{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/vice-ranking-member-amo-ranking-member-meeks-request-usaid-state-department-inspectors-general-investigate-and-update-on-reports-that-trump-administration-wasted-food-assistance", "Vice Ranking Member Amo, Ranking Member Meeks Request USAID, State Department Inspectors General Investigate and Update on Reports that Trump Administration Wasted Food Assistance", "2025-11-25", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 TODAY, House Foreign Affairs Vice Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) and Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks, sent a letter to the USAID and the State Department Acting Inspectors General requesting information on their investigation of wasted food assistance funded by U.S. taxpayers. In the aftermath of the Trump administration\u2019s elimination of USAID, public reporting found that, at the direction of the Trump administration, millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funded food commodities were either left to spoil or discarded, though the administration has so far failed to provide details on the scale and circumstances of that waste despite Congressional requests to do so.\n\nThe Members write:\n\nDear Acting Inspectors General Aldridge and Baker:\n\nWe have raised concerns to the Department of State that remain unaddressed about reports of the destruction of taxpayer-funded food assistance intended for vulnerable populations abroad. These reports raise serious concerns about the Department\u2019s program oversight, supply chain integrity, safety of food distribution, and stewardship of taxpayer-funded humanitarian and development aid.\n\nPublicly available accounts and preliminary reports suggest that Secretary Rubio and other State Department officials discarded or destroyed significant quantities of food aid\u2014procured and distributed under USAID auspices\u2014prior to reaching their intended recipients. The circumstances surrounding these incidents remain unclear, including whether the losses were due to spoilage, diversion, logistical failure, or external interference.\n\nDuring his testimony before the Foreign Affairs Committee on May 21, 2025, Secretary Rubio, in response to a question about State Department\u2019s delivery delays of bought ready-to-use therapeutic food (also known as RUTFs), said, \u201cthere was no State Department delays.\u201d However, after that hearing, public reporting appeared that government officials allowed $800,000 worth of emergency food commodities to expire, causing its destruction, despite multiple warnings from concerned USAID staff. Regardless of cause, such incidents raise serious concerns surrounding the Executive Branch\u2019s possible misuse of congressionally authorized funds, erode the credibility of U.S. foreign aid, and jeopardize our strategic humanitarian objectives.\n\nAs announced on May 29, the USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations division is initiating a series of inspections of the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) warehouses used to preposition food aid. We respectfully request a status update on those and any other related inspections currently being undertaken. As the Committee with oversight authority over foreign affairs and foreign assistance, we are committed to ensuring that U.S. aid programs operate with transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Therefore, we also request your offices review the following and would appreciate your response by December 5, 2025:\n\nThe total number, scope, and scale of incidents in which food commodities bought with Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance have been destroyed at the direction of USAID or State Department officials since January 20, 2025.\n\nThe justifications for and contributing factors leading to such food aid destruction.\n\nThe decision-making processes used to direct and implement such food aid destruction and the degree to which such processes accounted for any internal objections or concerns raised.\n\nThe adequacy of the State Department\u2019s internal controls, monitoring and evaluation systems, and partner oversight mechanisms with respect to the expenditure of humanitarian and development assistance.\n\nIf your office requires additional authorities or resources to conduct this review, please advise us accordingly. Thank you for your continued service and commitment to safeguarding the integrity of U.S. foreign assistance. We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter.\n\nThe full PDF of the letter can be found here.\n\nWATCH: Congressman Amo Questions Secretary Rubio as he Claims \u2018No One Has Died\u2019 after Tons of Food Aid Destroyed\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/vice-ranking-member-amo-ranking-member-meeks-request-usaid-state-department-inspectors-general-investigate-and-update-on-reports-that-trump-administration-wasted-food-assistance"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9117098525166512, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}