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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1252 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1252

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
   To authorize a comprehensive strategic approach for United States 
foreign assistance to developing countries to reduce global poverty and 
    hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive, 
  sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional 
  outcomes, especially for women and children, build resilience among 
            vulnerable populations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Food Security Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of 
        the United Nations (referred to in this section as the 
        ``FAO''), 805,000,000 people worldwide suffer from chronic 
        hunger. Hunger and malnutrition rob people of health and 
        productive lives and stunt the mental and physical development 
        of future generations.
            (2) According to the January 2014 ``Worldwide Threat 
        Assessment of the US Intelligence Community''--
                    (A) the ``[l]ack of adequate food will be a 
                destabilizing factor in countries important to US 
                national security that do not have the financial or 
                technical abilities to solve their internal food 
                security problems''; and
                    (B) ``[f]ood and nutrition insecurity in weakly 
                governed countries might also provide opportunities for 
                insurgent groups to capitalize on poor conditions, 
                exploit international food aid, and discredit 
                governments for their inability to address basic 
                needs''.
            (3) A comprehensive approach to sustainable food and 
        nutrition security should not only respond to emergency food 
        shortages, but should also address malnutrition, resilience to 
        food and nutrition insecurity, building the capacity of poor, 
        rural populations to improve their agricultural productivity 
        and incomes, removing institutional impediments to agricultural 
        development, value chain access and efficiency, including 
        processing and storage, enhancing agribusiness development, 
        access to markets and activities that address the specific 
        needs and barriers facing women and small-scale producers, 
        education, and collaborative research.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY OBJECTIVES; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Statement of Policy Objectives.--It is in the national interest 
of the United States to promote global food security, resilience, and 
nutrition, consistent with national food security investment plans, 
which is reinforced through programs, activities, and initiatives 
that--
            (1) place food insecure countries on a path toward self-
        sufficiency and economic freedom through the coordination of 
        United States foreign assistance programs;
            (2) accelerate inclusive, agricultural-led economic growth 
        that reduces global poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, 
        particularly among women and children;
            (3) increase the productivity, incomes, and livelihoods of 
        small-scale producers, especially women, by working across 
        agricultural value chains, enhancing local capacity to manage 
        agricultural resources effectively and expanding producer 
        access to local and international markets;
            (4) build resilience to food shocks among vulnerable 
        populations and households while reducing reliance upon 
        emergency food assistance;
            (5) create an enabling environment for agricultural growth 
        and investment, including through the promotion of secure and 
        transparent property rights;
            (6) improve the nutritional status of women and children, 
        with a focus on reducing child stunting, including through the 
        promotion of highly nutritious foods, diet diversification, and 
        nutritional behaviors that improve maternal and child health;
            (7) demonstrably meet, align with and leverage broader 
        United States strategies and investments in trade, economic 
        growth, national security, science and technology, agriculture 
        research and extension, maternal and child health, nutrition, 
        and water, sanitation, and hygiene;
            (8) continue to strengthen partnerships between United 
        States-based universities, including land-grant colleges, and 
        universities and institutions in target countries and 
        communities that build agricultural capacity; and
            (9) ensure the effective use of United States taxpayer 
        dollars to further these objectives.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
President, in providing assistance to implement the Global Food 
Security Strategy, should--
            (1) coordinate, through a whole-of-government approach, the 
        efforts of relevant Federal departments and agencies to 
        implement the Global Food Security Strategy;
            (2) seek to fully utilize the unique capabilities of each 
        relevant Federal department and agency while collaborating with 
        and leveraging the contributions of other key stakeholders; and
