compassion throughout the world. As the President witnessed during his recent trip to Africa, U.S. investments in PEPFAR are paying major dividends both by creating a more positive global perception of the United States and by bringing stability and hope to strategic regions across the globe.

By passing this legislation in the next few weeks, we will enable the President to take this commitment to the G-8 meeting in Japan in early July and to use it to leverage additional commitments from our international partners. Moreover, we need to act now in order to send a clear message to PEPFAR recipients that the United States is fully committed to continuing the success of this program and to expanding our efforts to fight the pandemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Thank you for your consideration, and we hope that you will act swiftly to bring this critically important piece of legislation to the floor.

Sincerely,

Senator Richard Lugar
Senator John Sununu
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Bob Corker
Senator Chuck Hagel

-Aaron Banks, ONE.org

Update: We’re now up to 14 signers to the letter.

Senator Richard Lugar
Senator John Sununu
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Bob Corker
Senator Chuck Hagel
Senator Thad Cochran
Senator Mel Martinez
Senator Orrin Hatch
Senator John Warner
Senator Susan Collins
Senator Olympia Snowe
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Norm Coleman