Media CenterCRS Backs Global Food Security Act Approval by U.S Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Michael Hill
Catholic Relief Services
410-951-7110
[email protected]
 

WASHINGTON, DC, April 13, 2016 -- Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the Global Food Security Act (GFSA), an important step in ensuring that millions around the world will no longer suffer from hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty. 

“This bill supports programs that go far beyond giving people food, it instead gives them the tools they need to build lives for themselves and their families, to build their countries’ economies,” said Bill O’Keefe, Vice President for Advocacy at CRS. “Its bipartisan support affirms how Americans can impact the world in positive ways when we work together.”

The GFSA authorizes the Feed the Future initiative which supports agriculture-led economic growth in numerous developing nations. The bill specifically aims support at smallholder farmers, the backbone of their nations’ economies, giving them the training and skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

CRS joined over 60 other humanitarian organizations in signing a letter praising the passage of the GFSA. “The bipartisan Global Food Security Act is an exciting step forward in building the political will needed to end global hunger and malnutrition in our lifetime,” the letter states.

Read the full text here.

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, please visit crs.org or crsespanol.org and follow CRS on social media: Facebook, @CatholicRelief, @CRSnews, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

With almost 130 co-sponsors, the GFSA passed 370-33. The Senate is working on its own version.

“We hope the Senate will act quickly,” O’Keefe said. “The programs this bill supports puts countless people around the world on paths that lead to better lives.”