[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H1770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONFRONTING AN UNPRECEDENTED FOOD SECURITY CRISIS

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the world is confronting an unprecedented 
food security crisis. The World Food Program reports that a record 349 
million people across 79 countries face acute food insecurity.
  The COVID-19 pandemic flattened economies, fractured supply chains, 
and caused huge spikes in inflation. Then came Russia's invasion of 
Ukraine, one of the world's most important breadbaskets.
  During Global Child Nutrition Month, I am not just hopeful that 
tackling these challenges is possible; I am confident that we can. That 
is because the U.S. Government, our farmers, and NGOs have responded to 
the crisis with historic investments, expanding global food, nutrition, 
and agricultural programs, including Food For Peace, McGovern-Dole, 
Feed the Future, USAID's nutrition, maternal and child health programs, 
and the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.
  Mr. Speaker, it is easy to turn on the news and become overwhelmed, 
but the U.S. has not only been ready to provide support to those who 
are hungry, we have been at the forefront. Each of these proven 
programs deserves our support, and I call upon my colleagues to 
increase funding for these programs in the annual appropriations bills. 
There are lives in the balance. We can end hunger now.

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