How to Get a Job Working for Congress: 10 Tips

how to work in congress
Wondering how to get a job working for Congress? We’ve demystified the process and distilled it into 10 possible paths to take.

10 Tips to Get a Job Working for Congress

  1. Networking: Networking is undoubtedly the most important factor when searching for a job in Congress. According to the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), congressional offices receive thousands of resumes per month, so it is crucial that an applicant is able to stand out from the rest of the pile. The best way to ensure your resume is carefully considered is by knowing a staffer who can make recommendations to the congressional leader. Thus, landing a job on Capitol Hill is largely about connecting with the right people and mobilizing your networks.
  2. Create a killer resume: The hiring process for congressional interns and staff workers begins with a list of resumes organized from top to bottom, Roll Call explains. Having a strong resume is a key component in the hiring process. When writing a resume, Career Casts advises, “you need to create a resume tailored to your customers: the people in a position to hire you.” In other words, talk about relevant experiences and capabilities that could benefit the congressional leaders. Working for The Borgen Project, for instance, would be an applicable and useful experience to include.
  3. Start early on: Reach out not only to congressional leaders, but to potential candidates as well. Former intern Aaron Marquis notes that, “you should keep an eye out on rising political candidates. Network with these candidates early on to land a job later.”
  4. Build a target list: Some important questions to address when building a target list are as follows: “What is your home state? Where have you previously lived? Where did you go to school? Where do you have family?” CMF urges job searchers to use every state and district they’ve spent time in and know something about to help them build a list of target offices. Having an extensive list of congressional leaders as potential employers means having an increased likelihood of landing a job.
  5. Start at the bottom of the hierarchy: There is nothing wrong with fetching coffee for a congressional leader if it means getting a foot in the door. Often times, congressional interns and staff members start their career handling grunt work. CMF claims that, “working on Capitol Hill is all about paying your dues. It doesn’t matter what job you get as long as you have one in the first place. Once you accomplish that, upward mobility can happen very quickly.”
  6. Work for a political campaign: A fun and exciting way to meet congressional candidates is to assist them with their political campaign. Former intern Aaron Marquis says, “political campaigns need effective communicators, writers and strategic minds. You gain valuable contacts in politics whether your candidate wins or loses. If your candidate wins, you can contact the candidate later looking for positions within her office.”
  7. Read newspapers and check websites: Marquis suggests checking the websites for the Senate Placement Office and the House of Representatives’ Office of Human Resources to find available staff positions in Congress. It also wouldn’t hurt to look through “The Hill,” “Roll Call” and “Opportunities in Public Affairs,” three Washington newspapers covering politics, to find available positions in Congress. Notably, each paper has its own classified section with job listings.
  8. Work for retired congressional leaders: Even if the retired leader is no longer working for Congress, they still have all the necessary connections. Marquis recommends asking a retired congressman if he or she needs any help. Although the position may not pay or last very long, it’s possible to obtain Congress positions through the contacts made by working for a retired congressional leader.
  9. Attend events and meet congressmen: According to Marquis, “you should start by attending speaking engagements of the incumbent and new congressional representatives. Speak with council people and lawmakers in your home state to acquire leads that can lead to a job in Congress.” Let the representative know you’re passionate by attending events that he or she speaks at.
  10. Move to Washington, D.C.: CMF suggests moving to Capitol Hill because living in D.C provides the distinct advantage of being able to meet with staffers in person. Face-to-face contact is always preferable and tends to be the most effective.

All things considered, it is vital to be open to various positions when searching for a job working for Congress. Networking with the right people, having the proper credentials and letting congressional leaders know that you are determined could all lead to a job on Capitol Hill.

– Megan Hadley

Sources: Congress Foundation, Roll Call, eHow, Career Cast
Photo: Flickr

Should the World Be Worried About the Guinea Ebola Flare-Up?

Ebola Flare-Up
In March of 2014, the Ebola virus ravaged countries in western Africa, quickly becoming the deadliest occurrence of the disease since 1973. As of January of this year, there have been a total of 28,637 thousand reported cases and 11,315 thousand deaths classified as probable, confirmed and suspected. This month, yet another Ebola flare-up is ravaging western Africa.

While the full force of the Ebola spread has been contained, health professionals are still fighting to drop the number of cases to zero. This month, a total of five people have died in Guinea’s recent Ebola flare-up. Naturally, the question arises whether or not this recent flare-up will spread to the same epidemic levels that West Africa had seen in the past.

