[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5843]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 APPLAUDING THE NALC FOOD DRIVE EFFORTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 13, 2000

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this 
opportunity to recognize and commend the National Association of Letter 
Carriers [NALC] for holding the Nation's largest one-day food drive. In 
past years the NALC, through the personal contributions and service of 
its members, has collected more than 58 million pounds of food along 
various postal routes throughout the Nation. The NALC will be helping 
to feed American families and children again this year during their 
eighth annual food drive to feed hungry families and children across 
the country.
  During this unprecedented time of economic expansion, Americans have 
benefitted from low unemployment, rising wages, and low inflation. 
However, some Americans continue to suffer from hunger. According to 
the Journal of Public Health, an estimated 10 million Americans suffer 
from the symptoms of hunger--4 million of which are children whose 
growth and development is threatened by malnutrition. These hard 
working families fail to make ends meet for reasons ranging from 
institutionalized poverty to a lack of educational resources and 
inadequate health insurance. As a result, some families are left with 
barely enough resources to subsist on.
  In a nation of abundance, hardworking families should not have to 
experience the effects of hunger. Our postal carriers provide a 
valuable and much appreciated service through their hard work and 
contribution to the greater community. I commend the NALC for helping 
to feed the Nation's hungry and I encourage Members to help support the 
NALC in their efforts to feed America during their food drive on 
Saturday, May 13.

                          ____________________