These days in politics, especially since the mid-terms are just around the corner, there doesn’t seem to be much bipartisan camaraderie out there. There isn’t even that much camaraderie within parties, as Democratic nominees are distancing themselves from the President and his low approval ratings. This less-than-friendly political environment begs the question: Can we come together over anything anymore?

Fortunately, we did on May 8, 2014 when the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2548: Electrify Africa Act. The bill was sponsored by Republican Edward Royce, and co-sponsored by 117 representatives — 72 Democrats and 45 Republicans. This important bill will, if it is passed by the Senate and signed into law, provide affordable and reliable electricity to Africa. Aid organizations have made significant progress in Africa in recent years, but their efforts can only go so far when large areas of the continent lack electricity.

The Borgen Project, a non-profit, national campaign based in Seattle, fights for bills like the Electrify Africa Act to be passed into law. As a non-partial and bi-partisan organization, The Borgen Project sees how dire the political climate is right now, and how important it is for bi-partisan support of bills that will help the world’s poor rise out of extreme poverty. With that in mind, The Borgen Project’s mission is to educate citizens on the many reasons eradicating global poverty is so important. It is not just of interest to philanthropists.

Some important points The Borgen Project stresses are as follows:

— Eradicating poverty would be good for the U.S. economy. History has shown that as people transition from barely surviving to becoming consumers, it opens new markets for U.S. companies and creates American jobs. Considering that 1 in 5 U.S jobs are export-based, and 45 percent of exports now go to developing nations, eradicating poverty would have major positive impacts on the U.S. economy.

— The U.S. military wants global poverty addressed. The poorest populations have also proven to be the most vulnerable to radical extremism and violence. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would hand part of his budget to the State Department, “in a heartbeat.” Adm. Mullen also said, “U.S. foreign policy is still too dominated by the military, too dependent on the generals and admirals who lead our major overseas commands, and not enough on the State Department.”

— It will save the environment. Overpopulation is a huge dilemma for the future of this planet and experts from USAID, the UN, and The Population Institute have all stated that the poorest populations populate fastest.

The reasons for eradicating poverty transcend “it’s just the right thing to do.” They are also diverse enough that people from any political party should be able to support the fact that for this world to be a healthy, safe, and prosperous one, the global poverty crisis has got to be addressed. So let’s really together, and voice our support to our representative in Congress and in the Senate to do more to take on this issue!

Thank you for listening. Useful information on communicating with your representatives can be found at borgenproject.org.

Georgia Suter
Poulsbo