Ultimately, the major difference between this recent Ebola flare-up and the huge outbreak of 2014 is that health professionals have been closely monitoring the situation. The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) has reopened its treatment unit in Nzerekore the area most affected. UNICEF also has a team in the region providing protective equipment and medicine.

The Guinea Ebola flare-up began in mid-March when the World Health Organization was alerted to three potential deaths and two suspected cases of Ebola. The emergency coordination mechanism was then reactivated, according to the WHO’s official statement, “deploying dozens of epidemiologists, surveillance experts, contact tracers, vaccinators, social mobilizers, health promoters, and infection prevention and control experts to support the effort.”

Writing for Care2, Steve Williams notes, “It’s important to emphasize that these new cases represent a contained incident.” A similar Ebola flare-up occurred in Sierra Leone in March, but this sudden rise in Ebola incidence was declared contained by the WHO. As a response to the Guinea flare-up, WHO is tracking 816 people that have come in contact with people contaminated with the virus or virus-ridden corpses.

Liberia is also taking steps to prevent new cases. The country has decided to close its border with Guinea. Lenn Eugene Nanobe, the country’s information minister, told Reuters, “We have ordered the border with Guinea closed with immediate effect. The border will remain closed until the situation in Guinea improves.” WHO declared Liberia Ebola free last January.

Reuters reported recently that Dr. Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general, accepted the recommendations of a committee of independent experts who called for lifting any travel and trade restrictions affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC),” Chan told a news briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

– Michael A. Clark

Sources: BBC, Care2, Newsweek, Reuters 1, Reuters 2, Reuters 3, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

,

Girl Rising Works to Advance Girls’ Education

Girl Rising
Girl Rising is a campaign to both improve and bring awareness to global education for girls. One of the primary ways they attract attention to this issue is through storytelling in the form of film.

In 2013, the film “Girl Rising” was released. It follows the stories of nine girls from impoverished countries around the world: Haiti, Sierra Leone, Peru, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Egypt and Cambodia.

Each girl’s story has a well-known narrator. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the cast includes Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett. Many of the actors involved do separate philanthropic work related to educating and empowering women.

The film was directed by the Academy Award-winning director Richard Robbins, who also came up with the idea for the film. He made sure that the focus of the movie remained on the stories of the protagonists.

To help the girls communicate, Robbins told Huffington Post, he implored the film’s writers to spend time with the girls in order to effectively tell their stories. While the film “Girl Rising” came before the current campaign to spread awareness for girls’ education, Robbins says, over the course of making the film, it became “clear that we needed to build an organization that was capable of working in all the ways the film alone could not.”

Girl Rising now partners with NGOs including CARE and Room to Read in their mission to bring education to girls globally.

In collaboration with the Pearson Foundation, Girl Rising also offers a curriculum that educators can use to bring awareness to the issue of education for girls who have difficulty accessing it on their own. Factors that contribute to this lack of access are poverty, a reaffirmation of a cult of domesticity for women and foregoing education in order to get married and have children.

Girl Rising is also currently carrying out a campaign called ENGAGE, or Empowering Next Generations to Advance Girls’ Education. ENGAGE is a “USAID-supported public-private partnership” which is “working in India, Nigeria and The Democratic Republic of the Congo, pairing storytelling with local social action campaigns.”

The website for Girl Rising offers multiple options for those interested in getting involved in the cause, be it anything from donating money, to using Girl Rising’s curriculum in their schools, to raising awareness by organizing a viewing of the Girl Rising film.

– Katherine Hamblen

Sources: Girl Rising, LA Times, Huffington Post
Photo: Vimeo

Pakistan Wins Award for Fight Against TB

PakistanOn March 17, Pakistan was honored with an award from the United States, naming the country the most successful in fighting multi-drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

The award is significant for Pakistan, the fifth country most highly burdened by TB and the fourth most by MDR-TB, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Although 9.6 million people globally become sick with TB each year and the number in Pakistan was 298,981 in 2013, the percentage of successful treatments has also continued to increase.

In 2001, Pakistan declared TB a national health crisis, putting the country in a state of emergency. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National TB Control Program (NTP), Pakistan set objectives to facilitate improved treatments and lower incidence rates. NTP vowed to increase the number of notified TB cases, while still maintaining treatment success rate at 91 percent, and to reduce, by at least five percent per year, the prevalence of MDR-TB among TB patients who have never received any TB treatment.

