Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Updated November 19, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45974 SUMMARY Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations The Agriculture appropriations bill funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) except for the U.S. Forest Service. It also funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and—in even-numbered fiscal years—the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

R45974 November 19, 2019 Jim Monke Specialist in Agricultural Policy Agriculture appropriations include both mandatory and discretionary spending. Discretionary amounts, though, are the primary focus during the bill'’s development. The largest discretionary spending items are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); agricultural research; rural development; FDA; foreign food assistance and trade; farm assistance loans and salaries; food safety inspection; animal and plant health programs; and technical assistance for conservation programs.

In the absence of an enacted full-year appropriation, FY2020 began on October 1, 2019, under a continuing resolution (P.L. 116-59, Division A).

For the regular annual appropriation, the Trump Administration requested in March 2019 $19.2 billion for discretionary-funded accounts within the jurisdiction of Agriculture appropriations subcommittees. The request would be a reduction of $4.1 billion from FY2019 (-18%).

On June 4, 2019, the House Appropriations Committee reported a stand-alone Agriculture appropriations bill ( (H.R. 3164, , H.Rept. 116-107) by a vote of 29-21. On June 25, 2019, the House passed a five-bill minibus appropriation with Agriculture as Division B (H.R. 3055). The discretionary total of the House-passed Agriculture appropriations bill is $24.3 billion. This is $1 billion more (+4%) than the comparable amount that was enacted for FY2019for FY2019 and $5.1 more (+27%) than the Administration'’s request.

On September 19, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported its Agriculture appropriations bill (S. 2522, , S.Rept. 116-110) by a vote of 31-0. ) by a vote of 31-0. On October 31, 2019, the Senate passed a four-bill minibus appropriation with Agriculture as Division B (H.R. 3055). The discretionary total of the Senate-reportedpassed bill is $23.1 billion. This is $58 $57 million more than the FY2019 appropriation (+0.32%), $4.2 billion more than the Administration'’s request, and $893894 million less than the House-passed bill on a comparable amount without CFTC (-3.7%).

The primary components of the $1 billion increase in the House-passed bill from FY2019 include increases to rural development accounts by $412 million (+14%, primarily for rural water, broadband, and housing), a rural broadband pilot program by $393 million (+314%), foreign agricultural assistance by $377 million (+19%), departmental administration by $205 million (+53%, primarily for construction to renovate USDA headquarters), agricultural research programming by $197 million (+6%), and FDA appropriations by $185 million (+6%). Reductions in budget authority include decreases to agricultural research buildings and facilities funding by -$331 million, rescinding WIC carryover balances an additional -$300 million, and eliminating temporary funding for international food assistance by -$216 million (with a larger increase to the base appropriation, as noted above in foreign agricultural assistance).

The primary differences that comprise the -$893894 million difference in the Senate-reported bill from the House-passedHousepassed bill include providing agricultural research $193 million more than in the House bill and department administration accounts $12397 million more than in the House bill. These greater allowances are more than offset by providing rural development $407 million less than in the House bill (largely from rural water and waste disposal grants), rural broadband in the General Provisions title $518 million less than in the House bill, foreign agricultural assistance $159 million less than in the House bill, and FDA $105 million less than the House bill.

Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, by Title, FY2019-FY2020

Source: Congressional Research Service Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, by Title, FY2019-FY2020 Source: CRS, using P.L. 116-6 (Division B), House-passed H.R. 3055 (Division B), and Senate-reported S. 2522. passed H.R. 3055 (Division B). Note: FDA = Food and Drug Administration, CFTC = Commodity Futures Trading Commission. For comparability, includes CFTC in Related Agencies in all columns regardless of jurisdiction.

The appropriation also carries mandatory spending that is largely determined in separate authorizing laws. These mandatory spending amounts total nearly $131 billion in the House-passed bill and $129 billion in the Senate-reportedSenatereported bill. Thus, the overall total of the FY2020 Agriculture appropriation would be about $155 billion in the House-passed bill and $152 billion in the Senate-reported bill.

Policy provisions may also be included that affect how the appropriation is delivered. This year, these provisions include issues such as the relocation of USDA agencies, disaster programs, rural definitions, livestock regulations, nutrition programs, and dietary guidelines.

Budget sequestration continues to affect mandatory agricultural spending accounts. Sequestration refers to automatic across-the-board reductions in spending authority. In FY2020, sequestration on mandatory spending accounts is 5.9% and totals about $1.4 billion for agriculture accounts. Recent budget acts have extended sequestration through FY2029.

