Oxfam America Applauds Senate Passage of Coffee Crisis Resolution
20 November 2002
Washington, DC--At 6:00PM this evening, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing a resolution that directs the U.S. Government to "adopt a global strategy to respond to the current coffee crisis." Since 1997, the global price of coffee has crashed by nearly 70 percent, forcing many coffee-farming families into a humanitarian crisis.
Oxfam launched a global campaign in September to rally international support for its Coffee Rescue Plan with the release of the report Mugged: Poverty in Your Coffee Cup. The report urges governments, corporations, international institutions, civil society organizations, and consumers to support an emergency strategy to immediately create the conditions needed for a sustainable coffee market.
"Oxfam applauds both the House and the Senate for taking this critical step on the road to comprehensive legislation that could effectively combat this world-wide calamity," stated Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "Oxfam looks forward to more concrete and meaningful legislation in the next session of Congress that will improve the livelihoods of over 25 million coffee farmers and their families now facing economic ruin."
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was the lead sponsor of Senate Resolution 368, with backing from original co-sponsors Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA).
-end-
Read more about our Coffee Rescue Plan and our coffee campaign.
