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This information
is provided by the Majority
Summary of Conference Report to
accompany H.R. 2997 – Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
The
conference report provides funding for the Department of Agriculture,
the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission and the Farm Credit Administration. As in recent years, the
bill focuses on several key areas, such as protecting public health;
bolstering food nutrition programs; investing in rural communities;
supporting agriculture research; strengthening animal health and
marketing programs; and conserving our natural resources. This bill
proposes new investments in these priorities and the agencies that can
help us meet them, while making specific and sensible budget cuts where
feasible. The bill includes $23.304 billion in net discretionary budget
authority, a $2.7 billion discretionary increase over the fiscal year
2009 enacted level, and $325 million above the President’s request, and
makes substantial improvements in the areas of nutrition, international
food assistance, food and drug safety, research, and other important
mission areas of USDA and FDA.
Bill Totals
Discretionary
FY 2009
Enacted: $20.60 billion
President’s
Request: $22.98 billion
House Passed:
$22.90 billion
Senate
Passed: $23.58 billion
Conference Bill: $23.30 billion
Mandatory
FY 2009
Enacted: $ 87.80 billion
President’s
Request: $100.85 billion
House Passed:
$100.85 billion
Senate
Passed: $100.85 billion
Conference Bill: $ 97.83 billion
KEY
INVESTMENTS
Nutrition Programs: $82.782 billion, including mandatory
funding, for domestic nutrition assistance, including:
-
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): $58.278
billion, $4.309 billion above 2009, in mandatory budget authority, to
provide food assistance to over 36 million low-income people. Funding
is included to increase elderly participation as it has been estimated
that only 30 percent of
-
eligible
seniors participate in SNAP.
-
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC): $7.252 billion, $398 million above the 2009
non-emergency enacted level. The bill provides funding to help up to
9.6 million women, infants, and children with benefits that promote a
healthy pregnancy for mothers and a healthy start for their children.
It also provides $162 million for a number of program
-
improvements such as: increasing fruit and vegetable vouchers,
supporting management information systems, implementing the electronic
benefit transfer system, and expanding breast feeding peer counseling
program.
-
Commodity Supplemental Food Program: $171 million, $9 million
above the request and $11 million above 2009, to provide nutritious
food to more than half a million low-income women, infants, children,
and elderly citizens struggling with rising food costs. To ensure more
families receive the support they need during this period of economic
stress, the bill also provides funding to expand this
-
critical
assistance in 32 current states and in 7 new states with USDA-approved
feeding plans: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Delaware, Utah, New Jersey,
Georgia, and Maine.
-
Child Nutrition programs: $16.9 billion, $1.9 billion above
2009, in mandatory budget authority, to provide nutritious meals and
snacks to over 32 million children in schools, child care
institutions, adult day care centers, and after school care programs.
Food
and Drug Safety: $4.268 million for the two primary federal
agencies responsible for regulating safety for our food and drug supply:
-
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): $2.36 billion, $7 million
above the request and $306 million above 2009, to help FDA improve the
safety of domestic and imported food and medical products. An
additional $893 million will be collected in user fees.
-
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS): $1.02 billion,
matching the request and $47 million above 2009, to help ensure the
safety of the U.S. meat and poultry supply.
International Food Aid: $1.89 billion, $564 million above 2009,
not including supplemental appropriations bills, to help meet
humanitarian food needs in countries stricken with natural disasters and
political strife, including:
-
P.L. 480 Food for Peace Title II Grants: $1.69 billion,
matching the request and $464 million above 2009, not including
emergency supplemental funding.
-
McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program: $209.5 million, $10
million above the request and $109.5 million above 2009, to support
education, child development, and food security for some of the
world’s poorest children.
Agricultural Research: $2.767 billion, $174 million above 2009,
for USDA research agencies, including the:
-
Agricultural Research Service: $1.25 billion, $97 million
above the request and $63 million above 2009.
-
National Institute of Food and Agriculture: $1.343 billion,
$176 million above the request and $121 million above 2009, including
an increase of nearly $61 million for competitive agricultural
research grants.
Rural
Development: $2.979 billion, $246 million above 2009 and $37
million below the request, for USDA programs important to rural
communities including rural housing, water projects, community
facilities and economic development efforts. These programs not only
sustain our rural communities, but also create new opportunities for
growth and development in the nation’s small town economies.
-
Rural Rental Assistance: $980 million, $78 million above
2009, to allow for the renewal of expiring rental contracts that
otherwise would result in the eviction of tenants, comprised mostly of
elderly, disabled, or female head of household.
-
Single Family Housing Loans: $214 million in budget authority
to support more than $13 billion in direct and guaranteed single
family housing loans. Not counting funds available in the Recovery
Act, this is an increase of nearly $6 billion above 2009 and is
necessary to meet growing demand. In the aftermath of the national
housing crisis, the USDA rural housing programs remain extremely
active in support of home ownership.
Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund: $140.6 million in budget
authority to support more than $5 billion in farm operating, ownership,
and conservation loans. This provides $257 million more in farm
ownership loans and $676 million more in farm operating loans than the
President’s request.
Animal and Plant Health: $909.67 million, $32.5 million above
the request and $28.3 million above 2009, to fund programs that protect
American agriculture against animal and plant diseases.
Conservation Programs: $1 billion, $101 million above the
request and $40 million above 2009, for the Natural Resources
Conservation Service to improve service in the field, deliver
conservation to protect the environment, and upgrade aging dams at risk
of catastrophic failure. The bill restores cuts to valuable conservation
programs, including the Resource Conservation and Development Program
and the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program. Importantly,
the bill rejects $267 million in cuts to priority farm bill conservation
programs, including the Wetlands Reserve Program, Farmland Protection
Program, and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission: $168.8 million, $8.2
million above the request and $22.8 million above 2009, to enhance
oversight of the commodity futures markets. The increased resources will
provide for additional staff and improved technology to better secure
the markets from improper speculation.
OTHER
IMPORTANT POLICY ITEMS
Dairy
Assistance: $350 million to provide assistance to the nation’s
dairy farmers who are struggling due to historically low prices,
including $290 million to assist struggling dairy producers and $60
million to allow for the purchase of cheese and other dairy products for
food banks.
International Food Assistance: Includes $13 million to assist
in the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. In
addition, funds are provided for research to develop new food aid
products to provide higher nutritional content to food aid recipients.
Further, guidance is provided to the Secretary to improve audit systems
for maintaining the quality of food aid commodities and to generally
improve the efficiencies of administering food aid programs.
Imported Poultry Products from China: Includes bill language to
ensure the protection of public health with respect to any poultry
products exported from China to the U.S. by audits and on-site reviews
of facilities before any Chinese facilities are certified as eligible to
ship poultry products to the U.S. and implementing a significantly
increased level of port-of-entry re-inspections to ensure sanitary
conditions.
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL): Fully funds the costs to
continue overseeing country of origin labeling for fresh fruits and
vegetables, meats and other products.
Inspection Pilot Program: Prohibits FSIS from implementing a
risk-based inspection pilot program until FSIS implements changes
recommended by the USDA Inspector General.
CRS Reports:
Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations
Food and Drug Administration Appropriations for FY2010
China-U.S. Poultry Dispute
Fact Sheets & Talking Points:
Talking Points – Office of the Speaker
Press Releases, News Articles &
Related Information:
Conferees’ Deal Boosts Dairy Payments, Removes Ban on Chinese Poultry
Imports, CQ Weekly
Negotiators Approve Conference Report That Would End Chinese Poultry Ban,
CQ Weekly
Other Resources:
Bill Summary
List of Conferees
Earmark List
Bill Text
