HOUSE AND SENATE NEGOTIATORS APPROVE AG SPENDING BILL CONFERENCE REPORT
News Date October 06, 2009
Members of the conference committee negotiating the final agricultural appropriations bill reached an agreement last week on fiscal year 2010 funding for USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The House is scheduled to vote on the conference report Wednesday. In response to the agreement reached on additional dairy funding, of which $60 million will go for cheese purchases (similar to NASDA’s Meat the Need) and $290 million for a direct payment program to be distributed at the discretion of Secretary Vilsack, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has placed a hold on the conference report in the Senate. Senator Boxer has indicated concerns about the possibility for inequitable geographic distribution of the funding and would have preferred a higher level of cheese purchased. A summary of the conference report is available on the House Appropriations Committee website. (Contact: David Hickey)