“Law doesn’t happen by accident,” said Diana Ohlbaum, senior staff member for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as she briefed participants in Bread for the World’s Gathering 2009. She explained that to make laws fair and compassionate for hungry people, their voices must be heard in Congress.
On June 16, Lobby Day, about 320 participants heeded Ohlbaum’s words and visited their representatives. They lived out the theme of the Gathering, “Rejoice! Hope! Act!,” by urging their representatives to make U.S. foreign aid more effective in fighting hunger and poverty. In the House, Bread activists focused on getting support for the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, H.R. 2139.
This bipartisan bill is a critical first step toward improving foreign assistance. It calls on the president to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy for global development.
Bread is also working toward the introduction of an initial foreign assistance reform bill in the Senate in the coming weeks.
The Bread activists, coming from 38 states, visited more than 180 congressional offices on Lobby Day. Others who could not attend in person called their senators and representatives. In the following days, cosponsors of H.R. 2139 were added rapidly.
As Lobby Day demonstrates every year, personal visits with senators and representatives are one of the most compelling ways to speak out for hungry people. Plan now to visit your member of Congress in your district and push for foreign assistance reform. Your Bread regional organizer can help you organize and prepare for a visit.
