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“RECOGNIZING IMPORTANT SERVICE PROVIDED BY FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE ON OCCASION OF ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5828-H5829 on June 25, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING IMPORTANT SERVICE PROVIDED BY FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE
ON OCCASION OF ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 49) recognizing the important service to the Nation provided by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.J. Res. 49
Whereas, during the terms of President Dwight David Eisenhower and the era of Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, it became apparent that the development of external markets was needed to ensure the financial viability of the agricultural sector of the United States;
Whereas the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture was established on March 10, 1953, to develop and expand markets for, and improve the competitive position of, United States agricultural commodities and products;
Whereas the Foreign Agricultural Service has represented agricultural interests of the United States during a period of great expansion of United States agricultural exports from less than $3,000,000,000 in 1953 to over $50,000,000,000 in 2002;
Whereas the number of organizations engaged in the public and private partnership established by the Foreign Agricultural Service to promote United States agricultural exports has grown significantly, with market development and expansion occurring in nearly every global marketplace; and
Whereas March 10, 2003, was the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Foreign Agricultural Service: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress recognizes the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture and its employees and partners for--
(1) cooperating with, and leading, the United States agricultural community in developing and expanding export markets for United States agricultural commodities and products;
(2) identifying the private partners capable of carrying out the mission of the Foreign Agricultural Service;
(3) identifying and expanding markets for United States agricultural commodities and products;
(4) introducing innovative and creative ways of expanding the markets for United States agricultural commodities and products;
(5) providing international food assistance to feed the hungry worldwide;
(6) addressing unfair barriers to United States agricultural exports;
(7) implementing strict procedures governing the use and evaluation of programs and funds of the Foreign Agricultural Service; and
(8) overseeing the efficient and effective use of Federal funds to carry out programs of the Foreign Agricultural Service.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Joint Resolution 49. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) and I introduced this resolution to recognize the important service of the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service was established to develop and expand markets for United States agricultural commodities and products. Our farmers and ranchers are the most productive in the world and produce much more than we in the United States can consume. Therefore, a vibrant export market is very important to the success of U.S. agriculture.
FAS has contributed to that success; and as of 2002, the United States agricultural exports exceed imports by more than $12 billion. Our exports have grown significantly over the history of the FAS and now exceed $50 billion per year.
The FAS fosters the public and private partnership that is needed to promote United States agricultural exports and to develop and expand markets around the world. At this important time when free trade negotiations are ongoing, both in the WTO and through bilateral negotiations, the FAS is essential to represent United States agriculture and ensure that the challenges facing our agricultural producers are thoroughly addressed.
Another responsibility of the FAS is to provide food aid to needy people in developing countries and to help those countries to eventually become trading partners of the United States and buy our agricultural products. The FAS and its employees provide a significant service to the farmers and ranchers here at home so they can compete in worldwide markets. I congratulate them on their achievements and look forward to working closely with the FAS as the committee continues its work to expand markets for United States agriculture.
I thank the members of the Committee on Agriculture for their support of this resolution. I also appreciate the support of the Committee on International Relations on this matter. The gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Hyde) has been very cooperative in helping to expedite House Joint Resolution 49. I also thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). I urge Members to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution to recognize the role of the Foreign Agricultural Service in expanding export opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers and working to increase food security around the globe.
When FAS began its work, exports accounted for less than 10 percent of agricultural sales. Last year, 49 percent of the wheat and 54 percent of the cotton harvested in the United States was exported. By the year 2012, 98 percent of the world's population will live outside of the United States, and American agriculture will depend even more on export markets.
The men and women of the Foreign Agricultural Service have worked hard to identify and focus on the potential of growing markets such as Mexico and China where the economies are expected to grow by 5 and 7 percent respectively.
The U.S. agricultural producers are taking advantage of new trading opportunities. Between 1992 and 2002, U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico grew from $3.8 billion to $7.3 billion per year. And in China from .5 billion to $2 billion. At the same period, exports to Canada have grown from $4.9 billion to 8.7, making it our largest export market for agriculture. And all of these markets, particularly China, have a tremendous potential opportunity for U.S. producers.
The success of the programs administered by the FAS is also reflected by the increases in funding that were included for many of these programs in last year's farm bill. These include an additional $650 million for the Market Access Program, $308 million for Food for Progress, $100 million for the International Food for Education Program, and $67 million for the Foreign Market Development Program.
Rural communities depend on export for one-third of their jobs. Over the past 5 years, United States agricultural exports have averaged over
$53 billion per year, and our agricultural trade surplus has averaged over $13 billion. This is compared to the overall trade deficit of the United States of over $500 billion. Each $1 billion in exports supports 15,000 American jobs. This means U.S. agricultural exports are supporting over 800,000 jobs, 50,000 in my home State of Texas alone. Many of these jobs are on farms or ranches, but even more of them are in transportation, storage, marketing, trade services, and food processing.
As a representative of some of the rural communities that benefit from such jobs, I thank the men and women of the Foreign Agricultural Service for their hard work, and I congratulate the agency on its service to rural America.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no request for time; I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) for yielding me this time, and I thank him for his leadership on this bill, as well as the chairman of the committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 49 recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Foreign Agricultural Service at the Department of Agriculture. I have had the privilege of working with many of the FAS staff in Washington and in our embassies around the world, and on one special program in particular, the Global Food for Education Initiative, or the GFEI.
In July 2000, President Clinton announced at the Okinawa G-8 summit that the United States would initiate a $300 million pilot program, the Global Food for Education Initiative, to provide hungry children with a daily nutritious meal in a school setting. The twin goals of the program were to reduce hunger among children and increase the number of children, especially girls, attending school. The GFEI was modeled around a series of successful FAS school feeding programs that use section 416(b) surplus commodities and that were implemented by U.S. private voluntary organizations and the World Food Program.
FAS faced a monumental task to initiate the GFEI pilot program on a very tight timeline in an accountable and effective manner. They came through with flying colors. In December 2000, the President announced that the GFEI would carry out 48 projects in 39 countries and reach about 9 million children in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
In February 2003, USDA published the first evaluation of the GFEI. This report documents the marked success of these school feeding projects. Hunger was reduced, parents and community organizations were empowered, and school attendance increased, especially among girls.
I do not believe this level of success would have been achieved without the diligent leadership of Mary Chambliss, Robin Tilsworth, Babette Gainor, and the rest of the FAS staff. Their belief in this program and their commitment to accountability and oversight ensured that the project lived up to the promise of the initial proposal. I encourage my colleagues to visit the FAS Web site and review the GFEI report.
I have seen these projects in action in Indonesia and Colombia, and I have had the privilege of meeting the FAS staff based at our embassies who help carry out these programs in the field.
Mr. Speaker, there are 300 million hungry children worldwide. Most do not get a chance to go to school. For the children involved in the GFEI, these school meals are often the only food that child will receive, and that meal and school may be the only stable factors in their precarious and uncertain lives.
In last year's farm bill, the GFEI became permanent when the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program was established. It received $100 million for fiscal year 2003, a reduction from the pilot program, but an allocation which I hope will increase in the future.
Every single Member of the other body called upon the President to keep the McGovern-Dole Program in the capable hands of the FAS, a resounding endorsement if ever I heard one.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the FAS and its staff for their commitment to use our farmers' productivity to help end world hunger. I congratulate them on a half century of fine work, and I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution.
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Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This recognition of the Foreign Agricultural Service is well deserved. The work that they conduct around the world in promoting American agriculture is vitally important. It is even more important following the passage of the Trade Promotion Authority in the last Congress.
I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 49.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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