[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4844-S4845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FEDERAL FOOD DONATION ACT OF 2008

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 748, S. 2420.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2420) to encourage the donation of excess food 
     to nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to food-
     insecure people in the United States in contracts entered 
     into by executive agencies for the provision, service, or 
     sale of food.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, with an amendment.
  (Strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the 
part printed in italic.)

                                S. 2420

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     [SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       [This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Food Donation Act 
     of 2007''.

     [SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       [The purpose of this Act is to encourage executive agencies 
     and contractors of executive agencies, to the maximum extent 
     practicable and safe, to donate excess, apparently wholesome 
     food to feed food-insecure people in the United States.

     [SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       [In this Act:
       [(1) Apparently wholesome food.--The term ``apparently 
     wholesome food'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     2(b) of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1791(b)).
       [(2) Excess.--The term ``excess'', when applied to food, 
     means food that--
       [(A) is not required to meet the needs of executive 
     agencies; and
       [(B) would otherwise be discarded.
       [(3) Food-insecure.--The term ``food-insecure'' means 
     inconsistent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.
       [(4) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
     organization'' means any organization that is--
       [(A) described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986; and
       [(B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) of that Code.

     [SEC. 4. PROMOTING FEDERAL FOOD DONATION.

       [Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy 
     shall revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation described in 
     section 6(a) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act 
     (41 U.S.C. 405(a)) to provide that all contracts above 
     $25,000 for the provision, service, or sale of food, or for 
     the lease or rental of Federal property to a private entity 
     for events at which food is provided, shall include a clause 
     that--
       [(1) encourages the donation of excess, apparently 
     wholesome food to nonprofit organizations that provide 
     assistance to food-insecure people in the United States;
       [(2) provides that the head of an executive agency shall 
     not assume responsibility for the costs and logistics of 
     collecting, transporting, maintaining the safety of, or 
     distributing excess, apparently wholesome food to food-
     insecure people in the United States; and
       [(3) provides that executive agencies and contractors 
     making donations pursuant to this Act are protected from 
     civil or criminal liability under the Bill Emerson Good 
     Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791).

     [SEC. 5. COORDINATOR OF COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY AND GLEANING.

       [(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
     establish in the Department of Agriculture a Coordinator of 
     Community Food Security and Gleaning.
       [(b) Duties.--The Coordinator of Community Food Security 
     and Gleaning shall provide technical assistance relating to 
     the activities described in section 4 to--
       [(1) agencies of Federal, State, and local government;
       [(2) nonprofit organizations;
       [(3) agricultural producers; and
       [(4) private entities.

[[Page S4845]]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Food Donation Act of 
     2008''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to encourage executive agencies 
     and contractors of executive agencies, to the maximum extent 
     practicable and safe, to donate excess, apparently wholesome 
     food to feed food-insecure people in the United States.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Apparently wholesome food.--The term ``apparently 
     wholesome food'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     2(b) of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1791(b)).
       (2) Excess.--The term ``excess'', when applied to food, 
     means food that--
       (A) is not required to meet the needs of executive 
     agencies; and
       (B) would otherwise be discarded.
       (3) Food-insecure.--The term ``food-insecure'' means 
     inconsistent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.
       (4) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
     organization'' means any organization that is--
       (A) described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986; and
       (B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) of that Code.

     SEC. 4. PROMOTING FEDERAL FOOD DONATION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
     issued in accordance with section 25 of the Office of Federal 
     Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421) shall be revised to 
     provide that all contracts above $25,000 for the provision, 
     service, or sale of food in the United States, or for the 
     lease or rental of Federal property to a private entity for 
     events at which food is provided in the United States, shall 
     include a clause that--
       (1) encourages the donation of excess, apparently wholesome 
     food to nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to 
     food-insecure people in the United States; and
       (2) states the terms and conditions described in subsection 
     (b).
       (b) Terms and Conditions.--
       (1) Costs.--In any case in which a contractor enters into a 
     contract with an executive agency under which apparently 
     wholesome food is donated to food-insecure people in the 
     United States, the head of the executive agency shall not 
     assume responsibility for the costs and logistics of 
     collecting, transporting, maintaining the safety of, or 
     distributing excess, apparently wholesome food to food-
     insecure people in the United States under this Act.
       (2) Liability.--An executive agency (including an executive 
     agency that enters into a contract with a contractor) and any 
     contractor making donations pursuant to this Act shall be 
     exempt from civil and criminal liability to the extent 
     provided under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1791).

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues for their 
support of S. 2420, the Federal Food Donation Act of 2007, which is 
being passed through the Senate today. I introduced this bill, which 
will encourage the donation of excess food from Federal agencies and 
their qontractors to emergency food providers, on December 6, 2007.
  In a country as wealthy as ours it is unacceptable that anyone person 
should go hungry, yet approximately 35.5 million Americans have 
difficulty affording food. An estimated 732,000 households in my home 
State of New York live with hunger or the threat of hunger.
  Food banks and pantries all across the United States are facing a 
perfect storm where as the economy suffers and food prices rise, more 
and more families are relying on their services; yet the pantries are 
straining to keep their shelves stocked due to the increase in food 
requests and food costs. According to America's Second Harvest, food 
banks around the country lare reporting that an estimated 20 percent 
more people are visiting soup kitchens and food pantries for help this 
year than last year, and too many people are being turned away. We need 
to do everything we can to make sure that all families in all 
communities have enough to eat during these difficult times.
  This bill will help make fighting hunger a national priority. In the 
1990s, the United States Department of Agriculture created an 
initiative through which it encouraged the practice of food recovery. 
During just 1 year of the program, 1998, the Federal Government 
recovered over 3 million pounds nationwide from cafeterias, farms, 
research centers, and military bases. For the past decade the Federal 
Government has strayed away from this important anti-hunger initiative, 
but this bill would take an important step towards reengaging the 
Federal Government's involvement in food recovery.
  Nonprofits in the business of food rescue serve millions of people, 
and I would like to thank one such nonprofit, Rock and Wrap it Up!, a 
national food rescue organization headquartered in New York, for their 
help in conceiving of and promoting this bill. I commend them for their 
great work. It is now time for the Federal Government to join the 
nonprofit and private sectors in doing all it can to feed our Nation's 
hungry--the need for help is greater now than it has been in a very 
long time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a 
third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements 
related to this measure be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 2420), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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