Global Weekly Update February 16, 2010
Show Us the Money: Have You Contacted Your Members of Congress About Appropriations?
Decisions on foreign aid for next year (Fiscal Year 2011) are being made now. Every rep and senator has the opportunity to submit their key requests to the chair and ranking members of the House and Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. But if they don’t hear from you, they are unlikely to include money for TB, the Global Fund, education, and microfinance in their requests, and the more requests received by the subcommittee, the greater chance they will include more funding for our issues. In addition to asking them to include our requests in their written communications to the subcommittee, also ask them to speak directly with the chair and ranking member.
For more information, check out the February Action Sheet, and send our Wish List Memo directly to your reps and senators.
Spend Some Quality Time with Your Member of Congress
When was the last time you met face-to-face with your reps and senators? These meetings are key to having them learn who you are and what local constituents care about, and then spurring them to take action in Congress.
They are normally in the district Friday through Monday, and there are also congressional recesses when they are in town for longer periods of time. The current recess is now until February 22. The spring recess is March 27–April 13. Call the local office today and schedule a meeting time. Also, find out when they are hosting town hall events, open forums, and making other local appearances by asking their local office, checking out their website, and signing up for their e-mail list (on their website).
Group Reporting for January
We have a new group reporting process for 2010. Your regional coordinators will ask each of the groups to report on efforts and accomplishments each month. We are working to have every group report every month in 2010 so we have a true sense of our accomplishments. The grassroots staff will then use this information to provide a regular report to the grassroots on what we’ve done together. Please help us make this happen by finding a time a method for gathering your group’s information. Your RC will give each group access to a shared spreadsheet, but will also have a reporting form you can use separately.
If you are not part of a group, but want to report your efforts and accomplishments with your members of Congress, media, and community, contact Ken Patterson with your information.
Did You Miss the Conference Call?
If you missed Saturday’s February Conference Call, listen to the podcast online. Our guest speaker was Ernie Loevinsohn, former RESULTS Board Chair and current Director General for Policy for the Canadian International Development Agency and vice-chair of the board of directors of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He spoke about the success of the Global Fund and the critical importance of U.S. leadership. We also had a legislative and media update, heard some inspiring grassroots shares, and practiced the laser talk.
February: Group Planning
February 9–19: Congressional recess
March 13: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. Call in at (888) 409-6709
March 24: World TB Day
March 27–April 13: Congressional recess