Congress·In Committee·S. 525

Food Aid: Moving Food for Peace Program to the Agriculture Department

A bill 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.

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

This bill would move the "Food for Peace" program from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). This program is the main way the U.S. sends food grown by American farmers to people in poor or war-torn countries.
Under this plan, the USDA would take over all the contracts, grants, and rules that USAID currently handles. This includes managing the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which uses data to predict where food shortages or floods might happen so the government can prepare for emergencies.
The goal of the change is to put the Department of Agriculture in charge of a program that relies heavily on American farm products. While the USDA would run the day-to-day operations, they would still be required to check in with the State Department to make sure the aid fits with U.S. foreign policy goals.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 11, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Feb 11, 2025

Introduced in Senate

Related Bills

1 bill

H.R. 1207Identical bill

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.

Feb 11 — Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.