"Prompt action by the administration could help address the economic crisis we've got in rural America and make a meaningful difference in the lives of poor and hungry people in other countries," Grassley said. "There's no excuse for bureaucratic delays in making this well-intentioned, enterprising program work."
A law enacted in 1949 provides for donations of surplus commodities through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The CCC is a revolving financing mechanism within USDA which supports more than a dozen specified commodities through outlays for farm commodity programs, farm disaster payments and certain farm export and conservation programs. Last October, the USDA announced that 3 million metric tons of wheat and wheat products and 100,000 metric tons of barley would be made available as food aid.
Grassley said the problem is that nothing more has happened. "This request is for relatively small amount of grain, yet the bureaucracy has stalled movement and USDA has failed to expand the effort to include other products, including soybeans, where we've also got very depressed market prices and high stocks," he said.
Reports indicate that budget analysts inside the White House and USDA are slowing down the process.
Grassley said the federal food aid program is an important way that the United States can help address world hunger. In December, the USDA Economic Research Service reported that food aid requirements in 2000 are expected to be 14 million metric tons before emergency needs are considered.
In the next ten years, food shortages in developing nations are expected to increase to 24 million metric tons.
Sen. Grassley joined Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Max Baucus of Montana, Larry Craig of Idaho, Pat Roberts of Kansas, and John Ashcroft of Missouri in urging Ag Secretary Dan Glickman to act quickly in moving food aid.