Yesterday Senator Casey (D-Penn.), who has been supportive of ONE’s priorities, made a speech on the Senate floor to encourage his fellow Senators to take action to address global food insecurity and pass the Global Food Security Act. Sen. Casey introduced the Global Food Security Act with Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). They both serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill provides $10 billion over five years (2010 to 2014) for a coordinated effort to address global food insecurity, including long-term agricultural initiatives in the developing world.

With more than 1 billion hungry people around the world, and increasing pressures on smallholder farmers like droughts, flooding, and volatile food prices, we have a humanitarian motivation to take action, as Sen. Casey mentioned in his speech. Sen. Casey also described how food insecurity is a national security issue:

… global hunger is indeed a national security issue. Instability arising from conflict over access to food is a documented and real problem. Last year’s food crisis unfortunately brought this into acute focus. We saw it in Somalia, where struggles to gain access to food have enveloped population centers in violence. We have seen it in Egypt during last year’s bread riots. And we have seen it in Haiti where hospital beds filled last year with those injured during food riots. Increased instability in any of these countries has a direct impact on U.S. national interests. There are a host of examples from across the world that illustrate the scope of this problem.

Sen. Casey also praised the administration’s effort to address global food insecurity:

I would like to applaud this Administration’s current efforts to help the hungry. In September, the White House announced the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative, a comprehensive approach to food security based on country and community led planning and collaboration. Secretary Clinton is leading a visionary ‘whole of government’ effort to help the world’s hungry. As the Administration works out the details of implementation, I hope and trust that we will maintain a sharp focus on the ability of small scale farmers to grow food at an increased and sustainable rate.

Be sure to check out the press release and speech, which includes a more detailed description of the objectives of the Global Food Security Act.