Senate Passes Agriculture Spending Bill

On Tuesday afternoon, August 4, 2009, the United States Senate passed their version of the yearly agriculture appropriations legislation by a vote of 80-17 with three senators not voting. To see a vote breakdown click here.

According to Andrew Taylor’s article for the Associated Press, the measure would spend $124.3 billion for fiscal year 2010, which is set to start on October 1, 2009. Domestic food programs are set to receive $86 billion, $61 billion of which goes to the food stamp program. This comes at a time when 1 in 9 Americans, or 34.4 million people, are using food stamps. This number is up 6 million from a year ago.

The health insurance program for indigent women, infants, and children received a 9% increase in funding. The school lunch program also got a bump up in federal funds by 12%. Senator Bernie Sanders was successful in passing an amendment to increase the federal budget for the price support program for milk by $350 million. The Food and Drug Administration received a 14% funding increase, giving the department $3 billion to carry out their agriculture-related duties. Finally, the bill contained 296 direct spending projects, or earmarks, for a total of $221 million.

The House and Senate still have to conference over their differing bills to develop legislation that can pass both bodies and make it to the President’s desk for signing. The Senate is hoping to avoid an Omnibus bill that would include several spending measures instead of having the 12 appropriations bills pass separately. Though, with the Senate chamber getting ready to break for the summer recess and the House already on recess, it will be difficult for the two bodies to come up with a compromise bill that can pass before the start of the new fiscal year.

One of the issues the House and Senate will have to come to terms with is what to do about the Chinese poultry ban. The ban has been in place since 2004 when the bird flu outbreaks occurred. The Senate voted to repeal the ban, but the House bill keeps the ban in place. For more information on the poultry ban and to read the Associated Press article click here.

Another issue that certainly has livestock producers interest is what to do with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The House bill eliminates funding for the NAIS altogether, while the Senate bill cuts the programs funding in half.

For the time being, the future of this legislation will have to wait until Congress returns to the Capitol in September.

Posted: 08/05/09; Updated: 08/06/09