Clinton Applauds Global Effort To Help Orphans

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute today for its efforts to provide permanent homes for orphans around the world. 

“We meet today because we all believe that every child deserves a safe, loving, permanent family of his or her own,” Clinton said during a policy summit meant to coincide with the release of findings from the group’s year-long “The Way Forward Project.”

Clinton detailed her past experience working for children’s causes, which began in law school when she explored legal protections for abused children. During that time, the former First Lady worked for the Children’s Defense Fund to gather data to help make the case that children with disabilities deserve an education. While traveling the world, Clinton visited two of Mother Theresa’s orphanages in India and a state orphanage in Romania, which further encouraged her efforts to pass legislation to fund permanent homes for orphaned children.

“Consistently the studies prove that children in residential institutions too often experience developmental delays [and] attachment disorders that obviously impact their ability to mature and success later in life,” Clinton said today. “One recent study showed that on average children reared in orphanages had IQs 20 points lower than those raised in foster care.”  

Yet, Clinton deplored that while there have been tremendous efforts to get children out of orphanages and into caring homes, UNICEF still estimates that there are at least two million children in orphanages around the world.

This is where The Way Forward Project comes in. The effort, which was launched last November, brought policy makers, investors and practitioners together to seek ways to improve the full continuum of care for vulnerable children around the world. Their 200-page report concluded that “family-based care is the optimal environment for children and should therefore be the underlying goal for children who, because of things such as disease, war, violence and poverty find themselves living alone, on the streets or in institutions.”

“Let’s work together on this because, for me, there is no higher priority,” Clinton said. “The work I do every day as Secretary to try to make the world a more peaceful, stable, free place is really aimed at helping the next generation realize their God-given potential and this is a big part of that.” 

Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and evangelical Christian Pastor Rick Warren also spoke at today’s event.

Click here to see a photo taken at the Summit. 

Poll: Voters, Congress at Odds Over UN Funding

Over 80 percent of American voters want their government to continue being actively engaged in affairs at the United Nations, says a new poll conducted for the UN Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting the UN’s role and activities.

The public opinion study, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research Associates, comes as the House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold Thursday a markup hearing on the “United Nations Transparency, Accountability and Reform Act” put forward by Committee chairman Ileana Ros -Lehtinen (R- FL).

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly sent lawmakers on Capitol Hill a letter today arguing that bill would have a negative impact on American interests and that she would recommend President Obama veto the measure. 

Peter Yeo director of the UN Foundation, says the study clearly demonstrates that Congress is out of touch with the American electorate. 

“Americans oppose withholding American dues from the UN and Americans also want to remain very engaged with the UN because they recognize the important ways the UN serves American interests.” 

The proposed bill would change the manner in which the US funds the UN’s various agencies and significantly cut American financial support to the world body. 

UN member states each now pay dues that represent a percentage of the organizations total budget. US dues represents approximately 22% of the UN budget, making it the highest contributing member state ahead of Japan (16%).  

The new bill would forgo the dues system and allow the US to disburse funds to the United Nations on a case by case voluntary basis. 

Although US voter support for the UN tends to be drawn across party lines, the poll found that the majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents were in favor of the US paying its dues on time. 

The poll was conducted by a bipartisan polling team among 900 registered voter nationwide between October 1-4. 

Secretary Clinton Pledges Additional Aid For Horn Of Africa

As the drought in East Africa continues to claim lives, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued Thursday that it is time for Washington to do more. 

While addressing a small group at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Thursday, Clinton announced that Washington would send an additional $17 million in aid to the hunger-wrenched region of East Africa. Of that sum, $12 million will be donated directly to those starving in Somalia. 

This aid brings the total US humanitarian assistance in East Africa this year to more than $580 million. 

