ONE » Sen. Barbara Boxer

Recap: August recess meet ‘n greets

Field — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:57:05 +0000

ONE members across the country are using the August recess as an opportunity to meet with their congressional leaders to advocate for the world’s poorest people. So far, ONE members have attended more than 45 meetings with their senators or house representatives. Here’s a compilation of some of last week’s visits:

ONE member Steve with a member of Sen. Nelson’s staff

Meeting at Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson’s Omaha Office
Recently, I met with one of Sen. Ben Nelson’s, (D-Neb.), staff members, Patrick Leahy. After briefly discussing ONE’s history, agenda and the strong membership we have here in Nebraska, we got on to some more urgent matters. I asked that Nelson sign the Lugar-Casey letter in support of the Global Food Security Act and increase funding for GAVI and the Global Fund.

I asked Patrick to relay our thanks to Nelson for his support in these areas. I also told him that we are aware and proud of Nelson’s important position on the appropriations committee and how lucky we are to have him representing Nebraska.

- Steve White, ONE Nebraska

ONE members at Sen. Klobuchar’s office

Meeting with Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s St. Paul Office
ONE Congressional District Leader Reena Dhake and I headed over to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s, (D-Minn.), Twin Cities office, where we met with State Director John Kavanagh to discuss ways to help improve the lives of millions of people living in extreme poverty.

Klobuchar supports both ONE and the issues we focus on. During the meeting, we commended the senator for her efforts, including her cosponsorship of the Global Food Security Act.

We also asked the senator to add her name to the Casey-Lugar letter in support of this legislation.

–Rochelle Gibbs and Reena Dhake, ONE Minnesota

ONE member Steve with a member of Sen. Nelson’s staff

Meeting with Sen. Barbara Boxer’s Fresno Office
My husband Ryan and I had the privilege of meeting with Sen. Barbara Boxer’s, (D-Calif.), Fresno office.

State Director Thomas Bohigian and Ameen Khan, the director of Central and Eastern California, were extremely gracious with their time and attention. We all agreed that because the world’s poorest people often find themselves silenced by the circumstances of their lives, it is vital that concerned citizens continue to raise awareness on their behalf.

We asked Bohigian and Khan to thank the senator for her efforts to represent the interest of the world’s poorest, including cosponsoring PEPFAR and the Water for the World Act. We asked that Boxer continue to show her support as we look ahead to the Global Fund’s replenishment conference in October. We also asked that she sign the Lugar-Casey letter in support of the Global Food Security Act.

The senator’s track record for supporting aid legislation is excellent, and we walked away with a sense that Boxer’s office is very empathetic to the plight of those enslaved by extreme poverty.

- Rebekah Townsend, ONE California

Meeting with Berkley’s Office

Meeting with Rep. Shelley Berkley’s Las Vegas Office
I met with district representatives Jan Churchill and Nikki Koval at Rep. Shelley Berkley’s, (D-Nev.), district office in Las Vegas, Nevada – and even briefly met the congresswoman.

We discussed the Global Fund and GAVI. I asked that Berkley do all that she can to build bipartisan support for increased funding of both programs in the House.

It is my sincere hope that although this week’s in-district meetings have happened in Vegas, they don’t stay here. Perhaps what happens in Vegas can be one small part of a concerted effort to change the world for the better and save lives.

- Adam Bellamy, ONE Nevada

Meeting with Sen. Al Franken’s Twin Cities Office
Yesterday, ONE member Rochelle Gibbs and I had a meeting with Sen. Al Franken’s, (D-Minn.), deputy state director, Daniel Fanning. We delivered a large thank you on behalf of ONE and its members in Minnesota for Franken’s leadership and dedication in the fight to end extreme poverty and preventable disease.

We asked Daniel to have the senator sign the Casey-Lugar letter in support of the Global Food Security Act to overhaul U.S. agricultural assistance efforts and help developing nations become more self-sufficient in their food production. Daniel informed us that they are in the process of looking into signing onto the letter at this time, so it was great to hear about the support from ONE.

We told the Senator to support a strong, three-year, $6 billion U.S. pledge to the Global Fund at the replenishment conference in October. We also told him to urge the appropriations committee to keep the Senate-approved funding level for GAVI at $105 million.

