The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday approved a spending bill for fiscal year 2017 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. The vote was by voice, with the lone dissent appearing to be Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). The bill, which includes total funding of mandatory farm and nutrition spending, is $147 billion, with a discretionary allocation of $21.3 billion, also includes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Farm Credit Administration. The total funding is $451 million below fiscal year 2016 levels and $181 million below the president’s request.
Along with full funding of $200 million for the Market Access Program (MAP) and $34.5 million for Foreign Market Development (FMD), the bill also includes $10 million for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to monitor the use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance on farms. The bill also includes funding increases for rural development, $5 million for education on the Food Safety Modernization Act, and funds to fight avian influenza and other plant and animal threats. In addition, the bill also includes an increase of $33 million for food safety programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), bringing the total for FDA to $1.3 billion.
The full committee plans to take up the bill on Tuesday, April 19.
