[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 25269-25271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES REGARDING ATTACK ON UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD 
                 PROGRAM OFFICE IN ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 823) expressing deep condolences to the families, 
friends, and colleagues of those killed and injured in the attack on 
the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) office in Islamabad, 
Pakistan, on October 5, 2009, and support for the WFP's mission to 
bring emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and 
around the world.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 823

       Whereas the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) was 
     established in 1962 with the goal of providing every man, 
     woman, and child with access at all times to the food needed 
     for an active and healthy life;
       Whereas the WFP seeks to save lives and protect livelihoods 
     in emergencies, prepare for emergencies, restore and rebuild 
     lives after emergencies, reduce chronic hunger and under-
     nutrition everywhere, and strengthen the capacity of 
     countries to reduce hunger;
       Whereas WFP operations in 2008 reached just over 
     102,000,000 hungry and poor people in 78 countries with 
     3,900,000 tons of food;
       Whereas 84.6 percent of the population of Pakistan earns 
     less than $2 per day, which is an indication of poor human 
     development, especially among women and children;
       Whereas since 1968, the WFP has invested more than 
     $1,500,000,000 in assistance to the most food-insecure people 
     in Pakistan, including those in remote areas and those 
     affected by conflict;
       Whereas WFP operations in Pakistan include school feeding, 
     mother and child nutrition, and socio-economic development 
     programs that improve school enrollment rates for girls, 
     access to health care services, and economic opportunities 
     for rural women;
       Whereas the WFP is providing vital food assistance to as 
     many as 10,000,000 people across Pakistan, including 
     emergency relief to as many as 2,000,000 Pakistani civilians 
     who were displaced by conflict in the Swat Valley region 
     earlier this year;
       Whereas, on October 5, 2009, a suicide bomber attacked the 
     WFP office in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing five employees, 
     Botan Ahmed Ali Al-Hayawi, Farzana Barkat, Abid Rehman, 
     Gulrukh Tahir, and Mohamed Wahab;
       Whereas the Executive Director of the WFP, Josette Sheeran, 
     called the attack ``a tragedy--not just for WFP--but for the 
     whole humanitarian community and for the hungry''; and
       Whereas support for food aid and other forms of 
     humanitarian assistance in Pakistan is in the moral and 
     national security interests of the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its deep condolences to the families, 
     friends, and colleagues of those killed and injured in the 
     attack on the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) office 
     in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009;
       (2) recognizes the critical role the WFP plays in helping 
     alleviate poverty, which can be exploited by extremists to 
     create instability, in Pakistan and the greater South Asian 
     region;
       (3) reaffirms its support for the WFP's mission to bring 
     emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan 
     and around the world; and
       (4) commends the approximately 10,000 people of the WFP 
     directly serving the hungry and poor across the world for 
     their invaluable contribution to bringing relief to those 
     most in need.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Watson) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, on October 5, 2009, five dedicated 
humanitarians were killed and four others injured by a suicide bombing 
inside the World Food Program's office in Islamabad, Pakistan. The 
victims of this senseless attack were impartial civilian aid workers 
devoted to feeding the hungry and providing a lifeline to millions of 
the most vulnerable people in Pakistan.
  The United Nations World Food Program has been on the front lines of 
fighting hunger worldwide since its inception in 1962.
  I want to recognize, and I want to thank the sponsor of this 
resolution, my distinguished colleague and good friend from 
Connecticut, Ms. Rosa DeLauro, for taking the lead in introducing this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I stand in strong support of this resolution, which expresses our 
sympathy and deepest condolences for the victims and families of this 
month's deadly suicide bombing at the U.N. World Food Program offices 
in Islamabad, Pakistan.
  We mourn the loss of five humanitarian aid workers who were killed in 
a senseless act of violence while they were simply trying to supply 
food to the millions of vulnerable and hungry people of Pakistan. This 
deadly attack by a Taliban suicide bomber on October 5 forced the U.N. 
to temporarily close its offices, which resulted in the disruption of 
food assistance to nearly 10 million starving people in Pakistan who 
are dependent on the World Food Program.
  Mr. Speaker, we should not allow such cowardly acts of violence to 
overshadow the vital work of the World Food Program, whose efforts have 
relieved the suffering and hunger of millions of people in Pakistan and 
around the world.
  Since 1968, the U.N. World Food Program has invested more than $1.5 
billion in assistance to the poor citizens of Pakistan alone.
  The World Food Program has also carried out food security efforts and 
has developed nutritional and socioeconomic programs that have improved 
access to health care, increased school enrollment for women and girls, 
and advanced economic opportunities for the poor. In fact, amid recent 
violence

