Agriculture and Related Agencies:
FY2013 Appropriations

Jim Monke
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
July 10, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42596
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Summary
The Agriculture appropriations bill provides funding for all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) except the Forest Service, plus the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, in
alternating years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
For FY2013, both the House and Senate have committee-reported bills for Agriculture
appropriations, though neither bill has reached the floor in its chamber. The Senate
Appropriations committee reported S. 2375 (S.Rept. 112-163) on April 26, 2012. The House
subcommittee marked up its bill on June 6, 2012, followed by full committee action on H.R. 5973
(H.Rept. 112-542) on June 19, 2012.
The Senate-reported bill would increase discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $20.8 billion,
an increase of $1.2 billion (+6.2%) above FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of
disaster provisions and CFTC appropriations in FY2012 (Table 2). Without these adjustments,
the Senate-reported discretionary amount is about $700 million (+3.5%) above FY2012.
The House-reported bill would reduce discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $19.4 billion, a
cut of $365 million below FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of disaster provisions
in FY2012 (Table 2). Without this adjustment, the House-reported discretionary amount is about
$675 million (-3.3%) below FY2012.
The Senate bill differs from FY2012 primarily by increasing discretionary domestic nutrition
programs (+$438 million), agricultural research (+$64 million), rural development (+$50
million), the FDA (+$24 million), and the Farm Service Agency (+$14 million), and reducing the
use of rescissions and limits on mandatory programs (-$672 million).
The House bill differs from FY2012 and from the Senate bill primarily by decreasing rural
development (-$153 million from FY2012, -$204 million from the Senate), international food aid
(-$324 million from FY2012 and the Senate bill), agricultural research (-$35 million from
FY2012, -$99 million from the Senate bill), the Farm Service Agency (-$35 million from
FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), animal and plant health programs (-$30 million from
FY2012 and the Senate bill), the CFTC (-$25 million from FY2012, -$128 million from the
Senate bill), the FDA (-$25 million from FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), and
discretionary conservation programs (-$16 million from FY2012, -$2 million from the Senate
bill); and by increasing discretionary domestic nutrition programs (+$295 million from FY2012, -
$143 million from the Senate bill) and reducing the use of limits on mandatory programs (-$154
million from FY2012, +$403 million over the Senate bill). The House bill also has policy-related
provisions that would remove a 2011 livestock and poultry marketing rule, tighten farm
commodity program payment limits, and require USDA to allow white potatoes for the Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program. The Administration opposes many of the
reductions and policy provisions proposed in the House bill.

Congressional Research Service

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Contents
Scope of the Agriculture Appropriations Bill .................................................................................. 1
Action on FY2013 Appropriations .................................................................................................. 1
Senate Action............................................................................................................................. 3
House Action ............................................................................................................................. 3
Historical Trends ..................................................................................................................... 11
Savings Achieved by Limits and Rescissions.......................................................................... 18
Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS) ..................................................... 18
Rescissions ........................................................................................................................ 20
Selected Agency-level Tables ........................................................................................................ 21

Figures
Figure 1. Agriculture Appropriations: Mandatory vs. Discretionary............................................. 11
Figure 2. Agriculture Appropriations: Domestic Nutrition vs. Rest of Bill................................... 11
Figure 3. Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, FY1995-FY2013......................................... 12
Figure 4. Mandatory Agriculture Appropriations, FY1995-FY2013............................................. 12
Figure 5. Agriculture Appropriations in Inflation-Adjusted 2012 Dollars..................................... 15
Figure 6. Agriculture Appropriations as a Percentage of Total Federal Budget ............................ 15
Figure 7. Agriculture Appropriations as a Percentage of GDP...................................................... 15
Figure 8. Agriculture Appropriations per Capita of U.S. Population............................................. 15
Figure A-1. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, FY2012 ...................................... 32
Figure A-2. USDA Budget Authority and Mission Areas, FY2012............................................... 32
Figure B-1. Timeline of Enactment of Agriculture Appropriations, FY1999-FY2012 ................. 35

Tables
Table 1. Congressional Action on FY2013 Agriculture Appropriations.......................................... 1
Table 2. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Title: FY2010-FY2013 ................. 2
Table 3. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Agency and Program:
FY2010-FY2013........................................................................................................................... 5
Table 4. Trends in Actual Agriculture Appropriations: FY1995-FY2013 ..................................... 13
Table 5. Agriculture Appropriations: Percentage Changes over Time........................................... 14
Table 6. Trends in Benchmarks and Real Agriculture Appropriations: FY1995-FY2013............. 16
Table 7. Trends in Agriculture Appropriations Measured Against Benchmarks............................ 17
Table 8. Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS), FY2010-FY2013 ...................... 19
Table 9. Rescissions from Prior-Year Budget Authority................................................................ 20
Table 10. Domestic Food Assistance (USDA-FNS) Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013................ 22
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 11. USDA Farm Loans: Budget and Loan Authority, FY2012-FY2013.............................. 24
Table 12. USDA Research, Education, and Extension Mission Area Appropriations,
FY2010-FY2013......................................................................................................................... 25
Table 13. Appropriations for Food Safety, FY2010-FY2013 ....................................................... 26
Table 14. Rural Development Appropriations, by Agency, FY2010-FY2013............................... 27
Table 15. Rural Housing Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013............................................. 27
Table 16. Rural Business-Cooperative Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013 ....................... 29
Table 17. Rural Utilities Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013 ............................................. 30
Table B-1. Timeline of Enactment of Agriculture Appropriations, FY1999-FY2012 ................... 35

Appendixes
Appendix A. Background on Scope and Terms ............................................................................. 31
Appendix B. Agriculture Appropriations Timelines ...................................................................... 35

Contacts
Key Policy Staff............................................................................................................................. 36
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 36

Congressional Research Service

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Scope of the Agriculture Appropriations Bill
The Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—provides funding for
the following agencies and departments:
• all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) except the Forest Service,
which is funded in the Interior appropriations bill,
• the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Department of Health and
Human Services, and
• in the House, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In the
Senate, the Financial Services bill contains CFTC appropriations.
Jurisdiction over the Agriculture appropriations bill is with the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, and their respective Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. The Agriculture appropriations bill includes both
mandatory and discretionary spending, although most of the attention and decision making during
the appropriations process is on discretionary spending. Amounts needed for mandatory
programs—under the jurisdiction of authorizing committees—generally are advanced without
change. For more on the scope of the bill and various appropriations terms such as mandatory and
discretionary spending, see Appendix A.
Action on FY2013 Appropriations
Both the House and the Senate have reported bills for FY2013 Agriculture appropriations (Table
1
). The Senate full committee moved first, reporting S. 2375 (S.Rept. 112-163) on April 26, 2012.
The House subcommittee marked up its bill on June 6, 2012, followed by full committee action
on H.R. 5973 (H.Rept. 112-542) on June 19, 2012. Table 2 summarizes the bill totals by title.
Table 1. Congressional Action on FY2013 Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee
Committee
Initial Passage
Conference Agreement
Public
House Senate House Senate House Senate Report House Senate Law
6/6/2012 Polled outb 6/19/2012 4/26/2012
— — — — — —
Voice vote
Voice vote
28-1
Drafta
H.R. 5973
S. 2375
H.Rept.
S.Rept.
112-542
112-163
Source: CRS.
a. The House subcommittee posted a draft of the bill before markup at http://appropriations.house.gov/
uploadedfiles/bills-112-hr-sc-ap-fy13-agriculture.pdf.
b. A procedure that permits a bill to advance if subcommittee members independently agree to move it along.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 2. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Title: FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
Change from

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
FY2012 to FY2013
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Title in Appropriations Bill
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report
House Senate
Agricultural
Programs
30,192 29,490 24,970 28,353 28,140 28,417 +3,170 +3,447
Mandatory
22,855 22,605 18,293 21,628 21,628 21,628 +3,335 +3,335
Discretionary
7,336 6,885 6,677 6,725 6,512 6,789 -165 +112
Conservation
Programs
1,009 889 844 828 828 829 -16 -15
Rural
Development
2,979 2,638 2,405 2,403 2,252 2,456 -154 +51
Domestic
Food
Programs
82,783 89,655 105,553 109,129 106,946 107,091 +1,393 +1,538
Mandatory
75,128 82,527 98,552 101,689 99,650 99,651 +1,098 +1,099
Discretionary
7,655 7,128 7,001 7,439 7,296 7,439 +295 +438
Foreign
Assistance
2,089 1,891 1,836 1,770 1,512 1,836 -324 +1
FDA
2,357 2,457 2,506 2,517 2,481 2,530 -25 +24
CFTC (in Agriculture)a 169


205
308
180

-25
+102
CFTC (in Financial Services)a
— 202 — — — 308 — —
General
Provisions
-238
-1,871
-1,274 -768
-1,536 -976 -263 +297
Total in agriculture bill (no adjustment for jurisdiction over CFTC, as listed in committee reports)
Mandatory
97,983 105,131 116,845 123,317 121,278 121,279 +4,433 +4,434
Discretionary
23,356 20,018 20,200 21,224 19,524 20,903 -676 +703
Total
121,339 125,149 137,046 144,541 140,802 142,182 +3,757 +5,137
Adjustments to make comparison to 302(b) and across years for jurisdiction
Other
scorekeeping
adjustments
-52 -87 -72 -122 -128 -128 -56 -56
Subtract
disaster
declaration
0 0
-367 0 0 0 — —
Adj. total without CFTC in any column (Senate basis)a


Discretionary
23,135 19,931 19,556 20,794 19,216 20,775 -340 +1,219
Total
121,118 125,062 136,401 144,111 140,494 142,054 +4,093 +5,653
Adj. total with CFTC in all columns (House basis)a





Discretionary
23,304 20,133 19,761 21,102 19,396 21,083 -365 +1,322
Total
121,287 125,265 136,607 144,419 140,674 142,362 +4,068 +5,756
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, S. 3301, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and CBO tables.
Notes: Regular appropriations only; does not include supplemental appropriations of $549 million in FY2010.
a. CFTC is shown in different ways because of subcommittee jurisdiction differences between the House and
Senate to make totals comparable.

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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

In the past 14 years, stand-alone Agriculture appropriations bills were enacted five times, in
FY2000-FY2002, FY2006, and FY2010 (Table B-1 in Appendix B). Omnibus appropriations
were used seven times, in FY1999, FY2003-FY2005, FY2008, FY2009, and FY2012. Year-long
continuing resolutions were used twice, in FY2007 and FY2011. Figure B-1 shows the timeline.
Senate Action
The Senate Appropriations committee approved its FY2013 Agriculture appropriations bill (S.
2375, S.Rept. 112-163) by a vote of 28-1 on April 26, 2012. The full committee bypassed
subcommittee action by “polling” the bill out of subcommittee—a procedure that permits a bill to
advance if subcommittee members independently agree to move it along.1 This expedited
procedure, formerly uncommon for Agriculture appropriations, has been used since FY2009.
The Senate-reported bill would increase discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $20.8 billion,
an increase of $1.2 billion (+6.2%) above FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of
disaster provisions and CFTC appropriations in FY2012 (Table 2). Without these adjustments,
the Senate-reported discretionary amount is about $700 million (+3.5%) above FY2012.
The Senate bill differs from the enacted FY2012 appropriation primarily by increasing
discretionary domestic nutrition programs (+$438 million), agricultural research (+$64 million),
rural development (+$50 million), the FDA (+$24 million), and the Farm Service Agency (+$14
million), and by reducing the use of rescissions and limits on mandatory programs (-$672 million;
see Table 3).
House Action
The House Agriculture appropriations subcommittee marked up its FY2013 bill by voice vote on
June 6, 2012. The full House Appropriations committee reported the bill (H.R. 5973, H.Rept.
112-542) by voice vote on June 19, 2012. On June 21, the Rules Committee met to report an open
rule for floor consideration (H.Res. 697). The rule was adopted on June 26 to allow consideration
of the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, also part of H.Res.
697, but action on the Agriculture bill was postponed because of expected action on the farm bill.2
The House-reported bill would reduce discretionary Agriculture appropriations to $19.4 billion, a
cut of $365 million from FY2012 levels, after adjusting for the inclusion of disaster provisions in
FY2012 (Table 2). Without this adjustment, the House-reported discretionary amount is about
$675 million (-3.3%) below FY2012.
The House bill differs from FY2012 and the Senate bill primarily by decreasing rural
development (-$153 million from FY2012, -$204 million from the Senate), international food aid
(-$324 million from FY2012 and the Senate bill), agricultural research (-$35 million from
FY2012, -$99 million from the Senate bill), the Farm Service Agency (-$35 million from
FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), animal and plant health programs (-$30 million from
FY2012 and the Senate bill), the CFTC (-$25 million from FY2012, -$128 million from the
Senate bill), the FDA (-$25 million from FY2012, -$50 million from the Senate bill), and
discretionary conservation programs (-$16 million from FY2012, -$2 million from the Senate

