Opening Statements
Opening Statement: Severe Food Distribution Shortages in Tribal and Elderly Communities
Washington,
September 11, 2024
Today, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture Brad Finstad (MN-01) delivered the following opening statement at a joint oversight hearing with Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations entitled "Severe Food Distribution Shortages in Tribal and Elderly Communities." And a special thank you to my fellow Minnesotan, Chairman Seki of Red Lake, for joining us today and providing your testimony. More than 770,000 individuals who rely on both USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and Commodity Supplemental Food Program were put in an avoidable but devastating situation by unelected D.C. bureaucrats who decided they knew better than the communities themselves. What’s worse is that this avoidable, devastating situation happened under Secretary Vilsack’s first go-around at the helm. While 2014 was not as egregious, one would certainly think the same mistake would not be made twice. Earlier this year, USDA met with Tribal leaders to discuss the Department’s desire to pivot to a single warehouse. As testimony reveals, Tribal leaders advocated against such a change, warning the Department of potential calamity. The Department ignored Tribal leaders’ experience and advocacy efforts and in April 2024, consolidated storage and distribution services to one contractor and one warehouse. Testimony reveals significant food shortages caused by delayed or canceled food deliveries, or even deliveries of expired products, dating back to April 2024. Coincidentally, this, and a few other issues, came to light directly after the departure of the former Deputy Under Secretary for the Food and Nutrition Service, Stacy Dean. While I would hope the former Deputy Under Secretary was not complacent in this issue, I cannot help but wonder if this was a perverse means to demonstrate the utility of regional sourcing models and/or food sovereignty. My immediate goal is to ensure the Department is held to crafting a long-term strategy that can be quickly executed so Tribal communities and the elderly regain access to the foods they have come to rely on. But today’s hearing is also an opportunity for the public to hear of yet another example where the Biden-Harris Administration ignored the pleas of the many in exchange for the desires of a few. These last months fly in the face of the Administration’s own Equity Action Plan and the mission of FNS under the leadership of Secretary Vilsack. I look forward to the second panel’s reactions and impending strategy. Finally, as a Member of Congress representing over 700,000 taxpayers across southern Minnesota, and a former USDA official, I am appalled at the level of ongoing incompetence by the Department under its current leadership. Since 2022, Congress has been engaged in oversight of Feeding Our Future’s alleged role in defrauding the USDA, and its partnering state agency under the supervision of Governor Tim Walz, of over $250 million in taxpayer funds meant to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific to the purpose of today’s hearing, this incompetence cost individuals access to food, and increased the expenditure to the American taxpayer by more than $45 million through use of the Commodity Credit Corporation. The many letters sent by my colleagues across the House and Senate show how many questions have gone unanswered since the Department’s first engagement with Congress on this issue last month. I can only hope the Department has come prepared to answer our questions and talk openly about how they plan to regain public confidence in their implementation and oversight of these programs. With that, my deep appreciation to Members of Chickasaw, Red Lake, and Spirit Lake for taking a stand and sharing your stories. I yield back.
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