[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFIRMATION OF GEORGE McGOVERN AS THE UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE TO 
      THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to express my strong 
support for the recent confirmation of George McGovern as the United 
States Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations.
  Having spent many years as a devoted public servant, Senator McGovern 
embodies the highest standards of dedication and integrity. I firmly 
believe he is the right person to represent this country as part of the 
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and am pleased that my 
Senate colleagues supported his nomination to this post in an 
overwhelming bipartisan fashion. There is no person that I can think of 
alive today that is better prepared for the responsibility of improving 
nutrition, food production and distribution worldwide.
  Senator McGovern was not new to the arena of agricultural policy at 
the time of his election to the U.S. Senate. Having served under the 
Kennedy Administration as Director of the Food for Peace Program, 
George McGovern proved early that he had the ability to lead with 
vision and skill. As a United States delegate to the United Nations FAO 
Conference in 1961, Senator McGovern made the U.S. offer which led to 
the first World Food Program making freedom from hunger an 
international objective. Under the Ford and Carter Administrations, he 
was also a delegate to the U.N. where he gained esteem as a discerning 
statesman and cultivated international ties.
  In Congress, George McGovern was an advocate for the welfare and 
health of the people. While serving on the Senate Agriculture, 
Nutrition and Forestry Committee, he was an avid supporter of the food 
stamp program. As a member of that committee, he was active and 
effective in matters of child nutrition and hunger. As Chairperson of 
the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, he led the 
committee to assure an adequate diet for the poor and the elderly and 
for the improved health and well being of all Americans. Because I have 
always been a strong supporter of nutrition programs in the United 
States, especially food stamps, WIC, and school lunch programs, I 
understand the high importance and true value of his work to advance 
these policies. After Senator McGovern worked to make certain that all 
Americans have access to adequate nutrition, he in many ways came to 
symbolize Americans' ``social conscience.''
  Mr. President, I would like to congratulate Senator McGovern on his 
new position and express my complete confidence that he will work with 
unbridled energy to serve the people by improving nutrition, food 
production, and distribution throughout the world. He is a true 
humanitarian and I'm proud he is representing South Dakota and our 
country to the United Nations.

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