Order Code RL34132
Agriculture and Related Agencies:
FY2008 Appropriations
August 27, 2007
Jim Monke, Coordinator
Resources, Science, and Industry Division

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The annual consideration of appropriations bills (regular, continuing, and supplemental) by
Congress is part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the
consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending
measures, and reconciliation bills. In addition, the operation of programs and the spending
of appropriated funds are subject to constraints established in authorizing statutes.
Congressional action on the budget for a fiscal year usually begins following the submission
of the President’s budget at the beginning of the session. Congressional practices governing
the consideration of appropriations and other budgetary measures are rooted in the
Constitution, the standing rules of the House and Senate, and statutes, such as the
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each
year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate
Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture. It summarizes the status of the bill, its
scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as
events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related
CRS products.
NOTE: A Web version of this document with active links is
available to congressional staff at
[http://beta.crs.gov/cli/level_2.aspx?PRDS_CLI_ITEM_ID=73].

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Agriculture and Related Agencies:
FY2008 Appropriations
Summary
The agriculture appropriations bill includes all of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), except the Forest Service, plus the Food and Drug
Administration. Jurisdiction for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC) remains with the House agriculture appropriations subcommittee, but has
been moved this year to the Senate financial services subcommittee.
The House passed the FY2008 agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 3161,
H.Rept. 110-258) on August 2, 2007, by a vote of 237-18. Many Republican
Members did not cast votes on final passage of the bill because of a controversy over
floor procedures that was separate from the content of the bill.
The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version of the agriculture
appropriations bill (S. 1859, S.Rept. 110-134) on July 19, 2007, by a vote of 29-0.
The House-passed bill provides $18.8 billion in official “net” discretionary
appropriations and the Senate-reported version $18.7 billion, both about $1 billion
more than FY2007 (up about 5.6% and 5.0%, respectively). After adjusting for the
presence of the CFTC in the House bill but not in the Senate bill, the totals are more
nearly identical. These amounts are nearly $1 billion above the Administration’s
request, and thus have drawn a veto threat. The Administration also opposes
prescription drug importation as allowed in the House bill.
Both bills provide increases above FY2007 for USDA’s conservation, meat and
poultry inspection, agricultural research, animal and plant health programs, and the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Increases are provided above the
Administration’s request for rural development programs, but not necessarily above
FY2007 levels. Both would lift the delay on implementation of country of origin
labeling for meat and require labeling by September 2008. The Senate bill is higher
than the House bill for the Agricultural Research Service, animal and plant health
inspection, some domestic food programs, foreign food aid, and FDA. The Senate
bill contains less than the House bill for rural development, the cooperative state
research program, and slightly less for conservation.
Because of accounting practices, the discretionary amounts that the bills actually
provide to agencies are higher. In each bill, the “gross” discretionary amount
available to all agencies is about $400 million higher than the official “net”
discretionary amount. The House’s $19.2 billion “gross” discretionary subtotal is
$90 million (0.5%) higher than the Senate’s, and $676 million (3.6%) above FY2007.
For mandatory programs, about 80% of the bill’s total, both the House and
Senate bills provide about $71.5 billion, $7.5 billion less than FY2007. This
reduction is due to less need for appropriations to pay for price-triggered farm
commodity subsidies (down by $10 billion, or 44%, compared with FY2007), but is
offset somewhat by higher food stamp and child nutrition spending (up $2.2 billion,
or 4.5%, compared to FY2007).

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Key Policy Staff
Area of Expertise
Name
Telephone
E-mail
Coordinator, Bill Status,
Commodity Credit Corporation
Jim Monke
7-9664
jmonke@crs.loc.gov
Farm Service Agency
Agricultural Research,
Jean M. Rawson
7-7283
jrawson@crs.loc.gov
Extension, & Economics
Meat and Poultry Inspection,
Marketing/Regulatory Programs
Geoffrey S. Becker
7-7287
gbecker@crs.loc.gov
(APHIS, AMS, GIPSA)
Conservation
Renée Johnson
7-0248
rjohnson@crs.loc.gov
Rural Development
Tadlock Cowan
7-7600
tcowan@crs.loc.gov
Domestic Food Assistance
Joe Richardson
7-7325
jrichardson@crs.loc.gov
Agricultural Trade and
Charles E. Hanrahan
7-7235
chanrahan@crs.loc.gov
Food Aid
Food and Drug Administration
Susan J. Thaul
7-0562
sthaul@crs.loc.gov
Commodity Futures Trading
Mark Jickling
7-7784
mjickling@crs.loc.gov
Commission

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Contents
Most Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Components of Agriculture Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
USDA Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Related Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mandatory vs. Discretionary Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Action on FY2008 Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
House Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Senate Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Funding and Issues in H.R. 3161 and S. 1859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
USDA Agencies and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Farm Service Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
FSA Salaries and Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
FSA Farm Loan Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Commodity Credit Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Agricultural Research Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service . . . . . 13
Economic Research and Agricultural Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Meat and Poultry Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Horse Slaughter Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Marketing and Regulatory Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Discretionary Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Mandatory Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Rural Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Rural Housing Service (RHS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Rural Business-Cooperative Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Rural Utilities Service (RUS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Domestic Food Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Programs under the Food Stamp Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Child Nutrition Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The WIC Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Commodity Assistance Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Nutrition Program Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Special Program Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Agricultural Trade and Food Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Food Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Human Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Specified Funding Increases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising User Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Reports Requested and Issues Noted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Restrictions on Use of Appropriated Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Medical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Medical Device Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Enforcement Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Breast Imaging Quality Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Animal Drugs, Devices, and Feeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Antimicrobial Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Cross-Cutting Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Specified Funding Increases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Requested Reports to Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Issues Highlighted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Restrictions on Use of Appropriated Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
List of Figures
Figure 1. USDA Outlays, FY2007 Estimated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 2. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, FY2007 Enacted . . 2
Figure 3. Mandatory and Discretionary Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
List of Tables
Table 1. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations: FY1999-FY2008 . . 4
Table 2. Congressional Action on FY2008 Agriculture Appropriations . . . . . . . 6
Table 3. Agriculture Appropriations: FY2008 Action and FY2007 Enacted . . . . 7
Table 4. FSA Farm Loan Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table 5. Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 6. Directed Spending in the Rural Community Advancement Program . . 21
Table 7. FDA Appropriations and User Fees, by Program Area . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Table 8. USDA and Related Agencies Appropriations,
FY2008 Action and FY2007 Enacted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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Agriculture and Related Agencies:
FY2008 Appropriations
Most Recent Developments
The House of Representatives passed the FY2008 agriculture appropriations bill
(H.R. 3161, H.Rept. 110-258) on August 2, 2007, by a vote of 237-18. Many
Republicans did not cast votes on final passage of the bill because of a controversy
over floor procedures that was separate from the content of the bill. The Senate
Appropriations Committee reported its version of the bill (S. 1859, S.Rept. 110-134)
on July 19, 2007.
The House-passed bill provides $18.8 billion in official “net” discretionary
appropriations, and the Senate-reported version provides $18.7 billion, both about $1
billion (5.6% and 5.0%, respectively) more than FY2007. Because the bills would
limit certain mandatory programs and make other scorekeeping adjustments, the
“gross” discretionary amounts that agencies actually would receive are higher. The
House’s $19.2 billion “gross” discretionary subtotal is $90 million (0.5%) higher
than the Senate’s and $676 million (3.6%) above FY2007.
For mandatory programs, both the House and Senate bills provide about $71.5
billion, $7.5 billion less than FY2007. This reduction is due to less need for price-
triggered farm commodity subsidies, offset by higher food stamp spending.
Components of Agriculture Appropriations
USDA Activities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) carries out widely varied
responsibilities through about 30 separate internal agencies and offices staffed by
some 100,000 employees. USDA is responsible for many activities outside of the
agriculture budget function. Hence, USDA spending is not synonymous with farm
program spending. Similarly, agriculture appropriations bills are not limited to
USDA and include related programs such as the Food and Drug Administration and
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission but exclude the USDA Forest Service.
USDA estimates its outlays in FY2007 will be $93 billion. Food and nutrition
programs comprise the largest mission area with $55 billion, or 60% of the total, to
support the food stamp program, the nutrition program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC), and child nutrition programs (Figure 1).

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CRS-2
Figure 1. USDA Outlays, FY2007 Estimated
FY2007 Estimate
$92.8 billion
Farm & foreign agriculture
22.6%
Natural resources
8.9%
Food & nutrition
59.7%
Rural development
3.2%
Research
2.9%
Marketing & regulatory
1.9%
Food safety
0.9%
Source: CRS, using USDA data
Figure 2. Agriculture and Related Agencies
Appropriations, FY2007 Enacted
Title V: Foreign food assistance
Title VI: FDA + CFTC
1.5%
1.7%
FY2007
$97.5 billion
Title I: Agricultural programs
34.9%
Title IV: Domestic food assistance
58.5%
Title II: Conservation
0.9%
Title III: Rural development
2.6%
Source: CRS, using House and Senate Appropriations Committee data

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CRS-3
The second-largest mission area, with an expected $21 billion (23%) in outlays,
is farm and foreign agricultural services. This mission area includes the farm
commodity price and income support programs of the Commodity Credit
Corporation, certain mandatory conservation and trade programs, crop insurance,
farm loans, and foreign food aid programs.
Other USDA activities include natural resource and environmental programs
(9% of the total), rural development (3%), research and education programs (3%),
marketing and regulatory programs (2%), and food safety (1%).
Nearly two-thirds of the outlays for natural resources programs goes to the
Forest Service (about $5.4 billion), which is funded through the Interior
appropriations bill. The Forest Service, included with natural resources in Figure 1,
is the only USDA agency not funded through the agriculture appropriations bill.
USDA defines its programs using “mission areas” that do not always correspond
to categories in the agriculture appropriations bill. For example, foreign agricultural
assistance programs are a separate title (Title V) in the appropriations bill but are
joined with domestic farm support in USDA’s “farm and foreign agriculture” mission
area (compare Figure 1 with Figure 2). Conversely, USDA has separate mission
areas for marketing and regulatory programs, and agricultural research, but both are
joined with other domestic farm support programs in Title I (agricultural programs)
of the appropriations bill.
Related Agencies
In addition to the USDA agencies mentioned above, the agriculture
appropriations subcommittees have jurisdiction over appropriations for the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
and, in the House, the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC, an
independent financial markets regulatory agency). These agencies are included in the
agriculture appropriations bill because of their historical connection to food and
agricultural markets. However, food and agricultural issues have become less
dominant at these agencies as medical and drug issues have grown in FDA and non-
agricultural futures markets have grown at CFTC. Their combined share of the
overall agriculture and related agencies appropriations bill is usually less than 2%
(see Title VI in Figure 2).
Mandatory vs. Discretionary Spending
Mandatory and discretionary spending are treated differently in the budget
process. Congress generally controls spending on mandatory programs by setting
rules for eligibility, benefit formulas, and other parameters rather than approving
specific dollar amounts for these programs each year. Eligibility for mandatory
programs (sometimes referred to as entitlement programs) is usually written into
authorizing law, and any individual or entity that meets the eligibility requirements
is entitled to the benefits authorized by the law. The 2002 farm bill — and its
expected successor, the 2007 farm bill, H.R. 2419 — determine most of the
parameters for this mandatory spending.

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CRS-4
Spending for discretionary programs is controlled by annual appropriations acts.
The subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees originate
bills each year that provide funding to continue current activities as well as any new
discretionary programs.
Approximately 80% of the total agriculture and related agencies spending is
classified as mandatory, which by definition occurs independently of annual
appropriations (Table 1). The vast majority of USDA’s mandatory spending is for
the following programs: the food stamp program, most child nutrition programs, the
farm commodity price and income support programs (authorized by the 2002 farm
bill and various disaster/emergency appropriations), the federal crop insurance
program, and various agricultural conservation and trade programs. Mandatory
spending is highly variable and driven by program participation rates, economic and
price conditions, and weather patterns (Figure 3).
Although these programs have mandatory status, many of these accounts receive
funding in the annual agriculture appropriations act. For example, the food stamp
and child nutrition programs are funded by an annual appropriation based on
projected spending needs. Supplemental appropriations generally are made if these
estimates fall short of required spending. The Commodity Credit Corporation
operates on a line of credit with the Treasury, but receives an annual appropriation
to reimburse the Treasury and to maintain its line of credit.
The other 20% of the agriculture and related agencies appropriations bill is for
discretionary programs. Major discretionary programs include certain conservation
programs, most rural development programs, research and education programs,
agricultural credit programs, the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants,
and children (WIC), the Public Law (P.L.) 480 international food aid program, meat
and poultry inspection, and food marketing and regulatory programs.
Table 1. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations: FY1999-FY2008
(budget authority in billions of dollars)
Fiscal Year
FY2008
Actual
Pending
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
House Senate
Mandatory
41.0
62.0
58.3
56.9
56.7
69.7
68.3
83.1
80.5
72.7
73.4
Discretionary
13.7
13.9
15.0
16.3
17.9
16.8
16.8
16.8
17.8
18.8
18.7
Total
54.7
75.9
73.3
73.2
74.6
86.6
85.1
99.8
98.3
91.5
92.1
Percent
25%
18%
20%
22%
24%
19%
20%
17%
18%
21%
20%
discretionary
Source: CRS, using tables from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and Congressional Quarterly.
Note: Includes regular annual appropriations for all of USDA (except the Forest Service), the Food and Drug
Administration, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Excludes mandatory emergency supplemental
appropriations. Amounts reflect rescissions that were applied to the final appropriation.

