Policy Resolution CYF-16-05

WHEREAS, 795 million people globally experience hunger every day;

WHEREAS, for lack of food, millions of the world’s poor are left stunted, blind, left with developmental disabilities and countless others are continually weakened by anemia, condemned to do little more than survive;

WHEREAS, 45.3 million people live in poverty in the United States, 14.7 million of them children;

WHEREAS, nearly 15 percent of U.S. households approximately 49 million Americans, including 15.9 million children experience hunger or food insecurity, which can produce physical, mental, and social impairments;

WHEREAS, although substantial progress has been made in reducing the incidence of hunger and food insecurity in the United States and around the world, millions of people remain vulnerable to hunger and the negative effects of food deprivation; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the percentage of the world’s population that is undernourished has decreased from 23.4 percent in 1990-92 to 13.5 percent in 2012-14.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) calls on all elected leaders in state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and the White House to make it a top priority to end hunger by 2030;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL calls on the U.S. Congress and the White House to provide adequate and consistent funding for the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL recognizes the unique power of churches, schools, communities, local charities, and people of good will, to generate the political will to help end hunger by 2030;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL recognizes the importance of government policy to help end hunger;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL joins the world in endorsing the goal to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world by 2030; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Children, Youth, and Families Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Co-Chairs:  Representative Mike Shelton (OK) and Representative Raumesh Akbari (TN)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 4, 2015
• Ratification is certified by: Senator Catherine Pugh (MD), President