	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:
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 even-numbered fiscal years, CFTC appears in the enacted Agriculture appropriation. The primary focus of this report is the FY2014 appropriation. Action on FY2014 Appropriations

		Omnibus Action

The FY2014 Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriation was enacted as Division A of the FY2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 113-76 —an omnibus appropriation that included all 12 appropriations subcommittee bills ( Table 1 ). The Agriculture subcommittees subsequently were allocated $20.880 billion for discretionary appropriations in the omnibus. This is $1.165 billion (+5.9%) more than the post-sequestration amount for FY2013, after adjusting for the alternating year placement of CFTC in enacted bills. Mandatory spending amounts of $124.6 billion also are carried in the bill, but generally are determined by authorizing legislation such as the farm bill. The total Agriculture appropriation in FY2014, therefore, is $145.5 billion. Post-Sequestration Amounts for FY2013

The amount of budget authority that was available to agencies for FY2013 is unclear from many published appropriations documents for several reasons. 113-6 ). USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates most meat, poultry, and processed egg products. The enacted FY2014 appropriation provides $1.493 billion for FSA salaries and expenses, $89 million (+6.3%) more than FY2013 post-sequestration levels. The FY2014 appropriation also limits mandatory funding under the Watershed Rehabilitation Program. P.L. The enacted appropriation authorizes $5.5 billion in electric loans, $1.6 billion (-22.5%) less than FY2013. 113-76 ), signed by the President on January 17, 2014. The FY2014 appropriation provides the CFTC with $215 million, up 10.8% from FY2013. 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 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. 2. 3. 4.
The annual 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 even-numbered fiscal years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The FY2014 Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill was included as Division A of the FY2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, an omnibus appropriation that was enacted on January 17, 2014 (P.L. 113-76). It provides $20.880 billion of discretionary funding for agricultural and related programs. This is $1.165 billion (+5.9%) more than the post-sequestration amount for FY2013 (P.L. 113-6). Post-sequestration amounts for FY2013 programs became known during the development of the FY2014 appropriation, and are included in this report.
Although the appropriation's primary focus is allocating discretionary funds, it also carries mandatory spending for FY2014 that totals $124.6 billion, primarily for domestic nutrition assistance ($101.4 billion), crop insurance ($9.5 billion), and farm commodity and conservation programs ($12.5 billion), although these generally are determined by authorizing legislation such as the farm bill. The total Agriculture appropriation, therefore, with discretionary and mandatory authority is $145.5 billion in FY2014.
The largest discretionary items comprising the $20.88 billion discretionary appropriation are as follows.
Domestic nutrition programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), receive $7.15 billion, up 3% from FY2013 post-sequestration levels. FDA receives $2.56 billion of appropriated funding, up 7% from FY2013. Agricultural research agencies total $2.64 billion, up 10% from FY2013. Rural Development agencies receive $2.57 billion, up about 13% from FY2013. Foreign aid and trade programs receive $1.84 billion, up about 8% form FY2013. The Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency receive about $1.66 billion for salaries and expenses, and farm loans, up 6% from FY2013. USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service receives $1.01 billion, up 3% from FY2013. Conservation Operations and Watershed Rehabilitation programs receive $0.83 billion, up nearly 6% from FY2013. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service receives $0.82 billion, up 8% from FY2013.
The FY2014 appropriation also contains several policy directives that, among other things, limit USDA's ability to regulate livestock and poultry marketing practices, and encourage a delay in implementing some country-of-origin labeling rules.