            (3) utilize open and streamlined solicitations to allow for 
        the participation of a wide range of implementing partners 
        through the most appropriate procurement mechanisms, which may 
        include grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other 
        instruments as necessary and appropriate.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (F) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Feed the future innovation labs.--The term ``Feed the 
        Future Innovation Labs'' means research partnerships led by 
        United States universities that advance solutions to reduce 
        global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition.
            (3) Food and nutrition security.--The term ``food and 
        nutrition security'' means access to, and availability, 
        utilization, and stability of, sufficient food to meet caloric 
        and nutritional needs for an active and healthy life.
            (4) Global food security strategy.--The term ``Global Food 
        Security Strategy'' means the strategy developed and 
        implemented pursuant to section 5(a).
            (5) Key stakeholders.--The term ``key stakeholders'' means 
        actors engaged in efforts to advance global food security 
        programs and objectives, including--
                    (A) relevant Federal departments and agencies;
                    (B) national and local governments in target 
                countries;
                    (C) other bilateral donors;
                    (D) international and regional organizations;
                    (E) international, regional, and local financial 
                institutions;
                    (F) international, regional, and local private 
                voluntary, nongovernmental, faith-based, and civil 
                society organizations;
                    (G) the private sector, including agribusinesses 
                and relevant commodities groups;
                    (H) agricultural producers, including farmer 
                organizations, cooperatives, small-scale producers, and 
                women; and
                    (I) agricultural research and academic 
                institutions, including land-grant universities and 
                extension services.
            (6) Malnutrition.--The term ``malnutrition'' means poor 
        nutritional status caused by nutritional deficiency or excess.
            (7) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term 
        ``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' means the United 
        States Agency for International Development, the Department of 
        Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of 
        State, the Department of the Treasury, the Millennium Challenge 
        Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the 
        Peace Corps, the Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative, the United States African Development 
        Foundation, the United States Geological Survey, and any other 
        department or agency specified by the President for purposes of 
        this section.
            (8) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the ability 
        of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to 
        mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses to 
        food security in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability 
        and facilitates inclusive growth.
            (9) Small-scale producer.--The term ``small-scale 
        producer'' means farmers, pastoralists, foresters, and fishers 
        that have a low asset base and limited resources, including 
        land, capital, skills and labor, and, in the case of farmers, 
        typically farm on fewer than 5 hectares of land.
            (10) Stunting.--The term ``stunting'' refers to a condition 
        that--
                    (A) is measured by a height-to-age ratio that is 
                more than 2 standard deviations below the median for 
                the population;
                    (B) manifests in children who are younger than 2 
                years of age;
                    (C) is a process that can continue in children 
                after they reach 2 years of age, resulting in an 
                individual being ``stunted'';
                    (D) is a sign of chronic malnutrition; and
                    (E) can lead to long-term poor health, delayed 
                motor development, impaired cognitive function, and 
                decreased immunity.
            (11) Sustainable.--The term ``sustainable'' means the 
        ability of a target country, community, implementing partner, 
        or intended beneficiary to maintain, over time, the programs 
        authorized and outcomes achieved pursuant to this Act.
            (12) Target country.--The term ``target country'' means a 
        developing country that is selected to participate in 
        agriculture and nutrition security programs under the Global 
        Food Security Strategy pursuant to the selection criteria 
        described in section 5(a)(2), including criteria such as the 
        potential for agriculture-led economic growth, government 
        commitment to agricultural investment and policy reform, 
        opportunities for partnerships and regional synergies, the 
        level of need, and resource availability.

SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY STRATEGY.

    (a) Strategy.--The President shall coordinate the development and 
implementation of a United States whole-of-government strategy to 
accomplish the policy objectives set forth in section 3(a), which 
shall--
            (1) set specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, 
        timetables, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation 
        plans that reflect international best practices relating to 
        transparency, accountability, food and nutrition security, and 
        agriculture-led economic growth, consistent with the policy 
        objectives described in section 3(a);
            (2) establish clear and transparent selection criteria for 
        target countries, communities, regions, and intended 
        beneficiaries of assistance;
            (3) describe the methodology and criteria for the selection 
        of target countries;
            (4) support and be aligned with country-owned agriculture, 
        nutrition, and food security policy and investment plans 
        developed with input from key stakeholders, as appropriate;
            (5) support inclusive agricultural value chain development, 
        with small-scale producers, especially women, gaining greater 
        access to the inputs, skills, resource management capacity, 
        networking, bargaining power, financing, and market linkages 
        needed to sustain their long-term economic prosperity;
            (6) support improvement of the nutritional status of women 
        and children, particularly during the critical first 1,000-day 
        window until a child reaches 2 years of age and with a focus on 
        reducing child stunting, through nutrition-specific and 
        nutrition-sensitive programs, including related water, 
        sanitation, and hygiene programs;
            (7) facilitate communication and collaboration, as 
        appropriate, among local stakeholders in support of a multi-
        sectoral approach to food and nutrition security, to include 
        analysis of the multiple underlying causes of malnutrition, 
        including lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, 
        and hygiene;
            (8) support the long-term success of programs by building 
        the capacity of local organizations and institutions in target 
        countries and communities;
            (9) integrate resilience and nutrition strategies into food 
        security programs, such that chronically vulnerable populations 
        are better able to build safety nets, secure livelihoods, 
        access markets, and access opportunities for longer-term 
        economic growth;
            (10) develop community and producer resilience to natural 
        disasters, emergencies, and natural occurrences that adversely 
        impact agricultural yield;
            (11) harness science, technology, and innovation, including 
        the research and extension activities supported by relevant 
        Federal Departments and agencies and Feed the Future Innovation 
        Labs, or any successor entities;
            (12) integrate agricultural development activities among 
        food insecure populations living in proximity to designated 
        national parks or wildlife areas into wildlife conservation 
        efforts, as necessary and appropriate;
            (13) leverage resources and expertise through partnerships 
        with the private sector, farm organizations, cooperatives, 
        civil society, faith-based organizations, and agricultural 
        research and academic institutions;
            (14) strengthen and expand collaboration between United 
        States universities, including public, private, and land-grant 
        universities, with higher education institutions in target 
        countries to increase their effectiveness and relevance to 
        promote agricultural development and innovation through the 
        creation of human capital, innovation, and cutting edge science 
        in the agricultural sector;
            (15) seek to ensure that target countries and communities 
        respect and promote land tenure rights of local communities, 
        particularly those of women and small-scale producers;
            (16) include criteria and methodologies for graduating 
        target countries and communities from assistance provided to 
        implement the Global Food Security Strategy as such countries 
        and communities meet the progress benchmarks identified 
        pursuant to section 8(b)(4); and
            (17) demonstrably support the United States national 
        security and economic interest in the countries where 
        assistance is being provided.
    (b) Coordination.--The President shall coordinate, through a whole-
of-government approach, the efforts of relevant Federal departments and 
agencies in the implementation of the Global Food Security Strategy 
by--
            (1) establishing monitoring and evaluation systems, 
        coherence, and coordination across relevant Federal departments 
        and agencies;
            (2) establishing linkages with other initiatives and 
        strategies of relevant Federal departments and agencies; and
            (3) establishing platforms for regular consultation and 
        collaboration with key stakeholders and the appropriate 
        congressional committees.
    (c) Strategy Submission.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than October 1, 2016, the 
        President, in consultation with the head of each relevant 
        Federal department and agency, shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees the Global Food Security Strategy 
        required under this section, including a detailed description 
        of how the United States intends to advance the objectives set 
        forth in section 3(a) and the agency-specific plans described 
        in paragraph (2).
            (2) Agency-specific plans.--The Global Food Security 
        Strategy shall include specific implementation plans from each 
        relevant Federal department and agency that describes--
                    (A) the anticipated contributions of the department 
                or agency, including technical, financial, and in-kind 
                contributions, to implement the Global Food Security 
                Strategy; and
                    (B) the efforts of the department or agency to 
                ensure that the activities and programs carried out 
                pursuant to the strategy are designed to achieve 
                maximum impact and long-term sustainability.

SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE TO IMPLEMENT THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY STRATEGY.

    (a) Food Shortages.--The President is authorized to carry out 
activities pursuant to section 103, section 103A, title XII of chapter 
2 of part I, and chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151a, 2151a-1, 2220a et seq., and 2346 et seq.) to 
prevent or address food shortages notwithstanding any other provision 
of law.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development $1,000,600,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018 to carry out those portions of the 
Global Food Security Strategy that relate to the Department of State 
and the United States Agency for International Development, 
respectively.
    (c) Monitoring and Evaluation.--The President shall seek to ensure 
that assistance to implement the Global Food Security Strategy is 
provided under established parameters for a rigorous accountability 
system to monitor and evaluate progress and impact of the strategy, 
including by reporting to the appropriate congressional committees and 
the public on an annual basis.

