Tag Archives: Congress

August 20, 2013 · 10:37 pm

Hunger is not a game for politics

Congress is threatening to cut international food aid.

Congress is threatening to cut international food aid.

The article “Food-stamp cuts might deal heavy blow to region” (July 28) justifiably raises great concern over the repeated attempts by Congress to cut food aid.

Over 50 million Americans suffer from hunger. Food banks are overstretched, and cutting back assistance will be a disaster. The cutting of food stamps will also eliminate hundreds of thousands of free school meals for needy children.

Globally, what could be more important to our foreign policy than fighting hunger. Our Food for Peace and global school-lunch programs save children’s lives, and help the recovery of nations leveled by war, disasters and poverty. This is the great humanitarian tradition of our country, the one that prevented the worst famine in history after World War II.

Today, food will determine whether there is to be peace and recovery in the Middle East and regions where there are massive flows of refugees and agriculture has suffered huge damage. The Syria crisis is alarming, with the UN World Food Program needing around $29 million a week to carry out a relief mission. Conflict and hunger are also ongoing in Mali, South Sudan and Yemen. Haiti needs food support as it tries to build its agriculture after suffering through a series of disasters.

Yet some in Congress seek to reduce funding for international food aid, even though it makes up less than 1⁄10 of 1 percent of the federal budget.

Some House members are trying to change this disconnect. Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota introduced the Global Food Security Act to put hunger back at the top of the foreign policy agenda, with a White House level coordinator. Over 30 humanitarian aid groups want this bill passed, and Congress should listen to what they have to say.

Food is the very basis of peace, a functioning economy or education. The idea that this is an area for budget cuts makes little sense, for domestic and foreign policy. It’s time Congress received this memo.

Originally published at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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July 29, 2013 · 2:50 pm

McCollum Introduces Act to Strengthen U.S. Response to Global Hunger

Humanitarian aid agencies want the U.S. to appoint a leader to direct the fight against global hunger. When you see hunger emergencies the size of the one facing Syria you see exactly what they mean.

The Global Food Security Act (H.R. 2822), introduced Thursday by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), would appoint a White House Coordinator for Food, Nutrition, and Agricultural Development. It’s a “food ambassador” of sorts. It will be someone who would be in charge of the U.S. response against hunger which is currently spread out among a number of agencies.

Most important though is to bring the issue of hunger to the top of the foreign policy agenda, where it needs to be. Right now food aid programs are something many members of Congress look to cut, showing the disconnect with this issue. That needs to change.

Look at Syria, Afghanistan, Haiti, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and other countries facing massive levels of hunger and malnutrition. The Syria emergency is so large it spreads outside its borders to at least five neighboring countries hosting refugees. All these countries need emergency aid but also longer term solutions so they can grow their own food.

McCollum says, “870 million people around the world suffer from chronic food insecurity. This is wrong, and it makes the United States less secure. This bill fights food insecurity by working with the world’s most vulnerable people to enable them to produce their own food and improve their families’ livelihoods.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) adds, “”The United States has a long and proud tradition of supporting global hunger and nutrition programs. That tradition can and must continue. Hunger is a political condition. We have the means to end it; what we need is the political will to make it happen. I am proud to support this important legislation.”

There are 33 humanitarian aid agencies that support this bill including the World Food Program USA, Catholic Relief Services, Church World Service, U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Save the Children.

Aid agencies are telling us this is the right strategy. So does history. After World War II when winning of the peace was crucial, a famine threatened Europe and Asia. Herbert Hoover was appointed by President Truman as the food ambassador. This was essential for coordinating the U.S. and international response to the largest hunger crisis ever at that time. Had the issue of hunger not been made a priority at that time it would have spelt disaster for the recovery of the war devastated nations. Remember the famous Marshall Plan of 1948? Food was the necessary foundation for this plan to succeed.

Hunger exists all over the world, but what limits the response? It’s when the issue of hunger is not given enough attention. It’s when the cries for help are not heard. People who can help are often far away and if they don’t hear about what is going on they won’t respond. Then you have a Congress or White House that won’t give hunger the attention it needs. It’s all about communication.

