Obama's Global Poverty Act of 2007, passed out of committee just yesterday

[FrenchieCat]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) today hailed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passage of the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. This legislation was introduced in December. Smith and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R. 1302), which passed the House last September.
http://obama.senate.gov/


what people are saying:
http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_1302.html#usercomments

http://www.fantasycongress.com/legislation/S.2433

Legislation would aim to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) today hailed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passage of the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. This legislation was introduced in December. Smith and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R. 1302), which passed the House last September.

"With billions of people living on just dollars a day around the world, global poverty remains one of the greatest challenges and tragedies the international community faces," said Senator Obama. "It must be a priority of American foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter, and clean drinking water. As we strive to rebuild America's standing in the world, this important bill will demonstrate our promise and commitment to those in the developing world. Our commitment to the global economy must extend beyond trade agreements that are more about increasing corporate profits than about helping workers and small farmers everywhere. I commend Chairman Biden and Ranking Member Lugar for supporting this bill and moving it forward quickly."

"Poverty, hunger, and disease will be among the most serious challenges confronting the world in the 21st century," Senator Hagel said. "This legislation provides the President of the United States the framework and resources to help implement a comprehensive policy to reduce global poverty. It is the human condition that has always driven the great events of history. This is a responsibility of all citizens of the world."
http://obama.senate.gov/press/080213-obama_hagel_can_1/

[FrenchieCat]

1. More info....

Sponsored by
Senator Barack Obama (D) (IL)

and 9 Cosponsors
Maria Cantwell (D) (WA)
Chuck Hagel (R) (NE)
Joseph Biden (D) (DE)
Chris Dodd (D) (CT)
Dick Durbin (D) (IL)
Russ Feingold (D) (WI)
Dianne Feinstein (D) (CA)
Dick Lugar (R) (IN)
Bob Menendez (D) (NJ)

[FrenchieCat]

2. Global poverty......

Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
------------
Today, over 26,500 children died around the world
by Anup ShahThis Page Last Updated Thursday, January 31, 2008
This page: http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/death/.


That is equivalent to:

1 child dying every 3 seconds
18 children dying every minute
A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every week
An Iraq-scale death toll every 15–36 days
Almost 10 million children dying every year
Some 60 million children dying between 2000 and 2006
The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.

[musicblind]

24. OMGSH!

I really didn't know it was that bad! That is a lot of death. I will try my best to pass it on so that mmore people are aware!

[FrenchieCat]

3. Is this a boring subject?

:shrug:

[XemaSab]

19. Not at all

K&R

(I think most of the people are partied out right now)

[CitizenLeft]

4. impressive

Good for him! :applause: Good for all of us.

[FrenchieCat]

5. I thought so too!

:hi:

I mean, isn't that Edwards' signature issue?

[gmudem]

6. Kick

This is obviously what Obama means when he talks about change and working with the other party.

[FrenchieCat]

7. I believe so.

He passed this one as well: LEGISLATIVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:s.1.es:

Obama: Culture in Washington Must Change, Implement Tough Ethics Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor in support of the Honest Government and Leadership Act. This legislation would provide increased transparency and accountability, reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests, and bring about the concrete changes we need in Washington. In January, Obama joined with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to introduce Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act, which set a standard for strong ethics legislation this Congress. Obama also sponsored an amendment to the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act that required the disclosure of lobbyists that bundle campaign contributions for candidates.

Senator Obama’s remarks are below:

“First, let me commend Senator Reid for his leadership on this bill and especially my good friend Senator Feingold, who I have worked closely with on this issue over the past year and a half.”

“The bill that’s before us today could not be more urgently needed. For too long, the American people have seen lobbyists treat the legislative process like a game, using targeted contributions to maximize their leverage. For too long, people have felt like their voice and their interests have been drowning in a sea of lobbyist money in Washington.”

“This is not the first time we have faced a crisis of confidence in government. Around the turn of the last century, wealth was becoming more concentrated in the hands of a few robber barons, railroad tycoons and oil magnates. It was an era known as the Gilded Age, and it was made possible by a government that played along.”

“But when President Theodore Roosevelt took office, he wouldn’t play along. He devoted his presidency to busting trusts, breaking up monopolies, and doing his best to give the American people a shot at the American dream once more.”

“America needs this kind of leadership more than ever. We need leadership that sees government not as a tool to enrich well-connected friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American.”

