[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S257-S258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CASEY (for himself, Ms. Snowe,, and Mr. Voinovich):
  S. 194. A bill to amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to 
require the Secretary of Agriculture to help offset the costs of 
intrastate transportation, storage, and distribution of bonus 
commodities provided to States and food assistance agencies under the 
emergency food assistance program; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Bonus TEFAP 
Assistance Act of 2009 with my colleagues Senator Snowe and Senator 
Voinovich. Our bill provides immediate and valuable assistance to our 
national food banks and the families who rely on food banks to put 
meals on the table by ensuring that food banks can accept and 
distribute food donations they might otherwise have had to decline. Our 
bill has the support of Feeding America, formerly known as America's 
Second Harvest, the national hunger relief charity that operates a 
network of over 200 food banks across America.
  We are in the middle of a crisis. The on-going economic crisis is the 
worst in a generation, but this crisis is more than stock prices and 
market certainty. The economic crisis has a face. The faces of 
hardworking Pennsylvanians who suddenly find themselves unable to 
afford food for the family meals. The economic crisis is also a hunger 
crisis--a crisis that is pushing more people to apply for Federal 
nutrition programs and stand in line at the local food bank. It is a 
crisis that threatens to undo all of the progress we have made over the 
past few decades to end hunger in America.
  The United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, reported that, for

[[Page S258]]

2006, 35.5 million Americans did not have enough money or resources to 
get food for at least some period during the year. This figure was an 
increase of 400,000 over 2005 and an increase of 2.3 million since 
2000. With the fragile State of our economy, it is extremely likely 
that these figures for 2007 and 2008 will be even more devastating. The 
only recourse for these millions of families is to turn to federal food 
assistance programs and emergency food banks for their basic food 
needs.
  Unfortunately, as articles in national publications like the USA 
Today and the New York Times have highlighted, there is a critical lack 
of food inventories available in local food pantries across the 
country. Rising demand, sharp drops in federal supplies of excess 
commodities, and declining donations have forced food banks to cut back 
on rations, and in some cases, close their doors. In short, America's 
food banks are facing critical shortages now.
  As a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry, I was proud to help create last year's farm bill. The bill 
helps food banks by providing additional annual funding to shore up 
food bank supplies. But there are additional measures that we can take 
to help ensure that food banks can continue to fulfill their mission.
  That's why today I'm pleased introduce the Bonus TEFAP Assistance Act 
of 2009. This legislation provides the critical support needed to 
ensure food assistance agencies, already in desperate need of supplies, 
can take full advantage of the distributions of bonus food commodities 
supplied by USDA through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, TEFAP. 
By helping to offset the intrastate storage, transportation, and 
distribution costs the food assistance agencies incur to distribute 
these bonus food surpluses, the bill ensures that commodities reach the 
greatest number of needy individuals.
  The Emergency Food Assistance Program began in 1981 as a temporary 
program with dual purposes; it was intended to help reduce the Federal 
food inventories and storage costs while also assisting the needy. 
Because of the program's success in helping distribute food to those in 
need, in 1988, after much of the federal inventory was depleted, the 
Hunger Prevention Act authorized funds to be appropriated to purchase 
food for TEFAP.
  Under current-day TEFAP, the USDA provides states and food assistance 
agencies with commodities bought specifically for the program and with 
funding to help cover distributing agencies' intrastate storage, 
handling, and distribution costs. In addition, when available, USDA 
provides any excess food not needed to fulfill other program 
requirements to States for allocation to local food assistance 
agencies. This excess food is known as ``bonus TEFAP.'' Unfortunately, 
while the USDA generously distributes these bonus TEFAP commodities to 
the States, many of the State and food assistance agencies are unable 
to accept the bonus TEFAP commodities because they do not have the 
resources to store, transport, or distribute them.
  The Bonus TEFAP Assistance Act of 2009 that I am introducing today 
alleviates this problem by providing offsetting funds to recipient 
agencies to assist with the costs of storing, transporting, and 
distributing bonus TEFAP commodities. The funds provided through this 
legislation will help to provide more food to those in need through 
food banks, food pantries, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, and other 
organizations that directly provide these resources to the public.
  To solve the problem the inadequacy of local resources causes, the 
bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use existing funds 
granted under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935. 
Currently, Section 32 funds are used to fund child nutrition programs 
and other programs to support the farm sector at the discretion of the 
Secretary. Through this legislation, a small portion of Section 32 
funds would be allocated to each eligible recipient agency in the 
lesser amount of $0.05 per pound or $0.05 per dollar value of bonus 
TEFAP commodities. With this modest increase in funding, the States and 
their food assistance agencies will be able to accept more food 
distributions from the USDA through TEFAP, benefitting the many low-
income recipients who rely on the program for emergency food and 
nutrition assistance.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join Senator Snowe, Senator Voinovich 
and me in ensuring that the States and food assistance agencies can 
accept the available excess commodity foods the USDA provides under the 
Emergency Assistance Food Program. Food assistance agencies are in dire 
need of funds, food, and supplies and we owe it to them to ensure that 
they can take full advantage of every opportunity to serve those in our 
nation who are in desperate need.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 194

       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 ``Bonus TEFAP Assistance Act 
     of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR COSTS OF DISTRIBUTING BONUS 
                   COMMODITIES.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
       (1) to encourage States and food assistance agencies to 
     accept commodities acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture 
     for farm support and surplus removal activities; and
       (2) to offset the costs of the States and food assistance 
     agencies for the intrastate transportation, storage, and 
     distribution of the commodities.
       (b) Costs of Distributing Bonus Commodities.--Section 202 
     of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7502) 
     is amended by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Costs of Distributing Bonus Commodities.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use funds made 
     available under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 
     U.S.C. 612c), to provide funding described in paragraph (2) 
     to eligible recipient agencies to offset the costs of the 
     agencies for intrastate transportation, storage, and 
     distribution of commodities described in subsection (a).
       ``(2) Funding.--The Secretary shall provide funding 
     described in paragraph (1) to an eligible recipient agency at 
     a rate equal to the lower of $0.05 per pound or $0.05 per 
     dollar value of commodities described in subsection (a) that 
     are made available under this Act to, and accepted by, the 
     eligible recipient agency.''.
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