Posted June 2, 2014
On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations bill on a vote of 31-18, according to a press release available here. Farm Futures also published an article available here and High Plains Journal here.
The proposed legislation funds important agricultural and food programs and services such as food and medical product safety, animal and plant health programs, rural development and farm services, marketplace oversight, and nutrition programs.
The bill includes $20.9 billion in discretionary funding, which is equal to the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. The total bill is at $142.5 billion with both discretionary and mandatory funding for various nutrition programs.
“This bill invests in the people of this country – in their safety, their livelihoods, and their communities – and ensures that our agricultural industries are successful, productive, and safe,” House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said. “ In addition, this bill supports nutrition programs that help to make sure our most vulnerable – including children and the elderly – do not go hungry, and funds important programs to keep our food and drug supply safe.”
Sensitive subjects on this bill were debated for several hours such as the provision to allow schools suffering from “economic hardship” to seek a temporary waiver from the compliance with school lunch regulations during the 2014-2015 school year, according to Farm Futures.
“That’s the concern – one of the concerns with the waiver – it’s so difficult to determine if a school district is really financially struggling,” Vilsack said. “And it’s somewhat puzzling, because we’re actually putting additional money into the program.”
“USDA has continued to show flexibility in implementing these new standards, and Congress should focus on partnering with USDA, states, schools, and parents to help our kids have access to more healthy foods, not less,” Vilsack said in High Plains Journal.
For more information on farm bills, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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