The connection between poverty and TB incidence cannot be overlooked. Ninety-five percent of new TB cases and 98 percent of TB related deaths annually occur in the developing world. In Pakistan, 75 percent of TB cases fall among young people, aged 15-45, in the country’s poorest regions, according to the “TB Patients’ Declaration on TB,” a document signed at the First TB Patient Symposium in October 2014.

Since its pledge, the NTP has successfully treated more than 1.5 million TB cases, free of cost. Strategies for fighting eradication of poverty and the disease, and to minimize economic restraints on the country, have been vital to the movement’s success.

Dr Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, spoke on behalf of the organization in Washington, emphasizing the need for treatment among patients categorized as low economic priority. “I am yet to meet a patient who says, please do not treat me because I am a low priority patient,” he noted.

Other presenters at the ceremony, including Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, winner of the TB Champion Award, and Dr. Ejaz Qadeer, the national manager for the TB Control Programme, emphasized the growing need for not only cost-efficient treatment, but also early detection mechanisms, so as to prevent the virus from transferring from patients in crowded areas. As the country with the highest MDR-TB success rate, Pakistan plans to achieve 80 percent detection by 2020.

Between 1990 and 2015, the TB death rate has dropped 47 percent, according to WHO. With leaders like Pakistan, the rest of the world could hope for a global end of the disease.

– Nora Harless

Sources: Dawn News, The Express Tribune, National TB Control Program, Target Tuberculosis, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

, ,

The Loss of Freedom: Different Types of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking
There are several types of human trafficking, and they all have a common denominator: an abuse of the intrinsic vulnerability of the victims.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the treat or use of force or other forms of coercion.”

Trafficking of individuals is a serious crime and a heinous violation of human rights.

“Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims,” said the UN.

The following are various categories linked to human trafficking.

Sex Trafficking

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggested that 53 percent of the victims are forced into sexual exploitation. “Sex trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, or harboring of persons through threat, use of force, or other coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This includes movement across borders, as well as within the victim’s own country,” affirmed Human Trafficking Search.

The International Labour Organization estimated that there is a worldwide profit of $100 billion for forced commercial sexual exploitation.

Additionally, “the perceived inferior status of women in many parts of the world has contributed to the expansion of the trafficking industry,” confirmed Human Trafficking Search.

Involuntary Domestic Servitude

Involuntary servitude happens when a domestic worker becomes enslaved in an exploitative position they are incapable of escaping.

“Domestic servitude is the seemingly normal practice of live-in help that is used as a cover for the exploitation and control of someone, usually from another country. It is a form of forced labor, but it also warrants its own category of slavery because of the unique contexts and challenges it presents,” said End Slavery Now.

Forced Labor

According to Human Trafficking Search, “Forced labor is work or service that is extorted from someone under the menace of any penalty and work or service that the person has not offered voluntarily.”

The International Labour Organization estimated that approximately 20.9 million people are enslaved to forced labor, and 4.5 are subjected to sexual forced exploitation.

Debt Bondage

“Debt bondage is a type of forced labor, involving a debt that cannot be paid off in a reasonable time,” said Human Trafficking Search. It is a period of debt during which there is no freedom, consequently, it is also known as debt slavery.

Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are described as persons under the age of 18, who have been recruited by armed forces in any capacity. Currently, there are thousands of soldiers worldwide.

“The definition includes both boys and girls who are used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes,” added Human Trafficking Search.

Child Sex Trafficking

There are approximately 1.8 million children subjected to prostitution or pornography globally.

The Human Trafficking Search defined it as “a sexual exploitation by an adult with respect to a child, usually accompanied by a payment to the child or one or more third parties.”

Child Labor

A child is considered to be involved in child labor activities if this minor is between the ages of 0 and 18, is involved in a type of work inappropriate for their age and in a dangerous work environment.

However, there are several forms of child labor. The most common ones are related to the informal sector of the economy and are linked to agricultural labor, mining, construction and begging in the streets.

Said by the Polaris Project, “human trafficking is a form of modern slavery – a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. And no matter where you live, chances are it’s happening nearby. From the girl forced into prostitution at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his will. All trafficking victims share one essential experience: the loss of freedom.”