In the absence of an enacted full-year appropriation, FY2020 began on October 1, 2019, under a Congressional Research Service Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Contents Status of FY2020 Agriculture Appropriations ................................................................................. 1 Scope of Agriculture Appropriations ............................................................................................... 4 Recent Trends in Agriculture Appropriations .................................................................................. 6 Action on FY2020 Appropriations .................................................................................................. 7 Administration’s Budget Request ............................................................................................. 7 Discretionary Budget Caps and Subcommittee Allocations...................................................... 7 Budget Resolution............................................................................................................... 7 Budget Caps ........................................................................................................................ 7 Discretionary Spending Allocations ................................................................................... 8 Budget Sequestration .......................................................................................................... 8 House Action ............................................................................................................................. 9 Comparison of Discretionary Authority: House-Passed Bill to FY2019 ............................ 9 Comparison of Mandatory Spending: House-Passed Bill to FY2019 .............................. 10 Senate Action .......................................................................................................................... 10 Comparison of Discretionary Authority: Senate-Passed Bill to FY2019........................... 11 Comparison of Discretionary Authority: Senate-Passed to House-Passed Bill ................ 12 Comparison of Mandatory Spending: Senate-Passed to House-Passed Bill ..................... 12 Continuing Resolutions ........................................................................................................... 13 Policy-Related Provisions ....................................................................................................... 21 Figures Figure 1. Timeline of Action on Agriculture Appropriations, FY2010-FY2020 ............................. 3 Figure 2. Scope of Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations ............................................ 5 Figure 3. Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, by Title, FY2010-FY2020 ............................ 6 Figure 4. BCA Discretionary Limits, FY2014-FY2021 .................................................................. 8 Tables Table 1. Status of FY2020 Agriculture Appropriations ................................................................... 1 Table 2. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Title, FY2019-FY2020 ................. 2 Table 3. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Agency, FY2017-FY2020 .......... 15 Table 4. Selected Policy Provisions Considered in FY2020 Agriculture Appropriations ............. 21 Table A-1. USDA Departmental Administration Appropriations .................................................. 25 Table B-1. General Provisions: Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS) ............... 27 Table B-2. General Provisions: Rescissions from Discretionary Accounts ................................... 28 Table B-3. General Provisions: Other Appropriations................................................................... 29 Table B-4. General Provisions: Scorekeeping Adjustments .......................................................... 32 Table C-1. Summary of Sequestration on Agriculture Accounts ................................................... 33 Table C-2. Sequestration of Mandatory Accounts ......................................................................... 36 Congressional Research Service Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Table D-1. Congressional Action on Agriculture Appropriations Since FY1996.......................... 39 Appendixes Appendix A. Appropriations in Administrative Accounts ............................................................. 25 Appendix B. Appropriations in General Provisions ...................................................................... 27 Appendix C. Budget Sequestration ............................................................................................... 33 Appendix D. Action on Agriculture Appropriations, FY1996-FY2020 ........................................ 39 Contacts Author Information........................................................................................................................ 40 Congressional Research Service Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Status of FY2020 Agriculture Appropriations In the absence of an enacted full-year appropriation, FY2020 began on October 1, 2019, under a continuing resolution (P.L. 116-59, Division A) that lasts until November 21, 2019.

For the regular annual Agriculture appropriation, the House passed a five-bill minibus appropriation on June 25, 2019 (H.R. 3055), and the Senate passed a four-bill minibus on October 31, 2019 (appropriation, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported its Agriculture appropriations bill on September 19, 2019 (S. 2522, S.Rept. 116-110). The House passed a five-bill minibus appropriation on June 25, 2019, with Agriculture appropriations in Division B (H.R. 3055). Senate floor action and final agreement between the chambers is pendingH.R. 3055) from Senate-reported bills as amended on the floor. In both cases, the Agriculture portion is Division B (Table 1). The Administration released its budget request in two parts: an overview on March 11, 2019, and more detailed documents on March 18, 2019 (Table 1). See . See Figure 1 for a decade-long comparison of timelines and Appendix D for more details.

To set overall spending levels, the House Appropriations Committee established its Agriculture subcommittee allocationspending levels to develop the bills, an Agriculture subcommittee allocation was established in the House on May 14, 2019 (H.Rept. 116-59). The Senate waited for an overall budget agreement before marking up bills. On August 2, 2019, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 ( (P.L. 116-37) raised the statutory caps on discretionary spending. The Senate Appropriations Committee subsequently set subcommittee allocationsA different subcommittee allocation was set in the Senate on September 12, 2019 (S.Rept. 116-104).

The discretionary total of the House-passed Agriculture appropriations bill is $24.3 billion. This is $1 billion more than (+4%) than the comparable amount for FY2019FY2019 that includes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)¹1 and $5.1 billion more than (+27%) than the request.

The $23.1 billion discretionary total in the Senate-reported bill would be $5857 million more than (+0.32%) the amount enacted for FY2019. This is $893894 million less than (-3.7%) the House-passed bill on a comparable basis without CFTC.

The appropriation also carries mandatory spending—though that is largely determined in separate authorizing laws—that totals nearly $131 billion in the House-passed bill and $129 billion in the Senate-reported bill. Thus, the overall total of the FY2020 Agriculture appropriation would be about $155 billion in the House bill and $152 billion in the Senate bill (Table 2).