“We cannot settle for a second Gilded Age in America. And yet we find ourselves once more in the midst of a new economy where more wealth is in danger of falling into fewer hands; where CEO pay grows from year to year as the average worker’s pay remains stagnant; where Americans are struggling like never before to pay their medical bills, or their kids’ tuition, or high gas prices, all while the profits of the drug and insurance and oil industries have never been higher.”
http://obama.senate.gov/newsroom/

[gmudem]

8. I like you a lot more when you are supporting your candidate

Your diatribes against Edwards were unnecessary but I appreciate it when you stick up for your own candidate like this.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Even then.....I always, always tried to talk the issues, and backed my stuff up.

and I'll tell you, I was never to be found in a House or a Hair thread. I stuck to the issues....and the War was always my biggest one. At this point, I wish him well.
But I understand how it can look and feel, if one is supporting that candidate subject to my ire. It certainly is not a "fun" thing.

[FrenchieCat]

9. And then there was this one......

Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President
Date: January 11, 2007

WASHINGTON – President Bush today signed the Lugar-Obama proliferation and threat reduction initiative into law.

Authored by U.S. Sens. Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL), the Lugar-Obama initiative expands U.S. cooperation to destroy conventional weapons. It also expands the State Department's ability to detect and interdict weapons and materials of mass destruction.

"The United States should do more to eliminate conventional weapons stockpiles and assist other nations in detecting and interdicting weapons of mass destruction. We believe that these functions are underfunded, fragmented and in need of high-level support," said Lugar, Republican leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The Lugar-Obama initiative will help other nations find and eliminate conventional weapons that have been used against our own soldiers in Iraq and sought by terrorists all over the world," said Obama. "The Nunn-Lugar program has effectively disposed of thousands of weapons of mass destruction, but we must do far more to keep deadly conventional weapons like anti-aircraft missiles out of the hands of terrorists."

"We want to ensure that our government has the capacity to deal quickly with vulnerable stockpiles of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, otherwise known as Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS). Such weapons could be used by terrorists to attack commercial airliners, military installations and government facilities here at home and abroad. Al Qaeda reportedly has attempted to acquire MANPADS on a number of occasions," said Lugar.

The Lugar-Obama initiative would energize the U.S. program against unsecured, lightweight anti-aircraft missiles and other conventional weapons. There may be as many as 750,000 man-portable air defense systems in arsenals worldwide, and the State Department estimates that more than 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by such weapons since the 1970s. In addition, loose stocks of small arms and other weapons help fuel civil wars in Africa and elsewhere and provide the means for attacks on peacekeepers and aid workers seeking to stabilize war-torn societies. In Iraq, unsecured stockpiles of artillery shells and ammunition have been reconfigured into improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that have become an effective weapon for insurgents.
http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/

[Umbram]

11. Thanks. nt.

[FrenchieCat]

12. There is also this thread, that deals with some of his other achievements.....

Obama's accomplishments in his 11 years in elective office
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4578207

and

Obama leads Clinton by far on the issue of ELECTION Reform--Does this matter to you?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4589661

[FrenchieCat]

13. I'm kinda of laughing to myself....

because there is lotsa activity around me, but somehow, this thread is receiving little notice as this point.

I'm gonna go see what other life and death discussions are happening on this forum that would keep folks "too busy" to stay away for even one comment on Global Poverty! :)

[Bodhi BloodWave]

14. I will admit that its amusing

but ya know how it is, actual issues are boring, its hard to actually get the adrenalin flowing and all that jazz :)

Pity i only have two hands since I'd love to give the Global Poverty more then two thumbs up hehe

:pals:

[FrenchieCat]

16. I'm encouraged.......

and will remain "Hopeful"..... :hi:

[musicblind]

25. Yes

I think that sometimes people on here are more entertained by quarreling than by learning. :(

Even we are not voting for the same candidate, I am happy to learn about things like this! And thank you for posting it!

[FrenchieCat]

15. List of "important threads" being kicked and discussed while

Global poverty barely registers:

This is a good excercise for the righteous.

Recap: Obama refused to take photograph with Newsom after same sex marriage controversy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4600344&mesg_id=4600344

Whooo Lordie No! :wow:


This reminds me of the many Sudan/Darfur threads we used to put up a couple of years ago. No one fucking really cared.

[FrenchieCat]

17. oooh......now these next ones are serious shit!

