As you know, Los Angeles became a ONE City on Tuesday in an event celebrated with Mayor Villaraigosa and Representative Maxine Waters (CA-35). This was a big moment, and the culmination of a lot of hard work from ONE members in LA and across the great state of California. Representative Waters had the following to say about the momentous occasion:

As individuals, communities, and nations, we can and must join in efforts to fight extreme poverty and prevent deadly diseases. Los Angeles is a global city, so it is appropriate that we are a “ONE City” dedicated to important global causes. Likewise, I will continue to advocate for applying American generosity, ingenuity, and prosperity to aid the world’s poor and vulnerable.

As individuals, communities, and nations, we can and must join in efforts to fight extreme poverty and prevent deadly diseases. Los Angeles is a global city, so it is appropriate that we are a “ONE City” dedicated to important global causes. Likewise, I will continue to advocate for applying American generosity, ingenuity, and prosperity to aid the world’s poor and vulnerable.

Congresswoman Waters is a co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus AIDS Task Force. She has also, in addition to supporting humanitarian assistance to Haiti and impoverished nations in Africa and elsewhere, introduced legislation to cancel the debts that the world’s poorest nations owe to international financial institutions. We thank the Congresswoman for her continued support of ONE’s mission!

-Chris Scott

The Jubilee Act just passed the House 285-132.

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) in June 2007 and would push for an international agreement to write off United States’ loans to qualified countries and urge the U.S. to work with other rich nations to do the same.

The money poor countries would have had to pay to debt would be directed to infrastructure development, education and health care, among other improvements.

Next step – a Senate vote.