FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Long-awaited Wins for Sustainable Agriculture Finally Delivered in FY 2019 Appropriations Bill “Minibus” increases funding for core sustainable agriculture programs, rejects Administration’s planned relocation of USDA research agencies Washington, DC, February 14, 2019 – After months of suffering through the longest government shutdown in history, America’s family farmers and ranchers are finally seeing movement on […]
Budget and Appropriations
COMMENT: Latest Attempt by House to Reopen Government Includes Language to Delay Reorganization of Core USDA Research Agencies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Latest Attempt by House to Reopen Government Includes Language to Delay Reorganization of Core USDA Research Agencies NSAC Praises House Effort, Urges Senate to Support Previously Conferenced Appropriations Language Washington, DC, January 18, 2019 – Yesterday, in the midst of the largely stalemated […]
Democrat-led House Passes Bill to End Shutdown, Support Sustainable Agriculture
Editor’s Note: On Thursday, January 10, the House passed their fiscal year 2019 (FY) Agriculture Appropriations bill on the floor as a standalone bill. This was the same bill that was included as part of a package of six bills, which was passed by the House (though not taken up by the Senate) last week […]
Fight for Border Wall Blocks Farm Funding, Triggers Shutdown
Just one day after the President signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – the department tasked with implementing the new law – was forced to close its doors as part of a partial government shutdown. Last night at midnight, funding expired for both USDA and the Food and […]
RELEASE: New Bill Insists USDA Research Agencies Remain in Nation’s Capital
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net New Bill Insists USDA Research Agencies Remain in Nation’s Capital Agriculture Research Integrity Act of 2018 (HR 7330) introduced today Washington DC, December 20, 2018 – Responding to the Trump Administration’s plan to relocate and reorganize the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the […]
Congress Averts Shutdown, Delays FY 2019 Appropriations Decisions
With the clock on their last Continuing Resolution (CR) quickly running down, Congress last week managed to avoid a partial government shutdown by giving their extension an extension – pushing their deadline to set spending levels from December 7 to December 21. Earlier in the year, it seemed that Congress might be able to pass […]
Congress Returns, Post-Election Agenda Looms
After months on the campaign trail, Congress returns to Capitol Hill this week with a major legislative to-do list. Among the priorities for Members in the remaining weeks of 2018 will be to finalize the overdue 2018 Farm Bill and fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations package that includes food and agriculture spending for the year. With several new Members joining the ranks of the […]
Continuing Resolution Passes House, Agriculture “Minibus” Stuck
Earlier this week, the House passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) for spending bills that have not yet been passed, which would extend government funding levels from fiscal year (FY) 2018 through December 7 of this year. The CR was passed as part of a “minibus” spending bill package (H.R. 6157) that included FY 2019 funding […]
Agriculture Spending Negotiations Move Forward, NSAC Submits Conference Priorities
Congress has less than 10 legislative days left to fund the government for fiscal year (FY) 2019 in order to avoid a shutdown. In order to keep the government running, congressional appropriators are working overtime to negotiate the differences between House and Senate spending bills before September 30 (when the current fiscal year’s funding expires). […]
Agriculture Spending Bill May Move in September
One of the basic tasks of Congress is to pass the set of 12 annual spending bills (appropriations) that fund the government and all its many programs and services. The appropriations bills include all spending items other than those that are mandated by Congress and occur automatically. The deadline for Congress to act on appropriations […]
Farmers Take Sustainable Agriculture Priorities to Congress
Last week, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) hosted our second farmer fly-in of 2018, bringing in farmer advocates from across the country to make their priorities known on Capitol Hill. Ten growers and advocates from Alabama, California, Mississippi, Montana, Georgia, Kansas, North Dakota, Oregon, Michigan, and Vermont took time out of their busy schedules […]
Administration Seeks to Poach Nearly $1 Billion from Agriculture Programs
Last budget cycle, advocacy groups like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) helped to push a strong budget package through Congress, one which the President ultimately – if reluctantly – signed. Immediately after that budget deal was done and a fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations omnibus was delivered (with an extra $2 billion for agriculture […]
Senate Appropriators Advance FY 2019 Agriculture Funding Bill
Each year, Congress passes far-reaching funding legislation, known as appropriations legislation, to fund federal programs across the government. This includes many of the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Thursday May 24, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) […]
House Agriculture FY 2019 Appropriations Bill Advances
This week has been a perfect embodiment of the popular expression, “when it rains, it pours.” Not only has the House – and the sustainable agriculture advocacy community – been busy trying to finalize and pass their version of the 2018 Farm Bill (the bill failed 198-213), they’ve had their hands full with fiscal year […]
House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Advances FY 2019 Funding Bill
Each year, Congress passes far-reaching funding legislation, known as appropriations legislation, to fund federal programs across the government. This includes many of the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Wednesday, May 9, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed its agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year […]
Welcome Back, Congress: FY 2019 Appropriations Update
For weeks, all eyes have been on the congressional agriculture committees as debate of the 2018 Farm Bill has steadily ramped up. This week, however, our attention turns to the appropriations committees and the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019 spending bills. Members of both chambers have just returned from a week-long congressional recess, and the […]
SARE Celebrates 30 Years, Looks Forward to $35M in FY 2018 Funding
There was a lot to celebrate last week at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program’s (SARE) Our Farms, Our Future conference in St. Louis, MO. For one, SARE and the Appropriate Technology Transfer to Rural Areas (ATTRA) program were celebrating their 30th anniversaries and all the amazing accomplishments each program had helped to make […]
Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Omnibus
Early this morning, Congress passed a government spending package (the “omnibus appropriations bill”) to fund federal programs through the end of September, which is when the current fiscal year expires. The House passed the package 256-167 on Thursday, the Senate passed the bill 65-32 Friday morning, and the President signed the bill into law that […]
COMMENT: Appropriations Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Appropriations Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Bill National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges Congress to pass omnibus swiftly Washington, DC, March 21, 2018 – “Congress, in particular the members of the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees, have produced an agriculture appropriations […]
Farmers Fly-in to Advocate on Farm Bill and Appropriations
Capitol Hill was buzzing last week with hundreds of people in town for meetings with their Congress members in advance of the next farm bill and upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations decisions. Among the crowds and long lines were 20 farmers and farm advocates in town for NSAC’s March “farmer fly-in” – grassroots events […]
RELEASE: Family Farmers Deliver Farm Bill Priorities to Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Family Farmers Deliver Farm Bill Priorities to Congress National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition brings 20 farmer advocates to Capitol Hill Washington, D.C., March 9, 2018 – With the next farm bill and annual agriculture funding decisions actively being debated, now is the time to amplify the voices of […]
President’s Budget Proposal Threatens Food, Farm, and Nutrition Programs
The deeply problematic proposals of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget, released on Monday of this week, include devastating cuts to critical farm and food programs. The budget, if enacted, would reduce the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget by a whopping 25 percent, from $24 billion to $18 billion. In addition to cutting […]
RELEASE: President’s Budget Seeks to Undermine Historic Investments in American Agriculture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net President’s Budget Seeks to Undermine Historic Investments in American Agriculture National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Anti-Farmer Proposals Washington, DC, February 12, 2018 – The President’s FY 2019 budget request, released earlier today, is the most anti-rural, anti-farmer proposal the agriculture community […]
What the Budget Deal Means for American Agriculture
After months of negotiations, the House and Senate have finally reached a two-year budget deal to keep the government running, increase annual discretionary spending caps for defense and non-defense programs ($300 billion), and provide disaster relief ($89 billion). The Senate passed the bill 71-28 around 2am this morning, and the House followed shortly thereafter with […]