1 For more about polling in the Senate, see CRS Report RS22952, Proxy Voting and Polling in Senate Committee.
2 Congressional Quarterly, “Schedule Uncertain,” June 26, 2012.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

bill); and by increasing discretionary domestic nutrition programs (+$295 million from FY2012,
-$143 million from the Senate bill) and reducing the use of limits on mandatory programs (-$154
million from FY2012, +$403 million over the Senate bill; see Table 3).
The House bill also has policy-related provisions that would remove a 2011 livestock and poultry
marketing rule, tighten farm commodity program payment limits, and require USDA to allow
white potatoes for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program.
The Administration opposes the cuts in the House bill, particularly to CFTC, rural development,
renewable energy, domestic nutrition, food safety, and international food aid, and opposes the
programmatic restrictions on the livestock and poultry marketing rule, as well as the WIC
program.3

3 Office of Management and Budget, “Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 5973,” June 21, 2012, at http://
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr5973r_20120621.pdf.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 3. Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations, by Agency and Program: FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012 to FY2013
Senate
over

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
House
P.L. 111-
P.L. 112-
P.L. 112-
Admin
House
Senate
Agency or Major Program
80
10
55
request
report
report $ % $ % $
Title I: Agricultural Programs











Offices of Sec., Tribal Rel., Chief Econ.
19.3
17.6
16.2
17.6
14.4
21.6
-1.8
-11.3%
+5.4
+33.3%
+7.2
Healthy Food Financing Initiative











Chief Information Officer
61.6
39.9
44.0
44.0
43.2
44.0
-0.9
-2.0%
0.0
0.0%
+0.9
Office of Inspector General
88.7
88.5
85.6
89.0
86.6
89.0
+1.0
+1.2%
+3.4
+4.0%
+2.4
Buildings, facilities, and rental payments
293.1
246.5
230.4
244.1
189.2
241.3
-41.2
-17.9%
+10.9
+4.7%
+52.2
Other Departmental administration officesa 164.1 145.6 131.3 148.4 125.5 146.4 -5.9
-4.5%
+15.1
+11.5%
+21.0
Under Secretaries (four offices in Title I)b

3.5 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.5
-0.1
-2.0%
+0.2
+5.3%
+0.2
Research, Education and Economics











Agricultural Research Service
1,250.5
1,133.2
1,094.6
1,102.6
1,073.5
1,101.9
-21.1
-1.9%
+7.2
+0.7%
+28.4
National Institute of Food & Agriculture
1,343.2
1,214.8
1,202.3
1,238.7
1,175.0
1,238.7
-27.3
-2.3%
+36.5
+3.0%
+63.7
Economic Research Service
82.5
81.8
77.7
77.4
75.0
77.4
-2.7
-3.5%
-0.3
-0.4%
+2.4
National Agricultural Statistics Service
161.8
156.4
158.6
179.5
175.2
179.5
+16.6
+10.5%
+20.9
+13.2%
+4.3
Marketing and Regulatory Programs











Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service
909.7
866.8
819.7
765.6
790.2
819.7
-29.5
-3.6%
0.0
0.0%
+29.5
Agric. Marketing Service
92.5
87.9
83.4
78.4
78.2
79.2
-5.2
-6.2%
-4.2
-5.1%
+1.0
Section 32 (permanent + transfers)
1,320.1
1,065.0
1,080.0
1,092.0
1,092.0
1,092.0
+12.0
+1.1%
+12.0
+1.1%
0.0
Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards
42.0
40.3
37.8
40.3
37.0
40.3
-0.8
-2.0%
+2.5
+6.7%
+3.3
Food Safety











Food Safety & Inspection Service
1,018.5
1,006.5
1,004.4
995.5
995.5
1,001.4
-8.9
-0.9%
-3.0
-0.3%
+5.9
Farm and Commodity Programs











Farm Service Agency: Salaries and Exp.c
1,574.9 1,521.2 1,496.6 1,521.2 1,472.7 1,521.2 -23.9 -1.6%
+24.6 +1.6%
+48.4
CRS-5

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations






Change from FY2012 to FY2013
Senate
over

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
House
P.L. 111-
P.L. 112-
P.L. 112-
Admin
House
Senate
Agency or Major Program
80
10
55
request
report
report $ % $ % $
FSA Farm Loan Program: Subsidy Level
140.6
147.7
108.2
100.5
96.7
98.0
-11.6
-10.7%
-10.2
-9.5%
+1.3
FSA Farm Loans: Loan Authorityd 5,083.9
4,651.3
4,787.1
4,781.7
4,787.1
4,821.7 0.0
0.0%
+34.7
+0.7%
+34.7
Mediation; source water; dairy indem.e 10.3 9.3 7.7 4.5 7.5
11.0
-0.2
-2.0%
+3.3
+42.9%
+3.4
Risk Management Agency Salaries & Exp.
80.3
78.8
74.9
74.9
73.4
74.9
-1.5
-2.0%
0.0
0.0%
+1.5
Federal Crop Insurance Corporationf
6,455.3 7,613.2 3,142.4 9,517.4 9,517.4 9,517.4
+6,375.1 +203% +6,375.1 +203%
0.0
Commodity Credit Corporationf
15,079.2 13,925.6 14,071.0 11,018.5 11,018.5 11,018.5 -3,052.5 -21.7%
-3,052.5 -21.7%
0.0
Subtotal











Mandatory
22,855.4 22,604.7 18,293.5 21,628.0 21,628.0 21,628.0 +3,334.6 +18.2% +3,334.6 +18.2%
0.0
Discretionary 7,336.1
6,885.4
6,676.7
6,725.4
6,511.9
6,788.8
-164.9
-2.5%
+112.1
+1.7%
+277.0
Subtotal
30,191.6 29,490.1 24,970.2 28,353.4 28,139.9 28,416.9 +3,169.7 +12.7% +3,446.7 +13.8%
+277.0
Title II: Conservation Programs











Conservation
Operations
887.6 870.5 828.2 827.5 812.0 828.5 -16.1
-1.9%
+0.3
+0.0%
+16.5
Watershed & Flood Prevention
30.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

0.0
Watershed Rehabilitation Program
40.2
18.0
15.0
0.0
14.7
0.0
-0.3
-2.0%
-15.0
-100.0%
-14.7
Resource Conservation & Development
50.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

0.0
Under Secretary, Natural Resources
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.0
-2.0%
+0.0
+5.3%
+0.1
Subtotal 1,009.4
889.4
844.0
828.4
827.6
829.4
-16.4
-1.9%
-14.6
-1.7%
+1.8
Title III: Rural Development











Salaries and Expenses (including transfers)
715.5
688.3
653.9
653.9
625.4
656.4
-28.5
-4.4%
+2.5
+0.4%
+31.0
Rural Housing Service
1,424.2
1,224.0
1,090.3
1,077.6
1,019.8
1,111.6
-70.4
-6.5%
+21.3
+2.0%
+91.7
RHS Loan Authorityd 13,904.7
25,750.7
26,546.0
26,856.7 27,137.4 27,147.4 +591.4 +2.2%
+601.4 +2.3%
+9.9
Rural Business-Cooperative Serviceg
184.8 127.8 109.3 127.8 94.0 123.1 -15.3
-14.0%
+13.8
+12.6%
+29.1
RBCS Loan Authorityd 1,215.7
952.1
869.8
914.7
725.6
887.4
-144.2 -16.6%
+17.5 +2.0%
+161.7
CRS-6

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations






Change from FY2012 to FY2013
Senate
over

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
House
P.L. 111-
P.L. 112-
P.L. 112-
Admin
House
Senate
Agency or Major Program
80
10
55
request
report
report $ % $ % $
Rural Utilities Service
653.4 596.7 551.0 542.9 511.7 563.8 -39.3
-7.1%
+12.8
+2.3%
+52.1
RUS Loan Authorityd 9,287.2
9,163.3
8,676.9
7,884.1
8,103.5
8,953.4 -573.3 -6.6%
+276.5 +3.2%
+849.8
Rural Development Under Secretary
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.0
-2.0%
+0.0
+5.3%
+0.1
Subtotalg 2,978.8
2,637.8
2,405.2
2,403.2
2,251.7
2,455.7
-153.5
-6.4%
+50.5
+2.1%
+204.0
Subtotal, RD Loan Authorityd
24,407.5 35,866.1 36,092.7 35,655.5 35,966.6 36,988.1 -126.1 -0.3%
+895.4 +2.5% +1,021.5
Title IV: Domestic Food Programs











Child Nutrition Programs
16,855.8
17,319.9
18,151.2
19,694.0
19,656.5
19,657.5
+1,505.3
+8.3% +1,506.3
+8.3%
+1.0
WIC
Program
7,252.0 6,734.0 6,618.5 7,041.0 6,922.0 7,041.0 +303.5 +4.6%
+422.5 +6.4%
+119.0
SNAP, Food & Nutrition Act Programs
58,278.2
65,206.7
80,401.7
81,995.3
79,993.8
79,993.8
-407.9
-0.5%
-407.9
-0.5%
0.0
Commodity Assistance Programs
248.0
246.1
242.3
254.0
237.5
254.0
-4.8
-2.0%
+11.6
+4.8%
+16.5
Nutrition Programs Administration
147.8
147.5
138.5
143.5
135.7
143.5
-2.8
-2.0%
+5.0
+3.6%
+7.8
Office of Under Secretary
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.0
-1.9%
+0.0
+5.3%
+0.1
Subtotal











Mandatory 75,128.0
82,526.8
98,551.9
101,689.3
99,650.3
99,651.3
+1,098.4
+1.1% +1,099.4
+1.1%
+1.0
Discretionary 7,654.6
7,128.3
7,001.1
7,439.3
7,296.0
7,439.3
+294.9
+4.2%
+438.2
+6.3%
+143.3
Subtotal
82,782.6 89,655.1 105,553.0 109,128.6 106,946.3 107,090.6 +1,393.3 +1.3% +1,537.6
+1.5%
+144.3
Title V: Foreign Assistance











Foreign Agric. Service
180.4
185.6
176.3
176.8
172.8
176.8
-3.5
-2.0%
+0.4
+0.3%
+4.0
Public Law (P.L.) 480
1,692.8
1,499.8
1,468.5
1,402.8
1,152.1
1,468.8
-316.4
-21.5%
+0.3
+0.0%
+316.7
McGovern-Dole Food for Education
209.5
199.1
184.0
184.0
180.3
184.0
-3.7
-2.0%
0.0
0.0%
+3.7
CCC Export Loan Salaries
6.8
6.8
6.8
6.8
6.7
6.8
-0.1
-2.0%
0.0
-0.2%
+0.1
Subtotal
2,089.5
1,891.3
1,835.7
1,770.4
1,512.0
1,836.4
-323.7
-17.6%
+0.7
+0.0%
+324.4
CRS-7

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations






Change from FY2012 to FY2013
Senate
over

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
House
P.L. 111-
P.L. 112-
P.L. 112-
Admin
House
Senate
Agency or Major Program
80
10
55
request
report
report $ % $ % $
Title VI: FDA & Related Agencies











Food and Drug Administration
2,357.1
2,457.0
2,505.8
2,517.3
2,480.8
2,529.8
-25.0
-1.0%
+24.0
+1.0%
+49.0
Commodity Futures Trading Commissionh 168.8 —
205.3
308.0
180.4 —
-24.9
-12.1%
+102.7
+50.0%
+127.6
Title VII: General Provisions











