In light of the successful efforts of our Congress in passing the FY2014 budget bill, I would like to commend their bipartisanship in maintaining funding levels for critical lifesaving programs.
This is proof that we as a country could make a difference if we continue to use funds from the international affairs budget, which is less than 1 percent of the federal budget, in order to better the lives of those less fortunate.
Thus far these programs have given 7.5 million people worldwide access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS medicine, up from just 50,000 in 2002.
Malaria has been cut by 75 percent in eight African countries since 2000 and 51 million more children in sub-Saharan Africa are now attending primary school.
The ripples of just one kind act can span across the world, and its effects can secure the future for the next generation.
It is because of this funding, and the fight against poverty, that extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25 a day) has been cut in half in the last twenty years, and could virtually be eliminated by 2030 if our priorities stay on course.
I would like to thank our congressman, Steve Israel, for supporting the fight against extreme poverty.
I believe we as Americans have a moral obligation to help those who are far less fortunate. We are the ones people count on to make the world a better place, and we must not forget that.
Rob Cohen
ONE Member
