[Pacg] PLEASE help support the Global Poverty Act - Urgent

[qcprogressiveaction]

*URGENT!*


From:   Clinton Franciscans and Friends in Iowa
             and the Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking
*PLEASE help support the Global Poverty Act*

We are forwarding the following plea and background information from the
Iowa Division, UNA & Bread for the World representatives who contacted
Senator Grassley personally this week.  KEY POINTS to make when calling his
Cedar Rapids Office are below along with a sample letter.


Sisters of St. Francis
588 No. Bluff Boulevard
Clinton, Iowa 52732-3953
563-242-7611; fax 563-243-0007
sisters at clintonfranciscans.com
www.clintonfranciscans.com
"Our corporate mission is active nonviolence and peacemaking, the heart of
the Franciscan charism."

----- Original Message -----


Hello, Friends.

I'm forwarding a description of a conversation I had with Sen. Grassley
yesterday, at a public meeting he hosted in Hudson, IA (about 20 miles
southwest of Waterloo).  I know you may have already contacted Sen. Grassley
earlier this year asking him to cosponsor and support the Global Poverty
Act, S. 2433, but it would be EXTREMELY helpful if you could call his LOCAL
office (Cedar Rapids, 363-6832, at Westdale Mall) within the next 3 days.
Please ask him to cosponsor the bill and ask especially for his leadership
in ensuring that the bill passes before this session of Congress adjourns.
'Time is of the essence'  because there are very few days left on the
Congressional calendar, and two years' effort will be lost if the bill is
left to die.

What makes my appeal different this time, and the reason for calling his
local office instead of his DC office, is that I spoke directly to him
yesterday, and he seemed somewhat open to my plea.  We can let him know that
Iowans care about this bill and are trying to reach him while he is 'at
home' during Congress's August recess.  It may give us a chance to bypass
the 'gatekeeper' function of D.C. aides who might not be sympathetic to the
Global Poverty Act.  Bread for the World staff say such a bypass has
sometimes helped in the past.

Congressional staff often say if they receive 8 contacts on a single bill or
issue, it gets bumped up to the next higher response level.  Please pass
this request along to friends so that we can get as many calls as possible.

Please thank Sen. Grassley for his past willingness to work across party
lines to pass needed legislation and urge him to use his leadership to
ensure that this bill does not die when the need for improved foreign aid is
so acute.  Additional talking points from Bread for the World follow:

*Key points to make:*

Please cosponsor the Global Poverty Act, which seeks to bring clarity,
coordination, and accountability to our foreign assistance programs. It has
already passed the House unanimously and has bipartisan support in the
Senate.

The act would require the president to develop and implement a coordinated
strategy 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.

Please do not allow poor and hungry people to suffer due to partisan
politics during this election season.
The link below is to further background information about the bill:
http://www.bread.org/take-action/ol2008/global-poverty-act.html

Thank you very much for considering this request!
SAMPLE LETTER IS BELOW.



*SAMPLE LETTER:
*
Dear Senator Grassley:

I urge you to cosponsor the Global Poverty Act, S.2433, and work with your
colleagues form both parties to ensure that it is passed during this session
of Congress.

Contrary to misinformation now being trumpeted, this bill would not mandate
any amount of U.S. foreign aid, would not establish costly new programs, and
as you certainly know, would not impose new taxes.  The Congressional Budget
Office estimates the bill's implementation cost at less than $1 million.
Its passage in the House was unanimous, where it was strongly supported by
original cosponsor Rep. Spencer Bachus.

What the bill would do is increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our
foreign aid programs, currently spread across 25 different agencies and
nearly 60 government offices.  The bill would require development of a
coordinated strategy involving all areas of our foreign assistance,
including aid, trade policy and debt-relief, programs that now often
conflict.  A coordinated assistance strategy would also include private
sector and civil society organizations.  As a longtime supporter of both
secular and faith-based international development agencies, I want their
programs and those funded with my taxes to complement, not cancel, each
other.

