Stop the Global Poverty Act!

The Global Poverty Act (HR.2639) would demand that the president develop "and implement" a policy to "cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015. This is expected to cost the American taxpayer $845 billion!

A very similar bill passed the House by a voice vote a couple of years ago because most members didn’t realize what was in this "feel-good" legislation. This is not surprising, because few congressmen are wise enough and responsible enough to read the bills they vote on. (See the badly-needed "Read The Bills Act".)

As a former military officer and as a current international airline pilot, I have traveled to over 120 nations. I've seen the profound poverty that this legislation pretends to address. I can say with great confidence that the greatest poverty is generally in nations with corrupt and/or oppressive and/or ineffective governments.

Congress has no constitutional authority to remedy this situation. Any aid would only line the pockets of those corrupt government officials.

The way to combat poverty is education. Education and the will to overcome poverty must come from within each individual and his own nation. The missionary efforts of the various Christian churches are perhaps the best way to accomplish this. The Christian message is more than religious, it motivates and gives hope and ideals to believers. It includes a message of personal responsibility, service to others, and teaches leadership skills to its adherents. In their wake, missionaries leave schools and various projects to improve living conditions and to create jobs. It's a slow process, but it's lasting.

Having the US government simply throw taxpayer money at the problem is historically extremely temporary, wasteful, and ineffective. These people need to learn how to fish. If we keep throwing them fish, the fish will rot. And, they don't even like the kind of fish we give them!

Again, I remind Congress that it's not our nation's job to cut global poverty nor does Congress have any constitutional authority whatsoever to attempt to do so. I urge all congressmen to aggressively oppose the Global Poverty Act (HR.2639).