[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 4, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H1570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HOUSE HUNGER CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, later this morning, I will be joined by my 
Republican colleague Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins of Kansas at D.C. 
Central Kitchen to officially relaunch the House Hunger Caucus.
  I couldn't be happier that we are continuing this important 
bipartisan caucus in the 114th Congress. I am thrilled to have her 
partnership in this caucus, and I look forward to working with her.
  Mr. Speaker, several years ago, my good friend and former Republican 
colleague from Missouri Jo Ann Emerson and I founded the House Hunger 
Caucus as a forum for Members to discuss, advance, engage, and work on 
issues related to domestic and international hunger and food 
insecurity.
  Over the years, the House Hunger Caucus has hosted a number of 
briefings on topics ranging from introductions to the major domestic 
and international hunger programs, to food deserts in rural and urban 
America, to global agriculture and farmer-to-farmer initiatives, to 
international school feeding and child nutrition programs, just to name 
a few.
  The caucus doesn't just look at existing programs. It also gets 
involved in emergency responses as they are unfolding. In 2011, during 
one of the worst droughts in recent memory, the House Hunger Caucus 
held timely briefings on the U.S. response to the famine in the Horn of 
Africa. Members and staff were able to hear directly from those on the 
ground providing assistance to deal with this unprecedented crisis.
  One of the most important objectives of the House Hunger Caucus is to 
foster better communication among antihunger advocates by bringing 
together stakeholders from Federal agencies, State and local 
governments, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, academia, and 
business to discuss long-term strategies for ending hunger. The caucus 
also serves as a vehicle for antihunger organizations to communicate 
directly to Congress about hunger and food insecurity issues.
  One of my top priorities for the House Hunger Caucus this year is to 
make sure we hear directly from those who have experienced hunger and 
poverty firsthand. We need to make sure that their voices are heard in 
the discussions here in Washington.
  One of the greatest assets of the House Hunger Caucus is that it is 
bipartisan--Republicans and Democrats. It is a way for Members to come 
together to work to end hunger.
  Mr. Speaker, there is not a congressional district in the United 
States of America that is hunger-free, not a single one. According to 
the USDA, more than 17.5 million American households were food insecure 
in 2013, meaning that their access to adequate food was limited by a 
lack of money or other resources; 5.6 percent of households were 
considered to have very low food security. In other words, those 
households were hungry.
  Hunger disproportionately affects the most vulnerable among us: 
children, seniors, and the disabled. Last year, 16 million children, or 
one in five, experienced hunger, and increasingly, veterans and 
military families are experiencing hunger.
  On the international side, about 805 million people in the world, or 
one in nine, suffer from hunger, according to the most recent U.N. 
reports. This is a decrease of 100 million over the past decade and 209 
million since the early 1990s.
  The U.S. can be proud of its leadership in reducing global hunger and 
addressing the root causes of food insecurity. Through partnerships 
with other nations, international organizations, our own farmers, NGOs, 
and private sector communities, we are advancing agricultural 
development; increasing child nutrition; reducing malnutrition among 
infants and children; empowering small farmers around the globe, 
especially women; and providing nutritious meals in school settings. 
While the journey is long, we now have a proven and coordinated set of 
programs that effectively address global hunger.
  Mr. Speaker, as we reestablish the House Hunger Caucus, I can't think 
of a better location to launch it at than D.C. Central Kitchen, a 
unique antihunger organization that prepares 5,000 meals a day for more 
than 80 local nonprofit partners, helping those going through tough 
times.
  One of D.C. Central Kitchen's greatest strengths is its culinary jobs 
training program, where men and women who have faced the most difficult 
of situations--homelessness, addiction, or incarceration--participate 
in a rigorous job training program to prepare for culinary careers.
  As part of our kickoff this week, the House Hunger Caucus will host a 
briefing for House staff entitled ``Domestic Hunger 101'' tomorrow at 1 
p.m. The briefing will be given by CRS experts and is intended to 
present a broad overview of the major domestic Federal antihunger 
programs.
  I look forward to continuing this important work of the House Hunger 
Caucus with the gentlewoman from Kansas, Congresswoman Jenkins. I 
encourage my House colleagues to join the House Hunger Caucus.
  As Members, we don't have to agree on everything to agree on 
something, and ending hunger should be something we all can agree on.

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