FY2016 Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations: In Brief (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 23, 2016 |
| Report Number |
R43938 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
The Agriculture appropriations bill funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the Forest Service. It also funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) andâin even-numbered fiscal yearsâthe Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Agriculture appropriations include both mandatory and discretionary spending. Discretionary amounts, though, are the primary focus during the bill's development since mandatory amounts generally are set by authorizing laws such as the farm bill.
The largest discretionary spending items are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); agricultural research; FDA; rural development; foreign food aid and trade; farm assistance programs; food safety inspection; conservation; and animal and plant health programs. The main mandatory spending items are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), child nutrition, crop insurance, and the farm commodity and conservation programs paid by the Commodity Credit Corporation.
The FY2016 Agriculture Appropriations bill was enacted as part of an omnibus appropriation on December 18, 2015 (H.R. 2029). Agriculture appropriations bills were reported in both chambers, but neither went to the floor (, S. 1800). The enacted appropriation provides $21.750 billion for discretionary amounts in the Agriculture appropriation, an increase of $925 million over FY2015 (+4.4%), and $1.1 billion more than the House bill or $990 million more than the Senate bill. The omnibus was enacted using a higher budget allocation in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-74) than the reported bills had during their development. Mandatory spending carried in the Agriculture appropriation is roughly $119 billion, making the FY2016 total about $141 billion.
Among the notable policy-related provisions, the FY2016 appropriation repeals certain country-of-origin provisions, continues to prohibit horse slaughter facility inspections and the import of processed poultry from China for certain nutrition programs. It continues providing flexibility from whole grain and sodium requirements in the child nutrition programs, and addresses the formation of future dietary guidelines. It restores the use of commodity certificates for the marketing loan program, including not being subject to payment limits. However, it does not change the conservation compliance requirements, nor does it limit the applicability of certain tobacco regulations for e-cigarettes, unlike the House markup.