Congressional Research Service 2 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Figure 1. Timeline of Action on Agriculture Appropriations, FY2010-FY2020

Source: CRS. For specific dates and links to bills, see Appendix D.

Congressional Research Service 3 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Scope of Agriculture Appropriations

The Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—funds all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), excluding the U.S. Forest Service.²2 It also funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Department of Health and Human Services and, in even-numberedevennumbered fiscal years, CFTC.

Jurisdiction is with the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and their Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. The bill includes mandatory and discretionary spending, but the discretionary amounts are the primary focus (Figure 2). Some programs are not in the authorizing jurisdiction of the House or Senate Agriculture Committees, such as FDA, WIC, and child nutrition (checkered regions in Figure 2).

). The federal budget process treats discretionary and mandatory spending differently:³

• 3  Discretionary spending is controlled by annual appropriations acts and receives most of the attention during the appropriations process. The annual budget resolution⁴ resolution4 process sets spending limits for discretionary appropriations. Agency operations (salaries and expenses) and many grant programs are discretionary.
• Mandatory spending⁵ is  Mandatory spending5 is carried in the appropriation and usually advanced unchanged, since it is controlled by budget rules during the authorization process.⁶6 Spending for so-called entitlement programs is determined in laws such as the 2018 farm bill⁷bill7 and 2010 child nutrition reauthorizations.⁸

8 In the FY2019 appropriation (P.L. 116-6), the discretionary amount was 15% ($23 billion) of the $152 billion total. Mandatory spending carried in the act comprised $129 billion, about 85% of the total, of which about $106 billion is attributable to programs in the 2018 farm bill.

Within the discretionary total, the largest spending items are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); agricultural research; rural development; FDA; foreign food aid and trade; farm assistance loans and salaries; food safety inspection; animal and plant health programs; and technical assistance for conservation program.

The main mandatory spending items are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other food and nutrition act programs, child nutrition (school lunch and related programs), crop insurance, and farm commodity and conservation programs that are funded through USDA's ’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). SNAP is referred to as an "“appropriated entitlement"” and requires an annual appropriation.⁹9 Amounts for the nutrition program are based on projected spending needs. In contrast, the CCC appropriations reimburse spending from a line of credit.¹⁰

10 2 Although the Forest Service is part of USDA, jurisdiction for its appropriations are in the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. 3 See CRS In Focus IF11032, Budgetary Decisionmaking in Congress; and CRS Report R44582, Overview of Funding Mechanisms in the Federal Budget Process, and Selected Examples. 4 See CRS Report R42388, The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction. 5 Mandatory spending creates funding stability and consistency compared to annual discretionary appropriations. In agriculture, it originated with farm commodity programs that had uncertain outlays due to weather and markets. 6 See CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process. 7 P.L. 115-334 (Agricultural Act of 2018). See CRS Report R45425, Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill. 8 P.L. 111-296 (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010). See CRS In Focus IF10266, An Introduction to Child Nutrition Reauthorization. 9 See CRS Report RS20129, Entitlements and Appropriated Entitlements in the Federal Budget Process. 10 See CRS Report R44606, The Commodity Credit Corporation: In Brief. Congressional Research Service 4 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Figure 2. Scope of Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations Figure 2. Scope of Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations FY2019 budget authority in billions of dollars

Source: CRS. CRS. Notes: SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; CCC = Commodity Credit Corporation; FCIC = Federal Crop Insurance Corporation; Section 32 = Funds for Strengthening Markets, Income and Supply; WIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; CSFP = Commodity Supplemental Food Program; FDA = Food and Drug Administration; FSA = Farm Service Agency, incl. Farm Production and Conservation Business Center; RMA = Risk Management Agency; FSIS = Food Safety and Inspection Service; APHIS = Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; NRCS = Natural Resources Conservation Service. Does not show agencies under $0.5 billion. Spending in the General Provisions are presented with the agencies.

. Congressional Research Service 5 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Recent Trends in Agriculture Appropriations

Discretionary Agriculture appropriations were at an all-time high in FY2010, declined through FY2013, and have gradually increased since then. Changes within titles have generally been proportionate to changes in the overall bill, though some areas have sustained relative increases, such as FDA and rural development.

The stacked bars in Figure 3 represent the discretionary authorization for each appropriations title. The total of the positive stacked bars is the budget authority in Titles I-VI. In FY2018, USDA reorganization affected the placement of some programs between Titles I and II of the bill (most noticeably, the Farm Service Agency). Prior to FY2018, the cumulative appropriation for the agencies was higher than the official discretionary total in the spending allocation (the blue line) because of the budgetary offset from negative amounts in Title VII (general provisions) and other negative scorekeeping adjustments. These negative offsets were mostly due to limits on mandatory programs and rescissions, which have been used less since FY2018.

