[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WITNESS TO HUNGER

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise this morning to talk about a very 
important and very moving exhibit I am proud to host in the Capitol 
complex; in particular, specifically in the Russell Building. The name 
of the exhibit is called ``Witness to Hunger.'' It is a project created 
by Dr. Mariana Chilton at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, and it 
is currently on display not far from here in the Russell Building.
  To create this exhibit, Dr. Chilton gave cameras--cameras--to 40 
women living in Philadelphia so they could document their lives, their 
struggles with hunger and poverty and so many other challenges. The 
result is a powerful exhibit of photographs giving us an insight--not 
the whole picture but an insight--into the lives of these women and the 
lives they lead and their children's lives and their struggles living 
today in Philadelphia.
  Women who are living in this city--part of this exhibit--try every 
day to provide a safe and nurturing home for their children, while 
finding a job that pays a living wage. They labor every day to provide 
food and medicine for their children. These are women fighting to make 
sure their children, their families, can have the health care they 
need. I will have the opportunity today to meet with several of the 
women who participated in the ``Witness to Hunger'' exhibit and this 
project. I wish to thank them for their bravery and rare courage to be 
able to open themselves, open part of their lives to all of us, and for 
making the trip to Washington so we can hear about their experiences 
firsthand.
  I have always believed that at its best, when it is doing the right 
thing, Government is about people. It is not, in the end, about budgets 
and data and information and numbers. That is important, but that is 
the means to the end. It should be about not every day do we meet this 
objective, but it should be about and must be about people. Today, we 
have a real example of that, a real living example of real people's 
lives. ``Witness to Hunger'' reminds us that the programs we advocate 
for and work on and new initiatives in Washington that affect people's 
lives are what we must be about. There is no better investment, in my 
judgment, than in the future of our children.
  I also believe every child in America--every single child--is born 
with a light inside them. For some, that light will be boundless or 
scintillating or incandescent. Pick your word. There are no limits to 
the potential some children have; because of intellect or circumstance 
or otherwise, their future is indeed boundless. For other children, 
that light is a little more limited because of those same 
circumstances. But I also believe, at the same time, no matter whether 
that light inside a child is boundless or much more limited, it is our 
obligation to do everything we can to make sure that child's 
potential--that bright light--is given the opportunity to shine as 
brightly as possible.
  Kids in school right now will be the workforce that will help us 
build new industries and jobs and transform our economy into the 
future. The good news is we have already passed some important pieces 
of legislation that are improving children's lives. Last year, the farm 
bill included a very strong nutrition section to increase access and 
benefits for people who use food stamps, now called by the acronym 
SNAP, but food stamps and other nutrition programs. The Children's 
Health Insurance Program is another example which will bring the number 
of children in America who have the benefit of this good program--this 
time-tested, effective program--to almost 11 million American children. 
We will have an opportunity to do more because, despite the 
advancements we have made in children's health insurance, there are 
still 5 million more children, even when we get to the 10.5 million, 11 
million children, 5 million more with no health insurance.
  I have a bill on prekindergarten education, and I will be working on 
that to make sure children have an opportunity for early learning; 
nutrition programs which also include not just food stamps, as I 
mentioned before, but the school lunch program, the Women, Infants, and 
Children Program, and on and on. One of the most important endeavors we 
will be working on in the near term is the Child Nutrition Act, 
critically important to make sure children get a healthy start in life.
  When we talk about that light inside a child, I do believe we have--
all of us in both parties, in both Houses of Congress, and in the 
administration--all of us have an obligation to make sure that light 
shines as brightly as possible for each and every child. We do that by 
doing a number of things. One is to make sure the children have access 
to early learning, that they have nutrition in the early years of their 
life, and that they also have health care. If we at least provide that 
opportunity for every child--nutrition, health care, and early 
learning--not only will that child be better off, we are all going to 
be better off in terms of the kind of economy and, therefore, the kind 
of workforce that is the foundation of that economy we build into the 
future.
  I hope my colleagues and their staffs have a chance to view this 
exhibit ``Witness to Hunger.'' I also believe it is in keeping with and 
is consistent with that commitment to make sure the light in every 
child burns as brightly as possible for each and every child in his or 
her family. I know that is my obligation as a Senator from 
Pennsylvania, and I believe it is all our obligations as Senators.
  Mr. President, thank you very much. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, is the vote at 10:30?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. I believe it is 10:40.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning 
business for 10 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________