Debate, votes continue on Ag appropriations
By JERRY HAGSTROM
The House of Representatives has approved the rule for consideration of the fiscal year 2012 Agriculture appropriations bill, but debate and votes are expected to continue today.
The House approved the debate rule Tuesday by a vote of 235-180, with 231 Republicans and four Democrats voting for the rule and 180 Democrats against it, Reuters reported.
With an open rule, many unusual amendments are expected on the bill.
The issue of cuts in the special nutrition program for women, infants and children known as WIC dominated early debate. The appropriations bill has more control over WIC than other nutrition programs because WIC is not a mandatory program under which people have an entitlement to service if they qualify for it.
But for many years, Congress has made sure the program has enough funding for all applicants to participate. Nearly 50 percent of American infants and their mothers — about 9 million people — now participate in the program. House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston, R-Ga., has said his proposal will make sure there is enough money for all mothers and children who qualify, but Democrats disagree with that.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a former chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said she opposes the overall bill, which includes a 13.4 percent cut in funding, $2.6 billion below the fiscal year 2011 levels.
DeLauro noted that the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities has said that Kingston’s plan may lead to a $650 million shortfall that could leave 350,000 eligible women and children cut from the rolls. Kingston has said that carryover and contingency funds could be used, but DeLauro said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said there is no carryover and no contingency fund, and that as many as 750,000 participants could be cut.
DeLauro also said proposals to cut the Commodities Supplemental Food Program, which provides nutritious food for seniors making less than $14,000 a year, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which works with states to supplement food banks, emergency shelters, pantries, and soup kitchens, could increase hunger. Kingston has said that there are so many nutrition programs, it is hard to tell if they overlap.
DeLauro said the United States could afford to feed the poor if there were not subsidies to oil companies and tax breaks to the wealthy.
“The cost of the Bush tax breaks for millionaires for one week is more than the cost of the proposed cuts to the WIC program for the entire year,” DeLauro said.
“One day’s tax breaks for the millionaires would pay for the Commodities Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program,” she added, also criticizing payments to Brazil to settle the cotton case that the United States lost in the World Trade Organization.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has offered an amendment to cut the budgets of the four USDA research agencies in half. Chavetz contends that that the agencies are duplicative and that the amendment would save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.
The bill has the backing of the Republican Study Committee.
“The country is going broke,” said RSC Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ga. “Why spend billions on duplicative foreign aid and four different agencies with essentially the same mission?”
Chaffetz also proposed cutting P.L. 480, which provides food aid.
Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., who co-chair the House Hunger Caucus, sent an email urging their colleagues to oppose an expected amendment to eliminate funding for the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The amendment to cut that program is expected to be offered by Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., announced he would offer an amendment to cut the Title I farm subsidies that go to crop farmers to $125,000 per entity. The amendment — supported by Taxpayers for Common Sense as well as national environmental leaders — would cut government spending by more than $650 million a year, Blumenauer said.
The House of Representatives has approved the rule for consideration of the fiscal year 2012 Agriculture appropriations bill, but debate and votes are expected to continue today.
The House approved the debate rule Tuesday by a vote of 235-180, with 231 Republicans and four Democrats voting for the rule and 180 Democrats against it, Reuters reported.
With an open rule, many unusual amendments are expected on the bill.
The issue of cuts in the special nutrition program for women, infants and children known as WIC dominated early debate. The appropriations bill has more control over WIC than other nutrition programs because WIC is not a mandatory program under which people have an entitlement to service if they qualify for it.
But for many years, Congress has made sure the program has enough funding for all applicants to participate. Nearly 50 percent of American infants and their mothers — about 9 million people — now participate in the program. House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston, R-Ga., has said his proposal will make sure there is enough money for all mothers and children who qualify, but Democrats disagree with that.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a former chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said she opposes the overall bill, which includes a 13.4 percent cut in funding, $2.6 billion below the fiscal year 2011 levels.
DeLauro noted that the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities has said that Kingston’s plan may lead to a $650 million shortfall that could leave 350,000 eligible women and children cut from the rolls. Kingston has said that carryover and contingency funds could be used, but DeLauro said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said there is no carryover and no contingency fund, and that as many as 750,000 participants could be cut.
DeLauro also said proposals to cut the Commodities Supplemental Food Program, which provides nutritious food for seniors making less than $14,000 a year, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which works with states to supplement food banks, emergency shelters, pantries, and soup kitchens, could increase hunger. Kingston has said that there are so many nutrition programs, it is hard to tell if they overlap.
DeLauro said the United States could afford to feed the poor if there were not subsidies to oil companies and tax breaks to the wealthy.
“The cost of the Bush tax breaks for millionaires for one week is more than the cost of the proposed cuts to the WIC program for the entire year,” DeLauro said.
“One day’s tax breaks for the millionaires would pay for the Commodities Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program,” she added, also criticizing payments to Brazil to settle the cotton case that the United States lost in the World Trade Organization.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has offered an amendment to cut the budgets of the four USDA research agencies in half. Chavetz contends that that the agencies are duplicative and that the amendment would save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.
The bill has the backing of the Republican Study Committee.
“The country is going broke,” said RSC Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ga. “Why spend billions on duplicative foreign aid and four different agencies with essentially the same mission?”
Chaffetz also proposed cutting P.L. 480, which provides food aid.
Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., who co-chair the House Hunger Caucus, sent an email urging their colleagues to oppose an expected amendment to eliminate funding for the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The amendment to cut that program is expected to be offered by Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., announced he would offer an amendment to cut the Title I farm subsidies that go to crop farmers to $125,000 per entity. The amendment — supported by Taxpayers for Common Sense as well as national environmental leaders — would cut government spending by more than $650 million a year, Blumenauer said.
