[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5918-H5919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE G-8 NATIONS MUST END HUNGER AND SUPPORT EDUCATION FOR ALL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on June 7, I had the pleasure of 
participating in a press conference in Savannah, Georgia, to call upon 
the leaders

[[Page H5919]]

of the G-8 nations to get serious and to work to end child hunger and 
support education for all.
  The press conference was organized by NetAid and supported by the 
Basic Education Coalition. David Morrison, the President of NetAid, and 
Eveline Herfkens, the executive coordinator of the U.N. Secretary 
general's Millennium Project, joined me at the podium. I was especially 
impressed by the efforts of the children of Savannah, who, with the 
support of NetAid, have launched a campaign to raise awareness and 
funds so that children around the world can have a chance to go to 
school.
  Mr. Speaker, I have always believed that central to the American 
Dream has been the desire by parents to make sure that their children 
receive a better education and get a chance at having a better life 
than they did. This was true when our country was founded, and it is 
still true today. So it is fitting that the United States should lead 
the world in achieving universal basic education for the world's 
children.
  Around the time of World War II, the United States discovered another 
important key to good education: Food. Many of the soldiers 
volunteering for the military, who we now refer to as the greatest 
generation, had problems associated with poor nutrition or hunger. 
Ultimately, this discovery led to the U.S. establishing a full-fledged 
universal school lunch program, and today many of our schools also 
offer breakfast to those in need.
  The combination of global basic education and school feeding programs 
contributes not only to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of 
universal primary education by the year 2015, but also to the Goal to 
cut hunger in half. But it is not going to happen unless donor nations 
make a significantly greater commitment of funds and resources.
  Right now, wealthy nations commit an estimated $1.4 billion to basic 
education. For fiscal year 2004, Congress appropriated $326.5 million 
in foreign aid for basic education and another $37 million provided 
through the Department of Labor to combat child labor. Sadly, only $125 
million was made available for global school feeding programs through 
all USAID and Department of Agriculture programs combined.
  At this rate, the world will not be able to achieve universal primary 
education for another 150 years, or end child hunger for another 
century. So what should we do?
  The G-8 leaders need to do much more than issue glowing statements in 
support of universal education. Photo-ops and juggling the books will 
not build schools or put more teachers and materials in the classroom 
or provide meals to students too hungry to learn. Only new money, new 
resources, and, most important, the political will to turn promises 
into reality can do that.
  Developing countries need an additional $5.6 billion to ensure that 
every child can go to primary school. For the U.S. to exercise genuine 
leadership, President Bush should make a firm commitment that the 
United States will provide at least $1 billion by fiscal year 2006 for 
basic education, and a minimum of $300 million for U.S. funded 
international school feeding programs. The other G-8 nations should 
make similar commitments and fulfill them.
  I am pleased to note that the fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill that 
we passed last week includes $400 million for basic education programs, 
and today we will vote on a resolution in support of global school 
feeding programs.
  Our world will not achieve economic prosperity or social and 
political stability as long as children cannot go to school and 
continue to die from hunger. And we can only win the war against 
intolerance and terrorism when the children of the world are no longer 
hungry and illiterate, and their parents, families, and communities 
have hope for a better future.
  On Sea Island, Georgia, the leaders of the world issued another set 
of glowing proclamations about how to create the better future. We now 
must wait and see if they have the political will to put their money on 
the table and make it happen.

                          ____________________