How to use this page: Here, you’ll find our legislative priorities for the 116th Congress (2019-2020). The first link under each issue contains downloadable documents that you can leave behind during your lobbying meetings. The other links will provide more data, analysis and instructions on how to email Congress. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email [email protected]
Current Legislative Priorities
The Problem: The White House has made it clear that they want to drastically cut funding to the International Affairs Budget and programs that improve living conditions for the world’s poor.
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to protect the International Affairs Budget.”
The Problem: Across the world, 130 million girls are not enrolled in school. Girls ages 10-19 are three times more likely than boys to be kept out of school, particularly in countries affected by conflict. When girls reach adolescence, they are at a high risk of dropping out due to forced marriage, pregnancy or family pressure.
The Solution: The Keeping Girls in School Act empowers girls around the globe by increasing educational opportunities and economic security.
- Download Bill Summary
- Read House Version (H.R. 2153)
- View House Cosponsors
- Read Senate Version (S. 1071)
- View Senate Cosponsors
- Organization Endorsements
- Email Congress
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to support the Keeping Girls in School Act.”
The Problem: Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s most lethal disease. Even though it is a preventable, treatable and curable airborne infection, TB still kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease. It is also the leading cause of death among people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Solution: The End Tuberculosis Now Act significantly refocuses U.S. actions on prevention as part of the cure, addresses virulent drug-resistant strains of TB and provides support for the latest best practices and technologies in the areas of diagnosis and treatment.
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to support the End Tuberculosis Now Act.”
The Problem: Violence, instability and fragility in countries around the world threaten U.S. national security by creating environments in which terrorism, criminal activity and corruption thrive. Violent conflict is also driving global displacement and humanitarian crises, with 68 million people forcibly displaced around the world and 134 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
In the past decade, the U.S. Government has granted more than one-third of its foreign assistance to countries with ongoing violent conflicts. However, the U.S. lacks a coordinated long-term strategy for stabilizing violence-affected states and addressing the root causes of violence and fragility.
The Solution: The Global Fragility Act of 2019 would focus U.S. diplomatic, development and security efforts on preventing the root causes of violence and instability in countries around the world.
- Download Bill Summary
- Read House Version (H.R. 2116) Passed in the House on May 20th, 2019!
- View House Cosponsors
- Read Senate Version (S.727)
- View Senate Cosponsors
- View CBO Score
- Email Congress
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to support the Global Fragility Act.”
The Problem: The Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras face alarming levels of violence and instability that cause economic and security challenges and contribute to migration from the region. Cutting U.S. foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle would be detrimental to programs that have made notable progress in stabilizing the region.
The Solution: The US-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act will support the people of Central America and strengthen U.S. national security by addressing the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- Download the Bill Summary
- Read House Version (H.R. 2615) Passed in the House on July 15th, 2019!
- View House Cosponsors
- View CBO Score
- Email Congress
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to support the United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act.”
The Problem:
- While deaths of mothers and children under five have been nearly cut in half in the last 25 years, approximately 800 women, almost entirely from developing countries, die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
- The risk of a woman dying in childbirth is 47 times higher in Africa than in the United States, and more than 17,000 children under five years old will die each day of treatable conditions.
The Solution: The bipartisan Reach Every Mother and Child Act will strengthen the U.S. government’s efforts to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and young children in developing countries.
What to say when calling Congress: “Hello, I’m a Borgen Project supporter and I would like you to support the Reach Every Mother and Child Act.”
Legislation that Passed in the 115th Congress (2017-18)
You are changing the world! Below are recent bills we’ve worked on that passed Congress. Emails, phones calls and grassroots lobbying meetings are instrumental in helping The Borgen Project move legislation through Congress.
Legislation that Passed in the 114th Congress (2015-16)
Did you know? If a bill number starts with an “S.” that means the bill is in the Senate. If the bill starts with “H.R.” that means the bill is in the House. For example, in the Senate the Electrify Africa Act is bill number S. 2152, but in the House the Electrify Africa Act is H.R. 2847.