IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1171 Recognizing the instrumental role United States global food security pro- grams, particularly the Feed the Future program, have played in reduc- ing global poverty, building resilience and tackling hunger and malnutri- tion around the world, and calling for continued investment in global food security in the face of the economic impact of COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Ms. MCCOLLUM (for herself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the instrumental role United States global food security programs, particularly the Feed the Future pro- gram, have played in reducing global poverty, building resilience and tackling hunger and malnutrition around the world, and calling for continued investment in global food security in the face of the economic impact of COVID–19. Whereas food security and nutrition are fundamental to human development, particularly in the critical 1,000 day window until a child’s second birthday, and persistent hunger and malnutrition stunt children’s mental and physical development and hinder the health, prosperity, and security of societies; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1171 IH Whereas food insecurity and malnutrition in low- and middle- income countries force tens of millions of people into pov- erty, contribute to political and social instability, and erode economic growth; Whereas in its 2014 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the United States, the United States intelligence community reported that the ‘‘lack of adequate food will be a desta- bilizing factor in countries important to United States national security’’ and has since consistently linked global food insecurity to broader instability; Whereas, despite decades of progress, the State of Food Se- curity and Nutrition in the World report for 2020 indi- cates that global hunger has increased since 2014, with 2,000,000,000 people worldwide currently experiencing food insecurity, of which nearly 750,000,000 people are facing severe food insecurity, and 10,000,000 more peo- ple having fallen into hunger between 2018 and 2019, 144,000,000 children stunted, and 47,000,0000 children experiencing wasting; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in global food systems and food supply chains, and has severely exacerbated existing food security shocks, such as the Fall Army Worm and desert locust infestations in the Horn of Africa region, particularly in Kenya, Ethi- opia, and Somalia, as well as parts of Asia and the Mid- dle East, which already represented an unprecedented threat to global food security and livelihoods; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic and its second-order im- pacts are expected to dramatically worsen the state of global food security and nutrition, with preliminary as- sessments predicting a doubling of severe hunger (from 135,000,000 to 265,000,000 people) and an increase in VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1171 IH child wasting (from 47,000,000 to 52,000,000) by the end of 2020; Whereas the United States has been a global leader in ad- dressing food insecurity on a bipartisan basis and across Administrations, particularly in response to the global food price crisis in 2007–2008 and subsequent launch of the whole-of-government, United States Agency for Inter- national Development-led, Feed the Future program in 2010; Whereas the late Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana was in- strumental in advancing United States efforts to reduce global poverty through smart investments in agriculture and food security, including through his stewardship of the Global Food Security Acts of 2008 and 2009, support for the launch of the Feed the Future program in 2010, and continued advocacy to formally authorize the Feed the Future program through enactment of the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–195) and the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–266); Whereas the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–195), as enacted in 2016 and reauthorized in 2018, required the development and implementation of a com- prehensive United States Government Global Food Secu- rity Strategy and codified the Feed the Future frame- work, strengthening its accountability and transparency mechanisms, deepening interagency engagement, and en- gaging a broad coalition of stakeholders, including faith- based and civil society organizations, universities and re- search institutions, the United States private sector, and United States farm and commodity organizations; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1171 IH Whereas Feed the Future investments have helped transform countries’ food systems and improve their own food secu- rity and nutrition, with investments currently focused in twelve target countries and 35 aligned countries and re- gions in Asia, Central America, and east, southern, and west Africa; Whereas according to its most recent progress report, Feed the Future has helped more than 23,400,000 people lift themselves out of poverty, prevented 3,400,000 children from being stunted, and ensured that 5,200,000 families no longer suffer from hunger in areas where the program operates; Whereas Feed the Future is making significant progress to- wards building local capacity and resilience by promoting inclusive economic growth, strengthening monitoring and evaluation, implementing sustainable agricultural prac- tices, risk management, improving forecasting and adap- tation, and building the agricultural capacity of rural communities; Whereas Feed the Future also is advancing women’s eco- nomic empowerment by providing targeted technical as- sistance to women working in agricultural systems and equipping women with adequate tools, training, and tech- nology for small-scale agriculture; Whereas Feed the Future investments benefit communities in the United States as well, including by increasing United States trade and agricultural exports to Feed the Future countries by more than $1,400,000,000 since inception; and Whereas Feed the Future investments in international agri- cultural research and development through partnerships VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 1171 IH with United States universities and land-grant institu- tions, international research systems, such as the Consor- tium of International Agricultural Research Centers, and other organizations will help the United States agricul- tural sector prepare for, adapt to, and remain resilient amid evolving threats; Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports continued investment in United 2 States global food security programs, and particu- 3 larly through the Feed the Future program’s com- 4 prehensive, multi-sectoral, transparent, data and re- 5 sults-driven approach toward reducing hunger, pov- 6 erty, and malnutrition in low- and middle-income 7 countries; 8 (2) recognizes the need to deepen and extend 9 these efforts in order to achieve the global goal of 10 ending hunger by 2030, particularly in the face of 11 unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID–19 12 pandemic, political and social instability, high levels 13 of human displacement, gender inequities, extreme 14 natural shocks, and the increasing prevalence of 15 invasive agricultural pests, such as desert locusts 16 and the Fall Army Worm; 17 (3) supports United States Government efforts 18 to focus on improving nutrition and health, building 19 resilience, integrating water, sanitation, and hygiene, 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 1171 IH and empowering women, youth, and smallholder 1 farmers; 2 (4) calls on the United States Agency for Inter- 3 national Development to— 4 (A) annually review the Feed the Future 5 program and, as appropriate, expand the list of 6 target countries, including those in fragile con- 7 texts; 8 (B) include information on all countries 9 benefitting from direct Feed the Future invest- 10 ments, to include both focus and aligned coun- 11 tries, in annual reporting in order to further en- 12 hance the program’s commitment to trans- 13 parency and impact; 14 (C) develop a robust multi-sectoral learn- 15 ing agenda for maternal and child malnutrition 16 and its causes, with a focus on the 1,000 day 17 window until a child’s second birthday; 18 (D) strongly amplify the critical role of 19 women and smallholder farmers in enhancing 20 food security and catalyzing agriculture-led eco- 21 nomic growth; and 22 (E) advance the New Partnerships Initia- 23 tive by promoting, building the capacity of, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 1171 IH entering into partnerships with locally-led orga- 1 nizations under the Feed the Future program; 2 (5) calls on the relevant Federal agencies iden- 3 tified under the United States Government Global 4 Food Security Strategy, including the United States 5 Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, and 6 Treasury, and the United States Agency for Inter- 7 national Development, the Millennium Challenge 8 Corporation, the International Development Finance 9 Corporation, the Peace Corps, the Office of the 10 United States Trade Representative, the U.S. Africa 11 Development Foundation, and the U.S. Geological 12 Survey, to— 13 (A) continue to advance global food secu- 14 rity as a United States foreign assistance pri- 15 ority, enhance inter-agency coordination under 16 the Global Food Security Strategy, and align 17 relevant programs with the Feed the Future 18 program’s needs-based, multi-sectoral approach; 19 and 20 (B) contribute to the development of an 21 updated Global Food Security Strategy and a 22 Global Food Security Research Strategy in 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 1171 IH 2021 to guide and inform Feed the Future ac- 1 tivities between 2022 and 2026. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1171.IH HR1171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS