Just a Phone Call Away

Chances are you've heard the expression Just a Phone Call Away.  My guess is that it was created by Madison Ave. to encourage you to use a telephone service to contact a friend and relative.  

But this term can also be applied to your elected representative in Congress.  A number of organizations, including Bread for the World, have banded together to urge their constituents and supporters to make that call to Congress today, September 26, to support a higher appropriation for lifesaving poverty-focused development assistance.

Why today? This is very important week on Capitol Hill, as Congress will be making crucial spending decisions, and there are differing proposals on how much to spend on programs such as foreign aid.  We want to encourage our legislators to accept the much higher numbers proposed last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Click this link to read more background from Bread for the World.

So let's review.  The message is simple.  For our New Mexico Bread members and supporters, call your member of Congress today and ask that he support the higher Senate numbers in the final appropriations bill for poverty-focused development assistance.  After all, Rep. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Steve Pearce, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Sen. Tom Udall are only a toll-free phone call away:  800-826-3688 

But chances are that many people outside of New Mexico are reading this post, so fill in the blank with the name of your legislator.  The toll-free number applies to all.   And when you're making the call, please know that you are not alone.  I blogged yesterday about the action alert sent by Catholics Confront Global Poverty.  Others, including The ONE Campaign, InterAction, RESULTS, Church World Service, ActionAid, Save the Children, Oxfam, and CARE are also contributing to the effort to light up the phones on Capitol Hill today!