Usda's $1b Bird Flu Plan Uses Money Intended For Schools, Food Banks

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' $1 billion plan for fighting bird flu will rely on money cut from programs meant to help schools and food banks support local farmers, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Rollins in February rolled out a five-step strategy to fight bird flu that includes importing eggs and researching and developing a poultry vaccine. But that raised questions about whether it would use new federal money, even as the Trump administration is generally cutting back.

Instead, it will use the money previously intended for two food programs that USDA canceled earlier this year, according to the people, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The move tees up a major political fight over the Trump administration’s priorities, as USDA struggles to use a relatively small pot of money to help farmers facing economic headwinds, curb a deadly avian flu outbreak and address a worsening hunger crisis — all while meeting the statutory obligations of the fund. Trump’s rapidly escalating trade war with China could also pressure USDA to find new money to assist farmers who may no longer have a market for their products.

USDA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

On a call with Hill staffers Friday, USDA said the money to pay for the bird flu response came from funds allocated to the Agricultural Marketing Service, which is the agency that administered the local food programs. But when one participant asked specifically if the money was repurposed from those programs, USDA declined to answer, according to someone on the call who was granted anonymity to share details of a private discussion.

Former President Joe Biden allocated $1 billion in funding to the local food programs as part of his effort to build a more resilient food supply chain. The programs helped schools, child care facilities and food banks purchase fresh food from local farms and helped small- and mid-sized farms expand their businesses. Their abrupt cancellation sparked swift political backlash in Congress and online, as schools scrambled to find new funding for fresh food and farmers were left with unpurchased crops.

Food banks are also feeling the strain of meeting increased hunger demands as prices soar. In addition to the local food programs, the Trump administration slashed roughly $500 million in funds to an emergency assistance program that supports food banks nationwide — though USDA says it’s already making additional buys to counteract those cuts.

The $1 billion for food programs — and now, for bird flu response — comes from a New Deal-era fund that gives the Agriculture secretary sweeping authority to provide disaster relief, support farmers and respond to market downturns. That fund, known as the Commodity Credit Corporation, has $30 billion to spend each year, but it has dwindled to roughly $4 billion in available funds.

Its annual replenishment could be in jeopardy as lawmakers vie for leverage.

Lawmakers will need to decide whether to replenish or even add more money into the CCC fund, though it’ll likely be a long, uphill battle. Republican budget hawks are already skeptical of just about any spending from the CCC, and a few Democrats have floated voting against the fund’s upcoming replenishment to protest the Trump administration’s spending freezes.

The cuts to local food procurement money reflect the Trump administration’s plans to reorient the CCC fund toward its priorities, and rein in what Republicans view as the Biden administration’s legally-questionable use of the fund.

The $500 million in funding for the emergency assistance program for food banks also came from the CCC. And the Trump administration has frozen roughly $2 billion of the $3 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, a CCC-funded initiative Biden established to help farmers mitigate their carbon footprint and adapt to climate change.

Some food banks are hopeful Congress will provide permanent funding for the local food programs, said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. Until then, her state’s network of food banks will need to rely on private philanthropy to keep up at least some of their contracts with farmers.

“I know this administration is committed to reevaluating and focusing on decisions made in the past administration,” Cole said recently. “For us it’s a matter of making sure in the interim we can meet the need.”