[[Page 25270]]

in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, the World Food Program 
courageously pushed forward to provide emergency and hunger relief to 2 
million displaced Pakistanis.
  Today, it is important not only to recognize the crucial role of the 
World Food Program in the fight to alleviate poverty and world hunger, 
but to reaffirm our appreciation for its mission to feed the world's 
poor. It's also important to pause momentarily to remember those aid 
workers who sacrificed their lives this month in the course of their 
work to relieve human suffering and hunger.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the passage of this resolution 
condemning this heinous attack and reinstating our support for the work 
of the World Food Program.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady from 
Connecticut, Representative Rosa DeLauro.
  Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentlewoman for this time. I thank Chairman 
Berman for moving so quickly in this effort. I also want to thank 
Congressman Jim McGovern and Jo Ann Emerson for co-leading this 
bipartisan effort with me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 823. It expresses 
deep condolences to families, friends, and colleagues of those who were 
killed and injured in the attack on the U.N. World Food Program at 
their offices in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009.
  We offer our support for the World Food Program's mission to bring 
emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around 
the world. We condemn this reprehensible attack in the strongest of 
terms. All acts of terror are contemptible, but the murder of civilian 
workers engaged in humanitarian aid is particularly vile.
  Fighting hunger and deprivation around the globe is a cause to which 
people give more than just a daily effort. It's an all-consuming 
responsibility. As we saw in the horrible tragedy, it can even be the 
struggle in which people lose their lives.
  Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the families of those U.N. 
World Food Program workers who perished in this terrible bombing. 
Through their efforts and the efforts of countless others, WFP feeds 10 
million Pakistanis, including 2 million displaced by violence each 
year. For the people who have sacrificed so much to alleviate suffering 
to be struck down by a wanton act of terrorism, it is unjust and 
senseless.
  We remember the fallen in our thoughts. This resolution represents a 
small way of honoring them as we continue the struggle for which they 
gave their lives: to put an end to global hunger around the world.
  For the first time in history, over 1 billion people--one in six--are 
undernourished worldwide. Every 6 seconds a child dies because of 
hunger and related causes. Because of higher food prices, the number of 
undernourished people in the world increased by 75 million in 2007, 40 
million in 2008. Even in America there are 12 million children facing 
hunger and uncertainty right now.
  The continued existence of such famine in our day and age, even 
within our borders, is a moral outrage. We have the resources and the 
ability to confront this kind of suffering in the world. What we need 
is the conscience and the will to put an end to it.
  The brave and the compassionate aid workers who perished in Pakistan 
had this in spades. They knew that prosperous nations cannot just 
remain an island of plenty in a sea of want. They stepped up. They met 
their responsibilities. We must meet our responsibilities.
  This is a moral imperative that's shared by workers in the World Food 
Program, in the Sudan, in Somalia, where they provide 43 percent of the 
population with its basic food, and in places all around the world 
where women and men give their all to be able to ensure that starving 
people have enough to eat. It is also shared by many of us here in the 
Congress.
  We are in a season of political turmoil and economic uncertainty. 
It's particularly important that we reaffirm the memory of these 
murdered workers and renew our commitment to ending global hunger. Put 
simply, this is a national security issue.
  Hunger, gnawing, unyielding, forces people into desperate acts and 
dangerous pacts. Famine and starvation create the conditions for 
militant extremism around the world, the very extremism that killed 
these five in Pakistan.
  We fight hunger, and we undercut the recruiting base of those who 
would threaten us. As former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger 
recently reminded us in the L.A. Times, ``Ensuring that no child goes 
to school hungry is the single greatest investment we can make in 
building prosperous, healthy and stable societies.''
  The World Food Program has long understood this. For 50 years, it has 
worked to feed the suffering and malnourished citizens of our planet. 
In 2008, their operation reached over 102 million poor and hungry 
people in 78 countries with 3.9 million tons of food.

