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 […]
Budget and Appropriations
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 […]
One Month Left for Congress to Fund Key Food and Agriculture Programs
Congress has less than one month left to pass a funding bill that will keep the government’s doors open beyond December 8. After this point, the funding from Congress’ temporary funding bill (negotiated earlier this fall) will run out, and critical programs and services will be put at risk. If the House and the Senate […]
Clock Ticking On FY 2018 Appropriations
The end of the fiscal year (September 30) has come and gone, and with fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding levels extended through December 8, the time Congress has to negotiate final spending levels for FY 2018 is quickly running out. There is a lot on the line in this appropriations package for farmers and consumers […]
Welcome Back Congress: A Look Ahead
Each year, Members of Congress head back to their home districts for a month-long legislative break known as “August recess”. With the holiday weekend over and September in full swing, Members are returning to the capital this week with a full schedule of big-ticket items ahead of them – many of which must be completed […]
Senate Appropriators Prioritize Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
Following closely on the heels of the House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee’s funding bill, which was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced its agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Senate bill moved quickly through the Subcommittee and full Committee approval process, with just […]
House Budget Committee’s Spending Proposal Could Derail Farm Bill
Late in the evening of July 17th, following over twelve hours of debate and markup, the House Budget Committee passed its budget parameters for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The budget, which was voted out of Committee along partisan lines (22 Republicans voting in favor and 14 Democrats against), includes a directive for the Agriculture Committee […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: Budget Questions, SNAP, and the Farm Bill Coalition
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a four-part series explaining the background budget information that will be used to craft the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. In this series on the new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline for the major farm bill programs, we have explored the significance of the overall numbers, delved in on […]
House Makes Improvements, but Agriculture Appropriations Bill Still a Work in Progress
On July 12, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee advanced their agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018, which was drafted originally by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. This appropriations bill funds the major programs and functions of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Food and […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: the Commodity and Conservation Titles
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a four-part series explaining the background budget information that will be used to craft the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. In this post we look in more detail at the commodity and conservation titles of the farm bill. In part three will focus on programs that will need to have […]
Farmers and Advocates Take FY 2018 Appropriations Requests to Capitol Hill
Mid-June in Washington, DC is a time when the annual appropriations cycle is in full swing, and congressional appropriators in both the House and the Senate work to set funding levels for the coming fiscal year. As part of our work to amplify farmer and rural advocate voices, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) […]
House Appropriations Bill Largely Rejects President’s Proposed Cuts to Agriculture Programs
“Dead on arrival” is what many in Congress called the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request – which included a discretionary funding cut of 21 percent ($47 billion over 10 years) to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) – when it was released earlier this year. This week’s FY 2018 funding bill from the House […]
Funding Available to Support Training for Farmers of Color, Veteran Farmers
Historically, farmers of color and military veterans have not had the same access to or rates of participation in the programs administered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA); often this disparity has been due to insufficient or inadequate outreach to these communities. In order to help veterans and farmers of color to enter and succeed in […]
Congressional Appropriators Question Secretary Perdue on USDA Budget and Reorganization Plans
On Tuesday, June 13, shortly after appropriators received a letter from nearly 600 organizations, businesses, and local governments opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to eliminate its Rural Development Mission Area, the Secretary of Agriculture returned to Capitol Hill to once again defend his plans for a Departmental reorganization. This week, the Secretary […]
More than 570 Businesses, Organizations, and Local Governments Oppose Elimination of USDA Rural Development
For more than 20 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Mission Area has helped rural communities develop and expand thriving businesses, create new economic opportunities, and build and maintain housing, water, electric, telecommunications, and other rural infrastructure. At a time when nearly 85 percent of America’s persistent poverty counties are in […]