[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING THE CENTRAL OREGON CROP WALK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2005

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very 
special event that is taking place in the heart of the 2nd 
Congressional District on Sunday, September 25, 2005--the Central 
Oregon Crop Walk. This weekend, over 125 walkers will gather in Bend, 
Oregon to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger at home in Central 
Oregon and in nearly 80 countries around the world.
  Since 1998, this gathering has become an annual event in Bend and is 
now in its 8th year. This Fall, walkers participating in the Central 
Oregon Crop Walk join Oregonians in four other communities--Baker City, 
Hood River, Corvallis and Grants Pass--and 1,800 Walks nationwide, to 
make a real difference toward ending hunger one step at a time. Money 
raised by walkers in Oregon and around the nation supports Church World 
Service, an organization of 36 religious denominations united together 
to relieve poverty and aid in social and economic development. I 
applaud Oregonians participating in local Crop Walks and am very 
pleased to see so many faith groups coming together to support food 
programs that provide relief to families in our community and around 
the world.
  Events like Crop Walks are a vital link in the chain of services--
public and private--that provide for the most needy in our Nation and 
the working poor that struggle to make ends meet each month. There are 
also several pieces of important Congressional legislation that would 
move our Nation closer to resolving the challenge of food insecurity 
and hunger. The Hunger Free Communities Act (H.R. 2717) sets a goal of 
ending hunger by the year 2015 along with establishing grant programs 
that would support local food programs and improve the coordination of 
Federal, State and local nutrition services. The Stop Senior Hunger Act 
(H.R. 1792), which renews the federal commitment to locally-
administered programs like Meals on Wheels and congregate meal programs 
at local senior centers, is another important component in tackling 
hunger by targeting the vulnerable senior population. Finally, common 
sense measures like the Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act (H.R. 1954), 
which would give transportation and trucking companies a 25-cent/mile 
tax credit for volunteering trucks and drivers to transfer charitably 
donated food for hunger relief efforts, will help more food reach those 
in need. Because hunger is a problem that can take a variety of faces 
and forms in communities around the country, resolving it requires a 
variety of approaches. For this reason, I am proud to be a cosponsor of 
each of these measures and am hopeful that when they are combined with 
efforts like the Crop Walk that hunger and food insecurity will be a 
challenge that we overcome once and for all.
  I urge my colleagues to support these sound legislative endeavors, 
and join me in highlighting the outstanding work of participants of 
Crop Walks occurring throughout Oregon.

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