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CRS-5
Figure 3. Mandatory and Discretionary Appropriations
(budget authority, in billions of dollars)
$100
$90
$80
Total
$70
$60
Mandatory
$50
$40
$30
$20
Discretionary
$10
0
1998 1999 2000 2001
2002
2003 2004 2005 2006
2007
2008
Fiscal year
Actual and FY2008 proposed bills
Source: CRS
Action on FY2008 Appropriations
The agriculture appropriations bill includes all of USDA (except the Forest
Service), plus the Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Health and
Human Services. Jurisdiction over appropriations for the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission remains with the House agriculture appropriations
subcommittee but has moved to the Senate financial services subcommittee with the
FY2008 appropriations cycle.
House Action. The House of Representatives passed the FY2008 agriculture
appropriations bill (H.R. 3161, H.Rept. 110-258) on August 2, 2007, by a vote of
237-18 (Table 2). Many Members of the minority party did not cast votes on final
passage of the bill because of a controversy over floor procedures that was separate
from the content of the bill.
On the floor, when the bill initially was under an open rule (H.Res. 581), only
two amendments were adopted. Both reduced appropriations for the Secretary of
Agriculture’s office by a marginal amount ($150,150, or 3%) and debate time was
used to discuss another bill. Because of the diversion, the agriculture appropriations
bill was pulled from the floor and returned two days later under a more restrictive
rule (H.Res. 599). Under the new rule, a manager’s amendment with six non-
monetary amendments was considered as adopted, including a provision to remove

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CRS-6
a proposal that would have limited the transportation of horses across state lines for
purposes other than slaughter. Twelve other amendments were allowed for floor
consideration, but none were adopted. Most of these amendments would have
eliminated earmarks or reduced funding.
As floor debate on the bill was nearing completion, there was a motion to
recommit the bill to committee. As some Members were changing their vote, the
vote was closed with the motion failing, but the scoreboard subsequently showed the
motion receiving sufficient votes to pass. The outcome was not reconsidered, and
many Members of the minority party chose not to vote on final passage of the bill as
a show of protest. The House passed H.R. 3161 by a vote of 237-18.
The full Committee on Appropriations reported the bill on July 19, 2007, by
voice vote, after subcommittee markup a week earlier on July 12.
Senate Action. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version
of the bill (S. 1859, S.Rept. 110-134) on July 19, 2007, by a vote of 29-0. This was
the same day that the House full committee reported its bill. Subcommittee markup
in the Senate occurred two days earlier on July 17. At the time of this report,
however, the bill has not reached the Senate floor for final action (Table 2).
Table 2. Congressional Action on FY2008 Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee
Conference Report
Approval
Committee Approval
Confer-
Approval
House
Senate
ence
Public
House
Senate
House
Senate
Passage
Passage
Report
House
Senate
Law
H.R. 3161,
S. 1859,
H.Rept.
S.Rept.
110-258
110-134
Vote of
Vote of
vv
vv
vv
a
a
a
a
a
29-0
237 - 18
7/12/07 7/17/07
7/19/07
7/19/07
8/2/07
Source: CRS.
Notes: vv = voice vote.
a. Pending.
Funding and Issues in H.R. 3161 and S. 1859. The House-passed bill
provides $18.8 billion in official “net” discretionary appropriations and the Senate-
reported version $18.7 billion, both about $1 billion (5.6% and 5.0%, respectively)
more than FY2007 (Table 3). After adjusting for the presence of the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission in the House bill but not in the Senate bill, the totals
are more nearly identical. These amounts are nearly $1 billion above the
Administration’s request and thus have drawn a veto threat from the White House.1
1 Office of Management and Budget, “Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 3161,”
(continued...)

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CRS-7
The Administration also opposes prescription drug importation as allowed in the bill;
this also has raised the possibility of a veto in previous years’ bills.
Both bills provide increases above FY2007 for USDA’s conservation, meat and
poultry inspection, agricultural research, animal and plant health programs, and the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Increases are provided above the
Administration’s request for rural development programs, but not necessarily above
FY2007 levels. Both would lift the delay on implementation of country of origin
labeling for meat and require labeling by September 2008. The Senate bill is higher
than the House bill for the Agricultural Research Service, animal and plant health
inspection, some domestic food programs, foreign food aid, and FDA. The Senate
bill contains less than the House bill for rural development, the cooperative state
research program, and slightly less for conservation.
Because of accounting practices (both bills would limit certain mandatory
programs and make other scorekeeping adjustments), the discretionary amounts that
the bills actually would provide to agencies are higher. Thus, the agriculture
appropriations bill has two sets of numbers for discretionary spending: (1) an official
“net” discretionary amount against which the 302(b) allocation is measured for
purposes of meeting budgetary requirements and (2) a “gross” discretionary amount
actually made available to agencies that is somewhat higher by virtue of
“scorekeeping adjustments.” For FY2008, the “gross” discretionary amounts in the
House and Senate versions are about $400 million higher than the respective official
“net” discretionary amounts ($18.8 billion and 19.2 billion in the House, and $18.7
billion and $19.1 billion in the Senate). Across the two bills, the House’s $19.2
billion “gross” discretionary subtotal is $90 million (0.5%) higher than the Senate’s
and $676 million (3.6%) above FY2007 (Table 3).
Table 3. Agriculture Appropriations:
FY2008 Action and FY2007 Enacted
(budget authority in billions of dollars)
FY2007
FY2008
Differences
Admin.
House-
Senate- House vs. Senate vs.
Category
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported
2007
House
Subtotal before adjustments:
“Gross” discretionary
18.5
18.3
19.2
19.1
0.676
-0.090
Mandatory
79.0
71.5
71.5
71.5
-7.463
-0.043
Subtotal
97.5
89.9
90.7
90.6
-6.787
-0.133
Official score, after scorekeeping adjustments:
“Net” discretionary
17.8
17.8
18.8
18.7
1.005
-0.108
Source: CRS, using tables from the House and Senate Appropriations Committee.
1 (...continued)
July 31, 2007 [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr3161sap-h.pdf].

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CRS-8
For mandatory programs, both the House and Senate bills would provide about
$71.5 billion, $7.5 billion less than FY2007. This reduction is due to less need for
price-triggered farm commodity subsidies (-$10 billion, -44%) compared with
FY2007, but is offset somewhat by higher food stamp and child nutrition spending
(+$2.2 billion, +4.5%) and higher crop insurance subsidies (+$0.4 billion, +10%).
Regarding overall funding guidelines, the House and Senate passed a concurrent
FY2008 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 21) on May 17, 2007. To guide spending at
the subcommittee level, the House Appropriations Committee approved a
discretionary 302(b) allocation of $18.817 billion for the agriculture bill (H.Rept.
110-236), and the Senate Appropriations Committee allowed $18.709 billion
(S.Rept. 110-133). Although the 302(b) allocation in the Senate is less than the
House, the difference is approximately equal to the budget for the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, which is not in the Senate bill. Thus, for the
agriculture and FDA programs that are in both bills, the 302(b) allocations are nearly
identical. For more information about the budget resolutions, see CRS Report
RL33915, The Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, by Philip D. Winters.
The Administration released its FY2008 budget request on February 5, 2007,
seeking $17.8 billion in discretionary spending for agencies funded through the
agriculture appropriations bill (the same as for FY2007, 5.5% less than the House,
and 4.9% less than the Senate). Both the House and Senate agriculture
appropriations subcommittees held hearings on the request.
See Table 8 at the end of this report for a tabular summary of funding for each
agency at various stages during the appropriations process.
USDA Agencies and Programs
The appropriations bill for agriculture and related agencies covers all of USDA
except for the Forest Service. This amounts to about 94% of USDA’s total
appropriation. The Forest Service is funded through the Interior appropriations bill.
Farm Service Agency
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is probably best known for its role in
administering the farm commodity income support and disaster assistance programs.
In addition, FSA also administers USDA’s direct and guaranteed farm loan programs,
certain mandatory conservation programs (in cooperation with the Natural Resources
Conservation Service), and certain international food assistance and export credit
programs (in cooperation with the Foreign Agriculture Service).
FSA Salaries and Expenses. This account funds expenses for program
administration and other functions assigned to the FSA. These funds include
transfers from CCC export credit guarantees, from P.L. 480 loans, and from the
various direct and guaranteed farm loan programs. All administrative funds used by
FSA are consolidated into one account. For FY2008, the House-passed bill would
provide $1.440 billion and the Senate-reported bill $1.478 billion for all FSA salaries

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CRS-9
and expenses. The House amount is $104 million (7.8%) above FY2007, and the
Senate amount is $38 million higher than the House. Both amounts are less than the
Administration’s request, and the House cited concerns over repeated increases in
FSA’s budget and lack of progress in updating computer technology.
The House-passed bill continues statutory language inserted in the FY2006
appropriations law that restricts the ability of USDA to close any county office
without public hearings and notification to Congress. It also adds language to
prohibit USDA from closing county offices until six months after the 2007 farm bill
is enacted, because demands on FSA county offices won’t be known until farm bill
provisions are determined. These provisions reflect language in stand-alone bills
such as H.R. 1648, H.R. 1649, and S. 944 that would limit the ability of USDA to
close county offices. The Senate-reported bill does not address county office closure.
FSA Farm Loan Programs. Through FSA farm loan programs, USDA
serves as a lender of last resort for family farmers unable to obtain credit from a
commercial lender. USDA provides direct farm loans and also guarantees the timely
repayment of principal and interest on qualified loans to farmers from commercial
lenders. FSA loans are used to finance farm real estate, operating expenses, and
recovery from natural disasters. Some loans are made at a subsidized interest rate.
An appropriation is made to FSA each year to cover the federal cost of making direct
and guaranteed loans, referred to as a loan subsidy. Loan subsidy is directly related
to any interest rate subsidy provided by the government, as well as a projection of
anticipated loan losses from farmer non-repayment of the loans. The amount of loans
that can be made, the loan authority, is several times larger than the subsidy level.
For FY2008, the House-passed bill provides $152.5 million to subsidize the cost
of making an estimated $3.411 billion in direct and guaranteed FSA loans. This
represents a 9.1% decrease in loan authority from FY2007, and is 1.3% less than the
Senate bill. Direct loan authority would be nearly constant from FY2007 in the
House bill but would fall nearly 5% in the Senate bill via farm operating loans.
Guaranteed loan authority would fall by about 12% in the House bill and fall by 9%
in the Senate bill. Over the past decade, Congress and the Administration generally
have devoted more resources towards the guaranteed loan program. In terms of loan
subsidy, the Senate bill is $2.7 million less than the House bill and the
Administration’s request, and nearly equal with FY2007 (Table 4).

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CRS-10
Table 4. FSA Farm Loan Appropriations
(dollars in millions)
FY2008
Differences
House
Senate
FY2007
Admin.
House-
Senate-
vs.
vs.
Description:
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported
FY2007
House
Direct Loans
Ownership: Subsidy
8.7
10.0
10.0
10.0
1.3
0.0
Authorization
207.6
223.9
223.9
223.9
16.3
0.0
Operating: Subsidy
75.2
79.9
79.9
73.5
4.7
(6.4)
Authorization
643.5
629.6
629.6
579.2
(13.9)
(50.4)
Indian land:
Subsidy
0.4
0.1
0.1
0.1
(0.3)
0.0
Authorization
2.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Boll weevil:
Subsidy
1.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
(1.9)
0.0
Authorization
100.0
59.4
100.0
100.0
0.0
0.0
Subtotal: Subsidy
86.7
90.1
90.1
83.7
3.4
(6.4)
Authorization
955.1
920.8
961.4
910.9
6.3
(50.5)
Guaranteed Loans
Ownership: Subsidy
8.0
4.8
4.8
5.0
(3.2)
0.2
Authorization
1,386.0
1,200.0
1,200.0
1,247.4
(186.0)
47.4
Operating, unsubsidized:
28.1
24.2
24.2
24.8
(3.9)
0.6
Authorization
1,138.5
1,000.0
1,000.0
1,024.7
(138.5)
24.7
Operating, subsidized:
27.4
33.4
33.4
36.3
6.0
2.9
Authorization
271.9
250.0
250.0
271.9
(21.9)
21.9
Subtotal: Subsidy
63.5
62.4
62.4
66.1
(1.2)
3.7
Authorization
2,796.4
2,450.0
2,450.0
2,543.9
(346.4)
93.9
Total: Subsidy
150.2
152.5
152.5
149.8
2.2
(2.7)
Authorization
3,751.5
3,370.8
3,411.4
3,454.9
(340.1)
43.4
Source: CRS, using tables from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
In terms of loan authority, the House-passed bill is exactly the same as the
Administration’s request, except for not reducing the Boll weevil account as the
Administration has requested for several years. The Senate bill mirrors the House
bill for direct loans, except that it would reduce direct operating loans by $50 million
more than the House bill’s reduction. The Senate bill does not make cuts in the
guaranteed loan program as large as in the House bill and keeps the subsidized
guaranteed operating loan program at FY2007 levels.
Neither the Senate bill, nor the House bill, nor the Administration request
provides any new funds or authority for emergency loans. In recent years, Congress
has not appropriated any money for emergency loans, citing sufficient carryover of
funds made available in previous supplementals.

