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To
the NASULGC System:
- Board on Agriculture Assembly
- Budget and Advocacy Committee
- Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
- Council on Governmental Affairs
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
unanimously approved today a new five-year Farm Bill, clearing the way for
debate in the full Senate. Included among the major provisions was a
strong “Research Title” embracing many of the central precepts of
the CREATE-21 proposal and including the majority of the land-grant
system’s suggested enhancements to current law.
A major shortcoming in the Senate Farm Bill is the diversion to
other uses of $200 million per year in mandatory (not subject to
annual appropriations) funding from the Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) for the Initiative for
Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) program in fiscal years
2010 to 2012.
As you know, the IFAFS program was designed to provide a major
funding stream to the university community to support innovative
projects which integrate research with extension and/or education.
Although funding for IFAFS in recent years has been “captured”
(through budgetary adjustments) by either the White House Office of
Management and Budget, or the congressional appropriations or
agriculture committees, in F.Y. 2000 - F.Y. 2001 $240,000,000 was
provided to the land-grant system via IFAFS, and the system has
fought hard for a full restoration of these funds beginning in
fiscal year 2010. We were successful in the House of
Representatives, and full IFAFS funding was included in H.R. 2419,
the 2007 Farm Bill approved by the House on July 27.
NASULGC president Peter McPherson summed up our position on the
IFAFS situation in a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman
Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).
McPherson’s letter, released on the eve of the markup, says in
relevant part:
“[Our primary] reservation with respect to the bill concerns the
diversion of $200 million per year in mandatory funding that would
otherwise be available to the land-grant system through the existing
Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) program.
While we are appreciative of the authorizations provided for the new
organics and specialty crops research programs, we remain extremely
supportive of the broad-based IFAFS funding and hope that this
authority can be restored before the Farm Bill is enacted into law.”
CREATE-21
The CREATE-21 proposal — as embodied in H.R. 2398 (introduced in the
House by Rep. John Barrow) — had three major provisions to: (1)
create a new National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve USDA science
agency coordination and efficiency; (2) double authorized funding
for food, agriculture, and natural resources research, education,
and extension at USDA over a seven-year period; and (3) enhance
numerous research, extension, and education programs sought by
NASULGC member institutions.
The Senate version of the Farm Bill embraces many elements of the
NIFA concept, creating a new USDA science agency reporting to the
Secretary of Agriculture and including all of the research,
teaching, and public outreach programs and activities currently
managed by CSREES.
The new NIFA would have four program offices: (1) Agriculture
Research, Extension, and Education Network (embracing all existing
land-grant “capacity” programs, including those where funds are
distributed by formula); (2) Competitive Programs for Fundamental
Research; (3) Competitive Programs for Applied Research; and (4)
Competitive Programs for Education and Other Purposes. The NIFA
director would have the discretion to divide programs that intersect
more than one competitive program office.
In addition, the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research,
Education, and Economics at USDA would be required to coordinate the
programs of NIFA with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and
prepare an annual report to Congress detailing such coordination.
The Under Secretary would also be tasked with preparing a “roadmap”
for agricultural research to identify major opportunities and gaps
in agricultural research, extension, and education, and to use this
roadmap to set the research agenda and frame the budgetary requests
for the USDA.
Also, the BAA leadership has identified some structural problems
concerning the relationship of the NIFA Director to the Under
Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics that may need to be
addressed during the House-Senate conference.
Unfortunately, the Senate bill does not provide the significant
funding increases that are so critically needed by the land-grant
system. Although the bill provides $32 million per year in mandatory funding
for new specialty crops and organics research programs ($16 million
each) and
authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” (above current
programmatic authorizations) to help NIFA meet the “opportunities
and gaps” identified in the new roadmap, the legislation does not
include the $200 million per year in mandatory (not subject to
annual appropriations) funding contained in current law and retained
in CREATE-21 and the
House-passed version of the Farm Bill.
NEXT STEPS
The full Senate plans to take up the Farm Bill within the next few
weeks, perhaps as early as next week. After the Senate has
approved its bill, a joint House-Senate conference committee will be
impaneled to reconcile the differences between the two versions of
the legislation. Since the Farm Bill remains a top legislative
priority, we expect continued action in the next few weeks. Please
be alert for additional requests from the leadership of NASULGC’s
CREATE-21 / Farm Bill Committee as we work to influence the final
version of the 2007 Farm Bill. We will, of course, be working to
protect the good progress we have collectively made thus far and to
improve the bill in conference.
The Cornerstone Team |
