Sen. Ossoff Urges Secretary Rubio to Reinstate Peanut Lab Funding

Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) recently wrote a letter to his former colleague and current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, regarding the budget cuts to USAID that have affected Georgians, specifically the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut at the University of Georgia. With Secretary Rubio serving as the acting administrator, Sen. Ossoff has written Secretary Rubio in hopes of reinstating funding to the lab.

The correspondence begins by making his case for the lab and for its funding to be "expeditiously" reinstated as it partakes in agricultural research at one of the "leading land-grant" institutions in the country.

Sen. Ossoff then provided more evidence for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut and its necessity for American farmers.

"Since 2018, the University of Georgia has hosted the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut," said Ossoff. "Researchers at this Lab have studied the impacts of different temperatures and rainfall patterns on peanut growth, developed new disease-resistant peanut varieties, and created a risk index tool to help U.S. farmers increase yield potential and improve peanut quality. These projects benefit not only farmers in the United States, but also the U.S. mission to lead in humanitarianism."

Furthermore, the Georgia senator pointed out the history of the back-and-forth nature of the funding and recision of funding this lab has received in the last two years.

"In 2023, USAID signed a 5-year, $15 million grant contract with the University of Georgia to continue projects at the Lab. However, on February 26, the Deputy Director of USAID’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance wrote that the Lab’s work 'is not aligned with [USAID] priorities' and 'made a determination that continuing this program is not in the national interest,'" said Ossoff.

He ended the letter by demanding an update from the State Department on the status of funding for the peanut lab at UGA.

"I request a written response within one week with an update on funding for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut at the University of Georgia. I also request detailed reasoning for the State Department’s decision to terminate funding for agricultural research that helps American farmers," concluded Ossoff.

Jon Ossoff's term ends in January of 2027. He will be up for reelection in 2026.