Sen. Moran Hosts Meeting with USDA Under Secretary Lindberg on Food for Peace Program

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry – led a meeting with Luke Lindberg, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, and Senator John Hoeven to discuss the department’s temporary administration of Food for Peace and the importance of ensuring the long-term stability of the program at USDA.

In January, USDA and the Department of State signed an interagency agreement allowing USDA to temporarily operate Food for Peace. Sen. Moran has long advocated for transferring the program to USDA and introduced legislation last year to make that change permanent. During the meeting, Sen. Moran, Sen. Hoeven and Under Secretary Lindberg discussed USDA’s plan to execute the interagency agreement, and the resources needed to support Food for Peace moving forward.

“Last year, I led my colleagues in introducing legislation to move Food for Peace to USDA, and the Trump administration is temporarily enacting this policy,” said Sen. Moran. “I appreciate Under Secretary Lindberg providing an update on how the administration of Food for Peace at USDA is going, and I am working to continue garnering support among my colleagues to permanently move the program to USDA. Under the management of USDA, Food for Peace is continuing to fulfill its mission of feeding the hungry, creating important markets for farmers and bolstering our national security, and it’s critical that Congress act quickly to make this move permanent.”

Overview of Sen. Moran’s work on Food for Peace:

• Sens. Moran and Hoeven introduced legislation to permanently move the administration of the Food for Peace Program to USDA. Similar language was approved by the House Agriculture Committee this week as part of the House Farm Bill, and it now goes to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
  
  • The legislation has been cosponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
    
• Sen. Moran recently applauded the announcement that USDA is partnering with the World Food Programme (WFP) to distribute more than 200,000 tons of U.S. commodities through Food for Peace, a move that supports American agricultural producers and helps combat international hunger.
  
• Sen. Moran questioned USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins about USDA’s willingness to take on the administration of the Food for Peace program. Secretary Rollins stated her support of USDA taking on Food for Peace.
  
• Sen. Moran delivered floor remarks advocating for Food for Peace to be moved to USDA, emphasizing the importance of the program in combatting global hunger.