[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 25, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5828-H5829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING IMPORTANT SERVICE PROVIDED BY FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE 
                  ON OCCASION OF ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 49) recognizing the important service to 
the Nation provided by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the 
Department of Agriculture on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 49

       Whereas, during the terms of President Dwight David 
     Eisenhower and the era of Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft 
     Benson, it became apparent that the development of external 
     markets was needed to ensure the financial viability of the 
     agricultural sector of the United States;
       Whereas the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department 
     of Agriculture was established on March 10, 1953, to develop 
     and expand markets for, and improve the competitive position 
     of, United States agricultural commodities and products;
       Whereas the Foreign Agricultural Service has represented 
     agricultural interests of the United States during a period 
     of great expansion of United States agricultural exports from 
     less than $3,000,000,000 in 1953 to over $50,000,000,000 in 
     2002;
       Whereas the number of organizations engaged in the public 
     and private partnership established by the Foreign 
     Agricultural Service to promote United States agricultural 
     exports has grown significantly, with market development and 
     expansion occurring in nearly every global marketplace; and
       Whereas March 10, 2003, was the 50th anniversary of the 
     establishment of the Foreign Agricultural Service: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress 
     recognizes the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department 
     of Agriculture and its employees and partners for--
       (1) cooperating with, and leading, the United States 
     agricultural community in developing and expanding export 
     markets for United States agricultural commodities and 
     products;
       (2) identifying the private partners capable of carrying 
     out the mission of the Foreign Agricultural Service;
       (3) identifying and expanding markets for United States 
     agricultural commodities and products;
       (4) introducing innovative and creative ways of expanding 
     the markets for United States agricultural commodities and 
     products;
       (5) providing international food assistance to feed the 
     hungry worldwide;
       (6) addressing unfair barriers to United States 
     agricultural exports;
       (7) implementing strict procedures governing the use and 
     evaluation of programs and funds of the Foreign Agricultural 
     Service; and
       (8) overseeing the efficient and effective use of Federal 
     funds to carry out programs of the Foreign Agricultural 
     Service.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Joint Resolution 49. The 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) and I introduced this resolution to 
recognize the important service of the Foreign Agricultural Service of 
the Department of Agriculture on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
  USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service was established to develop and 
expand markets for United States agricultural commodities and products. 
Our farmers and ranchers are the most productive in the world and 
produce much more than we in the United States can consume. Therefore, 
a vibrant export market is very important to the success of U.S. 
agriculture.
  FAS has contributed to that success; and as of 2002, the United 
States agricultural exports exceed imports by more than $12 billion. 
Our exports have grown significantly over the history of the FAS and 
now exceed $50 billion per year.
  The FAS fosters the public and private partnership that is needed to 
promote United States agricultural exports and to develop and expand 
markets around the world. At this important time when free trade 
negotiations are ongoing, both in the WTO and through bilateral 
negotiations, the FAS is essential to represent United States 
agriculture and ensure that the challenges facing our agricultural 
producers are thoroughly addressed.
  Another responsibility of the FAS is to provide food aid to needy 
people in developing countries and to help those countries to 
eventually become trading partners of the United States and buy our 
agricultural products. The FAS and its employees provide a significant 
service to the farmers and ranchers here at home so they can compete in 
worldwide markets. I congratulate them on their achievements and look 
forward to working closely with the FAS as the committee continues its 
work to expand markets for United States agriculture.

[[Page H5829]]

