[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 344 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 344

          Recognizing that we are facing a global food crisis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 2008

Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Kilpatrick, Ms. 
 Clarke, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Doggett, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
 Mr. Wynn, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Davis of Illinois, 
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Eddie Bernice 
    Johnson of Texas, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Hare, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. 
  Courtney, Ms. Sutton, Ms. Lee, Mr. Klein of Florida, Ms. Wasserman 
  Schultz, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. 
Kind, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Sires, Mr. Arcuri, Ms. Solis, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
Baca, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Rodriguez, 
 Mr. Boswell, Mr. Engel, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. Carson, Ms. 
Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Watson, Ms. 
   Roybal-Allard, and Ms. Waters) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
          Recognizing that we are facing a global food crisis.

Whereas according to the United Nations, over 850,000,000 people in the world 
        are chronically or acutely malnourished, and over 300,000,000 of these 
        are children;
Whereas the 2000 United Nations Millennium Development Summit called for halving 
        the proportion of hungry people in the world by the year 2015, but 
        progress reaching this goal has been slow, and, according to the United 
        Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, only the Latin American and 
        Caribbean region has been reducing the prevalence of hunger quickly 
        enough to reach this target;
Whereas every year, malnutrition caused by chronic hunger leads to the death of 
        an estimated 5,600,000 children under 5 years old;
Whereas, according to UNICEF, an estimated 146,000,000 children, or roughly one 
        in every four children under 5 years old, are underweight;
Whereas hunger and malnutrition weaken the immune system, and as a result 
        treatable diseases pose a greater risk to malnourished children;
Whereas even temporary deprivation of essential nutrients can have a lasting 
        impact on children's physical growth and intellectual potential;
Whereas children who are only mildly underweight are twice as likely to die of 
        infectious diseases as children who are better nourished, and children 
        who are moderately or severely underweight are 5 to 8 times more likely 
        to die of infectious diseases;
Whereas according to a study conducted by the United Nations Food and 
        Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of children who died after 
        contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of children 
        who died after contracting severe diarrhea;
Whereas chronic hunger and undernutrition can lead to growth retardation 
        (stunting), affecting an estimated 168,000,000 children under age 5 in 
        developing countries;
Whereas some 42 percent of children under 5 years old are stunted in the least 
        developed countries, compared to 30 percent globally;
Whereas women whose growth was retarded face ongoing health complications as 
        adults, when they are more likely to have obstructed labor, are at 
        greater risk of dying during childbirth, and are more likely to deliver 
        low-birthweight and stunted children;
Whereas stunted growth has also been linked to diminished work capacity and 
        higher propensity to diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, in 
        adults;
Whereas the global community is currently facing a food crisis, with food prices 
        doubling over the past 3 years and rising 65 percent between January and 
        April 2007 alone, and the World Bank has estimated that the emergency 
        situation could push 100,000,000 people in low-income countries deeper 
        into poverty;
Whereas rising food prices have caused riots in Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt, 
        Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, and Senegal, and, as of December 
        2007, 37 countries faced food crises;
Whereas as a result of rising food prices, individuals and families throughout 
        the developing world have a decreased buying power, and are often forced 
        to either buy significantly smaller quantities of food, or to buy less 
        nutritious food;
Whereas in times of food crisis, families often must cut more expensive foods, 
        such as meat, fruit, and vegetables, from their diets, instead relying 
        on less nutritious staples such as rice and maize, foods without the 
        vitamins and minerals necessary for proper child growth;
Whereas, given the scope of the current food crisis, United Nations Secretary-
        General Ban Ki-Moon has proposed a task force, to be composed of the 
        heads of United Nations agencies and the World Bank, to address the 
        global problem caused by soaring food prices; and
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has made closing a 
        $755,000,000 funding gap for the World Food Programme, caused by rising 
        food prices, a priority: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) in emergency situations, children have 
                different needs than those of adults, and nutritional 
                deficiencies disproportionately affect children; and
                    (B) in the context of the current global food 
                crisis, the nutritional needs of children must be a 
                humanitarian priority; and
            (2) Congress--
                    (A) recognizes that we are facing a global food 
                crisis caused by, among other things, rising fuel 
                prices, increased diversion of land to biofuel 
                production, drought, and increases in population;
                    (B) recognizes that lack of adequate nutrition is 
                particularly damaging to children, as it stunts their 
                growth, leaves them more vulnerable to numerous 
                diseases, and hunger affects children's ability to 
                learn; and
                    (C) calls for a world forum to be held, on the 
                issue of rising food prices and international response, 
                and for the United States to play an active role in 
                alleviating the crisis.
                                 <all>