Most indicators show that poverty has increased in the United States during the last year. Unemployment and underemployment are unabated in parts of the country. There are more people with no health care coverage. Eligibility for food stamps has risen. But, one compilation of data is missing. It measures hunger in the population. Though the 2003 report has been completed and was to have been made public this week, it hasn't been. Some people believe the report is being suppressed because it would reveal the Bush administration has failed the most vulnerable Americans right before the election.
The Associated Press reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Kerry campaign on Friday criticized the administration for putting off, possibly until after the election, issuing an annual report that could show an increase in the number of households that either don't have access to enough food or have experienced hunger.
The Agriculture Department report, originally scheduled to be made public either Thursday or Friday, is being reviewed by the department. No new date has been set for its release.
The food security report, compiled by the USDA's Economic Research Service, is based on a survey of some 50,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and generally comes out about a month after the Census Bureau reports on poverty in the country.
The Census Bureau said in August that the ranks of the uninsured and the impoverished grew in 2003 for the third consecutive year, with the number living in poverty rising 1.3 million to 35.8 million.
A rise in people living below the poverty line usually translates into a rise in those who experience either food insecurity - meaning they don't have access to enough food for healthy living at all times - or actual hunger.
Over eleven percent of households lacked sufficient food in 2002, up from over ten percent in 2001. An estimated 12 million American children knew hunger that year. The trend likely continued. The Bush administration says it needs to take a second look at "definitions' in the report. That may mean there will be an effort to reduce the number of households counted as lacking enough food by redefining some of the terminology. That famously occurred during the Reagan administration. It attempted to redefine ketchup as a vegetable to bolster a claim school lunches for poor children were more nutritious than they were.
Article comments
1 - Jack Schafer
John Kerry can tell you everything that is wrong with the present administration. He has no plan to fix or repair anything. You have the plan. If it will get you to vote for him, he's for it. He is so self centered he cares about nothing but his ego. I spent a total of 17 months in Viet Nam. We built schools doctored aged & kids that needed attention. When I got back, people looked down on me. they called us murderers, rapists, & baby killers. I came back to what I thought would be a warm welcome. We got none of this because of John Kerry & Jane Fonda. They should have been tried for treason when they met with Ho Chi Min. I would like to see him ostracized. Vote for a man that is honest, AND CARES!! If Kerry gets elected the best job will be teaching our children Arabic or French cause it will probably be the main language of these UNITED? STATES
Thank You!
A leopard doesn't change his spots.(he tries to hide them)
2 - Mac Diva
French would become the main language for the United States? Seems unlikely, Jack. Mais, c'est juste mon avis.
3 - boomcrashbaby
Actually I think a leopard wears his spots with Pride.