Great news!
Congressman Keith Ellison, who represents Minneapolis/St Paul in the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced a resolution in effect endorsing the NSP version of a Global Marshall Plan into the House of Representatives as H Res 439. It was referred to the Republican controlled Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. Please read the resolution below and send thanks to his legislative aide Vic Edgerton: vic.edgerton@mail.house.gov or:
-Call Keith Ellison’s Minnesota office at 612-522-1212(HoursM-F9:00 AM to 6:00 PMCentral Time)
-Call his Washington Office at 202-225-4755(HoursM-F8:00 AM to 5:00 PMCentral Time)
-Tweet Keith @KeithEllison- He actively uses Twitter and frequently interacts with constituents who send him questions or comments
Many people have been talking about what a huge difference it would make in national discourse if Congressman Ellison were to run for the Democratic nomination for president in place of tired and boring centrists like Sec. of State Kerry, former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, and vice President what’s-his-name? We don’t take stands on elections, but we do know that this country badly needs a change in public discourse, and Keith Ellison as chair of the Progressive Caucus of the House of Representatives has shown himself to be a very powerful articulator of an alternative way of thinking. And Congressman Ellison is one of the very few spiritual progressives to have national name recognition! In the historical moment when Pope Francis denounced global capitalism and over a dozen states have passed laws legalizing gay marriage, don’t be so sure that you (or the pundits) really know what is “realistic” and what is not!! Remember: You never know what is possible until you spend your time and money fighting for what is desirable. Just saying….
In the House of Representatives,December 11, 2013 ,Mr. Ellison submitted the following resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs:
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION H Res 439
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Global
Marshall Plan holds the potential to demonstrate the commitment of the
United States to peace and prosperity through poverty reduction in the
United States and abroad.
Whereas after World War II, the United States established a program to provide
for the reconstruction of Europe, named after General George C. Marshall
and commonly referred to as the “Marshall Plan”;
Whereas by providing assistance to Europe through the Marshall Plan, the United
States recognized the direct link between economic growth and political
stability;
Whereas in 1948, United States financial support of the Marshall Plan
represented a generous 13 percent of the Federal budget;
Whereas the Marshall Plan made possible new measures of international
cooperation by promoting European economic integration which has
enhanced the security, freedom, and prosperity of the United States and
the world;
Whereas the United States established foreign assistance programs, as prescribed
by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with a goal of the
“encouragement and sustained support of the people of developing
countries in their efforts to acquire the knowledge and resources
essential to development and to build the economic, political, and
social institutions which will improve the quality of their lives”;
Whereas in announcing the Millennium Challenge Account on March 15, 2002,
President George W. Bush stated “The advance of development is a
central commitment of American foreign policy. As a nation founded on
the dignity and value of every life, America’s heart breaks because of
the suffering and senseless death we see in our world. We work for
prosperity and opportunity because they’re right. It’s the right thing
to do.”;
Whereas the World Bank reports that 2,400,000,000 people worldwide live on less
than $2 per day;
Whereas the United States has one of the highest levels of poverty among
industrialized countries;
Whereas the United States should also work toward improving the life of its own
poorest population, as 15 percent live below the Federal poverty level;
Whereas 1,650,000 households in the United States are in extreme poverty, as
defined by each person living on less than $2 per day;
Whereas there are more than 47,000,000 persons living on incomes less than the
Federal Poverty Level, including nearly 11,000,000 African-American
persons, nearly 2,000,000 Asian persons, and more than 13,000,000
Hispanic persons;
Whereas at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States
joined more than 180 countries in committing to work toward the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve life for the world’s
poorest people by 2015;
Whereas more than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, major advances in the fight against poverty and
hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global
economic and food crises, a progress report by the United Nations has
found;
Whereas empowering people in the United States and abroad to support themselves
will provide a solid foundation for global economic recovery;
Whereas the economic gap between the rich and the poor is even greater today
than it was following World War II, when the United States Congress
deemed the Marshall Plan essential to the security of the United States;
Whereas reducing poverty may assist in warding off harsh conditions that
extremists may exploit to rally support for political violence;
Whereas United States citizens and nongovernmental organizations have proposed a
new Global Marshall Plan, including–
(1) providing increased funding to eliminate poverty, homelessness,
hunger, inadequate education, and health care domestically and globally in
addition to restoring the global environment;
(2) revising existing trade and other agreements in which the United
States is currently involved so that such agreements favor improving the
lives of the poor around the world, and approaching future agreements with
like intent; and
(3) providing training to children and adults worldwide in techniques
of nonviolent communication, diversity, environmental sustainability,
family and parental support, stress reduction, emergency health techniques,
diet and exercise, and caring for others who are in need of help; and
Whereas a Global Marshall Plan, embracing a strategy of generosity, would
reaffirm the United States commitment to ending global and United States
poverty: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that–
(1) the elimination of poverty and hunger should remain key
foreign and domestic policy goals for the United States;
(2) a Global Marshall Plan holds the potential to transform
development assistance in a manner that would significantly
reduce poverty; and
(3) the President should implement a Global Marshall Plan
to increase United States assistance towards the elimination of
poverty.
[Now it’s in your court–please get your local city council, state legislative representatives, and your Congressional reps to publicly endorse the Global Marshall Plan and to endorse H Res 439. You can download the full version of the Global Marshall Plan at www.tikkun.org/GMP. Or, if you don’t feel you “know enough” to do that, come to our Spiritual Activist Training (information and registration at www.spiritualprogressives.org/training)–you’ll be glad you did.]
I’m proud of Rep. Ellison and very happy to be one of his constituents. Indeed, if this country and, in fact, this Earth are to go on functioning, we must come to a recognition that, far from being “radicals,” Rep. Ellison and his allies are the true realists.
The GMP solution is very nice, especially if you think that throwing money at a problem is the same as solving it. I do not. Globally poverty is not the real problem; it is merely a symptom. Until and unless the “two pillars that support the sky” can function with sufficient strength and breadth, humanity will continue on its unsustainable trajectory. We must reverse the inhuman treatment of the female majority. This, in turn, will right all the other evils and restore our peaceful, prosperous matrifocal society.
For the method, please see my forthcoming book, “OUR FUTURE IS FEMALE: How Women (and Men) Will Save the World.”