Monday, September 26: National Action Day! Call Congress Protect Poverty-Focused Foreign Assistance!

Join activists from around the U.S. and tell Congress not to cut life-saving foreign assistance!
On September 26th, grassroots activists across the U.S. will mobilize for a national call-in day. Members of Save the Children, Bread for the World, RESULTS, ONE, Oxfam, CARE, and many others will join forces to ensure that the phones of their representatives and senators are ringing all day with a single, unified message: Protect funding for life-saving poverty-focused foreign assistance. Why September 26? Right now, funding for poverty-focused foreign assistance is in extreme danger. Congress is currently in the process of making budget decisions that will have short- and long-term impacts on millions of lives around the world. The current Fiscal Year ends on September 30 and the House and the Senate must agree on a budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2012), including funding for important poverty-focused foreign assistance. This year is particularly important because the funding levels for FY 2012 will become the template decisions about how much we invest in poverty-focused programs for the next decade. We need your help to defend povertyfocused foreign assistance now so that life-changing and life-saving funding can continue to reach those who need it most. Why is poverty-focused foreign assistance in danger? Poverty-focused foreign assistance is less than 1% of the U.S. federal budget, but it is often the target for disproportionate cuts. Last year, international assistance programs bore nearly 20% of the total cuts to the budget and lost nearly 18% of its funding. This small amount of funding is under threat now because the recent budget deal that Congress passed in August places limits on the overall amount Congress can spend each year for the next 10 years. Under these limits, international assistance including poverty-focused foreign assistance is lumped together with other national security accounts for funding. For the first time, povertyfocused development assistance is in direct competition with other security accounts for funding. The poor and vulnerable around the world dont have a DC lobby firm, and unless Congress hears from you, poverty-focused foreign assistance could be slashed further as Congress decides which accounts to cut in order to comply with the new spending limits. Did you Know... Poverty-focused foreign assistance is less than 1% of the federal budget, but it has a huge impact and delivers real results, including: Feeding 46.5 million of the worlds most vulnerable people and children through P.L. 480 Food Aid, and 5 million school children through the McGovern-Dole School Feeding Program;

Preventing more than 114,000 infants from being born with HIV; Nearly 4 million Africans are receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment (up from only 50,000 in 2002), mostly through PEPFAR and Global Fund; Providing 33 million HIV-positive people with counseling; Saving 3 million lives through USAIDs immunization programs; Between 2000 and 2009, 5.4 million lives were averted through immunizations supported by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations; Helping, over the last decade, to bring 1.3 billion people safe drinking water sources.

Poverty-focused foreign assistance helps protect our national security: Research shows that for every 5% drop in income growth in a developing country, the likelihood of violent conflict or war within the next year increases by 10%. Poverty-focused foreign assistance supports economic growth, protects vulnerable people, and helps to curtail desperation that may lead to violence. We spend just $1 on poverty-focused foreign assistance for every $36 we spend on defense.

Will my one call make a difference? Yes! Congress responds to its constituents, but unfortunately vulnerable people and children around the world cant voice their needs to Congress they are counting in you and your voice as a constituent to help protect poverty-focused foreign assistance. Ive never called Congress before. Is it hard? Making a call is really easy and it only takes a few minutes! When the office receptionist answers the phone, follow the basic call script below. The receptionists job is to make sure messages from constituents are relayed to their boss, so make sure you give them your name and address so they can officially log your call into their database. Call the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your member of Congress. If you arent sure who your representative is, go to: http://house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP= Call-In Tips: Introduce yourself to the receptionist and make sure that he or she take your name and address so that your message can be logged. Insist they take your information if they forget to ask for it. Tell the receptionist that you recognize that Congress is making tough budget decisions right now and share why you, as a constituent, feel strongly that your member of Congress fight to protect programs in the International Affairs Budget that save lives and help the worlds poor pull themselves out of poverty. Feel free to share why this issue is important to you and let the receptionist know if you are active in your community. It helps when members of Congress know that people across that their constituents care about protecting poverty-focused foreign assistance. Feel free to refer to additional talking points below. Say thank you! Receptionists often have many duties, but saying thanks is a great way to let them know that the delivery of your message is important to you! Report your call. Sample Call Script Please feel free to add any powerful facts you want to share.

Hi, my name is _____, and Im a constituent. Im calling to ask [Rep./Sen.s name] to oppose cuts to povertyfocused foreign assistance. Im a volunteer with [organizations name]. The U.S. spends less than 1% on poverty-focused foreign assistance but this funding saves lives and protects our national security. Reducing funding for these programs wont do anything for our national deficit, but it will have a tragic impact on life-improving and life-saving programs. By making small investments to give people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty, we are saving lives, protecting our national security, and helping to ensure our economic future. This important funding should not be disproportionally cut in the final FY 2012 budget. Please take my name and address so I can hear back from [Rep./Sen.s name] on whether he/she takes action to protect poverty-focused foreign aid. Thank you. What Else Can I Do?

Spread the world via Twitter using the common hashtag #cutscostlives. Here are some sample tweets:
o

I just called my senator (or representative) & told him (or her) to PROTECT programs 4 the world's poor. Will you? #cutscostlives @link to landing page with call-in information URGENT: Call Congress & tell them to protect programs that fight poverty #cutscostlives @link to landing page with call-in information <1% of US budget goes to programs for world's poor. DON'T let Congress take that away! #cutscostlives @link to landing page with call-in information

Spread the word via Facebook by posting a message on your facebook page. Here are some sample posts: o Act now: Call your member of Congress and tell them to protect programs that save millions of
lives, strengthen our national security and help lift people out of poverty for the long-term. Link to landing page with call-in information. o URGENT: Call your member of Congress and tell them to PROTECT programs for the world's poor: Link to landing page with call-in information. o Less than 1% of the US budget goes to programs for the worlds poor. Dont let the Senate take that away! Link to landing page with call-in information.

Email your friends and family members and ask them to make a call. Write or email a letter to your member of Congress in addition to calling them on September 26th Write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper. Make an appointment with your member of Congress local office and visit them to talk about these issues.