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A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CONGRESS ACTS ON AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATIONS HOUSE PANEL BEGINS MARKUP ON 2007 FARM BILL SENATE FARM BILL SCHEDULE REMAINS UNCERTAIN _________________________________________________________Past Issues What's New on the NASDA Website
NASDA's 2007 Farm Bill Recommendations NASDA's Midyear Meeting Documents NASDA's Trade Shows: USFES; AFF; IFE
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_____________________________________________________________________ NASDA 2007 REGISTRATION NOW OPEN September 21-26, 2007 Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle http://www.nasda.org/nasda2007/ The early registration discount ends August 24. After that date, the registration fee will increase by $100.00. Registration ends Sept. 14. All registrations must be made online. When registering, choose offline payment if you wish to pay by check. You can update any information by using the confirmation number emailed to you when you register. Reserve Your Room by August 24 for Hotel Discount: The negotiated rate for a room at the Westin is $195.00 a night. Contact the Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101, (800) 228-3000. Reservation requests received after 5:00 pm local time at hotel on the cutoff date will be accepted at the hotel's prevailing rate based on availability--group rate name is "NASDA Annual 2007 Meeting." You can also make your reservations using the link on the NASDA website. There will not be any shuttle service to/from the airport neither by the Westin nor by Washington State staff. More information available at http://www.nasda.org/nasda2007/. WSDA Contact: Betty Mackey, bmackey@agr.wa.gov, 360-507-2462 NASDA Contact: Gillian Woodward, gillian@nasda.org, 202-296-9680 _____________________________________________________________________ CONGRESS ACTS ON AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATIONS This week, the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee will take action on the fiscal year 2008 agricultural appropriations bill. Last week, Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, marked up the subcommittee’s fiscal year 2008 bill. The Chairman’s Mark included 18.8 billion in total discretionary spending--$1 billion (5.7%) over 2007 and $987.4 million (5.5%) over the president’s request. Ninety five percent of the increase above the budget request is to restore funding to provide basic services to rural communities, feed those in need, and support conservation efforts. Additionally, the bill takes the critical first steps in a fundamental transformation in the regulation of food safety at the Food and Drug Administration. * USDA is funded at $17 billion, $879.5 million (5.5%) above 2007 and $945.9 million (5.9%) above the budget request. * The Food and Drug Administration is funded at $1.7 billion, $121.5 million (7.7%) above 2007 and $55 million (3.4%) above the budget request. DeLauro’s statement highlighted critical programs funded: * Reinvesting in Rural America--This bill provides a 37 percent increase in grants to rural areas for critical community facilities, such as health care, educational, public safety, and day care facilities and also provides increases in the community facility loan programs. * Protecting Public Health--This bill fully funds the request for the Food Safety and Inspection Service at USDA. To maximize the funds’ positive impact on safety, the bill shifts additional funds within the account to address vacancies in federal meat inspector positions. The committee also provides an increase of $28 million over the budget request for food safety at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for what it hopes will be the first step in a fundamental transformation in the regulation of food safety at FDA. The committee directs the FDA to submit a plan to begin changing its approach to food safety when it submits the fiscal year 2009 budget, giving the committee time to review the plan before the funds to implement it become available on July 1, 2008. * Improving Nutrition for More Americans--The bill also provides critical resources to address the obesity crisis, teaching children better eating habits and helping them avoid diabetes and other dangerous health conditions. The bill provides a nearly eight-percent increase over 2007 funding, including a record level of funding for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) at $68.5 million. * Transforming Our Energy Future--To promote renewable energy, this bill provides $455 million, nearly twice as much funding than was provided last year and more than 20 percent above the $375 million requested. * Supporting Conservation--This bill restores many of the programs slated for elimination in the president’s request, including the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Wildlife Habitat Program and the Watershed Rehabilitation Programs which were funded $75 million, 50 percent above last year’s levels. The full statement can be located at http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2007/July/Agric_07_12_07.html. During the Senate subcommittee markup, the Specialty Crops Block Grant program was funded at $7 million. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak) HOUSE PANEL BEGINS MARKUP ON 2007 FARM BILL The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to begin marking up the 2007 farm bill the afternoon of July 17 and plans long sessions through July 19 to complete their work on the legislation. The full House is expected to debate the farm bill beginning July 26 before Congress leaves for the August summer recess. Most observers are expecting lively, if not contentious, debate and amendments on several issues, such as proposals on payment limitations, commodity price support, country-of-origin labeling and others. The markup session suddenly became more complicated the evening of July 16 when Republican committee members issued a statement announcing their unanimous objection to proceeding with markup until the money promised to the panel is produced. Additionally, the Republican members of the committee expressed their intention to meet with the chairman once they have had the opportunity to review the bill with its new comprehensive manager's amendment language and have received the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) SENATE FARM BILL SCHEDULE REMAINS UNCERTAIN The Senate Agriculture Committee’s schedule for marking up the 2007 farm bill remains uncertain. For the past weeks, Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has generally indicated that he wanted to complete markup on a bill this month with full Senate debate before the upcoming August recess. On July 16, Congress Daily reported in a news article that Senate leaders have told Harkin that the farm bill will not be on the floor before the August recess. The news has raised speculation about whether the Senate panel will hold a markup this month if the bill will not be on the floor until the fall. Harkin has not issued any statement about the schedule for marking-up the 2007 farm bill and the committee has not yet issued a legislative proposal. However, committee staff has recently been circulating discussion drafts for several titles. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) |