SEC. 7. EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the crisis in Syria, which is characterized by acts of 
        terrorism and atrocities directed against civilians, including 
        mass murder, forced displacement, aerial bombardment, ethnic 
        and religious persecution, torture, kidnapping, rape and sexual 
        enslavement, has triggered one of the most profound 
        humanitarian crises of this century and poses a direct threat 
        to regional security and the national security interests of the 
        United States;
            (2) it is in the national security interests of the United 
        States to respond to the needs of displaced Syrian persons and 
        the communities hosting such persons, including with food 
        assistance; and
            (3) after four years of conflict in Syria and the onset of 
        other major humanitarian emergencies where, like Syria, the 
        provision of certain United States humanitarian assistance has 
        been particularly challenging, including the 2013 super-typhoon 
        in the Philippines, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in west Africa, 
        the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, ongoing humanitarian disasters in 
        Yemen and South Sudan, and the threat of a major El Nino event 
        in 2016, United States international disaster assistance has 
        become severely stressed.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States, in coordination with other donors, regional governments, 
international organizations, and international financial institutions, 
to fully leverage, enhance, and expand the impact and reach of 
available United States humanitarian resources, including for food 
assistance, to mitigate the effects of manmade and natural disasters by 
utilizing innovative new approaches to delivering aid that support 
affected persons and the communities hosting them, build resilience and 
early recovery, and reduce opportunities for waste, fraud, and abuse.
    (c) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--
            (1) Section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2292) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 
                (d); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 
                new subsection:
    ``(c) Emergency Food Security Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the limitations in section 
        492, and notwithstanding any other provision of this or any 
        other Act, the President is authorized to make available 
        emergency food assistance, including in the form of funds, 
        transfers, vouchers, and agricultural commodities (including 
        products derived from agricultural commodities) acquired 
        through local or regional procurement, to meet emergency food 
        needs arising from manmade and natural disasters.
            ``(2) Designation.--Funds made available under this 
        subsection shall be known as the `International Disaster 
        Assistance - Emergency Food Security Program'.''.
            (2) Section 492 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2292a) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``$25,000,000 
                for the fiscal year 1986 and $25,000,000 for the fiscal 
                year 1987.'' and inserting ``$2,794,184,000 for each of 
                fiscal years 2017 and 2018, of which up to 
                $1,257,382,000 should be made available to carry out 
                section 491(c).''; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 
                new subsections:
    ``(c) Amounts in Addition to Other Amounts.--Amounts authorized to 
be appropriated pursuant to the authorizations of appropriations under 
section 491(c) are in addition to funds otherwise available for such 
purposes.
    ``(d) Flexibility.--
            ``(1) United states policy.--It is the policy of the United 
        States that the funds made available to carry out section 491 
        are intended to provide the President with the greatest 
        possible flexibility to address disaster-related needs as they 
        arise and to prepare for and reduce the impact of natural and 
        man-made disasters.
            ``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        any amendments to applicable legal provisions contained in this 
        Act are not intended to limit such authorities.
    ``(e) Report.--Not later than March 1 of each fiscal year, the 
President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives a report that describes the activities undertaken by 
the President over the course of the prior fiscal year pursuant to 
section 491(c), including the amounts of assistance provided, intended 
beneficiaries, monitoring and evaluation strategies, anticipated 
outcomes, and, as practicable, actual outcomes.''.

SEC. 8. REPORTS.

