KOHL SEEKS $600 MILLION FOR
HUMANITARIAN FOOD ASSISTANCE
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) is proposing to add $600 million in humanitarian food assistance to the $78.8 billion bill to fund the war in Iraq. The FY03 Supplemental Appropriations Bill currently contains no new funding for existing international food programs that are already being tapped to supply rations to Iraqi civilians. Before the war, 60% of the Iraqi population was fed through the United Nations' Oil for Food program, which turned Iraqi oil revenues into 400,000 metric tons of food per month which was distributed at nearly 40,000 local sites throughout the country. The UN suspended the Oil for Food program on March 17, 2003 and will be unable to resume food shipments in the near future.
Simply stated, this amendment says that, even in times of war, America will remain a compassionate leader in the world community, a passionate fighter against hunger and hopelessness throughout the world, Kohl said. No one disputes that the war has disrupted food delivery to innocent Iraqis. And everyone agrees that, as we move to liberate the Iraqi people, we have an absolute obligation to deliver humanitarian relief. This amendment is
responsible budgeting that will allow us to meet the immediate needs in Iraq without crippling our other food aid efforts.
Kohl's amendment will provide an additional $600 million through PL-480, the premier U.S. humanitarian food aid program. PL-480 funds are already being tapped by the U.S. military to provide food to Iraqis - to date, approximately $269 million of PL-480 funds have been used in that effort. When PL-480 was budgeted last year, lawmakers did not anticipate the enormous and urgent need for food in Iraq. Last Friday, the UN World Food Program issued an appeal of
$2.2 billion for humanitarian assistance for Iraq, of which $1.3 billion is for food.
In addition, Kohl is concerned that every dollar removed from the PL-480 program for Iraq is a dollar diverted from U.S. work to combat famine in other areas like Sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan.
Specifically, Kohl's amendment replenishes $269 million already taken from PL-480 for Iraq. It also adds $100 million to an emergency grain reserve called the Emerson Trust. Approximately, 600,000 tons of wheat have already been released from the Emerson Trust and directed to the Iraqi people. Another $231 million is added to PL-480 directed specifically for future Iraqi needs.
The Senate is currently debating the FY03 Supplemental Bill concerning the war in Iraq, and is expected to complete action on the legislation this week.
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