Political Quotes

“I was looking at the Washington Post this morning, page A4. There is a story about the President seeking $770 million more in world food aid. At first glance, that sounds like very good news, and it is, to a certain extent. But, unfortunately, it is good news about the future in terms of a commitment for 2009, but it doesn't do nearly enough to meet the crisis that has enveloped large parts of the world with regard to the food insecurity we are seeing all over the world. Here is the point. I and others have asked the President to increase, for this year, our food aid from the $350 million he has proposed earlier by adding another $200 million to that. In the short run, we wanted to go from $350 million to $550 million. This $770 million is great, but it is in 2009. When you think about when the food would hit the ground, so to speak, the difference is that if the President's policy stays in place for the near term, what you are going to have is food hitting the ground, totaling $350 million, in the next couple of months, when we could be adding a lot more to that.”