Hearing of the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee - FY 2014 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

Hearing

Thank you, Chairman Rogers, for yielding.

We have before us today the fiscal year 2014 appropriations bill and report for
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
as passed by the Subcommittee on June 5th.

I want to begin by thanking Ranking Member Farr for all of his work, and the bipartisan
spirit with which we bring the agriculture appropriations bill to the full Committee today. I also want to acknowledge all subcommittee members for their work this year through the hearings and the subcommittee markup. Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey have worked to get our bills through the Committee and to the floor, and I want to thank them for their efforts as well.

The funding level in this bill is $19.450 billion in discretionary budget authority, a
decrease of $1.3 billion below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and a decrease of $516 million below the President's budget request. It should be noted that the President's request did not include funding for the P.L. 480 -- Food for Peace grants program in this bill.

Mandatory spending in the bill totals $120 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion above
fiscal year 2013, and a decrease of $2.6 billion below the budget request.

"I think most Americans recognize that American's farmers and ranchers are vital to our nation -- they create jobs in our communities, provide food for our tables, export goods around the world, and diversify our nation's energy supply. The bill reported out of Committee today will help America's agricultural research remain cutting edge, maintain vibrant rural communities, provide nutrition to those most vulnerable, keep our markets competitive in the global economy, and maintain the safest food and drug supply in the world, while cutting spending by $1.3 billion below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level.This bill will ensure the agencies under our jurisdiction including USDA, FDA, CFTC, and FCA have adequate funding to successfully complete their missions and also honor Congress' commitment to get the Federal government to live within its means."

Some of the items in the legislation before us today demonstrate our commitment to
getting the Federal government to live within its means including:

* a directive to increase oversight of WIC vendors to help rein in food costs;

* a requirement for the Secretary to report to the Committee on strategies being
implemented to help weed out fraud, waste, and abuse in SNAP, such as
banning fraudulent vendors;

* a prohibition on advertising and outreach to foreign governments to promote
SNAP benefits; and,

* a requirement that the Secretary certify that any newly approved payment,
loan, grant, subsidy, or insurance claim through the Farm Service Agency and
Risk Management Agency is not provided to individuals or entities that have
been permanently debarred from participating in USDA programs.

I just want to take a few moments to provide a brief summary of some of the funding
items in the bill:

* Agricultural research spending in the bill totals $2.5 billion, a decrease of $16.3
million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and a decrease of $292.2 million
below the budget request. Included in this total is $1.1 billion for the Agricultural
Research Service; $1.2 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture;
$155 million for the National Agricultural Statistics Service; and $75 million for
the Economic Research Service.

* Marketing and Regulatory Programs, including APHIS, AMS, and GIPSA, are
funded at $923 million, the same as the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and a
decrease of $4.5 million below the budget request.

* Food Safety and Inspection Service is funded at $1 billion, a decrease of $31
million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and a decrease of $9.7 million
below the President's budget request. This funding level ensures that 8,000
frontline inspectors will maintain their daily inspection duties at over 6,200
establishments across the country.

* Salaries and Expenses of the Farm Service Agency, including transfers of funds,
are funded at $1.5 billion, the same as the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and $8.1
million below the request.

* Grassroots Source Water Protection program is funded at $4.6 million while the
level for farm loans is $5.4 billion, an increase of $560 million above the fiscal
year 2013 enacted level, and $174 million below the request.

* Natural Resources Conservation Service is funded at $823 million, a decrease of
$2.3 million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and $52.6 million above the
request. This funding level will allow NRCS to maintain technical assistance on
private lands. This funding level includes $12 million for the small watershed
rehabilitation program.

* Rural Development programs are funded at $2.189 billion, a decrease of $28.6
million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, and $52.6 million above the
budget request.

* Loan levels for Rural Development programs total $35 billion, a decrease of $2.7
billion below the fiscal year 2013 level, and an increase of $1.7 billion above the
request. The bill also includes $448 million for water and waste loans and grants,
of which $14.6 million is for the circuit rider program.

* The bill fully funds SNAP benefits and Child Nutrition programs at a cost of
$96.8 billion in mandatory spending.

* WIC is funded at $6.7 billion, $214 million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted
level of $6.9 billion, and $487 million below the President's request.

* The Commodity Supplemental Food Program is fully funded at $203 million.

* The bill includes $1.15 billion for P.L. 480 -- Food for Peace grants, a reduction of
$284 million below fiscal year 2013, and it includes $180.3 million for
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education Program.

* The bill includes $2.5 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Food and
Drug Administration. This is $24.3 million above the fiscal year 2013 enacted
level and $63 million below the budget request. In total, FDA is funded at $4.3
billion including user fees.

* Within FDA, the bill provides an increase of $26.7 million for food safety
activities. In addition, the bill includes funds to maintain level funding for food
and drug inspections in China, and an increase of $1 million for the medical
countermeasures initiative for a total of $23.5 million for this critical program.

* The bill includes $194.6 million for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
a decrease of $10.7 million below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level of $205.3
million, and $120 million below the request. The bill includes $35.5 million to
advance the agency's information technology systems. Language is included that
requires CFTC to submit a report on the implementation and sequencing of rules,
regulations, and orders, and related cost-benefit analyses, under section 716, 722,
and 737 of Dodd-Frank, and related amendments.

* For the Farm Credit Administration, the recommendation is $61.9 million for a
limitation on administrative expenses.

Finally, I would say to the members of the Committee that interest in this bill remains at a high level. We received more than 3,100 requests from 289 House members for various funding and language items. We have tried to accommodate these requests by providing programmatic funding or by including language in the bill or report in accordance with House rules. There are no earmarks in the legislation before us today.

In closing, I want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their work, and I yield
back.

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