[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 172 (Thursday, November 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11596-S11605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 2805. A bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to 
increase the amount made available to purchase commodities for the 
emergency food assistance program in fiscal year 2010; to the Committee 
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I seek recognition to introduce 
legislation to deal with the pressing problem of hunger in the United 
States. The report of the Economic Research Service of the Department 
of Agriculture on Monday, November 16--3 days ago--disclosed some 
startling facts about hunger in America. The report showed there are 49 
million Americans who experienced hunger last year. Among that number, 
17 million were children, and 500,000 of those children were under the 
age of 6, which is a critical stage in childhood development.
  The hunger problem hit disproportionately higher for Hispanics at 27 
percent higher and African Americans at 26 percent higher. It is hard 
to find a sufficiently tough word to describe it--scandalous, 
outrageous, criminal, repugnant--that in this land of plenty, we should 
find Americans who are hungry. It is unacceptable to have people hungry 
anywhere in the world, but right here in our own backyard for this 
situation to exist is beyond the pale.
  Having read the article on the 16th, I contacted the Secretary of 
Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, discussed the issue with him, and I am now 
introducing legislation which will add $250 million to the food banks 
to try to deal with this issue on an emergency basis. It would be my 
hope that this is the kind of legislation which could be passed very 
promptly--hopefully, before Christmas of this year during our current 
session--to take some immediate action to replenish the food banks so 
people in America are not hungry.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my full statement be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Senator Arlen Specter--Statement on the Introduction of Legislation 
                  Providing for Emergency Food Relief

       Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to 
     introduce legislation addressing our nation's hunger crisis. 
     The United States Department of Agriculture just released its 
     annual report on Household Food Security in the United 
     States. This report finds that 49 million Americans, 17 
     million of whom are children, experienced food insecurity and 
     hunger in 2008. Poverty is the underlying cause of this 
     problem. While job creation policies to lift these Americans 
     out of poverty are being implemented, Congress must provide 
     immediate relief so that they have access to the nutrition 
     necessary to live a healthful and productive life.
       The USDA report contains alarming data on the struggles 
     faced by too many American families. In 2008, 17 million 
     households reported being food insecure, that is to say they 
     lacked access to enough food for an active and healthy life. 
     This is an increase from 13 million households in 2007. In my 
     state of Pennsylvania, 11.2 percent of our 4,970,000 
     households reported being food insecure, and 4.2 percent 
     reported very low food security, meaning they were unable to 
     eat at various times over the year.
       Of these 49 million Americans who reported hunger, 12 
     million adults and 5.2 million children reported periods of 
     extreme hunger, possibly going days without eating. The data 
     shows that black and Hispanic households experienced food 
     insecurity at rates far higher than the national average at 
     26 percent and 27 percent respectively.
       Among the 17 million children, nearly half a million under 
     the age of 6 were hungry. This is a critical stage of 
     childhood development that is being undermined by a lack of 
     access to proper nutrition, which is necessary for learning 
     and academic achievement.
       Fortunately, Congress has taken steps to address this 
     important issue, appropriating for fiscal year 2010 $9.2 
     billion for the School Lunch Program and $171 million for the 
     Commodity Supplemental Food Program which provides nutrition 
     assistance to mothers, children and the elderly. The economic 
     stimulus package contained more than $20 billion for 
     nutrition assistance. Yet, this USDA study shows us that more 
     is needed.
       That is why I am introducing legislation to double spending 
     on The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, from $250 
     to $500 million annually. Through TEFAP, the USDA makes 
     commodity and food purchases and then distributes nutrition 
     assistance to states based on need. The numbers show us there 
     is great need.
       According to Feeding America, which operates 205 food banks 
     nationwide and 10 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 99 
     percent of their food banks experienced an increase in demand 
     during the month of September 2009 and 91 percent of food 
     banks reported unemployment as a critical factor driving the 
     increase in emergency food assistance. Unfortunately 51 
     percent of these food banks had to turn someone away in the 
     last year. By doubling TEFAP spending, Congress would 
     significantly increase the amount of food being delivered to 
     local food banks, ensuring that less Americans go hungry.

[[Page S11605]]

       According to the Department of Agriculture, nearly 27 
     percent of the 356 billion pounds of available food in 
     America is wasted each year. That is nearly 100 billion 
     pounds of waste, when according the charity Feeding America 
     only 5 billion pounds of food is needed to eliminate hunger. 
     In a country with such a food abundance, it is criminal that 
     children to go to bed hungry. Our country has a developed 
     network of food assistance providers in place. Government 
     agencies, community food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, 
     shelters and churches all stand ready to address the 
     challenge of combating hunger. Let us provide them the 
     resources they need. The legislation I am introducing today 
     will do that and will stem the tide of hunger.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2805

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) more than 1 in 7 households in the United States 
     struggled to find enough to eat during 2008;
       (2) poverty is the primary cause of food insecurity and 
     hunger in the United States;
       (3) the annual report of the Economic Research Service of 
     the Department of Agriculture on household food security in 
     the United States found that in 2008, 17,000,000 households 
     were food insecure, an increase from 13,000,000 households in 
     2007;
       (4) the term ``low food security'' means people being 
     unable to consistently get enough to eat and the term ``very 
     low food security'' means people being hungry at various 
     times over the year and being unable to eat because of lack 
     of money to purchase food;
       (5) the 17,000,000 food insecure households in the United 
     States are home to 49,000,000 Americans, of whom--
       (A) 17,000,000 are children, among whom nearly 500,000 in 
     the developmentally critical years under the age of 6 are 
     going hungry; and
       (B) 12,000,000 adults and 5,200,000 children reported 
     experiencing severe hunger, possibly going days without 
     eating;
       (6) good nutrition is necessary for learning and academic 
     achievement; and
       (7) Black and Hispanic households experienced food 
     insecurity at far higher rates (25.7 percent in the case of 
     Black households and 26.9 percent in the case of Hispanic 
     households) than the national average.

     SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF COMMODITIES FOR THE EMERGENCY FOOD 
                   ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

       Section 27(a)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2009 (7 
     U.S.C. 2036(a)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (E);
       (3) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated)--
       (A) by striking ``each of fiscal years 2010 through 2012'' 
     and inserting ``fiscal year 2012''; and
       (B) by striking ``subparagraph (B)'' and inserting 
     ``subparagraph (D)''; and
       (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
       ``(C) for fiscal year 2010, $500,000,000;
       ``(D) for fiscal year 2011, $250,000,000, as adjusted in 
     accordance with subparagraph (E); and''.

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