Senators eye FEMA as alternative for speeding aid to food banks

The top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee suggested on Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency tap the disaster relief fund to aid food banks that have seen a surge in demand as U.S. unemployment rolls surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appropriations ranking member Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Homeland Security Appropriations ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a letter that the Agriculture Department has been slow to obligate the $850 million Congress provided in March legislation for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

Under the program,...