You Did It

Dear ONE Member,

This Saturday at 1:27 AM, your elected leaders heard your voice and helped make possible a crucial victory against poverty by passing important trade legislation.

The final votes for the bill were: Yea / Nay
House of Representatives 212 / 184
Senate 79 / 9

When ONE Members first took action to protect the third-country fabric provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in September, it was little more than an obscure clause in a massive trade bill. Thanks in part to the hundreds of thousands of letters ONE Members sent to Congress, we were able to help get this important provision on the radar.

Your response to our final call to action last week was so incredible that rather than simply sending your letters, we called on ONE Members to hand deliver over a quarter of a million letters to Members of Congress.

Please take a moment to thank your elected leaders for helping make a difference against global poverty.

The last moments of the final Congressional session are generally reserved for the most vital legislation, and the fact that Congress took time after midnight on Saturday to pass this bill is, in part, due to your efforts to inform Congress that you care about this issue.

By renewing the “third country fabric” provision, America is helping to preserve as many as 150,000 jobs by allowing African apparel factories to import fabric and then export clothes to the United States. Quite simply, this trade benefit gives people a chance to work their way out of extreme poverty.

But thinking of this bill as 150,000 jobs doesn???t begin to reflect its impact. Each one of these jobs provides hope to a community, a chance for mothers and fathers to support their families, and helps send children to schools so that the next generation has a real chance for a future free from extreme poverty.

Take a moment to thank your elected leaders for helping make a difference against global poverty.

Sometimes extreme global poverty can feel overwhelming, but with this victory we can see measurable progress and are reminded that our actions make a real difference. More still needs to be done but it is important that we let Congress know how much we care about this issue so that you can count on their votes in the future.

Thank you for your voice,

Josh Peck, ONE.org

P.S. If you want to find out more about this provision check out the ONE Blog, including a play-by-play of our efforts and the passage of the bill.