Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act
The Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators Shaheen and Schatz, would strengthen U.S. foreign aid by ensuring that all foreign assistance commodities—such as food, medicines, vaccines, and family planning products—are made available to their intended beneficiaries before they spoil or expire. The bill adds a new prohibition on destroying these commodities and requires expedited action and funding to deliver or donate them. It also creates a formal reporting requirement to Congress to track any expired, spoiled, or destroyed commodities, including details on negotiations, beneficiaries, value, and destruction costs. The overall aim is to reduce waste, improve aid effectiveness, and reassure taxpayers that aid funds are used for their intended purpose. In short, the act seeks to ensure that donated goods reach people in need before they spoil, rather than being discarded, and to increase transparency about what happens to commodities that expire.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on destruction; mandate to make commodities available prior to spoilage or expiration. This applies to perishable and nonperishable foreign assistance goods (food, medicine, vaccines, medical devices, etc.) held by the U.S. government or its implementing partners.
- 2Expedited release of funds to deliver or donate commodities. The Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, and the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, must release funds quickly to ensure delivery to intended beneficiaries before expiration.
- 3Destruction allowed only after exhausting all other avenues. No commodity may be destroyed unless every effort has been made to sell, donate, or otherwise make it available to recipients before spoilage/expiration.
- 4Annual reporting to Congress starting within 90 days of enactment. The Secretary of State, in coordination with USAID and USDA, must report on any commodity that expired, spoiled, or was destroyed, including negotiations, reasons it wasn’t delivered, locations of intended beneficiaries, procurement value, and destruction costs.
- 5Definitions and scope. The act defines “appropriate congressional committees” and clarifies that a “commodity” includes products or commodities described in the new subsection added to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.