Limit mandatory farm bill programs
-511.0 -949.0
-1,205.5 -648.0
-1,052.0 -649.0
+153.5
-12.7%
+556.5
-46.2%
+403.0
Rescissions
-107.9 -925.0 -445.1 -165.0 -484.3 -330.0 -39.2
+8.8%
+115.1
-25.9%
+154.3
Other appropriations
380.6
2.6
377.1
45.0
0.0
2.6
-377.1
-100.0%
-374.5
-99.3%
+2.6
Subtotal

-238.3
-1,871.4
-1,273.6 -768.0
-1,536.3 -976.4 -262.7
+20.6%
+297.2
-23.3%
+559.9
RECAPITULATION:











I: Agricultural Programs
30,191.6
29,490.1
24,970.2
28,353.4
28,139.9
28,416.9
+3,169.7
+12.7% +3,446.7
+13.8%
+277.0
Mandatory
22,855.4 22,604.7 18,293.5 21,628.0 21,628.0 21,628.0
+3,334.6 +18.2% +3,334.6 +18.2%
0.0
Discretionary
7,336.1 6,885.4 6,676.7 6,725.4 6,511.9 6,788.8 -164.9 -2.5%
+112.1 +1.7%
+277.0
II: Conservation Programs
1,009.4
889.4
844.0
828.4
827.6
829.4
-16.4
-1.9%
-14.6
-1.7%
+1.8
III: Rural Development
2,978.8
2,637.8
2,405.2
2,403.2
2,251.7
2,455.7
-153.5
-6.4%
+50.5
+2.1%
+204.0
IV: Domestic Food Programs
82,782.6
89,655.1
105,553.0
109,128.6
106,946.3
107,090.6
+1,393.3
+1.3% +1,537.6
+1.5%
+144.3
Mandatory 75,128.0
82,526.8
98,551.9
101,689.3
99,650.3
99,651.3
+1,098.4
+1.1% +1,099.4
+1.1%
+1.0
Discretionary
7,654.6 7,128.3 7,001.1 7,439.3 7,296.0 7,439.3 +294.9 +4.2%
+438.2 +6.3%
+143.3
V: Foreign Assistance
2,089.5
1,891.3
1,835.7
1,770.4
1,512.0
1,836.4
-323.7
-17.6%
+0.7
+0.0%
+324.4
VI:
FDA
2,357.1 2,457.0 2,505.8 2,517.3 2,480.8 2,529.8 -25.0 -1.0%
+24.0 +1.0%
+49.0
CFTC: Agriculture appropriationsh 168.8

205.3
308.0
180.4


-24.9
-12.1%
+102.7
+50.0%
+127.6
CFTC: Financial Services appropriationsh

202.3 — — —
308.0 —
— —
— —
VII: General Provisions
-238.3
-1,871.4
-1,273.6
-768.0
-1,536.3
-976.4
-262.7
+20.6%
+297.2
-23.3%
+559.9
CRS-8

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations






Change from FY2012 to FY2013
Senate
over

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
House
P.L. 111-
P.L. 112-
P.L. 112-
Admin
House
Senate
Agency or Major Program
80
10
55
request
report
report $ % $ % $
Total in agriculture bill (no adjustment for jurisdiction over CFTC, as listed in committee reports)
Mandatory
97,983.4 105,131.5 116,845.4 123,317.3 121,278.3 121,279.3 +4,433.0 +3.8% +4,434.0
+3.8%
+1.0
Discretionary
23,356.0 20,017.8 20,200.3 21,223.9 19,524.0 20,903.0 -676.3 -3.3%
+702.7 +3.5% +1,379.0
Total
121,339.4 125,149.3 137,045.7 144,541.3 140,802.3 142,182.3 +3,756.7 +2.7% +5,136.7
+3.7% +1,380.0
Adjustments to make comparison to 302(b) and across years for jurisdiction
Other scorekeeping adjustmentsi
-52.2 -87.0 -72.0 -122.0 -128.0 -128.0 -56.0
+77.8%
-56.0
+77.8%
0.0
Subtract disaster declaration


-367.0








Adj. total without CFTC in any column (Senate basis)h
Discretionary
23,135.0 19,930.8 19,556.0 20,793.9 19,215.6 20,775.0 -340.4 -1.7% +1,219.0 +6.2% +1,559.4
Total
121,118.4 125,062.3 136,401.4 144,111.3 140,493.9 142,054.3 +4,092.5 +3.0% +5,653.0 +4.1% +1,560.4
Adj. total with CFTC in all columns (House basis)h
Discretionary
23,303.8 20,133.1 19,761.3 21,101.9 19,396.0 21,083.0 -365.3 -1.8% +1,321.7 +6.7% +1,687.0
Total
121,287.2 125,264.5 136,606.7 144,419.3 140,674.3 142,362.3 +4,067.7 +3.0% +5,755.7 +4.2% +1,688.0
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, S. 3301, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and unpublished CBO tables.
Notes: Does not include supplemental appropriations. Supplemental appropriations were $549 mil ion in FY2010 (P.L. 111-118 and P.L. 111-212 provided $400 million for
nutrition, $150 million for foreign aid, $31 million for farm loans, $18 million for forestry, offset by a $50 million reduction in BCAP).
a. Includes offices for Advocacy and Outreach; Chief Financial Officer; Assistant Secretary and Office for Civil Rights; Assistant Secretary for Administration; Hazardous
Materials Mgt.; Dept. Administration; Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; Office of Communications; General Counsel; Office of Homeland Security.
b. Includes four Under Secretary offices: Research, Education and Economics; Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Food Safety; and Farm and Foreign Agriculture.
c. Includes regular FSA salaries and expenses, plus transfers for farm loan program salaries and expenses and farm loan program administrative expenses. However,
amounts transferred from the Foreign Agricultural Service for export loans and P.L. 480 administration are included in the originating account.
d. Loan authority is the amount of loans that can be made or guaranteed with a loan subsidy; it is not added in the budget authority subtotals or totals.
e. Includes Dairy Indemnity Program, State Mediation Grants, and Grassroots Source Water Protection Program.
f.
Commodity Credit Corporation and Federal Crop Insurance Corporation each receive “such sums as necessary.” Estimates are used in the appropriations bill reports.
CRS-9

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

g. Amounts for the Rural Business Cooperative Service in this report are before the rescission from the Cushion of Credit account. This approach allows the total
appropriation for RBS to remain positive, unlike in Appropriations committee tables. The rescission is included in the General Provisions section.
h. CFTC is shown in different ways because of jurisdiction differences to make totals comparable.
i.
“Other scorekeeping adjustments” are not appropriated items (e.g., negative subsidies in loan program accounts) and are not shown in Appropriations committee
tables, but are part of the official score (accounting) of the bill. Adjustments for disaster designation are made only if disaster amounts were included in the bill’s 302(b)
allocation, and allow regular appropriations to be compared across years.

CRS-10

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Historical Trends
After years of growth, discretionary Agriculture appropriations peaked in absolute terms in
FY2010, although mandatory nutrition spending continues to rise. This section offers perspective
on type of funding (mandatory or discretionary), purpose (nutrition vs. other), and relationships to
inflation, GDP, and the federal budget. The proposed amounts for FY2013 in H.R. 5973 and S.
2375 are the bases for comparison throughout most of this section.
Figure 1 shows the Agriculture appropriations bill divided between mandatory and discretionary
spending. Mandatory appropriations, accounting for about 85% of the total, have a 10-year
average annual growth of +7.9%, while discretionary appropriations show a +0.8% average
annual growth rate over 10 years to the amount in the House bill (+1.6% average annual growth
rate to the amount in the Senate bill). The total (mandatory plus discretionary) reflects a +6.5%
average annual increase over 10 years.
Figure 2 shows the same bill total as in Figure 1, but divided between domestic nutrition and
other program spending. The share going to nutrition has risen from 46% in FY2000 to about
75% in the FY2013 proposals. Over the past 10 years, total nutrition spending has increased at an
average rate of about +9.8% per year, compared to a +0.3% average annual change for the “rest
of the bill” in the House bill (+0.8% for the Senate bill; including the rest of USDA but excluding
the Forest Service, plus FDA and CFTC). Nutrition spending has increased even faster in the
more recent five-year period.
Figure 3 shows just the discretionary appropriations levels in the Agriculture appropriations bill,
divided between domestic nutrition programs and the rest of the bill. Figure 4 shows just the
mandatory appropriations amounts.
Table 4 presents the data in these graphs and Table 5 shows the average annual growth rates from
various years in the past to FY2013 (in both actual and inflation-adjusted terms).
Figure 1. Agriculture Appropriations:
Figure 2. Agriculture Appropriations:
Mandatory vs. Discretionary
Domestic Nutrition vs. Rest of Bill
$ billion
Total bill
$ billion
Total bill
140
Mandatory
S
S
HR
140
Domestic nutrition
HR
Discretionary
HR,S
Rest of bil
120
120
S
HR
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
S
HR
20
S
HR
20
0
0
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed in
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed in
the House (HR) and Senate (S).
the House (HR) and Senate (S).
Notes: Includes regular annual appropriations only
Notes: The largest domestic nutrition programs
for USDA (except the Forest Service), FDA, and
are the child nutrition programs, SNAP (food
CFTC (regardless of where funded). Fiscal year
stamps), and WIC. “Other” includes the rest of
budget authority.
USDA (except the Forest Service), FDA, and CFTC.
Congressional Research Service
11

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Figure 3. Discretionary Agriculture Appropriations, FY1995-FY2013
$ billion
Total discretionary
25
Domestic nutrition
Rest of bill
S
20
HR
15
S
HR
10
S
HR
5
0
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013

Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed in the House (HR) and Senate (S).
Notes: Includes only regular annual appropriations for USDA (except the Forest Service), FDA, and CFTC
(regardless of jurisdiction). Fiscal year budget authority. The label “Domestic nutrition” includes WIC,
commodity assistance programs, and nutrition programs administration.
Figure 4. Mandatory Agriculture Appropriations, FY1995-FY2013
$ billion
Total mandatory
HR,S
120
Domestic nutrition
Rest of bill
HR,S
100
80
60
40
HR, S
20
0
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed in the House (HR) and Senate (S).
Notes: Fiscal year budget authority. The label “Domestic nutrition” includes SNAP and the child nutrition
programs; “Rest of bill” includes farm commodity programs, crop insurance and conservation programs.
Congressional Research Service
12

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 4. Trends in Actual Agriculture Appropriations: FY1995-FY2013
(fiscal year budget authority in billions of dollars, except as noted)


1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Discretionary total
13.29
13.31
13.04
13.75
13.69
13.95
14.97
16.28
17.91
16.84
Domestic nutritiona 3.93
4.22
4.22
4.31
4.31
4.42
4.46
4.89
5.00
4.90
Rest of billb 9.36
9.09
8.82
9.44
9.39
9.53
10.51
11.39
12.91
11.94
Mandatory total
54.61
49.78
40.08
35.80
41.00
61.95
59.77
56.91
56.70
69.75
Domestic nutrition
36.30
35.54
36.27
32.91
30.51
30.63
29.66
33.06
36.89
42.36
Rest of bill
18.31
14.23
3.81
2.89
10.48
31.33
30.12
23.86
19.82
27.38
Total bill
67.90
63.09
53.12
49.55
54.69
75.90
74.74
73.19
74.61
86.59
Domestic nutrition
40.23
39.76
40.49
37.22
34.82
35.04
34.12
37.95
41.89
47.26
Rest of bill
27.67
23.33
12.63
12.33
19.87
40.85
40.63
35.24
32.72
39.32
Percentages of Total










1. Mandatory
80%
79%
75%
72%
75%
82%
80%
78%
76%
81%
2. Discretionary
20%
21%
25%
28%
25%
18%
20%
22%
24%
19%
1. Domestic nutrition
59%
63%
76%
75%
64%
46%
46%
52%
56%
55%
2. Rest of bill
41%
37%
24%
25%
36%
54%
54%
48%
44%
45%

