Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)

[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4311-H4318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

INTERNATIONAL FOOD CRISIS AND HAITI

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Boyda of Kansas). Under the Speaker's
announced policy of January 18, 2007, the gentlewoman from New York
(Ms. Clarke) is recognized for 60 minutes.

General Leave

Ms. CLARKE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New York?
There was no objection.
Ms. CLARKE. Madam Speaker, moving from food for fuel to food for
food, we come to the floor tonight to talk about the international food
crisis. We're going to look at the causes and effects and possible
solutions. We're also going to take a closer look at the situation in
Haiti, a country that is only approximately 400 miles off our coast,
our neighbor in the Western hemisphere, a country that is arguably one
of the worst off in this global food crisis.
There are many causes of the food crisis that we face now. Some of
the causes are recent developments and others have been developing for
years.
This year we saw lower crop yields because of weather and global
climate change. There is increased demand for processed foods from
countries with growing middle classes like China and India. There's an
increased demand for biofuels like ethanol, which is primarily made
from corn. And in response to high commodity prices, a number of
countries introduced export bans to preserve food for their own
populations, while decreasing the world's supply.
This graph illustrates the record-high food prices that brought on
this crisis: Wheat prices up 81 percent in 2007; soybean prices up 71
percent in 2007. Rice, which feeds almost one-half of the world's
population, its price increased 144 percent since January of this year.
Corn prices shot up 24 percent since January of 2008, and the rise came
right after this Congress passed a landmark energy bill requiring
increased use of ethanol.
The effects of this food crisis. We know that in the industrialized
countries, food purchases accounts for 10 to 20 percent of consumer
spending. However, in developing countries, that figure is more like 60
to 80 percent of consumer spending.
People in poor countries already spend a much greater percentage of
their incomes on food, and now they are forced to spend even more on
food.
This food crisis is pushing people into poverty and worsening the
situation of those already living in poverty. The World Bank estimates
that more than 100 million people will be pushed into poverty because
of rising food prices.
Rising food prices have led to food riots around the world, across
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In Pakistan and
Thailand, troops are guarding farmers' crops. In Egypt, troops are
baking bread for the thousands of people waiting in bread lines.
The situation in Haiti. Haiti has the lowest, poorest standard of
living in the Western hemisphere. About 80 percent of the Haitian
population currently survives on less than $2 a day and survives on one
meal a day. Most of Haiti's basic food commodities are imported,
leaving the country especially vulnerable to fluctuating world
commodity prices.
Late last month, the perfect storm of high energy and oil costs and
commodity expenses erupted in what has been described as food riots.
Haiti's poorest have resorted to selling mud cakes, a mixture of mud,
oil and sugar that quiets rumbling, hungry stomachs.
Rising food prices threaten security in Haiti. Protests over the
rising costs of food last month turned violent with six people killed,
including a U.N. peacekeeper.
High food costs in Haiti in part also led to political unrest, with
the dismissal of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard-Alexis just recently.
As we look at what is happening in Haiti today, it's a reminder to us
that the economic climate of the United States, our ability and
capacity to influence and impact commodities around the world have a
ripple effect, and that what we do in the U.S. to secure ourselves, we
must keep an eye to our neighbors in more vulnerable circumstances,
such as the Nation of Haiti.
We here in the U.S. Congress recently had a codel sponsored in part
by the CBC to Haiti, and while there, we had an opportunity to talk
about what we need to do to be supportive of our neighbor in the
Western hemisphere.
And one of the major concerns for me in this trip was just some of
the issues and concerns that we as Americans have not been as educated
about. For instance, were you aware that the average age in Haiti is
under 50 years old; that the mortality rate is extremely high; that the
age for mortality for most women is 56 years of age and for men, 52
years of age; that the average Haitian eats only one meal a day? These
are issues that need to be of concern to us.
Why is that? It needs to be of concern to us because certainly, as
one of our closest neighbors, one of the democratic allies of the
Western hemisphere, these conditions, if sustained over a long period
of time, speak to a humanitarian crisis, speak to destabilization, not
only of Haiti but of the entire region, which includes a border that is
400 miles away from the U.S. border.
And so we here are looking at congressional action that will address
this food crisis. One of the things that we have quickly moved to do in
the Democratic Caucus is an emergency supplemental appropriation which
was passed just last week which included $1.86 billion in funding for
food aid in PL 480 programs, administered by the U.S.D.A. and USAID;
$200 million in development assistance; $400 million for disaster
assistance; and $20 million for the World Food Programme.
The farm bill passed just last week also included provisions allowing
the

[[Page H4312]]

USAID to preposition more food overseas to respond to disaster faster;
in addition, more money for non-emergency food aid, like development
projects; increased discretionary funding for emergency food aid
programs like Food for Peace and U.S. Agency for International
Development to the tune of about $2.5 billion have also been expended;
extension and expansion of Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through
Partnership Encouragement Act, or the HOPE Act, which provides for
duty-free preferences for imports from Haiti.
And then the Jubilee Act passed last month which would assist Haiti
in its international debt load and recommends the immediate
cancellation of Haiti's outstanding debts.
Solutions for the food crisis. With respect to Haiti, we need to
extend temporary protected status to Haitians in our country, allowing
them to work legally here, enabling them to send remittances home. This
is the most inexpensive form of aid we can grant to Haiti. When
remittances are sent home, it forms about a quarter of Haiti's GDP at
this point, and so we would be doing not only ourselves a service but a
service to the people of Haiti and Haitian Americans here in our
hemisphere.
On the global level, we need to meet the immediate need including
funding shortfalls of $755 million at the World Food Programme and $240
million at USAID, which this Congress has already begun to do.
We need to strengthen our social safety nets like nutrition programs
and school feeding sites to prevent future food security issues from
reaching the crisis level.
I've spoken to you already about the youth of Haiti and the fact that
the population there is so very young. We need to be clear that
malnutrition is running rampant, and if we really want to help Haiti to
change course, we must start with their young, and we must be able to
improve the opportunities for children to have access to nutritious
meals.
We need to increase agriculture development aid to assist developing
countries in establishing their own agriculture infrastructure, so
countries won't be so dependent on foreign supplies in the future. And
that's a pretty complex scenario, because when we look at the way that
our farm system has been set up in the United States, it has really
created a paradigm where, due to the subsidies that we make to our
farmers, it is actually less expensive for Nations abroad to purchase
our rice than to grow and compete against the subsidized market. So we
will have to find a balance there to enable farmers in Haiti to expand
and to be prepared to export to other Nations and be able to compete at
real prices with the production of rice in our country and other
countries around the world.
And finally, we need to significantly increase investments in
agricultural research so our scientists can develop better crops that
can withstand disease, drought and produce higher yields, and then
deliver those crops to farmers around the world.
I am just so honored to be joined this evening by a number of my
colleagues who also attended the codel, some of whom are members of the
CBC, some of whom are members of the Hunger Caucus here in Washington
in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is my pleasure at this
time to yield to the gentlewoman from California, the Honorable Barbara
Lee.

