House Subcommittee Limits USDA Cuts to 5 Percent

The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee advanced the fiscal year 2018 spending bill for discretionary programs at USDA and other agencies at just over $20 billion. That’s a $1.1 billion cut from last year’s funding bill and 5.2 percent less than current funding levels. If those numbers hold, USDA would get roughly $876 million less in funding levels compared to the current year. However, that $1.1 billion cut is actually $3.7 billion less than President Trump’s proposed cut to USDA alone. Republican Robert Aderholt of Alabama, the Subcommittee Chair, said he couldn’t go along with the President’s proposal to eliminate several rural development programs. A DTN report says the subcommittee bill also doesn’t go along with the Trump proposal to eliminate as many as 17 USDA Ag Research Facilities across the country. Aderholt says a $1.6 billion funding amount for areas such as the Farm Service Agency and conservation programs will ensure every county FSA office is fully manned.