Call the President - The End of AIDS is in Sight

Call the White House on Ending AIDS. Will You Call?

Call the White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111

We Are Calling for an AIDS-free Generation!      

Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Clinton made a profound speech highlighting a vision that's on the horizon . . . an AIDS-free generation. Science has given us a way to end the AIDS crisis because, as we now know, treatment not only saves lives but has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by 96%. It also reduces the likelihood of active TB, the biggest killer of people with AIDS, by 84%. In combination with other methods, we can halt HIV infections and AIDS deaths. 

Now we must talk about how the U.S. will play a leading role. 

With World AIDS Day coming on December 1, now is the time when President Obama can voice his leadership for the end of AIDS. One move the president could make is to call for the PEPFAR program (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) to put several million more people on AIDS treatment by the end of next year.

We need your voice. Make a call to the White House! 

Call the White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111

Foreign Assistance Is Under Threat in the Senate. Make a Call Today!

Senate leadership has delayed the consideration of the foreign aid appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012. While it may not go to the floor this week, it could go to the floor quickly and with little notice, so our continued calls are important.   

This bill funds critical, life-saving, poverty-focused foreign assistance. But the funding is in danger. Your voice right now could help save it.

When this bill goes to the floor for a vote, many senators will offer dangerous amendments to slash funding. The House version of the foreign aid bill is already a dramatic $5 billion lower than the Senate version and 20 percent below the FY 2010 level. If the Senate and House come together to reconcile the two versions of the bill, and the Senate bill has been slashed, negotiations will start at a much lower funding level. The outcome for foreign aid and human lives could be grim.

We know that foreign aid cuts won’t help the deficit because foreign assistance is less than 1 percent of our nation’s budget. Consider what a Washington Post op-ed writer and speech writer for President Bush wrote earlier this year:

"Not all sacrifices are shared equally. Some get a pay freeze. Some get a benefit adjustment. Others get a fever and a small coffin. This is not fiscal prudence. It is the prioritization of the most problematic spending cuts — a disproportionate emphasis on the least justifiable reductions. One can be a budget cutter and still take exception to cuts at the expense of the most vulnerable people on earth."

Defending smart foreign assistance investment is what we do best. Take a look at our newest action alert and mobilize your local RESULTS allies to make calls to your senators. So far, at least 23 activists have made calls. Let's help that number grow by leaps and bounds. Speak out in defense of foreign assistance. We are poised to make a difference.

Call Your Rep. — Deadline Extended Through Wednesday, October 26!

Please call the foreign policy aide for your representative ASAP and ask that he or she sign on to the Schakowsky sign-on letter to Secretary of State Clinton. The letter asks the Obama administration to make a three-year pledge of $375 million to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) at the upcoming replenishment conference in November. The last day they can sign on is this Wednesday, October 26. Stay in action on it it until you get a yes or no answer!

Thanks to your persistent work, we now have at least 29 supporters on this critical letter. Great work! More will sign if we just ask them to. 

Current signers: Schakowsky (D-IL), Moran (D-VA), Christensen (D-VI), Woolsey (D-CA), Lujan (D-NM), Napolitano (D-CA), Lofgren (D-CA), Farr (D-CA), Holt (D-NJ), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Polis (D-CO), Conyers (D-MI), Green (D-TX), Van Hollen (D-MD), Kildee (D-MI), Price (D-NC), Gonzalez (D-TX), McDermott (D-WA), T. Ryan (D-OH), Andrews (D-NJ), Lee (D-CA), Speier (D-CA), McNerney (D-CA), Honda (D-CA), Eshoo (D-CA), Rothman (D-NJ), Davis (D-CA), Hastings (D-FL), Rush (D-IL)

If your Rep. is already a signer, thank him/her and ask if they can influence one other House member to sign as well. If your congressperson hasn't yet signed, here are some useful resources to help you with this request:

• A laser talk for making the request and the phone number for the Capitol Hill switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
• A copy of the sign-on letter to Sec. of State Clinton  and/or the media we've generate our investment in GPE. You can send it to the aide before or after the call.
• A fact sheet on global education that explains why education is so critical.

Your efforts are critical to getting the administration to make this needed investment. Please take a couple of minutes to do this today or tomorrow. 