Historical trends may be tempered by inflation adjustments, as shown in the dotted line. The inflation-adjusted total since FY2011 has been nearly level until a slightly higher trend line in the FY2018 appropriation.

Figure 3. Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, by Title, FY2010-FY2020

Source: CRS. CRS. Note: For FY2020, Adm is the Trump Administration'’s request; Hse is chamber-passed H.R. 3055, Division B; Sen is Senate-reported S. 2522. For comparability, includes CFTC in Related Agencies in all columns regardless of jurisdiction. The inflation-adjusted line was calculated using the gross domestic product price deflator. Amounts printed diagonally correspond to the solid blue line, which is the subcommittee allocation.

Congressional Research Service 6 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Action on FY2020 Appropriations

Administration' Administration’s Budget Request

The Trump Administration released a general overview of its FY2020 budget request on March 11, 2019,¹¹11 and a detailed budget proposal to Congress on March 18, 2019.¹² 12 USDA released its more detailed budget summary and justification,¹³13 as did the FDA,¹⁴14 and the independent agencies of the CFTC¹⁵CFTC15 and the Farm Credit Administration.¹⁶16 The Administration also highlighted separately some of its proposed reductions and eliminations.¹⁷

17 For accounts in the jurisdiction of the Agriculture appropriations bill, the Administration'’s budget requested $19.2 billion, a $4.1 billion reduction from FY2019 (-18%; Table 2, , Figure 3). The Administration released its budget request for FY2020 after Congress had enacted the omnibus FY2019 appropriation in February 2019 (P.L. 116-6). Amounts in the FY2019 column of the Administration' Administration’s budget documents are based on FY2018 levels, not enacted FY2019 amounts.

Discretionary Budget Caps and Subcommittee Allocations

Budget enforcement has procedural and statutory elements. The procedural elements relate to a budget resolution and are enforced with points of order. The statutory elements impose discretionary spending limits and are enforced with budget caps and sequestration.¹⁸

Budget Resolution

18 Budget Resolution Typically, each chamber'’s Appropriations Committee receives a top-line limit on discretionary budget authority, referred to as a "“302(a)"” allocation, from the Budget Committee via an annual budget resolution. The Appropriations Committees then in turn subdivide the allocation among their subcommittees, referred to as the "“302(b)"” allocations.¹⁹

19 For FY2020, the House did not report or pass a budget resolution. The Senate Budget Committee reported S.Con.Res. 12, though it received no further action.

Budget Caps

Budget Caps The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25) set discretionary budget caps through FY2021 as a way of reducing federal spending.²⁰20 Sequestration is an across-the-board backstop to achieve budget reductions if spending exceeds the budget caps (2 U.S.C. §901(c)).²¹

Bipartisan Budget Acts (BBAs) have avoided sequestration on discretionary spending—with the exception of FY2013—by raising those caps four times in two-year increments in 2013, 2015, 21 Office of Management and Budget (OMB), A Budget for a Better America: President’s Budget FY 2020. OMB, FY2020 Budget of the U.S. Government, Appendix. 13 USDA, FY2020 USDA Budget Summary; and USDA, FY2020 Budget Explanatory Notes. 14 FDA, FY2020 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations. 15 CFTC, FY2020 President’s Budget Request. 16 Farm Credit Administration, FY2020 Proposed Budget and Performance Plan. 17 OMB, FY2020 Budget of the U.S. Government, Major Savings and Reforms. 18 CRS Report R42388, The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction. 19 References to 302(a) and 302(b) are to sections of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 20 CRS Report R44874, The Budget Control Act: Frequently Asked Questions. 21 CRS Report R42972, Sequestration as a Budget Enforcement Process: Frequently Asked Questions. 11 12 Congressional Research Service 7 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Bipartisan Budget Acts (BBAs) have avoided sequestration on discretionary spending—with the exception of FY2013—by raising those caps four times in two-year increments in 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2019 (Figure 4).²²).22 Most recently, the BBA of 2019 (P.L. 116-37) raised the cap on nondefense discretionary spending by $78 billion for FY2020 (to $621 billion) and by $72 billion for FY2021 (to $627 billion). The amount for FY2020 is 4.1% greater than the nondefense cap in FY2019. The BBA also provides language to execute (or "deem"“deem”) those higher caps for the appropriations process without a budget resolution.²³

23 Figure 4. BCA Discretionary Limits, FY2014-FY2021 Budget authority in billions of nominal dollars

Source: CRS Insight IN11148, The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019: Changes to the BCA and Debt Limit.

. Discretionary Spending Allocations

In the absence of a budget resolution and before the BBA that occurred in August, the House Appropriations Committee on May 14, 2019, set an overall discretionary target and provided the subcommittees with 302(b) allocations (H.Rept. 116-59). The allocation for the House Agriculture appropriations subcommittee is $24.3 billion, $1 billion greater (+4.3%) than the comparable amount for the enacted FY2019 Agriculture appropriation (Table 2).

