promises

As some of you may know the G8 Summit is currently happening in St. Petersburg, Russia. Last year was an amazing event as it was accompanied by the Live 8 Music Festivals that happened all over the world, but more importantly the leaders of these 8 countires pledged $50 Billion in effective development assistance per year by 2010. This critical funding means real help for real people, to care for AIDS orphans, give basic education to all children by 2015, and much more. We've made some important progress on canceling debts for 19 countries, but there are many more on the list. In the last year, we accomplished a great deal, but we’ve only scratched the surface.

Last year, President Bush pledged on behalf of America that we assist the world's poorest nations. Congress must now honor our pledge by writing the check to fund life-saving programs. President Bush requested a $3 billion increase in effective international assistance so that America can keep our promises on track. Currently, Congress is going only about a third of the way to help Africa and the world's poorest nations. Both the House of Representatives and Senate cut around $2 billion from the President's request, putting America's G8 pledges in jeopardy.

Please, take a moment and click here and urge Congress to keep America's promise to the world's poorest nations that were made one year ago.