Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture.

I thank the gentleman, my colleague from Georgia, for yielding me the time and for his kind words, and I also want to thank Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Chairman Collin Peterson and their staff for quickly scheduling this bipartisan resolution for consideration today.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution honors the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service for 40 years of fighting hunger in the United States. There are more than 36 million food insecure or hungry people living in America today. The Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, is the lifeline for the hungry in our country.

The mission of FNS is to provide children and needy families better access to food and a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and comprehensive nutrition education efforts. FNS does this by administering the Food Stamp, now called SNAP, program and child nutrition programs that include the school and summer meal programs. Without these programs and without the dedicated staff at FNS, millions of people in this country would be facing hunger and malnutrition.

Their work and dedication should be commended, and I am pleased to be the lead sponsor of this resolution honoring the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service. I am also pleased that my good friend and colleague, the gentlelady from Missouri, Jo Ann Emerson, is a cosponsor of this resolution. Unfortunately, my good friend could not be here for this debate, but she is a strong supporter of FNS.

Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 years we have seen a major expansion in our Nation's antihunger programs. SNAP has been expanded twice: first, in the farm bill, which expanded both the eligibility and the purchasing power of the program; and second, in the Recovery Act, where the SNAP program benefits were accelerated to stimulate the economy and help families better afford food during this economic downturn.

This year, we expect to see the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs: WIC, the school breakfast lunch, child care, afterschool, and summer meal programs. And FNS is in the forefront of these programs.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased with the work FNS has done for the past 40 years, but this is also an opportunity to look to the future. And I'm encouraged by the new administration, the leadership of Secretary Vilsack and his team at USDA. They are exploring ways to fight hunger, and I'm looking forward to developing a strong working relationship with Secretary Vilsack.

And while I'm pleased that USDA and FNS have worked so hard at responsibly implementing the antihunger programs authorized in the farm bill and in the Recovery Act, I am very concerned that there hasn't been more done on President Obama's pledge to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

I encourage the Secretary to use this 40th anniversary recognition to rededicate USDA not only to ending child hunger in the United States, but to start working with Members of Congress and other stakeholders on ways to improve the Federal antihunger programs.

I believe the Secretary should convene a Cabinet-level working group consisting not only of members of the administration but also congressional leaders in order to brainstorm on ways the administration and Congress can work together to combat hunger in our country. We need to show that the goal of ending child hunger by 2015 is something that this administration is committed to achieving.

I also encourage USDA and FNS to look into using their regulatory authority to make it easier for eligible families and individuals to sign up or be recertified for SNAP and other Federal antihunger programs.

In Massachusetts, we are seeing backlogs of new applications that last upwards of several weeks between submission of the application and approval or denial of that application. The issue is the increasing number of people who are becoming eligible for SNAP at the same time as current SNAP participants need to be recertified in order to continue participating in the program. The result is a backlog of cases for State administrators, causing lengthy delays that result in denial of food to hungry people.

Finally, I strongly encourage the White House to convene a conference on food and nutrition in order to bring together our Nation's leaders and stakeholders on hunger and nutrition. We need to put into place a strategy, a comprehensive strategy, to end all hunger in this country, and we need to do so while improving the availability of nutritious food. That will take Presidential leadership. I hope President Obama will convene this conference soon.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate FNS on 40 years of great work. Once again, I thank Chairman Peterson for his willingness to move this resolution through the process quickly. I want to thank my friend, Mr. Scott, for all of his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the concurrent resolution to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Food and Nutrition Service has administered the Nation's nutrition assistance programs since 1969 and is the lead agency in charge of supporting the fundamental nutritional needs of children, low-income individuals, families, and communities.

Mr. Speaker, in the United States no one should face hunger, especially children. Over the past forty years, the Food and Nutrition Service has been critical to ensuring that children have access to healthful foods and nutritious meals at school, in childcare settings, and during the summer months that support their ability to succeed in and out of the classroom. The services provided by the Food and Nutrition Service encourage good nutrition and well-being that are necessary to ensure a healthy future for the country.

Through its programs, FNS actively promotes individual health and well-being for a strong and productive workforce. Through coordination with State and local governments, community organizations, and many partners, the Food and Nutrition Service provides access to healthful food, nutrition services, and education to 1 in 5 individuals at risk of hunger in the United States each day.

The programs administered by the Food and Nutrition Service are designed to respond to fluctuations in the economy and work to ensure all eligible children, individuals, and households can access nutrition benefits when they need it the most. Together, these programs form the Nation's nutrition safety net. As families, communities, and the Nation face significant economic challenges, these programs play an increasingly important role in supporting good nutrition and reducing the risk of hunger.

