U2 lead singer and anti-poverty activist Bono is in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with congressional lawmakers and senior Obama administration officials and urge them “to spare U.S. development assistance programs from cuts as Congress tries to avert the looming ‘fiscal cliff’ of tax hikes and spending reductions early next year,” Reuters reports. Kathy McKiernan, a spokesperson for the ONE Campaign, said Bono “will stress the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance programs and the need to preserve them to avoid putting at risk progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” according to the news service. On Monday, Bono participated in a panel discussion at Georgetown University, where he discussed the importance of social movements, and he is scheduled to meet with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday for a webcast discussion on poverty eradication, Reuters notes (Wroughton, 11/12). A webcast of the Georgetown presentation is available online (11/12).