2013
2013
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012 House Senate
Discretionary total
16.83
16.78
17.81
18.09
20.60
23.30
20.13
19.76
19.40
21.08
Domestic nutrition
5.55
5.53
5.52
6.37
7.23
7.65
7.13
7.00
7.30
7.44
Rest of bill
11.28
11.25
12.29
11.72
13.37
15.65
13.00
12.76
12.10
13.64
Mandatory total
68.29
83.07
79.80
72.67
87.80
97.98
105.13
116.85
121.28
121.28
Domestic nutrition
46.94
53.37
51.51
53.68
68.92
75.13
82.53
98.55
99.65
99.65
Rest of bill
21.36
29.70
28.29
18.99
18.88
22.86
22.60
18.29
21.63
21.63
Total bill
85.13
99.85
97.61
90.76
108.40
121.29
125.26
136.61
140.67
142.36
Domestic nutrition
52.49
58.89
57.03
60.06
76.16
82.78
89.66
105.55
106.95
107.09
Rest of bill
32.64
40.95
40.58
30.71
32.25
38.50
35.61
31.05
33.73
35.27
Percentages of Total










1. Mandatory
80%
83%
82%
80%
81%
81%
84%
86%
86%
85%
2. Discretionary
20%
17%
18%
20%
19%
19%
16%
14%
14%
15%
1. Domestic nutrition
62%
59%
58%
66%
70%
68%
72%
77%
76%
75%
2. Rest of bill
38%
41%
42%
34%
30%
32%
28%
23%
24%
25%
Source: CRS. Regular appropriations only; all years include Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
a. The largest domestic nutrition programs are the child nutrition programs, the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps)—both of which are mandatory—and the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which is discretionary.
b. “Rest of bill” includes the non-nutrition remainder of USDA (except the Forest Service), FDA, and CFTC.
Within that group, mandatory programs include the farm commodity programs, crop insurance, and some
conservation and foreign aid/trade programs.
Congressional Research Service
13

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 5. Agriculture Appropriations: Percentage Changes over Time

Average annual change from the past to FY2013 House bill

Actual Change
Inflation-Adjusted (Real) Change (2012 $)
Comparison to House
FY2012
FY2008
FY2003
FY1998
FY2012
FY2008
FY2003
FY1998
bill H.R. 5973
(1 yr.)
(5 yrs.)
(10 yrs.)
(15 yrs.)
(1 yr.)
(5 yrs.)
(10 yrs.)
(15 yrs.)
Discretionary
total
-1.8%
+1.4% +0.8% +2.3% -3.4%
-0.2% -1.4% +0.2%
Domestic nutritiona +4.2%
+2.7% +3.8% +3.6% +2.5%
+1.2% +1.6% +1.4%
Rest of billb -5.2%
+0.6%
-0.6%
+1.7%
-6.7%
-0.9%
-2.8%
-0.4%
Mandatory
total
+3.8%
+10.8% +7.9% +8.5% +2.1%
+9.1% +5.5% +6.2%
Domestic nutrition
+1.1%
+13.2%
+10.4%
+7.7%
-0.5%
+11.4%
+8.0%
+5.4%
Rest of bill
+18.2%
+2.6%
+0.9%
+14.4%
+16.3%
+1.1%
-1.3%
+12.0%
Total
bill
+3.0%
+9.2% +6.5% +7.2% +1.3%
+7.5% +4.2% +5.0%
Domestic
nutrition +1.3%
+12.2% +9.8% +7.3% -0.3%
+10.5% +7.4% +5.1%
Rest of bill
+8.6%
+1.9%
+0.3%
+6.9%
+6.8%
+0.3%
-1.9%
+4.7%

Average annual change from the past to FY2013 Senate bill
Discretionary
total
+6.7%
+3.1% +1.6% +2.9% +4.9%
+1.5% -0.6% +0.8%
Domestic nutritiona +6.3%
+3.1% +4.1% +3.7% +4.5%
+1.5% +1.8% +1.6%
Rest of billb
+6.9%
+3.1% +0.6% +2.5% +5.2%
+1.5% -1.6% +0.4%
Mandatory
total
+3.8%
+10.8% +7.9% +8.5% +2.1%
+9.1% +5.5% +6.2%
Domestic nutrition
+1.1%
+13.2%
+10.4%
+7.7%
-0.5%
+11.4%
+8.0%
+5.4%
Rest of bill
+18.2%
+2.6%
+0.9%
+14.4%
+16.3%
+1.1%
-1.3%
+12.0%
Total
bill
+4.2%
+9.4% +6.7% +7.3% +2.5%
+7.7% +4.3% +5.1%
Domestic
nutrition +1.5%
+12.3% +9.8% +7.3% -0.2%
+10.5% +7.4% +5.1%
Rest of bill
+13.6%
+2.8%
+0.8%
+7.3%
+11.7%
+1.2%
-1.4%
+5.0%
Source: CRS.
Notes: Includes regular annual appropriations for all of USDA (except the Forest Service), the Food and Drug
Administration, and—for consistency—the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (regardless of jurisdiction).
Excludes supplemental appropriations. Reflects rescissions.
a. The largest domestic nutrition programs are the child nutrition programs, the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps)—both of which are mandatory—and the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which is discretionary.
b. “Rest of bill” includes the non-nutrition remainder of USDA (except the Forest Service), FDA, and CFTC.
Within that group, mandatory programs include the farm commodity programs, crop insurance, and some
conservation and foreign aid/trade programs.
The totals can also be viewed in inflation-adjusted terms (Table 6) and against other economic
variables (Table 7). If the general level of inflation is subtracted, total Agriculture appropriations
show positive “real” growth—that is, growth above the rate of inflation (Figure 5). The total has
increased at an average annual real rate of about +4.2% over the past 10 years. Nutrition
programs have increased at an average annual real rate of +7.4%, while the “rest of the bill”
shows a -1.9% average annual real decline over 10 years. Similarly, mandatory spending shows
positive real growth over 10 years, while discretionary spending is flat to a small real decline.
Congressional Research Service
14

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Relative to the entire federal budget, the Agriculture bill’s share declined from 4.4% of the federal
budget in FY1995 to 2.7% in FY2009, before rising again to nearly 3.9% in FY2013 (Figure 6).
The share for nutrition programs had declined from 2.6% in FY1995 to 1.8% in FY2008, but the
recent recession has caused that share to rise to 2.9% for FY2013. The share for the rest of the bill
has declined from 1.8% in FY1995 and 2.1% in FY2001 to about 1% for FY2013.
As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), Agriculture appropriations had been fairly
steady at under 0.75% of GDP, but have risen since FY2008 to about 0.87% of GDP (Figure 7).
Nutrition programs have been rising as a percentage of GDP since FY2000 (about 0.66% for
FY2013), while non-nutrition agricultural programs have been declining (to 0.22% for FY2013).4
Figure 5. Agriculture Appropriations in
Figure 6. Agriculture Appropriations as a
Inflation-Adjusted 2012 Dollars
Percentage of Total Federal Budget
$ billion
Total bil
% Fed. Bud.
Total bill
140
Total mandatory
Domestic nutrition
Total discretionary
Rest of bill
120
Domestic nutrition
4.0%
Rest of bill
100
3.0%
80
60
2.0%
40
1.0%
20
0
0.0%
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed.
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed.
Notes: Adjusted with the GDP Price Index, FY2013
Notes: Total federal budget authority, FY2013
President’s Budget, Historical Tables, Table 10.1.
President’s Budget, Historical Tables, Table 5.1.
Figure 7. Agriculture Appropriations as a
Figure 8. Agriculture Appropriations per
Percentage of GDP
Capita of U.S. Population
% of GDP
Total bill
2012 $/capita
Total bill
1.00%
Domestic nutrition
Domestic nutrition
Rest of bill
400
Rest of bill
0.75%
300
0.50%
200
0.25%
100
0.00%
0
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed.
Source: CRS. Amounts for FY2013 are proposed.
Notes: Gross domestic product (GDP) is from the
Notes: Population figures from Census Bureau, U.S.
President’s Budget, Historical Tables, Table 10.1.
Population Projections, and Statistical Abstract of the
United States
.


