About Bread for the World Comprehensive Timeline: 1974 - 2014 | Page 5

ing hunger. Bread also joins with many other groups
in an ambitious campaign to reform foreign assistance
to make it more effective in reducing hunger and
poverty. Bipartisan bills introduced in both houses of
Congress began the process.

leaders. They agree on some tax increases and spending cuts in 2012, but make almost no cuts to poverty-focused programs. Congress extends the current earned
income tax credit and child tax credit benefits for
five years, assisting more than 13 million low-income
working families, including over 25 million children.
On foreign assistance reform, the House of Representatives and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
both unanimously pass a bipartisan bill that endorse
improvements in aid accountability.

2010

In response to the economic crisis, Congress passes a
stimulus bill that expands additional funding for many
programs that help low-income people. Bread supports
it, focusing especially on tax credits for low-income
working families, which are the government’s largest
anti-poverty programs aside from Social Security. The
earned income tax credit alone lifts 6.5 million people—
half of them children—out of poverty. Late in 2010,
Congress passes a five-year renewal of child nutrition
programs, including an increase of $4.5 billion over 10
years, the largest increase of its kind. Also in this year,
President Obama establishes government-wide policies
and priorities on international development; the State
Department and USAID also began reform processes.
Bread also joins global leaders to launch the 1,000
Days Partnership, which promotes targeted action and
investment to improve nutrition for mothers and children in the 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy
and her child’s second birthday. The first 1,000-day
period of the partnership—from the launch in September 2010 through June 2013—has increased attention to
the urgency of addressing malnutrition and mobilized
support for maternal and child nutrition across governments, civil society, and the private sector.

2013

Bread members petition President Obama to set a goal
and develop a plan to end hunger. In this year, he becomes more outspoken on poverty issues, as do several
leading Republicans. Strong public disapproval of a
government shutdown in August finally leads Congress
to moderate budget brinksmanship. Meanwhile, the
reform of U.S. foreign aid continues: USAID is now a
stronger agency; development in low-income countries
is a higher priority of U.S. foreign policy; aid programs
are more transparent and accountable; and local people
have a stronger role in U.S. funded projects.

2014

As the year begins, Congress agrees on a big budget
spending bill and a new farm bill. Funding for WIC,
Head Start, and poverty-focused development assistance increases. Funding for unemployment insurance and SNAP (food stamps) is reduced , but the cut
in SNAP is much less than expected. Both the budget
deal and the farm bill make changes in the rules governing how international food aid is shipped, eliminating aid to about 1 million people annually. Despite
uncompromising pressure over several years to cut
about $3 trillion from low-income programs, total cuts
in poverty-focused programs between 2011 and 2013
come to less than $50 billion. Hunger in America
surged during the economic crisis of 2008, but the
protection of federal programs has kept hunger from
increasing further despite increasing unemployment
in 2009 and 2010. The surprising expansion of U.S.
development assistance during these years helped to
maintain the momentum of global progress against
hunger and poverty.

2011

In the spring, the House of Representatives passes
a budget resolution that proposes huge cuts in government spending, including $3 trillion over 10 years
targeted to programs that focus on low-income people. Bread helps to enlist many churches and faithrelated agencies in a multi-year campaign to maintain a circle of protection around programs focused
on hungry and poor people in the United States and
around the world.

2012

As the two political parties insist on two different visions of how to reduce U.S. budget deficits, creating
uncertainty that slowed recovery of the U.S. economy
and job market, Bread and our church partners maintain a dialogue with top Republican and Democratic

Due to pressure from Bread, USAID and the government adopt a nutrition policy to be announced in May.
In June, Bread celebrates our 40th anniversary!
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