World Affairs
Promoting a More Peaceful World
The United States needs a proactive agenda to address conflict and terrorism. Those extremists who have attacked us in New York and Virginia, as well as our allies from Madrid to Bali, and continue to try to harm Americans because of an implacable ideology of hate must be confronted and defeated. But the broader struggle for security can only be won by dealing with the political conditions that extremists exploit to gain the sympathy of their communities and recruit new followers.
We must undertake the difficult, yet critical, task of engaging directly and honestly with Iran and Syria, despite their often destructive and destabilizing roles. The lack of serious diplomatic relationships strengthens those who seek chaos and isolation, while leaving the U.S. with fewer levers of influence and more blind spots than we can afford. It is also past time for greater United States involvement to advance the vision of a secure Israel and an independent Palestinian state living side by side through serious negotiations leading towards a final status agreement.
Global Poverty and Clean Water
The fight to end global poverty is one the most important moral challenges of our times. Aid, trade, and debt relief policies that support poor people struggling to lift their communities out of poverty must be supported. Helping people improve their standard of living also helps prevent conflict and creates new markets for American exports. In addition, we should significantly increase the amount of money we invest in ending poverty around the world, which is currently less than 1% of the federal budget.
One-sixth of the world’s population, almost a billion people, do not have access to safe drinking water. This is an ongoing tragedy – from the United States, to Mozambique where my daughter served in the Peace Corps, to Haiti, which I recently visited with Speaker Pelosi after that devastating earthquake.
Every dollar we invest in clean water yields a return of $8 to $36, and also puts us further down the path to eradicating extreme poverty and preventable illnesses.
Despite the occasional partisan difference in Washington, this critical issue should remain above the fray. In 2005, I worked to pass the “Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act” with the Republican Foreign Affairs Chairman and the Minority and Majority Leaders in the Senate. Today this law provides millions of people every year with access to clean, safe water for the very first time. I am dedicated to empowering the State Department and USAID to meet this global crisis head-on. In 2009 I introduced the “Water for the World Act” with Senator Durbin as its champion in the Senate. This bill would give government the necessary tools to provide 100 million people with first-time access to clean water and sanitation by 2015. Strengthening Human Rights and Democracy
While there are limits to our ability to impact what goes on in other countries, it is particularly important that the United States always model and advocate our deepest held values. Torture is unacceptable, whether committed by the United States or despotic regimes across the globe. The Geneva Conventions and the obligations of the laws of war must be respected or the United States risks losing its moral authority.
The United States shouldn’t be funding the regimes that stand in the way of the free exercise of democracy and military funding should be cut to countries such as Egypt and Pakistan and redirected towards improving the lives of people around the world.
In almost four decades of public service, Earl Blumenauer's innovative accomplishments in transportation, planning, environmental programs and public participation have helped Portland, Oregon earn an international reputation as one of America's most livable cities.