Wisconsin Ag Connection - National/World News - Vilsack Testifies to House Subcommittee on FY2011 Budget

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Vilsack Testifies to House Subcommittee on FY2011 Budget
USAgNet - 03/01/2010

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified before the House Appropriations Committee's agriculture subcommittee last week, answering questions on a range of issues, from farm policy to animal identification. He told members that USDA's proposed budget would effectively freeze discretionary programs, though mandatory expenditures for crop insurance and nutrition assistance would increase.

Vilsack defended USDA's latest draft proposal of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement, which calls for $6.9 billion in cuts, versus an original proposal of $8.4 billion. He also defended the Administration's proposal to reduce the cap on direct payments by 25 percent, from $40,000 to $30,000, claiming that it would affect a very small percentage of farmers.

The USDA's top official also answered questions on animal ID, food safety, nutrition spending and other proposals. Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) expressed severe concern about the USDA's animal ID proposal and about proposed levels of funding for international food aid programs, which remained flat despite higher food prices and increased numbers of hungry people worldwide.

USDA's budget proposals, released earlier in the month, sounded many familiar themes, but were ultimately a mixed bag, proposing to add some trade development monies and bump up funding for competitive agriculture research while also proposing to cut the cap on direct payments, lower payment eligibility limits, cut Market Access Program (MAP) dollars and reduce conservation spending.

As has been typical, more than 70 percent of the USDA budget under the proposals would go to nutrition programs. With the ongoing financial struggles many families are facing - and projections of more than 40 million people enrolled in SNAP, the food stamp program, in 2010 - that figure is not likely to change regardless of what budget Congress ultimately adopts.

Vilsack is scheduled to testify before the Senate Appropriations' agriculture subcommittee on Tuesday.