[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1349 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1349

      Recognizing the continued success of the Food for Peace Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2024

  Mr. Costa (for himself, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mrs. Cherfilus-
McCormick, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Radewagen, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, 
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Ms. Adams, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. 
McCaul, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Brown, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. 
   Crockett, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Bera, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Molinaro, Mr. 
   Valadao, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. 
 LaTurner, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Titus, Mrs. Hayes, 
Mr. Schneider, Mr. Amo, Ms. DeLauro, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Recognizing the continued success of the Food for Peace Act.

Whereas, on July 10, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 
        Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act, which created the 
        Office of Food for Peace;
Whereas 2,400,000,000 people globally, disproportionately more women and people 
        living in rural areas, did not have access to enough nutritious food 
        year-round in 2022;
Whereas an estimated 783,000,000 people suffered from hunger in 2022, 
        122,000,000 more than in 2019;
Whereas, in 2022, 149,000,000 children under the age of 5 were estimated to be 
        stunted, i.e., too short for their age, and 45,000,000 estimated to be 
        wasted, i.e., too thin for their height;
Whereas the 2023 Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates notes that despite 
        significant progress in reducing stunting in children globally, an 
        estimated 128,500,000 children will be stunted in 2030 if current trends 
        continue;
Whereas, according to UNICEF, 1 in 4 children, or 181,000,000 children under the 
        age of 5, lives in severe child food poverty, meaning that they eat at 
        most 2 of 8 food groups needed for healthy development;
Whereas undernutrition contributes to approximately 45 percent of deaths of 
        children under 5 years old worldwide;
Whereas significant numbers of vulnerable and chronically food-insecure people 
        reside in conflict-affected areas, including Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, 
        Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, and Haiti, and people in these areas 
        were among the largest recipients of Food for Peace aid in 2022;
Whereas 9 years of conflict has devastated Yemen, resulting in catastrophic 
        losses, displacement of millions of people, and one of the world's 
        largest food insecurity crises with half of all children under the age 
        of 5 stunted or chronically malnourished;
Whereas the United Nations estimates that 18,200,000 Yemenis, the majority of 
        the country's population and 10,000,000 of them children, depend on and 
        are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance;
Whereas nearly 5,000,000 children were forcibly displaced in Sudan by the end of 
        2023, representing the largest internal displacement crisis for children 
        in the world;
Whereas over half of the population in Sudan, including 3 in 4 children, are 
        facing crisis levels of food insecurity, and 8,500,000 are facing 
        emergency levels of food insecurity, with 14 areas at risk of famine;
Whereas almost 32,000,000 people in Nigeria are projected to face acute food 
        insecurity in the lean season this year;
Whereas global humanitarian funding shortfalls risk increased hunger and 
        malnutrition in these and other emergency settings;
Whereas longstanding cooperation between Food for Peace and the United Nations 
        World Food Programme has led to millions of people receiving critical 
        food aid around the world;
Whereas all food aid modalities, including United States commodities and 
        assistance to help communities be self-sufficient, are critical to Food 
        for Peace's integrity and longevity; and
Whereas the assistance provided by Food for Peace programs helps to address the 
        root causes of mass migration of populations from poverty-stricken and 
        food-insecure regions, including women and children who are 
        disproportionately affected by food shortages and political instability: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms that--
                    (A) Food for Peace is an essential component of 
                global food security efforts;
                    (B) Food for Peace is an expression of the 
                generosity and goodwill of the people of the United 
                States toward the world's most vulnerable populations;
                    (C) food insecurity stems from an array of factors, 
                including military conflict, civil strife, economic 
                instability, underdeveloped food production and market 
                inclusion, corruption, and climate extremes;
                    (D) Food for Peace helps to alleviate humanitarian 
                needs stemming from conflict and natural disasters, 
                helps to prevent the spread of disease and malnutrition 
                among pregnant women and children under 5 years old, 
                and can help to counteract cycles of violence; and
                    (E) Food for Peace contributes to the spread and 
                strengthening of United States leadership worldwide 
                through the investment of United States foreign aid and 
                humanitarian assistance and is therefore a key 
                component of United States foreign policy;
            (2) commends the Food for Peace program for reaching 
        53,000,000 people with emergency food assistance in 21 
        countries and nearly 3,000,000 people with resilience-building 
        development assistance in fiscal year 2022;
            (3) commends Food for Peace for supporting vulnerable 
        communities around the world in coping with crises as they make 
        their journeys to self-reliance;
            (4) recognizes that--
                    (A) United States foreign assistance helps create 
                markets for United States products by reducing poverty, 
                increasing production, and creating broadly shared 
                wealth in developing countries;
                    (B) humanitarian assistance helps countries and 
                communities recover from serious disasters, crises, and 
                emergencies, and puts them back on the road to 
                prosperity; and
                    (C) Food for Peace nonemergency programs are a 
                critical part of this effort, as studies show that for 
                every $1 invested in strengthening communities' 
                resilience saves $7 in more expensive humanitarian aid; 
                and
            (5) calls for continued prioritization of funding for Food 
        for Peace programs--
                    (A) to continue the mission of fighting global food 
                insecurity;
                    (B) to help to reduce the number of mothers who 
                lack the adequate prenatal nutrition and the healthy 
                foods to care for their children once they are born;
                    (C) to help to reduce the number of infants and 
                children facing the lifelong effects of malnutrition;
                    (D) to reduce the number of infants and children 
                dying from malnutrition-related causes around the 
                globe;
                    (E) to continue to support nonemergency resilience-
                building efforts to address the root causes of hunger 
                and reduce the need for future emergency assistance;
                    (F) to maximize the economic and intellectual 
                potential of local communities and global markets;
                    (G) to support United States values;
                    (H) to provide for the basic human needs of food 
                and nutrition and for critical development activities;
                    (I) to affirm the continued commitment of the 
                United States people and their Government to helping 
                some of the most vulnerable populations in the world at 
                their times of greatest need;
                    (J) to promote democratic values worldwide; and
                    (K) to protect all food aid modalities and 
                encourage alignment of food assistance with other forms 
                of humanitarian and development aid to best help those 
                in need.
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