Sec. 3. Foundation for International Food Security
498 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/s/3207/is/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in collaboration with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish the Foundation for International Food Security. The Foundation shall constitute an independent agency of the United States. Neither the Foundation nor any of its functions, powers, or duties may be transferred to, or consolidated with, any other department, agency, or corporation of the Federal Government absent an Act of Congress to such effect. The Board shall take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that the Foundation is established as an organization described in subsection
(c)of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which exempts the organization from taxation under subsection
(a)of such section. The purposes of the Foundation are— to accelerate sustainable agriculture-led investments that foster food security (both in the crop and livestock industries) and are focused on building sustainable resilient food systems by investing in— infrastructure, such as irrigation, warehousing, storage, and food processing to prevent food loss; applied agricultural research; and technology deployment that reduces hunger and malnutrition; to promote effective and data driven initiatives that increase agricultural productivity, reduce post-harvest loss, and increase global market access; to set specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, timetables, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans that reflect international best practices relating to transparency, accountability, food and nutrition security, and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth; to advocate for, incentivize, accept, and administer funds (including governmental, nongovernmental, private sector, and philanthropic organization funds, and earned income from market-based social enterprises) to increase the availability and predictability of financing selected food security and nutrition initiatives; to deploy and scale technology and innovation to reduce malnutrition; to close critical gaps in public international food security and nutrition funding by— reducing barriers to private sector funding and creating a more streamlined mechanism to increase private sector investment, including investments from corporate and philanthropic entities; collaborating with partners providing bilateral and multilateral financing to support enhanced coordination; increasing and supporting domestic resource mobilization to strengthen national governments’ ability to co-finance or co-contribute to Foundation efforts; and taking steps to limit duplication with existing United States Government programs through consultation with the Board of Advisors, relevant Federal departments and agencies, eligible countries, and key stakeholders; to identify and financially support implementation-ready projects that facilitate best agricultural practices, technology-scaling efforts, infrastructure, and other efforts to increase farmers productivity and market access, while recognizing that the greatest benefits are based on an understanding of local socioeconomic and development challenges; to coordinate with, and otherwise support and assist, foreign governments, private sector entities, local communities, and other stakeholders to improve food security, nutrition, and agriculture-led economic growth by supporting harmonized regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation and enterprise using an evidence based approach; to coordinate with the United States Foundation for International Conservation, once it is established; and to ensure the effective use of United States taxpayer dollars to further the objectives described in paragraphs
(1)through (9).