ACTION

GOAL 1
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
TARGETS
1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
2. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
3. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Quick Facts
* The number of people living under the international poverty line of $1.25 a day declined from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion
between 1990 and 2005.
* The proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing regions dropped from 46 per cent to 27 per cent — on
track to meet the target globally.
* The economic crisis is expected to push an estimated 64 million more people into extreme poverty in 2010.
* About one in four children under the age of five is underweight in the developing world, down from almost one in three in 1990.
WHERE DO WE STAND?
The world is on track to meet the MDG target of halving the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day between 1990 and 2015. Overall poverty rates fell from 46 per cent in 1990 to 27 per cent in 2005 in developing regions, and progress in many developing countries is being sustained. This is despite setbacks caused by the 2008-09 economic downturn and the effects of the food and energy crises. However, even if these positive trends continue, in 2015, roughly 920 million people would still be living under the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, as adjusted by the World Bank in 2008. Achievements so far are largely the result of extraordinary success in Asia, mostly East Asia. Over a 25-year period, the poverty rate in East Asia fell from nearly 60 per cent to under 20 per cent. Poverty rates are expected to fall to around 5 per cent in China and 24 per cent in India by 2015. In contrast, little progress has been made in reducing extreme
poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, where the poverty rate has declined only slightly, from 58 to 51 per cent between 1990 and 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia and parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the few regions not expected to achieve the MDG poverty reduction target.

UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT
20-22 September 2010, New York
High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly
The World Bank estimates that the effects of the economic crisis will push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty in 2010, and that poverty rates will be slightly higher in 2015 and beyond than they would have been without the crisis, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
The proportion of people suffering from hunger is declining, but at an unsatisfactory pace. Even though the proportion of people worldwide suffering from malnutrition and hunger has fallen since the early 1990s, progress has stalled since 2000-2002. The estimate of the number of people who will suffer chronic hunger this year is 925 million, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN — down from 1.023 billion in 2009, but still more than the number of
undernourished people in 1990 (about 815 million). Between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of underweight children under five declined from 31 per cent to 26 per cent in developing regions with particular success in Eastern Asia, notably China. Despite such improvements, progress
is currently not fast enough to reach the MDG target, and particular focus is required in Southern Asia. This region alone accounts for almost half the world’s undernourished children. In all developing regions, children in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as those in urban areas.
FACT SHEET
WHAT HAS WORKED?
• Subsidy programmes in Malawi and Ghana: Since 2005, Malawi’s voucher programme for fertilizers and seeds has helped boost its agricultural productivity, turning the country into a net food exporter after decades of famine as a perennial food importer. Malawi needs 2.2 million tons of maize a year to reach self-sufficiency. In 2005, the harvest fell to a low of 1.2 million tons of
maize. The National Input Subsidy Programme resulted in a dramatic increase to 3.2 million tons of maize in 2007. Through a similar nationwide fertilizer subsidy programme, Ghana increased food production by 40 per cent, contributing to an average decline of 9 per cent in hunger between 2003 and 2005.
• Investing in agriculture research in Vietnam: Vietnam’s investment in agriculture research and development helped cut the prevalence of hunger by more than half, from 28 per cent in 1991 to 13 per cent in 2004-06. The prevalence of underweight children was also more than halved from 45 per cent in 1994 to 20 per cent in 2006.
• Innovative finance schemes in Nigeria and Bangladesh: Nigeria’s National Special Programme for Food Security helped almost double agricultural yields and farmers’ incomes. Farmers were able to buy inputs using interestfree loans to be repaid following harvest. In Bangladesh, $107 million is to be distributed in the form of Agricultural Input Assistance Cards, targeting poor households.
• Employment programmes in Argentina: In Argentina, the Jefes y Jefas de Hogar programme employed two million workers within a few months after its initiation in 2002.
This contributed to the country’s rapid poverty reduction from 9.9 per cent that year to 4.5 per cent in 2005.
WHAT IS THE UN DOING?
• In India, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which provides a right to a minimum of 100 days of paid work a year for landless laborers and marginal farmers, benefiting some 46 million households. Almost half of the beneficiaries are women.
• UNDP provided technical expertise to establish the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, bringing together farmers, farming co-operatives, domestic traders, agro-industrial processors, commodity exporters and institutional buyers to meet and trade through a secure, low-cost platform. An estimated 850,000 small-holder farmers (mostly producers of coffee, sesame and other cash crops) are now involved in the Exchange system, which facilitates an average of 14,527 trades per day, equal to about US$5 million to 10 million.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) provides food assistance, including cash and voucher transfers to the hungry, especially in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
WFP’s mapping tools and assessments of exactly where the hungry live help to ensure that food assistance is targeted to where it is most needed.
• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides technical advice and support in many countries, such as in Nepal, and Liberia, on integrating human rights into MDG-based development planning.
• In Mali, UNDP is working with a women’s mango cooperative which aims to give women farmers the right skills to grow and treat their produce for export.
Thanks to the project, Mali’s mango exports have risen sharply, from 2,915 tons in 2005 to 12,676 tons in 2008.
The average price paid to the mango producer increased by approximately US$70 per ton.
• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in 2008-2009 carried out the first comparative study of child poverty in the region to promote inclusive, universal and efficient public policies for children and
adolescents.
Sources: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, United
Nations; UN MDG Database (mdgs.un.org); MDG Monitor Website
(http://www.mdgmonitor.org); What Will It Take to Achieve the Millennium
Development Goals? – An International Assessment 2010, UN
Development Programme (UNDP); UN Girls’ Education Initiative,
UNICEF (http://www.ungei.org); UN Population Fund (UNFPA); UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); World
Food Programme (WFP); UN Regional Commissions, New York Office.
For more information, please contact mediainfo@un.org or see
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
Issued by the UN Department of Public Information – DPI/2650 A/Rev.1 – September 2010

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_FS_1_EN.pdf

109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3605


      To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of vastly reducing global poverty and eliminating extreme global poverty, to require periodic reports on the progress toward implementation of the strategy, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 28, 2005

      Mr. Smith of Washington (for himself and Mr. Bachus) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the “Global Poverty Act of 2005”.

