Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Foreign assistance commodities, including food, medicine, family planning products, and vaccines, provide critical support to people who are recovering from the aftermath of natural disasters, fleeing conflict or war, residing in refugee camps, or living in developing communities with limited access to health care. (2) United States investments in global health bolster economic growth for partner countries, produce returns on investment for the United States economy, create an estimated 600,000 jobs in the United States, and generated an estimated $104,000,000,000 in economic activity during the 15-year period between 2007 and 2022. (3) Reliable access to vaccines and medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis and antiretroviral drugs to prevent the spread of HIV and vaccines to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases such as polio and drug-resistant tuberculosis, make everyone safer. (4) United States food assistance benefits United States farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses, while addressing global food insecurity. United States farmers annually supply an estimated 40 percent of all international food assistance, which is valued at approximately $2,000,000,000. (5) Greater access to family planning products and services has the potential to prevent up to 30 percent of the 295,000 annual maternal deaths and save the lives of approximately 1,400,000 children who are younger than 5 years old. (6) The voluntary destruction of foreign assistance commodities intended for beneficiaries at risk of food insecurity and famine, sexual violence, maternal and infant death and disease is unethical and contrary to United States interests and moral obligations.