email from Rep Newhouse

[mister_coffee]

Someone please tell me how throwing away food is going to lower grocery prices?

Although most of those farmers voted for Trump so they are getting exactly what they voted for. There are a lot more sympathetic victims of this catastrophe out there that I'm not going to cry very hard for someone who voted for this madness getting screwed over.

[Rideback]

'In the fight against hunger, the United States has been the global leader in delivering much needed aid for decades. For nearly 70 years the Food for Peace program within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has successfully fed over four billion people in more than 150 countries with American agriculture products. With the recent decision by the Trump administration to freeze all funds for USAID to examine and identify waste, fraud, and abuse, my colleagues and I introduced legislation to move the Food for Peace program from USAID to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is to ensure those battling hunger around the world continue to receive food, grown by American farmers, rather than look to our adversaries for assistance.
The program began after World War II as U.S. agricultural surpluses were on the rise and excess grain storage was costing farmers millions of dollars per year. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation into law that began moving grain overseas. Later under the Kennedy administration, the program was renamed Food for Peace and the focus shifted from surpluses of products to market expansion for American farmers. Today, the Food for Peace program continues to support the agriculture industry with market opportunities in nations of need.
Relocating the program within USDA presents a unique opportunity to both producers and our trade partners. Management by a commodity-focused agency with direct links to our nation’s farmers will modernize Food for Peace’s mission execution while aligning it with USDA’s market access programs. The department’s experience dealing with global agriculture markets is a key strength that will make the program more efficient and accountable.
USAID has a history of delivering pivotal global aid; and efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) to reduce unnecessary spending are important. I have heard from countless constituents their concerns over rapid cuts to programs across the federal government. I believe the Food for Peace program must be protected for the benefits both here and abroad.
There is plenty of unnecessary, and often times ridiculous, spending within USAID, and I am supportive of efforts to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars. However, Food for Peace is a testament to how America can help those in need and the program must be protected. I believe it is incumbent upon us to sustain the programs that work, and Food for Peace should continue to execute the mission of fighting world hunger at its new home in the Department of Agriculture. As the only House Republican on both the Agriculture Committee and the Agriculture Subcommittee on Appropriations, I will remain a strong advocate for eliminating global hunger with the help of American farmers.


Digging into this further reporting from the USDA, which is also being subjected to DOGE cuts, is that in order for them to take on this program they would have need many years to get up to speed with the infrastructure and supply chains that would be needed. In the meantime, the farmers that are under contract would see no remedy available and whatever is under contract will not be available for them to sell, it will rot. They are in a no man's land situation.

It is good that some Senators and Rep Newhouse recognize that this is a valuable market for American farmers and that it is collapsing under DOGE's cuts. Hopefully they will stand with the farmers to resolve the immediate problem so that payment due is allocated.