[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO CINDY McCAIN

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my friend Cindy 
McCain for her incredible work as executive director of the World Food 
Programme.
  Cindy assumed leadership of the World Food Programme in 2023 and has 
since been a clear voice for hungry families around the world. She has 
done this work during a critical period of time, as hunger and food 
insecurity reached alarming levels. She has been an advocate for people 
around the world facing hunger, malnutrition, displacement, and trauma, 
and she has been a leader in delivering vital assistance.
  In recent years, we have seen global food insecurity rise around the 
world, primarily as a result of conflict and the ensuing displacement, 
continuing climate shocks and droughts that disrupt food supplies, and 
a world economy characterized by uneven growth and high food prices. As 
leader of the World Food Programme, Cindy strengthened the ability of 
the WFP to respond to all of these factors and worked to modernize the 
agency so that it could sustain and improve its work delivering food 
assistance.
  Cindy has been a clear voice for food aid in Ukraine and Gaza. She 
has been steadfast in her support of Ukraine in the face of Russian 
aggression and worked tirelessly to help Ukraine maintain and build its 
agricultural sector. She also visited Gaza in August of 2025, pointing 
out the deepening crisis and calling for a surge of aid to help 
suffering families.
  And as this administration worked to dramatically cut out global food 
assistance programs, Cindy defended them strenuously, meeting with 
Democrats and Republicans in Congress and urging them to hold strong in 
supporting global food aid. At a time when too many are walking back 
from decades of consensus about the value of foreign aid and hunger 
relief, Cindy has been a true leader, not just in delivering aid 
abroad, but in reminding us here of our obligations around the world.
  Cindy's public service, just like that of her husband before her, is 
a true reminder that targeted and smart foreign assistance is vital not 
just for hungry people, but for our national interests and American 
security as well.
  A month before he passed away, my husband John and I visited John and 
Cindy at their ranch in Arizona. Even while battling brain cancer, he 
continued to be engaged in the issues of our time, and he continued to 
have that signature McCain humor and that grit.
  My last memory of John was something that happened on that visit. He 
pointed to a sentence in his book and said, ``That's all that 
matters.'' The sentence was this: ``Nothing in life is more liberating 
than to fight for a cause larger than yourself.''
  Cindy has been dedicated to changing and saving lives--fighting to 
end world hunger, with horrific conflicts and a changing climate. We 
are so grateful to her for her strength, inspiration, and dedication.

                          ____________________