In June the American Farmers Feed the World Act of 2023 was introduced. The bipartisan legislation would play a vital role in keeping the food in America’s international food aid programs as Congress looks to reauthorize the Farm Bill. As part of this legislation, Congress would restore the original intent of the Food for Peace program without spending additional Farm Bill resources, all while safeguarding the interests of American farmers.

As Congress gears up for Farm Bill reauthorization, we are asking our members to engage with legislators to seek support for the Expanding Agricultural Exports Act (S. 176) and Agriculture Export Promotion Act (H.R. 648).

In February, lawmakers introduced this bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would strengthen the effectiveness of the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development program (FMD). MAP’s authorized funding has not changed since 2006 and FMD funding has remained the same since 2002, so inflation and sequestration have significantly eroded the ability to compete with other countries who are steadily investing more in their agricultural export promotion efforts. Impact: If enacted, this legislation would double funding for these agricultural export market development programs administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

To highlight the importance of enacting this legislation, NAWG launched a grassroots campaign to help wheat growers encourage their Members of Congress to support these legislative efforts and have them included as part of the 2023 Farm Bill. Individuals can click here to participate in our grassroots advocacy campaign. Wheat growers are strongly encouraged to participate in the campaign to let their Members of Congress know how vital supporting these marker bills are to advancing agricultural exports.