{time} 2200

Ms. LEE. First, let me thank my colleague from New York, a great
American and a proud daughter of the Caribbean, for your leadership and
for putting together this Special Order tonight.
And as I listen to you, I'm thinking, I hope everyone in the country
is listening tonight because I get so many questions about the world
food crisis, the whys, what is going on? Why, even in some of our
communities, stores are stockpiling rice? And I think what you are
doing tonight is allowing us to give the big picture, the explanation,
talk about what is really talking place. And so thank you,
Congresswoman Clarke, for your leadership and your vision and for
putting this all together tonight.
Let me just say a couple of things. First of all, Congresswoman
Clarke mentioned the congressional delegation. Congresswoman Kilpatrick
and myself co-led it to Haiti to examine the current conditions on the
ground.
Now, during our visit, we were joined by 10 members of the
Congressional Black Caucus and one member of the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus. I'd like to mention who these Members are because they reflect
the broad concern, regionally, and just in terms of their deep
commitment to address some of the humanitarian issues that we must
address in the world. Congressman Andre Carson, Congresswoman, of
course, Yvette Clarke, Congressman Keith Ellison, Congressman Al Green,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson,
Congressman Hank Johnson, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Congresswoman
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congresswoman Diane Watson, and Congresswoman
Lucille Roybal-Allard. We all have a longstanding interest and
commitment to strengthen our ties with Haiti and the Haitian people.
Now, during this codel we met with Haitian President Rene Preval, our
United States Ambassador Janet Sanderson, and representatives from
humanitarian and development organizations in Haiti. Our goals were to
examine the United States strategy to help alleviate the effects of the
recent rise in food prices in Haiti. We were there to ensure that there
is infrastructure, which we discussed with President Preval, to make
sure there is adequate infrastructure in place to help distribute aid
to the Haitian people, and that there is a long-term plan in place to
expand that infrastructure. Also, to take steps to ensure a safe and
stable and promising future for Haiti and all Haitians by providing
immediate relief to help the Haitian people.
So we want many, many short-term goals to be met, but also, we want
these short-term goals and initiatives to lead to a more sustainable
effort to make sure that the Haitian people begin to receive our
assistance with regard to the infrastructure, health care, clean water,
and all of the systems that people just deserve so that they can live
decent lives.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. And Haitians
are particularly affected by soaring food prices, which have risen over
40 percent globally since mid 2007. Haiti produces 50 percent of the
food it needs and imports the rest.
The rising cost of living has keenly affected the people of Haiti.
Forty percent of Haiti's population is only able to eat one meal a day.
Eighty percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. And the
cost of staples, such as rice, beans, fruit, and condensed milk, have
gone up 50 percent in the last year.
In terms of health aid organizations, they fear that the nutritional
crisis will get worse in Haiti. Haiti has the highest rates in the
Caribbean of HIV and AIDS. And in order to make sure that the anti-
retroviral drugs are effective, good nutrition must be available. Food
must be available for people to eat so that they can just take their
medications, otherwise, it just won't work.
According to the World Food Program, malnutrition is particularly
acute in Haiti, where the average Haitian diet contains just 1,640
calories, 460 calories short of the typical 2,100 daily requirement.
Particularly, one in five children is chronically malnourished.
Now, anti-government protests and public looting in reaction to
soaring food prices have really jeopardized Haiti's capacity to sustain
and administer its government institutions effectively. Currently,
Haiti's government is in a very precarious caretaker position, where
they are unable to create and enforce new laws.
On April 12 of this year, Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard
Alexis was forced out of office for failure to boost food production
and lower food prices. In addition, the Haitian Parliament vetoed
President Preval's recent replacement appointee for the Prime Minister
position. With no head of government, Haiti is left in a very fragile
state, and it's up to us to help fill the void in terms of just helping
to feed the people of Haiti.
As a witness to these dire conditions in Haiti, we must take urgent
steps to implement an effective strategy to help the Haitian people.
Congresswoman Clarke reviewed some of the

[[Page H4313]]

initiatives that have taken place here in terms of what we have done in
the farm bill, what we are urging the President to do. Actually, he did
announce we would release 200 million in emergency food aid, some of
which would go to Haiti. He also called on Congress to approve the 770
million in food aid to help fight the food crisis. But we've learned
now that there is $1 million that has not been released yet, which
would help reduce the cost of rice for the Haitian people. And so one
of the initiatives that we talked about is how we could help facilitate
this $1 million so that the Haitian people will at least be able to
afford to buy rice. We're working on that very diligently as I speak.
This crisis, though, let me just say, has opened the door to much
needed innovation for long-term development solutions in Haiti. So as I
said earlier, this crisis should be addressed with an immediate
response, and it should be a strong and very aggressive and very robust
response because this is a very dire situation. But we also need to
make sure that we don't go backwards and that the crisis is contained,
and that we move forward and look at how to help Haiti find some
sustainable solutions in terms of agricultural development, the
development of their infrastructure, and all of the other initiatives,
debt relief, that are so desperately needed.
And so members of our delegation are working on a variety of bills
which will be announced very shortly, and we're working on a variety of
actions. And so I just hope that President Bush will make sure that
everything is done on behalf of the people of the United States to just
help Haiti live, help Haiti thrive, and help the Haitian people move on
with their lives.
Thank you, Congresswoman Clarke.
Ms. CLARKE. Let me thank you, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, for your
leadership, along with Chairwoman Kilpatrick, for seeing how important
it was for us to be on the ground in Haiti as a delegation with a
presence to bring some comfort and some hope to the nation that our
eyes are not shut to the crisis that is taking place there, and that
they do have friends, allies, and supporters here in the United States
that will not forsake them, that that nation can know now that the
United States' eyes are wide open. And as we see their fate go down, we
know that it is our responsibility not to let it happen, and that we
will be vigilant around the resource and support that is required to
help Haiti to stand up and to go forward in the 21st century boldly
and stronger than ever before.

