Lobbying for change

VICKIE PAPAGEORGE COPY EDITOR VP724@CABRINI EDU

Twenty three students in the Working for Global Justice seminar class traveled from their Cabrini classroom to Washington D.C., on Friday, April 11, in order to lobby Congress on the topic of foreign assistance for underdeveloped countries and additional funding for food aid.

The trip was a result of close collaboration of the students with Catholic Relief Services. They went through semester-long training for advocacy and how to lobby Congress.

“The students also learned about the role the U.S. government plays in these global issues and that because of our demo- cratic system, they have the right and the responsibility to tell their government how to address these issues. This is the essence of advocacy – to inform our elected officials of our opinion in order to influence their decisions,”

Brendan Cavanagh, CRS grassroots advocacy specialist, said.

Divided in three groups of seven to eight people, each group sat with the staff of Senators Arlen Specter, Robert Casey and Robert Menendez and discussed the important need of support for the Farm Bill and the Global Poverty Act to aid poor countries in Africa, South America and other parts of the world.

The Farm Bill defines international and domestic U.S. food and agriculture policy for five years. Provisions in the bill, known as

P.L. 480 Title II food aid, specify how the United States responds to food needs of poor people worldwide during emergencies such as war and drought and also for long-term development such as using food to promote education, health and agriculture.

It ensures safe living and working conditions for farm workers, promotes fairness for farmers in developing countries and provides food security aid efficiently and effectively to hungry people worldwide.

The Global Poverty Act aims to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of ex-

LOBBYING, page 3

Three groups of students traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the staff of Senators Arlen Specter, Robert Casey and Robert Menendez. Students pictured above: Vickie Papageorge, Christina Mitchaluk, Christine Graf, Diana Vilares, Tim Harner, Bill Cassidy, Jessica Storm, Bridget Flynn, Delta Benoit, Britney Mitchell, Joe Johnson, Sam Randol, Mike Balka, Kara Schneider, Jill Smith and Megan Pellegrino.