). The Senate chose to wait for the overall budget agreement in the BBA of 2019 before setting subcommittee allocations or proceeding to mark up any appropriations bills for FY2020. On September 12, 2019, the Senate Appropriations Committee set its subcommittee allocations ( (S.Rept. 116-104). The allocation for the Agriculture appropriation subcommittee in the Senate is $23.1 billion, $0.1 billion greater (+0.3%) than the enacted FY2019 appropriation.

Without Congress having agreed on a joint budget resolution, subcommittee allocations are different between the chambers and eventually need to be reconciled.

Budget Sequestration

Budget Sequestration Despite the BBA agreements that raise discretionary spending caps and avoid sequestration on discretionary accounts, sequestration still applies to mandatory spending. Sequestration on mandatory accounts began in FY2013, continues to the present, and has been extended beyond 22 23 CRS Insight IN11090, Increasing the BCA Spending Limits: Characteristics of Previously Enacted Legislation. CRS Insight IN11148, The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019: Changes to the BCA and Debt Limit. Congressional Research Service 8 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations the original FY2021 sunset of the BCA. The various BBAs continue sequestration on mandatory spending through FY2029. See Appendix A for more on budget sequestration and its effects on agriculture spending.

House Action

House Action The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY2020 bill on May 23, 2019, by voice vote.²⁴24 On June 4, 2019, the full Appropriations Committee passed and reported an amended bill (H.R. 3164, , H.Rept. 116-107) by a vote of 29-21. The committee adopted four amendments by voice vote.²⁵

25 On June 25, 2019, the House passed a five-bill minibus appropriation (H.R. 3055) with the Agriculture bill as Division B (Table 1, , Figure 1). Under a structured rule,²⁶26 the Rules Committee allowed 35 amendments for floor debate (H.Res. 445, , H.Rept. 116-119). The House considered 33 of those amendments, of which 31 were adopted and two were rejected. Of the 31 amendments that were adopted, 28 were adopted en bloc by voice vote, two were adopted by recorded votes, and another was adopted separately by voice vote. Of the 31 amendments that were adopted, 1614 revised funding amounts with offsets,²⁷27 three added policy statements, and 12 14 made no substantive changes but were for the purposes of discussion.

The $24.3 billion discretionary total in the House-passed FY2020 Agriculture appropriation would be $1 billion more than (+4%) the comparable amount enacted for FY2019 that includes the CFTC (Table 2, , Figure 3). Generally speaking, the House-passed bill does not include most of the reductions proposed by the Administration.

Comparison of Discretionary Authority: House-Passed Bill to FY2019

Table 3 provides details of the House-passed bill at the agency level. The primary changes from FY2019 that comprise the $1 billion increase, ranked by increases and decreases, include:

•   Increase Rural Development accounts by $412 million (+14%), including a $144 million increase for the Rural Housing Service (+9%) and a $238 million increase for the Rural Utilities Service (+38%) to support rural water and waste disposal and rural broadband. In addition, the General Provisions title includes a $393 million increase for a rural broadband pilot program (+314%).
• Increase foreign agricultural assistance by $377 million (+19%), including increasing Food for Peace humanitarian assistance by $350 million and McGovern-Dole Food for Education by $25 million. In FY2019, Food for Peace had received a temporary increase of $216 million in the General Provisions title. The larger FY2020 amount would be to the program's base appropriation rather 24 See the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee website for the bill draft and report draft. House Appropriations Committee, “FY2020 Full Committee Adopted Amendments,” June 4, 2019. 26 CRS Report R42933, Regular Appropriations Bills: Terms of Initial Consideration and Amendment in the House, FY1996-FY2015. 27 These 14 amendments added $109 million spread across rural broadband, distance learning and telemedicine, dairy innovation, 1890s institutions, geographically disadvantaged farmers, nutrition initiatives, farm-to-school, rural energy, and opioid abuse. They remained budget neutral by reducing (offsetting) seven mostly administrative accounts by $110 million, including the Chief Information Officer (-$52 million), Office of General Counsel (-$30 million), Departmental Administration (-$21 million), Office of Communications (-$3.6 million), Office of the Secretary (-$1 million), Agricultural Marketing Service (-$1 million), and Agriculture Buildings and Facilities (-$1 million). These reductions were about 98% of the committee-proposed amount for the Departmental Administration, 73% of the Office of General Counsel, and 52% of the Chief Information Officer. See Table A-1. 25 Congressional Research Service 9 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations    The larger FY2020 amount would be to the program’s base appropriation rather than the FY2019 approach that used the General Provisions. than the FY2019 approach that used the General Provisions.
• Increase related agencies appropriations by $232 million, including raising FDA appropriations by $185 million (+6%) and the CFTC by $47 million (+18%).
• Increase other agricultural program appropriations by $151 million, including:
•  Increase departmental administration accounts by a net $205 million (+53%), including funding most of the Administration'Administration’s request for a $271 million increase for construction to renovate USDA headquarters.
•  Increase USDA regulatory programs by $56 million, including increasing the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service by $23 million (+2%) and the Agricultural Marketing Service by $33 million (+20%).
•  Decrease agricultural research by a net $134 million (-4%), mostly through smaller appropriations for construction. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) construction would be reduced by $331 million from FY2019 (-87%), while salaries and expenses would increase for ARS (+$44 million, +3%) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (+$146 million, +10%).
• Some of these increases are offset by a net change of -$175 million in budget authority that is accomplished through the General Provisions title. This is mostly a combination of greater rescissions of carryover balances in WIC (-$300 million) and the absence of continuing the FY2019 appropriations in the General Provisions for Food for Peace (-$216 million, as mentioned above) and rural water and waste disposal (-$75 million). The General Provisions provide increases in funding for rural broadband (+$393 million, as mentioned above) and several appropriations for miscellaneous programs (+$33 million).