SEC. 2. Findings.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) More than one billion people worldwide live on less than $1 per day, and another 1.6 billion people struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.

(2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States joined more than 180 other countries in committing to work toward goals to improve life for the world’s poorest people by 2015.

(3) Such goals include reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting in half the proportion of people suffering from hunger and unable to access safe drinking water and sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds, ensuring basic education for all children, and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sustaining the environment upon which human life depends.

(4) On March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: “We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach.”.

(5) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: “[A] world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor stable. Including all of the world’s poor in an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a moral imperative and one of the top priorities of U.S. international policy.”.

(6) The bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States recommends: “A comprehensive U.S. strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects for their children.”.

(7) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G–8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight countries committed to increase aid to Africa from the current $25 billion annually to $50 billion by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund by 18 of the world’s poorest nations.

(8) The United States has recognized the need for increased financial and technical assistance to countries burdened by extreme poverty, as well as the need for strengthened economic and trade opportunities for those countries, through significant initiatives in recent years, including the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

SEC. 3. Declaration of policy.

It is a major priority of United States foreign policy to vastly reduce global poverty and to eliminate extreme poverty in developing countries.

SEC. 4. Requirement to Develop Comprehensive Strategy.

(a) Strategy.—The President, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies of the Government of the United States, international organizations, international financial institutions, recipient governments, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other appropriate entities, shall develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of vastly reducing global poverty and eliminating extreme global poverty.

(b) Contents.—The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve the global poverty reduction objectives described in subsection (a).

(2) An explanation of how these goals, benchmarks, and timetables will enable the United States to fulfill its commitment to help achieve the internationally recognized goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

(c) Guidelines.—The strategy required by subsection (a) should adhere to the following guidelines:

(1) Continued investment in existing United States initiatives related to international poverty reduction, such as the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

(2) Increasing overall United States development assistance levels while at the same time improving the effectiveness of such assistance.

(3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief.

(4) Leveraging United States trade policy where possible to enhance economic development prospects for developing countries.

(5) Coordinating efforts and working in cooperation with developed and developing countries, international organizations, and international financial institutions.

(6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation of businesses, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society, and public-private partnerships.

(7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction with other development goals, such as combating the spread of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to potable water and basic sanitation, and reducing hunger and malnutrition.

(8) Integrating principles of sustainable development into policies and programs.

(d) Reports.—

(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes the strategy required by subsection (a).

(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not less than once every year after the submission of the initial report under paragraph (1) until 2015, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of the implementation of the strategy, progress made in achieving the global poverty reduction objectives described in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report.

SEC. 5. Definitions.

In this Act:

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A) the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “extreme global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $1 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.