That communication is needed at all levels. Take for instance the relief operation in Syria where the World Food Programme had been forced recently to reduce the size of rations for war victims. Why? It was because funding was not timely enough to allow the food to reach its destination. A “food ambassador” would be responsible for preventing disasters like this. That can only happen through communication to all levels of the U.S. government, to other governments and to the public.

Then there is the issue of child malnutrition in the first 1000 days of life. A food called plumpy’nut is often used to save children’s lives from this deadly condition. More children could be treated and saved, at less cost, with earlier detection of malnutrition and the use of plumpy’sup or plumpy’doz.

It’s all about efficiency and good foreign policy. As Rep. Schock (R-Ill.) says, “The Global Food Security Act is a comprehensive approach to tackling the food insecurity epidemic that plagues more than 870 million people worldwide by better coordinating U.S. assistance and making accountability a priority to assess progress and the efficient use of foreign aid funding.”

Hunger has traditionally been an area of bipartisan cooperation. In fact, Democrat George McGovern (S.D.) and Republican Bob Dole (Ks.) cooperated for years on fighting hunger both here at home and abroad. We should expect no less now from the current elected officials.

originally published as “We need a leader in global hunger fight” at The Hill

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June 24, 2013 · 2:55 pm

Food Security is Security

School meals are an important part of WFP's emergency response to the conflict in Mali. They give children like these an added reason to attend school while providing them with the calories and nutrition they need to be healthy. (WFP/Daouda Guirou)

School meals are an important part of WFP’s emergency response to the conflict in Mali. They give children like these an added reason to attend school while providing them with the calories and nutrition they need to be healthy. (WFP/Daouda Guirou)

Last week Ertharin Cousin, the director of the UN World Food Programme, said “food security is security.” If you are responsible for food aid budgets, such as our elected officials, these words are what you need to know.

Any country’s well being rests first and foremost on food. Without it you cannot have a functioning economy and your children will be stunted in growth and mind. When hunger escalates, it can lead to violence further setting back the society. Food means peace.

Yet, time and time again members of Congress take to cutting food aid budgets. Some even propose amendments to abolish entire food aid programs. They might as well just eliminate American foreign policy, for you cannot have one unless you fight hunger.

As George Marshall once wrote, “Hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace.” He knew what nations in distress needed as their foundation for recovery and peace. Marshall’s plan was indeed a successful approach. We know that today Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Syria and other nations will not have peace or development without the basics of food.

When Cousin made her statement she was in the Middle East. She added, “Food security is a vital component for sustained peace across the region.” Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Egypt and other parts of the region are facing a severe hunger crisis.

Right now as the Congress considers the Farm Bill they have to think in terms of our foreign policy as a whole. We need a strong Food for Peace program. This initiative is the largest supporter of the World Food Programme, which is the agency on the frontline of hunger everyday.

We need a strong international school lunch program as well. When you can mix food with education it is a powerful tool. Food aid reforms need to pass to improve the efficiency of these programs.

It’s not a matter of political sides either. Democrats, Republicans and Independents can all back the fight against hunger. That is the way it’s been done before. That is how it should be now.

Remember after World War One, what a young lieutenant from the American Relief Administration said after being told a food aid mission was practically impossible. He said, “Yes, we can.” No politics there. He was doing his duty, not just as a soldier but as a human being.

We should expect no less from our elected officials when they are making decisions that impact the lives of millions of people worldwide and our own national security.

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December 8, 2012 · 4:40 am

Fight Hunger at Home and Abroad in Farm Bill

Congress will decide budget amounts for food aid programs at home and abroad in the upcoming Farm Bill Credits: World Food Program USA

This week foodbanks across the country will be distributing food rations to the needy. Also this week a shipment from the U.S. Food for Peace program arrived in conflict-torn and impoverished Yemen. What do these two programs have in common besides fighting hunger?

Both initiatives depend on funding from federal programs in the upcoming Farm Bill legislation. Many food banks benefit from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) which sends donations to states for foodbanks to distribute. The Food for Peace program fights hunger overseas as a way to promote stability worldwide.

Congress will be deciding in the coming days how much to fund both of these hunger-fighting plans. Now is the time for people to let their representatives in government know that fighting hunger needs to be a priority of both our domestic and foreign policies.

Food is the basis of all things. Children in America suffering from hunger cannot learn and become the best they can be. Food can be a difference-maker for a child and his or her family, a safety net when tough economic times come.

Overseas, food is life-saving in areas of conflict and natural disaster, of which there are many ongoing – in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and elsewhere. When the conflicts end, food can give people and communities the stability they need to rebuild and make peace. Food can also make the difference there whether a child attends and finishes school.

While the face of hunger may be different from one country to the next, it is vitally important to combat the menace wherever it may be.

Ensuring funding for TEFAP and Food for Peace as well as the McGovern-Dole international school meals program are steps we can take without breaking the bank. Food aid programs are relatively inexpensive when compared to other programs. Annual spending on nuclear weapons for instance would beat Food for Peace and TEFAP by close to $50 billion.

There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, so why not fight hunger at home and abroad? This year’s Farm Bill is a great place to start by supporting TEFAP and Food for Peace.

Article first published as Fight Hunger at Home and Abroad in Farm Bill on Blogcritics.

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July 30, 2012 · 9:39 pm

Let’s Get the Map Out to End Global Hunger

Rep. Sam Farr of California: “Hunger is a threat to our national and fiscal security. Our national leaders understand that we cannot have a stable world with out addressing the root causes of poverty and hunger.”
Credits: World Food Program USA photo

Humanitarian groups are calling on the United States to fully adopt the Roadmap to End Global Hunger, a series of strategic steps to rescue the nearly one billion suffering people who cannot access basic food.

The Roadmap, first introduced in 2009, calls for the US to increase its funding for hunger relief programs. While this might seem a challenge in the current cash-strapped environment, the Roadmap notes that jumping to $5 billion a year on global hunger relief “is just over one tenth of one percent of the US budget, yet would support increased food security for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”

Currently, US hunger-fighting programs like Food for Peace and the McGovern-Dole school lunch program do not even add up to $2 billion in funding a year. To further compare, the annual cost of the U.S. nuclear weapons program is estimated to be $52 billion.

Bill O’Keefe, the vice president for advocacy at Catholic Relief Services, says, “This Roadmap makes clear that we as a country have to do more if we are going to end global hunger. In the current Congress, we have fought hard just to maintain current spending levels and still face the possibility of significant cuts. The Roadmap shows that spending to end hunger is a good investment that is supported by a majority of the American people. Hunger around the world can be significantly reduced if we follow these recommendations.”

An increase in funding would give U.S. food assistance programs far more reach. Add the increase in funding to more local purchasing of food in developing countries and the budget can stretch even further. Food purchased in developing countries generally provides a savings compared with shipping the food from the United States.

The key provision of the Roadmap, though, lies in leadership. That has to start at the top, with the appointment of a Global Food Security Coordinator. The Roadmap states, “The US should ensure coordination and integration of food security programs by appointing a Global Food Security Coordinator responsible for overseeing development and implementation of the government-wide global food security strategy, with corresponding budget authority over all global food security programs.”

There has to be someone in charge, and someone visible in charge. Global hunger is escalating and drought has sent countries into famine or near-famine levels numerous times the last few years. Conflicts in Sudan, Syria, and other areas have also increased the ranks of the hungry.

Not only does the government have to be fully mobilized to fight global hunger; so too does the public. We can effectively do this if we have a “food ambassador” in view every day leading the way. Congress and the President need to take action on this provision of the Roadmap right away.

“If you want to end global hunger, follow this Roadmap,” said Congressman James McGovern of Massachusetts. “We can ensure no child wakes up [and] goes to school or goes to bed hungry. This report tells us how to do it. I want to drive down this road to end hunger.”

Article first published as Let’s Get the Map Out to End Global Hunger on Blogcritics.

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July 16, 2012 · 10:59 pm

Budget Cuts by Congress Would Impact Hungry South Sudan

One year after gaining independence South Sudan is still searching for peace. Conflict and hunger threaten to ruin the young nation.(Sara A. Fajardo/CRS)

South Sudan is facing a humanitarian emergency, with nearly five million people suffering from hunger. South Sudan’s conflict with neighboring Sudan is escalating the hunger crisis. Civilians fleeing the fighting are walking for days without food until they can reach aid stations.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says, “In the past weeks, the refugee population in South Sudan’s northern Border States has rapidly increased to more than 160,000 individuals. More than 32,000 Sudanese refugees arrived in Upper Nile state alone, increasing the refugee population in Maban County to over 105,000 individuals.”