Comparison of Mandatory Spending: House-Passed Bill to FY2019

In addition to discretionary spending, the House-passed bill also carries mandatory spending— largely determined in separate authorizing laws—that totals $131 billion. This is about $2 billion more than in FY2019 often because of automatic changes from economic conditions and expectations about enrollment in entitlement programs. Reimbursement for the CCC would increase by $10 billion, mostly due to the cost of the Trump Administration's ’s trade aid assistance that was announced in 2018.²⁸28 Child nutrition programs would increase by $0.9 billion. Crop insurance spending would decrease by $6.4 billion, and SNAP spending decreases by about $2.4 billion.

CHIMPS from the 2018 farm bill are incorporated in these spending levels and were subject to budgetary enforcement at enactment of the 2018 farm bill.²⁹

Senate Action

farm bill.29 Senate Action The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY2020 bill on September 17, 2019. On September 19, 2019, the full Appropriations Committee passed and reported an See CRS Report R45310, Farm Policy: USDA’s 2018 Trade Aid Package. Most of the trade aid announced in 2019 (see CRS Report R45865, Farm Policy: USDA’s 2019 Trade Aid Package) is likely to be paid out (outlays) in FY2020 and reimbursed in the FY2021 appropriation after those payments are incorporated into CCC’s net realized losses. 29 See CRS Report R45425, Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill. 28 Congressional Research Service 10 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations amended bill (S. 2522, , S.Rept. 116-110) by a vote of 31-0. The committee adopted a manager's ’s amendment with three additions to bill text and 19 additions to report language.³⁰

30 On October 31, 2019, the Senate passed a four-bill minibus appropriation (H.R. 3055, after adopting S.Amdt. 948 in the nature of a substitute, which was comprised of four Senate-reported bills and amended by floor amendments). The Agriculture bill is Division B (Table 1, Figure 1). The Senate adopted 16 amendments to Division B, of which 14 were adopted en bloc by unanimous consent and two were adopted by recorded votes. Of these 16 amendments, eight revised funding amounts with offsets,31 three revised funding amounts within an existing appropriation, three changed the terms of an appropriation, and two required reports or studies. The $23.1 billion discretionary total in the Senate-reported FY2020 Agriculture appropriation would be $5857 million more than (+0.32%) the amount enacted for FY2019 (Table 2, , Figure 3). ). The Senate bill is $893894 million less than (-3.7%) the House-passed bill on a comparable basis without CFTC. Generally speaking, the Senate-reported bill does not include most of the reductions proposed by the Administration. Table 3 provides details of the Senate-reported bill at the agency level.

Comparison of Discretionary Authority: Senate-Passed Bill to FY2019

Compared to FY2019 and ranked by increases and decreases, the primary changes that comprise the $5857 million overall increase are the following:

