MARITIME, AGRICULTURE COALITION CALLS FOR INCREASED FOOD-AID FUNDING

MARITIME, AGRICULTURE COALITION CALLS FOR INCREASED FOOD-AID FUNDING    An ad-hoc coalition of maritime and agriculture interests has asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill to increase the level of funding for food aid programs in fiscal 2003.
   The ad-hoc coalition made its request through written testimony to the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Develop, FDA and Related Agencies on March 21. The coalition’s members include the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, USA Rice Federation, National Association of Wheat Growers, U.S. Wheat Associates, Wheat Export Trade Education Committee, American Soybean Association, U.S. Canola Association, National Sunflower Association, American Maritime Congress, Maritime Institute for Research and Industrial Development, Transportation Institute, Sealift, TECO Transport Corp., and Liberty Maritime Corp.
   The ad-hoc coalition was created in response to the Bush administration’s proposed reductions to food aid under Title I and Title II of Public Law 480 for fiscal 2003 and beyond, as well as a major restructuring of the Food for Progress program.
   The Bush administration’s proposed budget would slash the food aid program budget from $650 million in fiscal 2002 to about $57 million in fiscal 2003. The proposed budget would only cover about 3.9 million metric tons of grain.
   “American farmers require strong commercial markets to maintain their share of the world trade in commodities,” the ad-hoc coalition said. “These markets are developed and often revitalized by Title I concessional sales. This program, which has been a bulwark of American food aid policy since the days of the Marshall Plan, deserves the strong support of your subcommittee, the Congress and the entire nation.”
   The ad-hoc coalition recommends:
   * Title I program levels should be increased in fiscal 2003, and increased in each succeeding year.
   * Congress, through the fiscal 2003 Agriculture Appropriations Act, should direct the administration to create a program level for Food for Progress at not less than $100 million using the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) funding (absent a presidential declaration that such amounts of food assistance are not required to protect American interests).
   * Congress should ensure that the Global Food for Education Program is codified and the program is supported with adequate funding, either through CCC funding or direct appropriations, or a combination of both.