As the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor with jurisdiction for many nutrition programs administered by the Food and Nutrition Service, the Committee on Education and Labor recognizes the critical food assistance and nutrition services that these programs provide to children and families. And,

we are committed to ensuring that these programs have a strong foundation, so that all eligible children and individuals can access high quality nutrition assistance with dignity and respect. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the committee on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs later this year to further strengthen the Nation's nutrition safety net and the services that these programs provide.

I commend the Food and Nutrition Service for 40 years of important service to the Nation and support the Agency's continued effort to promote food security through access to nutritious foods, to improve diet quality, and to educate individuals on the benefits of and strategies for living a healthy lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 164) recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to pay tribute to the outstanding and important work of the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service on the occasion of its 40th anniversary by supporting H. Con. Res. 164.

Mr. Speaker, since 1969, FNS has fulfilled its mission by providing children and needy families with better access to food and a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and comprehensive nutrition education efforts.

In this time of great economic recession, the employees of FNS have demonstrated their extraordinary commitment to public service by ably serving a record number of Americans in need through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In recent months, nearly 35 million people have found it necessary to make use of this safety net program.

In addition, FNS serves specific sectors of our population by providing school meals; funding and commodities for food banks and soup kitchens; and specialized programs for Native Americans, the elderly, infant and children, and pregnant women.

For their exemplary efforts on behalf of Americans in need, I congratulate the employees of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Agriculture Department and encourage the speedy passage of H. Con. Res. 164.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, now it is with great pleasure that I'd like to yield 6 minutes to the cochairman of the Congressional Hunger Caucus and an outstanding leader in this Congress, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I could not be more eloquent than my good friend from Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, our distinguished co-Chair of the Congressional Hunger Caucus, because he spoke so well. But one salient fact that shows the significance of the Food and Nutrition Services and the work of our United States Agriculture Department in this area is the fact that when we look at child nutrition, and specifically our School Lunch Program, it has been documented in all too many cases that all too often that meal, that one meal from our School Lunch Program is the most nutrient meal that all too many of our young people receive each day. That shows the value of what the Food and Nutrition Service is doing.

We certainly commend the resolution, commend the work of Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts, and our United States Agriculture Department.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 164 and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 164 recognizes the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The mission of the Food and Nutrition Service is to provide children and low-income families better access to food and a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and comprehensive nutrition education efforts.

FNS administers the most important Federal nutrition programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program; the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as the WIC program; the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides various commodities to our Nation's food banks; as well as other child and adult care food programs.

FNS is better able to serve our Nation's hungry because of the bounty of America's farmers and ranchers. FNS is able to use surplus commodities in their various feeding programs, thus ensuring those in need receive foods produced by the American farmer and rancher.

Many people do not realize that funding for domestic food assistance programs represents two-thirds of the USDA's budget. For fiscal year 2009, the enacted omnibus appropriations measure included $76.2 billion for the programs administered by FNS. With the economy continuing to struggle, FNS has seen a record enrollment of

33.8 million food stamp participants. Clearly, the Food and Nutrition Service, in working cooperatively with the States, has a large and important role in serving those in need.

And again, I want to recognize the 40th anniversary of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service and ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak here today on behalf of this resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture. When President Lincoln organized USDA he called it the ``People's Department.'' That legacy is truly evident in the millions of Americans served each day by the Food and Nutrition Service.

Contending with hunger is a sad fact of life for 36 million food insecure Americans. The programs administered and implemented by the dedicated public servants at FNS, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, WIC, the National School Lunch Program, TEFAP and the Commodity Supplemental Food Nutrition Program--just to name a few-- provide the difference between hunger and adequate nutrition for these adults and, unfortunately, so many children.

However, these programs, vital to so many of our constituents, do not run on autopilot. For the past 40 years dedicated individuals at the Food Nutrition Service have worked to reach those in need, while protecting the integrity of the programs they administer. They have driven error rates down, while working to increase participation rates; FNS has proven to be able stewards of the programs they administer.

Mr. Speaker, forty years ago today man set foot on the moon. This was a dream for untold generations which this government made a priority and achieved. When we set this goal, the tools needed to achieve it did not exist--they had to be invented. Forty years ago the Food Nutrition Service was also formed, our nation's greatest tool in fighting hunger. I look forward to the day when we set our goals high again and provide the resources necessary to truly end hunger in the United States.