[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7073-S7074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. DOLE (for herself, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Burr, Mr. Durbin, 
        Mr. Vitter, and Mr. Allard):
  S. 1540. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a tax credit for the transportation of food for charitable purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, today is the sixth National Hunger 
Awareness Day--a day to reflect on the fact that in this Nation alone 
more than 35 million people are experiencing hunger or are at risk for 
hunger. It is also a day to recognize the tremendous efforts of 
individuals who graciously give their time and resources to help those 
in need.
  Hunger is far too prevalent, but I think Washington Post columnist 
David Broder hit the nail on the head when he wrote: ``America has some 
problems that defy solution. This one does not. It just needs caring 
people and a caring government, working together.'' I agree, the battle 
to end hunger in our country is a campaign that cannot be won in months 
or even a few years, but it is a victory within reach. And I am 
motivated to do what I can to make a positive difference in this fight 
against hunger--both in the United States and beyond our borders.
  In America--the land of prosperity and plenty--some people have the 
misconception that hunger plagues only far-away, undeveloped nations. 
The reality is that hunger is a silent enemy lurking within 1 in 10 
U.S. households. In my home State of North Carolina alone, nearly 1 
million of our 8.8 million residents are struggling with food security 
issues. In recent years, once-thriving North Carolina towns have been 
economically crippled by the shuttering of textile mills and furniture 
factories. People have lost their jobs--and sometimes their ability to 
put food on the table. I know this scenario is not unique to North 
Carolina, as many American manufacturing jobs have moved overseas. 
While many folks are finding new employment, these days a steady income 
doesn't necessarily provide for three square meals a day.
  To help struggling families and individuals, our nation is blessed to 
have many faith-based and other nonprofit service organizations that 
work to fight hunger. Over the last year, I have toured a number of 
these organizations in my home State--such as MANNA FoodBank in 
Asheville, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte, and 
Meals on Wheels of Senior Services in Winston-Salem. I also have 
visited the DC Central Kitchen here in Washington--just a few blocks 
from the Capitol. At each of these organizations, I am inspired by the 
dedicated staff and volunteers who have such a passion for helping 
others.
  Another hunger relief organization that I hold in the highest regard 
is the Society of St. Andrew, which gleans produce from farms and then 
packages, processes and transports excess food to feed hungry people 
across the country. When I think of gleaning, I often think of Ruth in 
the Old Testament. Her story takes place during a famine in Bethlehem, 
and Ruth gleaned so that her family could eat. In Biblical times, 
farmers were encouraged to leave crops in their fields for the poor and 
for travelers. It is a practice we should be utilizing much more 
extensively today--considering that in this country, 27 percent of all 
the food produced annually is lost at the retail, consumer, and food 
service levels. This means we are wasting about 3,044 pounds of good 
food every second.
  The Society of St. Andrew recently passed a milestone--saving and 
distributing a total of 500 million pounds of food since 1983. This 
translates into

[[Page S7074]]

more than 1.5 billion servings. Already this year, the organization has 
provided more than 5.5 million pounds of produce. Amazingly, it only 
costs about 2 cents a serving to glean and deliver this food to those 
in need. And all of this work is done by the hands of tens of thousands 
of volunteers and a very small staff. I have gleaned in North Carolina 
fields with my friends at the Society of St. Andrew, and they are truly 
a remarkable group.
  Like any humanitarian endeavor, the gleaning system works because of 
cooperative efforts. Private organizations and individuals are doing a 
great job--but with very limited resources. One of the single largest 
concerns for gleaners is transportation--how to actually get food to 
those in need. To help address this problem, I am proud to reintroduce 
today the Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act, which would change the 
Tax Code to give transportation companies tax incentives for 
volunteering trucks to transfer gleaned food. Specifically, my bill 
would create a 25-cent tax credit for each mile that food is 
transported for hunger relief efforts by a donated truck and driver.
  This bill would provide a little extra encouragement for trucking 
companies to donate space in their vehicles to help more food reach 
more hungry people. I am grateful to my colleagues, Senators Lincoln, 
Burr, Durbin, Vitter and Allard, for joining this effort, and I welcome 
the support of relief organizations like the Society of St. Andrew, the 
American Trucking Association, and America's Second Harvest.
