[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 709 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 709
Expressing the commitment of the Senate to building on the 20 years of
success of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Food for Education and Child
Nutrition Program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 14, 2022
Mr. Moran (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Blunt,
Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. King, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Boozman, and Mr.
Wicker) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the commitment of the Senate to building on the 20 years of
success of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Food for Education and Child
Nutrition Program.
Whereas the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and
Child Nutrition Program (referred to in this preamble as the ``McGovern-
Dole Program'') has improved the food security, nutrition, literacy, and
primary education of school-age children, particularly young girls, and
their families in over 48 countries in just 2 decades;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program was established by section 3107 of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o-1) to procure
agricultural commodities and provide financial and technical assistance
to carry out preschool and school food for education programs in foreign
countries and maternal, infant, and child nutrition programs for
pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, and children who are 5 years
of age or younger;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has provided over 5,500,000,000 school meals
benefitting over 31,000,000 school-age children and their communities;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has been successfully administered by the
Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program is a key program of the Department of
Agriculture aligned with the governmentwide Global Food Security
Strategy;
Whereas in fiscal year 2021 alone, McGovern-Dole Program projects have directly
benefitted more than 4,500,000 children and community members through
the distribution of United States-produced commodities that provide
daily nutritious and high-quality meals and mitigate food insecurity;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program partners with farmers in the United States,
who provide 46,770 metric tons (``MT'') of food commodities in support
of fiscal year 2021 McGovern-Dole Program grants in Central America,
Africa, and Asia;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program complements United States agricultural
commodities with food grown and purchased locally to support farmers and
markets within the recipient's own communities and to build the capacity
of local governments and communities to continue and sustain the
benefits of the McGovern-Dole Program into the future;
Whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic when school closures were commonplace, the
McGovern-Dole Program effectively shifted from providing meals in
schools to providing take-home rations and distributed approximately
23,000 MT of commodities donated by the United States and 550 MT of
locally procured commodities to more than 1,700,000 McGovern-Dole
Program participants and their families across 26 active projects,
ensuring that children continued to receive daily meals and learn while
at home;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program recognizes the value of educating young girls
and contributes to overcoming the barriers they encounter in accessing a
high-quality education by promoting equality and the reduction of
gender-based violence;
Whereas school meals provide an incentive for families to send girls to school
and help girls to stay in school, effectively preventing early marriage
and delaying first pregnancy, which can trap young women in poverty and
limit their future potential;
Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program strengthens local community health and
education through the formation of parent-teacher associations, teacher
training, and improving the infrastructure of schools, classrooms,
commodity storerooms, latrines, and water sources; and
Whereas the United States, as a member of the Global School Meals Coalition, is
committed to and recognizes that investments in the McGovern-Dole
Program, are central to bolstering food security, building resilience to
future shocks, and supporting the nutritional, health, and educational
needs of children and adolescents worldwide: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States
is committed to--
(1) building upon the 20 years of successful work of the
George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education
and Child Nutrition Program (in this resolution referred to as
the ``McGovern-Dole Program'') and its positive role in
breaking cycles of hunger and poverty, providing opportunity
through education and literacy, and improving overall nutrition
and health;
(2) complementing humanitarian assistance efforts and
development programs through the continued implementation of
the McGovern-Dole Program that addresses global food insecurity
and creates conditions for peace and stability; and
(3) supporting United States farmers, millers, shippers,
and commodity groups that provide agricultural commodities for
use in the McGovern-Dole Program to help combat global
malnutrition and food insecurity and advance global education.
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