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“THE G-8 NATIONS MUST END HUNGER AND SUPPORT EDUCATION FOR ALL” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5918-H5919 on July 19, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE G-8 NATIONS MUST END HUNGER AND SUPPORT EDUCATION FOR ALL
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on June 7, I had the pleasure of participating in a press conference in Savannah, Georgia, to call upon the leaders of the G-8 nations to get serious and to work to end child hunger and support education for all.
The press conference was organized by NetAid and supported by the Basic Education Coalition. David Morrison, the President of NetAid, and Eveline Herfkens, the executive coordinator of the U.N. Secretary general's Millennium Project, joined me at the podium. I was especially impressed by the efforts of the children of Savannah, who, with the support of NetAid, have launched a campaign to raise awareness and funds so that children around the world can have a chance to go to school.
Mr. Speaker, I have always believed that central to the American Dream has been the desire by parents to make sure that their children receive a better education and get a chance at having a better life than they did. This was true when our country was founded, and it is still true today. So it is fitting that the United States should lead the world in achieving universal basic education for the world's children.
Around the time of World War II, the United States discovered another important key to good education: Food. Many of the soldiers volunteering for the military, who we now refer to as the greatest generation, had problems associated with poor nutrition or hunger. Ultimately, this discovery led to the U.S. establishing a full-fledged universal school lunch program, and today many of our schools also offer breakfast to those in need.
The combination of global basic education and school feeding programs contributes not only to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by the year 2015, but also to the Goal to cut hunger in half. But it is not going to happen unless donor nations make a significantly greater commitment of funds and resources.
Right now, wealthy nations commit an estimated $1.4 billion to basic education. For fiscal year 2004, Congress appropriated $326.5 million in foreign aid for basic education and another $37 million provided through the Department of Labor to combat child labor. Sadly, only $125 million was made available for global school feeding programs through all USAID and Department of Agriculture programs combined.
At this rate, the world will not be able to achieve universal primary education for another 150 years, or end child hunger for another century. So what should we do?
The G-8 leaders need to do much more than issue glowing statements in support of universal education. Photo-ops and juggling the books will not build schools or put more teachers and materials in the classroom or provide meals to students too hungry to learn. Only new money, new resources, and, most important, the political will to turn promises into reality can do that.
Developing countries need an additional $5.6 billion to ensure that every child can go to primary school. For the U.S. to exercise genuine leadership, President Bush should make a firm commitment that the United States will provide at least $1 billion by fiscal year 2006 for basic education, and a minimum of $300 million for U.S. funded international school feeding programs. The other G-8 nations should make similar commitments and fulfill them.
I am pleased to note that the fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill that we passed last week includes $400 million for basic education programs, and today we will vote on a resolution in support of global school feeding programs.
Our world will not achieve economic prosperity or social and political stability as long as children cannot go to school and continue to die from hunger. And we can only win the war against intolerance and terrorism when the children of the world are no longer hungry and illiterate, and their parents, families, and communities have hope for a better future.
On Sea Island, Georgia, the leaders of the world issued another set of glowing proclamations about how to create the better future. We now must wait and see if they have the political will to put their money on the table and make it happen.
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