So I want to thank you again, Barbara Lee from California, for your
ongoing commitment. I've come to this Congress to meet you and to see
the work that you have been doing and just to join my voice in
synchronization with you so that we can sing a louder song for the
causes that you have championed even before I arrived here. Thank you.
The gentleman from Texas, Al Green, you, too, were a part of our
delegation. Thank you for joining us in this Special Order to talk
about international hunger and the crises in Haiti.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Let me start by saying that the constituents
that you have, Congresswoman Clarke, can be exceedingly proud of you
because you've been here a short time, but you've made a very
significant difference. And I trust that they will understand the
totality of the impact that you're making on the lives of people in
this country, people who need help.
I was honored to go to Haiti with you and with my colleagues, and I
will tell you that I was thunderstruck by what I saw. Probably the
thing that stands out most in my mind is the notion that in the United
States we have four seasons. In Haiti, there are five. There is a
hunger season in Haiti, a time when it is prognosticated, it is
predicted that people will go hungry, and they will need help that they
probably will not receive.
Haiti is a country in crisis and needs help immediately, if not
sooner. Haiti has an unemployment rate of 70 percent. Eighty percent of
the people live in poverty. Seventy-six percent of the people live off
of $2 per day; 55 percent off of $1 per day. The highest HIV/AIDS rate
in the western hemisphere; infant mortality rate 10 times higher than
that of the United States of America: Haiti is a country in crisis.
When you go there and you see the density of population, people living
in structures that in this country we would not house our animals in.
Haiti needs help.
I'm not sure what the ultimate solution is, but I do know that if we
do not act immediately, there will be a crisis right off of the coast
of Florida comparable to what we have in Darfur.
And we talk consistently and continually about the things that are
happening in Africa, and there are things there that necessitate our
attention. We must do more to help in Darfur. But we have, right off
the coast of Florida, some few hundred miles, a country that can
benefit from much of what we have to offer.
It has been said that if you have the ability to do something and you
cannot do enough, you have a duty to do all that you can do. The United
States of America has a duty to do more in Haiti. I know that we have
needs in this country, and we have to meet our needs. But we are the
richest country in the world. And Haiti is a country that is our
neighbor. It is an island. And people are trapped, they cannot leave.
If they do leave and try to come here, we will return them.
There must be a way for us to have an infusion of capital, an
infusion of help such that the people who are trapped on this island
can extricate themselves from this most saddening circumstance.
There will be some who will say they should pull themselves up by
their boot straps. They don't have any. There will be some who will say
rising tides will lift all boats, and if we can find a way to do better
here, they will do better there. This is not true. They don't have any
boats to be a part of the rising tide. TPS is a part of the solution
because if we allow those who are here to stay and to prosper, they
will send money back to their relatives at home.
We have not been able to pass TPS. I would invite any Member of the
House to go to Haiti and come back and say you won't vote for TPS. I
challenge any Member of the House to go there. I don't believe you will
come back and say you won't vote for TPS.
So probably one of the great things that any of us can do, if we want
to adjust our hearts and become a part of the solution, is just go to
Haiti and see the circumstances under which human beings are not
living, but existing. It is an existence that we can change.
So I challenge my colleagues and I beg my colleagues to please, if
you can, go to Haiti and see for yourself. It will tug at your heart,
it will cause you to understand that we have an obligation to our
fellow human beings to help them out of this circumstance. That is my
appeal.
I thank you for the time. And I thank Congresswoman Lee for all that
she has done through the years on this question of Haiti. This is not
something new to her. For me, it is new in that this was my first
visit, I'm a neophyte. But she has been doing this year in and year out
and she knows of what we speak and she understands the challenges that
are before us.
So I thank you, Congresswoman Clarke, for the time. I thank you,
Madam Speaker. And I beg that my colleagues will see for themselves the
human crisis that exists right off the coast of Florida.
Ms. CLARKE. Thank you very much, Congressman Al Green. Thank you for
your impassioned comments this evening.
I think it's important that when we speak of the need to build out
our relationships around the world, that as we've travel to many
regions around the globe, that we not neglect our own hemisphere, that
we recognize that there are nations of people. And I think what's
important to point out is that Haiti is a nation about the size of
Maryland in terms of geographic size. It has 9.3 million people there.
So when you hear the statistics quoted about the number of people in
poverty, when you hear about the number of children in poverty, the
percentage of people making $1 or $2 a day, put that in the context of
a population of 9.3 million people, and then you get the sense of what
we're talking about in terms of a humanitarian crisis.

{time} 2015

Let me now turn to the gentlewoman from Illinois, who has joined us
and has been a fighter and one who has stood up and has produced on
behalf of the

[[Page H4314]]

