Ask Obey to help increase funding to fight global poverty
Wisconsin Rapids (WI) Tribune
April 17, 2008
I am a proud lifetime resident of this great state of Wisconsin. I grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, am a 2006 graduate of Lincoln High School and am currently earning a bachelor's degree in Peace, Conflict and Global Studies from Northland Collegae in Ashland. One of the best parts about both of these regions in which I call home is the fact that I am in Rep. David Obey's 7th District. I am grateful to be represented by Congressman Obey, who not only cares for his constituents and this region but also those who are suffering in the global south by being a leader in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and diseases such as AIDS and malaria.
In the coming weeks, the Appropriations Committee, which he chairs, will decide how much to allocate to U.S. foreign assistance programs. Obey should increase this funding enough to allow for the $5 billion increase in poverty-focused development assistance that is necessary for the U.S. to get back on track in fulfilling the commitments and promises we have made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
I agree that $5 billion certainly sounds like a lot of money, especially as a college student, but it amounts to about just $15 per U.S. citizen and a tiny fraction of 1 percent of the federal budget. I know that I at least could handle donating $15 to treating curable diseases and helping to end global suffering.
Please take five minutes out of your day to contact Rep. Obey's office by calling (202) 225-3365 and encouraging him to increase funding to U.S. foreign assistance programs.
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Gandhi
Ashley Lokken
Wisconsin Rapids
