Senator Coons Discusses Reforming American Food Aid at Foreign Relations Hearing

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed potential reforms to American food aid at a hearing this morning titled "American Food Aid: Why Reform Matters."

"Out of yesterday's markup, I continue to be optimistic we can tackle all sorts of big challenges. Food aid reform is one that has eluded any significant progress for a long time," said Senator Coons. "It's made enormous impacts around the world. It has fed billions of people over decades, but the twin challenges we face are how to make this program more efficient so that it reaches more people, so that it does the best we can with taxpayer dollars. Yet how do we sustain food aid, so that we don't, by making changes that pursue efficiency, suddenly wake up and realize we've lost half or two thirds of the funding, and in reaching to feed eight to twelve million more, end up ultimately feeding fewer?

"That is the political Rubik's cube that we need to work together to solve…There is no doubt the current system is inefficient…It wastes a significant amount, both of commodity and costs, but the core question is can we make it both more efficient and more sustainable?"

Watch Senator Coons' full opening statement here: https://youtu.be/Yvpn6r2_NiY

Senator Coons also discussed potential reform with experts, including David Ray, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at CARE USA, Dr. Vincent Smith, AEI Visiting Scholar and Professor of Economics at Montana State University, and Dr. Stephanie Mercier, Senior Policy Advisor at the Farm Journal Foundation.

Watch video of Senator Coons' discussion with experts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27jIH5ESiAI

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