(3) GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc109/h3605_ih.xml


II
110TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. 2433
To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy
to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the
reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty,
and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing
by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015,
who live on less than $1 per day.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
DECEMBER 7, 2007
Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
A BILL
To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
strategy to further the United States foreign
policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty,
the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing
by one-half the proportion of people worldwide,
between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per
day.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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2
•S 2433 IS
1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Poverty Act
3 of 2007’’.
4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
5 Congress makes the following findings:
6 (1) More than 1,000,000,000 people worldwide
7 live on less than $1 per day, and another
8 1,600,000,000 people struggle to survive on less
9 than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.
10 (2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit
11 in 2000, the United States joined more than 180
12 other countries in committing to work toward goals
13 to improve life for the world’s poorest people by
14 2015.
15 (3) The year 2007 marks the mid-point to the
16 Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015.
17 (4) The United Nations Millennium Develop18
ment Goals include the goal of reducing by one-half
19 the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990
20 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting
21 in half the proportion of people suffering from hun22
ger and unable to access safe drinking water and
23 sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds,
24 ensuring basic education for all children, and revers25
ing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sus-
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3
•S 2433 IS
1 taining the environment upon which human life de2
pends.
3 (5) On March 22, 2002, President George W.
4 Bush stated: ‘‘We fight against poverty because hope
5 is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty be6
cause opportunity is a fundamental right to human
7 dignity. We fight against poverty because faith re8
quires it and conscience demands it. We fight
9 against poverty with a growing conviction that major
10 progress is within our reach.’’.
11 (6) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the
12 United States notes: ‘‘[A] world where some live in
13 comfort and plenty, while half of the human race
14 lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor sta15
ble. Including all of the world’s poor in an expanding
16 circle of development and opportunity is a moral im17
perative and one of the top priorities of U.S. inter18
national policy.’’.
19 (7) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the
20 United States notes: ‘‘America’s national interests
21 and moral values drive us in the same direction: to
22 assist the world’s poor citizens and least developed
23 nations and help integrate them into the global econ24
omy.’’.
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4
•S 2433 IS
1 (8) The bipartisan Final Report of the National
2 Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
3 States recommends: ‘‘A comprehensive United
4 States strategy to counter terrorism should include
5 economic policies that encourage development, more
6 open societies, and opportunities for people to im7
prove the lives of their families and enhance pros8
pects for their children.’’.
9 (9) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G–
10 8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight par11
ticipating countries committed to increase aid to Af12
rica from the current $25,000,000,000 annually to
13 $50,000,000,000 by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent
14 of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, Af15
rican Development Bank, and International Mone16
tary Fund by 18 of the world’s poorest nations.
17 (10) At the United Nations World Summit in
18 September 2005, the United States joined more
19 than 180 other governments in reiterating their
20 commitment to achieve the United Nations Millen21
nium Development Goals by 2015.
22 (11) The United States has recognized the need
23 for increased financial and technical assistance to
24 countries burdened by extreme poverty, as well as
25 the need for strengthened economic and trade oppor-
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5
•S 2433 IS
1 tunities for those countries, through significant ini2
tiatives in recent years, including the Millennium
3 Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the
4 United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tu5
berculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C.
6 7601 et seq.), the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
7 Initiative, and trade preference programs for devel8
oping countries, such as the African Growth and Op9
portunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
10 (12) In January 2006, United States Secretary
11 of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a restructuring
12 of the United States foreign assistance program, in13
cluding the creation of a Director of Foreign Assist14
ance, who maintains authority over Department of
15 State and United States Agency for International
16 Development (USAID) foreign assistance funding
17 and programs.
18 (13) In January 2007, the Department of
19 State’s Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance
20 added poverty reduction as an explicit, central com21
ponent of the overall goal of United States foreign
22 assistance. The official goal of United States foreign
23 assistance is: ‘‘To help build and sustain democratic,
24 well-governed states that respond to the needs of
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6
•S 2433 IS
1 their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct
2 themselves responsibly in the international system.’’.
3 (14) Economic growth and poverty reduction
4 are more successful in countries that invest in the
5 people, rule justly, and promote economic freedom.
6 These principles have become the core of several de7
velopment programs of the United States Govern8
ment, such as the Millennium Challenge Account.
9 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
10 It is the policy of the United States to promote the
11 reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme
12 global poverty, and the achievement of the Millennium De13
velopment Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of
14 people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less
15 than $1 per day.
16 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE
17 STRATEGY.
18 (a) STRATEGY.—The President, acting through the
19 Secretary of State, and in consultation with the heads of
20 other appropriate departments and agencies of the United
21 States Government, international organizations, inter22
national financial institutions, the governments of devel23
oping and developed countries, United States and inter24
national nongovernmental organizations, civil society orga25
nizations, and other appropriate entities, shall develop and
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7
•S 2433 IS
1 implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United
2 States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction
3 of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global pov4
erty, and the achievement of the Millennium Development
5 Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people
6 worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than
7 $1 per day.
8 (b) CONTENT.—The strategy required by subsection
9 (a) shall include specific and measurable goals, efforts to
10 be undertaken, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve the
11 objectives described in subsection (a).
12 (c) COMPONENTS.—The strategy required by sub13
section (a) should include the following components:
14 (1) Continued investment or involvement in ex15
isting United States initiatives related to inter16
national poverty reduction, such as the United
17 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
18 and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.),
19 the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C.
20 7701 et seq.), and trade preference programs for de21
veloping countries, such as the African Growth and
22 Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
23 (2) Improving the effectiveness of development
24 assistance and making available additional overall
25 United States assistance levels as appropriate.
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8
•S 2433 IS
1 (3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief as ap2
propriate.
3 (4) Leveraging United States trade policy
4 where possible to enhance economic development
5 prospects for developing countries.
6 (5) Coordinating efforts and working in co7
operation with developed and developing countries,
8 international organizations, and international finan9
cial institutions.
10 (6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation
11 of businesses, United States and international non12
governmental organizations, civil society, and public13
private partnerships.
14 (7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction
15 with other development goals, such as combating the
16 spread of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS,
17 tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to pota18
ble water and basic sanitation, reducing hunger and
19 malnutrition, and improving access to and quality of
20 education at all levels regardless of gender.
21 (8) Integrating principles of sustainable devel22
opment and entrepreneurship into policies and pro23
grams.
24 (d) REPORTS.—
25 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—
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9
•S 2433 IS
1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year
2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
3 President, acting through the Secretary of
4 State, shall submit to the appropriate congres5
sional committees a report on the strategy re6
quired under subsection (a).
7 (B) CONTENT.—The report required under
8 subparagraph (A) shall include the following
9 elements:
10 (i) A description of the strategy re11
quired under subsection (a).
12 (ii) An evaluation, to the extent pos13
sible, both proportionate and absolute, of
14 the contributions provided by the United
15 States and other national and international
16 actors in achieving the Millennium Devel17
opment Goal of reducing by one-half the
18 proportion of people worldwide, between
19 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1
20 per day.
21 (iii) An assessment of the overall
22 progress toward achieving the Millennium
23 Development Goal of reducing by one-half
24 the proportion of people worldwide, be-
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10
•S 2433 IS
1 tween 1990 and 2015, who live on less
2 than $1 per day.
3 (2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later than
4 December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2015, the
5 President shall submit to the appropriate congres6
sional committees reports on the status of the imple7
mentation of the strategy, progress made in achiev8
ing the global poverty reduction objectives described
9 in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy
10 since the date of the submission of the last report.
11 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
12 In this Act:
13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15
mittees’’ means—
16 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations
17 and the Committee on Appropriations of the
18 Senate; and
19 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and
20 the Committee on Appropriations of the House
21 of Representatives.
22 (2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term
23 ‘‘extreme global poverty’’ refers to the conditions in
24 which individuals live on less than $1 per day, ad-
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11
•S 2433 IS
1 justed for purchasing power parity in 1993 United
2 States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.
3 (3) GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term ‘‘global pov4
erty’’ refers to the conditions in which individuals
5 live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing
6 power parity in 1993 United States dollars, accord7
ing to World Bank statistics.
8 (4) MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS.—The
9 term ‘‘Millennium Development Goals’’ means the
10 goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Dec11
laration, General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (2000).
Æ
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http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110s2433is/pdf/BILLS-110s2433is.pdf

You might ask, how in the world does this apply to the USA? It is a noble goal, however, we have our own problems. We have had attempts to pass legislation for quite some time:

110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1302


      To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 1, 2007

      Mr. Smith of Washington (for himself and Mr. Bachus) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Global Poverty Act of 2007”.

SEC. 2. Findings.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) More than one billion people worldwide live on less than $1 per day, and another 1.6 billion people struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.

(2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States joined more than 180 other countries in committing to work toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve life for the world’s poorest people by 2015.

(3) The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include the goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting in half the proportion of people suffering from hunger and unable to access safe drinking water and sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds, ensuring basic education for all children, and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sustaining the environment upon which human life depends.

(4) On March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: “We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach.”.

(5) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: “[A] world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor stable. Including all of the world’s poor in an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a moral imperative and one of the top priorities of United States international policy.”.

(6) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: “America’s national interests and moral values drive us in the same direction: to assist the world’s poor citizens and least developed nations and help integrate them into the global economy.”.

(7) The bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States recommends: “A comprehensive United States strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects for their children.”.

(8) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G–8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight countries committed to increase aid to Africa from the current $25 billion annually to $50 billion by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund by 18 of the world’s poorest nations.

(9) At the United Nations World Summit in September 2005, the United States joined more than 180 other governments in reiterating their commitment to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

(10) The United States has recognized the need for increased financial and technical assistance to countries burdened by extreme poverty, as well as the need for strengthened economic and trade opportunities for those countries, through significant initiatives in recent years, including the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

(11) In January 2006, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a restructuring of the United States foreign assistance program, including the creation of a Director of Foreign Assistance, who maintains authority over Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance funding and programs.

(12) In January 2007, Director of Foreign Assistance Randall L. Tobias added poverty reduction as an explicit, central component of the overall goal of United States foreign assistance. The official goal of United States foreign assistance is: “To help build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.”.

SEC. 3. Declaration of policy.

It is the policy of the United States to promote the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

SEC. 4. Requirement to develop comprehensive strategy.

(a) Strategy.—The President, acting through the Secretary of State, and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies of the Government of the United States, international organizations, international financial institutions, the governments of developing and developed countries, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other appropriate entities, shall develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

(b) Contents.—The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include, but not be limited to, specific and measurable goals, efforts to be undertaken, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve the objectives described in subsection (a).

(c) Guidelines.—The strategy required by subsection (a) should adhere to the following guidelines:

(1) Continued investment in existing United States initiatives related to international poverty reduction, such as the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

(2) Increasing overall United States development assistance levels while at the same time improving the effectiveness of such assistance.

(3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief.

(4) Leveraging United States trade policy where possible to enhance economic development prospects for developing countries.

(5) Coordinating efforts and working in cooperation with developed and developing countries, international organizations, and international financial institutions.

(6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation of businesses, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society, and public-private partnerships.

(7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction with other development goals, such as combating the spread of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to potable water and basic sanitation, and reducing hunger and malnutrition.

(8) Integrating principles of sustainable development into policies and programs.

(d) Reports.—

(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Secretary of State, shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes the strategy required by subsection (a).

(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not less than once every year after the submission of the initial report under paragraph (1) until and including 2015, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of the implementation of the strategy, progress made in achieving the global poverty reduction objectives described in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report.

SEC. 5. Definitions.

In this Act:

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “extreme global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $1 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.

(3) GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc110/h1302_ih.xml


111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2639


      To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 21, 2009

      Mr. Smith of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Global Poverty Act of 2009”.

SEC. 2. Findings.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) More than one billion people worldwide live on less than $1 per day, and another 1,600,000,000 people struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.

(2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States joined more than 180 other countries in committing to work toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve life for the world’s poorest people by 2015.

(3) The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include the goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting in half the proportion of people suffering from hunger and unable to access safe drinking water and sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds, ensuring basic education for all children, and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sustaining the environment upon which human life depends.

(4) On March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: “We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach.”.

(5) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: “[A] world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor stable. Including all of the world’s poor in an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a moral imperative and one of the top priorities of United States international policy.”.

(6) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: “America’s national interests and moral values drive us in the same direction: to assist the world’s poor citizens and least developed nations and help integrate them into the global economy.”.

(7) The bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States recommends: “A comprehensive United States strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects for their children.”.

(8) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G–8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight countries committed to increase aid to Africa from the current $25,000,000,000 annually to $50,000,000,000 by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund by 18 of the world’s poorest nations.

(9) At the United Nations World Summit in September 2005, the United States joined more than 180 other governments in reiterating their commitment to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

(10) The United States has recognized the need for increased financial and technical assistance to countries burdened by extreme poverty, as well as the need for strengthened economic and trade opportunities for those countries, through significant initiatives in recent years, including the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

(11) In January 2006, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a restructuring of the United States foreign assistance program, including the creation of a Director of Foreign Assistance, who maintains authority over Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance funding and programs.

(12) In January 2007, the Department of State’s Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance added poverty reduction as an explicit, central component of the overall goal of United States foreign assistance. The official goal of United States foreign assistance is: “To help build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.”.

SEC. 3. Declaration of policy.

It is the policy of the United States to promote the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

SEC. 4. Requirement to develop comprehensive strategy.

(a) Strategy.—The President, acting through the Secretary of State, and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies of the Government of the United States, international organizations, international financial institutions, the governments of developing and developed countries, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other appropriate entities, shall develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.

(b) Contents.—The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include, but not be limited to, specific and measurable goals, efforts to be undertaken, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve the objectives described in subsection (a).

(c) Components.—The strategy required by subsection (a) should include, but not be limited to, the following components:

(1) Continued investment in existing United States initiatives related to international poverty reduction, such as the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

(2) Improving the effectiveness of development assistance and making available additional overall United States assistance levels as appropriate.

(3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief as appropriate.

(4) Leveraging United States trade policy where possible to enhance economic development prospects for developing countries.

(5) Coordinating efforts and working in cooperation with developed and developing countries, international organizations, and international financial institutions.

(6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation of businesses, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society, and public-private partnerships.

(7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction with other development goals, such as combating the spread of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to potable water and basic sanitation, reducing hunger and malnutrition, and improving access to and quality of education at all levels regardless of gender.

(8) Integrating principles of sustainable development into policies and programs.

(d) Reports.—

(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Secretary of State, shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes the strategy required by subsection (a).

(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not less than once every two years after the submission of the initial report under paragraph (1) until and including 2015, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of the implementation of the strategy, progress made in achieving the global poverty reduction objectives described in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report.

SEC. 5. Definitions.

In this Act:

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “extreme global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $1 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.

(3) GLOBAL POVERTY.—The term “global poverty” refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc111/h2639_ih.xml

When are we going to bring jobs back to america and quit sending out products to china ,etc...????

