House, Senate GOP bills would move USAID food aid to USDA
Five Republican House members and two senators on Tuesday introduced bills that would move the Food for Peace international food assistance program from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Agriculture Department.
The bills reflect the chaos that has surrounded food aid amidst the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle USAID. The U.S. government has provided food aid to needy countries since 1954, with responsibilities in recent years split between USAID and USDA. But the bills also reflect long-term views in farm country that food aid should be administered by USDA and that all U.S. food aid money should be used to purchase foodstuffs in the United States and shipped to needy countries and not be used to purchase food aid in other countries, even if that is cheaper than shipping the food from the United States to distant places and helps achieve economic development in poor countries. In recent years, food aid has been split between purchases in the United States and overseas. The current cost of Food for Peace is $1.8 billion per year, the Wall Street Journal said in an article behind its paywall.
Since President Trump froze all foreign aid, farm leaders have been worried about whether the federal government would stop food aid purchases at a time when U.S. commodity prices have been low. The Trump administration later said food aid could continue to be distributed, but there has been uncertainty about the program with USAID officials urged to resign.
The opening text of the Senate bill say its purpose is “to transfer the functions, duties, responsibilities, assets, liabilities, orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agreements, certificates, licenses, and privileges of the United States Agency for International Development relating to implementing and administering the Food for Peace Act to the Department of Agriculture.”
The Republican House members who introduced the bill are Reps. Tracey Mann of Kansas, Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Dan Newhouse of Washington, David Rouzer of North Carolina and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania.
The senators introducing the bill are Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven of North Dakota.
Moran has pressed the Trump administration to use food aid that is in transit before it spoils, and over the weekend Moran thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting administrator of USAID, on X for allowing the shipments to resume. A lobbyist said in an email to other lobbyists early Tuesday that the effort had just been given “the green light by the White House.”
The introduction of the bills came as the USAID Office of the Inspector General issued a report critical of the Trump administration’s handling of humanitarian aid. The IG report said, “Recent widespread staffing reductions across the agency, particularly within BHA [Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance], coupled with uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance waivers and permissible communications with implementers, has degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance.” Trump fired Paul Martin, the USAID inspector general, on Tuesday.Click to read the USAID Office of the Inspector General report.
Mann issued a lengthy news release with quotations from the House members and senators who introduced the bills and statements from several farm groups.In his own statement, Mann said the move would be in line with Trump’s “promise to cut wasteful spending, reduce overbearing bureaucracy and ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely and responsibly.”
Mann said, “I applaud President Trump for upholding that promise and reviewing our federal spending line by line to root out waste, fraud, and abuse while ensuring programs like Food for Peace are in line with his mission and vision. For 70 years, Kansas and American farmers have played an active role in sending their commodities to feed malnourished and starving populations around the world. This free gift from the American people is more than food. It’s diplomacy and feeds the most vulnerable communities while helping them recognize the freedom, prosperity, and good America can establish across the globe. By moving Food for Peace to USDA, the program can continue to equip American producers to serve hungry people while providing more transparency and efficiency as to how taxpayer dollars are stewarded. I will continue to work with the Trump administration to uproot wasteful spending while ensuring America can continue to be the beacon of hope and freedom we are to the rest of the world.” Hoeven said, “Our nation’s farmers and ranchers are the best in the world and work hard to provide food and fuel not only for our nation, but those in need across the globe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture already administers U.S. farmer-based food aid programs, and it only makes sense that USDA would oversee the Food for Peace program, as well.”
Vince Peterson, president of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), which promotes sales of U.S. wheat overseas, said, “U.S. wheat has long been proud of the role our farmers play in feeding hungry populations around the world. Realigning administration of Food for Peace, our flagship global hunger program, to USDA makes perfect sense and ensures that the agency most closely connected with food is equipped to deliver wholesome food from American farmers to those who most need it.”
USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) said they “have long advocated for ‘keeping the food in food aid’ and have expressed frustration at growing trends in food assistance programs of cash donations and commodity purchases from U.S. competitors.”
- American Maritime Officers
- American Soybean Association
- Didion Milling Inc.
- International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots
- Liberty Maritime Corporation
- LifeLine Foods
- National Association of Wheat Growers
- National Corn Growers Association National Shipping of America, LLC
- National Sorghum Producers
- North American Millers’ Association
- North Central Bean Dealers Association
- Northharvest Bean Growers Association
- SeaTac Packaging
- The Midwest Dry Bean Coalition
- Unishipping
- US Dry Bean Council
- US Wheat Associates
–The Hagstrom Report
