I just got back from the National Press Club where the Center for Global Development and Foreign Policy Magazine presented ONE with the 6th Annual “Commitment to Development Award.” Senator John McCain, Cindy McCain, Tom Daschle, and others were in attendance to reflect on and celebrate the successes of ONE Vote ’08 this past presidential campaign cycle.

In talking about ONE, Foreign Policy Editor in Chief Moisés Naím noted that “unless one pushes for obvious ideas, they aren’t obvious for many. Now [these issues] are obvious to millions thanks to ONE.”

Mr. Daschle and Mrs. McCain spoke at length about the necessity of bipartisanship in the fight against extreme poverty—a bipartisanship of which they were obvious examples.

But by far the highlight and emphasis of the ceremony were the immeasurable achievements of ONE members and volunteers all across the country—today represented by Danielle DePas, Michael Castaldo, and Matthew McAllister who came to DC to accept the award. All three were invited to sit on a panel discussion with Steve Radelet and ONE’s Liesl Hickey to discuss topics such as grassroots activism, organizing, and how the US can lead in the fight against global poverty and preventable disease.

We’ll have further posts with photos and video from the event for you shortly. You can read more about the award here.

-Chris Scott

The confirmation hearings for former Senator Tom Daschle’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services are currently underway. Just moments ago, former Senator Bob Dole mentioned Daschle’s work around ONE Vote ’08 as an example of Daschle’s dedication to healthcare both at home and abroad.

Click below for a clip of Bob Dole’s remarks, and check out some background information on Senator Tom Daschle here.

Bob Dole:

He also worked on another bipartisan effort with another former Senate majority leader, Senator Bill Frist on the ONE Vote ’08 Campaign addressing health and poverty in developing countries. As most of you know, Senator Daschle has spent a good part of his career focused on healthcare.

-Chris Scott

President-Elect Obama has just selected former Senate Majority Leader Senator Tom Daschle as our next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Currently, Daschle is a Senior Policy Advisor with the law firm Alston & Bird, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and, critically to us, serves as National Co-Chair, of ONE Vote ‘08.

Below find relevant quotes, a summary of his experience in development, and a list of key legislation he introduced or sponsored.

Quotes

“We have a moral obligation to assist those suffering from abject poverty and disease…Investments in the development of our world’s poorest nations must be a pillar of our foreign policy going forward, no matter who is leading the next administration.”- Daschle, ONE Campaign appearance in Kigali, Rwanda, July 22, 2008

“I am encouraged by the tremendous impact that these programs have had in fighting the spread of disease across Africa… Over the last four years, 2 million more people living with AIDS now have access to lifesaving medication… Nevertheless, much work remains.” – Daschle, ONE Campaign appearance in Kigali, Rwanda, July 22, 2008

“The primary foreign policy challenge confronting the United States in the next three decades is also our country’s largest domestic policy challenge: climate change. In both arenas—foreign and domestic policy—we are in effect racing the clock, aware that the longer we delay action, the more costly the fixes at home will be, and the less able we will be to induce the kind of change necessary in China, India, and beyond.”-Daschle, “Changing the Political Climate on Climate Change” Georgetown Journal on International Affairs: Winter/Spring 2008

“We face a deadly pandemic that claims tens of thousands of lives daily and threatens stability in key regions of the world. While we have made – and will continue to make – great strides, the true solution lies in making sure that no matter who is elected to be the next President of the United States, he or she is committed to ending extreme poverty.” -Daschle, The ONE Blog, May 24, 2007

Foreign Policy Related Activities

• Senator Daschle is a longtime advocate of strengthening U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance, consistently backing foreign assistance bills throughout his career. He opposed H.R. 2606, a bill in the House of Representatives that would have capped foreign assistance at only $12.7 billion for FY 1999. He also championed the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for FY 2004, S.1426 which substantially increased funding for the Peace Corps and foreign assistance to combat HIVAIDS.
• As co-chair of ONE Vote ’08, Senator Daschle has proven (more…)

Reuters, Roll Call and AP are reporting that former Senator Majority leader, and ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chair, Tom Daschle has been selected by President-Elect Obama to be the next U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.

