On July 17, 2003, by a vote of 29 to 0, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up and passed their version of the Agriculture Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2004, S. 1427. The Senate Committee report accompanying the bill is numbered S.Rpt. 108-107. (By a vote of 347 to 64 on July 14, 2003, the House of Representatives passed a House version, H.R. 2673, after the bill was approved by the House Appropriations Committee on June 25, 2003. The House Committee report accompanying the bill is H.Rpt. 108-93.)

The following represents a quick analysis of the bill from a California perspective as prepared by the California Institute. We apologize for any errors or omissions in our discussion of these documents, and would appreciate any input/feedback/corrections. The ordering of items generally reflects their presence in the bill and does not mean to imply any relative importance.

This appropriations analysis is available on the California Institute web site at http://www.calinst.org/pubs/ag04s.htm , and a pdf format version is available at http://www.calinst.org/pubs/ag04s.pdf . An analysis of the House version of the FY 2004 funding bill is available at http://www.calinst.org/pubs/ag04h.htm and a printable version in pdf format is available at http://www.calinst.org/pubs/ag04h.pdf .

On July 17, 2003 the Senate Appropriations Committee approved and reported its version of the fiscal year 2004 Appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (S. 1427). The House passed its version of the bill, H.R. 2673, on July 14.

The following represents a quick analysis of the bill from a California perspective as prepared by the California Institute. We apologize for any errors or omissions in our discussion of these documents, and would appreciate any input/feedback on how to make improving corrections. The ordering of items generally reflects their presence in the bill and does not mean to imply any relative importance.

This appropriations analysis is available on the California Institute web site at

A printable version in Adobe Acrobat ("pdf") format is also available at

The Committee provides $1.046 billion in funding for the Agricultural Research Services, which is $9 million more than was appropriated in FY 2003 and $59 million over the amount requested by the Bush Administration. The total includes funding for the following California-related ARS Programs:

– an increase of $1 million for FY04 to accelerate research on tamarix control, which the Senate Committee deems to be a problem in several western states including California;

– an increase of $450,000 from the FY03 level to the ARS Parlier, CA, laboratory to continue its research efforts and collaborations to control and eradicate Pierce’s Disease and its carrier the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter; and

– an increase of $450,000 from the fiscal year 2003 level to the ARS Ft. Detrick, MD, research laboratory for research critical in stemming the spread of the Sudden Oak Disease Syndrome, which has afflicted wood and nursery products in California and Oregon in the last several years.

The bill also directs the following California ARS programs to be funded at FY 2003 levels:

– Olive Fruit Fly Research in Parlier;

– Pierce’s Disease Research in Davis and Parlier;

– Sustainable Vineyard Practices, Davis ;

– Sustainable Viticulture Research, Davis; and

– Water Management Research Laboratory, Brawley.

The bill provides $618 million in funding for the research and education activities of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The total is $783,000 more than was appropriated in FY 2003, and $103 million over the Administration’s budget request. The total includes $102 million in funding for special research grants, which include the following:

– $2 million for Exotic Pest Disease research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was $1.888 million, while the Administration’s proposal did not include an appropriation for such activities;

– $427,000 for ozone air quality research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was also $427,000, while the Administration’s proposal did not include an appropriation for such activities;

– $2.250 million for Pierce’s Disease research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was $2.235 million, while the Administration’s proposal did not include a budget request for such activities;

– $99,000 for Sudden Oak Death research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was also $99,000, while the Administration’s proposal did not include an appropriation for such activities;

– $1.788 million for Viticulture Consortium research and education activities in California, New York, and Pennsylvania; the FY03 appropriation for this program was also $1.788 million, while the Administration’s proposal did not include a budget request for such activities;

The Senate Appropriations Committee does not provide funding for the following California special research grants:

– Citrus tristeza research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was $720,000; the Administration’s proposal also did not include a budget request for such activities;

– Olive fly research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was $40,000; the Administration’s proposal also did not include a budget request for such activities; and

– sustainable agriculture research and education activities in California; the FY03 appropriation for this program was $497,000; the Administration’s proposal also did not include a budget request for such activities.

The Committee provides $705.6 million in funding for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is $23 million over the amount appropriated in FY03, and $10.7 million more than was requested in the Administration’s budget proposal. The total appropriated for APHIS includes:

– an increase of $11.6 million above the FY03 level for emerging plant pests; within this increase the Committee provides an additional $5 million for Pierce’s Disease and continues funding at the FY03 level for Sudden Oak Death Syndrome.

The House bill provides $827 million for NRCS operations, an increase of $7 million above the FY 2003 amount and an increase of $123 million above the Administration’s budget request. This agency provides financial and technical assistance to enhance agricultural productivity and to protect the natural resource base. The total includes funding for the following California-based conservation operations:

– $600,000 to provide technical assistance for improved nutrient management and protection of water resources in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations

The Committee appropriates $55 million in funding for Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations, which is $54.3 million less than was provided in FY 2003 and $15 million over the request in the Administration’s budget proposal.

The bill provides a total funding level of $769.5 million for the Rural Community Advancement Program, of which $25,000,000 is set aside for water and waste disposal systems benefitting "Colonias" communities along the US-Mexico border.

The bill provides $11.418 billion in funding for the Child Nutrition Programs, which is an increase of $838.3 million above the amount available in FY 2003 and is the same amount as requested by the Bush Administration.

The Committee appropriates $4.639 billion in funding for the WIC program. The total amount appropriated is $56.8 million below the FY03 funding level, and $130 million less than the amount requested by the Administration.

For the Food Stamp Program, the total provided in the bill is $27,745,981,000, which represents an increase of $1,432,289,000 over last year’s allocation, and is the same amount as requested by the Bush Administration.