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fewer than five persons own more than 50 percent of the stock) must adhere to these rules. Consequently, a number of food producers and processors have reported that the burdensome reporting requirements hinder their contributions to food banks. In response to this dilemma, the Select Committee on Hunger played a key role in securing the adoption of a Senate amendment to the Technical Corrections Act which would grant the Internal Revenue Service the authority to promulgate regulations allowing closely held corporations a more relaxed reporting requirement for contributions.

During the 99th Congress, the Select Committee played a key role in assuring the inclusion of language in the Food Security Act to promote gleaning of surplus farm products for use in private emergency food assistance programs. Subsequently, in August 1987, the Committee conducted a hearing to examine the role the Federal Government could assume in helping to educate the public about gleaning and to expand gleaning activities. Following these proceedings, members of the Committee introduced legislation proposing the establishment of a national gleaning clearinghouse within the Department of Agriculture. The Select Committee played a key role in assuring the inclusion of gleaning clearinghouse language in the Emergency Hunger Prevention Act. As signed into law, the provisions authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide technical assistance to state and local agencies for encouraging public and private nonprofit agency involvement in, and sponsorship of, gleaning progams; and, collecting and disseminating information on the types, amounts and geographical location of agricultural products and prepared foods available for gleaning.

3. Conclusions.-In view of current budget contraints which prevent significant improvements in social program benefits which extend to all poor access to a nutritious diet on a consistent basis, the Federal Government should pursue initiatives which foster private giving and lend technical support to private organizations involved in the delivery of services to the poor.

F. Transitional Living Facilities for Homeless Youth

1. Issue Description.-Based on a survey of twenty-six major cities, a study issued in December 1987 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors reports that unaccompanied youth, aged eighteen years and younger, comprise at least four percent of the homeless population. In five of the responding cities, such youth account for at least ten percent of the homeless. These statistics represent children and adolescents who are alone and without resources and who are in critical need of assistance to assure their survival.

Although there is already in place a network of programs which provide crisis intervention for runaway youth, assistance is restricted to a two-week period and services focus on family reunification. All children who make their homes on the streets do not do so by choice. Many youths do not have access to a safe environment with immediate family members or other relatives. Thus, while a number of these individuals are fortunate enough to secure shelter, food, clothing and counseling through the temporary crisis intervention network, service providers testifying before the House Edu

cation and Labor Subcommittee on Human Resources report a critical need for expanded support services.

2. Committee Activities.—In January 1987, the Chairman of the Committee introduced legislation to establish a grant program for the development and maintenance of transitional living facilities for runaway and homeless youth. In June 1988, he testified before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Human Resources that such facilities would enhance the provision of basic necessities with such complementary services as interpersonal skills building, mental and physical health care, education and job training. The Chairman's proposal was incorported in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1987 and enacted as part of the Omnibus Drug Bill. As signed into law, the bill establishes the $5 million grant program to support transitional living facilities for unaccompanied youth with the intent of encouraging self-sufficiency for this population and preventing their long-term dependency on social service programs.

3. Conclusion.-During a number of Select Committee hearings, witnesses have addressed the need for interventions designed to prevent long-term dependency on public assistance programs. Statistics from the Census Bureau indicate a high rate of poverty among children; and, research reveals an escalating population of children among the homeless. Based on these findings, it is recommended that attention be given to the employment of innovative strategies which provide young people with quality education and employment skills to enable them, upon attaining adulthood, to secure jobs at adequate wages thus allowing individuals independence from public assistance programs.

MINORITY VIEWS

The Minority is in general agreement with the progress report, but believes that a few comments or amplifications are in order. Portions of the discussion on the situation in Southern Africa are highly tendentious, especially the section dealing with the civil war in Angola. Characterizing the civil war there as simply "the external face of apartheid" is absurd and ignores the real causes of the conflict between UNITA and the MPLA. The Minority believes, as do a growing number of black African nations, that a negotiated end to the civil war is the only acceptable solution for the Angolan people. The root cause of hunger in Angola will only be addressed when the Luanda regime agrees to national reconciliation with UNITA.

The Minority believes that greater credit should be given to the Administration as it attempts to meet foreign aid goals with a limited budget. This challenge could become even greater in the years ahead. As AID testified at Committee hearings during the 100th Congress, funding constraints force the Administration to place priorities on, and limit funding for, a variety of worthwhile programs. Funding for women in development is one such program. The eradication of guinea worm disease is another. AID testified during the hearing on guinea worm, for example, that the relatively low level of funding for eradication resulted from "the guidance of this committee and others to focus its health activities, and particularly focus them on child survival activities." According to AID, a guinea worm eradication program would cost close to $1 billion, and the agency "cannot give it the kind and quality of priority that other child survival activities clearly demand."

On domestic issues, the Minority believes credit should be given for progress in reducing the number of errors made in the processing of food stamp benefits. Assisted by newly enacted laws requiring States to reduce payment error rates, there has been a decline from 8.3 percent to 7.6 percent in payment error rates from FY 1985 through FY 1987.

The report states that the severity of the homeless problem is escalating at a rapid rate, but then goes on to say that there are no precise figures to substantiate this claim. Although some figures show the number of homeless to be around 2 million people, a USDA study indicates that the number of homeless is closer to 300,000, or less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the nation's population. At the same time, surveys show that only a small fraction of today's homeless are in that condition because of economic reasons. The vast majority are there either because of drug and alcohol addiction or because they have been improperly released from mental institutions.

The report also cites a lack of affordable low-income housing as being a major cause of homelessness. While the rate of growth in

housing has slowed, it is important to note that total housing assistance has still risen 46 percent in constant dollars since 1981, an average of 6.5 percent per year-far faster than the economy as a whole. Further, nine U.S. cities with rent control have three times the rate of homelessness as the U.S. city average, indicating that rent control is a leading cause of homelessness.

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