[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17777-17778]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        FOOD SECURITY STATEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 10, 2003

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, the Bush Administration is sadly mistaken if 
they are assuming that either the Congressional Black Caucus, or the 
American people will be satisfied with a trip to Africa that lacks 
substance or results.
  In the words of Congressman Payne, ``Engagement with Africa is a 
vital U.S. interest. From the war on terrorism to the supply of crucial 
resources, from the campaign against threatening diseases to the 
opportunities for economic trade and investment, Africa is a key global 
player. We ignore the continent at our own peril.''
  Africa is the key to global peace and understanding, but we must deal 
with a number of issues that affect Africans in their day-to-day lives. 
Issues like, democracy and governance, lack of health infrastructure, 
education, and hunger and food security. We must address these social, 
political, and economic needs, which if handled properly, will allow 
Africa to grow, flourish, and succeed.
  The need to succeed in the fight against hunger is critical for 
Africa. As we all know, food production in Africa has fallen behind 
population growth over the past 30 years.
  This slow down in production has left Africa, an agriculturally rich 
continent, as a net importer of food. It has put Africa in a position 
where, they must rely on the international community to import products 
that could be produced in Africa given the right technical and 
development resources.
  Although the United States remains the largest single contributor to 
the World Food Program--the last three years have actually seen the 
United States contribution drop by at least a third from 15 million to 
10 million metric tons of food.
  This is yet another example of Bush rhetoric, while food aid goes 
down, the President increases the budget for nation-building in Iraq 
and Afghanistan. I do believe that we must help rebuild countries that 
we have bombed, but we must also keep millions of people from starving 
on the African continent.
  The United Nations estimates that over 222 million people in Africa 
are suffering from hunger. The reality is: emergency food aid needs are 
up and food aid assistance is down. Millions of Africans live and die 
below the hunger and poverty lines, of which a vast majority Africans 
are in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture to sustain and 
improve their livelihoods. If we could increase agricultural 
productivity by just one percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, we could raise 
6 million people out of poverty and hunger.
  We must listen to Africans and pay attention to what the social and 
economic challenges are in each country, challenges exacerbated by the 
food crisis.
  One of the gravest crises relating to famine from my perspective is 
the devastating spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the continent. In some of 
the countries most affected by hunger, rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence are 
as high as 38 percent of the population, with ripple effects extending 
out to the health sector, education, and overall productivity 
throughout each country. AIDS and hunger together are strangling the 
African economy.
  The Congressional Black Caucus has been fighting a war against the 
global HIV/AIDS pandemic for years. Finally, we have the 
Administration's support for this charge, but a real reluctance to 
request and appropriate the funding necessary. We must first ensure 
that our colleagues across the aisle join us in funding every penny of 
the President's $3 billion initiative.
  In my opinion, one of the greatest challenges in Africa to stopping 
the AIDS pandemic is coordinating HIV/AIDS treatment and famine relief. 
That is why, while drafting the AIDS bill, I fought for a major 
provision that would integrate food/nutrition and HIV/AIDS drugs.
  Let me explain why HIV/AIDS and famine go hand-in-hand. When we take 
an aspirin for an ailment, we are instructed to take that aspirin with 
water and food.
  Imagine taking drugs for the AIDS virus, a disease that has killed 
millions, on an empty stomach. The toxicity alone is harmful, but these 
anti-retroviral drugs on an empty stomach are perilous. This is one of 
the reasons why battling the food crisis is critical to the campaign to 
stop the Global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
  More broadly, hunger and HIV/AIDS stifle productivity, undermine 
efforts to build infrastructure, and detract from government 
investitures for education, farming, and development in their people.
  No one should be hungry. I understand, that if you teach a man to 
fish, he will eat everyday, but at this critical time in Africa the 
United States has the resources and the technologies to not only teach 
people, but also satisfy their hunger today. Furthermore, there have to 
be fish in the pond, and with drought and desert expanding everyday, we 
must work toward both short term aid and long term solutions.
  In closing, I would like to reiterate the words of Secretary Powell 
during his trip to North Korea, ``. . . But to go back on our solid 
policy is that we don't use food as a political weapon. You go through 
all the politics; there are kids out there that are starving. If we can 
help them, we will.''
  I agree with Secretary Powell, food is our weapon to combat the 
rising hunger in Africa--and we must address this issue now.
  Let's revisit the Bush Administration's underfunded Africa budget 
which cuts peace and

[[Page 17778]]

democracy, agriculture development, and corruption and good governance 
programs. Let's really look at the needs of people. Africa needs our 
help and we must deliver.
  Thank you Chairman Cummings, I yield back my time.

                          ____________________