Posted March 6, 2014
Tuesday, the White House proposed almost $24 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Agriculture Department in its fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, $2.5 billion less than the previous year, according to an article by the Des Moines Register available here.
The USDA’s overall request is $140 billion, but about 83 percent of that consists of mandatory programs such as crop insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
USDA would cut its crop insurance program to $8.6 billion, 15 percent lower than the previous year. The federal crop insurance program “traditionally has been profitable for the companies that administer it, in large part because the government pays about 60 percent of the premiums and covers about $1 billion in administrative costs for the insurers each year.”
The budget proposal would also reinstate several expired tax provisions, such as credits for cellulosic biofuel and wind energy production.
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack’s statement on the USDA budget proposal is available here. Vilsack said, “The President’s 2015 USDA budget proposal achieves reform and results for the American taxpayer; fosters opportunity for the men and women living, working and raising families in rural America; and supports innovation through strategic, future-focused investments.”
Please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website for more information on crop insurance, biofuels, or SNAP.
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