LegiStorm

Summary:

The United States currently addresses issues related to global hunger and food security through two primary types of approaches: (1) agricultural development and (2) emergency and humanitarian food aid and assistance. Agricultural development activities, such as the Administration's Feed the Future initiative and some emergency food assistance programs, are administered primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) using existing authorities provided in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Funding is provided through the annual Department of State and Foreign Operations appropriation bill. In addition, funding for some multilateral efforts, such as the World Bank Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) Trust Fund, is provided through annual appropriations to the Treasury Department. U.S. international food aid programs are administered by USAID and USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), as authorized by the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246), and are funded through annual Agriculture appropriation bills. For FY2010, the Administration allocated about $1.31 billion to its Feed the Future (FtF) initiative, which included $1.17 billion for bilateral agricultural development programming, $75 million for nutrition-related activities carried out in collaboration with global health initiatives, and $67 million allocated to the World Bank GAFSP. Separately, in FY2010, about $1.84 billion was allocated to Title II activities under the Food for Peace program, $209.5 million for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, and $300 million from the International Disaster Assistance account at USAID for other emergency food assistance activities including safety net programs, cash vouchers, and local and regional procurement. The FY2011 congressional budget justification for the Department of State and Foreign Operations was the first instance in which the Administration requested funds specifically to implement FtF. The Administration's FY2011 budget request included $1.84 billion for FtF-related activities, which was more than a 40% increase in the FY2010 allocation, primarily due to a $408 million request for the World Bank GAFSP Trust Fund. On April 14, 2011, Congress passed a continuing resolution to provide government-wide funding through the end of FY2011 (P.L. 112-10). The FY2011 CR provided allocations only to primary USAID budget accounts, several of which, such as Development Assistance, the Economic Support Fund, and the Global Health and Child Survival accounts at USAID, received decreases in funding relative to FY2010 levels. At the same time, the final FY2011 CR did not include specific allocations from USAID budget accounts for food security-related activities, so the implications of the FY2011 budget-level changes on the funding and programming for the Feed the Future initiative remain uncertain. The final FY2011 CR also included $1.5 billion for Title II Food for Peace food aid programs and $199.5 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program. The Administration's FY2012 request includes $1.56 billion for the FtF initiative, about $250 million, or 19%, more than the amount allocated in FY2010. This includes $1.1 billion in bilateral agricultural development assistance, $150 million for nutrition-related activities, and a U.S. contribution of $308 million to the World Bank GAFSP. Separately, for FY2012, the Administration is also requesting $1.690 billion for Food for Peace Title II emergency and non-emergency food aid, $200.5 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, and $300 million of International Disaster Assistance for emergency food security-related activities.