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To Members of the NASULGC System:
The House-Senate conference committee meeting to reconcile the
differences between the two versions of the F.Y. 2006
Agriculture Appropriations bill has completed its work. This
bill provides funding for agencies within the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, including the Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
First-Look Analysis:
This was another tight budgetary year and the final
conference results reflect this situation. The results also
reflect a heightened awareness among Congressional
decision-makers that spending on items such as hurricane
recovery, the war in Iraq, and homeland security must have
priority.
But despite lower allocations and belt tightening measures in
Congress all of NASULGC's priorities (except one) either
increased or stayed the same as in F.Y. 2005, and one new line
item -- eXtension -- was funded.
In fact, five of NASULGC's priority requests for
F.Y. 2006 received significant increases: (1) Hispanic Education
Partnership -- up 7.1%; (2) EFNEP -- up 7.2%; (3) Graduate
Fellowships -- up 25.6%; (4) eXtension -- a new start, up $1.5
million; and (5) Food & Agriculture Defense (EDEN and animal and
plant diagnostic labs) -- up 12.0%. (NOTE: The Evans-Allen
program also received an $887,000 increase.)
| NASULGC's Priority
Requests for CSREES: |
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|
|
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| CSREES Line Item |
F.Y. 2005 |
Request |
Conference* |
| Hatch Act |
$178,707,000 |
$178,707,000 |
$178,757,000 |
| McIntire-Stennis |
22,205,000 |
22,205,000 |
22,230,000 |
| Animal Health and Disease |
5,057,000 |
5,057,000 |
5,057,000 |
| 1890s Capacity Building Grants |
12,312,000 |
24,500,000 |
12,312,000 |
| 1890s Facilities |
16,777,000 |
24,500,000 |
16,777,000 |
| 1994s Research |
1,078,000 |
3,000,000 |
1,039,000 |
| 1994s Extension |
3,247,000 |
5,000,000 |
3,273,000 |
| Hispanic Education Partnership |
5,600,000 |
6,000,000 |
6,000,000 |
| Insular Areas Program |
496,000 |
1,000,000 |
500,000 |
| EFNEP |
58,438,000 |
65,000,000 |
62,634,000 |
| National Research Initiative |
179,552,000 |
250,000,000 |
183,000,000 |
| Institution Challenge Grants |
5,456,000 |
7,500,000 |
5,478,000 |
| International Science and Ed. |
992,000 |
1,500,000 |
1,000,000 |
| Graduate Fellowships |
2,976,000 |
6,000,000 |
3,738,000 |
| eXtension |
0 |
3,000,000 |
1,500,000 |
| Food & Agriculture Defense |
8,928,000 |
30,000,000 |
10,000,000 |
| Agrosecurity Education |
0 |
5,000,000 |
500,000 |
Important Items to Note:
1. Section 406 Integrated Activities Programs.
The conferees did not agree to move the 406 programs
to the National Research Initiative (NRI) as proposed in the
House bill.
2. Akaka Amendment.
The conferees did not agree to the Akaka amendment as
included in the Senate bill. (The Akaka amendment would have
prevented any research facility that purchases animals from a
"Class B dealer" from receiving any federal funding that is
normally appropriated in the bill.)
Documentation Available:
CSREES Accounts:
http://www.nasulgc-bac.com/documents/FY2006/conference.xls
NASULGC Request:
http://www.nasulgc-bac.com/documents/FY2006/conference.doc
That portion of the conference report relating to CSREES
programs will be posted on the Web site as soon as it becomes
available.
Next Steps:
Both House and Senate are expected to take up the conference
report within the next few days. The
final CSREES numbers may change if/when Congress enacts an
across-the-board reduction to pay for hurricane relief efforts.
Fred H. Hutchison
Fleishman Hillard
Government Relations
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