NSAC Archives for the 'Budget' Category
President’s 2014 Budget: EPA and Water Quality
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
Despite proposing significant cuts to the overall Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget for water programs, the President’s FY 2014 Budget Request for EPA emphasizes that EPA will continue to work with USDA and the states tribes to control nutrient pollution. The budget request gives special attention to the issue of excessive nitrogen and phosphorus loadings Read the Rest…
President’s 2014 Budget: Overview and Department of Agriculture
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
On Wednesday, April 10, President Obama released his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. In this year’s ongoing budget saga, the White House is billing its proposal as a step towards reaching a “grand bargain” with Republicans over taxes and spending. (For more on the “grand bargain,” see a previous blog post.) Over ten weeks Read the Rest…
Impact of Sequestration on Agriculture: More than Just Meat
Friday, February 15th, 2013
The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on February 14, 2013 on the varying doomsday scenarios that will play out should Congress fail to prevent the self-imposed sequestration. The hardline cuts are expected to take effect on March 1 and the damage could begin immediately in some cases. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack was not present Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Is there a Farm Bill Plan B?
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
Much of the national policy news this week has focused on House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) sudden move, in the middle of negotiations with the President over the so-called fiscal cliff issues, to take time out to have the House vote (this evening) on his “Plan B.” That Plan B would combine votes on tax Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Farm Bill and Agriculture Appropriations Options Heading Into December
Friday, November 30th, 2012
As we close out on two full weeks of the lame duck session of Congress and head into the final three-week December marathon, there has been lots and lots of talk about farm bill options but little-to-no action. By contrast, there has been some action on the appropriations bills to fund the government, including USDA, Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Farm Bill Expires on Monday — What Does It Mean and What Happens Now?
Friday, September 28th, 2012
We have been fielding lots of questions in the past few weeks following the congressional meltdown on the new farm bill. This is not surprising, given Congress’ failure to date to either pass a new farm bill or to enact a short-term extension of the existing farm bill before the farm bill expires at midnight, Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Not Now, Maybe Later; And Meanwhile, Conservation Programs Shut Down; Sequestration Cuts to be Revealed
Thursday, September 13th, 2012
Congress returned this week from its summer recess with questions abounding on the fate of the 2012 Farm Bill. After less than one short week in session, a bad situation has unfortunately grown worse, not better. Conservation Programs Shut Down On Thursday, September 13, the House approved a “continuing resolution” (or CR for short) to Read the Rest…
Continuing Resolution Would Stop Key Conservation Programs in 2013
Monday, September 10th, 2012
On Monday evening, September 10, the House Rules Committee posted the Continuing Resolution (CR) agreed upon by congressional leaders to fund the government for the next six months. The bill is expected to be voted on in the House on Thursday and in the Senate after that. The overall goal is to avoid a government Read the Rest…
Congress Mulls Continuing Resolution, Sends Sequestration Bill to the President
Friday, July 27th, 2012
As the highly contorted farm bill process continues to unfold, Congress is simultaneously working in abnormal ways to address important budget and appropriations matters. Neither the full House nor the full Senate has yet to pass an agriculture appropriations bill for FY 2013. Both chambers did, however, begin to address the looming matter of budget Read the Rest…
Senate Farm Bill Reported and Budget Scores Released; NSAC Analysis
Saturday, May 26th, 2012
On April 26, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the the 2012 Farm Bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, by a vote of 16-5. Exactly four weeks later, on May 24, the Committee actually reported the text of the bill. It is normal for there to be a lag Read the Rest…
