On Hunger and Poverty in the United States

President Bush, May 4, 2004, Maumee OH:

"Amidst our plenty, there's loneliness and hunger, and people lacking shelter. But those problems can be solved by rallying the armies of compassion, by encouraging people to serve their nation by loving their neighbor."

President Bush, July 21, 2004, Washington, DC:

"Our country has made a lot of progress in ending dependency on government. Now we must move forward to strengthen work requirements that lead people from welfare to stable jobs. We need to encourage marriage and the family ties that improve the lives of our children. During the next four years, we'll help more citizens to own their health plan, to own a piece of their retirement, to own their own home or their own small business. We'll usher in a new era of ownership in America, with an agenda to help all our citizens save and build and invest, so every person owns a part of the American Dream

"This broad agenda we will carry into the new term comes from a basic conviction: Government should never try to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. Yet government can and should help citizens gain the tools to make their own choices and to improve their own lives. When men and women have a sound education, and the skills to seize new opportunities, and the security of health care, they will achieve great things for themselves and for our nation. There is no greater force tor good in this world than the energy of free people."

On Global Poverty, Hunger, Health and Development

President Bush, July 13, 2004, Washington, DC:

"Like all good partnerships, AGOA (Africa Growth and Opportunity Act) has been beneficial to all parties. Free trade between the United States and sub-Sahara Africa has created jobs, wealth, and opportunity on both continents. Last year, under AGOA, African exports to the United States increased by 55 percent, and American businesses saw a 15-percent increase in our exports to sub-Sahara Africa that equals almost $7 billion. The most notable gains were made by American companies selling agricultural goods and machinery and transportation equipment.

"See, when you sell goods in Africa, it means somebody is finding work here at home. Trade must work both ways. AGOA has been beneficial to the people of the continent of Africa and to the people of the United States of America.
That's why this is a good piece of legislation."

President Bush, July 11, 2003, Entebbe, Uganda:

"Africa has the will to fight AIDS, but it needs the resources as well. And this is my country's pledge to the people of Africa and the people of Uganda: You are not alone in this fight. America has decided to act. Over the next five years my country will spend $15 billion to fight AIDS around the world, with special focus here on the continent of Africa.  We'll work with governments and private groups and faith-based organizations to put in place a comprehensive system to prevent, to diagnose and to treat AIDS.  We will support abstinence-based education for young people in schools and churches and community centers.  We will provide comprehensive services to treat million of new infections."

Senator Kerry, July 13, 2004, Boston, MA:

"The countries of sub-Saharan Africa are among the world's most economically isolated, lacking sufficient access to export markets as well as investment capital to generate solid economic growth. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides a door to a brighter future for many of these same nations. By enhancing and enabling economic, legal and political reform, AGOA sets the stage for economic growth, democratic progress, and political stability in the region, and helps lift up the lives of the people of Africa. But AGOA must be only one element of a broader U.S. partnership with Africa aimed at helping  a continent battle the scourge of disease, overcome conflict, and emerge from under the long shadow of chronic poverty.

"I will work with the United Nations and Africa's regional organizations to address Africa's persistent, disproportionate share of the worlds weak, failing states and chronic armed conflicts, and I will support effective debt
relief measures where appropriate. Finally, I will intensify U.S. efforts to promote democracy, economic reform and respect for human rights in Africa.

Senator Kerry, July 15, 2004, Philadelphia, PA:

"No crisis challenges the American conscience more than the growing global AIDS pandemic. This audience
needs no reminder of the bitter toll that AIDS has exacted here at home. As president, I will make a -commitment
that by 2008, we will double the amount that America spends fighting global epidemics like AIDS to $30 billion. Fighting AIDS will make us safer, because societies ravaged by AIDS are more likely to become failed states and havens for terrorists. But more than that, fighting AIDS is a moral obligation. How can we see the suffering of so many and
turn aside or do too little? If we do not help, who will?"