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CRS-11
For more information about agricultural credit in general, see CRS Report
RS21977, Agricultural Credit: Farm Bill Issues, by Jim Monke.
Commodity Credit Corporation
Although the Farm Service Agency administers the farm income support and
disaster assistance programs, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is the
funding mechanism for these and other farm programs. Most spending for USDA’s
mandatory agriculture and conservation programs was authorized by the 2002 farm
bill (P.L. 107-171), and those provisions are up for reauthorization this year.
The House-passed version of the 2007 farm bill, H.R. 2419, makes some
changes to the payment formulas for farm subsidies and other mandatory
conservation, rural development, foreign trade, and food aid provisions that are paid
with CCC funds. Farm bill funding for these mandatory programs is not dependent
on the appropriations bill. But future appropriations bills would reflect the result of
higher or lower spending on these mandatory programs as authorized by the new
farm bill. For more information about the 2007 farm bill, see CRS Report RL33934,
Farm Bill Proposals and Legislative Action in the 110th Congress, coordinated by
Renée Johnson.
The CCC is a wholly owned government corporation that has the legal authority
to borrow up to $30 billion at any one time from the U.S. Treasury. These borrowed
funds finance spending for programs such as farm commodity price and income
subsidies and various conservation, trade, and rural development programs.
Emergency supplemental spending also has been paid from the CCC over the years,
particularly for ad hoc farm disaster payments, for direct market loss payments to
growers of various commodities in response to low farm commodity prices, and for
animal and plant disease eradication efforts.
The CCC eventually must repay the funds it borrows from the Treasury.
Because the CCC never earns more than it spends, its losses must be replenished
periodically through a congressional appropriation so that its $30 billion borrowing
authority (debt limit) is not depleted. Congress generally provides this infusion
through the annual USDA appropriation law. Because most of this spending rises or
falls automatically on economic or weather conditions, funding needs are sometimes
difficult to estimate. In recent years, the CCC has received a “current indefinite
appropriation,” which provides “such sums as are necessary” during the fiscal year.
The estimated CCC appropriation is not a reflection of expected outlays, which
can be different because of the cushion of credit available through the Treasury line
of credit. Outlays (payments) in FY2008 will be funded initially through the
borrowing authority of the CCC and reimbursed through a separate (possibly future)
appropriation. For FY2008, USDA projects that CCC net expenditures will be $10.7
billion, down from an estimated $12.4 billion in FY2007 and an actual $20.1 billion
in FY2006 (Table 5). This decrease is due to less need for price-triggered farm
commodity subsidies as most commodity prices have risen above support levels.
For FY2008, both the Senate-reported bill and the House-passed bill concur
with the Administration request for an indefinite appropriation (“such sums as

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CRS-12
necessary”) for CCC, which is estimated to be $12.983 billion. This is $10 billion
(44%) below the estimated transfer for FY2007, because the estimated FY2007
transfer will replenish more of the borrowing authority of the CCC (Table 5).
Table 5. Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Operations
(millions of dollars)
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
FY2008
Description
Actual
Actual
Estimate
Estimate
Statutory borrowing authority
30,000
30,000
30,000
30,000
Borrowing authority available at
beginning of year
21,265
62,401
138,422
322,609
+ Appropriations
(“such sums as necessary”)
Initial estimate in approp. bill
16,452
25,690
23,098
12,983
Actually transferred to CCC
12,456
25,431
tbd
44,991
- CCC net expenditures
30,913
53,127
163,528
382,591
- Other CCC activity (P.L. 480
and transfers to other agencies)
-2,233
-2,536
-2,440
-2,279
= Borrowing authority available
at end of year
62,401
138,422
322,609
715,904
Source: USDA, “Table 35. CCC Net Outlays by Commodity and Function” (February 5, 2007) and
“Output 7: CCC Financing Status,” Commodity Estimates Book (February 5, 2007).
Notes: tbd = to be determined.
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Economics
Four agencies carry out USDA’s research, education, and economics (REE)
function. The Department’s intramural science agency is the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS), which conducts long-term, high-risk, basic and applied research on
subjects of national and regional importance. The Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) distributes federal funds to the land
grant Colleges of Agriculture to provide partial support for state-level research,
education, and extension programs. The Economic Research Service (ERS) provides
economic analysis of agriculture issues using its databases as well as data collected
by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
The USDA research, education, and extension budget, when adjusted for
inflation, remained essentially flat in the period from FY1972 through FY1991.
From FY1992 through FY2000, the mission area experienced a 25% increase (in
deflated dollars) over the previous two decades, as a federal budget surplus allowed
greater spending for all non-defense research and development. From FY2001
through FY2003, supplemental funds appropriated specifically for anti-terrorism
activities, not basic programs, accounted for most of the increases in USDA research
budget. Funding levels since have trended downward to historic levels.

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CRS-13
Although the states are required to provide 100% matching funds for federal
funds for research and extension, most states have regularly appropriated two to three
times that amount. Fluctuations in state-level appropriations can have significant
effects on state program levels, even when federal funding remains stable. Cuts at
either the state or federal level can result in program cuts down to the county level.
In 1998 and 2002 legislation authorizing agricultural research programs, the
House and Senate Agriculture Committees tapped sources of available funds from
the mandatory side of USDA’s budget and elsewhere (e.g., the U.S. Treasury) to find
new money to boost the availability of competitive grants in the REE mission area.
In FY1999 and every year since FY2002, however, annual agriculture appropriations
acts have prohibited the use of those mandatory funds for the purposes the
Agriculture Committees intended. On the other hand, in most years since FY1999,
and again in FY2006, appropriations conferees have provided more funding for
ongoing REE programs than was contained in either the House- or Senate-passed
versions of the bills. Nonetheless, once adjusted for inflation, these increases are not
viewed by some as significant growth in spending for agricultural research.
Agricultural scientists, stakeholders, and partners express concern for funding over
the long term in light of high budget deficit levels and lower tax revenues.
The House-passed bill would provide a total of $2.59 billion for USDA’s
research, extension, and economics mission area for FY2008, and the Senate-reported
measure would provide $2.63 billion. These amounts represent increases from the
FY2007 funding level of $2.55 billion, and an approximately 10% increase over the
President’s FY2008 budget request.
Agricultural Research Service. The House-passed bill provides a total of
$1.14 billion for USDA’s in-house science agency, the Agricultural Research Service
(ARS has $1.13 billion in FY2007). Of the total, the House measure would allocate
$1.08 billion to support ARS research projects and $64 million for the construction
and renovation of buildings and facilities. The Senate-reported bill would provide
about 5% more than the House for ARS ($1.19 billion), with $1.15 billion of the total
for research salaries and expenses and $40 million for building construction and
renovation. Under the terms of the lon- term continuing resolution for FY2007 (P.L.
110-5), no funding was provided for ARS construction projects in FY2007.
Senate report language states that the committee agrees with the majority of the
project terminations and redirection of funds that ARS effected in FY2007 as the
result of P.L. 110-5. It calls for 12 terminated projects to be reinstated in FY2008,
and concurs with the President’s request to direct savings from project terminations
to higher priority research in the areas of food safety, renewable energy, and honey
bee colony collapse disorder, among other things. The House measure would
reinstate more than 100 individual small projects in FY2008.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The
House-passed bill provides level funding ($671 million) for the extramural research
and education programs of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service (CSREES), the agency that sends federal funds to land grant Colleges of
Agriculture. In addition, the measure provides $464 million for the educational
outreach programs of Cooperative Extension ($450 million in FY2007); $57.2

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CRS-14
million for integrated research and extension projects ($55.2 million in FY2007);
$11.8 million for the endowment fund for the 1994 tribal land grant colleges ($12
million in FY2007); and $6.9 million for the outreach program for socially
disadvantaged farmers ($5.9 million in FY2007).
The Senate-reported bill would provide $701 million for state research and
education; $459 million for Cooperative Extension; and $12.9 million for integrated
programs. It concurs with the House on providing $11.8 million for the 1994 tribal
institutions endowment fund, but would maintain funding for the outreach program
for socially disadvantaged farmers at the FY2007 level.
The Senate-reported bill concurs with the Administration’s annual request to cut
funding for Special Research Grants and Federal Administration grants that are not
awarded through a peer-reviewed, competitive process. The House-passed bill would
reinstate these grants and provide roughly $126 million in support for FY2008.
These grants were not funded in FY2007 under P.L. 110-5.
Economic Research and Agricultural Statistics. The Senate-reported
bill would provide $76.5 million for USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS),
essentially level with FY2007 ($75.2 million). The House-passed bill contains $79.3
million. For the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Senate measure
includes $167.7 million ($166.1 million in the House bill, $147.3 million in
FY2007).
Meat and Poultry Inspection
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) conducts mandatory
inspection of meat, poultry, and processed egg products to ensure their safety and
proper labeling. The Senate-reported bill (S. 1859) recommends $930.6 million for
FSIS, or $38.5 million above the FY2007 level. The House-passed bill (H.R. 3161)
provides $930.1 million in appropriations for FSIS, the same as the Administration’s
request. The congressional appropriation would be supplemented in FY2008 by an
estimated $135 million in existing user fees. Neither the House nor Senate version
endorses new user fees; the Administration was seeking another $96 million in such
fees, although not beginning until FY2009.
The accompanying House and Senate committee reports state that the
appropriation includes, respectively, $28.3 million and $27.3 million for salary and
related cost of living increases. The House report states that an increase of $6.5
million is to fill inspector vacancies; the Senate report notes that its funding level will
enable FSIS to hire 78 additional inspectors and 13 additional investigative staff in
FY2008. The House report makes note of $5 million provided for enforcement of
humane slaughter rules, and the Senate report recommends funding to provide 83
full-time positions for this purpose. Both reports note the provision of $3 million to
continue the related tracking system for humane slaughter.
Both the House and Senate reports express concern about FSIS’s February 22,
2007, announcement that it would implement a risk-based inspection system (RBIS),
starting with 30 processing establishments this year. Under RBIS, inspection
resources are to be allocated based upon the relative risk of the product type and upon

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CRS-15
the safety record of the individual plant. The Senate report directs the agency to carry
out a full evaluation of the program before expanding it beyond the 30 “prototype”
plants; the House bill would prohibit FSIS from proceeding with any program until
the plan is thoroughly reviewed by the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) and
any OIG issues are fully addressed.
The House version of the bill contains language prohibiting the use of funds to
implement rules that would permit poultry product imports from China. A final FSIS
rule, published in the April 24, 2006, Federal Register, permits China to ship
processed poultry if the meat comes from third country plants already eligible to
export to the United States. Opponents of the rule contend that Chinese imports
would be risky due to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu among birds in that
country. A series of recent incidents have raised further safety concerns about the
many foods, medicines, and other products now coming from China, which the
House report cites in delaying the poultry rule. (See also CRS Report RL34080,
Food and Agricultural Imports from China, by Geoffrey S. Becker.)
Horse Slaughter Amendment. The House version of the bill (in Section
738) would continue a prohibition against using appropriated funds to inspect horses
prior to slaughter for human food. Furthermore, companies could not continue
inspection by paying fees to USDA for the service. The Senate-reported version does
not include the ban. A provision for tighter restrictions on horse transportation in the
House-reported version of the bill was removed by amendment on the House floor.
USDA’s FY2006 appropriation (P.L. 109-97) also prohibited appropriated funds
for antemortem inspection costs. By barring funds for inspection, the meat could not
enter commerce under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and thereby such slaughter
would cease, supporters of the language had anticipated. However, the three foreign-
owned plants that then were slaughtering horses for food applied for, and received,
USDA permission to be inspected on a fee-for-service basis. The House’s FY2008
appropriation seeks to close this funding source as well. (Only one of the three plants
was operating as of late July 2007; see also CRS Report RS21842, Horse Slaughter
Prevention Bills and Issues, by Geoffrey S. Becker.)
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The largest
appropriation for USDA marketing and regulatory programs goes to APHIS, the
agency responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture from domestic and foreign pests
and diseases, responding to domestic animal and plant health problems, and
facilitating agricultural trade through science-based standards. APHIS has key
responsibilities for dealing with such prominent concerns as avian influenza (AI),
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow disease”), a growing number
of invasive plant pests, and for establishment of a national animal identification (ID)
program for animal disease tracking and control (see below).
The Senate-reported bill appropriates $911.7 million for APHIS (up 7.7% from
FY2007), but not as much as the President’s FY2008 budget request of $945.6
million (a 12% increase). The House-passed measure appropriates $874.6 million
for APHIS (up 3.4% from FY2007). Both the House and the Senate bills contain an

