On September 11, 2024, the House Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee and the House Agriculture Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture Subcommittee held a joint oversight hearing addressing severe food distribution shortages in Tribal and elderly communities.
Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) commented on the situation: “This is a tragic situation that has been inflicted upon our nation’s Tribes and elderly communities by the Biden-Harris USDA. As is typical for this Administration when they create a catastrophe that could have been avoided, no one is held accountable, and no one takes ownership for the egregious mistakes... We are frustrated that [Tribal communities] have been needlessly subjected to food shortages, expired food, delivery delays, and cancellations. We commend all of you for your leadership and determination to help FDPIR and CSFP participants, going above and beyond to provide food to vulnerable members of your Tribal communities."
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) also expressed his concerns: "I sit at this dais in my role as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, but my voice echoes with those at the table before us. As a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, I am resolute in my commitment to ensuring Tribes across our nation are heard... For months, people have been left without the food and resources they rely on. Missed and delayed deliveries, empty shelves, and bare warehouses have become commonplace. These are all dire consequences at the result of decisions made by the USDA... The short-term solutions proposed by the USDA are not sufficient."
House Agriculture Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture Subcommittee Chairman Brad Finstad (R-MN) highlighted additional issues: "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... This incompetence cost individuals access to food and increased expenditure to the American taxpayer by more than $45 million through use of the Commodity Credit Corporation."
