S. 1252 

One Hundred Fourteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen 

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. 
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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 selfsufficiency 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: 
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(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 
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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, 
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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 
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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 
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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 
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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 manmade 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 
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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 
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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. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.