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: Human Trafficking Search, UNODC, End Slavery Now, Polaris Project, United Nations, International Labour Organization

,

CARD MRI Empowers Women through Microfinance

CARD MRIThe Center for Agriculture and Rural Development’s Mutually Reinforcing Institution (CARD MRI) fights poverty in the Philippines. It does this through strategic microfinance programs aimed at helping women living in poverty.

The institution first started helping women with finances for activities on a small scale like education, farming and health. Now, the institute’s main goal is to help women evolve into businesspersons through years of training and education on how to manage loans.

These newly evolved businesswomen called for a new type of assistance. To accommodate, CARD created multiple banking institutions such as CARD Bank, Inc. and CARD SME Bank, Inc.

CARD MRI was founded unofficially in 1986, as CARD, an organization to help social development. It was founded by 15 development practitioners. They came together in December 1986 to assist underdeveloped communities in the Philippines.

The year 1988 marked the official start of CARD’s operations. They began assisting women who owned no land by creating a training-focused community and livelihood assistance program for coconut workers. The organization followed this model for some time. Then it initiated another program for landless women, called the Landless People’s program, in 1990.

It was in 1995 that CARD decided to extend its program to start the Mutually Reinforcing Institution. After receiving the proper licensing in 1997, CARD MRI began assisting landless men and women through their microfinance programs.

In addition to assisting with loan management development and livelihood expenses, CARD MRI also has a Microfinance Plus program that assists people with holistic needs. The program issues micro-insurance for pharmaceutical needs, strategic marketing services and life insurance.

CARD MRI routinely collaborates with other development programs to ensure everyone has fair access to their community development services. These services include health, education, resource mobilization and communication.

Most recently, CARD MRI acquired the Riza Rural Bank. This allowed them to expand their services even further throughout the Philippines. The creation of their Leasing and Finance Corporation was fulfilled in 2013, adding to their growing number of reinforcing institutions.

– Julia N. Hettiger

Sources: CARD-MRI, My Philanthropedia, PR News Wire
Photo: Flickr

,

5 Prevailing Causes of Human Trafficking

Causes of Human Trafficking
Likened to modern slavery, human trafficking is driven mostly by similar motivations to those of slavery. The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as the “illegal trade of humans for exploitation or commercial gain.” Exploitation frequently involves forcing victims into prostitution or slavery. Human trafficking can be separated into sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Though they have different purposes, there are general trends that explain the overall root causes of human trafficking.

According to a 2012 International Labour Organization (ILO) report, 21 million people are victims of forced labor. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for the largest number of forced laborers in the world with 11.7 million victims (56 percent of the global total), followed by Africa with 3.7 million (18 percent) and Latin America with 1.8 million victims (nine percent).

According to the Huffington Post, approximately 75 to 80 percent of human trafficking and slavery is for sex. The rest are forced into labor exploitation, such as agriculture and construction work. In 2015, 5,544 cases of human trafficking were reported, as stated in a study by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.

Top 5 Causes of Human Trafficking

  1. Poverty, war, natural disasters and a search for a better life. Traffickers look for people who are susceptible to coercion into the human trafficking industry. Those people tend to be migrants, fleeing their homes either because of economic hardship, natural disasters, conflict or political instability. The displacement of populations increases individuals’ emotional vulnerability, and frequently they do not have the financial support to protect themselves. This makes them subject to abuse through trafficking.
  2. Women and children are targets. In some societies, the devaluation of women and children make them far more vulnerable to trafficking than men. Traditional attitudes and practices, early marriage and lack of birth registration further increase the susceptibility of women and children. They are also targeted because of the demand for women in sex trafficking. A report by Equality Now states that 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor. Women and girls make up 98 percent of the victims trafficked for sexual exploitation.
  3. Demand for cheap labor. The service industry, particularly restaurants and kitchens, are common exploiters of human trafficking. There is also a demand for cheap domestic and agricultural labor. Employees are often initially promised a safe work space and a steady salary, only to later find that they are paid less than minimum wage and worked over time. Business owners guilty of this behavior continue to practice these illegal norms because the victims of trafficking can rarely protect themselves and they have very few alternatives.
  4. Human trafficking generates a huge profit. According to the ILO, the human trafficking industry generates a profit of $150 billion per year. Two-thirds is made from commercial sexual exploitation, while the remainder comes from forced economic exploitation such as domestic work and agriculture. Human trafficking is the fastest-growing and second-largest criminal industry in the world, after drug trafficking.
  5. Cases of human trafficking are difficult to identify. Some challenges in identifying victims of human trafficking arise because victims are well-hidden or highly traumatized. Those that are traumatized are unlikely to divulge information to investigators, either because they are scared to confront law enforcement, or because they are too troubled to respond. Consumers of human trafficking also contribute to the crime’s hidden nature, according to a report by the Urban Institute. Both traffickers and consumers are aware of the huge risk they take by participating in this illegal behavior and will do their best to cover up any illicit activity.

