Bono urges US to spend more on aid for poor

QUOTING from Islamic, Jewish and Christian texts, Irish rock star Bono challenged US President George Bush and Congress at their annual prayer breakfast yesterday to spend an additional 1% on the federal budget to help the world’s poor.

The U2 front man said it is unjust to keep poor people from selling their goods while singing the virtues of the free market, to hold children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents and to withhold medicines that would save lives.

“God will not accept that,” he said. “Mine won’t. Will yours?”

Bono said the United States spends less than 1% of its budget on the world’s poor and suggested an increase of another 1%.

He told the politicians gathered in prayer that they should think of it as a US tithe, or perhaps as a type of national security by spreading goodwill.

“Transform the way they see us, which might be smart in these dangerous times,” he said.

Bono’s speech riveted the ballroom audience that included the president and his wife, Laura, and leaders from Congress, the Cabinet, the military, the clergy and countries around the world.

At every table, Bono had distributed white plastic bracelets from The ONE Campaign to fight AIDS and poverty, and Senator Hillary Clinton was among those who wrapped it around her fingers while she listened.

Bono thanked the president for helping to fight the spread of malaria and AIDS. Bush, in markedly lighter remarks than the singer, praised him as “a doer” but didn’t comment on his proposal.

“The thing about this good citizen of the world is he’s used his position to get things done,” Bush said. “You’re an amazing guy, Bono. God bless you.”

Bono stood out in the crowd of suits, wearing his signature uniform of open-collared black shirt and orange-tinted sunglasses.

He opened by admitting that he felt odd to be addressing a group of such prominent religious people.

“I’m certainly not here as a man of the cloth unless that cloth is leather,” he said.

“Please join me in praying I don’t say anything we all regret,” he joked.

He said initially he avoided organised religion because he was sceptical of the politics and what he saw as a quickness to judge.

But he said the world has come into an “era of grace”, symbolised by the more than two million Americans who have signed on to The ONE Campaign.