Help fight hunger — Write a letter to Congress today!
Be personal.  Be sure to include your names and postal address on your letter so your Member of Congress knows you are a constituent.

Be concise.  Express your request clearly in one or two paragraphs.

Current Situation.  Speak to the current situation. At this time (Nov 2006) the following is the issue to focus on. The Senate hasn’t reached final decisions on dollar figures going to poverty accounts as part of Foreign Operations.  House and Senate leaders will meet after the November elections to negotiate final dollar amounts.  Your representative can still urge Rep. Jerry Lewis of Redlands, CA, and other key Appropriators to take advantage of this one last chance in 2006 to increase poverty assistance at least to the level the president requested, if not higher.
SAMPLE LETTER

Washington, D.C. 20515
         

Dear Rep. ______________:

Poverty-Focused Development Assistance, or PFDA, helps poor people around the world overcome hunger, poverty, and disease.  500,000 Africans now have access to HIV drugs, in part due to U.S. government funding, and I want you to know this is a big priority for Californians.  Currently, less than half of one percent of our federal budget goes to PFDA, but we can do better.

I am concerned that Congress is not prioritizing PFDA, but the year is not over yet.  Please speak with House Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis and other key appropriators to see that they prioritize PFDA over economic and political aid to allies for the 2007 budget.  It’s important to invest in effective programs that help poor people overcome poverty.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Your Address
For more information, visit Bread for the World at www.bread.org or call regional organizer David Gist at 800-315-3239
SAMPLE LETTER FOR CHILDREN

Dear Senator

I am ——– years old and I just learned that one person dies every 3 seconds because of poverty. I also learned that experts think we can stop this kind of poverty and that our government has promised to give money to support the Millennium Development Goals to end poverty.

So I am writing to you to ask you to do everything you can to make sure our government keeps its promise. Keeping promises is important, and so is saving lives. Please support increased poverty-focused aid so these people can live. I think it is important to spend money on saving lives.

Sincerely,