Global Poverty Act
The Global Poverty Act is a bill currently in the U.S. Congress. The bill is co-sponsored by 84 representatives and 30 senators. It does not allocate any funding.
The Global Poverty Act would require the U.S. 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.
Several key organizations have been lobbying for the Global Poverty Act, including Bread for the World and the National Wildlife Federation.[citation needed] The bill passed the Foreign Affairs Committee in July.
Timeline
- Mar 1, 2007: Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Adam Smith.
- Jul 31, 2007: Scheduled for debate in the House.
- Sep 25, 2007: Passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote.
- Sep 26, 2007: Received in the Senate and read twice; referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Feb 13, 2008: Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
- Apr 24 2008: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Biden with amendments and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 110-331. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.
Media Coverage
A number of news outlets have referred to this bill as the "Global Poverty Tax", or, occasionally, "World Poverty Bill". In February 2008, Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media wrote that the Global Poverty Act (S.2433) "would commit the U.S. to spending 0.7 percent of gross national product on foreign aid ... which amounts to a phenomenal 13-year total of $845 Billion over and above what the U.S. already spends" to reduce global poverty.[1] Other outlets ran similar stories, including WorldNetDaily[2], which cites Kincaid as a source.
This, however, is false. The bill requires the president to develop a plan to implement the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the amount of people who live on less than a dollar a day. The bill makes no policy statement regarding the implementation of other Millennium Development Goals and no mention of how the bill would be funded.[3]
Many Americans were alerted to the legislation by a report from Cliff Kincaid at Accuracy in Media. He published a critique asserting that while the Global Poverty Act sounds nice, the adoption could "result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States" and would make levels "of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations."
He said the legislation, if approved, dedicates 0.7 percent of the U.S. gross national product to foreign aid, which over 13 years he said would amount to $845 billion "over and above what the U.S. already spends."
The plan passed the House in 2007 "because most members didn't realize what was in it," Kincaid reported. "Congressional sponsors have been careful not to calculate the amount of foreign aid spending that it would require."
External links
Footnotes
- ^ Cliff Kincaid.Obama’s Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote Accuracy in Media. February 12, 2008
- ^ WorldNetObama bill: $845 billion more for global poverty February 14, 2008
- ^ Library of Congress S.2433: Global Poverty Act
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