The steady march of United States congressional action on food security continues:  on April 12, the House of Representatives passed the Global Food Security Act (GFSA)—a key piece of legislation to fight hunger and strengthen food security—by a vote of 370 to 33.  This represents a tremendous step forward in making global food security a reality.

Around the world, approximately 795 million people suffer from hunger.  While progress has been made in recent years to reduce this number, we still have a long way to go to ensure food security for all.

The Global Food Security Act strengthens efforts to combat hunger by permanently authorizing Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s food security initiative currently operating in 19 focus countries around the globe, as part of a comprehensive food and nutrition security strategy.  

The Feed the Future initiative was launched in 2010, but it hasn’t yet been formally put into law.  Now that the House has passed the GFSA, if the bill is also approved by the Senate (where it already cleared the Foreign Relations Committee in March) and signed by the president, this would ensure that Feed the Future would continue under subsequent administrations after President Obama’s term ends in 2017.

Action Against Hunger would like to thank every House member who voted in support of this important legislation, and particularly House sponsors Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Betty McCollum (D-MN), and the 127 cosponsors of the bill, for their outstanding leadership in moving the GFSA forward.  We hope the full Senate will vote on the GFSA very soon, so that President Obama can sign it into law and make improved food security a reality for many in the world who still suffer from hunger.