WFP, the world’s largest hunger fighting agency, is racing to provide aid. One its key partners is the US Food for Peace program, the largest single source of funding for WFP. Congress, though, is planning to reduce funding for Food for Peace and other global hunger fighting programs.

The House Appropriations Committee just approved a bill that would cut the Food for Peace program by 22 percent, down to the level of $1.15 billion for the coming fiscal year. Who will this hurt? South Sudan as well as other nations that need food assistance.

Kathleen Kahlau of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) said last week that proposed cuts to Food for Peace are a severe threat. In a CRS webcast on South Sudan Kahlua said that “we are very concerned about the cuts to international food aid as proposed by the Congress. Please help us keep these drastic cuts from happening.”

CRS has written a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stating, “Please ensure that the Administration is engaged in every way possible with the governments of Sudan and South Sudan and with important partner countries and regional bodies to prevent a return to war, to end attacks on civilians, and to protect the basic rights of the Sudanese people, including the freedom of movement and access to humanitarian aid.”

Diplomatic efforts at demilitarizing the border and resolving the dispute over oil revenues need to be reinforced with food for the hungry.

South Sudan’s troubles go far beyond its border areas. The country is facing low food production resulting from drought. Internal conflict between rival tribes has caused large-scale displacement and hunger.

WFP warns the crisis may get much worse, “with thousands more refugees expected to arrive in the coming weeks before the rains make the trek across the border impossible.” The agency is currently short $86 million in funding to fight hunger in South Sudan.

See also An Independent Nation’s Parallel Path to Lasting Peace.

Article first published as Budget Cuts by Congress Would Impact Hungry South Sudan on Blogcritics.

 

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December 1, 2011 · 3:37 am

Singing Telegrams, Congress and Food Aid

Congress is debating whether to reduce international food aid even as famine continues in East Africa (photo credit: World Food Program USA)

Western Union was in the news this week with its revival of the singing telegram – although updated to include e-mail delivery.

This company of course has a deep history of sending telegrams, whether the most urgent kind or the singing variety. One day in 1962 a Western Union telegram was sent to Congress urging them to save a program that provided school meals to children in Poland and Yugoslavia.

In June 1962, during the Kennedy administration, Congress was considering termination of aid to Poland and Yugoslavia, both under Communist control. Hugh D. Farley, the director of Church World Service, was upset with this prospect and sent a telegram to three Senators.

Farley urged the senators not to cut food aid programs in these two countries that were reaching over two million children with school meals. Orphanages and homes for aged were also receiving food support. Farley told the senators the cutting of aid would be “difficult for children to understand” and that “people to people” programs should be continued.

He also alerted George McGovern about the telegram. McGovern had been appointed by President Kennedy as the director of the Food for Peace program that oversaw these food aid initiatives. Food for Peace was started by President Dwight Eisenhower and President Kennedy continued and strengthened this program, placing special emphasis on school feeding.

McGovern wrote back to Farley the next day telling him of an amendment approved by the Senate “providing presidential authority for continued food assistance to Poland and Yugoslavia.” McGovern wrote, “I am sure that your expression to the Senators was helpful.”

Saving meals for children was the right thing to do in 1962 and it is right again in 2011. Church World Services is urging the same type of advocacy by citizens to tell Congress not to cut food aid programs in the upcoming budget. The Food for Peace program, as well as the McGovern-Dole school lunch program, are at risk of budget cuts.

With famine in East Africa and many other hunger crisis points unfolding, food aid needs to be bolstered, not reduced.

Church World Service says, “Further cuts to humanitarian foreign assistance will result in countless additional people going hungry and many more children losing their lives to preventable and treatable diseases. Preserving robust, well-targeted foreign assistance will save millions of lives, build self-reliance among the world’s most vulnerable, and help protect our own national security in the process.”

There is also quite a controversy over why Congress is making cuts to food aid since it already is such a relatively inexpensive program. Food aid makes up less than one tenth of one percent of the federal budget. International assistance programs, such as food aid and other programs like malaria treatments, come out to around 1 percent of the total budget. The relatively low cost of these aid programs is not widely known either.

Church World Service reports, “Polls show that many Americans believe that international assistance is 25 percent or more of U.S. spending. That makes it an easy target for members of Congress. But in fact, when these same Americans are asked how much U.S. aid for poor families abroad should be, they support levels between 6-10 percent!”