    (a) Global Food Security Strategy Implementation Reports.--Not 
later than 1 year and 2 years after the date of the submission of the 
strategy required under section 5(c), the President shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees reports that describe the status 
of the implementation of the Global Food Security Strategy for 2017 and 
2018, which shall--
            (1) contain a summary of the Global Food Security Strategy 
        as an appendix;
            (2) identify any substantial changes made in the Global 
        Food Security Strategy during the preceding calendar year;
            (3) describe the progress made in implementing the Global 
        Food Security Strategy;
            (4) identify the indicators used to establish benchmarks 
        and measure results over time, as well as the mechanisms for 
        reporting such results in an open and transparent manner;
            (5) describe related strategies and benchmarks for 
        graduating target countries and communities from assistance 
        provided under the Global Food Security Strategy over time, 
        including by building resilience, reducing risk, and enhancing 
        the sustainability of outcomes from United States investments 
        in agriculture and nutrition security;
            (6) indicate how findings from monitoring and evaluation 
        were incorporated into program design and budget decisions;
            (7) contain a transparent, open, and detailed accounting of 
        spending by relevant Federal departments and agencies to 
        implement the Global Food Security Strategy, including, for 
        each Federal department and agency, the statutory source of 
        spending, amounts spent, implementing partners and targeted 
        beneficiaries, and activities supported to the extent 
        practicable and appropriate;
            (8) describe how the Global Food Security Strategy 
        leverages other United States food security and development 
        assistance programs on the continuum from emergency food aid 
        through sustainable, agriculture-led economic growth and 
        eventual self-sufficiency;
            (9) describe the contributions of the Global Food Security 
        Strategy to, and assess the impact of, broader international 
        food and nutrition security assistance programs, including 
        progress in the promotion of land tenure rights, creating 
        economic opportunities for women and small-scale producers, and 
        stimulating agriculture-led economic growth in target countries 
        and communities;
            (10) assess efforts to coordinate United States 
        international food security and nutrition programs, activities, 
        and initiatives with key stakeholders;
            (11) assess United States Government-facilitated private 
        investment in related sectors and the impact of private sector 
        investment in target countries and communities;
            (12) identify any United States legal or regulatory 
        impediments that could obstruct the effective implementation of 
        the programming referred to in paragraphs (8) and (9);
            (13) contain a clear gender analysis of programming, to 
        inform project-level activities, that includes established 
        disaggregated gender indicators to better analyze outcomes for 
        food productivity, income growth, control of assets, equity in 
        access to inputs, jobs and markets, and nutrition; and
            (14) incorporate a plan for regularly reviewing and 
        updating strategies, partnerships, and programs and sharing 
        lessons learned with a wide range of stakeholders in an open, 
        transparent manner.
    (b) Global Food Security Crosscut Report.--Not later than 120 days 
after the President submits the budget to Congress under section 
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report including--
            (1) an interagency budget crosscut report that--
                    (A) displays the budget proposed, including any 
                planned interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each 
                of the principal Federal agencies that carries out 
                global food security activities in the upcoming fiscal 
                year, separately reporting the amount of planned 
                funding to be provided under existing laws pertaining 
                to the global food security strategy to the extent 
                available; and
                    (B) to the extent available, identifies all 
                assistance and research expenditures at the account 
                level in each of the five prior fiscal years by the 
                Federal Government and United States multilateral 
                commitments using Federal funds for global food 
                security strategy activities;
            (2) to the extent available, a detailed accounting of all 
        assistance funding received and obligated by the principal 
        Federal agencies identified in the report and United States 
        multilateral commitments using Federal funds, for global food 
        security activities during the current fiscal year; and
            (3) a breakout of the proposed budget for the current and 
        budget years by agency, categorizing expenditures by type of 
        funding, including research, resiliency, and other food 
        security activities to the extent that such information is 
        available.
    (c) Public Availability of Information.--The information referred 
to in subsections (a) and (b) shall be made available on the public 
website of the United States Agency for International Development in an 
open, machine readable format, in a timely manner.

SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Effect on Other Programs.--Nothing in the Global Food Security 
Strategy or this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to supersede or otherwise affect the authority of the 
relevant Federal departments and agencies to carry out programs 
specified in subsection (b), in the manner provided, and subject to the 
terms and conditions, of those programs, including, but not limited to, 
the terms, conditions, and requirements relating to the procurement and 
transportation of food assistance furnished pursuant to such programs.
    (b) Programs Described.--The programs referred to in subsection (a) 
are the following:
            (1) The Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.).
            (2) The Food for Progress Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1736o).
            (3) Section 416(b) of the Agriculture Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 
        1431).
            (4) McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program (7 
        U.S.C.1736o-1).
            (5) Local and Regional Procurement Program (7 U.S.C. 
        1726c).
            (6) Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act (7 U.S.C. 1736f-1).
            (7) Any other food and nutrition security and emergency and 
        non-emergency food assistance program of the Department of 
        Agriculture.

            Passed the Senate April 20, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1252

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To authorize a comprehensive strategic approach for United States 
foreign assistance to developing countries to reduce global poverty and 
    hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive, 
  sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional 
  outcomes, especially for women and children, build resilience among 
            vulnerable populations, and for other purposes.
```