August 5, 2024

Legislative Update
On July 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill with unanimous, bipartisan agreement. The full committee's unanimous approval took less than 10 minutes. This contrasts with what happened in the House Appropriations Committee a day earlier, where after a two-hour mark up, the House's FY25 agriculture spending bill passed along party lines.

At a high level, the Senate bill sets FY25 agriculture spending at $27 billion, an $821 million increase over FY24. This increase is primarily directed toward the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, although there are significant funding increases for agricultural research, rental assistance, and conservation programs. The bill also includes a $1 million increase over FY24 for enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.

The House bill sets FY25 Agriculture spending at $25.9 billion, which is $355 million below FY24 levels. In addition, the bill includes policy riders that would prevent the implementation of three rules designed to promote fair competition for livestock farmers under the Packers and Stockyards Act, as well as any similar rulemaking effort (Section 729), and prevents any funding for efforts related to Executive Order 13985, which aims to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA; Section 755).

Regarding research funding, we find the Senate version provides funding above current levels for most agencies, while the House cuts most items.

FY25 REE budget comparison (in USD)1
REE area	FY24	House FY25	Difference from FY24	Senate FY25	Difference from FY24
ERS	90,612,000	85,612,000	−5,000,000	90,612,000	—
NASS	187,512,000	187,512,000	—	193,513,000	+6,001,000
ARS	1,788,063,000	1,793,829,000	+5,766,000	1,826,709,000	+38,646,000
Building	57,164,000	26,900,000	−30,264,000	47,633,000	−9,531,000
NIFA	1,075,950,000	1,071,900,000	−4,050,000	1,078,950,000	+3,000,000
Ext Act	561,700,000	561,164,000	−536,000	561,700,000	—

¹REE = Research Education and Economics; ERS = Economic Research Service; NASS = National Agricultural Statistics Service; ARS = Agricultural Research Service; NIFA = National Institute of Food and Agriculture; Ext Act = Extension Act.

What's next? Each house must pass its budget, which then goes to a conference committee to work out a compromise for approval in both houses and be signed by the president. Given that Congress is only in session for about 20 days prior to the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2024), it seems likely that a continuing resolution will be needed to continue government funding at 2024 levels.

Both the Senate and the House are out for their August recess, with limited progress on the new Farm Bill. We are currently operating under an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. Both houses return to session on September 9, so no action can be taken on the budget or the Farm Bill until then. Both expire on September 30, so continuing resolutions for both are the most likely course of action.

The lack of a Farm Bill is becoming critical. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently released an analysis titled "Five Things We'll' Miss Without a Farm Bill."

It is good to see that the AFBF report shared many of the same points that we have raised regarding research. It is helpful to have allies telling the same story. Now, the budget needs to move forward, and you can help. August is a good time to contact members of Congress, especially those on the Agriculture or Appropriations Committees, to remind them that completion of their work on the FY25 budget and Farm Bill is critical to producers, researchers, and the public.

NCFAR Lunch-N-Learn Series
Over the years, the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (NCFAR) has hosted tens of thousands of attendees at hundreds of seminars and webinars. The goal of these signature events is to educate and empower staff on Capitol Hill and policy stakeholders about the value of public investment in food and agricultural research. NCFAR's popular "Lunch-N-Learn" series and webinars feature experts from institutions across the country sharing expertise on a wide range of topics. John McNamara, chair of the Science Policy Committee, was a presenter at the recent Lunch-N-Learn, "Coordination and Collaboration across the Land Grant System: The Western Water Network." His presentation focused on the congressionally requested study on "Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration across The Land Grant System," which was conducted by an ad hoc study committee (Blue Ribbon Panel) of the National Academies' Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources to help ensure that regional and national investments will continue to provide a critical return on the investment. More information about the session, including a link to the video presentation, is available on the Lunch-N-Learn website.

NIFA Environmental Justice Efforts Continue with Listening Session
As communities across the nation confront continuing environmental challenges and climate change, the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) continues its work to support the development of solutions to this pressing issue.

As part of this work, NIFA is holding a listening session to receive stakeholder input on potential agency actions related to environmental justice. The listening session will be at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 20. >Register for the session here.

NIFA will use the information and insights collected in the listening session to strengthen its program delivery.

NIFA's Call for Applications for Funding in 2025
NIFA wants to know, are you organizing an international event (conference or workshop) on state-of-the-art research issues in agriculture, food, fisheries, or forests in 2025? Would you like to spend time working with researchers in another country to help your research project, maybe as part of a sabbatical?

If so, you are urged to consider applying for funding from the intergovernmental Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Co-operative Research Program (CRP). Applications are now being accepted with a September 10 deadline. Learn more about CRP and how to apply.

Over 1,400 Organizations Sign Letter Calling on Congress to Strengthen SNAP
A major component of the Farm Bill is the feeding programs. The collaboration between farm and feeding programs has been critical to the passage of past Farm Bills. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) said it is imperative that Congress strengthens the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in several ways, including by improving benefit adequacy, permitting the purchase of hot foods, simplifying the eligibility requirements, and protecting participants from benefit theft.

More than 1,400 national, state, and local organizations joined togeather to urge Congress to prioritize protecting and strengthening SNAP in the upcoming Farm Bill.

A letter signed by the groups urges Congress to ensure that benefit adequacy, equitable access, and program administration remain core tenets of SNAP.

"SNAP is our nation's first line of defense against hunger," Ellen Teller, chief government affairs officer for FRAC, said in a news release. "Any legislative vehicle, including the Farm Bill, that presents a critical opportunity to combat food insecurity cannot move forward by weakening our key defense against hunger, We must strengthen SNAP."

To safeguard SNAP, efforts to create a cost-neutral Thrifty Food Plan must be rejected, the release said, adding that this includes opposing any proposed cuts, such as restricting future Thrifty Food Plan benefit adjustments, which could result in nearly $30 billion in cuts over 10 years. Such a cost-neutral plan would also negatively impact Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and Puerto Rico's Nutrition Assistance Program. (Read more here.)

Project Would Accelerate Development of Bird Flu Vaccine for Humans

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to the general public from the disease is low. Drugmaker Sinergium Biotech, based in Argentina, will lead a project to accelerate the development of a human vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the World Health Organization and the Medicines Patent Pool. The project is aimed at pharmaceutical companies in low- and middle-income nations and is intended to bolster pandemic preparedness worldwide.

Sinergium Biotech has developed H5N1 candidate vaccines, said the WHO. Once the company has established proof-of-concept, the technology, materials, and expertise will be transferred to manufacturing partners. (Read more here.)

Please contact me if you have questions, ideas, or suggestions on any of these or other policy issues. We will provide additional information on these and other emerging issues as it becomes available. We need to work together to maintain a strong and effective national research effort.

Ken Olson, PhD, PAS
Science Policy Coordinator
keolson@prodigy.net