If we continue our current trade policy, we will never be able to compete with china, mexico or whoever. Why do we subsidize american tax dollars to other countires?

It's time to bring tarriffs back to the trade policy or american jobs will be lost forever.

The Birther Trap

As far as I am concerned, Mr. Obama cheated his way into college, into the Democrat Party, into the Senate and into the White House.

However, has a trap been laid for America to fall into?

What if one day when the birth certificate question grows to epic proportion and all the right wing conspirators (us) demands a birth certificate or else! At that point Mr. Obama proudly displays a true and valid birth certificate? Yes, his birth certificate, without a flaw or question.

What could happen next?

Very simply put, he would become a victim of the right-wingers, cry racism and tell the world he has been wronged!  Poor President Obama points at the Tea Party, Republican Party and the birther crowd demanding an apology!

Of course, it becomes obvious it was the mean Conservative extremists which has destroyed  America with their hate of black people and their anti-American attitudes.

 What would you do if that happened? 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

     For a good many years I have wondered why we, as Americans, have been losing so much ground. It seems as though there is a never ending siege and assault on our freedoms, and we are powerless to stop it. I believe I have the answer, and I believe it is simply because we have been looking in the wrong place. As an example, I will use a current vein of thought regarding the "green economy". I am sure you have heard our President state it, as well as seen the endless, mindless commercials stating that we need to go green, and green shovel ready jobs will save the economy, even though where ever it has been tried, a given economy will lose from 2.8 to 3.7 jobs per green job created. Does that sound like its working? I dont think so either. Did you know that the green economy is a done deal? Yes, it has already been signed sealed and delivered. Do you recall voting on this as a focus on our economy? Thats good, because we havent. I will warn you, that this post and the resultant posts will not be for the feint of heart, as they will be relaying a great deal of information. It is my contention that if we dont know where the impetus for the laws are coming from, how in the world will we ever begin to formulate a plan to combat it when it comes to our Congress? How will we be able to beat Obama when he talks about a green economy, or "common sense" gun laws, or we need to allow the International Community to have a more expansive role in world affairs? How will we be able to refute the idea that healthcare is a "right", or that collective bargaining is a "right" or that housing is a "right"? Would you like to know where the ideas come from? Good, because I am going to post a new section each week. This should allow you enough time to read, digest, and disseminate the information. I have used .gov websites, organizational websites, and substantial documentation to provide you the proof you need to go after politicians, legislators, and different leaders who are signed on to the agendas.

Whether you know it or not, YOU and I are signed on to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. What are those you might ask? Please go to the following website to substantiate what I am saying:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
The MDGs are:
1 Eradication of poverty
2 Universal Primary Education
3 Gender Equality
4 Child Health
5 Maternal Health
6 Combat AIDS/HIV
7 Environmental Sustainability
8 Global Partnership for development

Believe it or not, these goals go back to the year 2000. However, we havent been involved in them to a great extent. From the inception of the Obama administration we have signed on in a much greater fashion.
“I had an opportunity of meeting Senator John Kerry yesterday in Poznan and I was very much encouraged by meeting him. He is going to be the next Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate and he assured me that, as next Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he will fully cooperate with the United Nations. And also it is my expectation that, again, the new Administration will be much more actively engaged with the United Nations, on climate change, the Millennium Development Goals, and many other major United Nations issues”
Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki Moon.
http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1235

You might state that this is nice but it isnt the US Government stating this. Sadly, it is true. Go to the websites, at the end of each quote where you will be able to substantiate what I am saying:

During the campaign, Barack Obama stated that "....we are just five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America" Little did we know how right he was. I would like to show you a few quotes from his National Security Strategy from 2010:

National Security Strategy 2010:
“We will expand our support to modernizing institutions and arrangements such as the evolution of the G-8 to the G-20 to reflect the realities of today’s international environment. Working with the institutions and the countries that comprise them, we will enhance international capacity to prevent conflict, spur economic growth, improve security, combat climate change, and address the challenges posed by weak and failing states. And we will challenge and assist international institutions and frameworks to reform when they fail to live up to their promise. Strengthening the legitimacy and authority of international law and institutions, especially the U.N., will require a constant struggle to improve performance.
Furthermore, our international order must recognize the increasing influence of individuals in today’s world. There must be opportunities for civil society to thrive within nations and to forge connections among them. And there must be opportunities for individuals and the private sector to play a major role in addressing common challenges—whether supporting a nuclear fuel bank, promoting global health, fostering entrepreneurship, or exposing violations of universal rights. In the 21st century, the ability of individuals and nongovernment actors to play a positive role in shaping the international environment represents a distinct opportunity for the United States.”
Pg 13 National Security Strategy

III. Advancing Our Interests
To achieve the world we seek, the United States must apply our strategic approach in pursuit of four
enduring national interests:
•• Security: The security of the United States, its citizens, and U.S. allies and partners.
•• Prosperity: A strong, innovative, and growing U.S. economy in an open international economic
system that promotes opportunity and prosperity.
•• Values: Respect for universal values at home and around the world.
•• International Order: An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace,
security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges.
Each of these interests is inextricably linked to the others: no single interest can be pursued in isolation,
but at the same time, positive action in one area will help advance all four. The initiatives described
below do not encompass all of America’s national security concerns. However, they represent areas of
particular priority and areas where progress is critical to securing our country and renewing American
leadership in the years to come.
P 17 National Security Strategy 2010.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf

Did you know this was part of our Security Strategy? Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, John Paul Jones and Abraham Lincoln must be TERRIBLY disappointed with us!.

