On May 24, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously
approved a $145.1 billion appropriations bill to support federal agriculture
and nutrition programs for the 2019 fiscal year. The $145.1 billion in
discretionary and mandatory funding is $6.2 billion above the President’s
budget request and $710 million below the enacted level for the 2018 fiscal
year.
The bill provides $2.73 billion to support agricultural
research, $449 million more than the President’s budget request. Total funding
for the Agricultural Research Service, which houses the Aerial Application
Technology Research Program, is $1.301 billion, $282 million more than the President’s
budget request. The bill does not allow for the termination of any research
programs or the closure of laboratories.
NAAA again
successfully pushed for language in the committee
report to the bill indicating Congress’s continued support of the USDA-ARS
Aerial Application Technology Program. The committee report to the bill reads,
in part:
The mention of aerial application within the report
supporting the legislation is no small feat, as it is one of only a few ag
programs specifically mentioned. NAAA will continue to work for adequate
USDA-ARS funding for the continued design of aerial application technologies,
tools and techniques that mitigate drift, result in fuel savings and make
aerial applications more efficacious. Favorable committee report language sends
a strong message to the USDA to continue to sustain appropriate funding for
aerial application research despite budget cuts. Since 2002 NAAA has been
successful in lobbying the government for an additional $8,912,500 in federal
funding for aerial application technology research.
Total discretionary funding in the legislation is $23.27
billion, which is $14 million above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level. This is
the exact same amount of discretionary funding approved by the
House Appropriations Committee May 16. The House Committee Report also
contained language supportive of aerial application research.
The spending bill still needs to be passed by the entire
House and Senate, then signed by President Trump. NAAA will keep the membership
informed of federal agricultural spending, particularly as it pertains to
research for aerial application technology conducted at USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service.