Save the Children, World Vision, the World Food Program USA and other agencies are urging Congress to save food aid from budget cuts. They are asking citizens to make their voices heard before it’s too late. Calls, e-mails, tweets, faxes are all being urged for reaching your representatives. A singing telegram? Well, if it works. Why not?

Article first published as Singing Telegrams, Congress and Food Aid on Blogcritics.

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November 24, 2011 · 3:09 am

Eisenhower’s Thanksgiving Mission

General Dwight Eisenhower (NATO photo)

General Dwight Eisenhower needed rest. It was the first Thanksgiving since the end of World War II in 1945 and the general was suffering from bronchitis. With the holiday, you would think Ike could get his much-needed recovery time. But not so. On this Thanksgiving Day, Eisenhower was called for a special mission in Washington, D.C.

The Congress was holding a hearing on whether to provide additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). It was UNRRA that was helping provide food and other humanitarian aid to millions of people suffering in the aftermath of World War II. But it was not a sure thing the Congress was going to grant more money to this relief effort.

Congressman Sol Bloom of New York called upon Eisenhower to testify in the hearing. With Eisenhower’s busy schedule in Washington that week, Ike had planned to submit just a written statement. But when it came clear that Eisenhower could decide the fate of UNRRA funding, he agreed to appear in person. General Walter Bedell Smith had cabled Eisenhower stating that without UNRRA, “there is no repeat no agency to which we can turn to assist actively in carrying out our responsibilities in connection with the care of displaced persons.” Ike replied, “Thoroughly understand. My testimony will be strong.”

Eisenhower made some late edits and additions to a statement the War Department had prepared for him. On Thanksgiving morning he appeared before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Congressman Bloom introduced Eisenhower, stating that the general was appearing against doctors orders and needed to get back to bed as soon as possible. But before that, Ike read his statement in support of UNRRA reminding Congress, “There are few places in Europe today where people are not cold, hungry and apprehensive of the future” and that “the ravished nations of the world are looking to UNRRA for their relief.”

Ike’s testimony was pivotal in swaying Congress to provide more funding for UNRRA which allowed aid to war-torn countries like Italy, Austria, and Greece. One of the countries in desperate need of aid was visited by Eisenhower in September, 1945, Poland.

Devastated by the war Poland needed food, medicine, clothing and the rebuilding of so many destroyed cities and towns. The U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Arthur Bliss Lane, saw the suffering in Poland and knew how important UNRRA aid was. Lane wrote, “the most terrible sight of all was that of the one-legged children…whose legs or arms were carried away by bombs, or whose gangrened limbs were amputated in mercy.”

Lane added, “There is no doubt that the help furnished by UNRRA and other humanitarian organizations … created a great spiritual bond between the Polish people and Western civilization. The distribution of packages was a constant reminder to the Poles that the West had not forgotten their plight and that the West, especially the United States, was helping as in the past.”

Humanitarian aid from UNRRA, the U.S. army, charities like Catholic Relief Services, CARE, UNICEF, and so many other organizations helped establish the foundation for European recovery and peace.

The lesson of Eisenhower’s Thanksgiving mission is essentially one of Food for Peace. Ike stated, “now that the fighting has ceased and the danger is less obvious, it is perhaps difficult for people in this country to visualize the desperate needs of the people of Europe and the necessity, if our military victory is to have lasting significance, of our successfully completing the job of making a peaceful world. ”

We didn’t forget about Europe after World War II, and today we cannot forget the hunger that afflicts over 900 million people throughout the globe. Whether it’s in Afghanistan, Sudan, Nepal or Iraq, it is vital that hunger and poverty are defeated if we hope to have peace.

originally published at History News Network.

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November 15, 2011 · 3:41 am

McGovern’s The Third Freedom Essential Reading as Congress Debates Food Aid

George McGovern, author of the Third Freedom, was named the United Nations World Food Programme's first global ambassador against hunger. (WFP photo)

Former Democratic senator George McGovern’s The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in Our Time highlights ways Congress can work to fight malnutrition at home and abroad, and why it’s so important we win this struggle against hunger.

His book takes on special meaning right now as Congress is proposing reductions in funding to food aid programs both here and abroad.

