Food for Progress

This executive order delegates presidential authority under the 1985 Food for Progress Act to agency officials: the Director of the U.S. International Development Cooperation Agency gains power to negotiate agreements with developing countries for food aid, while the Secretary of Agriculture can waive minimum tonnage requirements. All delegated functions must be coordinated through the Food Aid Subcommittee of the Development Coordination Committee to align with broader U.S. foreign assistance policy.

52 FR 5427

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Key directives

Delegate presidential authority for food aid agreements to IDCA Director (Sec. 1(a))
Permit redelegation of agreement authority to other agency heads (Sec. 1(a))
Require exercise in accordance with 1 U.S.C. 112b and State Department procedures (Sec. 1(a))
Assign congressional reporting on agreements to IDCA Director per Section 3 (Sec. 1(b))
Delegate waiver authority for minimum tonnage requirements to Secretary of Agriculture (Sec. 2)
Require waiver decisions follow Food Aid Subcommittee policy guidance (Sec. 2)
Mandate all delegated functions be coordinated through Food Aid Subcommittee (Sec. 3)

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Delegation of agreement-making authority to IDCA Director takes effect
Delegation of waiver authority to Secretary of Agriculture takes effect
Coordination requirement through Food Aid Subcommittee takes effect

Near term (90d)

—

Long term

Ongoing food aid agreements with developing countries under delegated authority
Continued reporting to Congress on agreements
Potential redelegation of agreement authority to other agency heads

Risks & tensions

No explicit calendar deadlines or 'within N days' requirements in text—implementation is immediate and ongoing
Redelegation clause creates potential ambiguity about which agency ultimately negotiates agreements
Coordination requirement through Food Aid Subcommittee may create bureaucratic friction between USDA and IDCA/State