Rep. Mann, Sen. Moran Applaud Decision to Move Food for Peace to USDA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) applauded the interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to temporarily allow USDA to administer the Food for Peace program. For nearly a year, Rep. Mann and Senator Moran have led Congressional efforts to move the Food for Peace Program to USDA.

“For 70 years, Kansas and American farmers have played an active role in sending their commodities to feed malnourished and starving populations around the world,” said Rep. Mann. “This free gift from the American people is more than food, it’s diplomacy that feeds the most vulnerable communities while helping them recognize the freedom, prosperity, and good America can establish across the globe. Allowing USDA to administer the Food for Peace program equips American producers to serve hungry people while providing more transparency and efficiency as to how taxpayer dollars are stewarded. I was proud to lead efforts in Congress to move the program and I applaud the Trump Administration for supporting these efforts. I will continue to fight for Food for Peace to be permanently placed under USDA so that America can continue to be the beacon of hope and freedom we are to the rest of the world.”

“Kansas has a long history of providing food to the hungry, and for the past 70 years, American farmers have helped combat international hunger through Food for Peace, feeding more than 4 billion people in more than 150 countries,” said Sen. Moran. “Last year, I joined my colleagues in introducing legislation to move Food for Peace to USDA, and the administration is temporarily enacting this policy which will bring the program closer to the farmers and producers who grow the crops that feed hungry people across the globe. This is a good step, and I will continue working to permanently transfer Food for Peace to USDA to bolster national security, maintain an important market for U.S. producers and advance efforts to combat world hunger.”

In February, Rep. Mann and Sen. Moran introduced legislation to move administration of Food for Peace to USDA. The bill was supported by the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Sorghum Producers Association, National Sorghum Producers and American Soybean Association. During a House Agriculture Committee hearing in June, Rep. Mann underscored the importance of the Food for Peace program and its long-term sustainability to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

###

For more information about Representative Mann, visit: www.mann.house.gov