I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1700

To establish an international food for education and infant and child nutrition

program to be carried out under section 416(b) of the Agricultural

Act of 1949.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 3, 2001

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LEACH, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. THUNE, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. GREEN of

Wisconsin, Mr. BARRETT, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition

to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish an international food for education and infant

and child nutrition program to be carried out under

section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘George McGovern-Rob5 ert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nu6 trition Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) According to the United Nations Food and

4 Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, ‘‘The State

5 of Food and Agriculture 1998’’, approximately

6 828,000,000 people are chronically undernourished

7 in the world today. While no region is immune to

8 hunger, the vast majority of these people live in 87

9 low-income, food-deficit countries.

10 (2) Many of the world’s hungry are children,

11 approximately 300,000,000. The United Nations

12 Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, ‘‘State of the

13 World’s Children 2001’’, states that 32 percent of

14 the world’s children under five years of age—ap15 proximately 193,000,000—have stunted growth,

16 which is the key indicator for under-nutrition. Hun17 ger in the early stages of development is particularly

18 debilitating. As reported by UNICEF, optimal neu19 ral development in a child, which affects physical,

20 mental, and cognitive development, depends on good

21 nutrition and stimulation during the first months

22 and years of life.

23 (3) The causes of hunger are complex, but are

24 most often associated with poverty and lack of em25 powerment. In developing countries, where poverty is

26 endemic, governments face low revenues and high
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1 debt burdens, funding is inadequate for basic health

2 and education, agricultural productivity and mar3 keting systems are weak and under-performing, em4 ployment opportunities are lacking, public institu5 tions are often weak, in some countries, HIV/AIDS

6 is pandemic, and many people struggle just to meet

7 their basic needs.

8 (4) Poor children rarely receive adequate edu9 cation. UNICEF reports that more than

10 130,000,000 primary-school-age children in devel11 oping countries do not go to school, and 60 percent

12 of these children are girls. In 2000, the United Na13 tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza14 tion (UNESCO) reported that for developing coun15 tries, an estimated 250,000,000 children from ages

16 five to fourteen are laborers, and fifty percent work

17 full time. Lack of education and the resulting poor

18 literacy limit the growth potential of children. Edu19 cation develops cognitive skills, improves long-term

20 productivity and offers a child protection from the

21 hazards of labor or exploitation. Long-term studies

22 indicate that increased literacy rates are critical to

23 economic development. In countries that achieve an

24 80 percent or better literacy rate among girls and

25 women, the birthrate decreases.
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1 (5)(A) Food aid has been shown to have lasting

2 benefits for children in developing countries when

3 part of multi-faceted programs aimed at pregnant

4 women, nursing mothers, infants and children five

5 years and younger.

6 (B) Mother-child health (MCH) programs re7 duce the incidence of malnutrition and under-nutri8 tion and promote proper growth by providing supple9 mental food to pregnant women and nursing moth10 ers, along with nutritious take-home foods and

11 health care to mothers and children under the age

12 of two.

13 (C) Early childhood development programs pro14 vide children between the ages of three and six with

15 meals and training in basic skills, while mothers

16 learn about basic sanitation, first aid and res17 piratory and diarrheal diseases, the greatest killers

18 of young children in poor countries.

19 (D) Food for Education programs reduce the

20 incidence of hunger and enhance educational attend21 ance and performance by providing school meals or

22 take-home rations, along with improvements in edu23 cational quality and the school environment.

24 (E) Although the conditions and challenges in

25 developing countries differ greatly from those in the
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1 United States, these international food aid programs

2 are similar in concept to the women, infants and

3 children (WIC) program, the Head Start program,

4 and the school breakfast and school lunch programs

5 in the United States.

6 (6) Over the past 50 years, United States inter7 national food assistance has contributed to alle8 viating hunger and its causes and is an integral part

9 of United States foreign policy. From the Marshall

10 Plan to the establishment in 1954 of the Food for

11 Peace program (or Public Law 480) and the Food

12 for Progress Act of 1985, American farmers have

13 played a key role in ensuring that the United States

14 is able to respond to emergencies such as famine,

15 natural disasters, and war, and to contribute to

16 global development initiatives. These programs con17 tinue because food is greatly needed in poor coun18 tries that cannot produce or afford to import ade19 quate amounts of food to meet their minimal needs.

20 (7) 7,900,000 metric tons of agricultural com21 modities, worth $1,500,000,000 in commodity pur22 chases, were approved during fiscal year 2000 to

23 provide food aid to 91 countries, as authorized under

24 section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949, the

25 Food for Progress Program, and Public Law 480.
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1 Programs were implemented in the field by non2 governmental and private voluntary organizations,

3 cooperatives, the United Nations World Food Pro4 gram, and governments.

5 (8) American farmers benefit directly from food

6 aid programs by selling commodities for inter7 national development and hunger programs. In the

8 longer term, the economic uplift from food aid pro9 grams improves the living standards and purchasing

10 power of citizens in developing countries, expanding

11 markets for American agricultural products, goods,

12 and services.

13 (9) Two of the most successful and beneficial

14 bipartisan programs ever launched on behalf of chil15 dren in the United States have been the United

16 States school lunch and school breakfast programs,

17 and the women, infants, and children (WIC) pro18 gram. While hunger among children has not yet

19 been eradicated in the United States, over the past

20 22 years, America has provided a nutritious meal to

21 most students who cannot afford one. Currently,

22 about 27,000,000 children are fed every day through

23 these programs.

24 (10) On May 30, 2000, during the opening

25 ceremonies of the National Nutrition Summit, Sen-
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1 ators George McGovern and Robert Dole praised the

2 Federal Government for reducing hunger in America

3 since 1969. They called upon the United States Gov4 ernment to reduce hunger in the developing world

5 through child nutrition programs similar to the

6 United States school lunch, school breakfast, and

7 WIC programs.

8 (11) On July 23, 2000, the G–8 Summit in

9 Okinawa, Japan, endorsed a proposal put forward

10 by the United States, the Global Food for Education

11 Initiative, to pursue a pilot preschool and school

12 feeding program.

13 (12) On December 28, 2000, in addition to

14 other international food aid program commitments,

15 the United States launched a $300,000,000 pilot

16 program, the Global Food for Education Initiative,

17 through the United States Department of Agri18 culture, to provide meals, take-home rations, and

19 other assistance to an estimated 9,000,000 needy

20 pre-school and school-age children in 38 countries.

21 Using authority under the Commodity Credit Cor22 poration Charter Act and section 416(b) of the Agri23 cultural Act of 1949, food commodities will be pur24 chased from American farmers by the United States

25 Department of Agriculture, which will be distributed
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1 in fiscal year 2001 through 49 projects developed by

2 United States-based private voluntary organizations

3 and cooperatives, and by the United Nations World

4 Food Program. Senators McGovern and Dole urged

5 the United States Congress to make this a perma6 nently funded program and to engage the inter7 national community in a multilateral effort to end

8 child hunger over the next three decades.

9 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.

10 The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in this Act

11 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, using the authority

12 of section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (herein13 after in this Act referred to as ‘‘section 416(b)’’) and in

14 accordance with this Act, provide eligible commodities and

15 financial and technical assistance to establish, continue,

16 and expand—

17 (1) preschool and school feeding programs to

18 improve food security, reduce the incidence of hun19 ger, and improve educational opportunity; and

20 (2) maternal, infant, and child nutrition pro21 grams for pregnant women, nursing mothers, in22 fants, and children 5 years of age and younger.

23 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE COMMODITIES AND COST ITEMS.

24 Notwithstanding any other provision of law—
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1 (1) any agricultural commodity is eligible for

2 distribution under this Act;

3 (2) the Commodity Credit Corporation shall

4 purchase agricultural commodities for use under this

5 Act if its stocks are not sufficient to meet commit6 ments entered into under this Act; and

7 (3) as necessary to achieve the purposes of this

8 Act, the Secretary—

9 (A) shall approve the use of Commodity

10 Credit Corporation funds to pay the transpor11 tation costs incurred in moving commodities

12 (including prepositioned commodities) provided

13 under this Act from the designated points of

14 entry or ports of entry abroad to storage and

15 distribution sites, and associated storage and

16 distribution costs;

17 (B) shall approve the use of Commodity

18 Credit Corporation funds to pay the costs of ac19 tivities conducted in the host country by a non20 profit voluntary organization, cooperative, or

21 intergovernmental agency or organization that

22 would enhance the effectiveness of the activities

23 implemented by such entities under this Act;

24 and
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1 (C) in the case of administrative expenses

2 of private voluntary organizations, cooperatives,

3 or intergovernmental organizations imple4 menting activities under this Act, shall approve

5 the use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds

6 to meet itemized administrative expenses in7 curred in connection with activities carried out

8 under this Act; and

9 (4) for the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘agri10 cultural commodities’’ includes any agricultural com11 modity, or the products thereof, produced in the

12 United States.

13 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.

