Dear ONE Member,

Time is running out for the most important tool we have in the struggle to treat and prevent three of the world’s deadliest diseases: HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

The window to reauthorize PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) for five more years and $50 billion is closing. At this critical moment, a handful of senators are blocking all action on the bill.

We need champions to pass this bill and keep America on the path to saving millions of lives in the developing world. Luckily, we have you and two very important senators.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are the two most powerful members of the U.S. Senate, and we know they are strong supporters of American leadership against these global killers.

Click the link to add your name to the petition below and send a message that now is the time for Senators Reid and McConnell to stand up for the world’s most vulnerable people and get this lifesaving legislation to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote.

http://www.one.org/pepfarleaders/o.pl?id=361-3270110-uSfubR&t=2

Confident that your leadership can overcome the current resistance and demonstrate the very best in American global leadership against AIDS, TB and malaria, we urge you to do everything possible to bring PEPFAR reauthorization to the Senate floor as soon as possible.

The rush is on to pass PEPFAR reauthorization now because in just a few weeks, the leaders of some the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nations will meet at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. There, they will make decisions about what commitments to make to help the world’s poorest nations fight these deadly but treatable diseases. If we pass PEPFAR now, it will demonstrate the best of American values to the world and put pressure on other world leaders to do their part, leveraging billions more dollars in international aid.

Add your name to the petition and ask Senators Reid and McConnell to lead at this critical moment, get PEPFAR to the Senate floor and set an example for the whole world.

http://www.one.org/pepfarleaders/o.pl?id=361-3270110-uSfubR&t=3

This new and improved PEPFAR promises five more years of saving lives in parts of world where AIDS has had a devastating impact. But if we don’t pass it now, we’ll miss not only our opportunity with the G8, but with elections around the corner, it becomes that much harder to pass the bill this year.

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, the two most powerful people in the Senate, have proved their support in the past. With us by their side, they have the power to get PEPFAR to the Senate floor and deliver a huge victory for millions of people around the world. We can let them know that we need their bold leadership now to overcome the obstacles and keep America’s promise to lead in the fight against global disease.

Thank you

David Lane, ONE.org

P.S. Last week, ONE volunteers delivered letters from ONE members in South Carolina to Senator Lindsey Graham, asking him to sign the Lugar-Sununu letter to the Senate leadership in support of taking immediate action to get PEPFAR to the Senate floor for a vote. It’s another key step in getting this landmark bill through the Senate and keeping America’s promise to stand by the world’s most vulnerable people in the fight to end suffering and save lives.