Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 21, 2007)
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mrs. Dole, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Roberts):
S. 946. A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to reauthorize the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to reauthorize the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. I would like to thank Senator Dole for leading this effort in the Senate with me.
This is a critical piece of legislation. The McGovern-Dole Program provides healthy, nutritious meals to children living in some of the most impoverished countries in the world. By combining food aid and education, this program has a dramatic effect on the health and development of millions of young children each year.
I first became interested in this program in 2000 when I read an editorial written by former Senator George McGovern titled Lunch for All Schoolchildren Is a Big Thing We Can Do. In that editorial, Senator McGovern laid out his reasoning for an international school feeding program and left us all with a challenge by asking, ``is there any higher purpose under the heaven than feeding all God's children the world around?''
It was his work alongside Senator Bob Dole that inspired President Clinton in 2000 to create the Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI) pilot program and fund it at $300 million. Since then, funding for the program has fluctuated but it has never again reached the level at which it started. Still, in a relatively short period of time, the McGovern-Dole Program, as it appropriately came to be called after the expiration of the GFEI pilot program, has benefited more than 26 million boys and girls in 41 countries around the world. Last year alone, the program served more than 2.5 million children living in a total of 15 countries, including Afghanistan, Senegal, Laos, Guinea-Bissau, and Bolivia.
The program is a tremendous investment in the lives of the world's children. For just 19 cents per day, or 34 dollars per year, we are able to provide a healthy meal to a hungry child. This relatively modest investment does more than provide a meal--it also creates an incentive for children to come to school and learn and for families to continue to send their child to school rather than to work in a field or a factory. This is especially important for young girls in developing countries who are often not given the same educational opportunities as their male peers and therefore fall behind them in terms of literacy rates and educational attainment.
In its effect on girls, the McGovern-Dole Program has performed exceedingly well. Young girls who participate in the program have a 17 percent higher school attendance rate than similar girls who do not participate in school feeding programs. We know that educating young girls is one of the most cost-effective methods of achieving development goals. Compared to similarly situated girls who haven't gone to school, young girls who have been given the opportunity to go to school tend to get married later in life, have fewer children, earn more, and educate their children longer. It has a multiplier effect on a range of development goals.
A healthy, nutritious meal gives all students a greater opportunity to take advantage of their learning environment. A stomach full of nutritious food has a significant effect on a child's academic performance, enjoyment of learning, and overall health.
The United Nations estimates that there are 300 million chronically hungry school-age children around the world. We are falling far short of the need. When the American people provide our bountiful harvests to the most vulnerable among us, the poorest school-age children around the world, it represents the best of the American spirit.
For these reasons, I am happy to be introducing legislation to reauthorize the McGovern-Dole Program and increase the authorized level of funding in an incremental fashion up to the $300 million level at which it was first funded.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 946
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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. OBAMA):
S. 955. A bill to establish the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 955
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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. OBAMA):
S. 956. A bill to establish the Land Between the Rivers National Heritage Area in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 956
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