WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2014 -- The House Foreign Affairs
Committee on Thursday favorably reported to the full House a bill that supporters say would strengthen
President Obama’s Feed
the Future Initiative as it works to alleviate hunger around the
globe.
The bill, HR 5656, is
sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn. In the
Senate, a companion bill, (S. 2909), has
bipartisan support from Democrats Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Chris Coons of Delaware and Ben Cardin
of Maryland plus Republicans Mike Johanns of Nebraska, John Boozman of
Arkansas, and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.
The
measure would for the first time give congressional authorization to the
program, which was launched in 2010 in response to the global food price spikes
of 2007 and 2008. Coordinated primarily by the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), the program last year
was instrumental in providing nutritional help to more than 12 million children
and assistance to nearly 7 million farmers and food producers in the poorest
regions of Africa, Latin America and South Asia, according to its most recent
progress report.
The
bill would require the White House to develop a “whole-of-government strategy”
to address global food insecurity and malnutrition. Additionally, it calls
for improved monitoring and evaluation practices to make sure taxpayer dollars
are being used effectively, and requires the administration to report to
Congress annually about program strategy, results and the use of foreign
assistance funds.
While the legislation has bipartisan support, its fate in the lame duck
session of Congress, which will end before Christmas, is uncertain. A markup of
the legislation has not been scheduled in the Senate where some lawmakers want
the bill to give more credit to the USDA for its contribution to the
initiative.
Meanwhile, during an event Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol to encourage
backing for Feed the Future, a letter written by Strive Masiyiwa, chairman of
Econet Wireless, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world,
was distributed. Masiyiwa, whom Forbes magazine calls “the Bill Gates of
Africa,” wrote to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif.,
in support of HR 5656.
“The Feed the Future program is critical for promoting shared prosperity in
Africa,” he wrote. “While I am founder and chairman of an African telecommunications
firm…., I strongly believe that catalyzing agriculture holds the key to Africa’s
future, since it accounts for more than 60 percent of our jobs and for more
than a third of our economy.
“The Green Revolution has started taking root in Africa and this
legislation… is very important to accelerating our progress.”
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