Global Food Security Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support for the Global Food Security Act, H.R. 1567. I want to especially thank Congressman Chris Smith for being a real, true partner on this bill and for his work to advance global food security, which we both care about so very deeply.

This bill is an important bill with a goal everyone should support: helping hardworking farmers grow the food they need to feed and support their families. As we have already heard, in the world's poorest countries, nearly 800 million people are chronically hungry or malnourished, and more than 150 million children under the age of 5 are stunted.

No parent should have to watch their child suffer or even die because they don't have access to the nutritious food they need to survive. For children who somehow do survive, the lasting damage of not having access to healthy food means that a child will not grow physically and mentally the way that they should, especially during the first thousand days, and any damage that is done is permanent.

According to the World Bank, stunting ``means a child has failed to develop in full, and it is essentially irreversible, which means that the child will have little hope of achieving [their] full potential.''

As a global community, we know that chronic malnutrition severely limits a child's ability to grow, to learn, and to thrive. But it is not just harmful for that child or the family, it undermines the development of an entire community and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. And all of this is completely preventable.

Working with small holder farmers, especially women, Feed the Future is helping to provide the tools, resources, education, and training these farmers need to grow their way out of poverty and to improve nutrition and create new economic opportunities.

I have been fortunate enough to see the work USAID is doing around the globe and to hear directly from women farmers about the difference it has made for themselves and their families. A mother can now feed her family better food, pay her children's school fees, invest in her community, and become an entrepreneur herself.

These are success stories that happen when the United States makes smart investments in global food security. These are the successes that we must continue if we want to strengthen families, communities, and, yes, even our own national security.

Feed the Future does not work alone. It is partnering with private sector businesses, civil society, and universities. Bringing these sectors together with their specialized knowledge and expertise is not only good for that farmer or local processor, but it builds new, stable markets in these communities.

Minnesota-based businesses Land O'Lakes, General Mills, and Cargill are already working with Feed the Future. General Mills CEO Ken Powell said, ``And we are hungry to help the farmer in Malawi who, by selling her crop, will generate the money needed to support her family and pay for her children to go to school.''

Well, that truly sums it up. This is what this legislation is all about: empowering women farmers to support and care for their families.

Once again, I want to thank Congressman Chris Smith for being a great partner on this journey. I would like to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for helping to move this legislation forward, along with Congresswoman Bass.

I also want to thank the staff--Piero, Jenn, Janice, and Joan--for all the work that they did to help get this bill to the floor today.

In December 2014, this House passed a similar version of this bill by a voice vote, but the Senate failed to act. So today, once again, I urge my colleagues to support the Global Food Security Act.

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