[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1252 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        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.
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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.