[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 87 (Friday, June 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FIGHTING HUNGER FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY: COMMEMORATING BREAD FOR THE 
                        WORLD'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 1999

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute and congratulate 
Bread for the World on their 25th anniversary, and welcome Bread for 
the World members from across the country as they convene in 
Washington, D.C. for their National Gathering, Silver Anniversary 
Celebration, and Annual Lobby Day.
  For 25 years, Bread for the World has worked to end hunger and seek 
justice for the poor, the hurting, and the oppressed. When people of 
faith come together around the common conviction that hunger can be 
defeated, great things happen. And great things have happened over the 
years, as Bread for the World has won many victories, large and small, 
on behalf of the hungry and voiceless. It has been my privilege to work 
with Bread for the World on many issues over the years, and I've often 
drawn inspiration from the energy, dedication, and tenacity of Bread 
for the World Members and staff. This organization represents our 
finest traditions of living faith and civic duty, and its efforts have 
never been more important.
  Despite a booming economy, hunger is on the rise, and millions of 
low-income Americans are having trouble putting food on the table. Rosy 
economic statistics are masking real hardship and a deepening of 
poverty for many working people and others. Across the nation, the 
number of people turning to food banks and soup kitchens for help is up 
substantially. And here in the richest nation on earth, we still have a 
disgracefully high child poverty rate, with one in five of our children 
living in poverty.
  And despite tremendous progress in this fight over the past 25 years, 
hunger still threatens 800 million of the world's people. Large 
populations in Africa's Great Lakes Region, Angola, Liberia, Somalia, 
Sudan, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea 
require assistance to survive. World estimates of people requiring 
emergency food aid to escape hunger now exceed 26 million.
  We know that debt relief is hunger relief, and that is why Bread for 
the World's Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction initiative is so timely. 
This year, Bread for the World joined together with hundreds of other 
organizations working internationally to ease crippling debt burdens 
that keep poor nations from investing in the well-being of their 
citizens. Payments on past debt are, on average, twice the amount that 
many poor countries receive in aid. In sub-Saharan Africa, nations are 
making payments of $12 billion each year on old debt--six times the 
amount it would take to school all African children. That is wrong, and 
I am pleased to join with Bread for the World in seeking to change it.
  I give thanks for Bread for the World and its members and staff for 
their contributions to fighting hunger in the United States and 
overseas, and wish them continued blessings in the years ahead, as they 
seek justice and an end to hunger.

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