Big Meeting with Representative Spratt

Mar 31st, 2010 3:54 PM UTC
By Lauren Conn

Yesterday in Rock Hill, South Carolina, ONE led a diverse and distinguished group of South Carolinians to meet with House Budget Chairman, Rep. John Spratt, about the importance of the small, but critical, International Affairs Budget – the part of the budget where all of ONE’s priority programs like PEPFAR, GAVI, and the Global Fund, are funded.

There are over 13,000 ONE members in South Carolina, of which 1,700 are in the 5th district, and we had a wide rage of ONE members with us including: people with backgrounds in faith who came to advocate for “the least among us”, veterans who have seen and been part of on-the-ground development programs like a girl’s school in Afghanistan, students who organize on campus in support of ONE, and the NAACP who has partnered with ONE on a national and local level. All of us came together to urge full funding of the International Affairs Budget to the Chairman. We stressed not only the moral implications of life-saving and development programs, but also the national security implications and how this funding helps to win hearts and minds and build a safer and better world for us in the US, and around the world. We also brought with us sign-on letters from other members of Congress that stress the importance of this small part of the budget, even while taking into consideration the tight budget constraints that are present today.

Chairman Spratt, who was very familiar with all of the details of the International Affairs Budget, acknowledged our reasons and support for full funding, and stressed to us how both Secretary Gates and Secretary Clinton have led the way for a continued robust development pillar of our foreign policy. He went on to compliment ONE and our group for being so articulate and well-informed. He expressed to us his own desire to help make our request a budget reality. Chairman Spratt took time to speak individually with every attendee and get to know the reasons and backgrounds that compelled them to action for the world’s poorest people. He expressed interest in our upcoming South Carolina ONE Workshop, and at the end of our meeting, he even recorded a short impromptu message for us and ONE members everywhere. In it, he talks about the importance of US foreign assistance programs and encourages all Americans to educate themselves on these issues and to speak out in support of these programs. Check it out (it cuts out just a bit early at the end):

I was proud to be part of the meeting with so many amazing ONE members whose hearts and heads are in the right place, and to speak directly with Representative Spratt.

TAGS: From ONE Members, ONE, South Carolina