ONE Urges U.S. Senate to Restore Critical Support for World’s Poorest People

Washington,  D.C.-ONE  today urged the Senate to restore critical support for America’s lifesaving  global initiatives after the Senate Budget Committee last week slashed proposed  funding for the modest portion of the budget that saves lives, fights disease  and increases economic and educational opportunities for the world’s poorest  people.

ONE  called on the Senate to follow President Obama’s leadership in supporting global  health, education, agriculture and other investments by passing an amendment  introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) to the FY2010  Budget Resolution.

The  Kerry-Lugar amendment would restore the funding level requested by President  Obama for the international affairs budget, the portion of the budget that  includes America’s global poverty and disease reduction initiatives.

In  response to these recent developments, David Lane, President and C.E.O. of ONE,  made the following statement:

“ONE  strongly urges the Senate to pass the Kerry-Lugar amendment and support the  smart, successful U.S. initiatives that have saved lives and helped poor people  fight their way out of extreme poverty. The decision by the Senate Budget  Committee last week to cut support for these efforts is shortsighted and is not  in line with the smart power approach advocated by Secretary Clinton and  Secretary Gates, among others. ONE is disappointed that Senator Conrad and the  Budget Committee failed to follow President Obama’s leadership on these vital  issues. We thank Senators Kerry and Lugar for their  leadership and urge the Senate to restore this critical funding.”

Last week, the Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), removed approximately $4 billion from president’s original $53.8 billion request. These cuts suggest that innovative, successful programs that increase access to clean water and support infrastructure, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, or increase access to basic lifesaving medicines and treatments, such the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), may not be fully funded in the next fiscal year. These proposed cuts come at a time when the world’s poorest people are suffering from the economic crisis in the form of falling investment, exports and remittances.

Both  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have  also urged the Senate to restore funding to the international affairs budget,  arguing its importance to U.S. security and other  interests (“Army  Times: Gates Lobbies For More Funds – For State,” 3/30/09).

Thanks  to bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, America’s lifesaving global efforts  have delivered historic results in the last several  years. More  than 2 million people with HIV/AIDS in Africa are receiving basic medicines and  beating the disease thanks to America’s commitment. That number is up from just  50,000 in 2003. Millions more are surviving malaria because of cost-effective  investments in simple bed nets and medicines. Some 34 million more children  living in the world’s poorest regions have been given the chance to go to school  for the first time in recent years, opening the door to productive  futures.