Some Background Info For Us

Hi there,

President Bush took off for Benin last night, and will also visit Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, and Liberia in the next 6 days.

We expect the trip to cover several of the bipartisan programs ONE supporters have been supporting for years, such as PEPFAR, PMI, the MCA and AGOA.

The ONE policy staff, who we love, put together briefs on all of these topics so that you can peruse at your leisure during the next few days. As news pours in as to what our president is doing day-to-day on his Africa trip, I’ll likely be referring back to the stats in these quick, easy-to-read briefs.

• PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)
• PMI (President’s Malaria Initiative)
• MCA (Millennium Challenge Account)
• AGOA (The African Growth and Opportunity Act)

.
-Virginia Simmons

Anne Batchedler’s First Report Back from Nigeria!

When I started working for the ONE Campaign in 2005 I had just come back from a year in Ghana, working on small-scale economic community development projects. Working for ONE, and advocating for ONE’s core issues, it was very real to me that we were working to help families support themselves through life-saving medicines, important clean water and hygiene programs, and through creating economic opportunities by making trade more fair - the kinds of things that people in Ghana desperately needed.

Now, I am back in Africa - Nigeria, this time, and again working on a community development project - the Gwaimen Center, a community-based sustainability center to support widows and orphans in Kwoi, Nigeria. Now that things have come full circle, I am now seeing the fruits of ONE’s arduous labors.

During my first week here, we stopped at a clinic in Kagoro to visit a friend. One of the first things that I noticed was this sign. “USAID had been here - from the American people.”

I suddenly had the clearest image of members of ONE’s amazing dedicated staff (whom I miss greatly!), ONE volunteers from around the country, and the 2.4 million ONE supporters, calling their leaders and asking them to support important initiatives like this. ONE is on the front lines - fighting for things that make a difference in the lives of people in other countries - from the American people.

I’ve only been here two weeks, so will continue to send stories from the ground!

-Anne Batchelder, ONE member, former ONE Deputy Field Director, and founder of the Gwaimen Center in Kwoi, Nigeria

Frist Tapped for MCC Board

On Wednesday, President Bush tapped Doctor, former Senate Majority Leader, and ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chair, Bill Frist to serve on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) board.

The MCC is U.S. government program that rewards countries that do right by their citizens through long-term, larger than typical grants. Beyond working as an incentive against corruption, the process is additionally unique because it is transparent and citizen led.

“I’m delighted at the opportunity to serve on a board that reflects the absolute necessity of having transparency and accountability tied to our developmental foreign aid,” Frist said.

The U.S. Senate must vote to confirm the senator’s new MCC position.

Read the full AP piece here.

Legislative Round Up

This is an abridge legislative update — it is August recess after all.

The Farm Bill - The U.S. Congress has an unique moment to reform the Farm Bill this year to help small farmers in America and in developing countries.

Updates:

- Last week, Speaker Pelosi said on camera that she has “always wanted” a tougher limit on farm subsidies (a payment limit so wealthy farmers don’t continue to receive a government check) than the one included in the House-passed farm bill.

- The Senate Farm Bill will likely to be marked-up in committee during the third week of September and the Senate’s support for a tougher payment limit is growing - Obama, Durbin, Brown, Dorgan, Grassley have all come out publicly supporting a stronger cap.

The Millennium Challenge Account - A U.S. government program that rewards countries that do right by their citizens through long-term, larger than typical grants. Beyond working as an incentive against corruption, the process is additionally unique because it is transparent and citizen led.

Update:

-The list of signatories is growing. Republicans: Senators John Sununu, Norm Coleman, Johnny Isakson, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Gordon Smith, Richard Burr, John Warner and David Vitter. Democrats: Senators Christopher Dodd, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman and Sheldon Whitehouse