4 Two other CRS reports compare various components of federal spending against GDP at a more aggregate level. See
CRS Report RL33074, Mandatory Spending Since 1962, and CRS Report RL34424, Trends in Discretionary Spending.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 6. Trends in Benchmarks and Real Agriculture Appropriations: FY1995-FY2013
(fiscal year budget authority in billions of dollars, except as noted)
FY1995-2004
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
GDP ($ billions)a 7,341
7,718
8,212
8,663
9,208
9,821
10,225
10,544
10,980
11,676
U.S. budget authorityb 1,540
1,581
1,643
1,692
1,777
1,825
1,959
2,090
2,266
2,408
Population (million)c 266.6
269.7
272.9
276.1
279.3
282.4
285.3
288.0
290.7
293.3
GDP price indexa 81.84
83.42
84.95
86.03
87.17
88.97
91.06
92.57
94.46
96.85
Inflation-adjusted 2012 dollars (real dollars)
Discretionary total
18.81
18.48
17.78
18.51
18.19
18.15
19.04
20.36
21.96
20.14
Domestic nutrition
5.56
5.86
5.75
5.81
5.72
5.75
5.67
6.12
6.13
5.86
Rest of bill
13.25
12.62
12.03
12.70
12.47
12.40
13.37
14.25
15.82
14.28
Mandatory total
77.28
69.11
54.64
48.20
54.47
80.65
76.02
71.20
69.53
83.41
Domestic nutrition
51.37
49.35
49.45
44.30
40.54
39.87
37.72
41.36
45.23
50.66
Rest of bill
25.91
19.76
5.19
3.89
13.93
40.78
38.30
29.85
24.30
32.75
Total bill
96.09
87.59
72.42
66.71
72.66
98.80
95.06
91.57
91.48
103.54
Domestic nutrition
56.93
55.21
55.20
50.11
46.26
45.62
43.39
47.48
51.36
56.52
Rest of bill
39.16
32.38
17.22
16.60
26.40
53.18
51.67
44.09
40.12
47.02
2013
2013
FY2005-2013 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012 House Senate
GDP ($ billions)
12,429
13,207
13,861
14,334
13,938
14,360
14,959
15,602
16,335
16,335
U.S. budget authority
2,583
2,780
2,863
3,326
4,077
3,485
3,510
3,746
3,667
3,667
Population (mil ion)
296.0
298.8
301.7
304.5
307.2
310.2
313.2
316.3
319.3
319.3
GDP price index
100.00
103.40
106.46
108.93
110.50
111.52
113.72
115.82
117.74
117.74
Inflation-adjusted 2012 dollars (real dollars)
Discretionary total
19.50
18.80
19.38
19.24
21.59
24.20
20.50
19.76
19.08
20.74
Domestic nutrition
6.43
6.19
6.01
6.78
7.58
7.95
7.26
7.00
7.18
7.32
Rest of bill
13.07
12.61
13.37
12.46
14.01
16.25
13.24
12.76
11.90
13.42
Mandatory total
79.10
93.05
86.82
77.27
92.03
101.76
107.07
116.85
119.30
119.30
Domestic nutrition
54.36
59.78
56.03
57.08
72.24
78.02
84.05
98.55
98.03
98.03
Rest of bill
24.74
33.27
30.78
20.19
19.79
23.74
23.02
18.29
21.28
21.28
Total bill
98.59
111.84 106.19
96.50
113.62
125.96
127.58
136.61
138.38
140.04
Domestic nutrition
60.79
65.97
62.04
63.86
79.82
85.97
91.31
105.55
105.20
105.34
Rest of bill
37.80
45.87
44.15
32.65
33.80
39.99
36.27
31.05
33.18
34.70
Source: CRS. Regular appropriations only; all years include Commodity Futures Trading Commission. See
footnotes in Table 4 for definitions of “domestic nutrition” and “rest of bill.”
a. OMB, Budget of the United States Government, “Historical Tables,” Table 10.1, at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals.
b. OMB, Budget of the United States Government, “Historical Tables,” Table 5.1, total budget authority.
c. Census Bureau, U.S. Population Projections, at http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/
index.html, and Statistical Abstract of the United States.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Finally, on a per capita basis, inflation-adjusted total Agriculture appropriations have risen
slightly over the past two decades from about $350 per capita in 1995 and 2000 (FY2012 dollars)
to about $435 per capita for FY2013 (Figure 8). Nutrition programs have risen more steadily on a
per capita basis from about $214 per capita in 1995 (and a low of $152 per capita in 2001) to
$330 per capita for FY2013. Non-nutrition “other” agricultural programs have been more steady
or declining, falling from a high of $188 per capita in 2000 to under $110 per capita for FY2013.
Table 7. Trends in Agriculture Appropriations Measured Against Benchmarks
(fiscal year)
FY1995-2004
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Agriculture appropriations as a % of total federal budget
Total bill
4.4%
4.0%
3.2%
2.9%
3.1%
4.2%
3.8%
3.5%
3.3%
3.6%
Domestic nutrition
2.6%
2.5%
2.5%
2.2%
2.0%
1.9%
1.7%
1.8%
1.8%
2.0%
Rest of bill
1.8%
1.5%
0.8%
0.7%
1.1%
2.2%
2.1%
1.7%
1.4%
1.6%
Agriculture appropriations as a % of GDP
Total bill
0.92%
0.82%
0.65%
0.57%
0.59%
0.77%
0.73%
0.69%
0.68%
0.74%
Domestic nutrition
0.55%
0.52%
0.49%
0.43%
0.38%
0.36%
0.33%
0.36%
0.38%
0.40%
Rest of bill
0.38%
0.30%
0.15%
0.14%
0.22%
0.42%
0.40%
0.33%
0.30%
0.34%
Agriculture appropriations per capita (2012 dollars)
Total bill
361
325
265
242
260
350
333
318
315
353
Domestic nutrition
214
205
202
181
166
162
152
165
177
193
Rest of bill
147
120
63
60
95
188
181
153 138
160
2013
2013
FY2005-2013 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
House
Senate
Agriculture appropriations as a % of total federal budget
Total bill
3.3%
3.6%
3.4%
2.7%
2.7%
3.5%
3.6%
3.6%
3.8%
3.9%
Domestic nutrition
2.0%
2.1%
2.0%
1.8%
1.9%
2.4%
2.6%
2.8%
2.9%
2.9%
Rest of bill
1.3%
1.5%
1.4%
0.9%
0.8%
1.1%
1.0%
0.8%
0.9%
1.0%
Agriculture appropriations as a % of GDP
Total bill
0.68%
0.76%
0.70%
0.63%
0.78%
0.84%
0.84%
0.88%
0.86%
0.87%
Domestic nutrition
0.42%
0.45%
0.41%
0.42%
0.55%
0.58%
0.60%
0.68%
0.65%
0.66%
Rest of bill
0.26%
0.31%
0.29%
0.21%
0.23%
0.27%
0.24%
0.20%
0.21%
0.22%
Agriculture appropriations per capita (2012 dollars)
Total bill
333
374
352
317
370
406
407
432
433
439
Domestic nutrition
205
221
206
210
260
277
292
334
329
330
Rest of bill
128
154
146
107
110
129
116
98
104
109
Source: CRS. Regular appropriations only; all years include Commodity Futures Trading Commission. See
footnotes in Table 4 for definitions of “domestic nutrition” and “rest of bill.”
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Savings Achieved by Limits and Rescissions
The FY2013 Agriculture appropriations bills contain rescissions and limitations on mandatory
farm bill programs totaling about $1.5 billion in the House bill and $1 billion in the Senate bill
(Title VII in Table 3). These amounts are less than in FY2012 ($1.65 billion) and FY2011 ($1.87
billion), but still more than prior years (e.g., $619 million in FY2010). These actions are counted
officially (scored) as savings and help meet the discretionary budget allocations. They provide
relatively more (or help avoid deeper cuts) to regular discretionary accounts than might otherwise
be possible. These types of reductions grew in importance in the FY2011 appropriation, which
required a large discretionary cut from the year before. Half of the $3.4 billion reduction in total
discretionary appropriations between FY2010 and FY2011 was achieved by a $1.7 billion
increase in the use of farm bill limitations and rescissions.
Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS)
In recent years, appropriators have placed limitations on mandatory spending authorized in the
farm bill (Table 8). These limitations are also known as CHIMPS, “changes in mandatory
program spending.” Mandatory programs usually are not part of the annual appropriations
process since the authorizing committees set the eligibility rules and payment formulas in multi-
year authorizing legislation (such as the 2008 farm bill). Funding for mandatory programs usually
is assumed to be available based on the authorization without appropriations action.
When the appropriators limit mandatory spending, they do not change the authorizing law.
Rather, appropriators have put limits on mandatory programs by using appropriations language
such as: “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act
shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out section [ ... ] of Public
Law [ ... ] in excess of $[ ... ].” These provisions usually have appeared in Title VII, General
Provisions, of the Agriculture appropriations bill.
Passage of a new farm bill in 2008 made more mandatory funds available for programs, some of
which appropriators or the Administration have chosen to reduce, either because of policy
preferences or jurisdictional issues between authorizers and appropriators.
Historically, decisions over expenditures are assumed to rest with appropriations committees.5
The division over who should fund certain agriculture programs—appropriators or authorizers—
has roots dating to the 1930s and the creation of the farm commodity programs. Outlays for the
farm commodity programs were highly variable, difficult to budget, and based on multi-year
programs that resembled entitlements. Thus, a mandatory funding system—the Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC)—was created to remove the unpredictable funding issue from the
appropriations process. The dynamic changed near the turn of the century when farm bills began
using mandatory funds for programs that usually were discretionary. Appropriators had not
funded some programs as much as authorizers had desired, and authorizing committees wrote
farm bills using the mandatory funding at their discretion. Tension arose over who should fund
certain activities: authorizers with mandatory funding at their disposal, or appropriators with
standard appropriating authority. Some question whether the CCC, which was created to fund the

5 Summarized from Galen Fountain, Majority Clerk of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, “Funding
Rural Development Programs: Past, Present, and Future,” p. 4, at the 2009 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum,
February 22, 2009, at http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/2009_Speeches/Speeches/Fountain.pdf.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

hard-to-predict farm commodity programs, should be used for programs that are not highly
variable and are more often discretionary. The programs affected by CHIMPS include
conservation, rural development, bioenergy, and some smaller nutrition assistance programs.
CHIMPS have not affected the farm commodity programs or the primary nutrition assistance
programs (such as SNAP), which are generally accepted as legitimate mandatory programs.
For FY2013, the House bill contains $1.052 billion of reductions from 10 mandatory programs,
and the Senate a $649 million reduction from five mandatory programs. These are both less than
the limitations placed in FY2012, but more than historical averages.6
Table 8. Changes in Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS), FY2010-FY2013
(dollars in millions)

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin.
House
Senate
Program in 2008 farm bill
111-80
112-10
112-55
Request
report
report
Conservation
programs

Environmental Quality Incentives Program
-270.0
-350.0
-350.0
-347.0
-350.0
-350.0
Dam Rehabilitation Program
-165.0
-165.0
-165.0
-165.0
-165.0
-165.0
Wetlands Reserve Program

-119.0
-200.0

-200.0

Conservation Stewardship Program

-39.0
-76.5
-2.0
-75.0

Farmland Protection Program


-50.0

-50.0

Grasslands Reserve Program


-30.0

-25.0

Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program


-35.0
-12.0
-40.0
-12.0
Voluntary Public Access Program


-17.0



Agricultural Management Assistance


-5.0
-5.0
-5.0
-5.0
Subtotal conservation
-435.0
-673.0
-928.5
-531.0
-910.0
-532.0
Other
programs

Fruit and vegetables in schools programa -76.0
-117.0
-133.0
-117.0
-117.0
-117.0
Biomass Crop Assistance Program

-134.0
-28.0



Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels


-40.0

-25.0

Rural Energy for America Program


-48.0



Crop insurance good performance discount

-25.0
-25.0



Microenterpreneur Assistance Program


-3.0



Subtotal other
-76.0
-276.0
-277.0
-117.0
-142.0
-117.0
Total reduction in farm bill programs
-511.0
-949.0
-1,205.5
-648.0
-1,052.0
-649.0
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80 and CBO tables.
a. Delays funding from July until October of the same calendar year. This effectively allocates the farm bill’s
authorization by fiscal year rather than school year—with no reduction in overal support—and results in
savings being scored by appropriators.

6 For more background, see CRS Report R41245, Reductions in Mandatory Agriculture Program Spending.
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Rescissions
Rescissions are a method of permanently cancelling the availability of funds that were provided
by a previous appropriations law, and in doing so achieving or scoring budgetary savings. Often
rescissions relate to the unobligated balances of funds still available for a specific purpose that
were appropriated a year or more ago (e.g., buildings and facilities funding that remains available
until expended for specific projects, or disaster response funds for losses due to a specifically
named hurricane). These are often one-time savings from cancelling unobligated budget authority.
For FY2013, rescissions total $484 million in the House bill and $330 million in the Senate bill
(Table 9). The amount in the House bill is on par with the FY2012 amount, but the Senate bill
has less than last year. Both amounts are less than the peak year for the use of rescissions in
FY2011. The FY2011 appropriation made unusually large rescissions, compared with prior years,
to unobligated balances in accounts such as building and facilities, and rural broadband.
Rescissions in FY2011 totaled about $925 million, up from a more typical range of $100 million
to $500 million. Because some of these were one-time savings from cancelling unobligated
balances, the high level was difficult to repeat in FY2012 and FY2013.
Table 9. Rescissions from Prior-Year Budget Authority
(dollars in millions)

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin.
House
Senate
Rescissions
111-80
112-10
112-55
Request
report
report
Export credit

-331.0
-20.2



ARS buildings and facilities

-229.6
— — — —
Cushion of Credit (rural development)a -44.5
-207.0
-155.0
-165.0
-180.0
-180.0
Section 32
-52.5

-150.0

-180.0
-150.0
SNAP employment and training
-11.0
-15.0
-11.0

-11.0

Agriculture buildings and facilities

-45.0




NIFA buildings and facilities

-1.0
-2.5



USDA
unobligated
balances
— — — — -11.0

FDA
unobligated
balances
— — — — -47.7

Repowering
Assistance
— — — — -28.5

Broadband loan balances

-39.0


-26.1

Broadband
grants
— -25.0
— — — —
NRCS expired accounts

-13.9




APHIS

-10.9




APHIS buildings and facilities

-0.6




Common
Computing
Environment
— -3.1
— — — —
Outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers

-2.1




Rural community advancement

-1.0




Agricultural Marketing Service

-0.7




Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers


-90.0



Congressional Research Service
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations


FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin.
House
Senate
Rescissions
111-80
112-10
112-55
Request
report
report
Forestry
incentives
— — -6.0
— — —
Great Plains Conservation


-0.5



Ocean
freight
— — -3.2
— — —
Office of Advocacy and Outreach


-4.0



P.L. 480 Title I


-2.3



Foreign
currency
program
— — -0.3
— — —
Total -107.9
-925.0
-445.1
-165.0
-484.3
-330.0
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80.
a. Tables in House and Senate report language place this rescission in the Rural Business Cooperative Service
section in recent years, causing that agency’s net appropriation to be negative. This report puts the
rescission here for consistency with other rescissions.

Selected Agency-level Tables
The following tables provide additional detail for selected agencies in the Agriculture
appropriations bill:
Table 10 shows proposed appropriations for domestic food assistance programs.
Table 11 shows farm loan program amounts for the Farm Service Agency.
Table 12 contains appropriations for agricultural research and related programs.
Table 13 presents food safety appropriations within the Food and Drug
Administration and for the Food Safety Inspection Service.
Table 14 through Table 17 show various rural development appropriations,
including rural housing, rural cooperative business development, and rural
utilities programs.