Initiatives to diminish these causes of human trafficking include international cooperation agreements, national policies against trafficking, improved immigration policies that can detect the exit or entry of humans being illegally trafficked, and increased infrastructure to protect those that are being exploited for labor or sex.

– Michelle Simon

Sources: The Atlantic, US State Department, Urban Institute, International Labour Organization, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, UNICEF, National Human Trafficking Resource Center, Huffington Post, The Department of Homeland Security, Equality Now
Photo: Flickr

,

People Tree Sets a Precedent for the Garment Industry

Garment IndustryThe fashion tastes of consumers in advanced nations can have serious impacts on the well-being of workers that manufacture clothing products in developing nations.

Not only are these workers often paid unfair wages, but they also often suffer from extremely unsafe working conditions. In 2013, for instance, the collapse of a poorly-built factory in Bangladesh killed over 1,000 people, according to The Guardian.

Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, like many other developing countries, is highly dependent on the garment industry. This means that companies who fail to treat workers respectfully can defend themselves against critics by claiming they provide jobs to people who would not otherwise be able to work.

There is some sense to such a claim. According to The Guardian, 80 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP relies on the ready-made garment industry.

Nevertheless, it is certainly possible for garment companies to do more, both to protect workers as well as to support support development of the economies and societies in which those workers live.

People Tree: A Company Making Changes

One company that has proven to be true is People Tree, a London and Tokyo-based brand that aims to be 100 percent Fair Trade throughout its supply chain.

People Tree has attracted the attention of The Guardian, The Telegraph and other prominent publications for its commitment to Fair Trade policy.

In 2013, it became the first clothing company in the world to receive the product mark of the World Fair Trade Organization.

On its website, People Tree states that “people and the planet are central to everything we do.”

Central to its business model is what the People Tree calls “Slow Fashion,” which is a philosophy that rebels against the high-speed mode of trade that is standard in the fashion industry. It is that rushed mentality that leads to socially and environmentally hazardous practices.

As People Tree’s website defines it, “Slow Fashion means standing up against exploitation, family separation, slum cities and pollution—all the things that make fast fashion so successful.”

With regard to the environment, People Tree engages in a number of sustainable practices ranging from the use of certified organic cotton to dyeing with safe and azo-free chemicals. Products are sourced locally and from recycled material when possible. Once the products are made, People Tree prioritizes shipping by sea over shipping by air, thereby reducing the company’s impact on global warming.

Perhaps most importantly, People Tree’s fabric is woven by hand. Specifically, by the hands of real people whom the company strives to pay well and treat with dignity.

Indeed, one of the reasons People Tree cares so much about environmental friendliness is that it understands the effect pollution has on the environments in which their workers live. Environmentally conscious practices lead to sustainable development and happier workers, which in turn lead to higher productivity and more business, according to the company.

People Tree makes 50 percent advance payments on orders so that farmers and producers can more easily finance Fair Trade. And it manages its Collections so that workers will have enough time to produce garments by hand without being crunched, which the company says “is rare in the fashion industry.”

Setting the Stage for Sustainable Fashion

People Tree goes beyond paying fair wages and maintaining safe conditions, however. In some communities, it provides clean water and offers free education to poor families. In many cases, People Tree partners with organizations that empower disadvantaged workers, such as women and the physically disabled.

A new precedent has been established for the garment industry, as social business and corporate responsibility become increasingly popular in other industries. People Tree’s success demonstrates the potential for companies to think beyond profit and consider the wider impact business can have on impoverished communities in developing countries.

– Joe D’Amore

Sources: Telegraph 1, Telegraph 2, People Tree, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2
Photo: Flickr

,

How Many Senators Are There?

How Many Senators Are There
How many senators are there? The United States Senate is comprised of 100 Senators, two from each state.

While it may sound simple, developing this representative structure caused a lot of debate at the Constitutional Convention where the U.S. Constitution was drafted. Though only thirteen states existed at this point in 1787, the delegates from these thirteen would form the federal government whose authority would eventually span across fifty states.

