Agreement reached on appropriations, including Ag bill
January 13, 2014 | 11:34 PM
Congressional appropriators reached agreement today on an omnibus appropriations bill to fund the government for the rest of fiscal year 2014, including a section for the Agriculture Department and related agencies.
The bill will start moving through the House as early as Tuesday.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala. and House Appropriations Ranking Member Nita Lowe, D-N.Y., said in a joint release:
“We are pleased to have come to a fair, bipartisan agreement on funding the government for 2014. Although our differences were many and our deadline short, we were able to a draft a solid piece of legislation that meets the guidelines of the Ryan-Murray deal, keeps the government open, and eliminates the uncertainty and economic instability of stop-gap governing.”
“Furthermore, our legislation includes a bipartisan fix to repeal last year’s cut to COLAs [cost of living adjustments] for disabled military retirees and survivors.
“As with any compromise, not everyone will like everything in this bill, but in this divided government a critical bill such as this simply cannot reflect the wants of only one party. We believe this is a good, workable measure that will serve the American people well, and we encourage all our colleagues to support it this week.”
The bill provides a total of $1.012 trillion for the government, including $20.9 billion in discretionary funding for the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Farm Credit Administration. That amount is $350 million above the fiscal year 2013 enacted level.
According to a news release from the House Appropriations Committee, the Agriculture bill’s highlights include:
The bill will start moving through the House as early as Tuesday.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala. and House Appropriations Ranking Member Nita Lowe, D-N.Y., said in a joint release:
“We are pleased to have come to a fair, bipartisan agreement on funding the government for 2014. Although our differences were many and our deadline short, we were able to a draft a solid piece of legislation that meets the guidelines of the Ryan-Murray deal, keeps the government open, and eliminates the uncertainty and economic instability of stop-gap governing.”
“Furthermore, our legislation includes a bipartisan fix to repeal last year’s cut to COLAs [cost of living adjustments] for disabled military retirees and survivors.
“As with any compromise, not everyone will like everything in this bill, but in this divided government a critical bill such as this simply cannot reflect the wants of only one party. We believe this is a good, workable measure that will serve the American people well, and we encourage all our colleagues to support it this week.”
The bill provides a total of $1.012 trillion for the government, including $20.9 billion in discretionary funding for the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Farm Credit Administration. That amount is $350 million above the fiscal year 2013 enacted level.
According to a news release from the House Appropriations Committee, the Agriculture bill’s highlights include:
- Food Safety and Inspection — The bill provides more than $1 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, but $19 million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level.
- Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration — The legislation restricts GIPSA from implementing certain regulations regarding the private market for the livestock and poultry industry.
- Food and Drug Administration — The FDA receives almost $2.6 billion in discretionary funding in the bill, an increase of $91 million above the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. Total funding for the FDA, including revenue from user fees, is $4.4 billion. In addition to these amounts, the bill provides $85 million to restore the loss of funds due to the Office of Management and Budget's sequester of FDA user fees.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission — The CFTC receives $215 million for the CFTC, which is $100 million below President Barack Obama’s budget request.
- Natural Resources Conservation Service — The bill provides $826 million to NRCS, virtually the same as the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. This includes $12 million in conservation funding for dam rehabilitation to help rural communities ensure their small watershed projects meet current safety standards.
