Sen. Obama was in Nashua yesterday to talk with New Hampshire voters about why he wants to be the next president of the United States. In his speech, he spoke about the need to fight AIDS and poverty in places like Africa and his plan to double US aid in these areas.

He also spoke about reforming the Farm Bill in the Senate and said how important it was for the Senate to shift farming payments. He even noted how many of these payments have been wasted and been given to deceased people and fortune 500 companies. By reforming the Farm Bill, we have a chance to help small US farms at the same time we allow poor African farmers to trade their way out of poverty.

After the event, Sen. Obama went around and shook hands with people and met some ONE members in the crowd. The Kinney’s were there and their daughter Carly and her friend Chandler, in ONE shirts, were able to thank Senator Obama for remembering the poorest people in the world. I was able to snap a quick photo as Sen. Obama thanked us and he moved down the line…only to find more ONE members thanking him for talking about AIDS and poverty in Africa.

Across the nation, ONE members are using their voice on behalf of the poorest of the poor, and the over 2.4 million Americans that know our country can beat global AIDS and end extreme global poverty when we act as ONE. ONE Vote ‘08 is making sure the next president of the United States – Republican or Democrat, man or woman – will be a leader in this global emergency!

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Field Organizer

Hi everyone,

We just got word that Oxfam America Vice President Jim Lyons will be on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight at 10:00 ET (7:00 PT) on CNN, to discuss the Farm Bill. Make sure you tune in and let us know what you thought.

Thanks!

Tim Fullerton, Oxfam America

After we posted that the Fairness Amendment failed, an anonymous member added this comment.

An excerpt:

“This year…I and the 2.4 million other members of ONE learned about the farm bill and how it effects the lives of small farmers here and around the world, and we — for the first time ever– were given a chance to act.

By the thousands and the tens of thousands and the hundreds of thousands we made our voices heard. We wrote letters to the editor of papers all over the country. We called our congressmen and our senators. We met in their offices and made our case eye to eye. We sent faxes. We forwarded information to our friends, who passed it on to their friends. We turned decades of silence into the first globally conscious movement to change the farm bill ever.

Yes, it’s now clear the cynical defenders of the status quo that have been preparing a well oiled, massively funded lobbying machine for years will get most of what they want. But not all. Because this year, the billions who live or die by the decisions made in Washington finally found a voice to echo for them down the corridors of American power. They found my voice. They found your voice. The found our voice.

This round we learned to to speak for and with the people of the world, together as ONE. No, we did not win all we had hoped. But we have forever changed the game. Next round, there will be millions more of us speaking with greater strength than ever before.

Disappointing but not surprising. This was an amazing effort by all. Never before has such a diverse group come together to support reform that would benefit family farmers here at home and abroad.

Thanks for all the calls, letters, meetings, statements and releases. This was never going to be easy but we made major strides toward reform. The House took the first step, now it is up to the Senate to capitalize on the momentum that has been built.

Farm Bill — The House is debating the rule to consider the Farm Bill now. The Fairness Amendment will be the first amendment considered after the rule is passed.

News on other ONE priorties:

GROWTH Act — Senator Hutchison has agreed to co-sponsor the GROWTH Act bill with Senator Durbin. One of our super volunteers, hand delivered 4,672 letters from ONE members asking Sen. Hutchison to be the lead cosponsor of the bill!

Global Poverty Act – is scheduled for markup on Tuesday, July 31st — We have been working to build committee support for this bill so that it will pass through committee unopposed.

-Erin Erlenborn, ONE Government Relations Director

You can watch on your TV or live online on C-Span.

The Fairness Amendment will be up first when the Farm Bill is on the floor this afternoon!

We only have one shot – so encourage everyone to make calls! (800) 786-2663

We especially need ONE members from California, Florida, New York, Michigan to call their representatives.

More when we have it.

-Erin Erlenborn, ONE’s Director of Government Relations

Those of us watching the House Agriculture Committee deliberations on the 2007 Farm Bill last week were privy to an elaborate show of smoke and mirrors. What was billed as reform was actually the opposite. Although we didn’t really think it was possible, the new Farm Bill proposed by the House Agriculture Committee actually takes our food and farm policy from bad to worse!

The proposed Farm Bill continues massive taxpayer support to the biggest and richest farmers, while doing little for small farmers, minority producers, anti-hunger programs, or the environment. It also continues to encourage overproduction and dumping of agriculture surpluses, such as cotton, on developing country farmers who are struggling to lift themselves out of poverty. THIS IS NOT REFORM. In fact, the Committee has sold out American family farmers to the highest bidder and left struggling farmers in poor countries in the dust.

Call me naïve, but I still have some hope that the House of Representatives is going to do the right thing and vote for a reformed Farm Bill on Thursday. In fact, a bipartisan amendment will be introduced to shift funds from trade-distorting subsidies to other priorities, such as food stamps, conservation, and programs that help minority and socially disadvantaged farmers. If approved, it will help us take important first steps on a new course toward real reform of family farm and food policy.

Together with a diverse group of allies, we’re calling on every member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on the “Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment,” which will shift funds from trade-distorting subsidies to other domestic priorities and it will help poor farmers abroad too!

Join us and call on your Representative to vote in support of a reformed Farm Bill!!!

-Laura Rusu, press officer, Oxfam America, and ONE member.