•  Increase USDA departmental administration accounts by a net $328302 million (+84 (+77%), including a requested $271 million increase to renovate USDA headquarters and a $46 million increase for the Chief Information Officer.
•  Increase foreign agricultural assistance by $218 million (+11%), mostly by incorporating $216 million into the base appropriation of Food for Peace that had been a temporary increase in the FY2019 General Provisions title.
• Increase other appropriations by $184 million, including:
•  Increase FDA appropriations by $80 million (+3%).
•  Increase agricultural research by a net $60 million (+1.7%). ARS salaries and expenses would increase by $121 million from FY2019 (+9%) and NIFA by $13 million (+1%). The amount for ARS buildings and facilities would decline by $76 million (-20%).
•  Increase USDA regulatory programs by $39 million, including increasing the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service by $17 million (+2%) and the Agricultural Marketing Service by $22 million (+14%).
•  Maintain Rural Development funding (+$5 million, +0.2%) by offsetting a $73 million increase for the Rural Housing Service (+5%) with reductions to the Rural Utilities Service (-$62 million, -10%) and the Rural Business Cooperative Service ($12 million, -12%). The General Provisions title does  Senate Appropriations Committee, “FY2020 Agriculture Manager’s Package,” September 19, 2019. These eight amendments added $25 million spread across food insecurity, urban agriculture, equine encephalitis, pet shelter and housing, distance learning and telemedicine, tribal student scholarships, 1890s institutions, and the farm and ranch stress network. They remained budget neutral by reducing (offsetting) three administrative accounts by $26 million, including Agriculture Buildings and Facilities (-$14 million), Chief Financial Officer (-$6 million), and Departmental Administration (-$6 million). These reductions were about 44% of the committee-proposed amount for the Departmental Administration and 27% of the Chief Financial Officer (Table A-1). 30 31 Congressional Research Service 11 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations  Cooperative Service ($12 million, -12%). The General Provisions title does not continue any funding for a rural broadband pilot program. not continue any funding for a rural broadband pilot program.
• Most of these increases are offset by a net change of -$697672 million in budget authority that is accomplished through the General Provisions title. This is mostly a combination of greater rescissions of carryover balances in WIC (-$300 million) and the absence of continuing the FY2019 appropriations in the General Provisions for Food for Peace (-$216 million, as mentioned above), rural broadband (-$125 million, as mentioned above), and rural water and waste disposal (-$75 million). The General Provisions title increases appropriations for several miscellaneous programs (+$3964 million).

Comparison of Discretionary Authority: Senate-Passed to to the House-Passed Bill

Compared to the House-passed bill and ranked by increases and decreases, the primary changes in the Senate-reported bill that comprise the -$893894 million difference from the House bill include:

•       Agricultural research would be $193 million greater in the Senate-reported bill than in the House-passed bill. ARS buildings and facilities would be $255 million greater than in the House-passed bill, ARS salaries and expenses $77 million greater, and NIFA $132 million less.
• Departmental administration accounts would be $12397 million greater in the Senate bill than in the House bill, mostly by maintaining appropriations for the Chief Information Officer, General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary forDepartmental Administration that were reduced as offsets to pay for floor amendments that were adopted in the House bill.
• Rural Development would be $407 million less in the Senate-reported bill than in the House-passed bill, mostly by a $300 million less for the Rural Utilities Service ($233 million less for rural water and waste disposal grants, $41 million less for distance learning and telemedicine, and $25 million less for existing non-pilotnonpilot rural broadband programs), $70 million less for Rural Housing Service, and $22 million less for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
• In addition, for a separate rural broadband pilot account, the General Provisions title in the Senate-reported bill does not provide for any of the $518 million that the House bill would provide.
• Foreign agricultural assistance would be $159 million less in the Senate bill than in the House bill, mostly by not increasing Food for Peace as much as in the House bill, and maintaining the McGovern-Dole program at a constant level.
• FDA appropriations would be $105 million less in the Senate-reported bill than in the House-passed bill.

Comparison of Mandatory Spending: Senate-Passed to to the House-Passed Bill

In addition to discretionary spending, the Senate-reported bill also carries mandatory spending— largely determined in separate authorizing laws—that totals $129 billion. This is $153 million less than in FY2019 and $2.3 billion less than in the House-passed bill. Compared to the House-passedHousepassed bill, amounts for CCC and crop insurance are the same. Mandatory amounts for the child nutrition programs are about $400 million less than the House bill, and the amount for SNAP is about $1.9 billion less than in the House bill.

Continuing Resolutions

Congressional Research Service 12 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Continuing Resolutions In the absence of a final Agriculture appropriation at the beginning of FY2020 on October 1, 2019, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to continue operations and prevent a government shutdown (P.L. 116-59, Division A).³¹32 The CR lasts nearly eight weeks until November 21, 2019.

In general, a CR continues the funding rates and conditions that were in the previous year's appropriation.³²’s appropriation.33 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may prorate funding to the agencies on an annualized basis for the duration of the CR through a process known as apportionment.³³34 For the first 52 days (14%) of FY2020 through November 21, 2019, the CR:

•   Continues the terms of the FY2019 Agriculture appropriations act (§101) with a proviso for rural development in the anomalies below.
• Provides sufficient funding to maintain mandatory program levels, including for nutrition programs (§111).35 This is similar to the approach taken in recent years.