Top Action: Call Your Rep. about Education

Please call the foreign policy aide for your representative and ask that he or she sign on to the Schakowsky sign-on letter to Secretary of State Clinton. The letter asks the Obama administration to make a three-year pledge of $375 million to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) at the upcoming replenishment conference in November. Points to emphasize when you call:

• This is not new money. It would involve shifting some of our global education money to the Global Partnership for Education. 
• Investing in the GPE is cost effective because GPE coordinates aid, the U.S. investment will encourage other governments to give, and GPE encourages recipient countries to invest more in their own education sectors. 
• GPE investment in developing countries fills funding gaps while the vast majority of education funding comes from the recipient countries themselves. 
• If GPE raises the $2.5 billion for three years they are seeking, they’ll help put 25 million kids in school over that time. 
• Investing in global education is good for U.S. security and the U.S. economy. 

 Here are other useful resources to help you with this request:

• Our comprehensive Education for All resource page, which includes the updated editorial packet. 
• A laser talk for making the request 
• A copy of the sign-on letter to Sec. Of State Clinton you can send to the aide 
• A fact sheet on global education that explains why education is so critical 
• Recent op-ed by General John Bradley on global education and investing the GPE that you can forward 
• Capitol Hill switchboard: (202) 224-3121 

 Your efforts are critical to getting the administration to make this needed investment. Please take a couple of minutes to do this today or tomorrow. Stay in action on it it until you get a yes or no answer!

Getting RESULTS for Education

If you are a newcomer to the RESULTSAustin website, what follows is a great introduction to the kind of thing we do. RESULTS nationwide is asking our congressional reps to participate in a "sign-on" letter to Secretary Clinton that asks the Administration to support The Global Partnership for Education (formerly known as Education For All - The Fast Track Initiative). "Sign-on" letters are originated by one or more members and then offered to other members as a way to signal their support of the subject of the letter. In this case, Congresswoman Schakowsky is the originator of the letter and is inviting colleague to join.

One of our tasks is to contact our Representatives to focus their attention on the letter and ask for their support. Today RESULTS does not have personal relationships with all U.S. Congressional Reps or Senators. We work with many of them, but more advocates are needed. Plus we need advocates to write letters to editors, talk to friends and neighbors, Tweet, post Facebook items and do anything else to increase public awareness and support for basic education for the poorest of the poor...which makes it easier for our elected officials to do the right thing.

So, give this a read. Then check out the web links on the left side of the page, including the Meet-up link that shows when and where we will meet next. This work may be exactly what your soul needs. Come see for yourself.

The Congressional GPE Sign-On Letter

Introduction Letter to Potential Supporters:

From: The Honorable Janice D. Schakowsky
Date: 10/7/2011

Dear Colleague:

Please join me in writing to Secretary Clinton to ask her to make a robust, three-year commitment to the Global Partnership for Education.

Formerly the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, the Global Partnership for Education is the only multilateral initiative dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to a quality education.  Globally, 67 million primary-school age children are not in school, and millions more drop out due to economic hardship or under-resourced schools.  This number will continue to rise, unless the global community takes definitive action now.

Every additional $1 million invested in the Global Partnership for Education would mean that 74 new classrooms will be constructed, 8,000 more children will enter primary school, 500,000 textbooks will be distributed, or 1,000 teachers will receive a year of training.  A $375 million commitment by the United States would provide 15% of the $2.5 billion that the Global Partnership needs to meet urgent funding needs by poor countries but would help leverage commitments from other donors and from developing countries, ensuring our aid dollars go farther.

Please join me in asking Secretary Clinton to make a three year, $375 million commitment at the upcoming Global Partnership for Education replenishment conference.   Please contact Nina Besser (nina.besser (at) mail.house.gov, x52111) with any questions or to sign onto the letter.  The deadline for signing is October 21, 2011.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Jan Schakowsky

The Letter to Secretary Clinton:

Dear Secretary Clinton:

Knowing of your commitment to promoting educational opportunities for all children, we are writing to urge the United States to make a three-year, $375 million commitment to the Global Partnership for Education at the November 7-8 replenishment conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Global Partnership for Education (formerly the Education for All- Fast Track Initiative) is the only multilateral initiative dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to a quality education.  Despite efforts by the U.S. and the international community, there are still 67 million primary-school age children not in school and millions more who drop out because of under-resourced schools and economic burdens.  Unless we take new action, more children will be out of school in 2015 than today. 