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CRS-16
additional $4.9 million for buildings and facilities, the same as FY2007 but $4
million less than the Administration requested for such construction.
The budget includes collection of $208 million in existing user fees and trust
funds in FY2008 in addition to the appropriated monies. The Administration has
again proposed new user fees of $9 million, to pay for some of the agency’s animal
welfare activities, but not beginning until FY2009. Neither the House nor Senate bill
assumes these new fees.
Within the APHIS appropriation, the Senate committee report designates that
$162.8 million be devoted to foreign pest and disease exclusion programs, less than
the Administration’s request for $182 million, but more than the House
recommendation of $159.4 million. Also within the total APHIS appropriation, the
Senate committee report designates $250.1 million for plant and animal health
monitoring and surveillance activities. The House version designates less with $237
million; the Administration requested more at $296.3 million. The Senate committee
report further includes, within the APHIS total, $379.6 million for pest and disease
management, which is above the Administration’s proposed $333 million allocation
and the House’s $359 million.
Emerging Plant Pests. The emerging plant pests (EPP) account within the
pest and disease management spending area (see above) would be funded by the
Senate committee at $126.5 million in FY2008 and by the House plan at $131.2
million, compared with an Administration request of $132.3 million. All of these
amounts are well above the FY2007 level of $98.5 million. Both committee reports
further specify how most of this money should be divided among plant problems of
major concern: for citrus pests and diseases, $34.4 million in the Senate and $36.7
million in the House; for the Glassy-winged sharpshooter/Pierces’ Disease, $23.2
million in the Senate and $24.2 million in the House; for the Emerald Ash Borer,
$25.9 million in the Senate and $30.7 million in the House; for Sudden Oak Death,
$4.1 million in the Senate and $6.5 million in the House; for the Asian Long-Horned
Beetle, $20 million in the Senate and the House; for Karnal bunt, $1.5 million in the
Senate and $2.8 million in the House; for the potato cyst nematode, $12.8 million in
the Senate and $6.8 million in the House; and for light brown apple moth, $1 million
in the Senate (the House report urges USDA to use CCC funds for the moth).
Avian Influenza. The Senate-reported bill provides $61.3 million for avian
flu activities in APHIS. Of this, $47.5 million is for the Administration’s request for
the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) program. The Senate report expects
the Secretary to transfer, if needed, additional funds from the separate low pathogenic
avian influenza (LPAI) program. The House-passed bill provides $73.8 million
(total) for avian flu activities in APHIS. The House committee report designates $57
million for HPAI activities; noting that $118.7 million has been provided for HPAI
since 2006, the committee also requests a report by November 1, 2007, on how these
funds have been spent. (For more on avian flu, see CRS Report RL33795, Avian
Influenza in Poultry and Wild Birds, by Jim Monke and M. Lynne Corn.)
Animal ID. Both the House and Senate committee reports question USDA’s
progress and direction in implementing a national animal identification system
(NAIS). Over several years through FY2007, about $117.8 million has gone into the

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CRS-17
program’s development, which is aimed at enabling officials to quickly find the
sources, and contain the spread, of animal diseases like brucellosis, foot and mouth
disease, and BSE. Despite this effort, “the direction of this system remains unclear,”
notes the report on the Senate appropriations bill, which designates $17.4 million in
additional funds for NAIS. The House committee report notes that its version
provides no new funding and requests that USDA provide “a complete and detailed
strategic plan for the program, including tangible outcomes, measurable goals,
specific milestones, and necessary resources for the entire program.”
A July 2008 report by the Government Accountability Office (National Animal
Identification System: USDA Needs to Resolve Several Key Implementation Issues
to Achieve Rapid and Effective Disease Traceback, GAO-07-592) concludes that a
number of problems have hindered effective implementation of animal ID, such as
no prioritization of the animal species to be covered to focus on those of greatest
disease concern; no plan to integrate NAIS into existing USDA and state animal ID
requirements; and no requirement that some types of critical data be provided to the
databases, such as species or age. (Also see CRS Report RS22653, Animal
Identification: Overview and Issues, by Geoffrey S. Becker.)
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). AMS is responsible for promoting
the marketing and distribution of U.S. agricultural products in domestic and
international markets. User fees and reimbursements rather than appropriated funds
account for a substantial portion of spending by the agency. Such fees, which now
cover AMS activities like process verification programs, commodity grading, and
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act licensing, will total an estimated $133
million in FY2007 and a projected $136 million in FY2008.
The Senate report anticipates that AMS will receive $132 million more in
federal funds, either directly appropriated or transferred to AMS from the Section 32
account.2 The House-passed level is $130 million, or approximately $5 million more
than both the Administration’s FY2008 proposal and the FY2007 level.
The Senate committee report recommends $7 million for specialty crop block
grants under the AMS account. The House report (under Title VI) makes $10 million
available for specialty crop competitiveness programs. The specialty crop grants are
authorized by the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-465),
which seeks to promote the consumption and competitiveness of specialty crops
(fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops). The act authorizes up to $54 million
annually through FY2009. For the AMS-administered Federal-State Marketing
Improvement Program, the Senate report recommends $3.8 million, including a
designated $2.5 million marketing grant to Wisconsin. The House version does not
include the $2.5 million for Wisconsin. Elsewhere in AMS, the House committee
2 Section 32 funding comes from a permanent appropriation equivalent to 30% of annual
U.S. Customs receipts. AMS uses these additional Section 32 monies (also not reflected in
the above totals) to pay for a variety of programs and activities, notably child nutrition, and
government purchases of surplus farm commodities not supported by ongoing farm price
support programs. For an explanation of this account, see CRS Report RL34081, Farm and
Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program, by Geoffrey S. Becker.

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CRS-18
report notes that it is not eliminating the $6.2 million Microbiological Data Program
for domestic and imported produce, as proposed by the Administration.
Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL). The 2002 farm bill (§10816 of P.L.
107-171) required COOL for fresh produce, red meats, peanuts, and seafood by
September 30, 2004. Congress has twice postponed implementation for all but
seafood (which is now in place); COOL now must be implemented by September 30,
2008. The House committee report on the FY2008 appropriation provides an
increase of $2 million for AMS to implement COOL and also lays out a time line for
rulemaking to ensure the current implementation date is met. Language modifying
the COOL law also is in the omnibus farm bill (H.R. 2419) passed in July 2007 by
the House. (For more information see CRS Report RL33934, Farm Bill Proposals
and Legislative Action in the 110th Congress, coordinated by Renée Johnson, and
CRS Report 97-508, Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods, by Geoffrey S. Becker.)
Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
One branch of this agency establishes the official U.S. standards, inspection, and
grading for grain and other commodities. Another branch is charged with ensuring
competition and fair-trading practices in livestock and meat markets. The Senate-
reported bill would provide $39.1 million in FY2008 for GIPSA salaries and
expenses. The House-passed bill would provide $41.1 million, which compares with
the Administration’s FY2008 request of $44.4 million and the FY2007 estimate of
$37.8 million.
The Administration proposed to offset some grain inspection and Packers and
Stockyards (P&S) activities with $22 million in user fees, beginning in FY2009, but
neither the House nor Senate report endorses this proposal. The House report states
that it is providing an increase of $2 million in FY2008 for increased enforcement of
the P&S Act and requests a detailed spending plan from GIPSA by September 30,
2007, on how it will spend the increase. The committee report also makes note of
what it says are deficiencies in the agency’s oversight of the companies it is charged
with regulating. Early in 2006, GIPSA was sharply criticized by USDA’s OIG and
by a number of Senators for shortcomings in its enforcement of the act and other
federal competition laws. A long-awaited consultant’s report on livestock marketing
practices, funded by a $4.5 million congressional appropriation in FY2003, was
released by the agency in February 2007. Also, some Members of the Senate
Agriculture Committee have expressed interest in addressing competition concerns
in the livestock industry, including GIPSA’s regulatory responsibilities, during
debate on a new omnibus farm bill (see also CRS Report RL33958, Animal
Agriculture: 2007 Farm Bill Issues, by Geoffrey S. Becker).
Conservation
The House-passed bill and the Senate-reported bill propose to increase funding
for discretionary Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) programs, rejecting
some of the Administration’s proposed reductions. Both bills propose few changes
to mandatory programs.
Discretionary Programs. The House bill would increase total FY2008
discretionary NRCS funding by $127.6 million (nearly 15%, to $979.4 million), and

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CRS-19
the Senate bill would increase discretionary funding by $120.3 million (about 14%,
to $972.1 million), compared with FY2007 levels (Table 8).3 The Administration’s
request would have reduced total discretionary funding by $27.1 million to $824.8
million (-3%).
All the discretionary conservation programs are administered by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). For Conservation Operations, the largest
of these programs, the House provides $851.9 million, and the Senate provides
$863.0 million, which is more than provided in FY2007 ($763.4 million) and more
than requested by the Administration ($801.8 million). Both bills identify numerous
earmarks and specify that they be funded in addition to, rather than as part of, state
allocations. The Senate bill also recommends limiting salaries and personnel
expenses for USDA’s national headquarters office to $110 million.
Among other programs, only the House bill provides $6.6 million for the
Watersheds Surveys and Planning, whereas both the Senate bill and the
Administration request no funding. The Administration also requests no funding for
Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations, the same as FY2007, while the House
would provide $37.0 million and the Senate $33.5 million, and both identify
numerous earmarks. Both the House and Senate bills propose to restrict the use of
appropriated funds to pay for salaries and personnel expenses to administer the
Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention program. The Senate bill stipulates this
limit provided that the $65 million otherwise made available to the program for
FY2008 is rescinded.
The House bill provides similar funding levels as FY2007 for the Watershed
Rehabilitation Program ($31.6 million), whereas funding levels are lower in the
Senate bill ($20.0 million) and in the Administration’s request ($5.8 million). Both
the House and Senate bills provide similar funding levels as FY2007 for Resource
and Conservation Development ($52.4 million and $53.2 million, respectively),
compared to the Administration’s request to reduce funding to $14.7 million. The
Senate bill provides $2.5 million to the Healthy Forests Reserve Program while the
House bill provides no funding; the Administration also requested $2.5 million.
Mandatory Programs. Mandatory conservation programs are funded and
administered by two agencies. Programs of the NRCS would increase by $195
million in FY2008 to $2 billion. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the
Farm Service Agency (FSA) would increase by $26 million, to $2.0 billion. For a
more detailed funding information on individual mandatory programs, see CRS
Report RS22621, The FY2008 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and CRS Report RS22243, Mandatory Funding for Agriculture
Conservation Programs.
Both the House and Senate bills recommend placing a limit on Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) spending. The House bill proposes that no more
than $1.017 billion be spent on salaries and personnel expenses to administer the
3 Does not include funding for Office of the Under Secretary, Natural Resources and
Environment, which are reported in Table 8.

