You've won an important victory for hungry and poor people around the world
Thanks to your hard work throughout 2006, this week Congress finalized an increase of $1.4 billion in poverty-focused development assistance for fiscal year 2007.
This victory has been more than a year in the making. Through our 2006 Offering of Letters, One Spirit. One Will. Zero Poverty., we urged Congress to approve additional funding for programs that help hungry and poor people improve their lives and those of their children—providing access to health care, clean water, better nutrition and basic education.
By last fall, after a steady stream of letters, phone calls and visits to senators and representatives, it seemed almost certain that Congress would approve an additional $1 billion for poverty-focused development assistance. Both the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee had already done so. But in December, the 109th Congress adjourned without finalizing an increase.
Bread for the World members did not give up. The new Congress still had an opportunity to add additional funding before the 2007 spending levels were set. So we urged our senators and representatives to do so. Few federal programs received increases for 2007, but poverty-focused development assistance was one of those few. Most of the $1.4 billion increase will support HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in poor countries. We have much to celebrate!
There are two main ways to continue our advocacy:
- Seek improvements in the U.S. farm bill that will strengthen our rural communities, ensure that every family can afford a healthy diet, support U.S. farmers of modest means, and give farmers in poor countries a fair chance to sell their crops and feed their families. Find out more on how you can take action on the farm bill—the focus of Bread for the World's 2007 Offering of Letters, Seeds of Change.
- Urge Congress to approve an additional increase in poverty-focused development assistance for FY2008, so that the United States can keep its promises to people in developing countries.
Thank you again for your successful work on behalf of hungry and poor people.