14 The Secretary may provide assistance under this Act

15 to private voluntary organizations, cooperatives, intergov16 ernmental organizations, governments and their agencies,

17 and such other organizations as the Secretary determines

18 are appropriate.

19 SEC. 6. RULES BY SECRETARY.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assure that

21 rules governing this Act shall include provisions to—

22 (1) provide for the submission of proposals,

23 each of which may include one or more countries, for

24 commodities and other assistance under this Act;
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1 (2) provide for eligible commodities and assist2 ance on a multi-year basis;

3 (3) ensure eligible recipients demonstrate the

4 organizational capacity and the ability to develop,

5 implement, monitor, report on, and provide account6 ability for activities conducted under this Act;

7 (4) streamline procedures for the development,

8 review, and approval of proposals submitted in ac9 cordance with this Act;

10 (5) ensure monitoring and reporting by eligible

11 recipients on the use of commodities and other as12 sistance provided under this Act; and

13 (6) allow for the sale or barter of commodities

14 by eligible organizations to acquire funds to imple15 ment activities that improve the food security of

16 women and children or otherwise enhance the effec17 tiveness of programs and activities authorized under

18 this Act.

19 (b) PRIORITIES FOR PROGRAM FUNDING.—In car20 rying out subsection (a) with respect to criteria for deter21 mining the use of commodities and other assistance pro22 vided for programs and activities authorized under this

23 Act, the Secretary shall consider the ability of eligible re24 cipients to—
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1 (1) identify and assess the needs of bene2 ficiaries, especially mothers and children five years

3 of age and younger who are malnourished or under4 nourished, and school-age children who are malnour5 ished, under-nourished, or do not regularly attend

6 school;

7 (2)(A) in the case of preschool and school-age

8 children, target low-income areas where children’s

9 enrollment and attendance in school is low or girls’

10 enrollment and participation in preschool or school is

11 particularly low; and

12 (B) in the case of programs to benefit mothers

13 and children five years of age or younger, coordinate

14 supplementary feeding and nutrition programs with

15 existing or newly-established maternal, infant, and

16 children programs that provide health needs inter17 ventions, and which may include maternal, prenatal,

18 and postnatal and newborn care;

19 (3) involve indigenous institutions and commu20 nities in the development and implementation of the

21 program and foster local capacity-building and lead22 ership; and

23 (4) carry out multi-year programs that foster

24 self-sufficiency and ensure program longevity.
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1 SEC. 7. USE OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE.

2 The Food and Nutrition service of the Department

3 of Agriculture shall provide technical advice on the estab4 lishment of programs under section 3(1) and on their im5 plementation in the field in recipient countries.

6 SEC. 8. MULTILATERAL INVOLVEMENT.

7 The President is urged to endeavor to engage existing

8 international food aid coordinating mechanisms to ensure

9 multilateral commitments to and participation in pro10 grams like those supported under this Act. The President

11 shall report annually to Congress on the commitments and

12 activities of governments in the global effort to reduce

13 child hunger and increase school attendance.

14 SEC. 9. PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT.

15 The President and the Secretary are urged to encour16 age the support and active involvement of the private sec17 tor, foundations, and other individuals and organizations

18 in programs assisted under this Act.

19 SEC. 10. FUNDING LEVELS.

20 The Commodity Credit Corporation shall make avail21 able to carry out programs under this Act—

22 (1) in fiscal 2002, $300,000,000 and in fiscal

23 year 2003, $600,000,000 for programs under sec24 tion 3(1) and $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2002 and

25 in fiscal year 2003, $100,000,000 for programs

26 under section 3(2); and
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1 (2) in each succeeding fiscal year $750,000,000

2 for programs under section 3(1) and $250,000,000

3 for programs under section 3(2).

4 SEC. 11. COOPERATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGEN5 CIES.

6 Notwithstanding section 11 of the Commodity Credit

7 Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714i), the Secretary

8 may approve the use of Commodity Credit Corporation

9 funds to pay administrative expenses of any other agency

10 of the Federal Government, including any bureau, office,

11 administration, or agency of the Department of Agri12 culture, assisting in the implementation of this Act.

13 SEC. 12. REQUIREMENT TO SAFEGUARD LOCAL PRODUC14 TION AND USUAL MARKETING.

15 The requirement of section 403(a) of the Agricultural

16 Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C.

17 1733(a) and 1733(h)) shall apply with respect to the avail18 ability of commodities under this Act.

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