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This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on S. 2159, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1999, as
reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Your consideration of the
Administration's views would be appreciated.
The Administration appreciates efforts by the Committee to accommodate the
President's priorities within the 302(b) allocation. However, the
allocation is simply insufficient to make the necessary investments in
programs funded by this bill, as discussed below. The only way to achieve
the appropriate investment level is to offset discretionary spending by
using savings in other areas. The President's FY 1999 Budget proposes
levels of discretionary spending for FY 1999 that conform to the Bipartisan
Budget Agreement by providing savings through user fees and certain
mandatory programs to help finance discretionary spending. In the recently
enacted Transportation Equity Act, Congress -- on a broad, bipartisan basis
-- took similar action in approving funding for surface transportation
programs paid for with mandatory offsets. We want to work with the
Congress on mutually-agreeable mandatory and other offsets that could be
used to increase high-priority discretionary programs, including those
funded by this bill. In addition, we urge the Congress to adopt the user
fee proposals included in the President's budget, which would enable
additional resources to be directed to important initiatives such as those
proposed for food safety, nutrition programs, rural development, and
conservation.
Below is a discussion of our specific concerns with the Committee-reported
bill. We look forward to working with you to resolve these concerns as the
bill moves forward.
Civil Rights
The Administration is working to include in the bill a provision that
waives the statute of limitations for individuals who have previously filed
a discrimination claim against USDA. The President is personally committed
to righting any wrongs committed by USDA employees in years past, and a
great many individuals who were discriminated against will have no recourse
unless the statute of limitations is waived for them. We will continue to
work to identify appropriate offsets for the cost of this waiver.
In a number of areas, the Committee has reduced funds to assist the most
needy farmers and members of the rural community. The Committee does not
provide the requested increase for the Outreach for Socially Disadvantaged
Farmers program, which was a key recommendation of the Civil Rights Action
Team (CRAT) report last year. With the additional $7 million requested,
USDA could support 35 projects to assist 10,000 small family farms and stem
the continuing reduction in the number of minority farmers and ranchers.
Another recommendation in the CRAT report is to increase the amount of farm
ownership loans, a portion of which are targeted to minority and beginning
farmers. The Administration urges the Senate to provide the additional $3
million requested for this program by the President, which would permit
another 290 limited-resource farmers to finance real estate purchases.
This increase could be offset by approving the request to eliminate the
Forestry Incentives Program, which promotes timber production on private
lands.
Food Safety Initiative
The Administration is deeply concerned that the Committee has not fully
funded the President's request for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
USDA activities to enhance food safety, providing only $2.6 million out of
the $101 million the President has requested for these activities, $96
million of which is requested in this bill. American consumers enjoy the
world's safest food supply, but too many Americans get sick, and in some
cases die, from preventable food-borne diseases. The President's budget
increase would expand food safety research, risk assessment capabilities,
education, surveillance activities, and food import inspections. We want
to work with the Congress to explore options that can be used to offset the
cost of the needed increases in these programs as well as provide funds to
modernize further the meat and poultry inspection system.
Women, Infants, and Children
The Committee bill would freeze funding for the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at the FY 1998
level of $3.9 billion, $157 million below the President's request. This
would only support a participation level of between 7.3 and 7.4 million
women, infants, and children, and, based on FY 1998 year-end projections,
would mean cutting off over 100,000 needy participants from the program.
The President's request would maintain participation at 7.5 million,
fulfilling the bipartisan commitment to fully fund WIC. The Administration
strongly encourages the Senate to fund WIC at the President's requested
level.
On language issues regarding administration of the WIC program, the
Administration prefers the language included in the President's budget, in
order to maintain the viability of infant formula rebates and so that funds
are used to satisfy the highest priority WIC needs first. The
Administration also supports transferring the Farmers' Market Nutrition
Program to the Commodity Assistance Program, in order to prevent the
diversion of already limited WIC resources from supporting program
participation.
Arms Export Control Act Modification
The Administration supports section 738, which will ensure that American
farmers can continue to export wheat and other commodities to India and
Pakistan through USDA export assistance programs. As the President
recently announced, in the sanctions the U.S. is applying toward those
countries, we are attempting within the constraints of the Act to minimize
the humanitarian impact on their people and adverse effects on American
agriculture. Cutting off the supply of U.S. wheat would only hurt the
citizens of Pakistan and India, as well as American farmers, without
furthering the goal of nuclear nonproliferation.
Rural Development Funding
The Administration strongly objects to the Committee's blocking the
mandatory Fund for Rural America from being used in FY 1999. The Fund
provides additional resources for rural development and innovative
agricultural research that are vitally needed to improve the quality of
life in rural America and increase the productivity of U.S. farmers. The
intent of Congress in creating the Fund in 1996 was to boost the overall
Federal investment in these activities, not to offset discretionary
spending in them. Furthermore, Congress recently extended the authority
for the Fund while increasing its resources. We urge the Senate to strike
this provision.
