Kilmer Leads 100+ Members in Calling for American Leadership to Support Global Education
Broad Bipartisan Coalition Calls for $1 billion, five-year pledge to Support the Global Partnership for Education
Washington, DC – Last week, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) led over 100 Members of the House of Representatives in a bipartisan letter to the Biden Administration calling for support for a $1 billion, five-year pledge to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) – a multilateral partnership working to ensure all children have access to a quality education and are equipped to learn.
In their letter, the lawmakers noted that continued U.S. leadership and financial commitments are critical to fulfilling the organization’s targets of:
- Enabling 175 million primary-age children to learn
- Reaching 140 million students with professionally trained teachers
- Getting 88 million more children in school, more than half of them girls
- Saving $16 billion through more efficient spending
“With U.S. government leadership, the world has seen great gains in learning outcomes and improved access to quality basic education. However, COVID-19 has been the largest disruption to education the world has ever seen. Without immediate action, school closures and economic hardship could combine to push millions of vulnerable children out of education and reverse decades of hard-won gains,” the Members wrote to President Biden, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power.
They continued, “U.S. leadership is needed now more than ever to ensure that COVID-19 setbacks are not long-lasting. With its innovative financing mechanisms, co-financing from developing country partners, and results-based approach, GPE will make U.S. foreign assistance go even further. The financing conference in July is a critical moment for the U.S. to make a $1-billion, five-year pledge to the Global Partnership for Education. We encourage you to demonstrate our country’s enduring commitment to ensuring every child’s access to a quality basic education.”
The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.
“We know education is one of our most powerful tools in reducing poverty and inequality, and its only more urgent in the wake of the pandemic. Quality education must be a right, not a privilege, and the Global Partnership for Education plays an essential role in making that a reality,” said Dr. Joanne Carter, Executive Director for RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. “We are tremendously grateful to Rep. Kilmer, Rep. Fitzpatrick, and the 108 other members of Congress for their bipartisan leadership to support a $1 billion over 5 year pledge to GPE; we urge the Biden Administration to follow their lead and commit to this bold U.S. pledge at the Global Education Summit.”
“Since the onset of COVID-19, we have witnessed global disruptions in education like never before, particularly in already-vulnerable, lower-income countries. That’s why I’m incredibly pleased to see so many bipartisan Members of Congress in support of ensuring vulnerable children around the world have access to a quality education, and the opportunity for a better future,” said Christy Gleason, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns for Save the Children. “President Biden understands the importance of education for kids and communities like few other. We hope he takes this bipartisan letter to heart, and announces a robust multiyear pledge to the Global Partnership for Education, which would be an important step in solving the current global education crisis affecting some of the world’s poorest countries.”
“An estimated 128 million primary and secondary aged children are out of school in conflict-affected countries, which together with COVID-19, has helped create a global learning crisis that puts vulnerable children at an even greater disadvantage,” said Tom Hart, Acting CEO at The ONE Campaign. “Administrator Samantha Power has seen firsthand how conflicts and crises can destroy schools and derail children’s futures. As the Biden administration considers its upcoming pledge to GPE, it’s imperative that Administrator Power listens to the overwhelming support from the Members of Congress who have signed on to this letter in support of $1 billion over 5 years to help address the global learning crisis. In order to empower today’s children to become tomorrow’s doctors, educators, engineers, and farmers, we must ensure all children have the educational tools they need to unlock their full potential.”
