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![handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysaqxa0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUT-ENTICATED
US. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GP
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD
AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RE-
LATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2010
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,
Washington, DC.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[The following testimonies were received by the Subcommittee on
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies for inclusion in the record. The submitted
materials relate to the fiscal year 2010 budget request for pro-
grams within the subcommittee's jurisdiction.]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE AD Hoc COALITION
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, this statement is respectfully sub-
mitted on behalf of the ad hoc coalition composed of the organizations listed below.
The coalition supports sustained funding for our Nation's food aid programs, includ-
ing Titles I and II of Public Law 480, and therefore strongly opposes all proposals
to divert funding away from these important programs.
FOOD AID'S UNIQUE ROLE
The donation of American commodities as food aid has been the cornerstone of
United States and global foreign assistance programs since their inception. How-
ever, food aid has evolved in important ways over the years. Food aid began as an
outgrowth of American farm policy that generated sizeable surpluses and American
foreign policy characterized by a Cold War competition for the hearts and minds of
impoverished populations across the globe. Since then, American farm policy has
evolved away from surpluses, and therefore food can no longer be mischaracterized
as dumping of excess commodities. Indeed, the United States now purchases com-
modities for donation on the open market. In today's economic climate, the need to
provide societal stability, avoid failed States, prevent terrorist breeding grounds,
and bolster America's image abroad has never been more important.
In recent years, debate in the foreign assistance community has at times ques-
tioned the role of food aid. Led by European Union trade negotiators who have com-
plained about American food aid as a smokescreen to shield their own protectionist
agriculture policies, some have bemoaned the potential distorting effects that food
donations might have on local agriculture where U.S. food is disbursed. Other oppo-
nents of food aid have suggested that perhaps we would be better off if we did not
donate commodities, but instead relied solely on agricultural development and local
purchases. Like others in the aid community, we look forward to the day when food
aid is no longer needed, but we are nowhere near that goal today. Our in-kind food
aid programs are needed now more than at any time in their history.
Donated food aid is the most reliable means of introducing food to needy commu-
nities in order to combat hunger and save lives. This is not to say that other, cre-
ative means available under the Foreign Assistance Act or elsewhere have no role.
To the contrary, these are an important part of the aid tool kit, which can and
should be employed to further developmental goals, including food self-sufficiency
among food aid recipients and to address unforeseeable breaks in the food aid pipe-
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