- Steven R. Thai, ONE Minnesota

ONE members at Sen. Reid’s office

Meeting with Sen. Harry Reid’s Las Vegas Office
It was an exciting morning as local ONE volunteers Renee Meyocks and Amber McIntosh and I met with Sen. Harry Reid’s, (D-Nev.), Regional Representative, Charvez Foger, at his downtown Las Vegas office.

We were honored to have the chance to share our passion for ONE’s goals and discuss the Global Food Security Act, GAVI and the Global Fund. Charvez made it clear that Reid is a proponent of international development and assistance, and exhibited a keen interest in what we had to say.

Charvez told us that at some point next year, Reid would like to hold an international development summit, inviting volunteers and officials from diverse nonprofit organizations (including ONE) and high-ranking representatives from the State Department to engage in a dialogue on these issues.

This news was very exciting to us. We are always looking for ways to highlight and debate international development issues locally so that our fellow Americans and government officials understand that global issues are also local issues.

- Adam Bellamy, ONE Nevada

8 U.S. Senators Ask Pres. Obama to Keep America’s AIDS Commitments

Virginia Simmons — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:40:45 +0000

On Friday, eight US senators sent a letter to President Obama asking him to fund global AIDS programs in 2011 at levels consistent with the Lantos-Hyde HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Reauthoration Act of 2008.

This is the concluding paragraph of the letter.

“America has, with bipartisan support from Congress, made tangible gains in saving lives in many impoverished countries and demonstrated our compassion to the world. This leadership must continue. As such, we urge you to support funding for global AIDS programs, including U.S. bilateral programs and the Global Fund, consistent with the Lantos-Hyde Act.”

It is signed by U.S. senators Boxer, Isakson, Casey, Lautenberg, Cardin, Durbin, Gillibrand and Kaufman. You can read the full letter here.

ONE members talk to Senator Boxer’s staff

Roscoe Mapps — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:57:26 +0000

When Senator Barbara Boxer of California announced she would chair the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee on International Operations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues back in February, ONE members jumped on the opportunity to meet with her San Francisco district staff.

This new subcommittee assignment offers a tremendous opportunity to shine the light of day on a very overlooked issue. Too often, we turn our eyes away as women are persecuted, abused and treated as second-class citizens. But even the most conservative historians have noted that when women are given the freedom to live up to their full potential, society as a whole flourishes. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Congress and with Secretary Clinton to stamp out violence against women in the world.

– Senator Boxer, February 9, 2009

Sam, Trisha, Lori, Joel, Debra, and I continued this conversation with Senator Boxer’s Special Projects Director Hilary Bishop Pearson (3rd from the right in the photo). With a background in international affairs, Hilary was able to connect with our issues from experience which made our conversation very productive.

First, we expressed our thanks to Senator Boxer for supporting the Kerry-Lugar Amendment which restored the $4 billion increase in the foreign assistance piece of the budget. We then gave a brief account of ONE’s mission, work and growing networks across the state. Next, Lori seamlessly transitioned our discussion to the Millennium Development Goals highlighting the 8th goal – the importance of US leadership in developing Global Partnerships while prioritize development and accountability. While Joel spoke on the 1961 Foreign Assistance Bill reform, Sam emphasized the strong faith-based partnerships being built through ONE and the Interfaith Millennium Development Goals Coalition in San Francisco and Los Angeles – each supporting the MDGs and Foreign Assistance reform.

However, it was the area of Women and Children where made the strongest connection with Senator Boxer’s staff. Trisha and Debra were eloquent in their presentation of underdeveloped countries’ struggle with health, education and sanitation. They particularly stressed how these three issues disproportionately affect women and girls around the world. Senator Boxer’s staff seemed excited to open the line of communication with local ONE members and asked if we would continue to keep their office informed of the issues supported by over 250,000 ONE members in California. Absolutely!

ONE members in California have electrified the state with their events and congressional visits in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, San Diego, L.A. and many other districts in the state. This week we’d like to encourage everyone to request a meeting with your member of congress or get in touch with your closest Field Organizer to see how you can help make extreme poverty history.

-Roscoe Mapps, California Organizer

Boxer to Chair Subcommittee on Global Women’s Issues

Chris Scott — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:53:28 +0000

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times reports that Senator Barbara Boxer of California will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues.

