[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL HUNGER AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the only problem I have with National 
Hunger Awareness Day is that it should be every day. Across the Nation, 
33 million of our fellow citizens are living in poverty and they 
deserve our help.
  In recent weeks, Congress has been focused on giving hundreds of 
billions of dollars in new tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, yet 
we leave the cupboard bare for millions of parents and low-income 
families. This week, as we debate the energy bill, we are listening 
carefully to the concerns of big corporations like Halliburton, Exxon, 
and Entergy, but not nearly carefully enough to the concerns of all 
those who need our help the most.
  It is a national scandal and disgrace that for so many millions of 
Americans, hunger is an issue today and every day. Since the year 2000, 
poverty and unemployment have been on the rise, while wages and income 
continue to fall. Hardworking parents have been forced to make 
impossible choices between feeding their children and paying the rent 
and medical expenses. These are choices no parent should have to make.
  No child should go hungry. But every night, 13 million children go to 
sleep not knowing where or when they will get their next meal. As 
hunger and malnutrition continue, children are more likely to be absent 
from school to have behavioral problems, and to have trouble learning 
to read or do math. They are less likely to be friends with other 
children or learn from their surroundings, and more likely to miss 
school because of illness.
  Clearly, we have to move to end child hunger. This year, Congress 
will reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act. The Act includes important 
initiatives, such as school breakfasts and school lunches, and food 
programs for summer school, after school, and childcare.
  Studies demonstrate that at-risk, school-age children depend on 
school-based breakfasts and lunches for more than half of their daily 
meals. In the reauthorization, we must work to see that every child 
eligible for subsidized programs actually receives these important 
meals. Schools must be reimbursed for the actual costs of providing 
nutritionally balanced meals. We also need these programs to provide 
additional resources, encourage nutrition education, and to pay school 
employees a living wage.
  We have a choice. Congress can continue to lavish more and more tax 
breaks on the wealthiest individuals and companies in the Nation, or we 
can invest in food for hungry children. The answer should be obvious to 
us all. We can and must ensure that no child is allowed to go hungry.

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