In addition, the Committee has not fully funded the President's request for
the Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP), underfunding direct loans
for water and wastewater and for community facilities. These loans provide
the community infrastructure needed to improve the quality of life of rural
Americans, and often finance the vital ingredient for diversifying the
rural economy. The Committee bill would result in an estimated 35 fewer
water and wastewater facilities serving 50,000 rural residents, and 75
fewer rural health clinics, police and fire stations, and child care
facilities being built. Furthermore, for the RCAP program to be adaptable
to unique local economic development needs, as envisioned in its 1996 Farm
Bill authorization, the Senate should strike the Committee's limitation on
the flexibility to transfer funds among programs and allow the program to
be implemented as authorized.
Food and Drug Administration
The Administration strongly urges the Congress to provide the full $1,251
million in resources to fund the program level proposed for the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) in the President's budget. The Administration is
deeply disappointed and concerned that the Committee has not funded the
President's request for FDA's tobacco enforcement activities. This funding
is vital to the Administration's plan to reduce youth smoking. Congress'
failure thus far to pass comprehensive tobacco legislation should not
prevent the Committee from providing adequate resources for these critical
public health activities. We will work with the Congress to develop the
appropriate means of funding.
Agricultural Research
The Committee bill includes over $50 million in unrequested earmarks for
lower-priority research while funding competitive grants through the
National Research Initiative (NRI) at $33 million below the President's
request. The rejection of additional funds for competitive research grants
for national and regional priorities, in favor of earmarked grants for more
local or industry-specific requests, will slow progress toward addressing
the most pressing needs of American agriculture and food consumers, and we
urge the Senate to reverse this course of action. It can do so not only by
reducing earmarked grants in the bill, but by reducing the $9 million in
unrequested increases for the Agricultural Research Service's buildings and
facilities program. A task force created by the 1996 Farm Bill to review
the Nation's agricultural research facilities comprehensively is due to
report to Congress next year, and further construction should be minimized
until the Administration and Congress have had the opportunity to review
the report.
Climate Change and Clean Water Initiatives, and Conservation Programs
The Committee has not provided any of the $7 million increase requested for
additional research as part of the Administration's Climate Change
Technology Initiative. These funds would support high-priority research to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases caused by agricultural practices,
develop improved feedstocks that can be used to generate energy, and
improve techniques to convert agricultural products to biofuels. The
Administration urges the Senate to provide the necessary funding.
The Committee also has not included the Administration's requested increase
of $23 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to
implement the President's Clean Water Action Plan to help State and local
organizations hire watershed coordinators, document baseline conditions,
and target resources to farmers requesting assistance. The Plan, developed
by USDA and EPA, outlines a strategy on how to address water quality
problems, including polluted runoff, in watershed areas across the Nation.
The Administration urges the Senate to provide these necessary funds to the
NRCS.
In addition, the Administration is concerned with reductions in the
Committee bill to USDA mandatory conservation programs. The bill
eliminates funds to carry out a Conservation Farm Option program, and
reduces signups under the Wetlands Reserve Program by 25,000 acres, to
140,000 acres. These programs provide technical and financial assistance
to farmers to enable them to manage their land efficiently while providing
environmentally-beneficial improvements to wetlands, wildlife habitat, soil
erosion, and water quality. Taken together, the reductions in the bill to
conservation and environmental programs are objectionable, and we want to
work with the Senate to restore funding in this area.
Other Issues
- Additional funds are needed for the farm labor housing program to
improve the living conditions many farm labor families endure. The
Committee's level of $16 million in direct loans is more than 50 percent
below the Administration's request and, when coupled with the bill's $3
million reduction below the request for farm labor grants, would mean that
over 350 fewer housing units would be built compared with the request. We
urge the Senate to increase funding to assist these needy members of our
society. This could be achieved by shifting $11.5 million from the amount
in the bill that is in excess of the President's request for multi-family
housing direct loans.
- The Committee bill includes a $20 million reduction to the President's
request for the mandatory Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which
purchases commodities for individuals greatly in need of assistance.
Given reported increases in need for food assistance through food banks
and soup kitchens, the Administration is concerned that this reduction
from the authorized level would mean less food will reach the most
vulnerable Americans.
- The Administration objects to section 721 of the Committee bill, which
would limit Executive Branch review of USDA responses to congressional
inquiries. Congress expects the Administration to be responsible for
agency activities. This provision erodes that responsibility and is
contrary to the widespread congressional view that more, not less,
accountability is needed for improved management results. The
Administration urges the Senate to delete the provision.
- The Administration objects to section 735 of the Committee bill, which
would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from consolidating
laboratory operations. The proposed consolidation offers the opportunity
for better efficiency and mission coordination, and it is part of FDA's
overall streamlining goals. This provision would force FDA to spend funds
on infrastructure that could otherwise be used more directly to protect
public health. The Administration urges the Senate to delete this
provision.
- The Committee has provided none of the requested $22 million increase
for the Inspector General as part of the Administration's law enforcement
initiative. This USDA initiative would save taxpayers millions of dollars
lost through fraud in the food and nutrition programs, in USDA disaster,
multi-family housing, and other programs, as well as improve the integrity
of USDA programs. The Administration urges the Senate to increase funds
for this important initiative.
- The Committee bill provides funding for research on nutrition programs
within the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The Administration is very
pleased that funding for these activities is returned to the FNS, where
research on nutrition programs will occur in the context of the program's
administration.
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