[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 74 (Wednesday, May 4, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Food Security
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader.
I will resume my comments about food security.
As I mentioned earlier, across the world now, we not only have 276
million people who now face acute food insecurity--as I said, meaning
that they are in immediate danger of not being able to find their next
meal--but what is ahead is an exacerbation of that problem. Another 47
million people will likely face these same dangers by the end of this
year.
So a food security problem, which was a substantial problem before
the pandemic, made ever worse by the pandemic, has gotten much worse
because of the war in Ukraine--all caused by an attack on a sovereign
country by a brutal dictator, Mr. Putin.
So this is one of the many reasons why this war in Ukraine--or why
all of us, I should say, across the free world have a stake in what
happens in Ukraine.
I wanted to also highlight what the United States is doing in the
midst of this terrible food insecurity crisis.
We can't afford to forget and should not forget about the tens of
millions who are struggling to survive as a result of this invasion. To
feed all of those in need, the World Food Programme, which does such
good work all across the globe--goes into conflict zones to provide
food to people--that program estimates it will take more than $18
billion.
The United States must not share this burden alone, but if we don't
lead the way, no one will. That is true in so many instances. It is
true with regard to the President's leadership against Mr. Putin by
helping the people of Ukraine; it is also true in terms of American
leadership on food security.
President Biden's request for $33 billion for all aspects of the
challenge in Ukraine doesn't include enough, in my judgment. It
includes $1.6 billion for food security and humanitarian assistance.
Now, that sounds like a lot of money, but it is not enough to meet the
moment.
And despite my consistent urging, Congress has appropriated flat
funding for the U.S. food security program, Feed the Future, over the
last 10 years. Adjusting for inflation, the program has been cut by
almost a third of its total programming, from almost $1.5 billion in
today's dollars to just over $1 billion.
So, today, we face the same global food crisis which the Feed the
Future Program was originally created to address after the 2008
recession. So after a recession, we had a global food security
challenge, and now after a pandemic, and exacerbated by the war in
Ukraine, we have potentially an even greater challenge.
So we must again rise to the challenge. When I say ``we,'' I mean the
U.S. Government, the Congress, the branch of our government that
appropriates money, has to rise to the challenge by providing the
resources that are necessary to feed those who face famine--not just
missing a meal here and there, famine itself.
We have got to support these smallholder farmers, who are the
backbone of the world's food supply, and sustainably strengthen food
systems to protect against the next war, the next pandemic, the next
drought, or the next flood.
So that is why I am leading a letter to appropriators urging robust
funding of all--all--global food security accounts in the fiscal year
2023 budget, specifically calling for an almost $200 million increase
just for the Feed the Future Program, not to mention those other global
food security programs and accounts.
This funding will only put a dent in the growing food security
crisis, but it will inspire our allies and our partners to follow us.
America leads the world in so many ways, and, fortunately, most of the
time on food security we have led the world as well.
We need to do that again. We need to lay the groundwork for a more
secure food future and save tens and tens of thousands of lives--
potentially a lot more than that--in the immediate future.