Congress: Help the world's poor

Congress has gone back to their districts for the month of August – but poverty doesn't stop.

A new piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Pete Stark would place a tiny, 0.005 percent tax on large exchanges of foreign currency. It's called the currency transaction levy (CTL) – and it could help save our planet by taxing the largest investors whose speculative business practices almost destroyed it.

This tiny tax would generate billions of dollars annually for critical projects that help ease the impact of climate change and the worst global health crises like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

We're taking this opportunity to gather as many signatures as possible so that congressional leaders come back and see firsthand how much support this legislation has. Sign our petition below and tell Congress to act immediately once they return.

 

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After you sign this petition, ActionAid will keep you informed on this issue and other vital anti-poverty programs.

The Petition

Dear Congressional Leaders:

After the financial crisis and the investment of hundreds of billions of dollars in bank bailouts, bonuses and profits are again rising rapidly. We believe it is finally time for international bankers to give something back.

We call on you to support the Investing in Our Future Act of 2010, just recently introduced by Congressman Stark. The bill places a tiny 0.005 percent levy on all foreign exchange transactions from large-scale investors in the U.S. that trade more than $10,000 per year. The levy would have little impact on middle class investors or small-scale traders, but would curb risky speculation, and at the same time generate billions of dollars that would go toward climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as global health programs.

We call on you to show your support by co-sponsoring the Investing in Our Future Act of 2010 and take a stand for the world's poor.

Thank you for your time and attention.