Every additional $1 million invested in the Global Partnership for Education would mean that 74 new classrooms will be constructed, 8,000 more children will enter primary school, 500,000 textbooks will be distributed, or 1,000 teachers will receive a year of training.  A $375 million commitment by the United States would provide just 15% of the $2.5 billion that the Global Partnership needs to meet urgent funding needs by poor countries.

To date, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has allocated over $2.2 billion in support of 46 low-income countries.  GPE has funded the construction of more than 30,000 classrooms; training for more than 337,000 teachers; and the enrollment of 19 million additional children in school in partner countries. Between 2002 and 2009, the number of children enrolled in school in GPE countries went up 48 percent. Further, 68 percent of girls completed primary school in GPE countries in 2008, compared with only 56 percent in the same countries in 2002.

The new Global Partnership for Education charter underscores the sense of “partnership” as one of mutual accountability that links increased donor support for education to recipient countries’ policy performance and accountability for results.  This initiative encourages greater investment in education from partner country governments.  GPE countries increased their own domestic expenditures for primary education by 6 to 9 percent per year between 2000 and 2005, higher on average than their economic growth in the same period.

The Global Partnership for Education now has a critical opportunity to mobilize global commitments to meet some of the greatest challenges to universal education: (1) At least 42 percent of the world’s out-of-school children live in fragile or conflict-affected poor countries; (2) Of the 67 million out-of-schoolchildren, 36 million are girls; and (3) The quality of education in developing countries is unacceptably low — about half of children in the lowest-income countries cannot read anything at all at the end of grade 2.  As a result, the replenishment will focus on a three-pillared policy agenda focusing on fragile and conflict-affected states, girls’ education, and learning outcomes.

Education is the foundation of all other development goals, including the Obama Administration’s commitments on maternal and child health and food security.  The Global Partnership supports programs and policies that are complementary to our bilateral education efforts. Funding through the Global Partnership leverages commitments from other donors and from developing countries, thus ensuring our aid dollars go farther. Financing through Global Partnership also directly supports development and implementation of stronger national education plans — strengthening the national response— as well ensuring donor coordination. The Global Partnership also reduces overhead expenses, allowing the U.S. to scale up education efforts, especially in fragile countries, so that more children can benefit.

As you are aware, education, particularly education of girls, is critical for economic development.  Economic opportunity is, in turn, a key factor in short- and long-term stability and peace.  You have been a steadfast champion for girls’ education, and now is the moment for the United States to mobilize donors and developing countries by pledging $375 million over three years to the Global Partnership for Education.  We urge you to demonstrate U.S. commitment to ensuring that all children have access to quality basic education at the upcoming replenishment conference, and we look forward to working with you to ensure funding for this important initiative.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

POVERTY OVER

TICKETS

$10 or more in advance

Click HERE to Order On-line

 $12 at the door

  

WHEN

Wednesday September 28

6:30 - Doors open

7:30 - Mother Falcon

8:30 - Bill Callahan

and the After-Concert!

9:30 - Good Town

10:10 - Kendall Clark

11:00 - DJ Jason Torres

(Times are only approximate)

WHERE

The Mohawk

912 Red River – Austin, TX (map)

100% of ticket sales support RESULTS!

Sponsors

The Mohawk, the bands, NoEnemies and Motorblade.

 

HOT Calendar Items in August

August 10: Issue Training Call on the Fast Track Initiative. 9:00 pm ET. (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. What is the Fast Track Initiative? How does it related to our Education for All campaign? How does it relate to the Education for All Act? Call in for some great clarifying information.

August 13: Global Conference Call: Focus on Education for All and the Fast Track Initiative. 2:00 pm ET. (888) 409-6709

August 17: Education for All Media Grassroots Skillshare. Time to be determined. (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. Interested in writing an op-ed on our Education for All campaign for your local paper? Want to pitch an editorial but need some tips? Call in to swap best practice ideas.