Senator Daschle has been a leader in ONE’s presidential initiative since 2007, including leading a delegation of American leaders to Rwanda in July of this year. You can check out his many appearances on the ONE Blog here.

Much more on Senator Dasche’s background on global poverty issues to follow shortly.

-Virginia Simmons

(Senator Daschle touring a Rwandan clinic with John Podesta and Cindy McCain on a ONE delegation trip to Rwanda in July 2008.)

(UPDATED: I added video.)

Yesterday afternoon, I attended the National Democratic Institute’s global poverty panel at the DNCC. It was moderated by Gayle Smith, who’s a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

The speakers were:

Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and NDI chairman
Ben Affleck, actor, director, and advocate
Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development
John J. Danilovich, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account
Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader and Co-Chair of ONE Vote ‘08
Hernando de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy
Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, vice president of the Africa Region of the World Bank
Donald Payne, U.S. representative
Tim Wirth, former U.S. senator, and CEO of the United Nations Foundation
James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank.

Josh Lozman of our policy staff is going to be sending in a post about the panel a little later.

I also took a small camera with me and shot some simple video, so I’ll post a couple clips here to give you a sense of what it was like to be in the room. The 1st is of Senator Tom Daschle answering a question about his recent trip with ONE through Rwanda.

This second one is of Ben Affleck talking about his new perspective after having visited Africa- and what he thinks that new perspective means for how we should message effectively. After, President of the Center for Global Development Nancy Birdsall talks about the incredible progress we’ve seen.

Tons of people came and we finished all the kits in record time. We had 3 hours to assemble 1,500 kits – but it was all done in just one hour.

During that time, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle came by to help out, as did the band DAUGHTRY. We should have video of all that by tomorrow.

‘Til then, I’ll just have to apologize sheepishly for this very amateur camera-work. It does give you a sense of the atmosphere in the room.

When the Democratic and Republican parties meet for their conventions at the end of August and early September, they’ll be unveiling their parties’ new platforms – and we want to make sure that the fight against extreme poverty is an important part of both of those platforms.

That why our ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chairs, Senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle will be meeting with leaders of both parties, and taking a petition from ONE members urging them to make poverty-fighting a priority for both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Click this link and we’ll add your name to the petition

Petition Text:

As a proud American, I urge you to make ending extreme poverty and global disease in the developing world a core part of your 2008 platform by including commitments to:

• Fight AIDS, TB and malaria and improve basic health services, particularly for mothers and young children
• Ensure access to clean water, basic sanitation and sufficient food supplies
• Spur economic growth through equitable trade and investment policies
• Modernize and increase development assistance, focusing on partnership, transparency and accountability
• Achieve universal primary education

Another video and post from ONE’s Tom Gavin from last week’s trip to Rwanda.

Monday, July 21:

The U.S. launched PEPFAR – the American global AIDS strategy – at the Masaka Clinic in 2004, so it made for a good place for the ONE delegation to visit and assess how things are going. Our delegation met with doctors, nurses, local officials, and patients seeking treatment and counsel from the clinic’s staff. We heard, time and again, the difference that America’s partnership in health care was making in Rwanda and throughout Africa.

The DATA Report, which ONE released earlier this year, shows the progress being made. It points out that, across Africa, nearly 2.12 million people were on antiretroviral therapy by last December, a huge jump from the 50,000 people on treatment in 2002. That means 30 percent of Africans in need of treatment are receiving it. But there remains a major challenge ahead. An additional 1.7 million Africans became infected with the HIV virus in 2007.

After touring the Masaka Clinic, some of the ONE delegation discussed the site visit and the overall trip with reporters.

-Tom Gavin

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle talks about the growth of Rwanda’s tourism industry and its inspirational impact on the country’s economy, culture, and citizens’ quality of life.

ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chairs and former senate leaders Bill Frist and Tom Daschle talk about what they’ve seen and learned so far and what message they want to pass along when they return to the States later this week.