Daschle: Cuts hurt ag areas

| Wednesday, February 11, 2004

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WASHINGTON — President Bush's proposed budget for next year shortchanges farmers and rural communities, Sen. Tom Daschle said.

The president's budget proposal, released last week, cuts the U.S. Department of Agriculture discretionary spending to $19.1 billion, an 8 percent drop, Daschle said, citing a Washington Post story. Programs slated for major cuts include conservation and rural development efforts, he said in a news release.

However, a USDA news release said discretionary spending for fiscal year 2005 is estimated at $20.8 billion, a 3 percent drop, or $720 million below the 2004 level.

Daschle said the president has proposed a $19 million cut in the Grassland Reserve Program, which was already underfunded and could not support the South Dakotans who applied to take part. The program encourages farmers and ranchers to maintain and conserve grassland.

"Land conservation efforts are extraordinarily important to our state, and I am disappointed that the president has chosen to underfund such valuable programs," Daschle said.

Bush also has called for a $3.9 billion cut in rural development services, including decreases for efforts to improve infrastructure and expand economic opportunities in rural America, Daschle said.

The president's budget also would cut almost $200 million in grants for water and sewer projects for smaller rural cities and towns.

However, the USDA budget included new money for food defense initiatives, efforts to fight mad cow disease and programs to prevent and fight fires on federal lands.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman last week said the fiscal year 2005 budget calls for $82 billion in spending, an increase of $4 billion, or about 5 percent, above levels for FY2004, and represents growth of 19 percent since the Bush administration took office, according to a USDA news release.

Highlights of the 2005 budget, according to USDA, include:

n An interagency initiative to improve the government's ability to respond to a bioterrorist attack. It includes $381 million to enhance monitoring and surveillance of pests and diseases in plants and animals; conduct research on emerging animal diseases; increase availability of vaccines; establish a system to track disease agents of plants; expand the unified Federal-State Diagnostic Network to all 50 states; and complete the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, Iowa.

n $952 million for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, an increase of $61 million over the 2004 level. Funding for FSIS will support 7,690 food safety inspectors. It will also provide training for the inspection work force, increase microbiological testing and sampling, strengthen foreign surveillance programs and increase public education efforts.

n Increases in funding for efforts to prevent, detect and combat mad cow disease.

n Total program level funding for Farm Bill conservation programs increases from about $2.2 billion in FY2001 to $3.9 billion in the FY2005 budget proposal. This is an increase of $385 million, or almost 11 percent over 2004.

n Expanded programs include $2 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program ($76 million more), $1 billion for the EQIP program ($25 million more), $295 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program to enroll an additional 200,000 acres, $125 million for the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program ($13 million more). In addition, it includes $421 million for, among other things, the Grassland Reserve Program, ground and surface water conservation, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and the new Conservation Security Program.

n A record of $47.9 billion for domestic food assistance programs, a $2.5 billion increase over FY2004, for such programs as food stamps and school lunch.

n $6.6 billion for USDA's export marketing efforts. Funding for USDA's market development programs, including the Market Access and Cooperator Programs, are maintained at current-year levels. A program level of $4.5 billion is provided for Commodity Credit Corp. export credit guarantee activities.

n $11.6 billion for rural development programs. The budget proposes $3.8 billion for Section 502 single family housing loans. The president's budget will provide nearly 43,000 new homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families in rural areas. In addition, $1.4 billion is requested for the water and waste disposal program, which will provide about 650,000 rural families with new or improved water and waste disposal facilities.

n $5.2 billion for programs of the USDA Forest Service.

Complete FY2005 budget information can be found at www.usda.gov/.