Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Truth about the Global Poverty Act (#1)

Bread for the World has put out a very clear info sheet about the Global Poverty Act (S 2433). Here is the link to it:

The Truth about the Global Poverty Act

If there is any doubt about any of these, remember, the GPA is a very short piece of legislation. You can always read it for yourself to confirm what you read here! Here's the first mythbuster...

MYTH: The Global Poverty Act would commit the U.S. to spending 0.7 percent of its gross national product on foreign aid. This would require a new tax on all Americans.

TRUTH: The legislation neither authorizes nor obligates the federal government to spend more money. Rather, it seeks to put our current foreign aid programs into a comprehensive strategy involving trade policy, debt cancellation, and private sector efforts to ensure that existing U.S. programs are more effective and efficient. The legislation calls for a strategy to determine the right mix of aid, trade and debt policies and investment. The strategy also includes the private sector, civil society organizations, and the developing countries themselves as critical components in global development. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the bill would cost less than $1 million to implement.

No comments: