The fiscal year 2014 budget proposed by President Obama was sent to Congress Wednesday, two months later than usual. The proposed budget would reduce the deficit by $38 billion over ten years, with savings resulting from eliminating direct payments, decreasing subsidies, and targeting conservation funding to high priority areas.
The proposed budget for USDA is $146 billion–$7 billion less than FY2013. Discretionary spending will remain the same as last year at $23 billion, and mandatory spending at $123 billion. However, USDA’s funding for ongoing discretionary operating and program expenses has decreased by over $1 billion since 2009.
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS): The agency’s overall budget is $3 million less than last year and estimates it will collect $163 million through existing user fee and trust fund activities for providing overtime, holiday, and voluntary inspection services. FSIS will submit a legislative proposal for a user fee collected from plants for additional inspections and related activities made necessary due to the failure in performance by the covered establishment. Total annual collections from this proposal are estimated at about $4 million. Examples of the increased costs for which a fee could be charged include food safety assessments, follow-up sampling, and additional investigations because of the outbreak of disease.
FSIS, as part of the Blueprint for Stronger Service Initiative, will streamline resources by reducing the number of district offices from 15 to 10. This consolidation will improve efficiency and consistency by more evenly distributing the establishments and FSIS employees overseen by each district office, FSIS said.
FSIS proposed in January 2012 a new poultry slaughter rule that would provide for a new inspection system for young chicken and turkey slaughter establishments replacing the current Streamlined Inspection System, the New Line Speed Inspection System, and the New Turkey Inspections System. The proposed new inspection system will facilitate the reduction of pathogen levels in poultry products, according to FSIS. At this time, FSIS is completing evaluation for comments to the proposed rule.
The budget included approximately $4.7 million to enable additional states to participate in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program, under which small and very-small state-inspected establishments are eligible to ship meat and poultry products across state lines. The request will be used to reimburse additional states 60 percent of their overall inspection costs under the program and to fund additional FSIS program management costs. The program is expected to expand from four states that have formally applied to as many as 20 states during FY2014.
The Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS): The APHIS FY2014 budget proposed a discretionary appropriation of about $801 million. The budget includes a total of $281 million to protect the health of livestock, poultry, and other animals. The proposal includes an increase for Animal Health Technical Services that support the improved animal disease traceability system.
APHIS is also consolidating locations with the closure of 15 offices domestically and five offices internationally. However more than 560 APHIS domestic offices and 55 international offices will remain open.
APHIS will also submit legislative proposals to authorize the collection of about $9 million in user fees for animal welfare activities, about $7 million in user fees for veterinary biologics activities, and $4 million in user fees for biotechnology regulatory services activities. The proposed user fees will place the cost of providing these services on the recipient rather than the U.S. taxpayer.
Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA): For FY2014, the budget includes a total authority of $91 million, of which $50 million is from existing inspection and weighing user fees. Of the discretionary appropriations, $23 million is for the packers and stockyards programs. Separately, GIPSA will submit legislation proposals to authorize the collection of fees for the development of grain standards and to amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to provide authority to collect licensed fees ($22 million) to cover the cost of the program.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS): The budget for ARS requests $1.3 billion for research, information, and buildings and facilities funding, which represents a slight increase over last year.
The budget proposes a $155 million to fund the replacement of the agency’s Southeast Poultry Disease Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Georgia. In 2012, a review of ARS facilities was completed that highlighted facilities with aging infrastructure and identified SEPRL as the highest priority facility recommended for modernization. “SEPRL has Biological Safety Level 2 Laboratory and Ag facilities that were constructed in 1964 and 1976, and those facility limitations now prevent critical, cutting edge research from being conducted. Construction of a new facility will enable USDA scientists to more adequately address emerging or exotic poultry diseases which threaten not only the Nation’s poultry industry but also the health of Americans,” ARS said.
In other areas, the budget provides the Foreign Agriculture Service funding at last year’s levels for both Foreign Market Development and Market Access Programs. In addition, $5.3 billion is provided to support a more than 378 million acres enrolled through Farm Bill conservation programs, including partnerships for the Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River Basin, and Gulf Coast.
