This is a message from Bread For the World....
Friends,
Bread activist Matthew McAllister from Boulder, Colorado just called his senators to ask them to co-sponsor the Global Poverty Act. Check out the video he made of the call: http://www.vimeo.com/13473
Be like Matthew. Call your senators to support cutting global hunger and extreme poverty in half by supporting the Global Poverty Act. The clock is ticking - there are only a few legislative weeks before Congress adjourns. We need your voice now more than ever! Here are some simple instructions:
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Call both of your senators at 1-800-826-3688 as soon as possible (but not after July 25th) and tell him or her to either:
1. Cosponsor the Global Poverty Act
OR, if your senator is already a cosponsor (see list below), then:
2. Thank your senator for cosponsoring. Then tell him or her to please ask the Senate leadership to move this bill to the floor for full Senate consideration.
For more detailed suggestions on what to say during your calls, click here: http://www.bread.org/take-
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WHY?
The Global Poverty Act (S.2433) would require the president to develop and implement a strategy made up of U.S. aid, debt relief, and trade policies to meet the goal of cutting by half the number of people who live on less than $1 a day by 2015. This bill would bring clarity, coordination, and accountability to our foreign assistance programs and would require regular reports to Congress on U.S. efforts to fight extreme poverty.
It has already passed in the House of Representatives but currently waits to be passed by the full Senate. The clock is ticking – there are only a few legislative weeks before Congress adjourns this year. Can you take a minute or two and make a quick call to your senator?
Time is running out. If it does not pass before the session ends, the whole process will have to start over again during the next Congress. Right now, it is time to urge Senate leadership to move this bill to the floor so it can get voted on.
The best way to show Senate leadership that the Global Poverty Act should be voted on by the full Senate is to present these leaders with a strong list of both Democrat and Republican supporters who are cosponsoring the bill (which is why you should call your senator!). There are 24 cosponsors in the Senate right now:
CA: Dianne Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D)
CT: Christopher Dodd (D)
DE: Joseph Biden (D)
IL: Richard Durbin (D) and Barack Obama (D) (Obama is the original cosponsor)
IN: Richard Lugar (R)
IA: Tom Harkin (D)
ME: Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R)
MD: Barbara Mikulski (D)
MA: John Kerry (D)
NE: Chuck Hagel (R)
NJ: Robert Menendez (D)
NM : Jeff Bingaman (D)
NY : Charles Schumer (D)
OH : Sherrod Brown (D)
OR: Ron Wyden (D) and Gordon Smith (R)
PA: Robert Casey (D)
SD: Tim Johnson (D)
WA: Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D)
WI: Russ Feingold (D)
The Global Poverty Act does not establish any new programs. Instead, it highlights the fact that extreme poverty won’t be solved by aid alone, but needs to be supported by good trade policy, debt cancellation, and public-private partnerships. These functions are currently scattered across the U.S. government. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill would cost less than $1 million to implement.
The Global Poverty Act (H.R. 1302) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) and collected 84 bipartisan cosponsors before it was passed on September 25, 2007. The Senate bill, S. 2433, was passed by the Foreign Relations Committee earlier this year and awaits the full approval of the Senate.
Want to learn more? Click here:http://www.bread.org/take-
Peace and Blessings,
Matt
Matt Newell-Ching
Western Regional Organizer
Bread for the World
HAVE FAITH. END HUNGER.
0245 SW Bancroft St. Suite B
Portland, OR 97239
toll-free 888-75-BREAD x1
direct 503-922-2182
fax 503-766-3539
www.bread.org
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