S.Amdt. 3624

SA 3624. Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. Coons) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1210. EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES TO EXPAND THE TIMELINESS AND
REACH OF UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL FOOD
ASSISTANCE.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Secretary of State is authorized to procure life-
saving food aid commodities, including commodities available
locally and regionally, for the provision of emergency food
and nutrition assistance to the most vulnerable populations
in countries and areas experiencing acute food insecurity.
(b) Prioritization.--
(1) In general.--In responding to crises in which emergency
food and nutrition commodities are unavailable locally or
regionally, or in which the provision of locally or
regionally procured emergency food and nutrition commodities
would be unsafe, impractical, or inappropriate, the Secretary
should prioritize procurements of United States food and
nutrition commodities, including when exercising authorities
under section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2292).
(2) Local or regional procurements.--In making local or
regional procurements of emergency food and nutrition aid
commodities pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of
State, to the extent practicable and appropriate, should
prioritize procurements from areas supported through the
international agricultural development programs authorized
under the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et
seq.), for the purpose of promoting economic stability,
resilience to price shocks, and early recovery from such
shocks in such areas.
(c) Do No Harm.--In making local or regional procurements
of food aid commodities pursuant to subsection (a), the
Secretary of State shall first conduct market assessments to
ensure that such procurements--
(1) will not displace United States agricultural trade and
investment; and
(2) will not cause or exacerbate shortages, or otherwise
harm local markets, for such commodities within the countries
of origin.
(d) Emergency Exceptions.--Commodities procured pursuant to
subsection (b) shall be excluded from calculations of gross
tonnage for purposes of determining compliance with section
55305(b) of title 46, United States Code.
(e) Exclusion.--The authority under subsection (a) shall
not apply to procurements from the Russian Federation, the
People's Republic of China, or any country subject to
sanctions under--
(1) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2371);
(2) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2780); or
(3) section 1754(c) of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)).
______