                              {time}  1315

  They have worked to eliminate not only hunger but its root causes. In 
short, the world food program is doing wonderful work for the people of 
Pakistan, the people of the United States and the people of the world. 
We laud their humanitarian efforts, as we condemn the cruelty and the 
malice that perpetrated such a deplorable atrocity in Islamabad on 
October 5.
  For the fallen, for their families and their friends, and for hungry 
men, women and children all around the world, our fight against global 
hunger will go on.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution and reaffirm 
their commitment to this cause.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, we very much appreciate Ms. DeLauro 
bringing the resolution forward, and at this time, we continue to 
reserve our time.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my good 
friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, James McGovern.
  Mr. McGOVERN. I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 823, and I want to thank my 
good friend and colleague, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, for her 
leadership in bringing this resolution before the House for its 
consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, we often forget, or take for granted, that thousands of 
humanitarian workers provide food, water, shelter, medicine and 
essential services to tens of millions around the world. Many of us 
don't even think about how perilous are the situations in which this 
compassionate work happens. But we were reminded, in the worst possible 
way, on October 5, when a bombing attack was carried out against the 
World Food Program in Islamabad, Pakistan.
  This resolution adds to what I am sure others have also conveyed to 
the WFP, the deepest condolences and sympathies to the families, 
friends and colleagues of the WFP staff who were killed in Pakistan. I 
also want to add that my own thoughts and prayers are with those who 
were wounded and who were injured in the bombing attack, and we hope 
for their speedy recovery.
  Mr. Speaker, the bombing underscores the often precarious situation 
in which the WFP, and so many other humanitarian and aid workers around 
the globe, find themselves. And I, for one, can only thank them for 
their important and too often unrecognized service to humanity.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, having no other speakers on the subject, 
again, I want to thank Ms. DeLauro for bringing this very important 
resolution forward. I also want to thank Mr. McGovern for his 
leadership in the hunger issues that he has given all of us.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATSON. I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Ohio, Mr. Dennis Kucinich.
  Mr. KUCINICH. I thank the gentlelady.
  I want to join my colleagues in expressing condolences to those who 
were

[[Page 25271]]

killed in connection with the attack on the United Nations World Food 
Program in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is so important that the world 
community rally behind this program and other programs like it that are 
really aimed at providing the kind of social service that is so 
urgently required in areas around the world that are economically 
depressed, and that is, to feed the hungry. If we make a concerted 
effort in feeding the hungry, there's less of a chance that we're going 
to be looking at the kind of social conflagration that has affected 
nations around the world.
  This program in Pakistan is urgently needed. Those who risk their 
lives to deliver it should be remembered now, and we should stand by 
them and their families in their moment of grief. But we also have a 
responsibility to continue to take a stand against hunger. And wherever 
an effort is made to try to knock those out who are trying to serve the 
public, we stand behind those who serve, and we stand behind our moral 
obligation to feed the hungry of the world.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I extend my strong support to H. 
Res. 823, which expresses condolences to the families, friends and 
colleagues of those killed and injured in the recent attack on the 
United Nations World Food Program office in Islamabad, Pakistan, and 
support for the World Food Program's mission to bring emergency food 
aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around the world.
  On October 5, 2009, a suicide bomber attacked the World Food Program 
office in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing five employees, Botan Ahmed Ali 
Al-Hayawi, Farzana Barkat, Abid Rehman, Gulrukh Tahir, and Mohamed 
Wahab. But more than killing these five individuals, the tragedy has 
affected the ability of this very important organization to meet 
Pakistan's most pressing humanitarian needs.
  The United Nations World Food Program was established in 1962 and 
works to provide men, women and children with access to the food needed 
for an active and healthy life. In 2008, the World Food Program fed 102 
million hungry and poor people in 78 countries. In Pakistan, the World 
Food Program provides assistance to 10 million people at any given 
time, including 2 million Pakistanis displaced by fighting in the Swat 
Valley region earlier this year.
  As the international community grieves over the loss of five staff 
members who selflessly gave themselves to their fellow men and women, 
let us recognize the critical work of the United Nations World Food 
Program. More than 84.7 percent of Pakistanis live on less than US $2 
per day, and I daresay that Pakistan cannot afford to go on without the 
work and aid delivered by this organization.
  I extend my sincerest condolences to the families, friends, and 
colleagues whose loved ones were lost in the recent attack on the World 
Food Program office in Islamabad. Moreover, I reaffirm my support for 
the mission of the World Food Program, its leadership and staff of over 
10,000 dedicated men and women.
  Lastly, I hope that this event reminds my colleagues in Congress, the 
American people and citizens of the world, that as human beings, it is 
in our personal interest to ensure that no one on this earth goes 
hungry for want of food. Let us rise up in solidarity with the people 
of the United Nations World Food Program and ensure that the recent 
attack does not diminish, but strengthens, our resolve to advance anti-
hunger efforts in Pakistan and defeat poverty around the world.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 823.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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