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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFarm Bill passed yesterday includes "Intern'l Food Aid" - WTF
They are cutting SNAP benefits and snatching school lunches from children but add tax dollars for "international food aid". No one is questioning that international food aid is needed. Food aid, however, is sorely needed here as well. WTF???
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Farm Bill passed yesterday includes "Intern'l Food Aid" - WTF (Original Post)
KauaiK
Feb 2014
OP
TheMathieu
(456 posts)1. Reprehensible and indefensible. nt
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)2. WTF, indeed.
Berlum
(7,044 posts)3. Basically that's a Republicon Socialist giveaway to industrial corporate Ag
The gov buys the industrial food from the corps, they get the money, and the food-like stuff gets shipped hither and yon.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,382 posts)4. Save The Children press release:
Save the Children praised the reforms to U.S. global food aid included in the Agriculture Act of 2014, which passed the Senate today and will next head to the President to sign, saying these changes are good for kids. According to Save the Children, the reforms will help food aid more efficiently and effectively tackle child hunger and malnutrition.
"Save the Children is pleased to see that our nation's leaders worked across party lines to put the interests of malnourished children first by reforming U.S. international food aid. We applaud the efforts of the Farm Bill conferees and their staff, in particular Senators Stabenow (D-MI) and Cochran (R-MS) and Representatives Royce (R-CA), Engel (D-NY) and Marino (R-PA). The relatively modest but important changes to global food aid passed in the Farm Bill are a critical first step," said Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. "The reforms will provide considerable cost savings, resulting in more aid to more children, greater flexibility to use the most appropriate approach available to assist people in need, and faster humanitarian response times."
The Farm Bill includes two major provisions that support the principles of reform to global food aid. First, the bill created a permanent local and regional procurement program under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that allows food to be sourced closer to where it is needed. Funding for the program was authorized up to $80 million per year, compared to the pilot program that was funded $60 million over five years.
Secondly, the bill increased the allowance to use cash-based resources, such as food vouchers, cash transfers and local and regional procurement to 20 percent from 13 percent. The 7 percent increase means that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which works through anti-hunger groups like Save the Children, will now have more flexibility to choose the most efficient and appropriate approach to delivering food to children and families in need. This seemingly minor change means that hundreds of thousands more children and families will have access to U.S. food aid than before, and at no additional cost to U.S. taxpayers.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1402/S00073/save-the-children-hails-passage-of-global-food-aid-reform.htm
"Save the Children is pleased to see that our nation's leaders worked across party lines to put the interests of malnourished children first by reforming U.S. international food aid. We applaud the efforts of the Farm Bill conferees and their staff, in particular Senators Stabenow (D-MI) and Cochran (R-MS) and Representatives Royce (R-CA), Engel (D-NY) and Marino (R-PA). The relatively modest but important changes to global food aid passed in the Farm Bill are a critical first step," said Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. "The reforms will provide considerable cost savings, resulting in more aid to more children, greater flexibility to use the most appropriate approach available to assist people in need, and faster humanitarian response times."
The Farm Bill includes two major provisions that support the principles of reform to global food aid. First, the bill created a permanent local and regional procurement program under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that allows food to be sourced closer to where it is needed. Funding for the program was authorized up to $80 million per year, compared to the pilot program that was funded $60 million over five years.
Secondly, the bill increased the allowance to use cash-based resources, such as food vouchers, cash transfers and local and regional procurement to 20 percent from 13 percent. The 7 percent increase means that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which works through anti-hunger groups like Save the Children, will now have more flexibility to choose the most efficient and appropriate approach to delivering food to children and families in need. This seemingly minor change means that hundreds of thousands more children and families will have access to U.S. food aid than before, and at no additional cost to U.S. taxpayers.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1402/S00073/save-the-children-hails-passage-of-global-food-aid-reform.htm
Yes, the bill should not have cut SNAP. But focus the criticism on that, not something that will do some good.
DCBob
(24,689 posts)5. International food aid is a tiny fraction of the total farm bill..
but it does a tremendous amount of good across the globe. Its surprising people who claim to be progressives would be opposed to this.
FSogol
(45,529 posts)6. Seriously. n/t
KauaiK
(544 posts)7. I'm not saying it doesn't do good
I'm saying that first we need to take care of those HERE who don't have enough to eat....