Call for Action: Write letters to your Senators about life-saving aid programs

Now that the election is over Congress will turn their attention to the budget. There is a concern that they could cut life-saving aid programs like Feed the Future and climate adaptation. These programs are crucial and positively affect millions of poor and hungry people.

We need your help to write letters and get the message out to not cut back on this life-saving aid to Illinois' Senators: Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk . Oxfam America drafted a sample letter that you can use to help you get started. See the attached file below.

Write your letters and email them to us at Chicago.OxfamActionCorps@gmail.com with the subject line "Lame Duck Letters."

A few tips:

• Address your letter(s) to Richard Durbin and/or Mark Kirk
• Write your letters in your own voice.  Personal experiences of traveling to another country recently or working in a foreign country are great experiences to mention. Make your letters personal to really get their attention!
• If you want more information on foreign aid, check out our Foreign Aid 101 guide here.

Example of what to say:

Dear Senator [NAME],

I am a constituent and (vocation) from (city/town) writing to urge you to support the Senate’s FY13 funding level for the International Affairs Budget in order to protect poverty-focused accounts throughout all upcoming budget negotiations, including negotiations to avert or delay the sequester.

While I recognize our nation's fiscal constraints, poverty-focused assistance represents less than 1% of the federal budget. Cutting this funding would not close the budget gap, but it would negatively impact our national security, and how the world views our humanitarian values.

If deeper cuts are made to poverty-focused development assistance, a number of effective programs will be in serious jeopardy, such as:

• Feed the Future, an initiative that fights hunger by supporting small scale farmers.
• The Global Climate Change Initiative, which enables vulnerable communities to build resilience to water scarcity and extreme weather shocks.
• The Global Health Initiative, which addresses maternal and child health, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation, which rewards countries that promote democracy, human rights, economic freedom, and the rule of law.
• USAID Operating Expenses, which supports reforms at USAID to make aid more effective and efficient.

These tools are critical for sustaining American leadership to build a better, safer world. I urge you to fully fund these effective programs and oppose any cuts to assistance for the world's poorest communities.

 Feel free to include a personal note on why this matters to you.

Sincerely,
(Your name and address)