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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 10. Domestic Food Assistance (USDA-FNS) Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
Change
Change
Change
from
House
from
from
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin.
P.L.
H.R.
P.L.
Senate
P.L.
(House-
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
Requesta
112-55
5973
112-55
S. 2375
112-55
Senate)
Child Nutrition Programs (including transfers of funds)
Account Totalb (including transfers of funds)
16,855.8
17,319.9
18,151.2
19,694.0
+1,542.8
19,656.5
+1,505.3
19,657.5
+1,506.3
-1.0
National School Lunch Program
9,967.1
9,981.1
10,169.6
11,263.3
+1,093.7
11,263.3
+1,093.7
11,263.3
+1,093.7
+0.0
School Breakfast Program
2,920.4
3,094.0
3,313.8
3,502.6
+188.8
3,502.6
+188.8
3,502.6
+188.8
+0.0
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
2,640.9
2,686.3
2,831.5
2,916.8
+85.3
2,916.8
+85.3
2,916.8
+85.3
+0.0
Special Milk Program
12.7
12.5
13.2
13.3
+0.1
13.3
+0.1
13.3
+0.1
+0.0
Summer Food Service Program
387.3
392.7
402.0
440.9
+38.9
440.9
+38.9
440.9
+38.9
+0.0
State Administrative Expenses
193.3
206.9
279.0
289.7
+10.7
289.7
+10.7
289.7
+10.7
+0.0
Commodity Procurement for Child Nutrition
685.9
907.9
1,075.7
1,154.5
+78.8
1,154.5
+78.8
1,154.5
+78.8
+0.0
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Account Total
7,252.0
6,734.0
6,618.5
7,041.0
+422.5
6,922.0
+303.5
7,041.0
+422.5
-119.0
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Account Totalb 58,278.2 70,613.4c
80,401.7
81,995.3 +1,593.6
79,993.8
-407.9
79,993.8
-407.9
+0.0
SNAP benefits
49,623.9
61,001.0
70,524.6
69,884.8
-639.8
69,884.8
-639.8
d
d
d
Contingency Reserve Fund
3,000.0
3,000.0c
3,000.0
5,000.0 +2,000.0
3,000.0
+0.0
3,000.0
+0.0
+0.0
State Administrative Costs
3,043.0
3,618.0
3,742.0
3,866.9
+124.9
$3,866.9
+124.9
d
d
d
Employment and Training
380.9
387.9
397.1
406.3
+9.2
$406.3
+9.2
d
d
d
TEFAP Commodities
248.0
247.5
260.3
269.5
+9.2
$269.5
+9.2
269.5
+9.2
+0.0
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
112.8
97.0
102.7
100.2
-2.5
100.0
-2.7
d
d
d
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
12.1
12.1
13.1
12.1
-1.0
12.1
-1.0
d
d
d
Puerto Rico and American Samoa
1,753.4
1,751.6
1,842.8
1,906.9
+64.1
1,906.9
+64.1
1,906.9
+64.1
+0.0
CRS-22

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations


FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
Change
Change
Change
from
House
from
from
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin.
P.L.
H.R.
P.L.
Senate
P.L.
(House-
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
Requesta
112-55
5973
112-55
S. 2375
112-55
Senate)
Commodity
Assistance
Program

Account Totalb 248.0
246.6
242.3
254.0
+11.7
237.5
-16.5
254.0
+11.7
-16.5
Commodity Supplemental Food Program
171.4
175.7
176.8
187.0
+10.2
173.3
-13.7
186.9
+10.1
-13.6
WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program
20.0
20.0
16.5
16.5
+0.0
16.2
-0.3
16.5
+0.0
-0.3
TEFAP Administrative Costs
49.5
49.4
48.0
49.4
+1.4
47.0
-2.4
49.4
+1.4
-2.4
Nutrition Program Administration










Account Total
147.8
147.5
138.5
143.5
+5.0
135.7
-2.8
143.5
+5.0
-7.8
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and unpublished appropriations and Administration tables.
a. The Administration request reflected in this column is from the USDA-FNS budget request submitted to Congress in February 2012.
b. “Account Total” does not equal the sum of the programs listed below. Programs listed below are a selection of the funding that makes up the account total.
c. Committee and conference reports show conflicting information for FY2011’s SNAP (or Food and Nutrition Act) Account Total. The FY2011 continuing resolution
(P.L. 112-10) gave USDA-FNS indefinite authority for Food and Nutrition Act programs, al owing for “amounts necessary to maintain current program levels under
current law.” The amounts for SNAP in S.Rept. 112-73 match the funds apportioned by OMB to USDA-FNS, and this column reflects those numbers rather than the
amount in the original request or the conference agreement table. However, all committee reports indicate that a contingency reserve fund of $3 billion was
appropriated whereas the agency did not interpret a contingency reserve fund. For these reasons, this total does not match Table 2 or Table 3, which utilized the
FY2011 numbers contained in the H.Rept. 112-284 conference agreement.
d. S.Rept. 112-73 did not display specific funding levels for these components of the SNAP account.
CRS-23

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 11. USDA Farm Loans: Budget and Loan Authority, FY2012-FY2013
(dollars in millions)

FY2012
FY2013
Change from FY2012

P.L. 112-55
Admin request
House-reported
Senate-reported
House
Senate
FSA
Farm
Loan
Program Budget Loan Budget Loan Budget Loan Budget Loan Budget Loan Budget Loan
Farm ownership loans












Direct 22.8
475
20.1
475
20.1
475
20.1
475
-2.7
0
-2.7
0
Guaranteed 0.0
1,500
0.0
1,500
0.0
1,500
0.0
1,500
0.0
0
0.0
0
Farm operating loans












Direct 59.1
1,050
58.5
1,050
58.5
1,050
58.5
1,050
-0.6
0
-0.6
0
Guaranteed (unsubsidized)
26.1
1,500
17.9
1,500
17.9
1,500
17.9
1,500
-8.3
0
-8.3
0
Conservation loans (guaranteed)
0.0
150
0.0
150
0.0
150
0.0
150
0.0
0
0.0
0
Emergency

1.3
35
0.0
0
1.3
35
0.0
0
+1.3
+35
Individual
Development
Accounts 0.0
na 2.5
na 0.0
na 0.0
na 0.0
na 0.0
na
Indian tribe land acquisition
0.0
2
0.0
2
0.0
2
0.0
2
0.0
0
0.0
0
Indian highly fractured land loans
0.2
10
0.2
10
0.2
10
0.2
10
0.0
0
0.0
0
Boll weevil eradication loans
0.0
100
0.0
60
0.0
100
0.0
100
0.0
0
0.0
0
Subtotal 108.2
4,787
100.5
4,782
96.7
4,787
98.0
4,822
-11.6
0
-10.2
+35
Salaries and expenses
289.7

305.0

284.5

305.0

-5.2

+15.2

Administrative
expenses
7.9
— 7.9
— 7.7
— 7.9
— -0.2
— 0.0

Total 405.8
4,787
413.4
4,782
388.9
4,787
410.9
4,822
-17.0
0
+5.0
+35
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, and P.L. 112-55.
Notes: Budget authority reflects the cost of making loans, such as interest subsidies and default. Loan authority reflects the amount of loans that FSA may make or guarantee.

CRS-24

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 12. USDA Research, Education, and Extension Mission Area Appropriations,
FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012 to FY2013

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Agency and Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Agricultural Research Service
1,250.5
1,133.2
1,094.6
1,102.6
1,073.5
1,101.9
-21.1
-2%
+7.2
+1%
Nat’l Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA)

1,343.2
1,214.8
1,202.3
1,238.7
1,175.0
1,238.7
-27.3
-2%
+36.5
+3%
Research and Education
788.2
698.7
705.6
732.7
691.5
738.6
-14.1 -2%
+33.0
+5%
AFRI
262.5
264.5
264.5
325.0
276.5
298.0
+12.0
+5%
+33.5
+13%
Hatch Act
215.0
236.3
236.3
234.8
231.6
236.3
-4.7
-2%
0.0
0%
Evans-Allen
48.5
50.9
50.9
50.9
49.9
50.9
-1.0
-2%
0.0
0%
McIntire-Stennis
29.0
32.9
32.9
32.9
32.3
32.9
-0.7
-2%
0.0
0%
Extension 494.9
479.1
475.2
462.5
462.5
475.1
-12.7
-3%
-0.1
0%
Smith-Lever(b)&(c)
297.5
293.9
294.0
292.4
286.1
294.0
-7.9 -3%
0.0
0%
Smith-Lever(d)
101.3
101.1
99.3
90.4
96.7
99.3
-2.7 -3%
0.0
0%
Integrated Activities
60.0
36.9
21.5
43.5
21.1
25.0
-0.4
-2%
+3.5
+16%
Economic Research Service
82.5
81.8
77.7
77.4
75.0
77.4
-2.7
-4%
-0.3
0%
Nat’l Agric. Statistics Service
161.8
156.4
158.6
179.5
175.2
179.5
+16.6
+10%
+20.9
+13%
Total 5,135.0
4,780.7
4,713.5
4,863.4
4,646.8
4,847.7
-66.7
-1%
+134.2
+3%
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80.


Congressional Research Service
25

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 13. Appropriations for Food Safety, FY2010-FY2013
(FTEs as indicated, and budget authority in millions of dollars)
Program Level,
Agency/Year FTEsa Appropriationb
Including Fees
HHS Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “Foods” Subtotal Only
FY2010 Appropriation
3,387 783.2 783.2
FY2011 Appropriation
3,605 836.2 836.2
FY2012 Enacted
3,757 866.1 882.7
FY2013 Administration Budget
4,047 862.9
1,091.6
FY2013, H.R. 5973, House
NA 883.5 962.6
FY2013, S. 2375, Senate
NA 867.0 946.1
Comparison with House bill to:



FY2012 Appropriation
NA
47.3 (5.7%)
126.4 (15.2%)
FY2013 Administration Budget
NA
20.6 (3.3%)
-156.0 (-13.9%)
Comparison with Senate bill to:



FY2012 Appropriation
NA
30.8 (3.7%)
109.9 (13.1%)
FY2013 Administration Budget
NA
4.1 (1.4%)
-172.4 (-15.4%)
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
FY2010 Appropriation
9,401
1,018.5
NA
FY2011 Appropriation
9,465
1,006.5
NA
FY2012 Enacted
9,540
1,004.4
NA
FY2013 Administration Budget
9,040
995.5
NA
FY2013, H.R. 5973, House
NA
995.5
NA
FY2013, S. 2375, Senate
NA
1,001.4
NA
Comparison with House bill to:
FY2012 Appropriation
NA -8.9
(-0.9%)
NA
FY2013 Administration Budget
NA 0.0
(0.0%)
NA
Comparison with Senate bill to:
FY2012 Appropriation
NA -3.0
(-0.3%)
NA
FY2013 Administration Budget
NA 5.9
(0.6%)
NA
Source: CRS, from data in H.R. 5973 (H.Rept. 112-542) and S. 2375 (S.Rept. 112-163); FTEs and FDA “Foods”
are from USDA and FDA data: HHS, “FY2013 FDA: Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees,”
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/BudgetReports/UCM291555.pdf; and
USDA, “2013 Explanatory Notes, FSIS,” http://www.obpa.usda.gov/21fsis2013notes.pdf.
Notes: Percentages in parentheses reflect the difference FY2012 or the Administration’s proposal.
a. Staffing in full time equivalents: HHS, “FY2013 FDA: Justification of Estimates for Appropriations
Committees,” p. 97; and USDA, “2013 Explanatory Notes, FSIS,” p. 21-5.
b. FY2010-FY2012 actual appropriations as reported in the HHS, “FY2013 FDA: Justification of Estimates for
Appropriations Committees,” p. 144; USDA, “2013 Explanatory Notes, FSIS,” p. 21-5.
Congressional Research Service
26

