Harms of Freezing Food Aid

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the administration's decision to pause or end--or as the unelected billionaire Elon Musk said: ``Feed into the wood chipper''--government payments for food aid.

The thoughtless plan to shut down or pause the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, is wrong for many reasons. It is especially harmful to people around the globe who can starve without this food aid, and it is harmful to the U.S. businesses and American farmers who sell their agricultural products to the U.S. Government.

In 2020, the U.S. Government bought more than $2 billion in food aid from American farmers, but right now, because of this wrong decision by the administration, there is about 500,000 tons of food, including rice, wheat, and soybeans, at risk of spoiling. Much of it is stockpiled in ports across the country, including about 31,000 tons of food at the port in Houston, Texas, alone. What a truly senseless waste and shameful considering how many people around the globe are food insecure.

My home State of Oregon has a robust agricultural sector. We produce wheat, potatoes, and amazing specialty crops. We export more than 80 percent of our wheat production from Oregon.

The administration's egregious decision has been really harmful, and it is also harmful to national security. This is a national security issue.

The bags of food and the vials of medicine that USAID distributes are labeled ``from the American people.'' That improves our standing in the world, and it keeps us safer because it is common sense to understand that people are much less likely to turn against the United States if we are saving their lives and their families' lives in their country.

This decision also goes beyond USAID because the Trump administration has also paused funding for several programs at the Department of Agriculture that support farmers, food producers, food banks, and people struggling to afford food.

At a time when food prices remain high, something I know our constituents care about, stopping these programs is inhumane and shortsighted.

On behalf of our Oregonian and American farmers, on behalf of those in America who want to retain what is left of our global leadership, I urge the administration to reverse this heartless and harmful decision.

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