Is Obama's wave about to crest? :shrug:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4590179&mesg_id=4590179


and

Which is a bigger issue: Donnie McClurkin or DOMA? (tough one!)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4600173&mesg_id=4600174



Curiously common occurrence: 1-) woman faints 2-) Obama pauses speech to ask for help
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4600084&mesg_id=4600084

[FrenchieCat]

18. Woohoo .....I invited someone in from another thread.....!

hope that they don't stand me up.


Well I can't stay up that late. So I'll have to let this sink.

Too bad.

But you know how it goes. :shrug:

Nite! :hi:

[MrSlayer]

20. And this would be paid for how?

Hell, we have a problem with poverty and hunger in our own country and yet we're going to cut world poverty in half by 2015? This just strikes me as a vanity bill.

[snappyturtle]

23. To pay for it we could stop going to war. imho n/t

[musicblind]

26. EXACTLY!

How much have we thrown down the drain on this war! It sickens me to think about what we could do with this money! Oh and don't forget about the great Bush Tax Cuts.

Though yes, we should be heavily addressing poverty in America as well.

[snappyturtle]

28. Oh yes the tax cuts too! Dah! How could I forget that? The poverty

in America MUST be addressed. It's obscene and we should be ashamed that the gap between the rich and poor has grown from a crack to a full blown Grand Canyon sized crevace...you'd think the powers that be who shout to the world how wonderful America is would realize what the world sees in how we don't care for our people. Sorry...very clumsy wording....been up half the night.

[TwilightGardener]

29. It's a commitment to increase our foreign-aid spending over a number of years--

it's spread out, and related to our GDP--it shouldn't have an impact on short-term economic fixes and programs here at home. This bill is important because poverty, famine and disease around the world will eventually affect us here, whether by refugees, epidemics, terrorism, civil unrest, overturned governments, radical Islamic rule, etc. I am proud of him for this bill (and for my Senator for cosponsoring it)--it's looking ahead to problems down the road, rather than pandering for his Presidential bid today. This is leadership.

[bling bling]

21. Barack Obama is the real deal. He's the people's President.

And I'm PROUD to be as excited as I am about this time in history. If I had a star I'd take the time to find some of my posts on DU through the years where I know I've mentioned the phrase "speck of hope" to describe all the hope I have left regarding the Democratic Party. I'd post those links just to prove how low my spirits have been. Not that I'd need to prove it to any Democrat who's been paying attention. This has been an almost insufferable political era. I don't know if I will ever fully grasp what on earth kind of perfect storm took place that enabled the oil industry to take over the white house and THEN allow Americans to purposely re-elect them for a second term!!! Re-elect these crooks after a failure of national security, cover-ups about those failures, destroying another country for nothing and mishandling everything about the war, lies, doctored environmental reports and a stranglehold on the media. AND, on top of that nightmare we lost the majority in Congress and the puny Democrats couldn't stand unified on ANWR and other important policies.....I still can't even talk about it without feeling like I'm in the twilight zone.

To feel such high hope now is like karmic poetic justice in my favor. Damn it feels good. The only thing that SUCKS is that I can't let it sink in or truly enjoy this burst of new hope for fear I'll jinx it. Damn I wish Clinton would just step aside and let the wave wash over the divide between the Democrats. This is OUR year and it is so obvious that the energy of the people is with Obama. I keep thinking that if the tables were turned and the energy and momentum were on Clinton's side to that kind of earth-moving degree, I'd think "all right, there's obviously people REALLY want Clinton and since they're both on our side maybe Obama should just let the Democratic Party unite now so we can get unified to fight the Republicans." I really think I would feel that way. I wouldn't ordinarily talk like that on DU because I know lots of people would disagree via super snarky retorts but I might as well be writing in my private diary here. I've been here long enough to know not too many will be bothered to read a thread dealing with policy. At least not the snarky types. Most of the belligerant warriors are over in threads such as the one trying to smear Obama as actually staging the people who have fainted at his concerts for his political gain. I'll tell you what, if our guys ever have to resort to THAT kind of drama to win the Presidency, I'm seriously finished having hope about anything.

[snappyturtle]

22. I'm excited too bling bling...way to go!

4TH k&r

[cooolandrew]

27. Addressing poverty is key once people across the planet are content terrorism is off the table....

Barack is a potential legenday president send him your votes and your love. Love keeps us safe. The kids know who they trust their future with just ask them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIAHDx5398

[FrenchieCat]

30. Kick!