LegiStorm

Summary:

The Agriculture appropriations bill funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) except for the Forest Service. The FY2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-94, Division B) includes funding for conservation programs and activities at USDA, among other departments. Agricultural conservation programs include both mandatory and discretionary spending. Most conservation program funding is mandatory and is authorized in omnibus farm bills. Other conservation programs—mostly technical assistance—are discretionary spending funded through annual appropriations. The FY2020 appropriation includes an increase from FY2019 levels for discretionary conservation programs and generally rejects the Administration's proposed reductions to discretionary and mandatory conservation programs. The largest discretionary conservation program is the Conservation Operations (CO) account, which funds conservation planning and implementation assistance on private agricultural lands across the country. The CO account is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and funds more than half of the agency's total staff positions. The FY2020 enacted appropriation increases funding for CO by $10.1 million above FY2019 levels to $829.6 million. A decline in funding for CO over time has resulted in declining NRCS staffing levels. Much of the conservation technical assistance provided by NRCS is funded through the Conservation Technical Assistance program within CO. Funds are used to support salaries and expenses for NRCS staff, technology development, conservation system design, compliance reviews, grants to partners for additional technical assistance capacity, and resource assessment reports. Reduced staff could impact NRCS's ability to provide technical assistance and administer farm bill conservation programs to farmers and ranchers. The recently created Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center receives $206.5 million in the FY2020 appropriation—$9.8 million less than in FY2019. The FPAC Business Center is responsible for various administrative services for three USDA agencies, including NRCS. In FY2019, Congress realigned funding from NRCS discretionary and mandatory program accounts and NRCS staff to the Business Center. It is unclear how the transfer of NRCS positions and funding to the FPAC Business Center has impacted the agency's overall operations relative to the decline in CO funding. The FY2020 explanatory statement directs USDA to report to Congress on the efficiencies gained through the Business Center's creation, along with other staffing plans. Other discretionary spending is primarily for watershed programs. The largest—Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO)—is funded at $175 million in FY2020. This is an increase in WFPO funding from FY2019 levels of $150 million. The FY2020 appropriation also funds other discretionary water-related programs, such as the Watershed Rehabilitation Program ($10 million), Water Bank program ($4 million), and wetland mitigation banking ($5 million). Most mandatory conservation programs are authorized in omnibus farm bills and do not require an annual appropriation. However, previous Congresses have reduced mandatory conservation program funding through Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS) in the annual agricultural appropriations law every year between FY2003 and FY2018. The Trump Administration requested CHIMPS to two mandatory conservation programs for FY2020, but neither of these proposed reductions to mandatory conservation programs is included in the enacted FY2020 appropriation. Agriculture appropriations bills may also include policy-related provisions that direct how the executive branch should carry out the appropriations. In the FY2020 appropriations act, these range from waiving specific programmatic requirements to requiring reports to Congress.