Five Republican House members and two senators introduced bills to move the Food for Peace program from USAID to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bills reflect concerns about the chaos surrounding food aid under the Trump administration and a long-term view in farm country that USDA should administer food aid.
Food aid responsibilities have been split between USAID and USDA for decades, with the current cost of Food for Peace being $1.8 billion per year. The bills have support from various farm groups and more than 50 organizations, but there has been criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of humanitarian aid, as noted in the recent Alert Notice issued by USAID’s OIG. Farm groups have been advocating against USAID’s practice of regional purchase of food commodities as well as the increased reliance on direct cash payments to beneficiaries, a practice that is less disruptive to local markets and more readily meets evolving needs. Moving the program to USDA is seen as a way to ensure that U.S. food aid money is used to purchase foodstuffs in the United States, benefiting American farmers. The bill has the White House’s endorsement at this point.
Read more of the details here.