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CRS-20
program; the Senate bill proposes a similar limit of $1 billion. The program is
authorized $1.27 billion of mandatory funds for FY2008 in P.L. 109-171.
Rural Development
Three agencies are responsible for USDA’s rural development mission area: the
Rural Housing Service (RHS), the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), and
the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). An Office of Community Development provides
community development support through field offices. This mission area administers
the rural portion of the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Initiative,
Rural Economic Area Partnerships, and the National Rural Development Partnership.
For FY2008, the House-passed bill recommends $2.47 billion in discretionary
budget authority to support $13.98 billion in USDA rural development loan and grant
programs. This is about $26 million less in budget authority than FY2007 (-1%).
The Senate bill recommends less budget authority than the House bill ($2.36 billion,
which is -5.7% compared to FY2007 and -4.7% compared to the House bill), but
would support $2.7 billion more in loan authority than the House bill.
Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP). Authorized by the
1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127), RCAP consolidates funding for 12 rural development
loan and grant programs into three funding streams. Both the House and Senate bills
reduce RCAP funds compared to FY2007. The Senate bill agrees with an
Administration proposal and does not report a separate RCAP budget. Instead, the
Senate bill provides, with separate appropriations language for each of the 12 RCAP
programs, by increasing the agency budget lines of RHS, RUS, and RBS. To make
a comparison, for RCAP’s 12 programs, the Senate measure recommends a total of
$704.1 million. The House bill retains the separate budget line for RCAP and
recommends $728.8 million in budget authority to support $3.5 billion in loan
authority and grant spending within the three accounts. Approximately $737 million
was enacted for RCAP for FY2007.
The water and waste water programs account for the largest share of spending
among the RCAP programs. For the Water/Waste Water loan and grants program,
the Solid Waste Management program, Individual Well Water grants, Water and
Waste Water revolving fund, and the Emergency Water Assistance grants in RUS,
the House bill recommends $573.1 million in budget authority and the Senate
measure recommends $550.5 million. This budget authority would support
somewhat over $1 billion in direct and guaranteed loans. The Administration request
was for less, at $502.8 million. For the Community Facilities account (RHS), the
House bill recommends $55.7 million, and the Senate measure recommends $67.4
million. The Administration requested budget authority of $24.5 million and also
would terminate the Community Facility Grants program. For the Business
Development account (RBS), $100 million in new budget authority is recommended
by the House bill. The Senate bill recommends $86.2 million, which, in part,
supports $1 billion in Business and Industry loan guarantees. The Administration
had requested $43.2 million, all within the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan
account.

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CRS-21
As was the case in FY2007, both Senate and House bills also recommend
directed spending from the three RCAP accounts (Table 6).
Table 6. Directed Spending in the Rural Community
Advancement Program
(millions of dollars)
FY2008
FY2007
Admin.
House
Senate
Program
Enacted Request
Bill
Bill
Water/waste disposal loans/grants for
22.0c
25.0
9.0
24.0
Native Americans
(est.)
Water/waste disposal loans/grants for
22.0c
25.0
10.0
25.0
Colonias
(est.)
Economic Impact Initiative Grants
18.0
0a
0
16.0
Rural Community Development Initiative
6.3
0
0
6.3
Grants
High Energy Costs Grants
26.0
0
0b
0b
Water/waste disposal loans/grants to
22.0c
25.0
0
0
Alaska Native Communities
(est.)
Water and waste water technical
18.2
16.2
18.0
18.8
assistance
Circuit Rider Program
13.7
9.5
14.0
13.6
Rural Business Enterprise Grants
40.0
0a
40.0
38.0
Rural Business Opportunity Grants
3.0
0a
3.0
2.0
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans
44.2
43.2
54.0
43.2
(subsidies)
Empowerment Zones/Enterprise
21.4
0a
22.8
10.0
Communities, and REAP
Delta Regional Authority
2.0
0
3.0
3.0
Source: CRS.
a. The Administration requests that these programs be terminated.
b. The House and Senate bills recommends that any prior year balances be merged with the High
Energy Costs Grant account with the Rural Utilities Service.
c. Senate bill provides a total of $65.8 million for Native Americans, colonias, and Alaskan natives
and directs that spending be allocated consistently with FY2007. For FY2007, each of these
accounts received approximately $25 million.
Rural Housing Service (RHS). For FY2008, the Senate-reported bill
recommends $1.36 billion in budget authority for RHS loans and grants, including
the $67.4 million in the Community Facilities account noted above. The Senate bill
would support $5.5 billion in loan authorization, approximately $433.5 million more
than in FY2007. The House-passed bill has nearly the same budget authority for
RHS but supports about $250 million more in loan authority than the Senate bill, plus
the separate Community Facilities account (Table 8).

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CRS-22
Single family loans (Section 502 direct and guaranteed loans) is the largest RHS
loan account and represents over 90% of the loan authority under RHS. The Senate
measure recommends $4.69 billion in loan authorization for direct and guaranteed
loans under the single family housing program, while the House bill recommends
$4.84 billion. The House recommendation is nearly the same as requested by the
Administration and about $72 million more than enacted for FY2007. The House
bill recommends $34.6 in loan authority for housing repair loans (Section 504), the
same as recommended by the Senate measure and the same as enacted for FY2007.
The Senate bill recommends $150.0 million for multi-family loan guarantees
(Section 538) and $70.0 million for rental housing loans (Section 515). The House
measure recommends $50 million less than the Senate for multi-family loan
guarantees and $29 million more for rental housing loans, the same as enacted for
FY2007. The Administration requests $200 million for Section 538 and zero funding
for Section 515 rental housing loans.
For the rental assistance program (Section 521), the Senate-reported bill
recommends $491 million, $34 million less than the House measure ($525 million)
and $76 million less than requested. FY2007, the Section 521 rental assistance
program received $608 million. For mutual and self-help housing grants and rural
housing assistance grants, the House bill recommends $40 million and the Senate bill
recommends $38 million. For the farm labor account (Section 514/516), the Senate
bill recommends $22 million, $10 million less than enacted for FY2007 and $12
million more than requested; the House measure recommends $46.6 million.
For the rural housing voucher program, the House measure recommends zero
funding, the same as requested, and the Senate bill recommends $15.5 million, about
the same as enacted for FY2007.
Rural Business-Cooperative Service. The Senate-reported bill
recommends $170.5 million in budget authority for RBS for FY2008. To compare
this with the House bill, it is necessary to adjust it for the $86.2 million worth of
RCAP programs accounted for separately in the House bill, leaving $84.3 million in
the Senate. Thus the Senate bill is less than the $106 million in the House bill and
less than the $86 million in FY2007. For all rural business programs, including
RCAP programs, the Senate bill would allow $1.24 billion of loan and grant
authority, $323 million less than the House bill but $94 million above FY2007
(Table 8).
The Senate bill recommends $10.0 million for the rural Empowerment
Zone/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) programs and $28.4 million for loan
subsidies and grants under the Renewable Energy Program. The House measure
recommends $11.1 million for the EZ/EC program, the same as enacted for FY2007,
and approximately $46 million for the energy program. The Administration
requested zero funding for the EZ/EC program and $34 million for the renewable
energy program.
The House bill recommends $29.2 million in Rural Cooperative Development
Grants, about $2.5 million more than enacted for FY2007 and $9 million more than
requested. The Senate measure recommends $26.4 million for the program.

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CRS-23
Rural Utilities Service (RUS). For FY2007, the Senate-reported bill
recommends budget authority of $647.9 million. Within this total, $97.4 million is
comparable to the House’s $102.4 million and the $92.2 million for FY2007. The
rest is the $550.5 in water and waste water programs recommended under the RCAP
accounts (Table 8). The $97.4 million in budget authority would support $8.3 billion
in electric and telecommunication loans, $3 billion more than the House bill. Loan
authorization levels in the rural electrification portfolio are the major sources of
difference between the House recommendation and the Senate measure.
Under the Distance Learning/Telemedicine program, the House measure
recommends approximately $35 million in grant support, the same as the Senate
measure. This is $5 million more than FY2007 and $11 million more than requested
by the Administration.
The Senate bill also recommends $495.0 million in loan authority for broadband
loans, $195 million more than the House and Administration request, but the same
as FY2007. To support these broadband programs, the House bill recommends $6.4
million in loan subsidies and $17.8 million in grants. The Senate bill puts more in
direct subsidies and less in grants, similar to FY2007. The Administration is
requesting no funding for the broadband grant program for FY2007.
For more information on USDA rural development programs, see CRS Report
RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs, by Tadlock Cowan.
Domestic Food Assistance
Funding for domestic food assistance represents over one-half of the USDA’s
budget. These programs are, for the most part, mandatory entitlements: that is,
funding depends on participation and indexing of benefit payments. Spending for the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC
program), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (the CSFP), and nutrition
program administration are the three largest discretionary budget items.
For FY2007, Congress provided appropriations (new budget authority) totaling
$57 billion for domestic food assistance.4 However, spending (new obligations) for
these programs and activities — those under the auspices of the Food Stamp Act,
child nutrition programs, the WIC program, commodity assistance programs like the
CSFP, and federal nutrition program administrative costs — is projected to be less,
$54.1 billion.5 The difference between the appropriation and spending amounts is
accounted for by contingency appropriations (e.g., $3 billion for food stamps), lower
4 Not included in this annual appropriations figure are permanent appropriations and
mandatory funding directed by child nutrition laws, the value of commodities required to
be purchased (under “Section 32” authority) for child nutrition programs, and the value of
“bonus” commodities acquired for agriculture support and donated to food assistance
programs. These items are separate from, but recognized in, the regular appropriations
process and are expected to total over $500 million a year in FY2007 and FY2008.
5 Commodities acquired with money from other budget accounts are not included in this
spending are commodities acquired using money from other budget accounts.

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CRS-24
costs than were anticipated when the appropriations were proposed or made, and
expected carryovers into FY2008, offset by spending financed from money available
from prior years and other USDA budget accounts (e.g., permanent appropriations
used for commodity purchases for school meal programs).
For FY2008, the House-passed bill would appropriate a total of $59.7 billion for
domestic food assistance, about $300 million more than requested; this would
finance spending totaling an estimated $56.8 billion (also some $300 million above
the figure forecast by the Administration). On the other hand, the Senate-reported
bill provides an appropriation of $59.8 billion, financing overall spending about $400
million more than the Administration’s estimate. In both the House and Senate
measures, the primary difference between their appropriations totals and the
Administration’s request is added funding for the WIC program and the CSFP.
The Administration proposed domestic food assistance appropriations totaling
$59.3 billion for FY2008, a $2.3 billion increase from FY2007. This level would
finance estimated spending of about $56.5 billion, an overall increase of more than
$2 billion from the FY2007 estimate. With major exceptions for the CSFP (proposed
for termination) and the WIC program, the appropriation request proposed essentially
“full funding” for domestic food assistance, based on the Administration’s
projections of likely participation and food costs.
The House and Senate appropriations measures also include a few changes to
the terms under which food aid programs operate and expand funding for the
program offering free fresh fruits and vegetables in schools and the CSFP — see the
section on Special Program Initiatives, below. However, they do not adopt most of
the Administration’s proposed changes in program rules or its recommendation to
terminate the CSFP.
Programs under the Food Stamp Act. Appropriations under the Food
Stamp Act fund (1) the regular Food Stamp program; (2) a Nutrition Assistance
Block Grant for Puerto Rico (in lieu of food stamps) and small nutrition assistance
grant programs in American Samoa and the Northern Marianas; (3) the cost of
commodities and administration and nutrition education through the Food
Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (the FDPIR); (4) the cost of
commodities (not distribution and administrative expenses, which are covered under
the Commodity Assistance Programs budget account) for The Emergency Food
Assistance Program (TEFAP); and (5) Community Food Projects and grants to
improve access to the Food Stamp program.
For the above-noted programs covered by the Food Stamp Act, the FY2008
Administration budget proposed an appropriation totaling $39.8 billion, up from
$38.2 billion in FY2007 — in both cases, including a $3 billion contingency reserve
for food stamps in case current cost projections turn out to be too low. With only two
small, but significant, differences for food stamps and the FDPIR (noted below), the
FY2008 appropriations measures adopted by the House and reported in the Senate
also appropriate some $39.8 billion for these programs. Under the Administration’s
request and the House and Senate bills, FY2008 spending for Food Stamp Act
programs is estimated to be less than appropriated (primarily due to the $3 billion
reserve), between $36.8 and $36.9 billion. As to individual programs,

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CRS-25
! On the basis of projected participation and the value of indexed
benefit amounts, the Administration asked for a $37.978 billion
appropriation for the regular Food Stamp program, including a $3
billion contingency reserve and $67 million to cover new food stamp
costs attendant on termination of the CSFP (see the later discussions
of Commodity Assistance Programs and Special Program
Initiatives). This represents an increase of some $1.6 billion over
FY2007. Both the House and Senate bills essentially adopt the
Administration’s request (including the reserve fund), with one
exception: they reject the proposal to end the CSFP and thus slightly
reduce (although by differing amounts) the food stamp appropriation
to $37.951 billion (House) and $37.913 billion (Senate).6
! For Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas,
the Administration’s FY2008 request included nutrition assistance
grants of $1.615 billion for Puerto Rico, $6.5 million for American
Samoa, and $9.4 million for the Northern Marianas. The amounts
for Puerto Rico and American Samoa represent small increases from
FY2007; the figure for the Northern Marianas is the same as in
FY2007.7 Both the House and Senate measures agree with the
Administration’s figures.
! The Administration’s FY2008 budget for the FDPIR asked for
$79.6 million, a $2 million rise from FY2007. Both the House and
Senate bills add to this amount and stipulate that the extra money go
for the administrative and distribution expenses of program
operators (generally, Indian tribal organizations): $5 million more
in the House, $6 million in the Senate.8
! The Administration’s budget and the House and Senate measures all
include $140 million for the acquisition of commodities for TEFAP,
as required by law (no increase from FY2007).
! The Administration’s budget and the House and Senate measures
also all include funding for Community Food Projects and food
stamp access grants — at $5 million each (no change from
FY2007).
6 Also see the discussion of “Special Program Initiatives” at the end of this section for
information on the CSFP proposal and food stamps and treatment of combat-related military
pay.
7 The grants to Puerto Rico and American Samoa are annually indexed, as stipulated in law.
Northern Marianas’ grant is periodically negotiated with the Commonwealth.
8 While the Administration did not include these extra sums for the FDPIR in its FY2008
budget, it did support a similar add-on in its package of proposals for the 2007 farm bill.

