What This Bill Does
This bill creates a plan to address a global food crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It gives the U.S. Agency for International Development the power to buy food from local and regional sources to send as emergency aid to hungry people in Africa, the Middle East, and other areas hit hard by rising food prices.
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Who It Affects
- The U.S. Agency for International Development (the government agency that provides aid to other countries)
- Countries experiencing food shortages, particularly in Africa and the Middle East
- People facing hunger and food insecurity in those countries
- U.S. agricultural producers and traders
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Key Provisions
- The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development must create and submit a strategy to Congress within 30 days after the bill becomes law to prevent a global food crisis, focusing on Africa and the Middle East (Sec. 3(a))
- The U.S. Agency for International Development can buy food aid from local and regional sources for emergency help in countries facing acute food shortages caused by rising prices (Sec. 4(a))
- The agency should prioritize buying American agricultural products when local or regional food is unavailable or unsafe, but when buying locally or regionally, should focus on areas supported by U.S. agricultural development programs and Ukraine to help economic stability (Sec. 4(b))
- Before buying food locally or regionally, the agency must check markets first to make sure purchases won't hurt U.S. trade or create food shortages in the source countries (Sec. 4(c))
- The agency cannot buy food from Russia, China, or any country under U.S. sanctions (Sec. 4(e))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the U.S. Agency for International Development gains new flexibility to buy food for emergencies from nearby sources instead of only from the United States. The agency must develop a detailed plan within 30 days showing how to speed up and expand food aid during this crisis.
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Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
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II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 436
To respond to the looming global food crisis precipitated by Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To respond to the looming global food crisis precipitated
by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Allies Food
4
in Emergencies Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
6
It is the policy of the United States to respond to
7
the looming global food crisis precipitated by the Russian
8
Federation’s brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine beginning
9
in February 2022, which threatens to destabilize key part-
10
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ners and allies and push millions of people into hunger
1
and poverty, particularly in areas of Africa and the Middle
2
East that are already experiencing emergency levels of
3
food insecurity, by taking immediate action to improve the
4
timeliness and expand the reach of United States inter-
5
national food assistance.
6
SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO AVERT A GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS.
7
(a) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30
8
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad-
9
ministrator of the United States Agency for International
10
Development, acting in the capacity of the President’s
11
Special Coordinator for International Disaster Assistance
12
pursuant to section 493 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
13
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292b), shall develop and submit a strat-
14
egy to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
15
and Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
16
resentatives for averting a catastrophic global food secu-
17
rity crisis, particularly in areas of Africa and the Middle
18
East that are already experiencing emergency levels of
19
food insecurity, which has been driven by sharp increases
20
in global prices for staple agricultural commodities, agri-
21
cultural inputs (including fertilizer), and associated energy
22
costs.
23
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(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the strategy
1
under subsection (a), the Administrator shall consider and
2
incorporate an analysis of—
3
(1) the impact of the Russian Federation’s bru-
4
tal, illegal war in Ukraine on the cost and avail-
5
ability of staple agricultural commodities and inputs,
6
including fertilizer—
7
(A) globally;
8
(B) in countries that rely upon commercial
9
imports of such commodities and inputs from
10
Ukraine or Russia; and
11
(C) in countries that are supported
12
through the United Nations World Food Pro-
13
gramme, which heavily relies upon purchases of
14
wheat and pulses from Ukraine and has re-
15
cently reported a price increase of more than
16
$23,000,000 per month for its wheat purchases;
17
(2) the correlation between rising food costs
18
and social unrest in areas of strategic importance to
19
the United States, including countries and regions
20
that experienced food riots during the 2007 to 2008
21
global food price crisis;
22
(3) the underlying drivers of food insecurity in
23
areas experiencing emergency levels of hunger, in-
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cluding current barriers to food security development
1
programs and humanitarian assistance;
