[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 9 (Thursday, January 15, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E98]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 15, 2009

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, it was my honor today to be recognized 
by Global Action for Children with the Champion for Children Award. 
Launched in 2003, the Global Action for Children is a nonpartisan, 
results-oriented coalition dedicated to advocating for orphans and 
highly vulnerable children in the developing world. I intended to give 
the following remarks, but was unable to do so due to Congressional 
business. I would like to enter my remarks for this event into the 
Congressional record.

              Comments on the Champion for Children Award

       Good afternoon.
       It is an honor to receive this award from Global Action for 
     Children. Long after I am gone from Washington, if there is 
     one thing people say about me, I hope it is ``she was a 
     champion for children.''
       I would like to thank Jennifer Delaney for all of her work 
     and for the hard work of her staff. I first worked with 
     Jennifer in 2003 on the original PEPFAR bill to secure 
     funding for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. Jennifer's 
     dedication and commitment to fight for children around the 
     world--and to build the partnerships necessary to be 
     successful--is an inspiration. She is a tremendous resource 
     for Members' offices and I am very proud to be here with her 
     today.
       I would also like to congratulate my colleagues from the 
     Senate--Senators Lugar and Dodd--on their awards today. Their 
     commitment to children is well known and I look forward to 
     working with them in the 111th Congress to make the needs of 
     our planet's next generation a priority domestic and foreign 
     policy issue.
       I came to Congress eight years ago. During my time as in 
     the U.S. House there have 80 million newborns and young 
     children around the world have died from mostly preventable 
     or easily treatable diseases--80 million children.
       Four million mothers have died from pregnancy related 
     causes, most of which could have been averted with access to 
     basic healthcare.
       Nearly 10 million more children will needlessly die across 
     this planet from malnutrition, dirty water, treatable 
     infections, and global apathy. This is a tragedy of enormous 
     proportions that we can help to stop--we MUST help to stop.
       For all the mothers and fathers in the room today, do you 
     think a mother or father in Bangladesh, Zambia or Guatemala 
     loves their newborn or toddler less than we love our 
     children?
       Every parent loves their children and wants them not only 
     to survive but thrive and succeed.
       In the 111th Congress, let us work together--policy makers, 
     global health advocates and citizens--to make the policy 
     improvements and funding investments to save the lives of 
     millions more newborns, children and mothers.
       Let us work to make child survival and maternal health the 
     global health priority of this Congress.
       As President-elect Obama looks at the foreign policy 
     landscape there needs to be some major reforms in the manner 
     in which development assistance is delivered.
       We need a new comprehensive strategy and the tools to 
     execute that strategy. We need to invest the hard earned tax 
     dollars of our citizens in building a better world--a safer 
     world--a more peaceful world. And, we need to see outcomes 
     for our investments that can be demonstrated.
       Here is an investment idea and an outcome I'd like to see 
     this Congress act upon: How about investing a billion dollars 
     to save the lives of a million newborns and children? Do you 
     think the American people would support a billion dollar 
     investment that saved a million young lives?
       I think they would.
       Congress, working hand-in-hand with the Obama 
     Administration, needs to refocus our strategy for development 
     assistance to focus on the basics. In addition to focusing on 
     child survival and maternal health, we need to increase 
     investment in agriculture development to reduce malnutrition, 
     increase family incomes and reduce the demand for emergency 
     food aid.
       Let us help to expand access to clean water, preventing 
     water born illnesses.
       We must maintain our commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS while 
     not backing away from the need to assist orphans and 
     vulnerable children grow up healthy, productive and safe in 
     their communities.
       Finally, we need a foreign policy that recognizes that 
     hundreds of millions of children around the world are 
     confronting violence, absolute poverty, hunger and lives of 
     misery on a daily basis.
       Think of the children in Gaza, in the Democratic Republic 
     of Congo, in Zimbabwe and how they are suffering. Their lives 
     will forever be shaped by violence. We need to work to make 
     the world safe for children and that means aggressive, smart 
     diplomacy that works to prevent political crisis and 
     conflicts. If we are truly a superpower we need not simply 
     stand by and watch the escalation of violence and suffering, 
     we must work to prevent it.
       Let start making the world safer for children by advancing 
     a child-based development agenda--such as the emergency 
     presidential intitiative for the world's children being 
     proposed by Global Action for Children here today. This is 
     exactly the type of bold commitment the United States should 
     and can make to the world's children.
       Let me conclude by speaking about commitment. Every parent 
     knows that bringing a child into this world means a 
     commitment until that child becomes an adult. It means 
     meeting the child's physical needs, creating a safe 
     environment, sharing love and protecting your child from 
     harm. This is universal across all cultures.
       A similar type of commitment on the part of states to 
     children is embodied in the United Nations Convention on the 
     Rights of the Child. Yet, the United States, along with 
     Somalia, are the only two nations on the face of the Earth 
     which have not ratified this treaty, not formalized our 
     commitment to our own children and the world's children. This 
     is an embarrassment that I hope is addressed by the U.S. 
     Senate this Congress.
       Every child--where ever he or she is born--is a child of 
     God and a blessing.
       Therefore, every child should be recognized as possessing 
     the human dignity and basic human rights we all share and we 
     all expect for our own children. If this is in fact true and 
     you believe it, and I know you do--then we've got lots of 
     work to do.
       Thank you all for making the world's children a priority 
     and for recognizing that their rights and their well-being 
     are as important as our own children's.

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