WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is one of four Members of Congress to receive this year’s Mickey Leland Hunger Leader Award from the Congressional Hunger Center (CHC). Senator Casey was presented with the award at a ceremony last night for his work to fight hunger in the U.S. and abroad.
“Ending hunger in America and abroad is something that we can and must do,” said Senator Casey. “The pain and fear experienced by families and children who do not have enough to eat is something that simply does not need to happen and it is something that we have a moral duty to prevent. I am humbled to be presented with an award named after Mickey Leland, a true champion in the fight to end hunger and poverty. Mickey has left us with a legacy of good work and the inspiration we need to continue to do that work until hunger is eradicated.”
In presenting Senator Casey with the Mickey Leland Hunger Leader Award, the CHC said of Senator Casey:
“In addition to his strong support for food stamps and other nutritional programs in the Farm Bill, Senator Casey has been a strong advocate for increased assistance for food banks that have suffered shortages after being hit with rising food prices and increased demand during this economic downturn. In 2008, Senator Casey nominated two Pennsylvania Farm to School programs for Victory Against Hunger Awards. Both programs were selected for awards.
“Senator Casey helped secure more than $1.8 billion in emergency international food aid and related disaster assistance in the supplemen¬tal spending bill approved by the Senate. His bipartisan Jubilee Act, that would expand existing debt cancellation programs for the world’s poor¬est countries, passed the Foreign Relations Committee in June 2008.
“Senator Casey has recently stated, ‘Global hunger must be addressed as an urgent foreign policy priority.’ He is the cosponsor of The Global Food Security Act, along with Senator Richard Lugar, which unani¬mously cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 31, 2009. Senators Casey and Lugar have created a plan to overhaul U.S. assistance efforts to better address the long-term structural deficiencies that prevent developing nations from attaining self-sufficiency on food production.”
The Congressional Hunger Center (CHC), established in 1993 is a nonprofit organization, located in Washington, DC.
CHC is a leader in the movement to ensure access to food as a basic human right for all people. We create and nurture a community of innovative and inspiring leaders who act as change agents, bridging the gap between grassroots efforts and national and international public policy to provide for access to nutritious, affordable and cultur¬ally appropriate food.
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