	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. Action on FY2015 Appropriations6

The FY2015 Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriation was enacted as Division A of the FY2015 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 113-235 —an omnibus appropriation that included 11 of the 12 appropriations subcommittee bills. In the Senate, a minibus appropriation of three bills—including Agriculture—was brought to the floor, but before debate of individual provisions began, consideration stopped over disagreements about amendment procedures. 4800 ) and Senate committee-reported bill ( S. 2389 ). 616 ) was adopted on June 11, 2014, and House floor debate began later that day. H.R. However, the last title of the bill was not read, and the bill was left unfinished due to political changes in House Whip leadership and concern over expected amendments. Comparison of Amounts for FY2015

The official, enacted discretionary total in the FY2015 Agriculture appropriation ( P.L. 113-235 ) is $20.575 billion, which is $90 million less than (-0.4%) the comparable Senate-basis amount for FY2014 that excludes CFTC. On a House jurisdiction basis that includes CFTC, the FY2015 discretionary appropriation effectively is $20.825 billion, which is $55 million less than (-0.3%) the comparable, official FY2014 amount. In addition to these amounts, the FY2015 appropriation includes another $116 million of emergency spending that does not count against the discretionary allocation, including $91 million for agricultural conservation and $25 million for Ebola-related activity at FDA. Thus, if the emergency spending is included in the comparison, the Senate-basis spending level that includes emergency spending is $26 million greater than the comparable FY2014 amount (+0.1%); the House-basis spending level is $61 million greater than the comparable FY2014 amount (+0.3%). 113-235 , Division A) restricts USDA from finalizing or implementing parts of GIPSA's proposed rule on livestock and poultry marketing practices (75 Federal Register 35338, June 22, 2010; amends 9 C.F.R. Exemptions from whole grain rules (Section 751) . In addition to the general provisions pertaining to school meals discussed above, the enacted appropriation also includes a policy rider (Section 736) seeking to prevent any processed chicken imported from China from being included in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program. The House-reported bill, H.R. Domestic nutrition appropriations include primarily the child nutrition programs (school lunch and related programs), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—both of which are mandatory—and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which is discretionary.
The Agriculture appropriations bill funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the Forest Service. It includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and—in the House and in even-numbered enacted fiscal years—the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The FY2015 Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriation was enacted as Division A of the FY2015 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 113-235 (December 16, 2014), an omnibus appropriation that included 11 of the 12 appropriations subcommittee bills. Although the fiscal year began under a continuing resolution, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees reported their Agriculture appropriations bills (H.R. 4800 and S. 2389) in May 2014—the earliest joint action in years. The House considered H.R. 4800 on the floor on June 11, 2014, procedurally read through most of the bill, and adopted several amendments. The bill was left unfinished when floor action was suspended due to House Whip leadership changes. The Senate considered a minibus appropriations bill on June 19, 2014, that included the Agriculture bill. But Senate consideration quickly stopped over a disagreement about procedures for amendments.
The official, enacted discretionary total in the FY2015 Agriculture appropriation is $20.575 billion, which is $90 million less than (-0.4%) the comparable Senate-basis amount for FY2014 that excludes CFTC. On a House jurisdiction basis that includes CFTC, the FY2015 discretionary appropriation effectively is $20.825 billion, which is $55 million less than (-0.3%) the comparable, official FY2014 amount. Despite the small decrease overall, many agencies receive small increases compared with FY2014.
In addition to these amounts, the FY2015 appropriation includes another $116 million of emergency spending that does not count against the discretionary allocation, including $91 million for agricultural conservation and $25 million for Ebola-related activity at FDA. Thus, if the emergency spending is included in the comparison, the Senate-basis spending level that includes emergency appropriations is $26 million greater than the comparable FY2014 amount.
Mandatory spending in the FY2015 Agriculture appropriation is $126.5 billion, nearly $2 billion more than FY2014, mostly due to costs in child nutrition (school lunch and related programs).
Notable policy riders affecting the Agriculture appropriation this year include a provision to allow white potatoes in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) "food package," and to require a review of the WIC food package to determine whether white potatoes would remain eligible. Regarding National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, the appropriation requires USDA to allow states to exempt schools that demonstrate a hardship from implementing a whole grain requirement. The appropriation requires scientific evidence before sodium reduction targets can go into effect. And it also prohibits processed chicken cooked in China from being used in the National School Lunch Program and other USDA child nutrition programs. The appropriation prevents the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration from finalizing proposed rules on livestock and poultry marketing practices, and effectively bans horse slaughter by prohibiting USDA from inspecting horses.