You probably know us as former U.S. senators and fierce opponents on the Pennsylvania political battlefield. But there are some causes so urgent and important that we have no choice but to work together.

This summer and fall, as part of an effort called ONE Vote '08, we are speaking with one voice to the candidates on behalf of America's efforts to help alleviate needless suffering from extreme poverty and save lives from AIDS and other preventable diseases like malaria in Africa and throughout the developing world.

America is helping to forge a legacy of hope and survival in many of the most terribly poor places abroad, giving millions of families access to medicines, clean water and the chance at an education. While much is uncertain today about America's standing in the world, this is not.

The most recent U.S. assistance initiatives -- which have progressed from the aid failures of the past and improved thanks to advances in medicine and technology -- are making a real, measurable difference in millions of lives.

For instance, through an initiative called PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, more than 2 million Africans are now on lifesaving HIV/AIDS medication, up from only 50,000 in 2002. Recent American investments in simple medicines and treatments have helped save the lives of 3 million children a year from entirely preventable diseases like malaria and measles. In the last five years alone, some 29 million more children have been given the chance to enroll in elementary school because the United States has helped with resources and expertise. These are just a few American-made success stories of which you may not have heard.

Among the many questions before us then, and especially before the next president, is do we push forward with these bold, lifesaving initiatives and seize the opportunity to deliver a truly historic blow against hunger, disease and poverty? Or will our next president shrink back and not follow through on commitments to those suffering from poverty and disease?

These are uncertain times. All of us are faced with skyrocketing energy prices, a limping economy, two wars and threats from abroad. Yet the fight against extreme poverty and disease is not a zero-sum game, nor does it reside in a foreign policy vacuum, isolated from our efforts to combat terrorism or deal with unstable regimes.

We may differ on key aspects of our military engagement overseas, but we do agree that American generosity through foreign assistance, and the alleviation of poverty in volatile countries and regions is a form of "soft power" that we cannot afford to under fund.

The power of saving lives is the most potent people-to-people tool there is. Combating disease and poverty trumps divisions and distrust. It transcends borders, races, cultures and religions -- a mother, be she Muslim or Jewish, Rwandan or Vietnamese, will be deeply grateful to the country that saves the life of her baby.

Our lifesaving efforts abroad, like PEPFAR, are the brightest and most effective way America can show the world our true values. We reach out to help people in need because of who we are and what we believe. This is a responsibility placed upon us as the most powerful nation on earth. It's a vital part of our foreign policy in an unstable, interconnected and often hostile world. And, it's a moral imperative we must answer as fellow human beings.

In this election, Pennsylvanians have many decisions before them about the role they want their country to play in the wider world. And again, as a battleground state, we have the opportunity to voice our concerns and priorities to the presidential candidates more directly than most.

In this ONE Vote '08 effort, we are not asking as a Republican and as a Democrat, we are asking as Pennsylvanians and Americans to join us at ONE.org in urging our next president and Congress to make the fight against global poverty and disease a major policy priority.

Together, we can help give millions the chance to survive disease and poverty, to build stronger families and communities and, in the process, to make a more stable, secure world for us all.