Cornerstone Report from Washington

Vol. 8, No. 3 – June 30, 2010

 

House Subcommittee Marks Up F.Y. 2011 Agriculture Appropriations Bill

 

To Members of the APLU System:

- Board on Agriculture Assembly
- Board on Human Sciences

- Budget and Advocacy Committee

- Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

- Council on Governmental Affairs
- Section on Forestry

 

The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its F.Y. 2011 bill today and we have obtained tentative information about the APLU priorities established by the BAA’s Budget and Advocacy Committee for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As shown in the following table, all SEVEN of the NIFA “budget lines targeted for enhancement” would receive increases compared to their F.Y. 2010 enacted levels:

 

BUDGET LINES TARGETED FOR ENHANCEMENT

F.Y. 2010

APLU GOAL

HOUSE SC

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

262.482

428.845

312.392

Smith-Lever 3(b)-3(c)

297.500

350.000

305.000

Hatch Act

215.000

240.000

220.000

Evans-Allen Program (1890s Research)

48.500

55.000

51.000

1890 Institutions Extension

42.677

50.000

46.700

McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry

29.000

35.000

29.500

Extension Services at the 1994 Institutions

4.321

8.000

5.321

Total Increase over F.Y. 2010 >>

70.433 M

 

We have not yet obtained information about the other NIFA budget lines, but hope to have that data shortly.

 

Other Tentative Results

§ Most of the funding for the Section 406 Integrated Activities programs that had been proposed for elimination in the President’s Budget Request were restored — Water Quality, Food Safety, Methyl Bromide Transition Program, and Organic Transition Program were restored to their F.Y. 2010 levels.

§ Unfortunately, funding was not restored for three other 406 programs: Regional IPM Centers, Crops at Risk from FQPA Implementation, and FQPA Risk Mitigation Program for Major Food Crops. We are hopeful that the Senate will restore funding for these programs as well as those restored by the House.

§ The subcommittee did not reduce any of the $119 million in F.Y. 2011 mandatory funding for NIFA as provided under the 2008 Farm Bill.

Important Note: We must stress that the results reported in this report are tentative and subject to change when and if the Agriculture Appropriations bill is marked up by the House Appropriations Committee and debated on the House floor.

 

The Cornerstone Team