News outlets report on the White House’s response to a provision in a spending bill that would impact food aid.

New York Times: Provision Could Limit U.S. Food Aid
“An obscure provision tucked inside a Coast Guard spending bill could prevent millions of people in troubled countries around the world from receiving American food aid and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in shipping costs, the Obama administration said this week. The provision, which is included in the Senate version of a House bill that passed this month, would require that three-quarters of the United States food aid that is shipped to places like South Sudan be sent on American vessels, up from the one-half now required by law. The administration, which has made overhauling the food aid program one of its top priorities, said the change would drastically increase the costs of shipping food aid overseas because it would limit the ability of the United States Agency for International Development, which runs the program, to use the most cost-effective shipping options available at the time of each shipment…” (Nixon, 4/24).

The Wall Street Journal: White House Warns Bill Would Crimp Foreign Food Aid
“A little-noticed provision in a bill passed by the House this month calls for relying more on U.S.-flagged ships to deliver food aid to foreign countries — a change backed by labor groups and criticized by the White House. The measure, tucked into a Coast Guard and maritime bill, would increase the proportion of food aid transported abroad on private ships flying the U.S. flag, which are required to employ primarily American mariners…” (Peterson, 4/24).