Jim Monke
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
The Agriculture appropriations bill provides funding for all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) except the Forest Service, plus the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, in alternating years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
FY2013 has begun under a continuing resolution (CR; P.L. 112-175) that lasts until March 27, 2013. The CR funds discretionary operations at FY2012 levels plus 0.612%.
In the 112th Congress, both the House and Senate had committee-reported bills for FY2013 Agriculture appropriations, though neither bill reached the floor in its chamber. The Senate Appropriations committee reported S. 2375 (S.Rept. 112-163) on April 26, 2012. The House subcommittee marked up its bill on June 6, 2012, followed by full committee action on H.R. 5973 (H.Rept. 112-542) on June 19, 2012.
The Senate-reported bill would have increased discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $20.8 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion (+6.2%) above FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of disaster provisions and CFTC appropriations in FY2012 (Table 2). Without these adjustments, the Senate-reported discretionary amount was about $700 million (+3.5%) above FY2012.
The House-reported bill would have reduced discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $19.4 billion, a cut of $365 million below FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of disaster provisions in FY2012 (Table 2). Without this adjustment, the House-reported discretionary amount was about $675 million (-3.3%) below FY2012.
The Senate bill would have differed from FY2012 primarily by increasing discretionary domestic nutrition programs (+$438 million), agricultural research (+$64 million), rural development (+$50 million), the FDA (+$24 million), and the Farm Service Agency (+$14 million), and reducing the use of rescissions and limits on mandatory programs (-$672 million).
The House bill would have differed from FY2012 and from the Senate bill primarily by decreasing rural development (-$153 million from FY2012, -$204 million from the Senate), international food aid (-$324 million from FY2012 and the Senate bill), agricultural research (−$35 million from FY2012, -$99 million from the Senate bill), the Farm Service Agency (-$35 million from FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), animal and plant health programs (-$30 million from FY2012 and the Senate bill), the CFTC (-$25 million from FY2012, -$128 million from the Senate bill), the FDA (-$25 million from FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), and discretionary conservation programs (-$16 million from FY2012, -$2 million from the Senate bill); and by increasing discretionary domestic nutrition programs (+$295 million from FY2012, −$143 million from the Senate bill) and reducing the use of limits on mandatory programs (-$154 million from FY2012, +$403 million over the Senate bill). The House bill also had policy-related provisions that would have removed a 2011 livestock and poultry marketing rule, tightened farm commodity program payment limits, and required USDA to allow white potatoes for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program. The Administration opposed many of the reductions and policy provisions proposed in the House bill.
Date of Report: January 17, 2013
Number of Pages: 41
Order Number: R42596
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