Call for Emergency Increase in Food Aid
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a press conference where the two linked the growing food crisis to national and global security and urged the President to immediately increase US food aid to $550 million.
“This global food crisis now risks creating a series of failed states as anger at inadequate food stocks spur riots and political instability,” said Casey. “Not only do we need to increase U.S. funding in the short-term, we also need to look at more long-term solutions to help nations respond to skyrocketing prices.”
Rising global food prices have caused recent unrest in Haiti and Egypt and risk causing similar strife in over 30 other countries. The situation is so dire that the World Food Program recently issued an urgent appeal for emergency aid. This month, finance ministers from around the world met in Washington and declared the food crisis the greatest threat to the global economy.
“This is the worst food crisis in more that thirty years,” Durbin said. “With food prices soaring, millions of the world’s poor risk deprivation and starvation - many of them children. Feeding the hungry is no longer just a moral issue but one of global security. It is not only the right thing to do; it's the safest thing to do.”
The U.S. contribution to the World Food Program is an important symbol of American generosity and leadership, particularly in helping some of the world’s poorest and most unstable nations. Both senators have called for a significant increase in US food aid this year – a $200 million increase to $550 million - which is far less that what the US government spends in a single day in Iraq. The United States is the largest contributor to the World Food Program, making up nearly 40% of the agency's annual resources.
The crisis, brought on by skyrocketing food and fuel prices have put basic food staples out of the reach of the world's poorest people. World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently warned that in the developing world, families spend half to two-thirds of their income on food. Even small increases in prices risk plunging millions into situations of chronic hunger. With hunger comes the panic and desperation which can lead to unrest.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Casey urged the committee to increase investments in nutrition programs and has introduced bipartisan legislation to provide funds for food assistance. He was among the first Members of Congress to address the global food crisis by drafting in early March a letter to Senate appropriators, signed by six other Members, advocating an expansion of emergency funds in the upcoming supplemental appropriations bill.
Senator Durbin is a leader in the senate on the issue of international aid and hunger programs. He’s the Senate sponsor of the McGovern-Dole food program, which provides US food aid and education to some of the world's poorest children. He recently met with Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program to discuss the programs needs and problems it faces as global food prices continue to rise.
“This global food crisis now risks creating a series of failed states as anger at inadequate food stocks spur riots and political instability,” said Casey. “Not only do we need to increase U.S. funding in the short-term, we also need to look at more long-term solutions to help nations respond to skyrocketing prices.”
Rising global food prices have caused recent unrest in Haiti and Egypt and risk causing similar strife in over 30 other countries. The situation is so dire that the World Food Program recently issued an urgent appeal for emergency aid. This month, finance ministers from around the world met in Washington and declared the food crisis the greatest threat to the global economy.
“This is the worst food crisis in more that thirty years,” Durbin said. “With food prices soaring, millions of the world’s poor risk deprivation and starvation - many of them children. Feeding the hungry is no longer just a moral issue but one of global security. It is not only the right thing to do; it's the safest thing to do.”
The U.S. contribution to the World Food Program is an important symbol of American generosity and leadership, particularly in helping some of the world’s poorest and most unstable nations. Both senators have called for a significant increase in US food aid this year – a $200 million increase to $550 million - which is far less that what the US government spends in a single day in Iraq. The United States is the largest contributor to the World Food Program, making up nearly 40% of the agency's annual resources.
The crisis, brought on by skyrocketing food and fuel prices have put basic food staples out of the reach of the world's poorest people. World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently warned that in the developing world, families spend half to two-thirds of their income on food. Even small increases in prices risk plunging millions into situations of chronic hunger. With hunger comes the panic and desperation which can lead to unrest.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Casey urged the committee to increase investments in nutrition programs and has introduced bipartisan legislation to provide funds for food assistance. He was among the first Members of Congress to address the global food crisis by drafting in early March a letter to Senate appropriators, signed by six other Members, advocating an expansion of emergency funds in the upcoming supplemental appropriations bill.
Senator Durbin is a leader in the senate on the issue of international aid and hunger programs. He’s the Senate sponsor of the McGovern-Dole food program, which provides US food aid and education to some of the world's poorest children. He recently met with Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program to discuss the programs needs and problems it faces as global food prices continue to rise.
