	Background

For almost seven decades, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance world food security through international food aid—primarily through either the donation or the sale on concessional terms of U.S. agricultural commodities. In contrast, most other countries operating international food aid programs have converted primarily to cash-based food assistance. U.S. reliance on in-kind food aid has become controversial due to its identified inefficiencies and potential market distortions compared with cash-based assistance. U.S. laws require that 
all agricultural commodities be sourced from the United States; at least 50% of U.S. food aid must be shipped on U.S.-flag vessels; at least 20%, but not more than 30%, with a minimum of $350 million, of FFPA funding must be available for non-emergency food aid; at least 75% of in-kind food transfers dedicated to non-emergency assistance must be in a processed, fortified, or bagged form; at least 50% of any bagging must consist of whole-grain commodities bagged in the United States; and at least 15% of non-emergency food aid funding must be made available to qualifying nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for monetization—that is, the process of selling donated U.S. commodities in recipient-country markets to generate cash for development programs. Food Aid Programs

The U.S. government provides international food aid through a variety of programs administered by either USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Average annual spending on U.S. international food aid programs increased gradually over the past six decades ( Figure 1 ). Section 416(b)11

The Agricultural Act of 1949 (P.L. 81-439; §416) permanently authorized the Section 416(b) program. The Section 416(b) program has been inactive since FY2007 because of the unavailability of CCC-owned stocks. 480, is the main legislative vehicle that authorizes U.S. international food assistance. Title I has been inactive since FY2006. However, the program was first funded by the 1985 farm bill ( P.L. McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (IFECN)49

The 2002 farm bill ( P.L. The 2014 farm bill reauthorized BEHT through FY2018. Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP)

The Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP) is a cash-based food-assistance program administered by USAID. USAID initiated EFSP in FY2010 as a complement to FFPA Title II emergency in-kind food aid donations. In July 2016, EFSP was permanently authorized as part of the FAA (22 U.S.C. 114-195 ; §7). Despite the growth in recent years of cash-based assistance under USAID's EFSP and some initial LRP activity by USDA, the United States remains one of the few countries that continue to rely primarily on in-kind transfers of domestically purchased commodities as the basis for international food assistance (referred to as "food aid tying"). Are there situations where cash-based assistance is preferable? The United States openly declares its commitment to international trade and the international set of rules governing that trade in the Food for Peace Act (§3(c)) where it declares its intent to
(C) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that options for providing food aid for emergency and non-emergency needs shall not be subject to limitation, including in-kind commodities, provisions of funds for agricultural commodity procurement, and monetization of commodities, on the condition that the provision of those commodities or funds—
(i) is based on assessments of need and intended to benefit the food security of, or otherwise assist, recipients, and 
(ii) is provided in a manner that avoids disincentives to local agricultural production and marketing and with minimal potential for disruption of commercial markets, and 
(2) the United States should increase its contribution of bona fide food assistance to developing countries consistent with the Agreement on Agriculture. Both the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations have sought greater flexibility in their use of Title II funds. Both the previous and current Administrations (in their annual budget requests) have proposed changes to the structure and intent of U.S. international food assistance, especially involving FFPA Title II resources. The 2014 farm bill made some modest changes to international food aid programs. In addition to Administration proposals, some Members of Congress have introduced bills in both the House ( H.R. 1983 ) and Senate ( S. 2421 ) in the 113 th Congress and the Senate ( S. 525 ) in the 114 th Congress that proposed alterations to U.S. food aid programs—including shifting select food aid authorities away from the agriculture committees and their periodic farm bills and into the Foreign Assistance Act, as well as the elimination of the requirements related to U.S.-only procurement of commodities, cargo preference, and monetization. The Global Food Security Act

On July 20, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Global Food Security Act ( P.L. 114-195 ). The GFSA represents a codification of the Obama Administration's Feed the Future (FTF) program into the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961.
For almost six decades, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance world food security through international food assistance—traditionally through either the donation or sale on concessional terms of U.S. agricultural commodities but in recent years also by direct cash transfers targeting emergency situations and by investing in host-country nutrition and agricultural development activities.
Historically, U.S. international food assistance has been distributed through four main program authorities: (1) the Food for Peace Act (FFPA, also known as P.L. 480); (2) the Section 416(b) program (which has been inactive since 2007); (3) the Food for Progress Act of 1985; and (4) the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The Section 416(b) program is permanently authorized by the Agricultural Act of 1949. The other programs are reauthorized in periodic farm bills, most recently (through FY2018) by the 2014 farm bill. A common feature of these programs is that they rely primarily on U.S.-sourced commodities (i.e., in-kind food aid) for their operations. The 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79) added an additional permanent international food assistance program—the Local and Regional Purchase (LRP) project—but based on cash transfers to purchase commodities from markets near the source of international food need. Since 2010, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has also used its authority under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) to initiate cash-based food assistance in response to international crises under the Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP) as a complement to FFPA Title II emergency in-kind food aid donations. In July 2016, EFSP was permanently authorized by the Global Food Security Act (P.L. 114-195). These six food assistance programs are administered either by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or USAID.
Since FY2006, annual spending on U.S. international food assistance programs has averaged $2.5 billion, with FFPA Title II outlays averaging $1.8 billion (74%). Despite growth in cash-based assistance under EFSP, the United States continues to rely heavily on in-kind transfers of domestic commodities for international food aid. In contrast, most other countries operating international food aid programs have converted primarily to cash-based food assistance. U.S. reliance on in-kind food aid has become controversial due to its identified inefficiencies and potential market distortions compared with cash-based assistance. In addition to domestic sourcing, U.S. food aid is subject to a suite of legislative requirements that potentially limit the U.S. response to emergency food crises. These include minimum levels of non-emergency program funding; domestic processing, bagging, and packaging; monetization—that is, the process of selling donated U.S. commodities in recipient-country markets to generate cash for development programs—by eligible NGOs; and ocean shipping on U.S. registered vessels (referred to as cargo preference). The 2014 farm bill made modest changes to U.S. food aid programs. However, the past two Administrations—that is, George W. Bush and Obama Administrations—as well as certain Members of Congress, via bills in the 113th (H.R. 1983 and S. 2421) and 114th (S. 525) Congresses, have proposed making more significant changes to the structure and intent of U.S. food aid programs. Proposed changes include, among others, expanding flexibility in the use of cash-based forms of assistance and eliminating both cargo preference and monetization.
In addition to its food assistance activities, the United States provides funding for investment in international food security programs under the Global Food Security Act (GFSA, P.L. 114-195). The GFSA represents a codification of the previous Feed the Future program. This report focuses on U.S. international food assistance activities, including the EFSP. The GFSA and its predecessor—Feed the Future—are discussed in CRS Report R44216, The Obama Administration's Feed the Future Initiative.