August 30: RESULTS Introductory Call. 9:00 pm ET. Register today!  

New Education For All Act of 2011 — Get Cosponsors Today!

The EFA Act of 2011 has been introduced by Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and David Reichert (R-WA). 
Ask your representatives to cosponsor! Use these resources to help you make the ask:
Education for All Act of 2011 Fact Sheet (Word)
Education for All: Linchpin for Global Development and Security (pdf)
August Action Sheet: Cosponsor the Education for All Act of 2011 (Word)
For more resources and background, visit our Education For All page!

Introduction to RESULTS

Do you have a friend with a passion for international affairs, or a colleague who is interested in politics? Want to get some more people involved in your local group but aren’t sure how to introduce them to RESULTS?

Starting in July RESULTS will host a monthly conference call for people who might want to get involved but need to know more about RESULTS.

Our first call will be Wednesday, July 27th 2011 at 9 pm ET. The calls will last about 30 minutes and will allow people to get a short and sweet taste of who RESULTS is, what we do, and why we do it. Please invite any interested parties to RSVP for this call here: http://tinyurl.com/64krwpn.

Take Action to Protect the Poor

The President has announced meetings with Congressional leaders to make progress on the deficit reduction plans now being negotiated.  There are grave concerns there will be large spending cuts in Medicaid and “discretionary” spending including critical investments in appropriations for vital foreign aid programs as well as Head Start and child care assistance for low-income working families in the US, that will hurt millions of vulnerable children and families.  Advocates must elevate the potential devastating impacts these negotiations can have on low-income people and programs.  By calling or emailing the White House you can show strong support for holding firm against damaging cuts.

Call or send a message to the White House (to President Obama and Vice President Biden). Call toll-free: (888) 245-0215 or send a message (you can paste the following into the WH comment line or write something in your own words)

Urge them to: Please hold firm and prevent harmful cuts or caps to low-income programs in the negotiations to reduce the deficit. Please insist on fair increases in revenues to prevent reckless cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, Head Start, and other essential services. And, slashing effective foreign aid programs won’t do anything for our national deficit, but would have a tragic impact on these life-improving and life-savings programs.

Please take action today by asking the White House to protect our families in the deficit reduction deal. Go here to send the White House your message: http://1.usa.gov/jdipsp. Thanks to our good friends at the Coalition on Human Needs for sharing their toll-free number. 

Background: Congress is likely to pass some kind of deficit reduction proposal in the next few weeks. RESULTS is also concerned about budget deficits and recognize that we need a long-term solution to this problem. However, we have serious concern over the “solutions” now being considered, which disproportionately target programs that help low-income Americans and could also lead to deep cuts to anti-poverty programs around the world.

Last week, President Obama stepped up the pressure on Congress to resolve the issues around the federal deficit and get a deal done as soon as possible. This was on the heels of key Republicans walking out of talks over Democratic proposals to include new revenue as part of a deficit reduction package. President Obama reiterated his position that serious deficit reduction cannot rely on spending cuts alone; new revenue, preferable from high income earners who have seen their taxes drop significantly over the last decade. He also said that Congress should not go on upcoming recesses until a deal is done; that request was quickly heeded when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that the Senate would not go on recess this week, but would stay in session to continue budget talks.

The threats to critical anti-poverty programs here in the US — Medicaid, Head Start, SNAP (formerly the Food Stamp Program), the Earned Income Tax Credit, and others — are very real. Mathematically, slashing global poverty programs won’t make a dent in the deficit. Most Americans think the U.S. spends 25 percent of its budget on development assistance — but it’s really less than 1 percent! (Most Americans would be happy to cut foreign aid to 7–10 percent.) While slashing these effective programs won’t do anything for our national deficit, it would have a tragic impact on these life-improving and life-savings programs. Let’s make sure they make the right decisions and protect vulnerable populations from reckless and cruel budget cuts.

** In addition to reaching out to the White House, we urge you to weigh in with your members of Congress. Use our call-in alert to call Congress toll-free or send e-mails to Congress through our website. For more information about RESULTS and how you can make a difference, including our work in communities across the country to create the political will to end poverty, please visit our website: www.results.org.