Hunger Caucus and the people of Haiti, Ms. Jan Schakowsky.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Thank you so much, Congresswoman Clarke, for
convening us tonight for this Special Order dealing with our close
friend and a great friend of the United States, and that's our neighbor
Haiti.
I first went to Haiti in January of 2003. And I went with the RFK
Foundation, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation, and Ethel Kennedy
was on that trip, to give an award to Partners in Health Clinic on the
Central Plateau of Haiti. It's actually the one that was featured
recently on ``60 Minutes'' where you saw Dr. David Walton, who actually
comes from my district; Dr. Paul Farmer; Loune Viaud, who is the
director of that clinic, serving people on the very poor Central
Plateau of Haiti. And I have to tell you I think it was Representative
Green who said his first trip he was thunderstruck. That's a good word
for it. You get on the plane in Miami and you start reading the
newspaper, and before you've even finished reading it, you're landing
in the poorest country in our hemisphere.
But let's be clear. This is a country with beautiful and brave and
hard-working people. This is a country where some of our colleagues of
a certain age may have even gone for their honeymoon. This is a
tropical island in the Caribbean with so much potential and such
beautiful people and such incredible poverty.
I went again to Haiti in 2006 with Wyclef Jean, a son of Haiti and a
musical artist who has created a foundation called Yele Haiti, who's
hard at work right now in providing food for the people of Haiti.
So we can talk about the crisis first. There is a horrible hunger
crisis in Haiti. They started out poor. They started out malnourished
when these food prices went up so high. And in fact, the average daily
requirement for calories is about 2,100 calories per day. In Haiti it's
460 calories below that as the average. So you know some people are
eating more than their 2,100 and lots of people are eating less.
I implore parents who may be listening to us tonight to think about
what kind of desperation it might take to feed your child to quench the
hunger in their belly a mud cake, a mud cake, a cake literally made out
of mud with a little flour in it, because you can't stand to leave that
tiny stomach hungry. It's just more than one can even bear to think how
one gets to that point.
And so the high price of food and the hunger crisis has begun riots
in Haiti. There have been some political ramifications, and the United
States has to some important extent responded. We're sending money.
We're sending food. And all of this is really, really important.
But the other thing I found out in Haiti is that it's not just oh,
poor, Haiti, we need to do more. The fact of the matter is, and I am
embarrassed to say, is that the United States of America has had its
heel on the neck of the country of Haiti and has actually been part of
the problem that we are facing today.
Over the past 7 years, the Bush administration has absolutely turned
a blind eye and has, in fact, actively stopped the Inter-American
Development Bank from releasing loans to Haiti for projects on water
and health and education and rural roads, the kinds of things that
would actually make Haiti self-sustainable. Through the U.S. Treasury,
the Bush administration officials, and this is all about ideology and
politics, have repeatedly held back vital loans for Haiti in an attempt
to force political change in Haiti, actions in direct violation of the
Inter-American Development Bank charter, IDB.
In e-mails released in response to a Freedom of Information request,
Treasury Department employees repeatedly discuss how to ``slow'' the
release of loans to Haiti. In a Treasury Department e-mail in 2001,
this employee stated that the loans would be released based on ``our
assessment of progress on reaching a comprehensive political
settlement.'' That is, a settlement to the liking of the United States
of America.
In another shocking e-mail, a Treasury lawyer reveals just how
deliberately they were working to stop the loans from being released to
Haiti, despite the great need. Bruce Juba, Special Counsel, wrote:
``While this is not a 'bullet-proof' way to stop IDB disbursements, it
certainly will put a few more large rocks in the road.''
It is astounding and unacceptable that the entire time that the Bush
administration has talked about helping poor Haiti, they have been
working behind the scenes to put ``rocks in the road'' to Haiti's
development. By 2002 the Bush administration's plan to block the loans
to Haiti by slowing them down has succeeded. Haiti fell into arrears
long enough to trigger an Inter-American Development Bank policy that
prevents the bank from releasing the loans when arrears have
accumulated for too long. Success.
Instead of receiving the vital loans for public projects, loans that
could have helped bring thousands out of poverty, reduced water-borne
diseases, and aided in long-term development, the Bush administration
successfully cut off Haiti's IDB funding in an effort to push Aristide
out of power.
The United States has been directly involved in Haiti's food crisis
in another way. The U.S. has forced Haiti to open its market to our
subsidized crops, decimating the ability of Haitian farmers to compete.
Thirty years ago Haiti raised nearly all of the rice it needed. It was
exporting sugar. But because of U.S. intervention, Haiti is now reliant
on food imports for survival. The International Monetary Fund forced
Haiti to open its market to U.S. rice first in 1986 as a condition for
loans, making it impossible for Haitian farmers to compete with
subsidized U.S. rice. Then in 1994, as a condition for U.S. assistance
in returning to Haiti to resume his elected presidency, Jean-Bertrand
Aristide was forced by the U.S., the IMF, and the World Bank to open up
the markets in Haiti even more.
So, look, if we want to do more than put a temporary Band-Aid on the
developing food crisis in Haiti, we're going to have to do more than
allocate money for emergency food relief. We're going to need to
recognize how forcing poor countries to open their markets to our
heavily subsidized crops cripples their ability to sustain themselves.
As President Lula of Brazil said when he was visiting Haiti recently,
``Rich countries need to reduce farm subsidies and trade barriers to
allow poor countries to generate income with food exports. Either the
world solves the unfair trade system or every time there's unrest in
Haiti, we adopt emergency measures and send a little bit of food to
temporarily ease hunger.''
You talked about the level of unemployment in Haiti. Well, a number
of these people are rural people who are at least sustaining
themselves. Even if they weren't exporting food, the country was able
to provide the rice and the beans that it needed to sustain itself.
So we need to have a sane and rational policy when it comes to Haiti,
a policy of friendship to this country in our hemisphere, not a policy
that cripples Haiti's ability to actually flourish. We have a huge
responsibility here for the hunger that's going on here now, and we
should understand that and not just feel so good about our ourselves
when we send food aid to Haiti, which, of course, we should do and we
should do even more of.
So I appreciate the opportunity to join you tonight, Congresswoman
Clarke. I appreciate your leadership as a new Member of Congress. I so
welcome your leadership on this issue and just want to offer my support
in absolutely any way that I can so that we can be a good neighbor to
Haiti and to the rest of the developing world.
Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.
Ms. CLARKE. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms.
Schakowsky) for her breadth and depth of knowledge of the relationship
that the United States has had with the Nation of Haiti and what we
need to do to turn the tide around. It's a critical piece, and
certainly as we look at our hemisphere going forward in the 21st
century, what our expectations are for the development of not only the
United States of America but our neighbors in the region, your words,
your knowledge is going to be a critical part of what we are going to
need going forward. And I thank you for taking the time to be a part of
this Special Order. The people of the United States thank you for your
commitment and certainly the people of my district who are really

[[Page H4315]]

concerned about their family and their relations in Haiti. Thank you
for your commitment, and we look forward to further conversation and
collaboration on the issue of hunger internationally and specifically
the rebirth and the regrooming of Haiti.
And I would like to just point out life expectancy, again, for women
in Haiti is 56 years old. Life expectancy for men in Haiti, 53 years
old. It's amazing in the 21st century that less than 400 miles away
from the United States of America, we have people dying in the prime of
their life due to a lack of food, due to lack of opportunity. They can
stand on the edge of their shores and see the bright lights of Florida
shining across the seas, but they can't reach for that level of
potential within their own boundaries and their own nation. And when we
look at the relationships that we establish with other nations around
the globe, one has to wonder why, with a nation the size of Maryland
and the population of 9.3 million people, we haven't seen fit yet to
establish the type of relationship that creates a symbiotic
relationship, fertile land on a fertile island; yet people are
starving.
At this time I would like to acknowledge my cohost for this evening's
Special Order. She is no stranger to most of us, to all of us. She has
been an outstanding leader in this Congress and has been an outspoken
leader, the most knowledgeable person that I have had an opportunity to
interact with on international affairs, on homeland security, and has
been a true mentor to me, and that's none other than the Congresswoman
and the gentlewoman from Texas, the Honorable Sheila Jackson-Lee.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. It is a special privilege to be on the
floor tonight with a very distinguished Member of Congress and my
coleader and cosponsor of this Special Order tonight, Congresswoman
Yvette Clarke.
Might I note the special presence, if you will, of a number of
Members from the Congress who have already spoken and pay tribute to
their presence here, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Al Green,
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, for their passion and commitment and take
note and pay special tribute to our speaker tonight, who rounds out the
circle. And we appreciate her for her attentiveness to this very
important discussion and debate. And, likewise, let me add an
appreciation for the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the
officers and members, who have seen fit to be the conscience of this
Congress.

{time} 2230

We have been particularly blessed by Congresswoman Clarke's presence
because I think she represents really a particularly unique
congressional district. It has a history of Shirley Chisolm, and of
course her predecessor, Mr. Owens. But as the district has grown, I
guess because of the initial history of Congresswoman Chisolm from the
Caribbean. As the district has grown, it really exemplifies the
tentacles of America. It is really, I guess, the cornerstone of what
North and South America are about in the Caribbean because your
district has this array of constituencies who represent South and
Central America, the Caribbean, and other parts. It shows this unique
place called America because when I say America, I am talking about
South America, Central America, the Caribbean, this whole part of the
world. For that reason, your insight is crucial.
We have seen the neglect of the Caribbean over the last 8 years,
frankly. And I don't think there would be any debate on that question.
I do know that there are concerned persons in the administration. But,
Congresswoman Clarke, I have sat in meetings at the White House, I have
sat in meetings, frankly, with representatives or Assistant Secretary
of the State Department that sit in hearings and, frankly, you had to
argue with them about the circumstances.
I guess one comes to mind, and I am going to focus on this food
crisis, but I think I relayed to you one meeting in the White House
that really required members of our caucus, the Congressional Black
Caucus, frankly, that song, I shall not be moved. It required persons
not to be moved until we had an opportunity to speak to the President
of the United States. Of course, that was the time of crisis in the
removal of then-President Aristide. Of course, President Preval worked
with him as a prime minister. Then we had an Assistant Secretary for
Western Affairs who was in fact, how shall I call it, an outright
argument about the rightness of what we were doing for Haiti.
Frankly, I think as Americans representing such a diverse Nation, we
should have a better attitude about allies, and Haiti is an ally. As
you know your history, Haitians fought alongside of us. It is the
oldest Democratic Nation in the Caribbean. Its independence was quick,
was immediate almost, because of their great and wonderful founder,
revolutionary that, of course, we saw many of his pictures, Toussaint
Louverture, that we saw many of his pictures in Haiti.
So I say all this to say why do we come to this? Why are we at this
point? Why do we need to be on the floor of the House? Although these
are not exactly pictures taken recently in Haiti, the children
symbolize what we left in Haiti, because we had an urgent mission. We
had to meet with President Preval. Certainly the rural areas were
there, but because it was an urgent mission, we had to focus our trip
on that.
I can imagine when the President told us that 40 percent of the
people in Haiti are eating one meal, and the word people, that means
children, and everyone knows the results that occur when children go
hungry. They are stunted in growth. They are certainly victims of
malnutrition. They are stunted mentally. Who can go to school on a
hungry stomach? One of the reasons we had the breakfast program and the
lunch program here in the United States of America is the fact that we
have studies that show the distinction between children who eat,
nourished, and how they learn, versus a hungry child. See a quiet
child, inattentive in a classroom, you can go to the source most
likely. Can you imagine a country of children who are hungry?
Of course, these faces, for all we know, represent children in Haiti,
of which on this particular trip we were not able to see who may be
huddled in the various mountains and hills looking for food. And so if
I might just share with you that right now we know that there are 850
million people who are chronically or acutely malnourished. That
includes the people of Haiti. Over 300 million of these individuals are
children.
Malnutrition caused by chronic hunger leads to the death of an
estimated 5,600,000 children under 5 years old. According to UNICEF, an
estimated 146 million children, roughly one in four children under 5
years old are underweight. According to a study conducted by the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of children who
died after contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of
children who died after contracting severe diarrhea. An estimate 168
million children under age 5 in developing countries face potential
growth retardation, also known as stunting, as a result of chronic
hunger and malnutrition. Approximately 42 percent of children under 5
years old are stunted in the world's least developed countries.
So I lay the framework out for what we are facing in the country of
Haiti and what President Preval has to deal with. You have a wonderful
poster that indicates how high food is going. And so even now, where we
used to be a high food donor country, but look what countries are
having to pay for corn now, for soybeans, for wheat, and for rice. What
a dilemma. And then, add insult to injure, if you would, as President
Preval has indicated, infrastructure is needed and work is needed.
All of us were moved by the mother who stood up, and didn't look 48
years old, and according to your numbers, she has only 8 more years to
live. She had 10 children. In cultures like that, they are very
dependent on families. Children then go out to work and give back to
families, and parents, because they age quickly, I guess, can retire
back or can sit back with the hope of their children supporting them.
What did she say? She managed to send her children to school, and the
two that are now out and ready, no work. No work.
The food fight, the food riot, as the President indicated, or as we
saw in

[[Page H4316]]

the news, was really because people had no money and no work to buy
food. And so people were rioting because of that. President Preval
wants us to help. What is this administration doing? Not releasing
money the way it should; fighting against TPS, which really makes a
difference. Temporary protective status allows people to stay and work,
Haitians who have suffered this unequal wet foot-dry foot scenario
between our friends from Cuba, and they are our friends. It wasn't a
law that they wrote. But it was written, and I must say this, all of
our Cuban representatives that are here in the United States Congress
have supported equalizing the Haitian disparity issue. We just can't
get it passed; which is to say I have an immigration bill that would
create parity. If you were Haiti, because of the political crisis, you
get your foot on our soil, you too can say.
But putting that aside, we don't have that. But TPS, the President
begged us, President Preval. That would help the food crisis. Why?
Because it would allow people who are here, sending back remittances,
what, a fourth of their economy, to at least be able to send back to
momma, grandma, somebody, so they can eke out a survival.
So to the Congresswoman, so he asked us for infrastructure, clean-
running water that helps you be able to at least cook decent food,
creation of jobs, and if you were to put money in for infrastructure,
people could work. Even though these prices are outrageous, they could
at least minimally begin to bring food in.
One of our colleagues said something that we heard, and that was the
dumbing down of the rice industry, or dumbing down the traditional
foods. President Preval said he would like to get Haitians back to
traditional food, not because he wants to keep them from buying from us
but because what we did is when rice was cheap, we dumbed them down
from raising rice, meaning, Oh, I don't have to worry about raising
rice. Let me raise something else. I don't know what the decision was
because I am going to get what he called ``Miami rice.'' Look what
happened. They stopped growing. I assume Miami rice has gotten way,
way, way expensive. They are not growing the traditional foods. And
look where we are.
So, Congresswoman, I want to thank you for raising or giving us the
opportunity. I am delighted to be your coleader and cosponsor because
out of these discussions I hope it comes the finger on the phone, the
finger on the e-mail, Haitians around the country pressing their phone
buttons and calling Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to
join us in our fight for the TPS.
We know a number of our colleagues have been working on this issue,
from Congressman Hastings, myself, you, Congressman Kendrick Meek from
Florida, Congresswoman Corrine Brown. I may have left off someone.
There's a number of people that understand the realities of that. So
press your button wherever you are, get your e-mail out. We have to get
relief with a temporary reprieve on TPS.
The second thing is that the administration needs to make an
immediate commitment for food relief and the releasing of dollars for
Haiti, a country whose singular--who could have only one reason for us
helping them is the blood they shed from our Freedom Fight, for our
Revolution, the blood they shed when they stood alongside of us in the
Revolutionary War. No one can take that away from them in terms of
relationship with the United States.
So I want to join you, and as I close yield to the gentlelady, just
engage her in a question, because I would like to ask a question. I
would commit our colleagues as well to H. Con. Res. 344. You are an
original cosponsor. It is to say in any food aid, we need to prioritize
children. Certainly I believe we can add pregnant women and mothers,
nursing mothers, a vulnerable population. I think that would be an
excellent addition. But I do think what happens to our children
dictates what happens to the future of the country because if you have
stunted children with inability to learn, what do you have in the
future.
I would ask the gentlelady, and so I hope people will come on the
bill H. Con. Res. 344. I hope we can mark it up soon, get it to the
floor of the House, and maybe expand on some aspects of it.
I rise tonight, together with my colleagues Congresswoman Yvette
Clarke, as well as the House Hunger Caucus, to address a grave and
growing humanitarian crisis. With rising food prices threatening the
health of millions of people throughout the world, it is vital that we
look for both short-term responses to the crisis and long-term
solutions to ongoing food instability.
As my colleagues are aware, according to the United Nations, over
850,000,000 people in the world are chronically or acutely
malnourished, and over 300,000,000 of these are children. The
statistics are both shocking and tragic: Malnutrition caused by chronic
hunger leads to the death of an estimated 5,600,000 children under 5
years old; according to UNICEF, an estimated 146,000,000 children, or
roughly one in every four children under 5 years old, are underweight;
according to a study conducted by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of children who died after
contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of children
who died after contracting severe diarrhea; an estimated 168,000,000
children under age five in developing countries face potential growth
retardation, also known as stunting, as a result of chronic hunger and
undernutrition; approximately 42 percent of children under 5 years old
are stunted in the world's least developed countries.
Rising food prices have precipitated a crisis situation. On March
20th of this year, the U.N. World Food Program made an urgent appeal to
the United States and other food aid donors for an additional $500
million to fill a funding gap caused by rising food and fuel prices.
Since then, this gap has expanded, and is now an estimated $755
million. As food prices rise, children are the first to suffer.
Earlier this month, with the support of 46 of my colleagues, I
introduced H. Con. Res. 344. This resolution recognizes that we face a
global food crisis, and that children will be disproportionately
affected by rising food prices. The bill states that:

(1) it is the sense of Congress that--
(A) in emergency situations, children have different needs
than those of adults, and nutritional deficiencies
disproportionately affect children; and
(B) in the context of the current global food crisis, the
nutritional needs of children must be a humanitarian
priority; and
(2) Congress--
(A) recognizes that we are facing a global food crisis
caused by, among other things, rising fuel prices, increased
diversion of land to biofuel production, drought, and
increases in population;
(B) recognizes that lack of adequate nutrition is
particularly damaging to children, as it stunts their growth,
leaves them more vulnerable to numerous diseases, and hunger
affects children's ability to learn; and
(C) calls for a world forum to be held, on the issue of
rising food prices and international response, and for the
United States to play an active role in alleviating the
crisis.

I urge all my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important
legislation.
This issue has drawn the attention of the Congressional Children's
Caucus, which I chair, because hunger and malnutrition have a
particularly devastating effect on children. On May 8th together with
Global Health Caucus Co-Chair Betty McCollum and Donald Payne, Chairman
of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, I
hosted a briefing on the global food crisis and its impact on the
world's children. Members, staff, and the public heard from expert
panelists from UNICEF, WFP, World Vision, Save the Children, Christian
Children's Fund, and the Congressional Hunger Center, as well as Danny
Glover, actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the TransAfrica Forum.
Lack of adequate nutrition stunts children's growth, leaves them more
vulnerable to numerous diseases, and affects their ability to learn.
Even temporary deprivation of essential nutrients can have a lasting
impact on children's physical growth and intellectual potential, and,
under current conditions, more and more children face the prospect of
growing up malnourished.
As a result of rising food prices, families throughout the world,
particularly in developing nations but also here, in the United States,
are increasingly facing a decision between quantity and quality when
buying food. With incomes stretched thinner by the day, many families
must either buy significantly smaller quantities of food, or purchase
less nutritious food. In times of food crisis, families face cuts in
expensive foods, such as meat, fruit, and vegetables. The loss of these
nutritious foods, in favor of cheaper staples such as rice and maize,
is extremely detrimental to children's development, putting them at
greater risk of disease or stunted growth. The full extent of the
consequences of deprivation of vital nutrients during essential stages
of growth is not known. However, it is clear that once children's
growth is stunted by malnutrition, they

[[Page H4317]]

do not catch up to their peers. The effects will be lifelong.
We now are facing a crisis of epic proportions. The World Food
Programme, which fed over 19 million children in schools last year,
finds its budget stretched to the limit, and now needs an estimated
$755 million to cover the increased cost of food and fuel. To cite one
example, WFP's Kenya programme faces having to cut food to 550,000
children in schools this year. And this is just one example, in one
country.
Rising food prices have caused riots in nations including Haiti,
Bangladesh, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, and Senegal.
In April, a week of unrest in Haiti began with violence in Les Cayes
and spread to Port-au-Prince and other cities, in which at least six
people were killed. Though the violence has ended, slum leaders in a
nation where many people live on less than $2 a day have expressed
their willingness to take to the streets if the crisis is not
alleviated. Families are particularly affected. One woman, Jacqueline
Emile, stated, ``I have 10 children. I cannot send them to school and I
cannot feed them because I am not working. I would like the government
to help me.'' A school in Port-au-Prince, the Saint Vincent de Paul
primary school, which provides lunches of beans and rice supplemented
with vitamins, reports that it can now can only feed 1,300 of its 2,100
students.
The crisis is also deeply felt across much of Africa. According to
the NGO Action Against Hunger, nearly 20 percent of children tested in
Monrovia, Liberia were suffering from acute malnutrition. Brenda
Kerubo, a housewife in Kisumu, Kenya, spoke of the need to cut back
family meals, stating, ``the best thing to do for my family is to
reduce meals taken in a day. I may give them a cup of tea with a piece
of pancake for breakfast and two cups of porridge for lunch and then I
cook beans and maize for supper. We hope prices will soon come down.''
Her family, like so many others, is substituting cheap starches for
more nutritious (and more expensive) meat, fruits, and vegetables.
The scope of this crisis spans the globe. In the wake of the
devastating cyclone in Myanmar, children face risks from lack of clean
water and poor sanitation, as well as inadequate nutrition. Under these
conditions, children are increasingly susceptible to diarrhea, as well
as mosquito borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Women and
children, who make up more than 60 per cent of Myanmar's population,
and are likely to be gravely affected. Food aid to the children caught
up in the midst of this terrifying situation must be a priority.

According to the United Nations, the cyclone in Myanmar has damaged
that nation's fragile ecosystem, with far-reaching effects on food
production. Myanmar is currently a rice exporting nation, and farmers
in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region produce two-thirds of the
nation's rice supply. The U.N. has warned that if farmers in the
cyclone-affected areas do not receive rice seed by June, Burma's rice
harvest will fail.
Another nation suffering is Cambodia. In the Sun Sun primary school,
for example, teacher Taoch Champa says that ``Most students come to
school for the breakfast,'' and principle Yim Soeurn adds that
``Students brought their brothers and sisters, 2, 3, and 4 years old''
for the WFP-provided free breakfast. Teachers also note that providing
this free meal has vastly increased attendance, particularly by girls,
and they fear that if the program ended, ``poor students would not come
to school.'' However, 1,343 schools across Cambodia are within 1 month
of running out of rice stocks, and soaring food prices have placed
WFP's future activity in the country in severe doubt.
According to comments made by Pakistani officials in recent days,
that nation's production of wheat is expected to fall short of needs by
a million tons. Authorities have issued warnings that people hoarding
wheat will have their stocks confiscated if they refuse to sell it to
government agencies.
The United Nations has made ending global poverty a long term goal,
included in the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, the U.N. has
recognized the scope of the current food crisis, and U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon has proposed a task force, to be composed of the
heads of United Nations agencies and the World Bank, to address the
problem caused by soaring food prices. Ban Ki-Moon has also made
closing the WFP funding gap a priority.
Likewise, we are gathered here today in recognition of the looming
crisis. Tackling worldwide hunger is a moral imperative which threatens
the political and economic stability of a multitude of developing
nations. The dramatic increase in food prices will continue to have a
destabilizing affect in already unstable regions of the world where so
many young lives are already vulnerable to ongoing conflicts and
political turmoil.
But I want to yield to the gentlelady and ask her and pose this
question to her, and that is what have you seen, living in your great
congressional district, listening to Haitians firsthand, have been the
results of the unequal treatment of Haitians and Haiti? What are the
results that are here in the United States, what do you see in your own
constituents, what kind of questions are they asking the United States
Congress on why we have not acted, and what does that say about
America?
Ms. CLARKE. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for yielding
and for posing that question because certainly Haitian Americans are
very aware of the history, the role that they played in helping the
United States acquire what was then called the Louisiana Territory that
completed our United States and the side-by-side battle in the
Revolutionary War. And they wonder why the relationship has not been a
much more prosperous one between the two nations, why they have been
forsaken over so long.
Haiti has been an independent Nation for over 200 years, 205 years,
to be exact, and certainly have been worthy of being a partner in the
development in this hemisphere. And they are concerned. They are
concerned that perhaps there is some bias involved, there's some
discrimination because they're a Nation 95 percent of African descent,
and they have been used during different times in our history to halt
the spread of Communism. But they have never reaped any real reward or
collaboration.
I think we are all open now, understanding that we are connected. We
are in a global economy, we are in a global world. As our prices spike,
the impact has a ripple effect around the world, as we talk about food
for fuel versus food for food, what the impact has been around the
world. I think that is most demonstrably shown with the Nation of
Haiti. And none of us can turn a blind eye to that.
So I want to thank the gentlelady for raising that question. We are
winding down now. To my cohost, thank you very much for, again, being a
mentor and someone who provides guidance and understanding around some
very complex issues with regard to why we do or do not do the things
that we need to do, that are imperative for us to do in terms of our
international relations, in terms of our hemisphere, in terms of just
getting information permeated throughout the body to get a consensus on
a way to go.

{time} 2245

I think we are well on the way. We have got some commitments so far.
We want to be vigilant in our oversight and seeing them go through. But
we do want to press for TPS. We know that that can be a real part of
the economic sustainability of the Nation, which is critical, and while
we come in with other strategies for immediate relief for the hunger
that takes place.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. If the gentlewoman would yield for just a
moment, on that very note, this is the People's House, and what I would
like to encourage right now on the floor of the House is let us call
for Haitian-Americans who are here in the United States to come to
Washington. Some are as close as your congressional district.
Let us collectively merge our bills, or maybe reintroduce all of our
bills or portions of our bills that we have and make that push, I would
never use the term ultimatum, but make the urgent push that we need to
move forward on hearings dealing with TPS.
That is the first step of moving toward a markup of some component
thereof of a TPS. Temporary. It could be a TPS for a year. That is what
we did with El Salvador, and then it was renewed. We did it with
Liberia, that was deferred, DED, I believe. So we have had these
moments when there is a crisis. There is clearly a crisis in Haiti. And
I would like to join with the gentlewoman to organize that and call
that session in and make the point that we need to move on that issue
as quickly as possible.
Ms. CLARKE. Our time has expired, my colleague. I just wanted to
thank the Speaker for this Special Order on the international food
crisis, subject Haiti.
I would just acknowledge that we have received statements to this
Special Order from Congressman James McGovern of Massachusetts to be
entered into the Record, as well as Representative Pomeroy to be
entered into the Record.

[[Page H4318]]

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of
the Congress and to the American people the plight the western
hemisphere's second oldest republic, Haiti. The Haitian people are
being negatively affected by market forces out of their control that
have driven food prices up drastically. Haiti, where about 4 out of 5
people live at or below poverty, is an island nation that consists of
approximately 8.7 million people. To put this in perspective, imagine
the city of New York; now imagine that same city with 80 percent of its
citizens in poverty.
The American people and Congress have already assisted Haiti with the
HOPE and HOPE II (Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership
Encouragement) Acts. HOPE was the tip of the iceberg. It provided jobs
to allow Haitians to overcome poverty. HOPE II will create even more
gainful employment and more sustainable jobs for Haitians and create a
self-sustaining infrastructure. These acts will provide jobs needed to
help more Haitian citizens emerge from poverty and gain employment
which will lead to a more prosperous Haiti.
However, there is much more work to be done Madam Speaker. Right now
the World Food Program is in need of $755 million to meet immediate
demands and USAID also needs an additional $240 million. Increases in
these programs will ensure that school food programs in the developing
world are not eliminated due to current food price inflation. The food
price escalation is also affecting the region as a whole.
Due to escalating market prices, in rural El Salvador, with the same
amount of money today, people can purchase 50 percent less food than
they did 18 months ago. This means that, in principle, their
nutritional intake, on an already poor diet, is being cut by half.
In Nicaragua the price of tortilla went up 54 percent between January
2007 and January 2008.
We cannot let our neighbors suffer due to circumstances out of their
control. We have taken small steps but now the government of the United
States must be an active agent in the development of the third world.
We must follow the lead of our philanthropic and non-profit sectors.
Too often those in government see aid to developing nations as a
waste of money, throwing taxpayers dollars down a well. India is a
great example of the benefits of foreign aid. In the 1960s American
dollars funded fertilizer subsidies and high yield seed varieties led
India out of poverty and famine into self-subsistence. India is now
entering the developing world, so much so that their demand for
processed foods is now decreasing the supply of food aid available to
countries such as Haiti.
This can happen in Haiti if the United States focuses on delivering
basic goods to the hemisphere's poorest people. By increasing vaccines,
textbooks, water pipes, and medical care we will not make countries
dependent, we will be giving Haitians the basic inputs they need to
improve their lives. We must invest in high-yield, proven, and scalable
strategies to empower the Haitian people and those suffering throughout
the world.
Mr. POMEROY. Madam Speaker, we are in the midst of a global food
crisis. Rising food prices are negatively affecting the world's poorest
people, who frequently spend 80 percent of their income on food. As a
result, the world's most vulnerable populations, including an entire
generation of children, are fighting malnutrition every day. Riots and
social unrest all over the world over food prices are indicative of the
acute nature of this problem. The time to act is now.
Over the last 50 years, the United States has been the leader in
international food aid. We have been able to sustain this role even
during eras that were extremely tough on foreign aid. This doesn't mean
that the structure can't be improved, but I do believe it is a strong
testament to the current structure.
Through the Food, Conservation and Security Act of 2008, also known
as the farm bill, we look to address this global crisis by helping to
fight hunger and provide food assistance around the world. The farm
bill does this by increasing oversight and monitoring of food aid
programs. It requires the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) to increase the use of program monitors, conduct
more evaluations of food aid impact, and implement best practices for
food aid delivery. The farm bill will also allow USAID to pre-position
more food overseas to respond to disasters more quickly. With greater
attention toward identifying food shortages earlier, the food aid
programs can reach people in need and respond before crises worsen.
I am also very proud to say that the farm bill establishes a $60
million pilot program for local or regional purchases of food aid. This
pilot program provides the opportunity for local purchases of food aid
commodities while ensuring that the purchases do not cause dramatic
price increases or exacerbate shortages overseas.
While I am extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish
through the farm bill, this is a serious situation that we must
continue to address. As a member of the House Hunger Caucus, I look
forward to working with my colleagues to address the issue of world
hunger.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, every five seconds, a child dies from
hunger-related causes. That's the equivalent of 21 school busses full
of children being killed every day. With the current food crisis, even
more people are being put at risk of starvation as the prices of daily
food staples move out of reach. This is not just tragic; it is
shameful. We have the resources necessary to end hunger. What we need
is the political will to do so.
Madam Speaker, I've never heard any Member of Congress declare that
he or she is pro-hunger. But regrettably, too few are actively working
to rid our Nation and the world of this terrible scourge. I am very
proud of the members of the bipartisan House Hunger Caucus who have
taken up the task of raising the profile of this domestic and global
issue and helping to educate their colleagues about how we can address
and end not just the crisis caused by rising food costs, but hunger
itself.
As the world faces a crisis of hunger, it is increasingly more
important that Members of Congress speak out against hunger and take
action to ensure that action is taken to truly address the crisis.
Thank you to Yvette Clarke and Sheila Jackson-Lee for their leadership
in organizing this Special Order Hour and for all those participating
tonight. The time to end hunger is now. We cannot wait while more
children and families go without food, or even starve to death.
Tonight, in the aftermath of the earthquake in China and the cyclone
in Burma, we hold the victims of these disasters in our thoughts. We
see, once again, the generosity of the world in reaching out to these
victims of natural catastrophe.
But the children of Haiti, the urban poor of Manila, the refugees in
Darfur--and, literally, the hundreds of millions of people around the
world and in our own country who do not know whether there will be food
on the table tonight or tomorrow--our thoughts and our prayers are with
them, too. But more importantly, we send to them our commitment to take
action on their behalf, and to take action in support of their own
efforts to help themselves. Together we can overcome this current
crisis, and together we can end hunger in our lifetime.

____________________