Kristof speculates that “issues like trafficking and maternal mortality and sexual violence finally seem to be getting some traction.” This is the first time a subcommittee has had the specific mandate of dealing with global women’s issues.

Excerpts from Senator Boxer’s official statement below, Kristof’s full piece here

Senator Boxer said, “I am very grateful to our new Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry, for allowing me to focus part of my efforts on the worldwide status of women.”

Boxer continued, “This new subcommittee assignment offers a tremendous opportunity to shine the light of day on a very overlooked issue. Too often, we turn our eyes away as women are persecuted, abused and treated as second-class citizens. But even the most conservative historians have noted that when women are given the freedom to live up to their full potential, society as a whole flourishes. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Congress and with Secretary Clinton to stamp out violence against women in the world.”

Boxer also said she looks forward to conducting oversight of U.S. participation at the United Nations and working to promote human rights abroad.

-Chris Scott

You called, they asked, she answered.

Emily Stivers — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:15:16 +0000

Late last week, hundreds of ONE members called to urge Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee to ask questions about global poverty during Hillary Clinton’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing.

Some of those senators didn’t even get a chance, because Secretary-designate Clinton answered their questions before they could be asked. Her opening statement featured a long section on the two billion people worldwide living on less than $2 a day. She emphasized that the plight of the poor is “not marginal to our foreign policy but integral to accomplishing our goals.”

Opening remarks by Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) also included a strong statement about the ongoing global hunger crisis. “The United States is uniquely situated to help the world feed itself and has the opportunities to recast its image by making the eradication of hunger a centerpiece of United States foreign policy,” he said.

In the subsequent question-and-answer period, ten out of fifteen of the Foreign Relations Committee Senators raised issues related to ONE issues, including these:

- Senator Bob Corker (Tennessee) asked about reforming and modernizing U.S. foreign aid, referring to the “maze of aid efforts that are underway” and the need for the State Department to examine and streamline these efforts.

- Senator Barbara Boxer (California) stated that “HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis — Africa, Asia, Latin America need our attention,” and went on to describe the persecution of women in the developing world.

Clinton responded with this assurance: “I want to pledge to you that as Secretary of State I view these issues as central to our foreign policy, not as adjunct or auxiliary or in any way lesser than all of the other issues that we have to confront.”

- Senator George Voinovich (Ohio) inquired about how “smart power” — which includes foreign assistance — might be used by the new State Department.

- Senator Bill Nelson (Florida) made a statement about the Global Initiative as an accomplishment adding to Hillary Clinton’s resume: “The fact that the Global Initiative has done such good things all over the world, the anti-viral drugs and the dispensing, the working on poverty and hunger, the fact of promoting development in the third world…is a significant accomplishment and that can only lend additional credibility to your coming to the table as the foreign policy representative of the United States government.”

- Senator Benjamin Cardin (Maryland) made a strong point about human rights, particularly in terms of addressing the needs of refugees of “conflict, famine, disease, [and] the economy”.

- Senator Robert Menendez (New Jersey) inquired about ways to elevate foreign assistance and streamline the structure of our foreign aid, and later asked about HIV/AIDS policies as well.

- Senator Johnny Isakson (Georgia) made a strong case for reviving and elevating development assistance to the level of defense and diplomacy as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy, specifically in the areas of capacity and resources and attention to Africa.

- Senator Robert Casey (Pennsylvania) emphasized the importance of increasing resources allocated to development. “To truly harness the full strength of America,” he stated in a quotation from a speech made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in July, “requires having civilian institutions of diplomacy and development that are adequately staffed and properly funded.”

- Senator John Barrasso (Wyoming) also asked about aid effectiveness, or rather “how to balance allocating foreign aid and making sure that American taxpayers are getting value for their money”.

In addition to these issues raised during the hearing, several of the Senators indicated that Secretary-designate Clinton pre-empted their questions in her opening statement when she covered the importance of U.S. humanitarian and development programs to U.S. foreign policy, her determination to seek adequate resources to realize ambitious development objectives and her intention to review, consolidate and streamline U.S. foreign assistance programs.

Other senators informed us that they submitted more than 20 additional questions, on topics including malaria, global education and agriculture, “for the record” to be answered by the Secretary-designate later.

You can read more about Hillary Clinton’s full answers here.

-Emily K. Stivers