The World Bank reports the current hunger crisis, the worst in 40-plus
years, is pushing at least 100 million people deeper into poverty and
hunger.  Meanwhile, international food aid declined last year to a 50-year
low.  This dire combination makes it essential to maximize results from our
limited foreign aid dollars.  Coordinating our multiple aid programs would
help.

You are known for your opposition to government waste and inefficiency, and
for your willingness to work with Democratic colleagues on issues like
capping wasteful farm subsidies and providing health insurance for uninsured
children.  For the past 5 years you have been an honorary cosponsor of the
annual Hoover-Wallace Dinner which highlights Iowa's heritage of crossing
partisan boundaries to meet humanitarian needs.

Please extend this tradition by cosponsoring the 'good government' Global
Poverty Act, S.2433, and working to ensure its passage by this Congress! The
bill is too important to the world's hungry to allow it to be held hostage
to election-year politics.

Sincerely,







*Subject: REPORT ON SENATOR GRASSLEY MEETING*
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:55:29 -0500


I arrived early and sat in the 2nd row in a small open space in the Hudson
Public Library (town population 2,117).  There were about 30 audience
members when the mtg started, about 45 when it ended.

Sen. Grassley opened with remarks about energy.  He said he agreed with the
Republican Senate strategy to block consideration of all other legislation
until they have a chance to vote on offshore drilling.  (So maybe the rest
of this message is irrelevant.)  He said Sept 26 was the target date for
adjournment.

After his remarks I was the first to speak.  My comments pretty much covered
what I said in the SAMPLE letter  but in different order -- I started by
saying that the World Bank estimated that the current world food price
crisis was driving 100 million people deeper into poverty and hunger, while
the internationally provided food aid last year dropped to a 50-year low.  I
said that passage of the Global Poverty Act, S.2433, would be an effective
response that would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our foreign
aid.

I said that contrary to currently trumpeted misinformation about the bill,
it would NOT mandate any particular amount of US foreign aid, would NOT
establish massive new programs and would not mandate any new taxes.  I said
that it would require development of a coordinated strategy encompassing our
aid, trade rules, and debt relief programs, programs that now were
frequently in conflict.

 I said that the bill had passed the House unanimously last fall and had
received strong support from its Republican original co-sponsor, Spencer
Bacchus.  Sen. Grassley replied that a bill that passed the House
unanimously shouldn't have any problems in the Senate.  I answered, 'But it
does.'

Sen. Grassley did not seem at all familiar with the GPA and appeared
entirely unaware of the misinformation circulating about the bill.  I did
not identify any source for the misinformation.

He said, 'Are you saying that the Republicans are holding up the bill?  What
are you hearing from your national organization about what the hold-up is?'
I answered, 'Sen. Obama is the lead sponsor on the bill, and individuals who
are opposed to his presidential campaign are opposing legislation that
carries his name.'  Sen. Grassley replied that he had worked with Sen. Obama
on some E-85 (ethanol) legislation.

I said that there weren't enough Republican co-sponsors on the bill and that
Sen. Reid wouldn't schedule a vote unless the bill had broad bipartisan
support.  I said that Sen. Grassley was known for his strong support for
weeding out government inefficiency.  I said I appreciated his willingness
to work with Democratic colleagues on issues such as capping farm subsidies
and expanding SCHIP to provide health insurance for uninsured children.  I
said that we needed his cosponsorship, but stressed that we also needed his
leadership to ensure passage of this bill.

When I finished speaking I leaned forward to hand him my letter.  He asked
if it was about the issue I was talking about, and I replied that it was.
He put the letter in the inside pocket of his sportcoat.  (No one else
handed him a letter during the meeting.)

Early in the exchange Sen. Grassley asked if I had attended his meetings,
saying, 'You look kind of familiar.'  I said, 'Yes, we have spoken before.'

I thought this was one of the more hopeful interchanges I've had with him.
Perhaps this is wildly over-optimistic, but I wonder if it would be worth
asking friends to call his office now to ask him to cosponsor this bill.  If
8 contacts on an issue bump it up to a higher response level, perhaps he
might remember that he had been asked to support this bill at his Hudson, IA
meeting.

Ellen
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