S.Amdt. 745

SA 745. Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle F of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1282. REPORT ON PARTNER FORCES UTILIZING UNITED STATES
SECURITY ASSISTANCE IDENTIFIED AS USING HUNGER
AS A WEAPON OF WAR.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States recognizes the link between armed
conflict and conflict-induced food insecurity;
(2) Congress recognizes and condemns the role of nefarious
security actors, including state and non-state armed groups,
who have utilized hunger as a weapon of war, including
through the unanimous adoption of House of Representatives
Resolution 922 and Senate Resolution 669 relating to
``[c]ondemning the use of hunger as a weapon of war and
recognizing the effect of conflict on global food security
and famine'';
(3) United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417
articulates principles that should serve as important
framework for holding perpetrators that use hunger as a
weapon of war accountable; and
(4) the United States should use the diplomatic and
humanitarian tools at our disposal to not only fight global
hunger, mitigate the spread of conflict, and promote
critical, lifesaving assistance, but also hold perpetrators
using hunger as a weapon of war to account.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Hunger as a weapon of war.--The term ``hunger as a
weapon of war'' means--
(A) intentional starvation of civilians;
(B) intentional and reckless destruction, removal, looting,
or rendering useless objects necessary for food production
and distribution, such as farmland, markets, mills,

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food processing and storage facilities, food stuffs, crops,
livestock, agricultural assets, waterways, water systems,
drinking water facilities and supplies, and irrigation
networks;
(C) undue denial of humanitarian access and deprivation of
objects indispensable to people's survival, such as food
supplies and nutrition resources; and
(D) willful interruption of market systems for populations
in need, including through the prevention of travel and
manipulation of currency exchange.
(2) Security assistance.--The term ``security assistance''
means assistance meeting the definition of ``security
assistance'' under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304).
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, and the Secretary of Defense shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
regarding--
(1) United States-funded security assistance and
cooperation; and
(2) whether the governments and entities receiving such
assistance have or are currently using hunger as a weapon of
war.
(d) Elements.--The report required under subsection (c)
shall--
(1) identify countries receiving United States-funded
security assistance or participating in security programs and
activities, including in coordination with the Department of
Defense, that are currently experiencing famine-like
conditions as a result of conflict;
(2) describe the actors and actions taken by such actors in
the countries identified pursuant to paragraph (1) who are
utilizing hunger as a weapon of war; and
(3) describe any current or existing plans to continue
providing United States-funded security assistance to
recipient countries.
(e) Form.--The report required under subsection (c) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
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