[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 83 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 14, 2001

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Emergency 
Food Assistance Enhancement Act. My bill increases commodity purchases 
for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to help emergency 
feeding organizations--food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens--meet 
the needs of their communities. It also provides more federal support 
for the cost of storing, transporting, and distributing food donated to 
these organizations by the federal government and private sources. A 
total of up to $40 million a year of money that is not being used for 
employment and training programs is earmarked for these food purchases 
and handling costs, in addition to the $100 million a year now set 
aside for TEFAP food purchases and $45 million a year appropriated for 
storage, transportation, and distribution costs.
  Food banks and other organizations meet the needs of their 
communities by managing donations from the government and private 
sectors, and most government donations are from TEFAP. It is a unique 
program that has the ability to provide nutritious domestic food 
products to needy Americans, while at the same time providing direct 
support to the agriculture community. Although federal food donations 
through the TEFAP are not the only source of the food distributed by 
food banks and others, they are key because they provide distributing 
agencies with some certainty as to their inventory and contribute 
greatly to the variety of food items that are offered. TEFAP grants for 
storage, transportation, and distribution costs also enable these 
agencies to efficently handle a large volume of federal and private 
donations. In the 1996 welfare reform act, Congress made TEFAP 
commodity purchases mandatory because of the integral role it has in 
providing food aid to needy families and individuals.
  TEFAP benefits are a quick fix, something to get families through 
tough times. TEFAP gives them the support they need, but it doesn't 
catch them in a cycle of dependency. These food purchases also provide 
much needed support to the agriculture community. While other food 
assistance programs are much larger, TEFAP purchases have a much more 
direct impact on agriculture producers.
  The 1997 Balanced Budget Act included hundreds of millions of dollars 
for employment and training programs aimed at able-bodied adults 
between the ages of 18 and 50 without dependents whose eligibility for 
food stamps was restricted by a work requirement set up in the 1996 
welfare reform law. The bulk of the money is dedicated to employment/
training programs that keep unemployed able-bodied adults on the food 
stamp rolls, if they participate. But much of it is going unspent. 
Several hearings and reports have said that this money is unspent 
because few are taking advantage of employment and training assistance 
offered through the Food Stamp program; states running the program are 
not seeing a demand and are not drawing on this funding. The unused 
pool of employment and training money now tops $200 million, and 
continues to grow. At the same time, food banks and other emergency 
food providers report increased demand from this group and others.
  Why not put the money where the need is? The Secretary of Agriculture 
continually reviews states' spending of their Food Stamp program 
allocations for employment and training programs. If a state doesn't 
use the money allocated to it, the Secretary can reallocate it to 
another state that can use it. My bill does nothing to change or 
restrict this authority. It simply allows the Secretary to tap up to 
$40 million a year in unspent and unreallocated employment and training 
funds for TEFAP commodity purchases and storage, transportation, and 
distribution costs.
  Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that the Emergency Food Assistance 
Enhancement Act will enjoy resounding and rapid support from the full 
House of Representatives. It is important that we increase commodity 
purchases for this important program and help emergency food providers 
handle the maximum volume of food donations possible.

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