Cornerstone Report from Washington - Vol. 9, No. 10

Cornerstone Report from Washington

Vol. 9, No. 10 – June 1, 2011 (Revised)

House Appropriations Committee Reports FY 2012 Appropriations Bill

The House Appropriations Committee met late yesterday and endorsed the FY 2012 funding decisions made by the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee last week for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Despite an intense behind-the-scenes effort approved by the Board on Agriculture Assembly’s Budget and Advocacy Committee to reallocate mandatory research funding and restore the key capacity programs to their FY 2011 levels, opposition from those impacted by the potential loss of mandatory funds and committee jurisdictional concerns led to no agreement being reached.

The table below contains the final House breakdown for all NIFA funding lines and incorporates a technical change to the amounts reported by the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture
House Committee Mark for FY 2012 Compared to Prior Years
(All $Millions)
	FY 2011	FY 2012	FY 2012	Change from
Research and Education Activities	Enacted	President	House	FY 2011
Hatch Act	236.334	204.250	208.000	-28.334
McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry	32.934	27.550	30.000	-2.934
Evans-Allen Program (1890s Research)	50.898	48.500	48.000	-2.898
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative	264.470	324.655	229.500	-34.970
Improved Pest Control	16.153	16.185	14.000	-2.153
Special Research Grants	2.838	1.837	1.250	-1.588
Animal Health and Disease (Sec. 1433)	2.944	0.000	4.000	1.056
1994 Institutions Research Program	1.801	1.805	0.000	-1.801
Joe Skeen Institute for Rangeland Restoration	0.981	0.983	0.000	-0.981
Graduate Fellowship Grants**	3.851	**	0.000	-3.851
Institution Challenge Grants**	5.643	**	0.000	-5.643
Multicultural Scholars Program	1.239	1.241	1.000	-0.239
Hispanic Education Partnership Grants	9.219	10.161	7.800	-1.419
Secondary/2-year Post Secondary	0.981	3.483	0.900	-0.081
Capacity Building Grants (1890 Institutions)	19.336	20.075	16.400	-2.936
Payments to the 1994 Institutions	3.335	3.676	2.800	-0.535
Native Alaska/Hawaiian-Serving Education Grants	3.194	3.200	2.700	-0.494
Resident Instruction Grants for Insular Areas	0.898	0.900	0.900	0.002
Distance Education Grants for Insular Areas	0.749	0.750	0.750	0.002
Farm Business Management and Benchmarking	1.497	0.000	0.000	-1.497
Sun Grant Program	2.246	0.000	0.000	-2.246
New Era Rural Technology Program	0.873	0.875	0.000	-0.873
Veterinary Medical Services Act	4.790	4.800	4.200	-0.590
Federal Administration (Total)	11.230	14.253	10.000	-1.230
Alternative Crops	0.833	0.000	0.000	-0.833
Aquaculture Centers (Sec.1475)	3.920	3.928	3.300	-0.620
Critical Agricultural Materials Act	1.081	0.000	0.000	-1.081
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Ed. (SARE)	14.471	15.000	12.300	-2.171
Policy Research Centers			3.000	3.000
Subtotal	698.740	708.107	600.800	-97.940
** Proposed to move to AFRI
	FY 2011	FY 2012	FY 2012	Change from
Extension Activities	Enacted	President	House	FY 2011
Smith Lever Sections 3(b) and 3(c)	293.911	282.625	259.200	-34.711
Smith Lever Section 3(d):
Farm Safety	4.853	0.000	0.000	-4.853
Food and Nutrition Education (EFNEP)	67.934	68.070	58.000	-9.934
Indian Reservation Agents	3.039	8.000	2.600	-0.439
New Technologies for Ag Extension (eXtension)	1.747	1.750	1.400	-0.347
Pest Management	9.918	9.938	8.400	-1.518
Sustainable Agriculture	4.696	4.968	4.000	-0.696
Youth at Risk	8.395	8.412	7.100	-1.295
Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification	0.485	0.486	0.000	-0.485
1890 Institutions and Tuskegee	42.592	42.677	36.000	-6.592
1890 Facilities Grants (Sec. 1447)	19.730	19.770	16.700	-3.030
Renewable Resources Extension Act	4.060	4.068	3.400	-0.660
Rural Health and Safety Education	1.735	1.738	1.500	-0.235
Extension Services at the 1994 Institutions	4.312	5.321	3.600	-0.712
Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database	0.998	0.000	1.000	0.002
Grants to Youth Organizations	1.780	0.000	1.500	-0.280
Women and Minorities in STEM fields	0.399	0.400	0.000	-0.399
Federal Administration and Special Grants (total)	8.548	8.565	6.800	-1.748
Subtotal	479.132	466.788	411.200	-67.932

	FY 2011	FY 2012	FY 2012	Change from
Integrated Activities	Enacted	President	House	FY 2011
Water Quality	8.982	0.000	0.000	-8.982
Food Safety	10.978	0.000	0.000	-10.978
Regional Pest Management Centers	2.994	0.000	4.000	1.006
Methyl Bromide Transition Program	1.996	0.000	0.000	-1.996
Organic Transition Program	3.992	5.000	4.000	0.008
International Science and Education Grants Program	0.998	3.000	0.000	-0.998
Critical Issues Program	0.000	0.732	0.000	0.000
Regional Rural Development Centers	0.998	1.312	0.000	-0.998
Sustainable Agriculture Federal-State Matching	0.000	10.000	0.000	0.000
Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative	5.988	9.830	0.000	-5.988
Subtotal	36.926	29.874	8.000	-28.926

TOTAL	1,214.798	1,204.769	1,020.000	(194.798)

The full House of Representatives is expected to consider the Agriculture Appropriations bill within the next few weeks and it is always possible that further reductions could be proposed to NIFA accounts. Therefore, it is very important for you to continue to contact your House and Senate offices to let them know how NIFA budget cuts, such as those contained in the House Agriculture Appropriations bill for FY 2012, would harm your institution. The NIFA programs that support land-grant capacity and competitive grant programs remain at extreme risk and your continued assistance is absolutely critical.

The Cornerstone Team