Cornerstone Report from Washington

Vol. 8, No. 4 – July 15, 2010

 

Senate Committee 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 (BAC)

- Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

- Council on Governmental Affairs
- Section on Forestry

 

The Senate Appropriations Committee met this afternoon and reported the F.Y. 2011 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Table 1 shows the Senate Committee's recommended funding levels for all National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) programs. (We have still not been able to obtain comparable information for the version of the Agriculture spending bill that was marked up by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on June 30.)

Of the seven NIFA funding lines targeted by the BAC for enhancement, only two -- the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and the 1994 Institutions Extension Program -- would receive increases under the Senate Committee's bill. The House subcommittee, on the other hand, recommended increases for all seven of the BAC's priorities.
 

Table 1: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
House and Senate Marks for FY 2011 Compared to Prior Year          
(All $Millions)              
  FY 2010   FY 2011    FY 2011    FY 2011
Research and Education Activities Enacted   President    House*    Senate
Hatch Act 215.000   215.000          220.000   215.000
McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry 29.000   29.000            29.500   29.000
Evans-Allen Program (1890s Research) 48.500   48.500            51.000   48.500
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative 262.482   428.845          312.392   310.074
Improved Pest Control 16.185   16.185       16.185
Special Research Grants 89.029   2.021       49.686
Animal Health and Disease (Sec. 1433) 2.950   2.950       2.950
1994 Institutions Research Program 1.805   1.805       1.805
Joe Skeen Institute for Rangeland Restoration 0.983   0.983       0.983
Graduate Fellowship Grants 3.859   3.859       3.859
Institution Challenge Grants 5.654   8.154       5.654
Multicultural Scholars Program 1.241   1.241       1.241
Hispanic Education Partnership Grants 9.237   9.237       9.237
Secondary/2-year Post Secondary 0.983   3.483       0.983
Capacity Building Grants (1890 Institutions) 18.250   18.250       18.250
Payments to the 1994 Institutions 3.342   3.342       3.342
Native Alaska/Hawaiian-Serving Education 3.200   3.200       3.200
Resident Instruction Grants for Insular Areas 0.900   0.900       0.900
Distance Education Grants for Insular Areas 0.750   0.750       0.750
Farm Business Management - Benchmarking 1.500           1.500
Sun Grant Program 2.250           2.250
New Era Rural Technology Program 0.875   0.875       0.875
Veterinary Medical Services Act 4.800   4.800       5.000
Federal Administration (Total) 45.122   14.503       28.650
Alternative Crops 0.835   0.835       0.835
Aquaculture Centers (Sec.1475) 3.928   3.928       3.928
Critical Agricultural Materials Act 1.083   1.083       1.083
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Ed. (SARE) 14.500   15.000       15.000
Subtotal 788.243   838.729       780.720
             
FY 2010   FY 2011    FY 2011    FY 2011
Extension Activities Enacted   President    House*    Senate
Smith Lever Sections 3(b) and 3(c) 297.500   297.500          305.000   297.500
Smith Lever Section 3(d):              
Farm Safety 4.863           4.863
Food and Nutrition Education (EFNEP) 68.070   68.070       68.070
Indian Reservation Agents 3.045   5.321       3.500
New Technologies for Ag Extension (eXtension) 1.750   1.750       1.750
Pest Management 9.938   9.938       9.938
Sustainable Agriculture 4.705   4.968       5.000
Youth at Risk 8.412   8.412       8.412
Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification 0.486   0.486       0.486
1890 Institutions and Tuskegee 42.677   42.677            46.700   42.677
1890 Facilities Grants (Sec. 1447) 19.770   19.770       19.770
Renewable Resources Extension Act 4.068   4.068       4.068
Rural Health and Safety Education 1.738   1.738        1.738
Extension Services at the 1994 Institutions 4.321   5.300               5.321   5.321
Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database 1.000           1.000
Grants to Youth Organizations 1.784           1.000
Women and Minorities in STEM fields 0.400   0.400       0.400
Federal Administration and Special Grants 20.396   8.805       15.738
Subtotal 494.923   479.203       491.231
             
FY 2010   FY 2011    FY 2011    FY 2011
Integrated Activities Enacted   President    House*    Senate
Water Quality  12.649           12.649
Food Safety 14.596                              -  
Regional Pest Management Centers 4.096                              -  
Crops at Risk from FQPA Implementation 1.365                              -  
FQPA Risk Mitigation for Major Food Crops 4.388                              -  
Methyl Bromide Transition Program 3.054           3.054
Organic Transition Program 5.000           5.000
International Science and Education Grants 3.000   3.000       3.000
Critical Issues Program 0.732   0.732       0.732
Regional Rural Development Centers 1.312   1.312       1.312
Sustainable Agriculture Federal-State Matching   10.000       3.000
Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative 9.830   9.830       9.830
Subtotal 60.022   24.874       38.577
             
FY 2010   FY 2011    FY 2011    FY 2011
Other NIFA Accounts Enacted   President    House*    Senate
Tribal Colleges Endowment Fund 11.880   11.880       11.880
Interest on Tribal Colleges Endowment 3.700   3.700       3.700
Hispanic Ag Colleges Endowment Fund             10.000
             
FY 2010   FY 2011    FY 2011    FY 2011
NIFA (Agency Total) Enacted   President    House*    Senate
TOTAL     1,358.768       1,358.386  

 

       1,326.108
             
*House Subcommittee Marks for the BAC's Targeted Enhancement Lines only.    
  (Other line item amounts have not yet been made public.)            


Mandatory Funding
The Senate Committee did not impose any limitations on the four NIFA programs that receive mandatory funding through the 2008 Farm Bill: (1) Organic Research and Extension = $20M; (2) Specialty Crops Research  = $50M; (3) Beginning Farmer and Rancher = $19M; and (4) Biomass R&D = $30M.

Next Steps
The House Appropriations Committee still has not announced when it will markup the F.Y. 2011 Agriculture Appropriations bill. When we know more about the schedule and/or when the remainder of the House lines have been made public we will provide that information along with additional analysis.

The Cornerstone Team