Global Food Security Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Thank you, Mr. Vargas.

Mr. Speaker, the Global Food Security Act is an important bill, and I want to thank my colleagues--Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, Representative Bass, and Representative Fortenberry for his kind remarks--for their hard work to get this bipartisan legislation to the floor today. My very biggest ``thank you'' goes to my great partner in this, Representative Chris Smith.

Thank you, Mr. Smith.

Mr. Speaker, in the world's poorest countries, more than 800 million people are chronically hungry and malnourished. They are struggling and are in desperate poverty, forced to watch as their children suffer and too often die from malnutrition. Children who do survive will remain hungry, and they are so chronically malnourished they are physically and mentally stunted. This malnutrition--this lack of food--hurts not only the individual but the development of an entire country.

With this in mind, former Republican Senator Dick Lugar and I introduced bipartisan-bicameral legislation to call for a comprehensive U.S. food global security strategy in 2009.

But while that bill did not become law, we did build a strong base of bipartisan support around food security, and in 2010, President Obama took up the call to invest in agricultural development and launched Feed the Future.

With the support of Congress, Feed the Future is working to accelerate agriculturally-led economic growth and reduce poverty. It is working with smallholder farmers in 19 countries to help them grow their way out of poverty, improve nutrition for women and children, and create income-generating opportunities.

I have seen the difference our investments in agriculture and nutrition are having in these developing nations. I have met the women farmers who are feeding their families, sending their children to school, and investing in their communities because of Feed the Future. And we need to continue to build on these successes.

The Global Food Security Act will continue to enhance global food security by assisting small-scale farmers, increasing yields, putting more food on families' tables, and then selling more food in the market.

Our bill is about partnering with hardworking farmers who are mostly women to make them more successful. It helps to provide them access to the knowledge, the tools, the markets, and the business opportunities because when a woman farmer succeeds, her children and family are healthier, and they are more likely to succeed.

H.R. 5656 is leveraging a unique partnership with NGOs, private sector businesses, educational institutions, and faith-based groups.

Three Minnesota-based businesses--Land O' Lakes, General Mills, and Cargill--are already partnering with Feed the Future. In fact, General Mills CEO Ken Powell said: ``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.''

So the bottom line is, we cannot sit by and do nothing as 800 million hungry people suffer and far too many die from malnutrition. As mothers and fathers are forced to watch their children go hungry, we can do something.

Human dignity, decency, and our own national security demands that we support and sustain this important investment in agricultural development and nutrition.

I urge all of my colleagues to support the Global Food Security Act.

Once again, I would like to thank Chris Smith, Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, Representative Bass, and all of our staff--Piero, Kelly, Joan, Janice, and Jenn--for all of their work on this bill.

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