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Bill and Melinda Gates, philanthropists
- On Thursday, Bill and Melinda Gates announced a new lobbying initiative called the Gates Policy Initiative, The Hill reported.
- The Gates Policy Initiative is independent from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, their philanthropic organization, and it plans to focus on lobbying efforts, rather than political giving.
- The Gates Policy Initiative will focus on global health, global development, moving people from poverty to employment, and education for black, Latino, and rural students.
- Read more on the Business Insider homepage.
Bill and Melinda Gates have launched a lobbying organization to advocate for issues in health, education, and poverty, The Hill reported on Thursday.
The Gates Policy Initiative, which was announced on Thursday, will work with lawmakers on issues such as global health, global development, moving people from poverty to employment, and education for black, Latino, and rural students. The initiative, which will be a 501(c)(4) organization under the US tax code, is independent from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the billionaire couple's philanthropic organization.
Rob Nabors, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the former White House director of Legislative Affairs during the Obama administration, told The Hill that the Gates Policy Initiative will work in a bipartisan way.
He also said it will avoid political giving or statements that support political candidates. Instead, it will focus on lobbying efforts and legislative outcomes.
Although the Gates Policy Initiative is independent from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it focuses on some of the same issues. Currently, the Foundation is tackling issues such as reducing the impact of infectious diseases in developing countries, improving the delivery of health products and services, improving high school education, and more.