110 total Members of Congress signed the letter, including: Reps. Alma S. Adams, PhD, Colin Allred, Jake Auchincloss, Karen Bass, Ami Bera, M.D., Donald S. Beyer Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Suzanne Bonamici, Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D., Brendan F. Boyle, Anthony G. Brown, Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Ed Case, Judy Chu, David Cicilline, Steve Cohen, Gerald E. Connolly, Jim Cooper, Angie Craig, Jason Crow, Danny K. Davis, Peter DeFazio, Suzan K. Delbene, Mark DeSaulnier, Theodore Deutch, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Mike Doyle, Anna G. Eshoo, Adriano Espaillat, Brian Fitzpatrick, Lois Frankel, Jared Golden, Vicente Gonzalez, Al Green, Raúl M. Grijalva, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes, Chrissy Houlahan, Jared Huffman, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sara Jacobs, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Kaiali?i Kahele, William R. Keating, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Daniel T. Kildee, Derek Kilmer, Ann McClane Kuster, Conor Lamb, James R. Langevin, John B. Larson, Brenda Lawrence, Mike Levin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Stephen F. Lynch, Carolyn B. Maloney, A. Donald McEachin, James P. McGovern, Jerry McNerney, Grace Meng, Gwen S. Moore, Seth Moulton, Grace F. Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Marie Newman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Tom O'Halleran, Frank Pallone, Chris Pappas, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Scott Peters, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, David E. Price, Mike Quigley, Jamie Raskin, Deborah K. Ross, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby L. Rush, Linda T. Sánchez, Janice Schakowsky, Kim Schrier, M.D., Mikie Sherrill, Albio Sires, Adam Smith, Darren Soto, Jackie Speier, Melanie Stansbury, Marilyn Strickland, Thomas R. Suozzi, Eric Swalwell, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Norma J. Torres, Ritchie Torres, David Trone, Juan Vargas, Marc Veasey, Nydia M. Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Peter Welch, Susan Wild, John Yarmuth, and Don Young.
July 14, 2021
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
As members of Congress who support United States leadership on global education, we urge your Administration to commit $1 billion over five years towards the Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) 2021-2025 strategy, leading up to its financing conference co-hosted by the UK and Kenyan governments in London on July 29, 2021.
GPE is the only multilateral partnership exclusively dedicated to ensuring all children have access to a quality education and are equipped to learn. It is the only global entity that brings together all partners—international donors, the private sector, and community groups—around plans to build resilient education systems and to educate more children to higher levels across the world.
With U.S. government leadership, the world has seen great gains in learning outcomes and improved access to quality basic education. However, COVID-19 has been the largest disruption to education the world has ever seen. Without immediate action, school closures and economic hardship could combine to push millions of vulnerable children out of education and reverse decades of hard-won gains.
In 2020, GPE quickly mobilized over half a billion dollars to support partner countries’ pandemic response. It continues to be the largest provider of grants for the COVID-19 education response. GPE’s COVID-19 fund has helped governments sustain learning for 355 million children in the poorest countries, with a focus on remote learning, teacher support, and safe reopening of schools.
GPE has maintained its ability to support education globally through a track record of effectiveness, working at scale, and retaining national-level commitment from partner countries. GPE now supports 76 countries in getting their most vulnerable girls and boys to school, improving teaching, and advancing foundational learning skills—such as basic numeracy and literacy. It is also building resilient education systems capable of withstanding shocks, including pandemics, climate change, and violent conflict. Signaling the scope of GPE’s work to come, a total of ninety countries and territories are eligible for GPE support from 2021-2025, accounting for more than 80% of the world’s out-of-school children.
GPE's innovative financing “Multiplier” helps draw in external financing for developing country partners from development banks and other donors, in support of their education sector plans. This fund provides $1 in GPE grant funds for every $3 a country secures in external financing, generating more than $882 million for education since 2018 and mobilizing nearly a billion dollars in total co-financing.
Continued U.S. leadership and financial commitments are critical to fulfilling GPE’s replenishment target of at least $5 billion from all donors at the upcoming financing conference. With these resources, GPE will be able to do the following:
o Enable 175 million primary-age children to learn
o Reach 140 million students with professionally trained teachers
o Get 88 million more children in school, more than half of them girls
o Save $16 billion through more efficient spending
U.S. leadership is needed now more than ever to ensure that COVID-19 setbacks are not long-lasting. With its innovative financing mechanisms, co-financing from developing country partners, and results-based approach, GPE will make U.S. foreign assistance go even further.
The financing conference in July is a critical moment for the U.S. to make a $1-billion, five-year pledge to the Global Partnership for Education. We encourage you to demonstrate our country’s enduring commitment to ensuring every child’s access to a quality basic education. We look forward to working with you to secure funding for this important initiative.
Sincerely,
Derek Kilmer Brian Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Cc:
Secretary Tony Blinken
Administrator Samantha Power
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