These statesmen concluded that a body of elected representatives would be the best way to form laws for a country that was broken up into smaller entities. Delegates from larger states created dissension by arguing for representation based on population. The delegates from smaller states felt cheated and refused to agree to this proposed structure, known as the Virginia Plan.

A delegate from New Jersey, a small state, responded by introducing a plan that proposed equal representation for each state. This suggestion was called the New Jersey Plan and mirrored the structure outlined in the Articles of Confederation, the document acting as a sort of temporary constitution at that time. Both sides of the debate threatened to leave the convention if their plan wasn’t used, and the situation looked grim.

It was Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, who offered the Great Compromise as a solution. His bicameral (two-bodied) system would satisfy both large and small states: he proposed a House of Representatives that would represent states proportionally by population and a Senate that would represent all states equally. Thus began the representative system seen in the U.S. today.

As each new state was added to the union over time, two more senators were added to the Senate. In 1959, the present body of 100 senators was complete, with two senators representing each of the 50 states.

Each senator serves a six-year term with the chance of reelection at the end of this period. In order to be elected as a senator, an individual must be at least 30 years old and have been a U.S. citizen for nine years. Leading this body is the Vice President, who is elected alongside the President every four years.

Senators also belong to smaller bodies within the Senate called “committees” that handle specific tasks. These committees are usually composed of 7 to 15 members, each of whom has extensive power.

– Jacob Hess

Sources: FAIR.org, Senate.gov
Photo: Flickr

Presidential Candidates Need Global Strategies

2016 Presidential Candidates
In the first 22 presidential primary debates, the 2016 presidential candidates have answered 1,087 questions posed by moderators. However, only 315 of these questions related to foreign policy and national security, with not a single one addressing America’s strategy for global development and international aid.

These numbers come from an analysis conducted by ONE, a global policy and advocacy organization co-founded by Bono. Researchers at ONE reviewed the transcripts of five Democratic debates, nine Republican “main” debates and seven Republican “undercard” debates, counting the number of foreign policy and national security questions posed.

ONE also analyzed each candidate’s answers to these questions, summing up the number of words they used. In total, candidates discussed foreign policy and national security using about 88,000 words. Out of these, only 0.26 percent, or to 232 words, were related to America’s global development strategy.

Discussing Foreign Aid in Presidential Debates

The topic came up during the Democratic candidates’ debate in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 14, 2015. Both Martin O’Malley and Hillary Clinton briefly mentioned investments in sustainable development meant to tackle the root causes of instability. Clinton also lauded the efforts of aid workers operating abroad.

Despite the lack of current discussion among the 2016 presidential candidates about global development, in 2011 Hillary Clinton gave a speech in Washington, DC at the U.S. Global Leadership (USGLC) Conference, stating: “The growth of the developing world presents a major economic opportunity for American business today and a thousand opportunities tomorrow.”

She pointed to South Korea as an example of how global development can benefit the American economy. “We provided $6 billion in aid and loans to South Korea from the end of World War II through the Korean War to the mid-1970s. That would be roughly $35 billion in today’s dollars. Today, we export more than $40 billion to Korea each year, and we are poised to export even more under the new free trade agreement.”

Former National Security Advisor to President Obama, General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), has spoken of the security benefits of investing in international development. In a statement regarding the U.N.’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development, General Jones said: “Support for development is a vital component of America’s national security strategy, and has been since the end of World War II. In today’s complex environment, development, plus security and good governance equals stability.”

Past Political Rhetoric About Foreign Funding

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell made similar remarks to General Jones back in 2002. According to an article published by the Council on Foreign Relations, Powell told the World Economic Forum in New York: “Terrorism really flourishes in areas of poverty, despair and hopelessness, where people see no future. We have to show people who might move in the direction of terrorism that there is a better way.” The Bush administration integrated international development as a key element of their anti-terrorism strategy.

In an op-ed published in USA Today, the North American Executive Director for ONE, Tom Hart, argued that the 2016 presidential candidates must adjust their proposed foreign policy plans to include a strategy for global development.

Hart concludes his op-ed with a strong statement, asserting that “No one should get to be president of the United States without publicly demonstrating an understanding and appreciation for the essential role that fighting poverty and stopping disease plays in securing America.”

– Clara Wang

Sources: USA Today, OneVote 16, People-Press, UCSB, State.gov, CFR
Photo: Flickr