June 10

The spending bill passed by the House this week does not contain the major new farm assistance sought by some Democrats, but increases several popular spending accounts, including some sought by the Clinton Administration. Some interests will be disappointed in specific cuts that affected programs they support. Overall, however, dire predictions by some Administration officials that the budget would devastate important programs were not borne out.

The House met the President's spending request for several high-profile accounts, including Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses and the Food Safety and Inspection Service budget. FSA salaries will be $80.3 million higher than last year, according to the House Appropriations Committee, while the FSIS budget will increase by $36 million.

For the P.L. 480 food aid program, the House exceeded the President's request, funding "Food for Peace" at $1.1 billion. That total is still less than 1999, though. Congress also spent more than the President asked for on rural electric and telephone loans, exceeding his request by $141.5 million.

Agricultural research was a somewhat mixed bag. Research activities would increase $38 million over 1999 under the House-passed bill, but the total would still be $37.2 million less than the Administration requested. Moreover, the House bill again forbids funding the $120 million competitive-grant program Congress created in 1998 to supplement existing research.

In the same way, conservation operations would rise $13 million, but that would still be $26 million less than the increase sought by the President. Soil and water conservation advocates argued that a major increase was needed to maintain adequate technical assistance to farmers and other functions.

Some nutrition advocates expressed disappointment that the Women, Infants, and Children program was not funded at the Administration's request but $100 million below it. Still, the amount was $81 million more than 1999.

Most of the USDA budget is mandatory spending, a quasi-entitlement category over which appropriators have much less control than over agency budgets. For example, spending on food stamps alone ($21.6 billion) will be almost 60% greater than all the discretionary spending ($13.692 billion) in the bill passed this week. Food stamp spending will fall in 2000, but because of the strong economy rather than program cuts.

The final House bill is about $100 million less than the version approved by the Appropriations Committee. An amendment offered by Appropriations Chairman C. W. Bill Young (R-FL) as part of an agreement with restive conservatives delayed Agricultural Research Service building construction and made other cuts to bring the bill closer to last year's funding levels.