Washington Report for 4-27-12

By Steve Kopperud

Agriculture Bill Is Endorsed by Senate Appropriations

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a draft fiscal 2013 spending bill by a vote of 28-1 with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) casting the only dissenting vote. The measure would provide $20.8 billion in discretionary spending for the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and related programs.

Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) said the increase from fiscal 2012 is due to two anomalies: an increase in food costs that has driven up food assistance expenses and a lack of farm bill savings that were previously available. The measure, which skipped subcommittee consideration, would provide $2.5 billion for the FDA, roughly the same as in fiscal 2012.

The figure is $50 million less than the amount requested by the Obama administration and $1.2 billion more than the level enacted in fiscal 2012, without counting fiscal 2012 disaster funding.  The bill:

• Includes an increase of $12.5 million to implement the 2011 food safety overhaul but does not include several proposed new FDA user fees that have not yet been authorized.
• Provides $7 billion for food assistance under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), $422 million more than in fiscal 2012.
• Provides $1 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service and $1.5 billion for foreign food assistance under the Food for Peace program.
• Provides $1.2 billion for the National Institute on Food and Agriculture and $1.1 billion for the Agricultural Research Service. The funding level is below the administration’s budget request, but the panel placed additional emphasis on the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which would receive $298 million.
• Provides $2.3 billion for rural development and $828 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It would provide $1.2 billion for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency and $411 million for farm loan programs.

The panel also gave unanimous consent approval to a manager’s package including policy language recommendations from several senators.

Quick Response in Mad Cow Discovery

A California dairy cow has tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. for the first time since 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday. Officials were quick to assure the public that the slaughtered former dairy cow was located at a rendering plant, and that its meat was never going to enter the human food supply. The animal in question was found to be infected through a surveillance program, which annually tests some 40,000 cows for the disease. In the U.S., there have only been four confirmed cases of mad cow disease, including this one.

The samples went to the food safety lab at the University of California, Davis on April 18. By April 19, markers indicated the cow could have BSE. It was sent to the USDA lab in Iowa for further testing. On Tuesday, federal agriculture officials announced the findings: the animal had atypical BSE. That means it didn't get the disease from eating infected cattle feed, said John Clifford, the Agriculture Department's chief veterinary officer. The agency is now searching for any bovines that were herd mates of the infected cow when it was younger as well as any offspring.