On June 7, The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved en bloc, by voice vote, the International Food Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 4141). The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights approved the measure on March 27 (see The Source, 3/30/12).
The bill, sponsored by the late Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), would restructure the food aid program to target specific populations, with a primary focus on women and children. The measure would concentrate on ending malnutrition in “the critical 1,000 days between pregnancy and age two,” citing maternal health as a priority.
H.R. 4141 would require a restructuring, both financially and nutritionally, of the food aid sent to foreign nations. To maximize the value of the aid sent, the measure would focus on “adopting new specifications or improving existing specifications for micronutrient fortified food aid products, based on the latest developments in food and nutrition science” as part of an overall goal to ensure that optimally nutritious and cost-effective food reaches the targeted groups. In line with these goals, the USAID administrator would be required to report to Congress on the progress in food assistance programs.