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CRS-26
Child Nutrition Programs. Appropriations under the Child Nutrition budget
account fund a number of programs and activities covered by the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act. These include the School
Lunch and Breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP),
the Summer Food Service program, the Special Milk program, assistance for related
state administrative expenses, procurement of commodities for child nutrition
programs, state-federal reviews of the integrity of school meal operations
(“Coordinated Reviews”), “Team Nutrition” and food safety education initiatives to
improve meal quality and safety in child nutrition programs, and technical assistance
to CACFP operators.9 Funding for a program offering free fresh fruits and vegetables
in some 400 schools in 14 states and on 3 Indian reservations is discussed later in the
section on Special Program Initiatives.
On the basis of projections of participation and the indexed value of child
nutrition subsidies, the Administration proposed an FY2008 appropriation of $13.897
billion for all child nutrition programs, an increase of $552 million over the amount
available for FY2007.10 As to individual program areas, the Administration proposed
the following for FY2008, all figures (except the last four) up noticeably from
spending estimates for FY2007:11
! School Lunch program: $8.181 billion.
! School Breakfast program: $2.390 billion.
! CACFP: $2.289 billion.
! Summer Food Service program: $311 million.
! State administrative expenses: $176 million.
! Commodity procurement: $518 million.12
! Special Milk program: $15 million.
! Coordinated Reviews: $5.5 million.
9 With one exception (the free fresh fruit and vegetable program), programs and activities
supported by funding provided outside the scope of the regular annual appropriations
process are not covered in this report. Permanent appropriations (Section 32 and CCC
funds) pay for commodities acquired by the AMS and the CCC and donated to child
nutrition programs. Child nutrition authorizing laws (the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act) direct mandatory spending for the Food
Service Management Institute, an information clearinghouse, and certain grants for technical
assistance and pilot projects. Commodity donations financed through Section 32 and the
CCC typically total over $500 million a year. Spending on activities mandated by child
nutrition laws (other than the fresh fruit and vegetable program) is expected to be some $11
million in FY2008. Directed mandatory spending on the fruit and vegetable project is set
at $9 million a year; as noted, this program is discussed later, in the section on “Special
Program Initiatives.”
10 These amounts do not include significant support from other budget accounts — e.g.,
Section 32 permanent appropriations to acquire commodities for child nutrition programs
— and mandatory funding directed by child nutrition laws.
11 The following amounts for each program area are new funds made available for spending
on each one. However, these funds generally may be shifted among the programs if needed.
Specific comparable program-by-program amounts for FY2007 are not yet available.
12 Not including commodities acquired through other (e.g., Section 32) budget accounts.

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CRS-27
! Team Nutrition & food safety: $11 million.
! CACFP technical assistance: $2 million.
The House-passed bill appropriates $13.903 billion, $6 million more than
requested; the added funding is for Team Nutrition and food safety initiatives. The
Senate-reported bill is the same as the Administration’s request.
The WIC Program. The Administration asked for an FY2008 WIC
appropriation of $5.387 billion, some $183 million above the amount made available
for FY2007; taking into account money set aside in a contingency fund in case
budget projects are off, FY2008 spending was expected to increase by about $68
million under the Administration’s scenario. However, to implement this scenario,
the Administration also proposed limiting WIC eligibility for some Medicaid
recipients and capping per-person grants for nutrition services and administration
(see the later section on “Special Program Initiatives”).
The bill adopted by the House appropriates $5.620 billion for FY2008, up $416
million over FY2007 and $233 million more than requested; this would allow for a
greater increase in WIC spending than envisioned by the Administration. In the
accompanying report, the House Appropriations Committee notes that the intent of
the appropriation is to provide sufficient funds to serve all those eligible who wish
to participate and that food cost and participation estimates available since the
Administration presented its budget call for an appropriation level higher than
requested. The House bill also rejects the Administration’s two proposals to limit
WIC spending, another reason for the larger appropriation.13 Further, it sets aside up
to $30 million for improving state WIC agencies’ management information systems
(if the money is not needed to support the WIC caseload and the contingency fund
has not been tapped) and rejects the Administration’s proposal to increase the size
of the contingency fund.
The Senate-reported bill appropriates $5.720 billion, $516 million over FY2007
and $333 million more than requested. Although the Senate bill’s appropriation is
$100 million above that in the House (based on differing estimates of food costs and
potential participation), the Senate measure’s stance is essentially the same as that of
the House: sufficient money to serve all those eligible, rejection of the
Administration’s cost-limitation proposals and its recommendation to increase the
contingency fund, and a contingent $30 million set-aside to support management
information system improvements.
Commodity Assistance Programs. The Commodity Assistance Program
budget and appropriations account supports several discretionary programs and
activities: (1) the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP); (2) funding for
administrative and distribution costs under The Emergency Food Assistance Program
(TEFAP); (3) the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition program; (4) commodity
13 For example, the Administration expected some $145 million in savings from its proposal
to cap nutrition services and administration per-person grants.

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CRS-28
assistance for certain nuclear-affected zones in the Marshall Islands; and (5)
commodity assistance in the case of natural disasters.14
For FY2008, the Administration proposed a major change affecting this budget
account; it recommended terminating the CSFP (which was appropriated $107
million in FY2007).15 As a result, its appropriations request was $70 million, $107
million less than FY2007. The budget request for the remaining program areas asked
for FY2008 funding at essentially the FY2007 level: $49.5 million for TEFAP
administrative and distribution expenses, $19.8 million for the WIC farmers’ market
initiative, and a total of about $1 million for nuclear-affected zones and commodity
disaster assistance.
The House-passed bill rejects the proposal to terminate the CSFP and
appropriates a total of $221 million for FY2008. Instead of termination, it includes
a substantial funding increase for the CSFP — to $150 million ($43 million over
FY2007) — to allow for program expansion. In other respects, the House measure
closely follows the Administration’s budget, although it provides $500,000 more than
requested for WIC farmers’ markets and another added $500,000 for TEFAP
administrative and distribution expenses.
The Senate-reported bill also rejects termination of the CSFP and appropriates
a total of $199 million for the Commodity Assistance Program account — $22
million less than the House, but well above the Administration’s recommendation.
The Senate differs from the House only in the size of the increase for the CSFP. It
would provide $128 million for the CSFP in FY2008, as opposed to the House figure
of $150 million; this would allow for some expansion, but not to the degree
contemplated in the House bill.
Nutrition Program Administration. This budget account covers spending
on federal costs for administering all the domestic food assistance programs noted
above, special projects for improving the integrity and quality of nutrition programs,
and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP). Discretionary funding
for the Congressional Hunger Center also is provided through this account.
For FY2008, the Administration asked for a total of $148.9 million, an $8.6
million increase over FY2007 (mostly made up of salary increase costs); it proposed
no funding for the Congressional Hunger Center.
The House-passed FY2008 appropriations bill provides $146.9 million for
federal administrative costs, special projects, and the CNPP — $2 million less than
requested. Separately, a provision in Title VII (Section 740) appropriates $2.5
million for the Hunger Center.
14 Funds for acquiring commodities for TEFAP are appropriated through the Food Stamp
Act appropriation (i.e., $140 million a year). Assistance for nuclear-affected areas of the
Marshall Islands is authorized by amendments to the Compact of Free Association with the
Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition program is funded
through permanent appropriations ($15 million a year) outside the appropriations process.
15 Also see the discussion of Special Program Initiatives at the end of this section.

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CRS-29
The Senate’s FY2008 measure appropriates a total of $147.4 million. This
amount includes $2.5 million for the Congressional Hunger Center, as well as federal
administrative costs, special projects, and the CNPP.
Special Program Initiatives. In addition to regular appropriations, the
Administration, the House, and the Senate Appropriations Committee have included
(or rejected) changes in program rules and new initiatives in their FY2008
appropriations packages.
Programs under the Food Stamp Act. The House bill proposes to
disregard combat-related pay as income to military families applying for or
participating in the Food Stamp program (as has been the case in several previous
years’ appropriations bills); the Senate bill does not. Although its appropriations
proposal did not include this item, the Administration has separately supported this
change in food stamp rules as part of its 2007 farm bill package, and it is likely to
become part of the 2007 farm bill’s permanent amendments to the Food Stamp Act.
The Administration proposed to provide special transitional food stamp benefits
for, and fund outreach efforts to, those losing benefits on termination of the CSFP
(see below). Both bills reject the proposal to close down the CSFP and, as a result,
include no food stamp funding for transitional benefits or special outreach activities.
Child Nutrition Programs. The House-passed bill includes several changes
affecting child nutrition programs.
! It makes simplified Summer Food Service program rules
applicable in all states. These rules (allowed to be used in 27 states)
are intended to encourage expansion of the summer program by
freeing program sponsors from a requirement that they provide
detailed documentation of their expenses.
! It adds one state (West Virginia) to the seven states in which federal
subsidies are given for suppers served in after-school programs.
! In Title VII (Section 737) of the bill, $21 million is provided for
nationwide expansion of the program offering free fresh fruits and
vegetables in schools. In the 2006-2007 school year, this program
operated in about 400 schools located in 14 states and on 3 Indian
reservations and had a total of $15 million available from mandatory
and discretionary appropriations sources. The House bill would fund
a limited expansion to a small number of schools in all states (up to
$500,000 per state) and, with $9 million already available from a
mandatory permanent appropriation directed by child nutrition law,
total support would reach $30 million in FY2008.16
16 While the Senate bill does not include new funding for the fresh fruit and vegetable
program, it does allow all states that participated in the 2006-2007 school year to continue
participation in the 2007-2008 school year by using available unspent funding. It also
(continued...)

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CRS-30
The WIC Program. The Administration proposed two important changes in
the WIC program; both are rejected in the House and Senate bills. One
recommendation would have denied generally automatic WIC eligibility to Medicaid
participants (the current rule) to those with income above 250% of the federal
poverty income guidelines. A second would have placed a cap on the amount of the
per-person grant states get to administer the WIC program and provide nutrition
education and other services to recipients; the cap would have been set noticeably
below the FY2007 average grant level.
Commodity Assistance Programs. The Administration proposed to
terminate the CSFP. It contends that this program duplicates benefits provided under
the Food Stamp and WIC programs, and provided for special benefits and outreach
under the Food Stamp program for the elderly population that makes up almost all
of the CSFP caseload. Both the House and Senate appropriations measures reject this
proposal and call for substantial increases above FY2007 appropriations to support
it: $43 million more in the House and an additional $21 million in the Senate.
Agricultural Trade and Food Aid
USDA’s international activities are funded by discretionary appropriations (e.g.,
foreign food assistance under P.L. 480) and by using the borrowing authority of the
CCC (e.g., export credit guarantees, market development programs, and export
subsidies). The Senate-reported bill provides discretionary appropriations of $1.495
billion for international activities, while the House-passed bill provides discretionary
appropriations of $1.487 billion, $8 million less. The Administration’s budget
indicates that an additional $3.3 billion would be allocated to CCC-funded programs
during FY2008. Included in the Senate-reported bill is $167.4 million for the Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) to administer USDA’s international programs; the House
bill’s allowance for FAS is $159.1 million.
For P.L. 480 foreign food assistance, both the House-passed and Senate-reported
versions provide $1.219 billion, the amount requested in the President’s budget. All
of the P.L. 480 appropriations would go for Title II commodity donations. P.L. 480
Title II provides U.S. agricultural commodities for emergency humanitarian aid and
for use in development projects overseas. Unlike the other international activities
funded by agricultural appropriations, Title II is administered by the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), not USDA.
Both bills concur with the President’s requests for no funds for P.L. 480 Title
I loans, nor any for the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, a reserve of commodities
and cash held by the CCC, which currently holds 900,000 metric tons of wheat and
$107 million. The budget assumes $163 million of CCC funds for the Food for
Progress (FFP) program, which provides food aid to emerging democracies. P.L. 480
Title I funds can be allocated to FFP, but in the absence of an appropriation for Title
I, that source would be unavailable in FY2008. Similarly, USDA anticipates that no
16 (...continued)
should be noted that a significantly larger expansion of this program is part of the House
version of the 2007 farm bill (H.R. 2419) and is likely to be part of any Senate farm bill.