McGovern, who ran for President in 1972, was the Food for Peace director under President  Kennedy. This program sends U.S. food overseas to fight hunger and build stability.

McGovern also has a long track record helping feed the hungry in the United States. In a Friends of the World Food Program teleconference, the question was once posed to him: why fight hunger abroad when there are hungry people here? His reply was: Why not do both? Fight hunger whether it’s in the US or overseas.

In The Third Freedom he talks about the Food for Peace program which was supported by both President Dwight Eisenhower (a Republican) and then Democratic President John F. Kennedy. Since then, it has been the main weapon of the U.S. against world hunger.

Food for Peace though is currently at risk of significant budget cuts by Congress, despite the fact that there are tremendous hunger crisis points such as famine in East Africa, drought ravaging Afghanistan, and nations like Haiti who need food to bolster reconstruction.

The charity Save the Children says the House of Representatives is proposing $1.04 billion for Food Peace in the upcoming FY 2012 budget, a significant dropoff from this year’s funding level of nearly $1.5 billion.

One of the key bipartisan initiatives discussed by McGovern in the book is the McGovern-Dole global school meals program. Along with Republican Senator Robert Dole, McGovern developed this initiative.

McGovern-Dole funds school meal projects in developing countries. The UN World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision and other charities provide meals using McGovern-Dole funds. This program is among those at risk in current budget discussions in the Congress.

McGovern also writes about bipartisan congressional committees, which helped improve the U.S. domestic school lunch program. Today’s representatives need to keep up the fight to ensure needy children in the U.S. can access food. For instance, school lunch and summer feeding program enhancements made by McGovern and his colleagues in the Congress need to be followed through by the current representatives.

The bipartisan cooperation that McGovern writes about is especially critical as hunger rates in the U.S. are rising. Vicki Escarra, President of Feeding America says: “The need for food assistance has increased dramatically during the prolonged and severe recession. Hunger hits every state and county in America, with one in six people facing food insecurity… strong federal nutrition assistance programs will continue to be essential.”

Funding for domestic and overseas food aid is very much on the line currently in Congress. McGovern’s book offers hope in this difficult period by reviewing past achievements in the struggle to end hunger. At the same time, he is looking forward to what should be done next to defeat man’s ancient enemy

Originally published as McGovern’s The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in Our Time is Essential Reading as Congress Debates Food Aid at Blogcritics Magazine

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November 10, 2011 · 3:34 am

Cutting Food Aid Programs Dangerous to National Security

There is much debate in Congress on how much to cut military spending. But there is another vital area of our foreign policy at risk of budget cuts too: international food aid.

Fighting hunger is not often included in talks about national security. But it should be. Remember the famous World War II slogan, “Food will win the war and write the peace.” George Marshall said, “Hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace.” Food formed the foundation of the famous Marshall Plan that spurred Europe’s recovery after the war.

While some members of Congress may think it prudent now to cut food aid programs to save a few dollars, think again. On the contrary, by investing now in nutrition and agriculture development, future humanitarian disasters can be averted, thereby reducing foreign assistance in the future. Nutrition for a generation of children means better educated societies, more stable societies and the chance for economic growth.

Investing in farmers allows them to build up the capacity to better resist drought. This is what can prevent famines from taking hold.

Reducing food aid will cost lives, increase the spread of disease, and weaken societies who are fighting poverty. Congress simply cannot cut food aid, in view of the famine striking East Africa, drought leveling Afghanistan, and malnutrition on the attack in Yemen. We have to remember that Haiti and other countries need food to remain on the road to recovery.

International food aid currently accounts for less than one tenth of one percent of the federal budget. So in essence, you are looking at an already relatively low-funded program that is being selected for potential cuts. You could actually increase the funding for these programs past current levels and put very little strain on the budget.

International food aid programs include the Food for Peace initiative started by President Dwight Eisenhower and the McGovern-Dole program which provides school meals. These programs got their start by members of the Greatest Generation who understood that food forms the basis of all reconstruction, peace and progress.

This is a lesson Congress should not forget as it forges the budget and how to spend on an essential aspect of our national security: fighting global hunger.

Learn more about the potential budget cuts at the World Food Program USA.

Article first published as Cutting Food Aid Programs Dangerous to National Security on Blogcritics.

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