[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 7, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1886-H1887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FUNDING FOOD AID FOR MALNUTRITION

  (Mr. Magaziner of Rhode Island was recognized to address the House 
for 5 minutes.)
  Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the sixth time to call 
for the Trump administration to restore funding for lifesaving food aid 
for malnourished children.
  It has been 2 months since Congress passed and President Trump signed 
a funding bill for fiscal year 2025. It included money that can be used 
to continue purchasing ready-to-use therapeutic food, a miracle peanut 
paste that saves the lives of starving children and is produced by, 
among others, Edesia Nutrition in my district in Rhode Island with 
ingredients sourced from States all across our country.
  Here we are in May, and since the Trump administration came into 
office in January, not a single dollar of that money has gone to buying 
this promised lifesaving food aid. Instead, Edesia

[[Page H1887]]

has boxes of food stuck in warehouses, factory workers laid off, with 
children suffering from severe malnutrition and famine.
  This is food that has already been paid for by the American taxpayers 
that could be used to feed starving children who are victims of war and 
famine, but instead, it sits in a warehouse benefiting no one.
  We need the funding that this Congress provided to go through now 
because starving children can't wait. To make matters worse, the 
administration's fiscal year 2026 so-called skinny budget completely 
eliminates funding for the Food for Peace program, a bipartisan program 
that is the main source of funding for food assistance to combat hunger 
and malnutrition while also supporting America's farmers and 
agriculture industry. We must reject that plan and continue to fund 
Food for Peace.
  In the meantime, though, this is urgent. For fiscal year 2025, the 
funding has already been appropriated. It has been approved. It has 
been signed by the President. We need the administration to put in the 
new orders to continue this flow of lifesaving aid to children.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs), 
a person who has been a real champion on the issue of hunger around the 
world, to hear her thoughts on the subject.
  Ms. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Magaziner for 
championing this issue and fighting to address the malnutrition of 
millions of children around the world.
  Every year, about 45 million young children worldwide suffer from 
severe malnutrition. That is about one in every three children under 5 
years old. Tragically, about 1 to 2 million of those children will die.
  Nutrition during that time is incredibly important for long-term 
development. It is what powers kids to grow taller, get stronger, 
develop their brains, and have a stronger immune system. If kids don't 
get the nutrition they need during this time, it literally has 
generational consequences.
  Thankfully, as Congressman Magaziner has highlighted, we have a 
proven treatment to save the lives of malnourished children: ready-to-
use therapeutic food, or RUTF. RUTF is the go-to treatment for 
malnutrition in hard-to-reach areas and emergencies because it doesn't 
require refrigeration, preparation, or any training to deliver. It is 
nutrient rich, delivering essential nutrients and calories so people 
can recover from malnutrition quickly.
  Mr. Speaker, I worked at UNICEF. I have seen firsthand the power of 
these lifesaving treatments. I have seen that they work. I have seen 
how fast kids can bounce back and recover. I have seen that U.S. 
funding and U.S. assistance makes a difference.
  Unfortunately, President Trump has eliminated countless assistance 
programs that have kept children alive. His administration hasn't 
placed new orders for RUTF at Edesia Nutrition in Rhode Island, causing 
production to almost stop.
  We already knew that the promises of waivers for emergency food 
assistance were lies, and now we have further proof. Starving children 
shouldn't be political pawns, and their futures shouldn't be toyed 
with.
  Here is my message to the Trump administration: Do the right thing. 
Restore funding for emergency food assistance and help save the lives 
of children around the world.
  Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Jacobs for her long body of 
work championing children around the world, particularly on the issue 
of malnutrition. I will continue to stand in this Chamber every day we 
are in session and speak on this topic until funding for RUTF is 
restored.

                          ____________________