Despite years of efforts by dedicated volunteers, local organizations, and government agencies, poverty remains a persistent and problematic phenomenon within society. Indeed, U.S. Census data show a steady increase in the rate of poverty over the last several decades. The persistence in poverty has led to the development of federal programs…

These keynote remarks review some of the origins of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act. This legislation, whose goal is to conquer famine and malnutrition worldwide, was signed into law by President Ford in 1975. Senator Hubert Humphrey's address at the 1977 Famine Prevention Symposium in Washington, DC, is recounted with emphasis on his…