"President Obama has asked the State Department and USAID to accomplish
more through diplomacy and development than ever before. I am confident that
we are up to the challenge. We have a President who sees the world as it is, while
never losing sight of the world as it should be; a global corps of dedicated
diplomats and development experts; and a country—open and innovative,
determined and devoted to our core values—that can, must and will lead in this
new century."
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/158267.pdf

Does this sound like the America you and I grew up in? It sure doesnt sound like the one I have come to know and love. Here is more:

"Obama Administration and Preparations for the 2010
MDG Summit
President Obama, who stated during the 2008 presidential campaign that under his leadership the
MDGs would be America’s goals, appears to have elevated the significance of the MDGs
relative to his predecessor. Administration officials no longer carefully distinguish the goals of the
Millennium Declaration from the MDGs. President Obama’s National Security Strategy states
that “the United States has embraced the United Nations Millennium Development Goals,”32 and
Congressional Budget Justifications for Foreign Operations submitted under the Obama
Administration frequently discuss attainment of MDGs in conjunction with U.S. development
policy goals.
The Obama Administration’s four major foreign assistance initiatives appear to reflect
consideration of the MDGs. The Obama Administration’s Feed the Future Initiative is aimed at
ending hunger (MDG 1). The Global Health Initiative (GHI) focuses not only on HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and other diseases (MDG 6), but also on child mortality (MDG 4) and maternal health
(MDG 5).The Global Climate Change Initiative targets environmental sustainability (MDG 7)
and the Global Engagement Initiative, designed to create economic opportunities and security in
Muslim communities abroad, is intended to support entrepreneurship and create jobs through collaborative partnerships (MDG 8) and involve women in the social and economic development
of their communities (MDG 3).
The Obama Administration’s recently published strategy for meeting the MDGs, like the Bush
Administration strategy, does not focus on specific MDGs, explaining that “we do not treat the
MDGs as if they were separate baskets” and “the purpose is to emphasize that the MDGs are all
connected.”33 Rather, it identifies four “imperatives”—(1) innovation, (2) sustainability, (3)
measuring outcomes rather than inputs, and (4) mutual accountability among donor and recipient
countries—and discusses ways that U.S. agencies apply them. The strategy appears intended to
demonstrate to the international community a greater U.S. interest in the MDG discussion, while
maintaining the U.S. position that the MDGs can best be achieved by focusing on cross-cutting
aid effectiveness issues rather than funding targets. However, the Obama Administration, like its
predecessor, has not embraced the target associated with Goal 8, which calls for donor nations to
reserve 0.7% of their GNI for development aid."
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/148796.pdf

"      And today, I’m announcing our new U.S. Global Development Policy -- the first of its kind by an American administration.  It’s rooted in America’s enduring commitment to the dignity and potential of every human being.  And it outlines our new approach and the new thinking that will guide our overall development efforts, including the plan that I promised last year and that my administration has delivered to pursue the Millennium Development Goals.  Put simply, the United States is changing the way we do business.
 
     First, we’re changing how we define development.  For too long, we’ve measured our efforts by the dollars we spent and the food and medicines that we delivered.  But aid alone is not development.  Development is helping nations to actually develop -- moving from poverty to prosperity.  And we need more than just aid to unleash that change.  We need to harness all the tools at our disposal -- from our diplomacy to our trade policies to our investment policies.
 
     Second, we are changing how we view the ultimate goal of development.  Our focus on assistance has saved lives in the short term, but it hasn’t always improved those societies over the long term.  Consider the millions of people who have relied on food assistance for decades.  That’s not development, that’s dependence, and it’s a cycle we need to break.  Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and peoples a path out of poverty.
 
     Now, let me be clear, the United States of America has been, and will remain, the global leader in providing assistance.  We will not abandon those who depend on us for life-saving help -- whether it’s food or medicine.  We will keep our promises and honor our commitments. "
President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/22/remarks-president-millennium-development-goals-summit-new-york-new-york

Does this even sound like WE THE PEOPLE ? Read on, theres more
"The Obama Administration’s strategy for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), “Celebrate, Innovate, and Sustain: Toward 2015 and Beyond”, lays out a determined, strategic and results-focused plan that promises to both reenergize efforts to achieve the MDGs and strengthen the United States’ voice in the global development dialogue."
http://geneva.usmission.gov/2010/08/02/mdgs-us-strategy/

This isnt the first administration either:
"While the Millennium Declaration was agreed to during the Clinton Administration, the MDGs
themselves were published in a report by the U.N. Secretary-General on September 6, 2001—
about nine months after President Bush took office and only days before the September 11th
terrorist attacks dramatically altered U.S. foreign policy priorities.23 The U.S. commitment to the
MDGs during the Bush Administration was nuanced. As explained by a 2005 State Department
cable to all U.S. embassies and USAID missions, the United States agreed to the development
goals included in the Millennium Declaration adopted at the 2000 U.N. Millennium Summit. It
did not, however, commit to the goals, targets, and indicators issued by the U.N. Secretariat in
2001.24 These are the eight goals and related indicators that are generally referred to today as the
MDGs, but were described by the State Department as “solely a Secretariat product, never having
been formally adopted by member states.”
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/148796.pdf
So, I believe I have shown, without a doubt, that we ARE signed on to MDGs, and that no matter what you or I think, we are being kept out of the loop simply because, as an American, NOT a global citizen, we would throw a wrench into the works.

If ever we wondered just how out-of-control this administration's spending is, nothing makes an example better than the number of people now dependent on government.  This includes government jobs (doubled), food (off the charts), housing (in the tank), transportation (non-existent), energy resources (doubled), loans (pray), welfare, unemployment, and the list goes on.

At this point, it is becoming clear our real battle is in the budget and reducing the debt limit -- not increasing it. I'm done with what has become another $30 or $40 billion dollar reduction in the grand scheme of things.  This is getting serious, but the politicians are playing Monopoly, rather then their constitutional role of advise & consent.

In line with the upcoming budget and deficit battle, this Food Stamps graph is just from 2008! A clear example of Obama's spending problem.

Here's a Food Stamp Graph That Will Ruin Your Day http://bit.ly/icMB62

     THE LEFT WILL BE COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK IN THE NEXT WEEKS AND MONTHS, ON TV, ON THE RADIO AND IN THE

PAPER. DO NOT " BUY IN TO IT "! STAND UP

FOR AMERICA AND OUR KIDS ! BE COOL ~

I’m no anarchist but I do believe in freedom and this country needs help a little bit of crazy is needed now more than ever.  In days of yore when men were men battles were fought with words and backed up with pistols, swords, fists, and cannons.  The economy can be fixed rather easily stop trading with communists.  People who have no concept of individual thought therefore give no question to making cheap replicas and selling them back to us at twice the price.   Human rights are unheard of in a village mentality which is how communism is works, the greater good.  You want greater good and peace well you gotta be ready to pay the price.  The crusades never ended for islamists, they still want the holy land and Jews have it and christians make the occasional pilgrimage while the russian mob runs the country.  In Japan they kill whales and spill nuclear waste because nobody thought ahead.  But guess what they ought to be used to the radiation by now.   How can we have world peace when we have 12 year old boys raping 2 year old girls.  Lets start getting our guns out and using them bring back the power of a lynch mob and let the cops turn a blind eye for acts such as these.  No hoods and sheets rather a six shooter and a rifle, lets turn the clock back a bit start breeding horses and using them for transport stop giving money to people who would cut your head off if you didn’t convert.  Take all the cars and line’m up on the mexican border and remember the Alamo. Fight back send a message to the drug and human traffickers No More.  Davey Crockett was a drunken states man with more honor than the entire United Nations.  Sam Houston lost his wife ran off with an indian woman to texas and laid down the law with the help of others.  Its time to a little farther south the war on drugs needs to be a war on drugs.  Lets go after the cartels with same intensity as we did when Nuked Japan and leveled half of Europe. Lets play the game of risk, the world needs leadership and nobody seems to see it.  Its enough to drive men crazy, but lets face it with the Absence of Leadership we have nothing to look forward to.  In America people look upon the government as God and that my friends is the Golden Calf.  We need leader who speaks softly and carries a big stick. Yeah Churchill said it he was nothing more than a drunk who saw the truth about an evil man.  You want to find real leadership find me a drunk who isn’t ashamed of his past and know right from wrong.  Yeah in school your taught play follow the leader but we have no leader thats why the world is in chaos.  I want our next president to be shepherd whose not afraid to fight off the wolves.   Leadership comes with a price and until we have a president who is willing to pay it we will be wandering in the wilderness.  Yeah the way the world used to come up ideas on how to make things better was to sit down with a bottle of whatever  and have a debate but if you crossed the line you had to pay the price.  Ask Aaron Burr about what happens when you crossed the line.  I Honestly believe Congress would be better off if they were all drunk.  We need statesmen who can have a debate and come to a conclusion even if it means pistols at dawn.  It days of yore wars war often fought by the two men representing their particular sides.  I’ll take Hulk Hogan vs the Iron Sheik any day of the week.   Our experiment with democracy was a failure,  somebody needs to speak the truth Russia, Canada, England, Australia and anybody else you could name aren’t our allies we have no allies its a dog eat dog world and we are the pit bull that has been castrated by the absence of leadership.  We need to fix america and the only way to do that is to expand and find the leaders among us that are hidden because if the speak the truth they will get yelled at by some one and discredited.  The muslims hate us, asians think were idiots, south america sell us our drugs and cheap labor while we have all the children on pharmaceutical drug it’s depressing. We have become slaves to the government and worse we are also slaves to technology we need some one to unite us we need some ex-patriots to step up and protect our boarders start hijacking all the ships coming in from china and learn how to build things with our own two hands.   When I was in university my professor in ethics asked me what my goal was, “I want to raise an army and conquer the known world so that it can be run the right way.”   Help me help america, stop electing idiots, stop putting your faith in the government put it in God or at least a God fearing man.  Money is power that corrupts all men, I would rather be broke running around in the hills I’d probably have a higher life expectancy.   We need ordinary people in congress, you can’t have this modern aristocracy running around like spoiled brats.  “How can you help the poor if you never been poor, how can you stop crime if you don’t know any criminals,”  as Chris Rock said.   We need ordinary people to put an end to this special interest garbage because no matter which side wins the elections everybody loses.  We have an Education system thats broken down and we keep trying to fix it with a hammer, let just tear it down and rebuild it.  Actually it would more sense to do that with all of the government.  I call for new elections and lets rise up like egypt and demand all of our leaders step down cause they aren’t leaders.  All over america is broke and we are try to fix it with a butter knife and duct tape.  Lets get the pitch forks out lights some fires and raise a little hell until the elected officials all resign and we put real people into the decision making process.  The constitution needs a little amending right about now who is going to man up and do what needs to be done.        I been all around the world met all kinds of amazing people and only three of them made me tremble.  1 Mike Huckabee 2 Harold Ford Jr. 3 was an old rabbi, I trembled because I knew I was in the presence of great men who cared more for their flock than for themselves.  Politics aside we need people to start acting right and that will come only when we start over again with the real issues, Poverty leads to Violence and life is beautiful we don’t need more millionaires we need more people who just want that nice pink house with the white picket fences.  In order to teach the banks a lesson we should allow squatting rights in foreclosed homes. Will a couple of true leaders step forward and a few great men sit down and have a civil conversation on a Sunday afternoon in a parlor room with out attempting to attack other peoples honor.  I would like to see a day when people realize we are all different and regions have different problems, for example out west try selling cars that run on solar power, and in the mid west how about some wind power and guess what for the rest of us on the Mighty Mississippi hydro power, we can still use coal and natural gas but stop the insanity.  Think for yourselves, communism has its ups and downs but remember even they had to have people who could think for themselves.  I don’t want millions I just want a nice world to live is that so hard to imagine.  Its going to take either the threat of force or the actual use of force to do this which is why we need leaders and statesmen from different breed.  Read your history books empathize and emulate the heros of our past and maybe we will get that better breed of man.

Sign The Pentagon Petition 

Please, sign the Committee For The Republic Petition to tell the 112th Congress that no department or program is sacred; they must all remain on the table as we seek ways to cut spending, including Pentagon, and reduce the deficit.  CUT SPENDING NOW!!

