MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE VILSACK TO MAINTAIN MAP FUNDING
News Date January 26, 2010
In a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Congressmen Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) and 64 other lawmakers announced a bipartisan congressional effort supporting the Market Access Program (MAP). The letter outlined the importance of maintaining full funding for MAP in the Administration’s budget request that is set to be released on February 1.
MAP authorizes funding to support partial reimbursement to private companies for qualified overseas brand promotion of U.S. agricultural products. MAP is a USDA program that provides matching grants to non-profit commodity organizations and broad-based agriculture groups to create and maintain overseas markets for U.S. agriculture products. MAP funds are used for consumer promotion, market research and technical assistance.
Authorized at $200 million per year, and funded at that level in recent years, MAP has a proven success record. Participants in the MAP Branded program use their own money, leveraged with matching funds from the program, to develop export markets. Unfortunately, MAP has also been a favorite target for budget cuts. Last year the Obama Administration recommended a 20 percent cut to the program. Such a cut would seriously undermine the ability of smaller companies and agriculture producer cooperatives to gain entry into targeted export markets and establish their branded products. Furthermore, it would significantly impact jobs in rural communities. (Contact: Amy Mann)