To Members of the NASULGC System:

On Tuesday,  the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the Administration's F.Y. 2008 Budget Request for the USDA Research, Education, and Economics mission area. The USDA Under Secretary for REE, Dr. Gale Buchanan testified and he was accompanied by the ARS and CSREES administrators and other agency heads.

Most subcommittee members were in attendance for part or all of the hearing, and there were some interesting exchanges about the Administration's proposed F.Y. 2008 budget, CREATE-21 and the Administration's Farm Bill proposals, and other subjects. There was also substantial discussion about biofuels and nutrition, with many members asking questions on these topics focused on the importance of improving inter-agency coordination and reducing programmatic overlap between ARS and CSREES -- two key justifications for CREATE-21.

The two key written statements are available by following these links:

Dr. Gale Buchanan:
www.nasulgc-bac.com/documents/FY2008/GB_03-20-07.pdf

Dr. Colien Hefferan:
www.nasulgc-bac.com/documents/FY2008/CH_03-20-07.pdf

The Cornerstone Team