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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 No. 170 House of Representatives The House met at 10:30 a.m. and was ening news, is that 14.6 percent, 17 mil- tration declined to make. I don’t say called to order by the Speaker pro tem- lion households, were food insecure in this to place blame, but rather to say pore (Mr. DRIEHAUS). 2008. This means that at some point that admitting there is a problem is f during 2008, these households ‘‘had dif- the first step towards addressing that ficulty providing enough food for all problem. President Obama has com- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO their members due to a lack of re- mitted his administration to ending TEMPORE sources.’’ child hunger by 2015. That’s something The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- According to the USDA, over 49 mil- we can and should do. Continuing to fore the House the following commu- lion people lived in those 17 million raise awareness of this issue is critical, nication from the Speaker: households. In other words, Mr. Speak- no matter how bad the statistics may WASHINGTON, DC, er, according to this report, 49 million be. November 17, 2009. Americans went hungry in 2008. We Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate to I hereby appoint the Honorable STEVE should be ashamed of ourselves. In the have in place a safety net system that DRIEHAUS to act as Speaker pro tempore on richest, most prosperous nation in the prevents more people from going with- this day. world, a country where we have the out food. Undoubtedly, even more NANCY PELOSI, means to end hunger, a country where Americans would go hungry if it Speaker of the House of Representatives. we have the food readily available, we weren’t for SNAP—formerly known as f continue to allow 49 million people to food stamps—WIC, school and summer MORNING-HOUR DEBATE be hungry in this country. And if that meals, and the other Federal anti-hun- weren’t bad enough, food insecurity is ger programs. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- likely to get worse, not better, next Later this week, I will be introducing ant to the order of the House of Janu- year. legislation that will expand these pro- ary 6, 2009, the Chair will now recog- Mr. Speaker, this report also found grams to better combat hunger in the nize Members from lists submitted by that 17 million children, more than one United States. The End Childhood Hun- the majority and minority leaders for in five, went without food at some ger by 2015 Act will not only expand morning-hour debate. point during the year. That’s an in- the purchasing power of SNAP, but it The Chair will alternate recognition crease of 5 million children over the will increase the number of people who between the parties, with each party previous year. Even worse, the number are eligible for these Federal anti-hun- limited to 30 minutes and each Mem- of children living in very low food inse- ger programs. For example, under this ber, other than the majority and mi- cure households—the hungriest of the bill, every child who goes to school, re- nority leaders and the minority whip, hungry—rose from 323,000 in 2007 to gardless of income, will receive a qual- limited to 5 minutes. 506,000 in 2008. That means that almost ity, nutritious breakfast and lunch. We f 2 million children are among the know that children learn better and de- hungriest of the hungry in America. velop properly when they eat nutri- HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN Race and gender are also factors. tious meals. Unfortunately, many chil- THE UNITED STATES About 37 percent of single mothers dren don’t have access to nutritious The SPEAKER pro tempore. The struggled for food in 2008. And more meals either at home or at school. We Chair recognizes the gentleman from disturbing, more than one in seven said provide textbooks for all children. Why Massachusetts (Mr. MCGOVERN) for 5 that someone in their household had shouldn’t we provide at least two nu- minutes. been hungry. The report found that Af- tritious meals too? Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, yes- rican Americans and Hispanics were Now is the time for us to refocus our terday the U.S. Department of Agri- more than twice as likely as whites to energy on ending hunger once and for culture released the annual Household report food insecurity at home. all, and it will require Presidential Food Security in the United States re- Mr. Speaker, we can do better. We leadership. I introduced legislation port for 2008. The findings of this re- must do better. I want to thank Presi- calling for a White House Conference port are nothing short of alarming and dent Obama and Secretary Vilsack for on Food and Nutrition. I will be work- frightening. This report found the their dedication to combating hunger ing with Speaker PELOSI, Chairman PE- highest level of food insecurity since in America. Secretary Vilsack person- TERSON and Chairman MILLER to pass the study began in 1995. While just over ally released this report yesterday, and this important legislation, and I en- 85 percent of U.S. households were food President Obama released a statement, courage my colleagues to cosponsor secure in 2008, the bad news, the fright- two actions that the previous adminis- H.R. 2297. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H13005 . VerDate Nov 24 2008 01:28 Nov 18, 2009 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17NO7.000 H17NOPT1 wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with HOUSE H13006 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE November 17, 2009 Mr. Speaker, we may not be able to About a third of these struggling house- for several days in each of seven or eight end all war and disease in our life- holds had what the researchers called ‘‘very months. times, but we can end hunger if we low food security,’’ meaning lack of money James Weill, the director of the food cen- ter that pioneered the report, called it a muster the political will to do so. This forced members to skip meals, cut portions or otherwise forgo food at some point in the careful look at an underappreciated condi- report should be a rallying point report year. tion. ‘‘Many people are outright hungry, for Congress and the administration. The other two-thirds typically had enough skipping meals,’’ he said. ‘‘Others say they While this Congress focuses on the Na- to eat, but only by eating cheaper or less have enough to eat but only because they’re tion’s economic recovery and job cre- varied foods, relying on government aid like going to food pantries or using food stamps. ation, we must not forget about those food stamps, or visiting food pantries and We describe it as ‘households struggling with who are going without food. Let’s com- soup kitchens. hunger.’ ’’ mit ourselves once and for all to ending ‘‘These numbers are a wake-up call for the country,’’ said Agriculture Secretary Tom [From The Washington Post, Nov. 17, 2009] hunger as we know it in America. Vilsack. AMERICA’S ECONOMIC PAIN BRINGS HUNGER I would like to insert into the One figure that drew officials’ attention PANGS RECORD the statement by President was the number of households, 506,000, in (By Amy Goldstein) Obama and news articles from The New which children faced ‘‘very low food secu- The nation’s economic crisis has cata- York Times and Washington Post on rity’’: up from 323,000 the previous year. pulted the number of Americans who lack the release of this report. President Obama, who has pledged to end enough food to the highest level since the childhood hunger by 2015, released a state- THE WHITE HOUSE, government has been keeping track, accord- ment while traveling in Asia that called the OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY, ing to a new federal report, which shows that finding ‘‘particularly troubling.’’ Washington, DC, November 16, 2009. nearly 50 million people—including almost The ungainly phrase ‘‘food insecurity’’ one child in four—struggled last year to get STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE RE- stems from years of political and academic enough to eat. LEASE OF THE ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD FOOD SE- wrangling over how to measure adequate ac- At a time when rising poverty, widespread CURITY REPORT cess to food. In the 1980s, when officials of unemployment and other effects of the reces- As American families prepare to gather for the Reagan administration denied there was sion have been well documented, the report Thanksgiving, we received an unsettling re- hunger in the United States, the Food Re- released Monday by the U.S. Department of port from the U.S. Department of Agri- search and Action Center, a Washington ad- Agriculture provides the government’s first culture that found that hunger rose signifi- vocacy group, began a survey that concluded detailed portrait of the toll that the fal- cantly last year. This trend was already otherwise. Over time, Congress had the Agri- tering economy has taken on Americans’ ac- painfully clear in many communities across culture Department oversee a similar sur- cess to food.
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