On July 27th, the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Ops is scheduled to start deciding where and how much to cut of the next years budget. Almost always foreign aid is the first to go and poverty-fighting programs are targeted.
But, it you have been reading the news, listening to some of the top Foreign Policy Advisors or even simply reading The Borgen Project Blog, you know that aid is extremely important, not just for the poor in developing countries (where programs have helped more than 6 million people on AIDS drugs and have helped avert 5.4 million child deaths), but for the United States as well. There are serious national security reasons and economic development reasons for investing in global development and aid.
Just check out these speeches given by Military Generals, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and even Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge:
Are you asking yourself how you can help? Its quick, easy and extremely impactful....
CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADER!
What is a Congressional Call? A 30-second call to your congressional leaders' offices to express support for addressing global poverty or a specific bill that addresses global poverty.
Start Here to Call:
1. Find the names and numbers of your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. Click here and enter your zipcode under "My Elected Officials." When the results appear, the names on the left below Barack Obama are your Senators and Representative. Click each name for their contact info. Put the numbers in your cellphone or a safe place. You can call either the D.C. office or a local office.
2. Call all three congressional leaders each week and say, "I'm a Borgen Project supporter and I would like to see funding for ending global poverty increased."
3. Welcome to the tribe! That's all there is to it. Call weekly and visit the Legislation section of the site to find specific poverty bills that we need your help building support for.
(For more info. go to www.borgenproject.org)
Sign Oxfams Petition:
TELL CONGRESS TO FIGHT POVERTY AND SAVE LIVES IN THE FY2012 BUDGET
The petition reads: “Dear Congress, As you make difficult choices in the budget, please protect programs that save lives and help pull the world’s poor out of poverty.”
Please add your voice now!!
Go to:
-Gabrielle Gurian
SOURCE: OXFAM AND BORGENPROJECT.ORG
