[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11849]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL HUNGER AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, yesterday was National Hunger Awareness 
Day. Second Harvest, the lead sponsor of the June 7 observance, has 
performed an important public service in challenging us to reflect on 
the very real problem of hunger in America. I commend Second Harvest 
and all the sponsoring organizations for their efforts.
  Our Nation has enormous wealth, and yet far too many Americans must 
deal with the pain and consequences of hunger. Approximately 36 million 
Americans, including 13 million children, are ``food insecure''--quite 
simply inadequately nourished.
  Hunger may be more subtler in its manifestations and effects than 
malnutrition but it relentlessly undermines health, and it compromises 
one's ability to do well in school or on the job. Inadequate nutrition 
in children correlates with anemia, stunted growth, weight loss and 
extreme fatigue. Studies done by the highly respected Center on Hunger, 
Poverty and Nutrition Policy at Tufts University show that inadequate 
nutrition can adversely affect a child's achievement in school. Hunger 
also can cause severe anxiety and depression.
  Although Congress has taken measures to prevent hunger and food 
insecurity, much remains to be done. Federally funded programs like the 
Food Stamp Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants and Children, commonly referred to as the WIC program, provide 
assistance to low-income children by improving access to nutritional 
meals. It is therefore deeply regrettable that the President's 2006 
budget has made it more difficult for low-income families to receive 
nutritional assistance. The White House's budget request for the Food 
Stamp Program amounts to a staggering cut of more than $500 million 
over 5 years by forcing over 300,000 low-income participants out of a 
program that acts as a crucial safety net for millions of Americans. 
Substantial cuts to the WIC program would result in 670,000 women and 
children losing important nutritional assistance by the year 2010. It 
is deeply regrettable that the Budget conference report approved by the 
Congress mandates a mandatory cut of $3 billion in agriculture 
appropriations, leaving Food Stamps and other domestic hunger-relief 
programs vulnerable.
  At a time when more families are forced to struggle with unemployment 
and low wages, a lack of affordable housing, rising health care costs, 
and the disappearance of hard-earned pensions, National Hunger Day 
serves to remind us of the need to vanquish hunger; in this prosperous 
Nation, there is no reason why millions of Americans should have to 
face the prospect of hunger, or watch their children go hungry. The 
conference report on the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution Budget 
conference report is a callous response to an urgent challenge, and 
National Hunger Awareness Day is a time to pledge that we will not rest 
until the challenge is met.

                          ____________________