  I thank the members of the Committee on Agriculture for their support 
of this resolution. I also appreciate the support of the Committee on 
International Relations on this matter. The gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde) has been very cooperative in helping to expedite House Joint 
Resolution 49. I also thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). I 
urge Members to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution to recognize the 
role of the Foreign Agricultural Service in expanding export 
opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers and working to 
increase food security around the globe.
  When FAS began its work, exports accounted for less than 10 percent 
of agricultural sales. Last year, 49 percent of the wheat and 54 
percent of the cotton harvested in the United States was exported. By 
the year 2012, 98 percent of the world's population will live outside 
of the United States, and American agriculture will depend even more on 
export markets.
  The men and women of the Foreign Agricultural Service have worked 
hard to identify and focus on the potential of growing markets such as 
Mexico and China where the economies are expected to grow by 5 and 7 
percent respectively.
  The U.S. agricultural producers are taking advantage of new trading 
opportunities. Between 1992 and 2002, U.S. agricultural exports to 
Mexico grew from $3.8 billion to $7.3 billion per year. And in China 
from .5 billion to $2 billion. At the same period, exports to Canada 
have grown from $4.9 billion to 8.7, making it our largest export 
market for agriculture. And all of these markets, particularly China, 
have a tremendous potential opportunity for U.S. producers.
  The success of the programs administered by the FAS is also reflected 
by the increases in funding that were included for many of these 
programs in last year's farm bill. These include an additional $650 
million for the Market Access Program, $308 million for Food for 
Progress, $100 million for the International Food for Education 
Program, and $67 million for the Foreign Market Development Program.
  Rural communities depend on export for one-third of their jobs. Over 
the past 5 years, United States agricultural exports have averaged over 
$53 billion per year, and our agricultural trade surplus has averaged 
over $13 billion. This is compared to the overall trade deficit of the 
United States of over $500 billion. Each $1 billion in exports supports 
15,000 American jobs. This means U.S. agricultural exports are 
supporting over 800,000 jobs, 50,000 in my home State of Texas alone. 
Many of these jobs are on farms or ranches, but even more of them are 
in transportation, storage, marketing, trade services, and food 
processing.
  As a representative of some of the rural communities that benefit 
from such jobs, I thank the men and women of the Foreign Agricultural 
Service for their hard work, and I congratulate the agency on its 
service to rural America.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no request for time; I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Stenholm) for yielding me this time, and I thank him for his leadership 
on this bill, as well as the chairman of the committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 49 recognizing the 50th 
anniversary of the Foreign Agricultural Service at the Department of 
Agriculture. I have had the privilege of working with many of the FAS 
staff in Washington and in our embassies around the world, and on one 
special program in particular, the Global Food for Education 
Initiative, or the GFEI.
  In July 2000, President Clinton announced at the Okinawa G-8 summit 
that the United States would initiate a $300 million pilot program, the 
Global Food for Education Initiative, to provide hungry children with a 
daily nutritious meal in a school setting. The twin goals of the 
program were to reduce hunger among children and increase the number of 
children, especially girls, attending school. The GFEI was modeled 
around a series of successful FAS school feeding programs that use 
section 416(b) surplus commodities and that were implemented by U.S. 
private voluntary organizations and the World Food Program.
  FAS faced a monumental task to initiate the GFEI pilot program on a 
very tight timeline in an accountable and effective manner. They came 
through with flying colors. In December 2000, the President announced 
that the GFEI would carry out 48 projects in 39 countries and reach 
about 9 million children in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the 
Caribbean.
  In February 2003, USDA published the first evaluation of the GFEI. 
This report documents the marked success of these school feeding 
projects. Hunger was reduced, parents and community organizations were 
empowered, and school attendance increased, especially among girls.
  I do not believe this level of success would have been achieved 
without the diligent leadership of Mary Chambliss, Robin Tilsworth, 
Babette Gainor, and the rest of the FAS staff. Their belief in this 
program and their commitment to accountability and oversight ensured 
that the project lived up to the promise of the initial proposal. I 
encourage my colleagues to visit the FAS Web site and review the GFEI 
report.
  I have seen these projects in action in Indonesia and Colombia, and I 
have had the privilege of meeting the FAS staff based at our embassies 
who help carry out these programs in the field.
  Mr. Speaker, there are 300 million hungry children worldwide. Most do 
not get a chance to go to school. For the children involved in the 
GFEI, these school meals are often the only food that child will 
receive, and that meal and school may be the only stable factors in 
their precarious and uncertain lives.
  In last year's farm bill, the GFEI became permanent when the George 
McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child 
Nutrition Program was established. It received $100 million for fiscal 
year 2003, a reduction from the pilot program, but an allocation which 
I hope will increase in the future.
  Every single Member of the other body called upon the President to 
keep the McGovern-Dole Program in the capable hands of the FAS, a 
resounding endorsement if ever I heard one.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the FAS and its staff for their commitment to 
use our farmers' productivity to help end world hunger. I congratulate 
them on a half century of fine work, and I urge my colleagues to pass 
this resolution.

                              {time}  1115

  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  This recognition of the Foreign Agricultural Service is well 
deserved. The work that they conduct around the world in promoting 
American agriculture is vitally important. It is even more important 
following the passage of the Trade Promotion Authority in the last 
Congress.
  I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 49.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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