Statement of Administration Policy: S. 2151 - Section 416 Surplus Commodity Donation Program Amendments

(House)
(Sen. Leahy (D) Vermont and 3 others)

The Administration opposes enactment of S. 2151. Despite its characterization as technical amendments, the bill would substantially extend and modify current food aid programs.

Specifically, the Administration opposes S. 2151 because it would:

—    require the Secretary of Agriculture to approve multiyear agreements to provide surplus agricultural commodities for donation to foreign countries, which would ignore important and unpredictable factors such as the future food needs of recipient countries;

—    increase the minimum percentage of commodities donated to Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO's) that must be sold for foreign currency from 5 percent of the donated tonnage to 10 percent of either the actual amount shipped or the minimum targeted tonnage, whichever is greater, which, when actual shipments are low due to commodity unavailability, would substantially disrupt the donation program;

—    expand the allowable uses by PVO's of foreign currencies obtained from the sale of commodities donated by the Department of Agriculture which is inappropriate because the inability to predict the future availability of surplus commodities for donation under the section 416 program does not allow the necessary long-term planning for effective economic development programs; and

—    substantially increase the minimum annual tonnage required to be donated under the section 4i6 program, which would increase the processing and transportation costs of the program by about $120 million over fiscal year 1988 and the next two fiscal years and would require the Commodity Credit Corporation to forego potential future receipts totalling from $80 million to $300 million from commodities that might otherwise be sold, depending upon future availability of surplus commodities.