Doing My Part to Help Save International Aid

In the coming days and weeks, we are going to hear a lot about the "fiscal cliff" that we as a country are approaching.

I'm not an economist or a government expert, so my over simplified summation is that there are a pile spending cuts set to happen unless changes are made.

What especially got my attention was that there will be no exemptions for International Affairs programs anticipated and there is no flexibility permitted to protect certain programs (PEPFAR, Feed the Future) by cutting other programs more deeply.

A year ago, this wouldn't have mattered much to me or even got my attention, but after a week in Ghana with the ONE Campaign earlier this year everything changed.

It use to bother me seeing all the commercials on television asking for my money to help feed starving kids in Africa. Sure, I wanted to help them, but what about all the starving kids living right here at home in the United States?

I still want to see us as a country doing more to help the poor here at home. We should not have hungry kids in this country! But, I also know that after seeing the level of poverty in other parts of the world, what we have here doesn't even compare.

At less than 1 percent of the budget, America cannot sort out its fiscal problems on the backs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. We need to protect that small percentage from any cuts that need to be made.

Need some facts to see what even that small percentage of our federal budget has done in the world?

• 50 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have started going to school for the first time in the past decade.
• Millions of babies’ lives have been saved by anti-malaria bed nets. Half of sub-Saharan African families now own a bed net, up from only 3 percent in 2000.
• More than 5.5 million children’s deaths have been averted thanks to basic immunizations supported by U.S. foreign assistance.
• Effective agricultural programs in some of the world's poorest countries are feeding millions of people, fueling economic growth and helping communities become self-sufficient.

If those don't get you thinking, ponder for a minute how grateful any group of suffering people would be towards whatever country helps them. We've got too many enemies in this world to have them stepping up and saving the day. Repeatedly our US Military leaders have said that they support foreign assistance because a more stable world is a safer world.

Helping our fellow man is something that any good human wants to do. While the fiscal cliff approaches and hard decisions are made, I'm hoping that you will help me in encouraging our elected officials not to cut the tiny percentage of our budget that is helping so many millions of people around the globe by signing the petition below.

If enough voices raise this issue they will listen and life will continue to improve for millions of people around the globe.

Please share this with others, sign the petition and help make the world a better place for everyone.

Thank you.