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CRS-31
CCC commodity inventories would be available for distribution as food aid under
Section 416(b), a program that makes surplus agricultural commodities available
overseas. For the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child
Nutrition Program, both reported bills provide $100 million, an increase of $1
million from the previously enacted amount. Pending farm bill legislation (H.R.
2419, passed by the House on July 27, 2007) proposes to change the funding basis
for the McGovern-Dole Program from discretionary to mandatory and to increase its
annual authorized funding to $300 million by FY2011.
The President’s budget request contained proposed legislative language to allow
the Administrator of USAID to use up to 25% of P.L. 480 Title II funds for local or
regional purchases of commodities to address international food crises. The Senate
Committee report did not address this request directly, but instead stressed its
expectation that Title II would be used primarily for development, not emergency,
assistance. In the event of additional emergency needs, the Senate Appropriations
Committee “reminds the Department of the availability of the Bill Emerson
Humanitarian Trust.” In contrast, the House Appropriations Committee report
indicates that, although it did not include the Administration’s proposal in its version
of the bill, it will consider the proposal as part of an overall examination of food aid
programs during this year. Congress rejected similar Administration proposals for
local or regional purchase made in the FY2006 and FY2007 budget requests.
CCC Export Credit Guarantee Programs secure commercial financing of U.S.
agricultural exports. An estimated FY2008 program level of $2.444 billion reflects
the level of sales expected to be registered under the program. Actual sales could
vary from this estimate, depending upon demand for credit, market conditions, and
other factors. Both the House and Senate bills provide just over $5.3 million,
virtually the same as the Administration’s request, for administrative expenses of
CCC export credit programs. Neither bill includes legislative language proposed by
the Administration to bring CCC export credit guarantee programs into compliance
with a WTO dispute panel decision that found such programs to be prohibited export
subsidies. Pending farm bill legislation (H.R. 2419), however, does address this
WTO compliance issue by removing the 1% cap on origination fees for the amount
of credit to be guaranteed in a transaction and by repealing the authorization for an
intermediate (3-10 years) export credit guarantee program.
The President’s budget proposes that $200 million would be allocated to the
Market Access Program (MAP). MAP mainly promotes exports of high value
products. The export program that mainly promotes bulk commodities, the Foreign
Market Development Program, would be allocated $34.5 million according to the
President’s budget. For export subsidy programs, the budget requests no funds for
the Export Enhancement Program (EEP) and just $3 million for the Dairy Export
Incentive Program ($3 million in FY2007). EEP funding is authorized at $478
million annually, but no CCC funds have been allocated to the program during
FY2002-FY2007. FY2008 authorized funding levels for these CCC-funded
programs could be altered by the pending farm bill.
For additional information on USDA’s international activities, see CRS Report
RL33553, Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs, by Charles E. Hanrahan.

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CRS-32
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)17
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the safety of foods and the
safety and effectiveness of drugs, biologics (e.g., vaccines), and medical devices.
Now part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), FDA was
originally housed in the Department of Agriculture. The agriculture appropriation
subcommittees still keep jurisdiction over the FDA budget.
FDA’s budget has two components: direct appropriations and user fees. For
FY2008, the Senate-reported bill would provide a direct appropriation of $1.76
billion to FDA, $57.4 million (3.4%) more than the House-passed bill. The Senate
bill is $119.4 million (7.3%) more than the President’s request, and $185.9 million
(11.8%) more than the FY2007 enacted appropriation.
For the entire FDA budget (direct appropriations and user fees), the Senate-
reported bill would provide FDA $2.31 billion, compared with $2.07 billion in the
President’s request and $2.01 billion in the FY2007 appropriation.18
Table 7 displays, by program area, the budget authority (direct appropriations),
user fees, and total program levels enacted for FY2007, the President’s FY2008
request, and the Senate-reported and House-passed bills for FY2008.
17 This section was coordinated by Susan Thaul, with added contributions from Vanessa K.
Burrows, Judith A. Johnson, Sarah A. Lister, Donna V. Porter, Bernice Reyes-Akinbileje,
and Erin D. Williams.
18 The House committee chose not to include the prescription drug and medical device user
fee revenues in its table because, although both the House and the Senate have passed
reauthorizing legislation, until the bill is enacted, the authorities to collect those fees expire
on September 30, 2007.

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CRS-33
Table 7. FDA Appropriations and User Fees, by Program Area
(millions of dollars)
FY2008
FY2007
FY2008
House-
Senate-
Program Area
Funds
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported
BA:
457.1
466.7
503.7c
522.5
Foods
Fees:
0.0
0.0
Total:
457.1
466.7
BA:
315.1
324.4
348.4
354.7
Human drugs
Fees:
255.2
232.4
Total:
570.4
556.8
BA:
144.5
155.1
155.1
158.6
Biologics
Fees:
65.7
60.8
Total:
210.3
215.8
BA:
94.7
94.8
94.8
98.5
Animal drugs and feeds
Fees:
9.5
11.5
Total:
104.3
106.3
BA:
230.7
240.1
240.1
143.3
Devices
Fees:
42.2
45.3
Total:
272.9
285.4
BA:
42.1
36.5
36.5
46.1
Toxicological research
Fees:
0.0
0.0
(NCTR)
Total:
42.1
36.5
Headquarters and
BA:
90.5
88.6
89.6
102.0
Office of the
Fees:
32.1
32.9
Commissioner
Total:
122.6
121.4
BA:
126.9
131.5
131.5
131.5
GSA rent
Fees:
19.1
26.9
Total:
146.0
158.4
Other rent and rent-
BA:
67.6
98.0
98.0
98.0
related, including White
Fees:
1.1
9.1
Oak consolidation
Total:
68.6
107.1
BA:
0.0
0.0
Certification funds
Fees:
8.5
9.5
d
b
Total:
8.5
9.5
BA:
1,569.2
1,635.7
1,697.7e
1,755.1
Salaries & Expenses
Fees:
433.5
428.3
13.7f
549.0
Subtotal
Total:
2,002.8
2,064.0
1,711.4f
2,304.2
BA:
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
Buildings & Facilities
Fees:
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Subtotal
Total:
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
BA:
1,574.2
1,640.7
1,702.7e
1,760.1
FDA Total
Fees:
433.5
428.3a
d f
549.0
Total:
2,007.7
2,068.9
d f
2,309.1
Sources: Adapted by CRS from FDA Operating Plan for FY2007 (March 2007); FDA, Fiscal Year
2008 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Feb. 2007; S. 1859, S.Rept. 110-134,
and H.Rept. 110-258, all July 24, 2007; and H.R. 3161, August 3, 2007.
Notes:
BA = budget authority, also referred to as direct appropriations.
Fees = from collected user fees.
Total = program level = budget authority plus user fees.

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CRS-34
a. Does not include proposed user fees.
b. The Senate report specifies $9.5 million in revenue from color certification fees, not included in
the table.
c. The House bill includes $28 million, specifying it remain available for CFSAN from July 1, 2008
through September 30, 2009.
d. The House bill authorizes the use of mammography and export certification fees, but does not
specify amounts.
e. BA column totals to $1,697.7 million; the House bill gives total as $1,683.4 million.
f. Does not include prescription drug or medical device user fees.
Food
Food Safety. The Senate-reported bill would provide FDA with $48.4 million
increase for food safety, which is $37.8 million above the Administration’s request.
The agency is to provide detailed quarterly reports on the use of these funds,
including the additional staff hired and research contracts let. At least $21 million
is to be used to hire inspectors for both foreign and domestic products. At least $11
million is to be used to create both federal and state rapid response teams for food
safety problems (specifically produce) throughout the nation. The Senate measure
provides $2.4 million for a contract to New Mexico State University to operate the
Food Technology Evaluation Laboratory to evaluate and develop rapid screening
methodologies, technologies and instrumentation to support FDA’s responsibilities
in food safety and bioterrorism.
In addition, FDA is to use $6 million for increased research on food safety
problems, with $2 million to be used to create a Western Region FDA Center for
Excellence at the University of California at Davis to address food safety issues and
$3 million for the National Center for Food Safety and Technology in Summit-Argo,
Illinois. The agency is directed to contract with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of
the National Academies for a comprehensive study on gaps in public health
protection in the current food safety system and opportunities for filling those gaps.
FDA is directed to work with interested parties to resolve issues on the proposed
closure of FDA laboratories and report to Congress before implementing any
changes. The Senate-reported bill encourages the FDA to develop with states a
program to increase inspections of imported shrimp for banned antibiotics and to
combat issues of economic fraud in the seafood industry. It also sets aside about
$450,000 to establish regulations for seafood safety.
The House-passed bill does not contain any of the specific Senate-reported bill
provisions discussed above. However, it does direct FDA to develop an
OMB-approved performance plan that establishes measurable benchmarks for
improvements in the performance of its food safety responsibilities. The House
measure provides $28 million for implementation of the plan. It provides CFSAN
with $319.1 million for its field operations. FDA is directed to reconsider the GRAS
(“generally regarded as safe”) status of diacetyl (a butter-flavoring agent used in
microwave popcorn) through further studies to determine its safety (regarding both
workers and consumers) and submit a report to Congress on its research plan for this
substance. FDA also is encouraged to promptly address violations of the law,
following concerns about the delay in the import alert on certain farm-raised fish
from China. The House-passed bill encourages the agency to consider establishing
a formal process for tracking status inquiries regarding imported foods. Finally, FDA

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CRS-35
and USDA are directed to work with GAO to implement a plan that would remove
food safety from GAO’s high-risk list.
Nutrition. The Senate-reported bill encourages USDA and FDA to create an
interagency working group to set clear and uniform health standards for children’s
nutrition to address the obesity problem. It also recommends $5.4 million for the
CFSAN adverse event reporting system, of which $1.5 million is for dietary
supplements. The Senate measure directs the agency to review the folic acid
fortification level and report to Congress on whether the current fortification levels
are adequate. It directs FDA to review and report to Congress on the nutrition
symbols and guidance systems for consumers and the current scientific and consumer
research on the use and effectiveness of such symbols. The House-passed bill
contains no nutrition provisions comparable to those in the Senate-reported bill. The
House measure does contain a provision that prohibits any funds to be used to
authorize qualified health claims for conventional foods.
Human Drugs
Specified Funding Increases. In their reports, the House and Senate
committees each recommend specific increases in appropriated funds for specific
activities relating to drugs. The House lists the Office of Generic Drugs ($5 million);
the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communication ($6.3 million); and
the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology ($12.8 million). The Senate lists
pandemic influenza preparedness ($4 million); critical path and drug safety ($33.2
million); and generic drug review ($7.6 million).
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising User Fees. The House
Committee stated in the report its belief that these proposed user fees are “ill-
conceived.” The House, therefore, includes an increase of $6.3 million in
appropriations for DTC advertisement review, the estimated amount of revenue from
the proposed fees. The House report states that, “Should the DTC user fee proposal
be authorized, the Committee will not approve an appropriation to make the funds
collected available.”
Reports Requested and Issues Noted. The House and Senate
Committees also request a number of reports from FDA. House topics include the
reasons why FDA has not implemented recommendations from the HHS Office of
the Inspector General (OIG) regarding postmarket study commitments and what FDA
learned from the Ketek® investigation. Topics of Senate-requested reports include
manufacturing locations (e.g., country) of active ingredients used in each drug FDA
approves for U.S. sale; and progress on work, with patient groups, manufacturers,
and national pharmacy groups to improve the development and utility of MedGuides.
Both the House and Senate request reports relating to activities to reduce
methamphetamine abuse. Although not requesting a report from FDA, the Senate
report mentions collaborative drug safety research, legacy drugs, FDA-pharmacy
school patient-safety strategies, orphan products grants, premarket reviews, and
therapies for Type 1 Diabetes.