“We must remember that time is not on our side. Every minute, more people die, more people become sick and more people flee their homes,” Clinton warned in her speech to IFPRI, an organization that develops sustainable solutions for ending poverty and hunger across the world,

The UN announced Wednesday that 3.7 million people in Somalia are at risk of famine and more than 12 million are affected by the drought across the horn of Africa. Additionally, ten percent of Somali children under five are dying every 11 weeks due to the famine. 

Clinton emphasized that in addition to providing aid for the current crisis, Washington must also invest efforts into preventing such tragic occurrences in the future.

“We must maintain our focus on the future by continuing to invest in long-term food security in countries that are susceptible to drought and food shortages,” Clinton remarked.

Dr. Jill Biden and Senator Bill Frist echoed these same sentiments in an op-ed entitled “Let’s Save Starving Somalis” that will be published in the USA Today on Friday.

“We must also confront the broader challenge of food insecurity that leaves so many people vulnerable to droughts like this one. That’s why America has been helping nations like Ethiopia and Kenya develop innovative and improved crops and irrigation methods and new ways for farmers to market and transport their products.The goal of our aid is simple: to help create the conditions where such aid is no longer needed.” Biden and Frist wrote.

“We have a crisis and we must respond,” Clinton continued in her speech. “We must try to support those refugee camps and do everything we can to provide the immediate help that is needed. Let’s use this opportunity to make very clear what more we need to do together to try to avoid this happening again.”

Secretary Clinton Implores GOP TO Back New START Treaty

By A.J. Swartwood

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday to implore Senate Republicans to support the New START Treaty’s ratification before the end of lame duck session.

The comments came a day after Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), citing concern that the lame duck session would not provide adequate time to resolve all the concerns related to the treaty, announced his opposition to a vote.

“Some have suggested that we hit the pause button, that it is too difficult to do this in a lame duck session. I strongly disagree,” said Secretary Clinton. “This is exactly what the American people expect us to do, to come together and do what is necessary to protect our country.”

Clinton, who spoke alongside the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), remains confident that despite the initial setback, the New START Treaty can be passed before the start of the new year.

“We intend to do everything we can during this lame duck session, to get a vote to ratify this treaty,” said Clinton. “This is not an issue that can afford to be postponed…We think once we take that message with the urgency that you heard from the three of us, we will get the votes, and we will pass this treaty.”

Secretary of State Clinton Calls On American Public To Help Pakistan Flood Victims

  The Pakistan floods will be the greatest test of global solidarity of our time, United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki Moon told the General Assembly during a donors conference for the embattled country today in New York. The Secretary General returned this week from a trip to Pakistan where he got a first hand look at of the scope of the destruction. 

 “The eyes see, the ears hear, yet somehow the mind struggles to grasp the full dimension of this catastrophe. Almost 20 million people need shelter , food and emergency care, more than the entire population hit by the Indian ocean tsunami” said Ban, who described the flood  as a  “slow motion tsunami”.

 Ban says at least 460 million dollars will be needed to address basic needs over the next 90 days, and although over half of the funds have already been met by pledges, Ban says there is no time to spare.

“All of these resources are needed and they are needed now. Your pledges today must be followed up by action, action that delivers change on the ground.”

 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also announced the US would pledge another 60 million dollars to Pakistan and revealed the creation of the Pakistani Relief Fund, a mechanism designed to facilitate public financial donations to flood victims. Americans will be able  contribute 10$ to the cause by text messaging “FLOOD” to 27722 or downloading a donation form on the State Department website in order mail their contribution.

 “The United States has and continues to take swift action to help. But governments cannot be alone in helping the people of Pakistan” Clinton said in a statement released earlier today. 

The past three weeks of rain and flooding have left nearly 20% of the country submerged, destroyed the country’s infrastructure and most of its crops and farm land.

With nearly 70% of its population employed in agriculture and over 1 billion dollars in crops destroyed,Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi says his country, the sixth most populated in the world, now faces serious food insecurity. Qureshi also fears Pakistan’s infrastructure  will not be able to sustain the large number of people forced to migrate from flood affected areas to larger cities and expects the situation to get worse as the rain and waves of flooding continue.