Take Action: Urge Your Representative to Support Global Education! (Updated September 6)
Last fall, after a significant advocacy push by RESULTS volunteers, Congressional allies, and partners, the United States made its first ever contribution of $20 million to the Global Partnership for Education (or GPE). The GPE is the only multilateral global partnership focused on ensuring all children have access to a quality education.
While we welcome US support for the GPE, its contribution last year wasn’t enough. In fact, it represented just 2.5 percent of total US funding for global education. With 61 million children still out of school, increased US funding for the GPE could galvanize support and help the partnership achieve its goals of enrolling an additional 25 million children into classrooms for the first time, training 600,000 new teachers, and reducing illiteracy for primary school aged children.
In response, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois is circulating a letter from members of Congress to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging the Administration to commit $125 million of the US global education investment to GPE. This is not additional money, only a request that the US allocate a larger portion of our global education dollars to GPE.
The letter will be open until September 10. Our goal is to have 70 members of Congress on the letter – but only 50 members are currently on. We need your help to urge your Representative to sign the letter and show their support for global education. You can see here if your member of Congress signed a similar letter last year urging support for the GPE.
Read our August Global Monthly Action and then call your Representative’s office to ask for their support.
The following Congressional offices have signed the letter as of September 6, 2012 (most recent signers in bold):
Robert Andrews [NJ], Earl Blumenauer [OR], Michael Capuano [MA], Kathy Castor [FL], Hansen Clarke [MI], Yvette Clarke [NY], Steve Cohen [TN], John Conyers [MI], Susan Davis [CA], Rosa DeLauro [CT], Ted Deutch [FL], Lloyd Doggett [TX], Keith Ellison [MN], Anna Eshoo [CA], Sam Farr [CA], Chaka Fattah [PA], Bob Filner [CA], Ruben Hinojosa [TX], Rush Holt [NJ], Michael Honda [CA], Sheila Jackson Lee [TX], Eddie Bernice Johnson [TX], Hank Johnson [GA], Dale Kildee [MI], Dennis Kucinich [OH], Rick Larsen [WA], Barbara Lee [CA], Sander Levin [MI], Zoe Lofgren [CA], Ben Ray Lujan [NM], Jim McDermott [WA], James McGovern [MA], James Moran [VA], Eleanor Holmes Norton [DC], John Olver [MA], Gary Peters [MI], David Price [NC], Mike Quigley [IL], Charles Rangel [NY], Laura Richardson [CA], Steven Rothman [NJ], Tim Ryan [OH], Janice Schakowsky [IL], Jackie Speier [CA], Pete Stark [CA], Edolphus Towns [NY], Chris Van Hollen [MD], Henry Waxman [CA], Peter Welch [VT], Lynn Woolsey [CA]