WASHINGTON – With a famine threatening Southern Sudan, House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today applauded the Committee vote to send $150 million in U.S. Agriculture to Sudan. The motion was supported in an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill, which passed the Appropriations Committee in a vote of 32-31.

“Food aid to the Sudan is at a critical juncture, and the U.S. has a moral obligation to lead this effort,” said DeLauro. “By providing emergency food supplies throughout the world as this amendment does, we not only feed those in great need, but also assist American farmers who want to continue contributing to this effort.”

President Bush proposed $150 million for Sudan in his supplemental budget request at the urging of the State Department and the Agency for International Development, but the funding was removed by the House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis. Today’s amendment reinstated this funding.

The international food program (PL 480, Title II) buys and distributes U.S. grown food across the world in time of emergency. The program is administered through the USDA and is popular among farmers, agribusiness and the maritime industry for development it brings to their sectors.