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- As Delivered -
WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following remarks in support of the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (S.1252):
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very proud that we’re about to take our final step on the Global Food Security Act and send it to the President’s desk. I want to thank Representatives Smith and McCullom for their hard work on this issue here in the House, as well as Senators Casey and Corker for steering this effort in the other body.
“I also want to thank our Chairman Ed Royce, as always, for his leadership. This is another great example of bipartisan, commonsense cooperation on foreign policy issues.
“Mr. Speaker, nearly 800 million people around the world live without the certainty that their families will have enough to eat. When children don’t make it to the age of five, half the time it’s because of malnutrition.
“That’s just heartbreaking. There’s more than enough food on this planet to feed everyone. The idea that so many are starving is simply unconscionable.
“It’s also a major roadblock for countries and communities. Underfed populations are less productive and more vulnerable to disease. Without reliable access to food, it is much harder for a country to achieve stability and prosperity.
“So we have an interest and a moral obligation in trying to tackle this problem as part of our foreign policy. This bill places a special priority on foreign-assistance programs that aim to reduce global poverty and hunger. It also authorizes a robust investment in the Obama Administration’s signature ‘Feed the Future’ initiative, as well as other State Department and USAID efforts dealing with global hunger.
“This bill has moved forward with tremendous bipartisan support, and I’m glad to cast one final vote for it today. I support this bill. I urge my colleagues to do the same. I thank Chairman Royce once again, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
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