Dole Introduces Legislation to Expand McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program

DOLE INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO EXPAND MCGOVERN-DOLE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FOR EDUCATION AND CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, today joined Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to introduce legislation that reauthorizes and expands the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. This program provides U.S. commodity and agricultural products and financial and technical assistance for school feeding and child nutrition services in some of the world's poorest countries. Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) are introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

"The McGovern-Dole program helps feed hungry children in some of the world's poorest countries," said Dole. "This program, conceptualized by my husband Bob Dole and his good friend and former Senate colleague George McGovern, has had great success, annually feeding more than 3 million children in 41 countries with remarkable results, such as improved literacy and school enrollment. McGovern-Dole has tremendous potential to do more - and the legislation we are introducing today will help ensure that this program can expand and feed more needy children around the globe."

"Every day around the world, more than 300 million children go through the day and then go to bed at night without enough to eat," Durbin said. "To put that into perspective, it would be as if every one of the 298 million men, women and children living in the United States went to bed hungry each day. If we want the children of the world to become tomorrow's leaders, we must provide them with the basic building blocks to be successful."

The McGovern-Dole program has:

· Reduced hunger among school-aged children;

· Improved literacy and primary education enrollment in areas where conflict, hunger, poverty and HIV/AIDS are prevalent;

· Shown positive results particularly among girls, including those who live in countries where young women are regularly mistreated and marginalized.

The legislation introduced today would authorize the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to commit $140 million for fiscal year 2008 for the McGovern-Dole program. That funding level would increase incrementally to a level of $300 million by fiscal year 2012.

The McGovern-Dole program has the backing of a number of U.S. and international humanitarian, development, education, anti-hunger and food security organizations including Christian Children's Fund, Bread for the World, Heifer International, Friends of the World Food Program and the Congressional Hunger Center, among others. McGovern-Dole also has the support of U.S. farm and commodity groups. In 2005, the McGovern-Dole program distributed 120,000 metric tons of U.S. food commodities, including wheat, wheat flour, corn, rice, dry beans and vegetable oils, to schools that run feeding programs in the world's poorest countries.

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