Bipartisan Leaders Laud House Passage of Resolution Urging South Sudan Famine Relief

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD); House Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Karen Bass (D-CA); House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce; House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel; House Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); and Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) released the following statement this evening on H. Res. 187, a bipartisan resolution urging the Administration to release additional funding through USAID to respond to the horrific famine in South Sudan.  The resolution also calls for a cease-fire between the parties engaged in South Sudan’s civil conflict to allow aid to reach affected areas.  The House passed H. Res. 187 this evening by a vote of 411-2. 

“I was proud to join my colleagues in cosponsoring this resolution,” Whip Hoyer said.  “Already coping with the impact of civil conflict, the people of South Sudan are now facing dire hunger, made all the more difficult by the violence that continues to plague the country.  During my visit to Juba in 2007, I found a nation on the cusp of its independence, full of hope and promise for a bright future.  The continued fighting between rival political groups has cast a dark cloud over that future, and our resolution today calls on both sides to observe a cease-fire in order for food aid to reach those who need it.  I urge them to do so, and I hope the Administration will make available the funding our resolution seeks so that USAID can help avert mass starvation in a nation that has already suffered so much.” 

“Since the introduction of this legislation, people have starved to death in South Sudan who did not have to die, but succumbed to a famine caused by man. But this is also a famine that can be ended by man,” Ranking Member Bass said. “I’m proud of this body and of this chamber for putting partisanship aside to address this critical situation and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to find solutions to avoid these crises in the future, but waiting for famine to be declared is waiting too long. We have the ability and the resources to end famine now and we have the moral obligation to do it.”

“I share the anguish of my colleagues in seeing the aspirations of South Sudan’s citizens dashed by kleptocrats and warlords bent on maintaining power at any cost,” said Chairman Royce. “The blood of countless civilians is on their hands.  The people of South Sudan deserve better."

“In South Sudan, more than 40 percent of the population faces severe, life-threatening hunger,” said Ranking Member Engel. “In February, the UN declared 100,000 people to be coping with famine. The United States and our partners have taken on the tall order of distributing food and other necessities to those in need, and with conditions likely to worsen, we must continue providing humanitarian support and pressuring the government in South Sudan and the armed opposition to put the needs of their people first. The measure we passed today underscores the need for continued strong action, and I'm proud to join my colleagues as a cosponsor."                

“One million South Sudanese children are suffering from malnutrition today, and more than 17,000 children are being pressed into service as child soldiers,” said Chairman Smith. “South Sudan’s youth is at grave risk; we must act now to save that country’s future.”

“The broad bipartisan support this resolution has received demonstrates the urgent need for lifesaving humanitarian assistance in South Sudan and around the world,” said Rep. Lee. “The next step to help the South Sudanese people should be the allocation of $1 billion in emergency funding to fight famine. Congress must get off the sidelines and save lives before it's too late.”

“I was in South Sudan just two weeks ago, and while I was there I saw firsthand how the country’s ongoing civil war has devastated the lives of the South Sudanese people,” Rep.Rooney said. “I am proud to stand with my colleagues to call attention to this unfolding humanitarian disaster and advocate for lifesaving aid for the people of South Sudan.”