Global Weekly Update February 1, 2010

Top Action: We’re Running Out of Time to Award Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal!

We’re running out of time to get enough House cosponsors to award Muhammad Yunus with the congressional gold medal (the Senate passed its version last year). We have to focus on outreach this spring because Congress will be distracted this summer and fall with legislative priorities to finish before the fall election season begins. We’ve made great progress and have 115 cosponsors, but we need 290 total (two-thirds is needed before the bill can be considered). Regional Coordinators have seta goal to get 75 new cosponsors by February 14 — you can do it! Read more on about the bill and how to take action today!

Congratulations: 80 Representatives Signed the House IMF Letter to Cancel Haiti’s Debt!

Responding to the urgent humanitarian crisis in Haiti, Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) are sending a message that Haiti’s debt must be cancelled.

Last week the IMF approved an emergency $100 million loan, adding to the $165 million already owed by Haiti to the Fund. Haiti owes an additional $447 million to the Inter-American Development Bank, and tens of millions to other institutions. As an influential member of these multilateral organizations, the U.S. will be critical in ensuring Haiti’s debt will be canceled.

Representatives Waters and Ros-Lehtinen will send a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner urging him to work to immediately suspend Haiti’s debt payments, cancel any existing or newly incurred debt, and provide further assistance in the form of grants rather than debt-creating loans. Thanks in part to the efforts of RESULTS activists, so far 80 members of Congress have signed this letter (see list in formation below).

We’ll be watching to see if this strong message from Congress is heeded by the administration.

Waters, Ros-Lehtinen, Carson, Delahunt, Payne, Barbara Lee, Ackerman, Baldwin, Bishop, Robert Brady, Braley, Capps, Corrine Brown, Capuano, Castor, Christensen, Chu, Clarke, Cohen, Conyers, Clay, Crowley, Cummings, Danny K. Davis, DeFazio, Donna Edwards, Ellison, Engel, Faleomavaega, Farr, Fattah, Filner, Frank, Fudge, Al Green, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Hare, Hastings, Hinojosa, Honda, Jackson Jr., Jackson Lee, Hank Johnson, Kildee, Cheeks Kilpatrick, Larsen, John Lewis, Carolyn Maloney, McDermott, McGovern, Kendrick B. Meek, Gregory Meeks, Gwen Moore, Nadler, Norton, Oberstar, Olver, Pastor, David Price, Rangel, Richardson, Roybal-Allard, Bobby Rush, Schakowsky, Serrano, Shea-Porter, Sires, Snyder, Stark, Towns, Van Hollen, Wasserman Schultz, Velázquez, Watson, Watt, Woolsey.

Take Action: Invite Hill Staffers to Education and Conflict Briefing on February 12

On February 12, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings will host the Washington, DC, launch of UNESCO’s report, “Education under Attack: Violence Against Students, Teachers and Schools in Armed Conflicts.” Even if they can’t attend, sending this link to the briefing invitation and RSVP form as a great way to start a conversation about education with your Hill offices, especially those interested in the conflict/security link.

Education is under attack, as incidents of violence against students, teachers, union and government officials and schools are on the rise worldwide. UNESCO’s new report, Education under Attack 2010, looks closely at this issue and finds that political and military violence targeted at education has been reported in at least thirty-two countries over the past three years. In situations of armed conflict and insecurity, deliberate threats against students, academics, teachers and education facilities create a barrier to accessing quality education. The report examines the nature and extent of the problem, as well as its impact on education and development, while offering opportunities for action.

It’s Time for Planning and Setting Goals and Applying for a Mini Grant!

See the new Grassroots Job Descriptions on the Grassroots Resource and Admin page. Some descriptions are still being updated, so check back for newer versions.

Also, as part of your planning, consider applying for our REF Global Health Mini Grant Program (Word doc). The Mini Grant Program will support groups to plan and carry out enhanced global health programming in your communities. It could be the boost your group is looking for as we approach the excellent outreach opportunity of World TB Day on March 24!

Immediate action by the United States to provide emergency assistance to Haiti was clearly warranted. The heroic efforts of American relief workers and the international teams of first responders are deeply inspiring.

— Senator Dick Lugar, Opening Statement for Hearing on Haiti, 28 January 2010

February: Group Planning

February 11, 2010: 9 pm ET Training Call: Engaging Your Community to Create the Political Will for a Global Fund for Education. Call in at (712) 432-3100, 887871

February 13, 2010: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. Call in at (888) 409-6709

February 18, 2010: Grassroots Website Tour. 9:00 pm ET. Call in at (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. Learn the key features of our new website designed to help you stay informed, inspired, and active

March13, 2010: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. Call in at (888) 409-6709