“As an anti-hunger advocate, … I am hopeful about the global change that President Obama could make in his second term, especially when it comes to reducing poverty, but I worry Congress might toss the hungry off the fiscal cliff,” Katie Campbell, senior policy analyst with ActionAid U.S., writes in The Hill’s “Congress Blog.” Outlining the success of several international agriculture and food security assistance programs, she says this “progress is a clear example of why the president must work with Congress to ensure that U.S. foreign aid programs do not end up as casualties of the upcoming budget battle.” Instead, she advocates “[c]ontinuing to get rid of subsidies and mandates for corn ethanol,” which “will both strengthen food security in those nations and will help alleviate some pressure on our fiscal budget as well.”

“Throughout history, American presidents, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, have upheld our moral obligation to help those in need, no matter where they live, regardless of tough fiscal times,” she writes, adding, “President Obama’s efforts have become some of the most successful to end global hunger, and with rising food prices globally, now is not the time to give up” (1/18).