  In addition, Senators Lautenberg, Lincoln, and I plan to soon 
reintroduce the Food Employment Empowerment and Development Program 
Act, or the FEED Act. The idea behind this legislation is simple: 
combine food rescue with job training, thus teaching unemployed and 
homeless adults the skills needed to work in the food service industry.
  With support from the FEED Act, community kitchens will receive much-
needed resources to help collect rescued food and provide 2 million 
meals each year to the hungry. Successful FEED Act-type programs 
already exist. For example, in Charlotte, NC, the Community Culinary 
School recruits students from social service agencies, homeless 
shelters, halfway houses and work release programs. And just around the 
comer from here, 25 students recently began training in the DC Central 
Kitchen's 68th culinary job training class. This is a model program, 
which began in 1990, and it is always a great privilege to visit the 
kitchen and meet with the individuals who have faced adversity but are 
now on track for a career in the food service industry.
  We also must do more to help America's 12 million hungry children get 
on the right track. As a result of hunger, these children have higher 
levels of chronic illness, depression, and behavior problems. This is a 
travesty that can and must be prevented, and school feeding programs 
provide a critical means to this end. The National School Lunch Program 
feeds 30 million children in more than 100,000 schools each day. While 
reduced price meals are available to students whose family income is 
below 130 percent of the poverty level, State and local school board 
members have informed me that many families struggle to even pay this 
fee. In too many cases, this is creating an insurmountable barrier to 
participation.
  That is why I am a strong supporter of eliminating the reduced price 
fee for these families and harmonizing the free income guideline with 
the WIC income guideline, which is 185 percent of poverty. In 2004, we 
succeeded in having a five-State pilot program authorized, and since 
then, a number of colleagues have joined me in urging funding for the 
program. I am very proud that the fiscal year 2008 Senate budget 
resolution finally includes the funds, and I will continue to push this 
during the appropriations process--because expanding the free lunch 
program has great potential to alleviate hunger for millions of 
children and help them succeed in school.
  School feeding programs also offer tremendous opportunity to reach 
some of the 400 million chronically hungry children across the globe. 
Earlier this year, Senator Dick Durbin and I introduced a bill to 
reauthorize the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and 
Child Nutrition Program. This program was named for my husband Senator 
Bob Dole and his good friend Senator George McGovern--both of whom 
remain tremendous advocates for this and other child nutrition 
initiatives.
  As with the U.S. school lunch program, the McGovern-Dole program 
helps attract children to schools. The nutritious meals provided help 
keep them alert and focused so they can learn and nourished so they can 
grow and mature. First authorized in 2002, the program provides for 
donations of U.S. agricultural products and financial and technical 
assistance for school food programs and maternal and child nutrition 
projects in low-income countries that are committed to universal 
education. In 2005 alone, the McGovern-Dole program distributed 120,000 
metric tons of U.S. food commodities, including wheat, wheat flour, 
corn, rice, dry beans, and vegetable oils, to schools that run feeding 
programs in the world's poorest countries. In addition to Federal 
funding, outside donors have provided approximately $1 billion to 
complement the McGovern-Dole program, making this initiative a 
successful public-private partnership.
  McGovern-Dole has a proven track record of reducing hunger among 
school-age children and improving literacy and primary education 
enrollment in areas where conflict, hunger, poverty and HIV/AIDS are 
prevalent. School meals, teacher training, and related support have 
helped boost school enrollment and academic performance. These positive 
results are especially true among girls, including those who live where 
girls are commonly mistreated and marginalized.
  Throughout my career in public service, I have seen the faces of 
hunger so many times. During my time at the American Red Cross, I 
witnessed hunger and starvation in war-torn Rwanda and famine-stricken 
Somalia. In Baidoa, I came upon a little boy lying under a sack. I 
thought he was dead, but as his brother sat him up, I could see that he 
was severely malnourished. I asked for camel's milk to feed him, and as 
I raised the cup to his mouth, I put my arm around his back. The 
feeling of the little bones almost piercing through his flesh is 
something I will never forget. That is when the horror of starvation 
becomes real--when you can touch it.
  In Deuteronomy 15:7, the Bible tells us, ``If there is among you a 
poor man, one of your brethren, in any of your towns within your land 
which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart or 
shut your hand against your poor brother.''
  I implore friends on both sides of the aisle--and the people of this 
great country--to join in this mission, this grassroots network of 
compassion that transcends political ideology and provides hope and 
security not only for those in need today but for future generations. 
Let us stand and fight as one in this mission to end hunger.
                                 ______