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

Table 14. Rural Development Appropriations, by Agency, FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Salaries and expenses (direct)
202.0
191.6
182.0
206.9
178.4
206.9
-3.6
-2%
+24.8
+14%
Transfers from RHS, RBCS, RUS
513.5
496.7
471.9
447.0
447.0
449.5
-24.8
-5%
-22.3
-5%
Subtotal, salaries and exp.
715.5
688.3
653.9
653.9
625.4
656.4
-28.5
-4%
+2.5
+0%
Rural Housing Service
1,424.2
1,224.0
1,090.3
1,077.6
1,019.8
1,111.6
-70.4
-6%
+21.3
+2%
Rural Business-Cooperative Servicea 184.8
127.8
109.3
127.8
94.0
123.1
-15.3
-14%
+13.8
+13%
Rural Utilities Service
653.4
596.7
551.0
542.9
511.7
563.8
-39.3
-7%
+12.8
+2%
Office of the Under Secretary
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.0
-2%
+0.0
+5%
Total, Rural Development
2,978.8
2,637.8
2,405.2
2,403.2
2,251.7
2,455.7
-153.5
-6%
+50.5
+2%
Alternate total (including rescission a




Less rescission of Cushion of Credit
-44.5
-207.0
-155.0
-165.0
-180.0
-180.0
-25.0
+16%
-25.0
+16%
Net, Rural Development
2,934.3
2,430.8
2,250.2
2,238.2
2,071.7
2,275.7
-178.5
-8%
+25.5
+1%
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and CBO tables.
a. Rural Business Cooperative Service amounts in this report are before the rescission from the Cushion of
Credit account. This allows the total to remain positive. House and Senate committee report tables show
the rescission in the RBS section, causing the agency total to be less than zero. This CRS report includes the
Cushion of Credit rescission in the General Provisions section with other rescissions (Table 9).
Table 15. Rural Housing Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Rural Housing Insurance Fund (RHIF) programs
Administrative expenses (transfer)
468.6
453.5
430.8
408.1
408.1
410.6
-22.7
-5%
-20.2
-5%
Single family direct loans (§502)
40.7
70.1
42.6
39.0
39.0
53.7
-3.6
-8%
+11.2
+26%
Loan authority
1,121.5
1,121.4
900.0
652.8
652.8
900.0
-247.2
-27%
0.0
0%
Single family guaranteed loansa 172.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

Loan
authority
12,000 24,000 24,000 24,000 24,000 24,000 0.0
0%
0.0
0%
Other RHIF programsb 45.1
51.6
37.6
21.3
26.2
31.3
-11.4
-30%
-6.3
-17%
Loan authorityb 281.8
171.0
240.3
203.9
227.2
247.4
-13.1
-5%
+7.1
+3%
Subtotal, RHIF
727.2
575.2
511.0
468.4
473.3
495.7
-37.7
-7%
-15.3
-3%
Loan
authority
13,403 25,292 25,140 24,857 24,880 25,147 -260.3
-1%
+7.1
+0%
Congressional Research Service
27

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations






Change from FY2012

FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Other
housing
programs





Rental assistance (§521)
968.6
948.7
900.7
904.1
884.1
904.1
-16.5
-2%
+3.5
+0%
Other rental assistancec 11.4
5.0
4.0
3.0
3.9
3.0
-0.1
-2%
-1.0
-25%
Multifamily housing revitalization
43.2
29.9
13.0
46.9
12.7
27.8
-0.3
-2%
+14.8
+114%
Mutual & self-help housing grants
41.9
36.9
30.0
10.0
15.0
30.0
-15.0
-50%
0.0
0%
Rural housing assistance grants
45.5
40.3
33.1
28.2
17.0
33.1
-16.1
-49%
0.0
0%
Rural Community Facilities Program
Community Facilities: Grants
20.4
15.0
11.4
13.0
11.1
13.0
-0.2
-2%
+1.6
+14%
Community Facilities: Direct loans
3.9
3.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

Loan authority
295.0
290.5
1,300.0
2,000.0
2,200.0
2,000.0
+900
+69%
+700
+54%
Community Facilities: Guarantees
6.6
6.6
5.0
0.0
3.9
0.0
-1.1
-22%
-5.0
-100%
Loan authority
206.4
167.7
105.7
0.0
57.5
0.0
-48.2
-46%
-106
-100%
Rural community dev. initiative
6.3
5.0
3.6
8.0
3.5
6.1
-0.1
-2%
+2.5
+69%
Economic impact initiative grants
13.9
7.0
5.9
0.0
0.0
5.9
-5.9
-100%
0.0
0%
Tribal college grants
4.0
4.0
3.4
4.0
3.3
3.4
-0.1
-2%
0.0
0%
Subtotal, Rural Comm. Facil.
55.0
41.4
29.3
25.0
21.9
28.4
-7.4
-25%
-0.9
-3%
Loan authority
501.4
458.3
1,405.7
2,000.0
2,257.5
2,000.0
+852
+61%
+594
+42%
Total, Rural Housing Service
Budget authority
1,892.8
1,677.5
1,521.1
1,485.7
1,428.0
1,522.2
-93.1
-6%
+1.1
+0%
Less transfer salaries & exp.
-468.6
-453.5
-430.8
-408.1
-408.1
-410.6
+22.7
-5%
+20.2
-5%
Rural Housing Service (programs)
1,424.2
1,224.0
1,090.3
1,077.6
1,019.8
1,111.6
-70.4
-6%
+21.3
+2%
Loan
authority
13,905 25,751 26,546 26,857 27,137 27,147 +591
+2%
+601
+2%
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and CBO tables.
Notes: Loan authority is the amount of loans that can be made and is not added to budget authority totals.
a. The defunding of appropriations for this loan guarantee program does not reflect a reduction in loan
authority. It became self-funding in 2010 after enactment of higher loan guarantee fees being charged to
banks (§102 of P.L. 111-212) and therefore no longer needs an appropriation.
b. Includes Section 504 housing repair, Section 515 rental housing, Section 524 site loans, Section 538 multi-
family housing guarantees, single and multi-family housing credit sales, Section 523 self-help housing land
development, and farm labor housing,
c. Section 502(c)(5)(D) eligible households, Section 515 new construction, and farm labor housing new
construction.

Congressional Research Service
28

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations


Table 16. Rural Business-Cooperative Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012

FY2010 FY2011 FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Rural Business Program Account
Guar. Bus. & Ind. (B&I) Loans
52.9
44.9
45.3
56.3
45.3
56.3
0.0
0%
+11.0
+24%
Loan authority
993.0
889.1
812.6
821.2
660.9
821.2
-151.6
-19%
+8.7
+1%
Rural bus. enterprise grants
38.7
34.9
24.3
29.8
20.0
24.3
-4.3
-18%
0.0
0%
Rural bus. opportunity grants
2.5
2.5
2.3
0.0
0.0
2.3
-2.3
-100%
0.0
0%
Delta regional authority grants
3.0
3.0
2.9
0.0
0.0
3.0
-2.9
-100%
+0.1
+3%
Rural Development Loan Fund Program
Admin. expenses (transfer)
4.9
4.9
4.7
4.4
4.4
4.4
-0.2
-5%
-0.2
-5%
Loan subsidy
8.5
7.4
6.0
6.1
5.7
6.1
-0.3
-5%
+0.1
+1%
Loan authority
33.5
19.2
17.7
18.9
17.7
18.9
0.0
0%
+1.2
+7%
Rural Econ. Dev.: Loan authority
33.1
33.1
33.1
33.1
33.1
33.1
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
Rural coop. development grants
34.9
30.2
25.1
27.7
19.6
27.7
-5.4
-22%
+2.7
+11%
Rural Microenterprise Inv.: Grants
2.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

Loan subsidy
2.5
0.0
0.0
3.4
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

Loan authority
11.8
0.0
0.0
22.4
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0

Rural Energy for America: Grants
19.7
2.5
1.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
-1.7
-100%
-1.7
-100%
Loan subsidy
19.7
2.5
1.7
4.6
3.3
3.4
+1.6
+96%
+1.7
+100%
Loan authority
144.2
10.8
6.5
19.1
13.9
14.2
+7.4
+114%
+7.7
+118%
Total, Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Budget authority
189.7
132.8
113.9
132.3
98.4
127.5
-15.5
-14%
+13.6
+12%
Less transfer salaries & exp.
-4.9
-4.9
-4.7
-4.4
-4.4
-4.4
+0.2
-5%
+0.2
-5%
Total (programs)a 184.8
127.8
109.3
127.8
94.0
123.1
-15.3
-14%
+13.8
+13%
Loan authority
1,215.7
952.1
869.8
914.7
725.6
887.4
-144.2
-17%
+17.5
+2%
Alternate total (incl. rescission)a









Budget authority
189.7
132.8
113.9
132.3
98.4
127.5
-15.5
-14%
+13.6
+12%
Less rescission of Cushion of Credit
-44.5
-207.0
-155.0
-165.0
-180.0
-180.0
-25.0
+16%
-25.0
+16%
Net, in House and Senate tables
145.3
-74.2
-41.1
-32.7
-81.6
-52.5
-40.5
+99%
-11.4
+28%
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80, and CBO tables.
Notes: Loan authority is the amount of loans that can be made and is not added to budget authority totals.
a. Amounts in this report are before the Cushion of Credit rescission. This allows the total RBS appropriation
to remain positive. The rescission is included in the General Provisions section (Table 9).
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Table 17. Rural Utilities Service Appropriations, FY2010-FY2013
(budget authority in millions of dollars)





Change from FY2012

FY2010 FY2011 FY2012
FY2013
House
Senate
P.L.
P.L.
P.L.
Admin
House
Senate
Program
111-80
112-10
112-55
request
report
report $ % $ %
Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program
Loan subsidy and grants
568.7
527.9
513.0
495.7
484.5
522.5
-28.5
-6%
+9.5
+2%
Direct loan authority
1,022.2
898.3
730.7
1,000.0
731.1
1,000.0
+0.4
+0%
+269.3
+37%
P.L. 83-566 loans
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
40.0
0.0

+40.0

Guaranteed loan authority
75.0
75.0
62.9
0.0
61.3
60.0
-1.6
-2%
-2.9
-5%
Rural Electric and Telecommunication Loans
Admin. expenses (transfer)
40.0
38.3
36.4
34.5
34.5
34.5
-1.9
-5%
-1.9
-5%
Telecommunication loan authority
690.0
690.0
690.0
690.0
690.0
690.0
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
Guar. underwriting loan subsidy

0.7
0.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
-0.6
-100%
-0.6
-100%
Electricity loan authority
7,100.0
7,100.0
7,024.3
6,100.0
6,600.0
7,100.0
-424
-6%
+76
+1%
Distance Learning, Telemedicine, Broadband
Distance learning & telemedicine
37.8
32.4
21.0
25.0
15.0
25.0
-6.0
-29%
+4.0
+19%
Broadband: Grants
18.0
13.4
10.4
13.4
10.2
10.4
-0.2
-2%
0.0
0%
Broadband: Direct loan subsidy
29.0
22.3
6.0
8.9
2.0
6.0
-4.0
-67%
0.0
0%
Direct loan authority
400.0
400.0
169.0
94.1
21.1
63.4
-148
-88%
-106
-63%
Subtotal, Rural Utilities Service
Budget authority
693.4
635.0
587.3
577.4
546.1
598.3
-41.2
-7%
+10.9
+2%
Less transfer salaries & exp.
-40.0
-38.3
-36.4
-34.5
-34.5
-34.5
+1.9
-5%
+1.9
-5%
Total, Rural Utilities Service
653.4
596.7
551.0
542.9
511.7
563.8
-39.3
-7%
+12.8
+2%
Loan authority
9,287.2
9,163.3
8,676.9
7,884.1
8,103.5
8,953.4
-573
-7%
+277
+3%
Source: CRS, compiled from H.R. 5973, S. 2375, P.L. 112-55, P.L. 112-10, P.L. 111-80 and CBO tables.
Notes: Loan authority is the amount of loans that can be made and is not added to budget authority totals.

