In the coming weeks, the U.S. Congress will likely jump-start authorization of Feed the Future — a potential legacy initiative of the Obama administration — with a committee mark-up in the House expected as early as mid-April.
If it passes, the Global Food Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 1567), which was introduced late March in the U.S. House by Republican Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey and Democrat Rep. Betty McCollum from Minnesota, as well as 11 other cosponsors, will authorize the $1 billion Feed the Future initiative and ensure its existence beyond the Obama administration. The bill sets a unique precedent: Eleven federal agencies — including the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture — would contribute resources and expertise in the new “whole-of-government” approach.
The bill faces fewer barriers than it did when it languished in the Senate last December, according to Katie Lee, policy manager at InterAction. Although the bill passed the House with a unanimous floor vote, “we simply ran out of time,” Lee told Devex, and the bill never reached the Senate floor.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
