Take Action: Monthly Letter-Writing Project, March 2008

Back to normal view

May 16, 2008

Dear Letter-Writing Coordinator,

In 2000, international leaders and global civil society convened at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the Millennium Summit to consider the role of the UN in the 21st century. Stark economic and social inequalities have helped create a world in which over two billion people live in poverty. In a historic moment, international leaders at the summit set a goal of eradicating extreme global poverty by 2015.

As the wealthiest country in the world, the United States has a special responsibility to provide effective and generous development assistance to countries trying to rise out of poverty. Year after year, however, the U.S. fails to contribute its fair share of aid money to the world's poorest countries.

The UN recommends that wealthy countries contribute 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) to development assistance. Currently, the United States devotes only 0.17% of its GNI, the lowest percentage among the world's richest countries. Just $1.2 billion of the $2.7 trillion federal budget goes toward development assistance.

Congress can ensure a much stronger U.S. commitment to poverty eradication efforts by increasing funding for development assistance programs that support microcredit projects, assist farmers in growing better crops, help children go to school, and provide a range of other services to those most in need. This month we're asking letter-writers to urge their representative to support doubling U.S. development assistance from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion in the next fiscal year. Doubling U.S. development assistance in real dollars would help support global security by reducing the root causes of violent conflict ? poverty, hunger, lack of education, and other sources of human suffering.

As always, please encourage letter-writers to include personal details and to speak from their own convictions and experiences. Thank you for your continued efforts to facilitate communication with Congress on these important issues.

In peace,

Kathy Guthrie, Field Program Secretary

Sample Letter

Dear << your member of Congress>>

More than two billion of the world's 6.7 billion people live on less than two dollars a day. As the world's wealthiest nation, the United States has a responsibility to support the crucial development assistance programs needed to address this moral calamity and threat to global stability. Yet, while the U.S. spends about $12 billion a month on thea Iraq war, only about $1.2 billion of the $2.7 trillion annual federal budget is spent on U.S. development assistance.

I urge you to work with your colleagues to ensure that the Fiscal Year 2009 State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill doubles funding for core U.S. development assistance from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion. Such an increase would help lift more people out of entrenched poverty, shore up international security and help improve the U.S. relationship with the world.

Please let me know how you will work in Congress to support doubling funding for essential U.S. development assistance to the countries and people most in need.

Sincerely,

<<your name>>

Contacting Legislators

Contact your members of Congress through FCNL's website: http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Sen. ________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515