Jim Monke wrote this CRS report (19 July 2023): 'FY2024 Agriculture Appropriations: Status and Scope'.
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Status of Agriculture Appropriations
The Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), excluding the U.S. Forest Service. It also funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Department of Health and Human Services and, in even-numbered fiscal years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Table 1 shows the status of FY2024 action on Agriculture appropriations and the previous two fiscal years. For FY2024, both the House and Senate appropriations committees have reported bills.
Scope of Agricultural Spending
The federal budget process treats discretionary and mandatory spending differently. Committees in Congress are organized around these types of spending and their corresponding responsibilities for authorizing and appropriating. Federal spending for agricultural programs relies on both discretionary spending and mandatory spending.
Discretionary spending receives most of the attention during the annual appropriations process. Budget enforcement is through budget resolutions that set spending limits. Discretionary spending typically includes agency operations and grant programs. In FY2023, discretionary Agriculture appropriations are $25.5 billion (Table 2, Figure 1).
Mandatory spending is minimally addressed during the appropriations process and supports entitlement programs. Budget enforcement occurs during the authorization process (e.g., omnibus farm bills, which follow budget rules including Pay-As-You-Go). In FY2023, mandatory agriculture and nutrition spending is $216 billion.
Appropriations Amounts
For FY2024 USDA and FDA agency operations, the House-reported bill proposes $25.9 billion, a $615 million reduction (-2%) compared with FY2023. The Senate-reported bill proposes $26.8 billion, a $289 million increase (+1%). Both are less than the Administration’s request (Table 2).For the official total discretionary budget authority, the House-reported bill proposes $17.8 billion compared with $26 billion in the Senate-reported bill. Besides differences for agency operations, the House-reported bill proposes larger rescissions and scorekeeping adjustments (-$8.4 billion; Table 2). The House-reported bill’s rescissions include $5.8 billion from P.L. 117-169, commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act, for farm loan debt relief and rural energy programs and $1.7 billion from limiting the Commodity Credit Corporation and Section 32 accounts.
Related Products About Agricultural Spending
CRS Report R47560, Agricultural Conservation: FY2023 and FY2024 Appropriations
CRS In Focus IF12193, Farm and Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Account
CRS In Focus IF12233, Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics
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