[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 12009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            FOOD INSECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of summer 
food security programs for America's children because, unlike Congress, 
hunger doesn't take a summer vacation.
  Today, in the United States, food insecurity is persistent and 
rampant. We are one of the richest and most powerful Nations in the 
world, yet one in five households with children experience food 
insecurity each year.
  Any American suffering from hunger is cause for concern, but it is 
especially troubling to think that so many American children lying in 
bed at night are struggling to sleep because they are hungry.
  Thankfully, most children in America who aren't able to get adequate 
sustenance at home are provided meals for free or at a reduced rate 
during the school year. In fact, 21 million children nationwide rely on 
free or reduced-price meals during the school year, and 825,000 of 
those children are from my State of Illinois.
  But while we have worked hard to ensure our children are fed during 
the school year, we often overlook the fact that many of these same 
children lack access to these meals during the summer months. Of the 
many children who receive free or reduced-price lunches during the 
school year, only 14 percent currently access meals during the summer. 
This is why the USDA's Summer Food Service Program is so important.
  As Members of Congress, it is imperative that we support and promote 
these programs so families who need help during the summer months can 
take advantage of them.
  Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a Summer Food Service 
Program in my district with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and No 
Kid Hungry Illinois. I was able to see firsthand how the program is 
benefiting children in Illinois and across the country. These programs 
are working and making a positive difference for our local families.
  Take, for example, the story of Maria and her husband from Chicago 
Heights. Maria works part-time at a laundromat while her husband works 
full-time in a lumberyard. These two hardworking Americans are doing 
all they can to provide for their children. But times are still tough 
and food is more and more expensive. To help pick up the slack, Maria 
and her children visit the Lunch Bus.
  The Lunch Bus is a great program that not only provides lunch for 
low-income children during the summer, but also provides a safe place 
for those children to play and meet other kids. There are families all 
over America like Maria's family that work hard every day to provide 
for their children; but oftentimes, despite their hard work, difficult 
circumstances cause them to come just short.
  We in this Congress have a responsibility to stand up for these 
hardworking families and to ensure no child in America goes to bed 
hungry. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the bipartisan Summer 
Meals Act, which will expand the USDA summer nutrition program to help 
more children across this country access quality meals during the 
summer months.
  Rather than slashing these funds, we need to focus on positive steps 
we can take to end hunger across the country. The best way we can 
reduce the amount of Federal Government spending on food nutrition 
programs is by supporting legislation that creates jobs and helps 
families earn a living wage.
  Moving forward, it is incumbent on all of us to promote summer food 
nutrition programs and to ensure that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids 
Act, which expires next year, is reauthorized at sufficient levels.

                              {time}  1015

  As I said, Mr. Speaker, hunger does not take a summer break, and 
neither should we when it comes to taking care of America's children.
  I will do all I can to make sure these children have access to 
nutritious meals all year round, and I ask my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle to do the same.

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