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CRS-36
Restrictions on Use of Appropriated Funds. The House-passed bill
prohibits the use of appropriated funds on activities to prevent an individual from
importing a prescription drug that complies with FFDCA requirements.
Medical Devices
Medical Device Identification. The Senate committee encourages FDA to
continue to work on the development of an appropriate method of identifying
medical devices to ensure patient safety throughout the life cycle of the device, which
FDA is currently planning to do with a Unique Device Identification (UDI) system.
The Senate committee further recognizes that FDA’s UDI system must include
information to adequately identify the device through distribution and use, and may
include the development of a publicly accessible UDI database. The House
committee report does not address UDIs.
Enforcement Transition. The Senate committee encourages FDA to ensure
that the transition to enforcing the FFDCA device requirements — including
premarket review, for diagnostic multivariate index assays for breast cancer and other
diseases — does not inhibit development of products that are important to public
health. The House committee report contains no provisions on this topic.
Breast Imaging Quality Standards. The Senate committee recommends
funding for FY2008 at no less than that provided in FY2007. It also directs the FDA
to provide a report within 120 days of enactment detailing how the administration
will implement the recommendations made in the 2005 IOM report (“Breast Imaging
Quality Standards”) and the 2006 GAO report (“Mammography: Current Nationwide
Capacity is Adequate, but Access Problems May Exist in Certain Locations”). The
House committee report contains no provisions on this topic.
Animal Drugs, Devices, and Feeds
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. The Senate recommends $29.3
million for FDA for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow
Disease), primarily to bolster feed inspection activities. The House committee does
not stipulate a specific amount. The House states its concern regarding FDA’s delay
in publishing a final rule regarding materials to be prohibited in animal feeds, and
directs FDA to report to the Committee, within 60 days of enactment, regarding
obstacles to publication of the final rule.
Antimicrobial Resistance. The House report directs the FDA to (1) finalize
and publish, by June 30, 2008, its review of the safety for people of the
subtherapeutic use of penicillin in animal feeds; and (2) report to the Committee, by
November 1, 2007, regarding its guidance to industry about the public health effects
of antimicrobial drugs use in animals. The Senate report does not contain a
comparable provision.

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CRS-37
Cross-Cutting Topics
Specified Funding Increases. The Senate-reported and the House-passed
bills specify increases for activities that cut across FDA programs. Both bills would
increase direct appropriations for the FDA Office of Women’s Health by $1 million,
bringing the total for FY2008 to $5 million. The Senate bill specifies other activities:
cost-of-living adjustments ($55.4 million); White Oak campus consolidation ($13.3
million); and rent to GSA, and other rent and rent-related costs ($21.8 million).
Both the House and the Senate committee recommend $5 million for the Office
of Women’s Health, and stress the importance of the office. The House is asking for
quarterly reports on expenditures and staffing to ensure that the resources provided
are used exclusively for that Office. The Senate report asks that FDA ensure that the
Office is sufficiently funded and to “enhance its funding if necessary.”
Requested Reports to Congress. In discussing its concerns in the report,
the House directs FDA to prepare reports to the Congress on topics including a status
report on all open audits and recommendations by OIG and by the GAO. Noting that
FDA’s plans to reorganize the Office of Regulatory Affairs include some field
laboratory closures, the Senate Committee directs FDA to work with all interested
parties and to report to the Committee, before closing any laboratory, on staff and
capability retention efforts.
Issues Highlighted. Both the House and the Senate reports address the
structure of the Administration’s budget request. The House notes it prefers
specified levels of funding for the various Centers and activities; the Senate directs
FDA to continue using the account structure in its FY2008 budget request. The
Senate report also mentions the Unified Financial Management System. The House
report specifies the level of direct appropriations it provides for field activities in
each of FDA’s program-based centers and then directs the agency to maintain those
levels and to notify the Committee about proposed reductions.
Restrictions on Use of Appropriated Funds. The House-passed bill
prohibits the use of appropriated funds on activities to produce a prepackaged news
story unless it includes a clear notification that it was prepared or funded by an
executive branch agency, to grant a waiver of a financial conflict-of-interest
requirement for a voting member of an FDA advisory committee or panel, or to
terminate or consolidate FDA field laboratories or inspection and compliance
functions of district offices. The Senate-reported bill prohibits use of funds to close
the FDA laboratory in St. Louis, Missouri.

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CRS-38
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the independent
regulatory agency charged with oversight of derivatives markets. The CFTC’s
functions include oversight of trading on the futures exchanges, registration and
supervision of futures industry personnel, prevention of fraud and price manipulation,
and investor protection. Although most futures trading is now related to financial
variables (interest rates, currency prices, and stock indexes), congressional oversight
remains vested in the agricultural committees because of the market’s historical
origins as an adjunct to agricultural trade.

For FY2008, the Administration has requested $116.0 million for the CFTC, an
increase of 18.4% over FY2007’s appropriation under the continuing resolution of
$98 million. The Administration’s budget also proposes that a fee be imposed on
users of the futures markets to pay for the cost of federal regulation. To fund the
CFTC at the $116 million level, a fee of about 5¢ per transaction on the futures
exchanges would be required. Every administration since Ronald Reagan’s has
proposed a similar fee, but Congress has never enacted one. (For more information
on the futures transaction fee, see CRS Report RS22415, Proposed Transaction Fee
on Futures Contracts, by Mark Jickling.)
The House bill provides $102.6 million for the CFTC, $13.4 million, or 11.6%,
less than the Administration’s request. The amount would be an appropriation from
the general fund; the bill does not address the proposed transaction fee.
In the Senate, CFTC appropriations are included in H.R. 2829, the Financial
Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2008. That bill, as reported
by the Senate Appropriations Committee, provides $116.0 million for the CFTC, the
amount requested by the Administration. Like the House-passed bill, H.R. 2829 does
not include the proposed transaction fee as a vehicle for funding the CFTC, but
provides for an appropriation from the general fund.

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CRS-39
Table 8. USDA and Related Agencies Appropriations,
FY2008 Action and FY2007 Enacted
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2008 Differences
House
Senate
FY2007
Admin.
House-
Senate-
vs.
vs.
Agency or Major Program
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported FY2007
House
Title I: Agricultural Programs
Agric. Research Service (ARS)
1,128.9
1,037.5
1,140.3
1,194.3
11.4
53.9
Coop. State Research Education and
1,182.9
1,020.7
1,199.5
1,178.3
16.5
-21.2
Extension Service (CSREES)
Economic Research Service (ERS)
75.2
82.5
79.3
76.5
4.1
-2.8
National Agric. Statistics Service
147.3
167.7
166.1
167.7
18.8
1.6
(NASS)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
851.2
954.5
879.6
916.7
28.4
37.1
Service (APHIS)
Agric. Marketing Service (AMS)
112.7
113.1
118.1
110.8
5.4
-7.3
Grain Inspection, Packers and
37.8
44.4
41.1
39.1
3.3
-2.0
Stockyards Admin. (GIPSA)
Food Safety & Inspection Serv.
892.1
930.1
930.1
930.6
38.0
0.5
(FSIS)
Farm Service Agency (FSA) -
1,337.1
1,548.2
1,440.7
1,478.7
103.7
37.9
Total Salaries and Expenses
FSA Farm Loans - Subsidy Level
149.8
152.3
152.3
149.6
2.5
-2.7
Farm Loan Authority
3,749.5
3,366.8
3,407.4
3,450.9
-342.1
43.5
Risk Management Agency (RMA)
76.7
79.1
78.8
78.8
2.2
0.0
Salaries and Expenses
Federal Crop Insurance Corp.a
4,379.3
4,818.1
4,818.1
4,818.1
438.8
0.0
Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC)a
23,098.3
12,983.0
12,983.1
12,983.0 -10,115.3
-0.1
Other agencies and programs
561.1
533.8
478.3
467.8
-82.8
-10.5
Subtotal
34,030.3
24,465.0
24,505.5
24,590.0
-9,524.8
84.5
Title II: Conservation Programs
Conservation Operations
763.4
801.8
851.9
863.0
88.6
11.1
Watershed Surveys and Planning
6.1
0
6.6
0
0.5
-6.6
Watershed & Flood Prevention
0
0
37.0
33.5
37.0
-3.6
Watershed Rehabilitation Program
31.3
5.8
31.6
20.0
0.3
-11.6
Resource Conservation & Dev.
51.1
14.7
52.4
53.2
1.3
0.8
Healthy Forests Reserve
0
2.5
0
2.5
0
2.5
Under Secretary, Natural Resources
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.0
0.0

---

CRS-40
FY2008 Differences
House
Senate
FY2007
Admin.
House-
Senate-
vs.
vs.
Agency or Major Program
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported FY2007
House
Subtotal
852.6
825.6
980.2
972.9
127.6
-7.4
Title III: Rural Development (RD)
Rural Community Advancement
737.1
0.0
728.8
0.0
-8.3
-728.8
Program (RCAP)
Salaries and Expenses
161.3
208.2
175.4
175.3
14.1
-0.1
Rural Housing Service (RHS)
1,423.0
1,148.4
1,361.1
1,363.6
-61.8
2.5
RHS Loan Authority b
5,570.8
5,613.9
5,750.0
5,499.3
179.2
-250.7
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
85.8
117.1
105.6
170.5
19.9
64.9
RBCS Loan Authority b
1,149.1
1,262.3
1,566.8
1,243.5
417.7
-323.3
Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
92.2
574.7
102.4
647.9
10.2
545.5
RUS Loan Authority b
7,639.5
6,245.2
6,665.0
9,940.2
-974.5
3,275.2
RD Under Secretary
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.03
0.00
Subtotal
2,500.0
2,049.2
2,474.0
2,358.0
-25.9
-116.0
Subtotal, RD Loan Authority
14,359.4
13,121.4
13,981.8
16,683.0
-377.6
2,701.2
Title IV: Domestic Food Programs
Child Nutrition Programs
13,345.6
13,897.3
13,903.2
13,897.3
557.6
-5.9
WIC Program
5,204.4
5,386.6
5,620.0
5,720.0
415.6
100.0
Food Stamp Act Programs
38,161.5
39,838.2
39,816.2
39,779.2
1,654.7
-37.0
Commodity Assistance Programs
177.6
70.4
221.1
199.1
43.5
-22.0
Nutrition Programs Admin.
140.3
148.9
146.9
147.4
6.7
0.5
Office of Under Secretary
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.03
0.00
Subtotal
57,030.0
59,342.0
59,708.1
59,743.6
2,678.1
35.6
Title V: Foreign Assistance
Foreign Agric. Service (FAS)
156.2
168.2
159.1
167.4
2.9
8.3
Public Law (P.L.) 480
1,218.1
1,222.2
1,222.1
1,222.1
4.1
0.0
McGovern- Dole Food for Educ.
99.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1.0
0.0
CCC Export Loan Salaries
5.3
5.3
5.3
5.3
0.1
0.0
Subtotal 1,478.6
1,495.7
1,486.6
1,494.9
8.1
8.3
Title VI: FDA & Related Agencies
Food and Drug Administration
1,574.2
1,640.7
1,702.7
1,760.1
128.5
57.4
Commodity Futures Trading
Fin Svc.
98.0
116.0
102.6
4.6
NA
Commission (CFTC)
Subc.
Subtotal
1,672.2
1,756.7
1,805.2
1,760.1
133.0
-45.1
Title VII: General Provisionsc
-38.7
-81.5
-221.7
-314.4
-183.0
-92.7

---

CRS-41
FY2008 Differences
House
Senate
FY2007
Admin.
House-
Senate-
vs.
vs.
Agency or Major Program
Enacted
Request
Passed
Reported FY2007
House
RECAPITULATION
I: Agricultural Programs
34,030.3
24,465.0
24,505.5
24,590.0
-9,524.8
84.5
Mandatory
27,494.1
17,818.0
17,818.0
17,818.0
-9,676
0
Discretionary
6,536.2
6,647.0
6,687.5
6,772.0
151.3
84.5
II: Conservation Programs
852.6
825.6
980.2
972.9
127.6
-7.4
III: Rural Development
2,500.0
2,049.2
2,474.0
2,358.0
-25.9
-116.0
IV: Domestic Food Programs
57,030.0
59,342.0
59,708.1
59,743.6
2,678.1
35.6
Mandatory
51,506.1
53,712.5
53,719.4
53,676.5
2,213.3
-42.9
Discretionary
5,523.9
5,629.5
5,988.6
6,067.1
464.8
78.5
V: Foreign Assistance
1,478.6
1,495.7
1,486.6
1,494.9
8.1
8.3
VI: FDA & Related Agencies
1,672.2
1,756.7
1,805.2
1,760.1
133.0
-45.1
VII: General Provisions
-38.7
-81.5
-221.7
-314.4
-183.0
-92.7
Total, Before Adjustments
97,525
89,853
90,738
90,605
-6,787
-133
Mandatory
79,000
71,530
71,537
71,494
-7,463
-43
Discretionary (gross)
18,525
18,322
19,201
19,111
676
-90
Discretionary (net, after score-
17,812
17,830
18,817
18,709
1,005
-108
keeping adjustments)
Budget Allocation (302(b))
17,812
18,817
18,709
1,005
-108
Other emergency appropriations, for agencies in this bill, not included above
P.L. 110-28
Agricultural assistance
3,000.0
P.L. 480 Title II grants
450.0
Emergency Forestry Reserve
115.0
Other
87.5
Subtotal
3,652.5
Source: CRS, using tables from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
a. The Commodity Credit Corporation and the Federal Crop Insurance Fund each receive an indefinite appropriation
(“such sums, as may be necessary”). The amounts shown are the estimates used in the appropriations bills.
b. Includes loan authority provided under the Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP) accounts.
c. General provisions in Title VII affect various programs administered under other titles.

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