I wanted to commend Ron Hammelman (“Nations in Need” May 21.) for his desire “for eliminating poverty wherever it is.”  Like him, I think this is a worthy goal for each of us and for our federal government.  However, he is mistaken about the things he claims about the Global Poverty Act now being considered by the Senate and passed by the House last fall.  For example, the total International Affairs Budget (foreign aid programs) is less than $40 billion, far short of the $300 billion claimed by Mr. Hammelman. The Global Poverty Act neither authorizes nor obligates the federal government to spend more money on foreign aid than it does now. The Act requires that the more than 26 government agencies currently delivering foreign aid to coordinate their work which they do not do now.  Rather than providing charity it would aid the poorest countries in developing their own economies–a hand up rather than a handout.  The alleviation of extreme poverty (people living on less than $1 per day) would become a primary goal of our aid.  More than 28,000 children under age five die every day, mostly from preventable, hunger-related causes. I am glad that a portion of my tax dollars go to such a worthy cause.  Readers can obtain more information about the Global Poverty Act at www.bread.org, the website of the Christian anti-hunger organization Bread for the World. 

Tom Tupper

Wildwood