III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 709 

Expressing the commitment of the Senate to building on the 20 years of 

success of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Food for Education and 

Child Nutrition Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2022 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

BROWN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. KING, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

BOOZMAN, and Mr. WICKER) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the commitment of the Senate to building on 

the 20 years of success of the George McGovern-Robert 

Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. 

Whereas the George McGovern-Robert Dole International 

Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘McGovern-Dole Program’’) has improved the food security, nutrition, literacy, and primary education of school-age children, particularly young girls, and their families in over 48 countries in just 2 decades; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program was established by section 3107 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 709 IS 

Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o–1) to procure agricultural 

commodities and provide financial and technical assistance to carry out preschool and school food for education 

programs in foreign countries and maternal, infant, and 

child nutrition programs for pregnant women, nursing 

mothers, infants, and children who are 5 years of age or 

younger; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has provided over 

5,500,000,000 school meals benefitting over 31,000,000 

school-age children and their communities; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has been successfully 

administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the 

Department of Agriculture; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program is a key program of 

the Department of Agriculture aligned with the governmentwide Global Food Security Strategy; 

Whereas in fiscal year 2021 alone, McGovern-Dole Program 

projects have directly benefitted more than 4,500,000 

children and community members through the distribution of United States-produced commodities that provide 

daily nutritious and high-quality meals and mitigate food 

insecurity; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program partners with farmers 

in the United States, who provide 46,770 metric tons 

(‘‘MT’’) of food commodities in support of fiscal year 

2021 McGovern-Dole Program grants in Central America, Africa, and Asia; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program complements United 

States agricultural commodities with food grown and purchased locally to support farmers and markets within the 

recipient’s own communities and to build the capacity of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 709 IS 

local governments and communities to continue and sustain the benefits of the McGovern-Dole Program into the 

future; 

Whereas during the COVID–19 pandemic when school closures were commonplace, the McGovern-Dole Program 

effectively shifted from providing meals in schools to providing take-home rations and distributed approximately 

23,000 MT of commodities donated by the United States 

and 550 MT of locally procured commodities to more 

than 1,700,000 McGovern-Dole Program participants 

and their families across 26 active projects, ensuring that 

children continued to receive daily meals and learn while 

at home; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program recognizes the value of 

educating young girls and contributes to overcoming the 

barriers they encounter in accessing a high-quality education by promoting equality and the reduction of genderbased violence; 

Whereas school meals provide an incentive for families to 

send girls to school and help girls to stay in school, effectively preventing early marriage and delaying first pregnancy, which can trap young women in poverty and limit 

their future potential; 

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program strengthens local community health and education through the formation of 

parent-teacher associations, teacher training, and improving the infrastructure of schools, classrooms, commodity 

storerooms, latrines, and water sources; and 

Whereas the United States, as a member of the Global School 

Meals Coalition, is committed to and recognizes that investments in the McGovern-Dole Program, are central to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 709 IS 

bolstering food security, building resilience to future 

shocks, and supporting the nutritional, health, and educational needs of children and adolescents worldwide: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 

2 United States is committed to— 

3 (1) building upon the 20 years of successful 

4 work of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Inter5 national Food for Education and Child Nutrition 

6 Program (in this resolution referred to as the 

7 ‘‘McGovern-Dole Program’’) and its positive role in 

8 breaking cycles of hunger and poverty, providing op9 portunity through education and literacy, and im10 proving overall nutrition and health; 

11 (2) complementing humanitarian assistance ef12 forts and development programs through the contin13 ued implementation of the McGovern-Dole Program 

14 that addresses global food insecurity and creates 

15 conditions for peace and stability; and 

16 (3) supporting United States farmers, millers, 

17 shippers, and commodity groups that provide agri18 cultural commodities for use in the McGovern-Dole 

19 Program to help combat global malnutrition and 

20 food insecurity and advance global education. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS