Sep 29th, 2011 1:34 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
Sep 21st, 2011 9:24 AM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
 Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Last week, the Senate voted on an amendment sponsored by Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., that proposed a nearly $7 billion cut from both State Department and USAID accounts to offset domestic disaster relief funding. Voted on within hours of its introduction, the amendment was a short-sighted attempt to address a funding problem, and would have undermined America’s support for helping those in need both at home and abroad.
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May 18th, 2011 4:07 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
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On Tuesday, a bipartisan resolution passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to commemorate World Malaria Day and to reaffirm the United States leadership and support for efforts to combat malaria as a critical component of the President’s Global Health Initiative. The resolution is sponsored by the co-chairs of the Senate World Group on Malaria — Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
Last week, both senators spoke at an event co-hosted by ONE and other organizations to educate congressional staff about malaria and the critical need to continue to fund efforts to stop it. For millions of people around the world, a simple mosquito bite can have deadly consequences. A disease eradicated in the United States in 1949, malaria still kills approximately 781,000 people every year — mostly children, infants and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Mar 17th, 2011 4:15 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
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Today, the Senate passed the latest stopgap funding bill. The House passed it earlier in the week, and the president is expected to sign it. This measure provides a three-week extension that also cuts $6 billion from current spending. Congressional leaders have said that they will use the extension to give them time to work out a spending deal for the rest of the fiscal year.
ONE is watching any development closely. We are tirelessly advocating for our poverty-fighting programs. Last month, the House passed HR1 that included draconian cuts to many of ONE’s priority programs such as the Global Fund. Although the Senate rejected the measure, we are still fighting to make sure that any bill that passes does not hurt the world’s poorest people.
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Mar 10th, 2011 1:36 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
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Yesterday, the Senate rejected the funding bill the House of Representatives passed recently that included drastic cuts to ONE priorities. The vote 44-56 vote was primarily partisan with all Democrats voting against the measure and three Republicans.
The Democratic leadership put forth an alternative bill that largely protected ONE’s priorities. This measure was also defeated with all Republicans voting against it and 10 Democrats and one Independent joining them.
Congress must now go back to the drawing board. The short-term funding proposal currently running the government expires on March 18. ONE will continue to work with Congress to fight to protect our priorities.
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Mar 2nd, 2011 4:05 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
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The Senate voted 91-9 today to pass a continuing resolution extending federal government funding for two more weeks The House passed the measure yesterday by a vote of 335-91. The President is expected to sign it before the current funding expires on March 4.
The bill cuts spending by $4 billion by eliminating some earmarks and accelerating the end of some government programs that the President had proposed eliminating. For the next two weeks, foreign assistance program levels will not be affected in these cuts and will remain at the same level.
Stay tuned! The next two weeks will be very important for ONE’s priorities. Congress and the Administration will continue to discuss options for funding our programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. If the House gets its way, development programs will be dramatically cut. ONE is asking Congress to protect our priorities and not hurt the world’s poorest people.
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Feb 9th, 2011 12:41 PM UTC
By Kim Zimmerman
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In yesterday’s blog post, Kelly Hauser mentioned that Mozambique — with the help of US foreign assistance — was able to transform the country’s poultry industry in just a few short years. But how did they do it, exactly?
Yesterday, Florencia Cipriano described Mozambique’s poultry sector transformation in more depth. She spoke at a briefing hosted by TechnoServe, the Partnership to Cut Hunger & Poverty in Africa and Bread for the World that focused on her country’s efforts.
 Poultry sellers in Mozambique. Photo credit: ILRI/Mann
Mozambique’s domestic poultry industry was suffering in the early 2000s. In 2005, two-thirds of the nation’s poultry was imported, much of it arriving indirectly and near the end of its shelf life. Importers held most of the power: they could flout regulations, avoid inspections and evade taxes at will. Small poultry companies could barely get started before being priced out by multinational competitors.
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