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Appendix A. Background on Scope and Terms
USDA Activities and Relationships to Appropriations Bills
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) carries out widely varied responsibilities through
about 30 separate internal agencies and offices staffed by about 100,000 employees.7 USDA
spending is not synonymous with farm program spending, nor are agriculture appropriations
completely correlated with USDA spending.
USDA divides its activities into “mission areas.” Food and nutrition programs are the largest
mission area—with more than three-fourths of USDA’s budget in FY2012—supporting the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps); the Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC) program; and child nutrition programs.8 The second-largest USDA mission
area—with about one-eighth of USDA’s budget—is farm and foreign agricultural services. This
broad mission area includes the farm commodity price and income support programs, crop
insurance, certain mandatory conservation and trade programs, farm loans, and foreign food aid
programs. Five other mission areas share one-eighth of USDA’s budget, including natural
resource and environment, rural development, research and education, marketing and regulatory
programs, and food safety.
Comparing USDA’s organization and budget data to the Agriculture appropriations bill in
Congress is not always easy. USDA’s “mission areas” do not always correspond to the titles or
categories in the Agriculture appropriations bill.
• Foreign agricultural assistance is a separate title in the appropriations bill (Title
V, Figure A-1), but is joined with domestic farm support in USDA’s “farm and
foreign agriculture” mission area (Figure A-2).
• Title I in the appropriations bill (Title I, Figure A-1) covers four of USDA’s
mission areas: agricultural research, marketing and regulatory programs, food
safety, and the farm support portion of farm and foreign agriculture.
• The Forest Service is about half of the natural resources mission area (Figure
A-2) but is funded in the Interior appropriations bill. It also accounts for about
one-third of USDA’s personnel, with about 34,000 staff years in FY2011.
The type of funding (mandatory vs. discretionary) also is an important difference between how
the appropriations bill and USDA’s mission areas are organized.
• Conservation in the appropriations bill (Title II, Figure A-1) includes only
discretionary programs. The mandatory funding for conservation programs is
included in Title I of the appropriation in the Commodity Credit Corporation.
• Conversely, the non-Forest Service part of USDA’s natural resources mission
area includes both discretionary programs and some mandatory conservation
programs.

7 USDA, FY2013 Budget Summary and Annual Performance Plan, February 2012, p. 114, at
http://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/FY13budsum.pdf.
8 USDA, FY2013 Budget Summary, at p. 108-109.
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Figure A-1. Agriculture and Related
Figure A-2. USDA Budget Authority and
Agencies Appropriations, FY2012
Mission Areas, FY2012
Title IV: Domestic nutrition
Food & nutrition
Title I: Agricultural programs
Farm & foreign agriculture
Conservation & forestry
Title VI: FDA, CFTC
Research & education
$138 billion
Title III: Rural Development
$150 billion
Marketing & regulatory
Title V: Foreign assistance
Rural development
Title II: Conservation
Food safety


Source: CRS, based on H.Rept. 112-284, p. 213.
Source: CRS, based on USDA FY2013 Budget
Summary
, at http://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/
Notes: Includes mandatory and discretionary
FY13budsum.pdf pp. 108-109.
appropriations. Excludes general provisions.
Related Agencies
In addition to the USDA agencies mentioned above, the Agriculture appropriations
subcommittees have jurisdiction over appropriations for two related agencies:
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), and
• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC, an independent financial
markets regulatory agency)—in the House only.
The combined share of FDA and CFTC funding in the overall Agriculture and Related Agencies
appropriations bill is about 2% (Title VI).
Jurisdiction over CFTC appropriations is assigned differently in the House and Senate. Before
FY2008, the agriculture subcommittees in both the House and Senate had jurisdiction over CFTC
funding. In FY2008, Senate jurisdiction moved to the Financial Services Appropriations
Subcommittee. Placement in the enacted version now alternates each year. In even-numbered
fiscal years, CFTC has resided in the Agriculture appropriation act. In odd-numbered fiscal years,
CFTC has resided in the enacted Financial Services appropriations act.
These agencies are included in the Agriculture appropriations bill because of their historical
connection to agricultural markets. However, the number and scope of non-agricultural issues has
grown in recent decades. Some may argue that these agencies no longer belong in the Agriculture
appropriations bill. But despite the growing importance of non-agricultural issues, agriculture and
food issues are still an important component at each agency. At FDA, food safety responsibilities
that are shared between USDA and FDA have been in the media during recent years and are the
subject of legislation and hearings. At CFTC, volatility in agricultural commodity markets has
been a subject of recent scrutiny at CFTC and in Congress.
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Discretionary vs. Mandatory Spending
Discretionary and mandatory spending are treated differently in the budget process. Discretionary
spending is controlled by annual appropriations acts and consumes most of the attention during
the appropriations process.9 Eligibility for participation in mandatory programs (sometimes
referred to as entitlement programs) is usually written into authorizing laws; any individual or
entity that meets the eligibility requirements is entitled to the benefits authorized by the law.10
In FY2012, about 15% of the Agriculture appropriations bill was for discretionary programs
(about $20 billion), and the remaining balance of 85% was classified as mandatory (about $117
billion).
Most agency operations (salaries and expenses) are financed with discretionary funds. Major
discretionary programs include certain conservation programs; most rural development programs;
research and education programs; agricultural credit programs; the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Food for Peace international
food aid program; meat and poultry inspection; and food marketing and regulatory programs. The
discretionary accounts also include FDA and CFTC appropriations.
The largest component of USDA’s mandatory spending is for food and nutrition programs—
primarily the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and
child nutrition (school lunch and related programs)—along with the farm commodity price and
income support programs, the federal crop insurance program, and various agricultural
conservation and trade programs. Some mandatory spending, such as the farm commodity
programs, is highly variable and driven by program participation rates, economic and price
conditions, and weather patterns. Formulas are set in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246). In recent
years, mandatory spending has tended to rise particularly as nutrition benefits have risen because
of the recession (see “Historical Trends”).
Although mandatory programs generally are outside the scope of the appropriations debate,
amounts for these programs are included in the annual Agriculture appropriations act. In terms of
budget enforcement, though, mandatory spending decisions are governed in the authorizations
process via the Congressional Budget Office baseline.11 For example, the SNAP and child
nutrition programs are funded by an annual appropriation based on projected spending needs. In
fact, SNAP is referred to as an “appropriated entitlement,” and requires an annual appropriation.12
In contrast, 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.

9 The distinction between discretionary and mandatory spending was highlighted by Rep. Kingston during House floor
debate on Agriculture appropriations on June 16, 2011, using a version of Figure 1 from this report; http://www.c-span
video.org/program/HouseSession5217/start/4762/stop/4883.
10 Mandatory spending in agriculture historically was reserved for programs such as the farm commodity programs and
crop insurance that had uncertain outlays because of weather and market conditions. Mandatory spending creates
funding stability and consistency compared to appropriations. When authorizing committees provide mandatory
funding for programs that usually are discretionary, appropriators sometimes argue that this has reduced appropriators’
oversight and have limited outlays for some of the relatively newer mandatory programs as discussed in “Changes in
Mandatory Program Spending (CHIMPS).”
11 See CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process, and CRS Report R42484,
Budget Issues Shaping a 2012 Farm Bill.
12 See CRS Report RS20129, Entitlements and Appropriated Entitlements in the Federal Budget Process.
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Budget Authority, Obligations, Outlays, and Program Levels
In addition to the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending, four other terms are
important to understanding differences in discussions about federal spending: budget authority,
obligations, outlays, and program levels.13
1. Budget authority = How much money Congress allows a federal agency to
commit to spend. It represents a limit on funding and is generally what Congress
focuses on in making most budgetary decisions. It is the legal basis to incur
obligations. Most of the amounts mentioned in this report are budget authority.
2. Obligations = How much money agencies commit to spend. Obligations
represent activities such as employing personnel, entering into contracts, and
submitting purchase orders.
3. Outlays = How much money actually flows out of an agency’s account. Outlays
may differ from appropriations (budget authority) because, for example,
payments on a contract may not flow out until a later year. For construction or
delivery of services, budget authority may be committed (contracted) in one
fiscal year and outlays may be spread across several fiscal years.
4. Program level = Sum of the activities supported or undertaken by an agency. A
program level may be much higher than its budget authority for several reasons.
• User fees support some activities (e.g., food or border inspection).
• The agency makes loans; for example, a large loan authority (program level)
is possible with a small budget authority (loan subsidy) that accounts for
defaults and interest rate assistance, assuming most loans are repaid.
• Transfers from other agencies, or funds are carried forward from prior years.

13 See CRS Report 98-405, The Spending Pipeline: Stages of Federal Spending.
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Appendix B. Agriculture Appropriations Timelines
Table B-1. Timeline of Enactment of Agriculture Appropriations, FY1999-FY2012
House-
Senate-
Appropriations
Fiscal Year
passed
passed
Enacted
vehicle
Public Law
CRS Report
1999 6/24/1998
7/16/1998
10/21/1998 Omnibus
P.L.
105-277 98-201
2000 6/8/1999
8/4/1999
10/22/1999 Stand-alone P.L.
106-78 RL30201
2001 7/11/2000
7/20/2000
10/28/2000 Stand-alone P.L.
106-387 RL30501
2002 7/11/2001
10/25/2001
11/28/2001 Stand-alone P.L.
107-76 RL31001
2003 — —
2/20/2003
Omnibus P.L.
108-7
RL31301
2004 7/14/2003
11/6/2003
1/23/2004 Omnibus
P.L.
108-199 RL31801
2005 7/13/2004 — 12/8/2004 Omnibus
P.L.
108-447 RL32301
2006 6/8/2005
9/22/2005
11/10/2005 Stand-alone P.L.
109-97 RL32904
2007
5/23/2006

2/15/2007
Year-long CR
P.L. 110-5
RL33412
2008 8/2/2007 — 12/26/2007 Omnibus P.L.
110-161
RL34132
2009 — —
3/11/2009
Omnibus P.L.
111-8
R40000
2010 7/9/2009
8/4/2009
10/21/2009 Stand-alone P.L.
111-80 R40721
2011


4/15/2011
Year-long CR
P.L. 112-10
R41475
2012 6/16/2011
11/1/2011
11/18/2011 Minibus
P.L.
112-55 R41964
Source: CRS.
Figure B-1. Timeline of Enactment of Agriculture Appropriations, FY1999-FY2012
FY1999 * 10/21
FY2000
10/22
FY2001
10/28
FY2002
11/28
FY2003
* 2/20
FY2004
* 1/23
FY2005
* 12/8
FY2006
11/10
FY2007
** 2/15
FY2008
* 12/26
FY2009
* 3/11
FY2010
10/21
FY2011
** 4/15
FY2012
* 11/18
Aug
Nov
Feb
May
Source: CRS.
Notes: An asterisk (*) denotes an omnibus or minibus appropriation. A double asterisk (**) denotes a year-long
continuing resolution.
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Key Policy Staff

Area of Expertise
Name
Phone
E-mail
Agricultural Marketing Service
Remy Jurenas
7-7281
rjurenas@crs.loc.gov
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Renée Johnson
7-9588
rjohnson@crs.loc.gov
Animal identification
Joel Greene
7-9877
jgreene@crs.loc.gov
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Rena S. Miller
7-0826
rsmiller@crs.loc.gov
Conservation and related disaster provisions
Megan Stubbs
7-8707
mstubbs@crs.loc.gov
Crop insurance and crop disaster assistance
Dennis A. Shields
7-9051
dshields@crs.loc.gov
Farm Service Agency and Commodity Credit Corp. Jim Monke
7-9664
jmonke@crs.loc.gov
Food and Drug Administration
Susan Thaul
7-0562
sthaul@crs.loc.gov
Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Admin.
Joel Greene
7-9877
jgreene@crs.loc.gov
Horticulture Renée
Johnson
7-9588
rjohnson@crs.loc.gov
Meat and Poultry Inspection
Renée Johnson
7-9588
rjohnson@crs.loc.gov
Nutrition and domestic food assistance
Randy Aussenberg
7-8641
raussenberg@crs.loc.gov
Research and extension
Dennis A. Shields
7-9051
dshields@crs.loc.gov
Rural Development
Tadlock Cowan
7-7600
tcowan@crs.loc.gov
Section 32
Jim Monke
7-9664
jmonke@crs.loc.gov
Trade and foreign food aid
Charles E. Hanrahan
7-7235
chanrahan@crs.loc.gov
USDA budget general y
Jim Monke
7-9664
jmonke@crs.loc.gov


Author Contact Information

Jim Monke

Specialist in Agricultural Policy
jmonke@crs.loc.gov, 7-9664

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