   Here's proof that when government grows too big, it will lose control, you have it here: In January 2011, at a news conference, Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “My own experience here is that in doubling (the Pentagon budget over the last decade), we’ve lost our ability to prioritize, to make hard decisions, to do tough analysis, to make trades.”  Adm. Mullen leads the largest government agency in the U.S.A., indeed, the whole world.

   "Our exploding federal debt is the greatest threat to the Republic.  Republicans are in a unique position to make spending cuts in our largest federal department. Pentagon savings will enable Republicans to exact greater domestic spending cuts from Democrats. By adding your name to The Petition, you are helping address the $14 Trillion plus debt Washington politicians have run up.

   Before CPAC, The Pentagon Petition was signed by dozens of leading conservatives, including Grover Norquist, David Keene, Richard Viguerie, Matt Kibbe, Tim Phillips and Al Regnery. By coming together with one voice, The Petition persuaded Congressional Republicans to reverse their policy of exempting the Pentagon from spending cuts.

   Unfortunately, our work has just begun. While paying lip service to The Pentagon Petition, the Republican leadership is timid and continues to rubberstamp Pentagon spending. That is why we need you to spread the word among fellow conservatives. We urge you to direct your friends and colleagues to http://committeefortherepublic.org/?page_id=9 and ask them to sign The Pentagon Petition.”                                        

The Pentagon Petition

The 112th Congress, tasked with a clear mandate to cut spending, must look to not only cut spending now, but permanently arrest the bias towards the careless wastefulness, bred of cronyism, that has plagued Washington for too long. To that end, lawmakers must dismiss the erroneous assumptions that have led to sacrosanct budgeting; no longer can select departments and programs enjoy protected status in the appropriations process. Conservatives should enthusiastically reject the notion that any area of the federal budget should be protected from examination. Attempts to isolate departments or programs from scrutiny undermine any serious efforts for positive spending reform — for this and many generations to come. Any policymaker determined to cut government spending must commit to keeping spending cuts in all departments on the table — whether efficiencies can be realized in the Department of Defense or the Department of Education, they must all be considered fair game in the battle to instill fiscal prudence in federal spending.

I have the perfect solution to the Muslim problem here in the united states.

Pass a law so they would have to go door to door like the little Mormans and the holyrollers and the born again whatever.

Cant you just see what would happen if they knocked on the door of some old hairey assed motorcycle rider, Bhahahahahahahahaha

Perfect solution.

:)

I recently purchased my own domain, “mymiraclemessage.com” .  . . I’m selling something intangible that is selling like hotcakes.  The following comments are from people who are selling something tangible on the Internet from all over the world.

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“A God for Tomorrow” 2011/04/01  “Love what you have done with your site.”

“My Miracle Message” 20ll/04/01  “Wonderful details. I’ve been looking for something like this.

“A God for Tomorrow” 2011/04/01 “The layout is what really caught my eye. Then I looked at the writing and think you did a very nice job.”

“Nature’s Law” 2011/03/31  “I’m impressed.”

“America’s Lost Soul” 2011/03/30 “This is absolutely excellent.”

“The Meaning of the 9-11 Event”  20ll/03/30 “This blog was—how do I say it—relevant. Finally, something that helped me.”

I’ve been blogging on this site for some time. I’m ahead of the times. I’ve received 157 comments like like the above in the few weeks I’ve been blogging on my own site.  I’m strengthened in my belief a groundswell is building that is going to sweep away the old and bring in the new, an age of peace and prosperity beyond our wildest dreams.

I have become more saddened by the lack of focus on what this movement should be on. I agree terrorism is an important now adays but to focus what seems like 99.9% of posts on subject is a bit much. We should be making our politicians accountable and calling them out for doing nothing on important issues.

 While we have the health care issue up in the air a budget that is still not balanced or even real plans to correct it coming down the pipe we have our congress doing hearings on rediculous issues. Lets return our focus on what this movement was founded on. Upholding the constitution making politicians accountable for their actions. Listening more to those these policies affect and not the lobys that donate millions. I am sure if the movement stops regurgitation some glen beck inspired rant and instead talks about the real issues.

 The issues that made the tea party a talking point during the ellection are still unsolved. Healthcare is in limbo, the debit is out of control no big cuts are done. We have an unconstitutional tax of income as outlined in the constitution. We have two wars going on and still have unchecked spending and waisting billions of dollars there. We have states now legislating against unions. I ask if the whole party stood up and said hey we pay our members of congress 180,000 a year they dont pay for their health plans and have pension plans when 90% of americans lost theirs if they even had it to begin with. Turn up the heat make them know they have hundreds if not thousands of people who want action want a plan and not just during an election year. We deserve someone who says what they mean and has a plan.

 I sent a full plan to washington and my senators a plan to cut the amount the major drug manufactures can use to advertise for drugs people will have to see a doctor for anyways. I outlined over the next 10 years the savings on drug prices and less advertising money combined with lower amount paid out for the drugs would save 1.3 billion dollars. Now on a state level it would save 200 million. We need more people thinking of real ways to get us moving in a dirrection. Please stand up make some calls write some emails tell them we are watching them and tired of this from both partys.

We must be out there talking to people today.  Have the neighbors over, have a pot luck dinner and start the conversation about 2012.  The key to completing our message we sent last year is to start getting the voters educated and committed now.  Then follow up, follow up, follow up with them until election day.  The truth is that it will be even harder this time.  If you are a member of a local Tea Party group, stay active.  November 2012 is closer than you think.  I heard someone say the other day well anyone will be better than what we have now.  That is only partly true.  While a rock could do a better job than Obama we do not want just anybody.  We must have a candidate who can ignite the uncommitted voters.  We need a leader again.  In my view the same old guard folks who are considered "front runners" are not about to be true to what we want accomplished.  I will not work for or support any of them.  They are just more of the same.  No matter who you support get out of your chairs and be active because our future does depend on it.  If we do not dominate the election we will have lost the best chance we will ever see in our lifetime.  It is up to us.