On April 12, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1567, the Global Food Security Act (GFSA) on a 370 to 33 vote. Thanks to your calls, letters, tweets, and other support, we were able to get the bill done in the House! So effective was your effort, House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX), personally mentioned ONE’s contributions from the House Floor:
The Global Food Security Act will ensure that the U.S. builds upon the successes of existing efforts to improve global food and nutrition security, particularly through the whole-of-government and comprehensive Feed the Future Initiative. This legislation strengthens our collective commitment to helping developing countries grow their way out of poverty and overcome hunger and malnutrition.
Despite passage in the House, our work on this is far from over. Right now, the Senate is finalizing its own version of the GFSA (S.1252) after recently passing it through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The sponsors of the bill, Senators Bob Corker (R-TN), Bob Casey (D-PA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Chris Coons (R-DE) have indicated that several “holds” have been placed on the bill—but are confident that these will be lifted soon, clearing the way for Senate passage. Since the House and Senate bills contain some subtle differences, ONE will work with Congressional staff and NGO partners to determine how best to reconcile these differences and move it toward final passage and the President’s desk.
A woman prepares sweet potatoes in Mwasonge, Tanzania.
ONE strongly supported passage of the Global Food Security Act in the House and is doing the same for the Senate bill. We are still looking to you, our members, to help push this over the finish line. When the moment arrives to engage with the Senate, we will let you know. Be patient—we got this!