CRs may adjust prior-year amounts through anomalies or make specific administrative changes. Five anomalies apply specifically to the Agriculture appropriation during this CR:

•     Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program (§101(1)). . Allows the CR to cover the cost of directdirect loans in addition to loan guarantees and grants. In FY2019, direct loans did not require appropriation because they had a negative subsidy rate (i.e., fees and repayments more than covered the cost of loan making). In FY2020, OMB estimates a need for a positive subsidy rate.
• Disaster Assistance for Sugar Beet Processors (§116).. Amends the list of eligible losses that may be covered under the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of FY2019 (P.L. 116-20, Title I) to include payments to cooperative processors for reduced sugar beet quantity and quality. The FY2019 supplemental provided $3 billion to cover agricultural production losses in 2018 and 2019 from natural disasters.³⁴
• Agricultural Research 36 Agricultural Research (§117).(§117). Allows USDA to waive the non-federal matching funds requirement for grants made under the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (7 U.S.C. §7632(g)(3)). The requirement was added in the 2018 farm bill.
• Summer Food for Children Demonstration Projects (§118). . Allocates funding for the Food and Nutrition Service summer food for children demonstration projects at a rate so that projects can fully operate by May 2020 (prior to summer service, which typically starts in June). Similar provisions have been part of previous CRs. These projects, which include the Summer Electronic Benefit 32 CRS Report R45982, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2020 (P.L. 116-59). CRS Report R42647, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices. 34 For example, if a CR lasts for three months, then three-twelfths of the previous fiscal year amount may be apportioned to limit agency spending. See OMB, “Apportionment of the Continuing Resolution(s) for Fiscal Year 2020,” September 30, 2019, See also CRS Report RL34700, Interim Continuing Resolutions (CRs): Potential Impacts on Agency Operations. 35 The OMB bulletin about CRs (footnote 34) identifies the scope of mandatory programs included in Section 111 by referencing the conference report for the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (H.Rept. 105-217). For Agriculture appropriations, these include SNAP, child nutrition, CCC, crop insurance, Section 32, and the dairy indemnity program. 36 For more information, see CRS In Focus IF11245, FY2019 Supplemental Appropriations for Agriculture. 33 Congressional Research Service 13 Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations   previous CRs. These projects, which include the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) demonstration, have operated in selected states since FY2010.37 CCC (§119).Transfer (EBT) demonstration, have operated in selected states since FY2010.³⁵
• CCC (§119). Allows CCC to receive its appropriation about a month earlier than usual to reimburse the Treasury for a line of credit, prior to a customary final report and audit.³⁶38 Many payments to farmers are due in October 2019, including USDA' USDA’s plan to make supplemental payments under its trade assistance program.³⁷39 Without the anomaly, CCC might have exhausted its $30 billion line of credit in October or November before the audit is completed, which could suspend payments. This provision was part of a CR in FY2019. In addition, the FY2020 CR requires USDA to submit a report to Congress by October 31, 2019, with various disaggregated details about Market Facilitation Program payments, trade damages, and whether commodities were purchased from foreign-owned companies under the program.
• Hemp Hemp (§120).. Provides $16.5 million on an annualized basis to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to implement the Hemp Production Program ( (P.L. 115-334, §10113), which was created in the 2018 farm bill.³⁸

Policy-Related Provisions

Agriculture appropriations Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2020 Appropriations Policy-Related Provisions Appropriations bills have also been a vehicle for policy-related provisions that direct how the executive branch should carry out thean appropriation. These provisions may have the force of law if they are included in the text of the appropriation, but their effect is generally limited to the current fiscal year. In some instances, the provisions may amend the U.S. Code and have long-standing effects.

In addition to the text of an unless they amend the U.S. Code. Table 4 compares some of the primary policy provisions that are included in the FY2020 Agriculture appropriations bills. In addition to the text of an appropriations act, report language may also provide policy instructions. Although report language does not carry the force of text in an act, it often explains congressional intent, which the agencies may be expected to follow. IndeedStatements in the committee reports that accompany the committee-reported versions of the FY2020 bills (H.Rept. 116-107 for H.R. 3164, and S.Rept. 116-110 for S. 2522) are not included in Table 4. In the past, Congress has said that committee and conference reports may need to be read together to capture all of the congressional intent for a fiscal year. For example, the FY2019 explanatory statement for the consolidated appropriations act instructs that the House and Senate reports should be read together with the conference agreement:

Congressional Directives. The explanatory statement is silent on provisions that were in both the House Report (H.Rept. 115-706) and Senate Report (S.Rept. 115-259) that remain unchanged by this conference agreement, except as noted in this explanatory statement. The conference agreement restates that executive branch wishes cannot substitute for Congress' Congress’s own statements as to the best evidence of congressional intentions, which are the official reports of the Congress…. The House and Senate report language that is not changed by the explanatory statement is approved and indicates congressional intentions. The explanatory statement, while repeating some report language for emphasis, does not intend to negate the language referred to above unless expressly provided herein.³⁹

Table 4 compares some of the primary policy provisions that are included in the text of the FY2020 Agriculture appropriations bills. Statements in the committee reports that accompany the bills may also express congressional intent but are not included in this table.