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Jun 25, 2015
The House Agriculture Committee is pushing back on an Obama administration proposal to convert more international food aid from physical U.S.-based commodities to local food purchases, food vouchers or cash transfers.
The White House is asking that up to a quarter of the $1.4 billion in international food aid it donates under the Food for Peace Title II programs be converted to local purchases, food vouchers or even cash transfers, suggesting it is a more economical way to provide assistance.
In 2014 Farm Bill, Congress gave the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) some flexibility in delivering food aid and established the local and regional Food Aid Procurement (LRP), however the Administration continues to push for additional changes. General sentiments from the House Agriculture hearing on Wednesday was that these changes are premature and that opening the Farm Bill is not an endeavor the Committee wants to engage in.