2
(4) existing United States foreign assistance
3
authorities, programs, and resources that could help
4
avert a catastrophic global food crisis;
5
(5) recommendations to enhance the efficiency,
6
improve the timeliness, and expand the reach of
7
United States international food assistance pro-
8
grams and resources referred to in paragraph (4);
9
(6) opportunities to bolster coordination, cata-
10
lyze and leverage actions by other donors and
11
through multilateral development banks;
12
(7) opportunities to better synchronize assist-
13
ance through well-coordinated development and hu-
14
manitarian assistance programs within the United
15
States Agency for International Development and
16
alongside other donors;
17
(8) opportunities to improve supply chain and
18
shipping logistics efficiencies in close collaboration
19
with the private sector;
20
(9) opportunities for increased cooperation with
21
the Department of State to strengthen diplomatic ef-
22
forts to resolve global conflicts and overcome bar-
23
riers to access for life-saving assistance;
24
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(10) opportunities to support continued agricul-
1
tural production in Ukraine, and the extent to which
2
food produced in Ukraine can be used to meet hu-
3
manitarian needs locally, regionally, or in countries
4
historically reliant upon imports from Ukraine or
5
Russia; and
6
(11) opportunities to support and leverage agri-
7
cultural production in countries and regions cur-
8
rently supported by United States international agri-
9
cultural development programs, including programs
10
authorized under the Global Food Security Act of
11
2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et seq.), in a manner that—
12
(A) fills critical gaps in the global supply
13
of emergency food aid commodities;
14
(B) enables purchases from small holder
15
farmers by the United Nations World Food
16
Programme;
17
(C) enhances resilience to food price
18
shocks;
19
(D) promotes self-reliance; and
20
(E) opens opportunities for United States
21
agricultural trade and investment.
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SEC. 4. EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES TO EXPAND THE TIME-
1
LINESS AND REACH OF UNITED STATES
2
INTERNATIONAL FOOD ASSISTANCE.
3
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of this
4
section and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
5
the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
6
national Development is authorized to procure life-saving
7
food aid commodities, including commodities available lo-
8
cally and regionally, for the provision of emergency food
9
assistance to the most vulnerable populations in countries
10
and areas experiencing acute food insecurity that has been
11
exacerbated by rising food prices, particularly in countries
12
and areas historically dependent upon imports of wheat
13
and other staple commodities from Ukraine and Russia.
14
(b) PRIORITIZATION.—
15
(1) IN GENERAL.—In responding to crises in
16
which emergency food aid commodities are unavail-
17
able locally or regionally, or in which the provision
18
of locally or regionally procured agricultural com-
19
modities would be unsafe, impractical, or inappro-
20
priate, the Administrator should prioritize procure-
21
ments of United States agricultural commodities, in-
22
cluding when exercising authorities under section
23
491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
24
U.S.C. 2292).
25
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(2) LOCAL OR REGIONAL PROCUREMENTS.—In
1
making local or regional procurements of food aid
2
commodities pursuant to subsection (a), the Admin-
3
istrator, to the extent practicable and appropriate,
4
should prioritize procurements from areas supported
5
through the international agricultural development
6
programs authorized under the Global Food Security
7
Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et seq.) and from
8
Ukraine, for the purpose of promoting economic sta-
9
bility, resilience to price shocks, and early recovery
10
from such shocks in such areas.
11
(c) DO NO HARM.—In making local or regional pro-
12
curements of food aid commodities pursuant to subsection
13
(a), the Administrator shall first conduct market assess-
14
ments to ensure that such procurements—
15
(1) will not displace United States agricultural
16
trade and investment; and
17
(2) will not cause or exacerbate shortages, or
18
otherwise harm local markets, for such commodities
19
within the countries of origin.
20
(d) EMERGENCY EXCEPTIONS.—
21
(1) IN GENERAL.—Commodities procured pur-
22
suant to subsection (b) shall be excluded from cal-
23
culations of gross tonnage for purposes of deter-
24
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mining compliance with section 55305(b) of title 46,
1
United States Code.
2
(2)
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
3
55305(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amend-
4
ed by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting ‘‘should’’.
5
(e) EXCLUSIONS.—The authority under subsection
6
(a) shall not apply to procurements from—
7
(1) the Russian Federation;
8
(2) the People’s Republic of China; or
9
(3) any country subject to sanctions under—
10
(A) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance
11
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371);
12
(B) section 40 of the Arms Export Control
13
Act (22 U.S.C. 2780); or
14
(C) section 1754(c) of the Export Control
15
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)).
16
Æ
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