eNEWS
July 2009 > House Committee passes FY 2010 agriculture appropriations bill
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee met Thursday, June 11 to markup and vote on the agriculture appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010. The bill provides $22.9 billion in discretionary funds, an increase of approximately 11 percent over FY 09 levels but $79 million short of President Obama’s request.
The bulk of the increased funding in the bill goes for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and international food aid. Under the bill, the WIC program receives $7.54 billion, up $681 million or 10 percent from FY 09 but close to $240 million short of the President’s request and likely short of the funding level it will receive in the final FY 10 bill later this year. FDA receives $2.35 billion - an increase of $299 million - and this amount reaches $3 billion factoring in user fees. International food aid receives a $464 million increase to $1.7 billion, while the McGovern-Dole international school lunch program receives doubles in size to $200 million.
Sampling of topics included in the report accompanying the House bill:
* Indirect Land Use Change - “EPA’s modeling of indirect land use changes has not been published nor has it been peer reviewed. The Committee recognizes that this controversial type of modeling and analysis may have misstated the impact of indirect land. The Committee directs the Secretary of Agriculture through the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Economist, to do an independent study of significant indirect land use changes for renewable fuels and the feedstocks used to produce them.”
* National Animal ID - “The Committee recommendation eliminates funding for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). After receiving $142,000,000 in funding since fiscal year 2004, APHIS has yet to put into operation an effective national system that would provide needed animal health and livestock market benefits. The Committee is aware that USDA is conducting a public listening tour around the country for several months to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how to design and deliver a successful animal identification system. Until USDA finishes its listening sessions and provides details as to how it will implement an improved animal identification system, continued investments into the current NAIS are unwarranted.”
* Commodity Subsidy Overpayments - “The Committee is concerned about well-documented reports of overpayments in the direct and countercyclical farm payments program. A recent USDA study identified roughly $50,000,000 in improper payments to farmers who were ineligible for these payments. Therefore, the Committee directs UDA to submit to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations an official estimate of overpayments made to ineligible farmers. In addition, the Committee directs USDA to include in such report a plan to prevent future improper payments and to recoup all improper payments that have been made prior to October 1, 2009.”
* Urban REAP - “The Committee is aware that the Department of Agriculture is currently considering a redefinition of eligibility for the section 9007 REAP program for agricultural producers in urban areas and encourages the Department to design rules for fiscal year 2010 that allow agricultural producers to participate in the program regardless of their geography as authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.
* Local & Regional Food Enterprise Loans - “The Committee notes that the 2008 Farm Bill authorized section 6015, locally or regionally produced agricultural food products. This section provides that in addition to rural areas, urban communities are eligible for this purpose and that five percent of the guaranteed business and industry loan program shall be made available to carry out section 6015. The Committee directs the Department to provide direction to the state offices for solicitation of loan applications that meet this new eligibility and to more effectively utilize this new authority to maximize opportunities to serve food insecure regions.
* Farm to School - “The Committee directs the Department to report to the Committees within 180 days on the national demand for farm to school programs. Farm to school programs enable children to have access to nutritious food while benefiting community and local farmers by providing a consistent, reliable market.”
* New Program Start-Up for Urban Ag - “The Committee provides $5,000,000 to implement Hunger-Free Community grants as authorized in Section 4405 of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. These funds will be used for competitive grants that focus on promotion, outreach, demonstration projects and technical assistance to community gardens, community-supported agriculture programs, and linkages between farmers and local markets.”
courtesy National Sustainable Agiculture Coalition