Each day this week, we’ll highlight a major accomplishment in the fight against poverty that ONE members helped achieve in 2011. Today, ONE’s Assistant Director of ONE’s Government Relations Team Maryamu Aminu discusses our impact on the US FY2012 budget. Did the year fly by for you? If you measure by our work, it was

We have much reason to be thankful this November. In my last post, I explained that we were at a critical juncture in the budget process, and why it was important that ONE members, their families and friends contact their senators with an urgent message to support the current Senate funding levels for the 2012

A guest post from Molly Lester of the US Global Leadership Coalition This week, five former Secretaries of State, representing both Democrats and Republican administrations, sent a letter to Congress raising concerns about additional cuts to diplomacy and development programs in the FY12 appropriations. Former Secretaries Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and

This week, the Senate is making important decisions on the FY2012 US International Affairs Budget. You can take action now by telling the Senate to VOTE NO on cuts to life-saving, poverty-fighting programs here: http://act.one.org/call/vote_no_senate_2012_budget Elizabeth and Victoria. Photo credit: Morgana Wingard/ONE.

Big news. As you know, last week we delivered signatures from ONE’s “Fight the Famine, Feed the Future” petition to all Senate offices here in DC. Senator Durbin just responded, reaffirming his commitment to “work for adequate funding for humanitarian assistance programs as the Senate considers the Fiscal Year 2012 budget, and monitor the crisis

Next week, the Senate will consider the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill which funds the State Department and US foreign assistance programs. Our senators have the opportunity to reaffirm American leadership in fighting poverty and preventable diseases around the world by protecting the Senate funding levels contained in the bill against any

Yesterday was an exciting afternoon for the ONE intern team, thanks to a trip to Capitol Hill. Making visits to senators from all 50 states, we delivered the names of the thousands of ONE members who have signed our agriculture and budget petitions nationwide along with hundreds of hand-written letters from passionate foreign aid advocates.

So many of us in DC are beginning to get a little too used to the grinding partisanship and divides that we often miss good news when it comes through. Yesterday morning, Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners and member of President Obama’s White House faith advisory committee, and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist

Mandy Moore, Ronan Farrow and Jon Lovett at the Power of 1% ReceptionYesterday, ONE joined PSI, PATH, FHI 360 and World Vision to celebrate USAID’s 50th anniversary in an event called the “Power of 1%” in Washington, D.C. With guest speakers like Barbara Bush and Mandy Moore, the event shined a light on the amazing

Polls show that the American public on average believes that 25 percent of the Federal Budget is spent on foreign aid. In reality, this figure is less than 1 percent. In an effort to demonstrate what has been achieved with less than 1 percent, PSI, FHI360, PATH, World Vision and ONE are co-sponsoring a four-part

In case you haven’t heard, here’s the word on the street: today is National Call-in Day. As you know, the US Congress is facing tough budget choices and it’s critical that they know TODAY that their constituents are watching and want them to protect the less than 1 percent of the budget that goes to

Yesterday, following months of negotiations, proposals that blew apart, and mounting anxiety over the state of the US economy, lawmakers and the White House finally came together with a deal. The budget package signed by President Obama allows the US debt ceiling to rise, permits borrowing to meet the nation’s obligations, places a down-payment of

Members of the House are urging the US government to take quick, decisive action on the Horn of Africa food crisis, where more than 12 million people are at risk of starvation. Last week, Reps. Jim McGovern, Rosa DeLauro and Jan Schakowsky spoke about the crisis on the House floor, where they described the urgent

The House State and Foreign Operations subcommittee faced difficult choices in allocating a smaller portion of funds in its FY 2012 bill today. While the legislation does not contain much detail about specific funding levels, we are very concerned about the impact of what appears to be disproportionate and sharp cuts to international development, which

Wow, big thanks to all the people who participated in last week’s ONE Act, “Take our budget quiz, win a prize.” Before we announce the winner of the contest, here are the answers to the quiz: