[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  INTERNATIONAL FOOD CRISIS AND HAITI

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. MICHAEL R. McNULTY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2008

  Mr. McNULTY. Madam Speaker, millions are being swept away in a 
``silent tsunami.'' Drought and ever-climbing prices coupled with the 
mounting demand of nations unable to sustain themselves have wrought 
devastating food shortages from the Philippines, to Egypt, to our 
neighbor Haiti. Starving families turn to cakes baked of sugar, oil, 
and mud. Parents avoid eye contact with the children they cannot feed. 
Rioters, unable to afford even a loaf of bread, fill the streets. And 
this Congress is not deaf to their cries.
  Not the product of a disaster or war, this crisis of unprecedented 
price increases will linger and spread without action. So far, an 
additional 100 million people are estimated to have been pushed into 
poverty. Hardest hit by its inability to provide enough food for its 
growing population, Haiti, in our own backyard, Madam Speaker, where 
over half the population lives on less than $1 a day, is left to the 
mercy of the global community; and right now, USAID is delivering over 
6,820 tons of food aid.
  But more needs to be done. The dread, uncertainty, cruelty, and 
suffering of hunger have become a reality for too many for too long and 
I am proud of the work being done in this Congress to stem that tide. 
In just the past 2 weeks, we have added to and enhanced the tools in 
America's toolbox for fighting starvation.
  The Farm Bill we just sent to the President's desk reauthorizes many 
of our most important programs for fighting hunger, addressing both the 
immediate demands of the crisis and recognizing the work needed for the 
long-term goal of prevention. In the face of this epidemic, it is all 
the more vital that President Bush sign these essential programs into 
law.
  This bill extends until 2012 the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, 
allowing us to continue to respond to the unanticipated and unexpected 
crises that may emerge. I was happy to hear last month that President 
Bush ordered the release of $200 million in emergency food aid from the 
Trust, but without replenishment, the benefit of this stockpile of cash 
and commodities will be unavailable to us in the future.
  Hoping to create a bulwark against this spread of hunger and rising 
prices at home, many governments have been pushed by the fear of 
impending food shortages to the false hope of halting or restricting 
food exports. This beggar thy neighbor strategy will only make the 
situation worse and shows our need to promote long-term food production 
and security.
  To this end, the just-passed Farm Bill has reauthorized $2.5 billion 
for our vital Title 11 spending, with an additional $850 million for 
this year in last week's supplemental. Our most powerful instrument, 
these dollars are administered by USAID every year to address global 
food needs. Yet in 2007, only 20 percent of this went to non-emergency 
development projects. The emergencies in countries like Haiti deserve 
an immediate response, but without longer-term diversified food 
production, conservation, and infrastructure projects, this crisis will 
only deepen, which is why this Congress mandated that no less than $375 
million a year be spent on these production, development, and security 
goals. The Farm Bill has implemented newer approaches, as well, 
including an authorization for a $60 million pilot program for local 
and regional food purchases, avoiding deadly time lags in delivery and 
eliminating high transportation costs.
  This crisis will not go away on its own, Madam Speaker, as every day 
more people are born into this world unable to eat. Let these programs 
in last week's Farm Bill be the launching-off point for our continued 
and deepened commitment to battling this crisis.

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