Senator Durbin on the Food Crisis

This is Durbin's response to my letter to him about the food crisis. My apologies for typos as I typed this in from a hard copy!
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Thank you for contacting me about the importance of addressing the global food crisis. I appreciate haring from you and share your concerns.

More than 800 million people around the world do not have enough food to eat. Many of them have resorted to extreme measures in an attempt to combat their hunger. Many Haitians, for instance, are forced to eat cakes made of mud mixed with a little bit of oil and flour. The lack of access to food has already led to riots in more than 30 countries, including Bangladesh, Egypt and Haiti.

Over the last few years, prices for staples such as wheat, corn, and rice have doubled or tripled. The largest increases have taken place in the last few months. Rising food prices have cause the World Food Program to announce that without emergency funding it will be forced to reduce the amount of food it provides an also end some of its programs.

There is an urgent need for action. On April 15, 2008, I wrote a letter to President Bush which was cosigned by Senators Joe Biden of Delaware and John Kerry of Massachusetts urging the President to request additional funds to address the looming international food crisis. In May 2008, I supported a Senate measure to increase our nation's food assistance funding to a total of $1.245 billion, which is $500 million more than the President requested.

I will continue to work to address the dramatically escalating food prices that threaten to cause widespread hunger and social unrest around the world. I appreciate your support in this effort.

Thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to stay in touch.

Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator