Global Food Security Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the Global Food Security Act promotes food security, resilience and nutrition in developing countries in keeping with U.S. national security interests. It utilizes agriculture-led economic development as a vehicle for lessening dependence on emergency food aid assistance while enhancing efficiency among federal departments and agencies and leveraging the participation of other non-U.S. governmental partners. We must and we do emphasize nutrition and--in particular--nutrition during the critical window of the first 1000 days of life, beginning at conception until about age two. Indeed, there is perhaps no wiser investment that we could make in the human person than to concentrate on ensuring that sufficient nutrition and health assistance is given during the first one thousand days of life. We know that children who do not receive adequate nutrition in utero are more likely to experience lifelong cognitive and physical deficiencies, such as stunting. UNICEF estimates that one in four children worldwide is stunted due to lack of adequate nutrition. Indeed, we are fortunate that President Bush, beginning in 2002, had the initial foresight to elevate the important role of food security in U.S. foreign policy, especially in Africa, via the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA), which was funded through development assistance and implemented through USAID. The objective was to elevate self-sufficiency over dependency. At the same time, the Millennium Challenge Corporation began making substantial investments in agriculture-led economic growth programs, particularly in Africa. The food price crisis of 2007 through 2008 accelerated and underscored the need for a robust food security policy. This too is the course that President Obama continued and built upon, also focusing on agriculture-led economic development. In fact, in the last Congress, and again this year, the House passed Global Food Security legislation introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum and I to provide congressional authorization of the program and help ensure a continuity and commitment to food security--beginning with the last Administration, through the present and into the next. That we are here today for final passage is a testament to the dedication of numerous committed groups outside Congress that have made food security and nutrition their priority, from advocates to implementers--especially and including faith-based organizations who perhaps work the closest to the small-holder farmers and women who benefit in particular from our food security efforts. I also want to compliment the leadership of USAID, that of former Administrator Shah and, in particular Beth Dunford, who now heads up USAID's Feed the Future initiative. As a career foreign service professional, Ms. Dunford has served on the frontlines of the battle against global food insecurity. She brings a wealth of field experience, from Ethiopia to Nepal, with her to Washington. Finally, I would like to thank especially the lead Democratic cosponsor of the House version of the Global Food Security Act, Rep. Betty McCollum, for her work and that of her team.

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