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Delivering Mail--Collecting Hope

Date: May 11, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Agriculture and Food


DELIVERING MAIL-COLLECTING HOPE -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 11, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. JIM McDERMOTT
OF WASHINGTON
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005

Mr. MCDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to gratefully acknowledge and thank the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the AFL-CIO, America's Second Harvest, and the United Way of America for their extraordinary efforts in organizing and carrying out the largest single food drive in the world: the annual National Association of Letter Carriers National Food Drive.

The food drive will again take place on the second Saturday in May, which this year falls on May 14th. The timing of the drive is no coincidence; it comes at a time when most food banks are low on supplies, having exhausted their collections from the holiday season. Last year the food drive collected an incredible 71 million pounds of food for donation to food banks, pantries, and shelters across the country.

As you can imagine, it takes an army of volunteers to collect that amount of food. This year USPS, with help from the Campbell Soup Company and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, is distributing more than 150 million mailings promoting the drive and encouraging donations. On May 14th, donations will be collected by letter carriers along their mail routes in all 50 states.

This year's food drive has an added urgency and importance. The food drive largely supplements the inadequate support the Federal government has provided to our nation's citizens facing financial difficulty. Families around the nation are struggling to get by-family wage jobs are scarce, energy prices are at record highs, and government support mechanisms are increasingly being axed by this Administration and this Congress.

When we think about letter carriers, first class comes to mind. From now on, we should think of letter carriers and everyone involved in this as world class, because that's what they are. Please join me in donating food on May 14th and acknowledging the spirit of America that will be carried from door to door. May this year's food drive be the safest and most abundant collection yet.

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