Congressman Reyes Votes To Increase Funding For Critical Food Nutrition Programs

Washington, Oct 8 - Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) yesterday voted to pass legislation that will enhance food safety, boost rural economies, protect Americans against price fluctuations for necessities, and help feed struggling families. The Agriculture Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010 passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 263 to 162. The bill provides funding for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Farm Credit Administration (FCA).

“The agriculture appropriations bill makes key investments in several areas, including bolstering food nutrition programs; investing in rural communities; supporting agriculture research; and conserving our natural resources,” Reyes said. “Our community benefits greatly from strong nutrition programs, and I am pleased that this bill makes significant increases in this area.”

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The bill includes makes substantial improvements in the areas of nutrition, international food assistance, food and drug safety, research, and other important mission areas of the USDA and FDA.

Key Investments in the Bill

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): $58.278 billion to provide food assistance to over 36 million low-income people. Funding is included to increase elderly participation, as it has been estimated that only 30 percent of eligible seniors participate in SNAP.

• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): $7.252 billion. The bill provides funding to help up to 9.6 million women, infants, and children with benefits that promote a healthy pregnancy for mothers and a healthy start for their children. It also provides $162 million for program improvements such as: increasing fruit and vegetable vouchers, supporting management information systems, implementing the electronic benefit transfer system, and expanding breast feeding peer counseling program.

• Child Nutrition programs: $16.9 billion in mandatory budget authority, to provide nutritious meals and snacks to over 32 million children in schools, child care institutions, adult day care centers, and after school care programs.

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): $2.36 billion to help FDA improve the safety of domestic and imported food and medical products. An additional $893 million will be collected in user fees.

• Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS): $1.02 billion to help ensure the safety of the U.S. meat and poultry supply.

• McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program: $209.5 million to support education, child development, and food security for some of the world’s poorest children.

• Rural Development: $2.979 billion for USDA programs important to rural communities including rural housing, water projects, community facilities and economic development efforts. These programs not only sustain our rural communities, but also create new opportunities for growth and development in the nation’s small town economies.

• Rural Rental Assistance: $980 million to allow for the renewal of expiring rental contracts that otherwise would result in the eviction of tenants, comprised mostly of elderly, disabled, or female head of household.

• Single Family Housing Loans: $214 million in budget authority to support more than $13 billion in direct and guaranteed single family housing loans. Not counting funds available in the Recovery Act, this is an increase of nearly $6 billion above 2009 and is necessary to meet growing demand. In the aftermath of the national housing crisis, the USDA rural housing programs remain extremely active in support of home ownership.

• Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund: $140.6 million in budget authority to support more than $5 billion in farm operating, ownership, and conservation loans.

• Animal and Plant Health: $909.67 million to fund programs that protect American agriculture against animal and plant diseases.

• Conservation Programs: $1 billion for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to improve service in the field, enhance conservation efforts, and upgrade aging dams at risk of catastrophic failure. The bill restores cuts to valuable conservation programs, including the Resource Conservation and Development Program and the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program. Importantly, the bill rejects $267 million in cuts to priority farm bill conservation programs, including the Wetlands Reserve Program, Farmland Protection Program, and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission: $168.8 million to enhance oversight of the commodity futures markets. The increased resources will provide for additional staff and improved technology to better secure the markets from improper speculation.

Source: Congressman Silvestre Reyes