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Government Relations & Washington Update

October 2021

FY 2022 Appropriations Update
On September 30th, the Congress sent a Continuing Resolution to President Biden that would avoid a government shutdown.  Biden signed the legislation, which funds the government through December 3rd, giving Congress some additional time to complete work on appropriations for fiscal year 2022.  Congress is also continuing to debate raising the debt ceiling, investing in infrastructure and advancing a budget reconciliation package that would invest up to $3.5 trillion in a wide variety of programs.

Below is a summary of key accounts within the agriculture appropriations bill and how they currently stand in the House and Senate versions:

    ACCOUNT                                       FY2021 FINAL             FY 2022 House                       FY 2022 Senate

  • ERS                                           $85.5 million               $88.6 million               $90.8 million  
  • NASS                                        $183.9 million             $189.2 million            $191.6 million
  • AGARDA                                   $0                                $2 million                    $0
  • ARS Salaries and Expenses      $1.491 billion             $1.637 billion             $1.675 billion
  • ARS Buildings and Facilities    $35.7 million             $126.5 million            $45.4 million
  • Hatch                                       $259 million               $265 million                $275 million
  • AFRI                                         $435 million               $450 million                $445 million
  • Smith Lever                              $315 million               $320 million                $330 million

Agriculture Research Included in House Version of $3.5 Trillion Budget Reconciliation Package
President Biden has proposed $3.5 trillion in a broad spectrum of investments to advance his priorities.  The House has begun work on filling out their version of the sweeping package and House committees have met to approve the provisions under their respective jurisdictions.  The House Agriculture Committee has approved the investment of over $65 billion to support agricultural research, rural development and forestry.  The package would invest $7.75 billion in agricultural research to advance the American food and agriculture system’s global competitiveness, innovation, infrastructure, food security, equity, and climate change resilience.

Highlights of the research investments include:

  • $3.65 billion   Infrastructure through the Research Facilities Act
  • $100 million   Research Equipment Grants 
  • $380 million   AGARDA (Agriculture Advanced Research & Development Authority)
  • $540 million   Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR)
  • $500 million   Agriculture & Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
  • $500 million   Sustainable Ag Research & Education (SARE)
  • $20 million      Agriculture Genome to Phenome Initiative
  • $200 million   OREI (Organic Research & Extension Initiative)
  • $600 million    Smith-Lever (Extension)
  • $126 million   Extension -1890s
  • $40 million      Extension -1994s
  • $45 million      Economic Research Service (ERS)
  • $14 million      National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
  • $16 million      Office of the Chief Economist

While these potential investments in agricultural research are very encouraging, the outlook for the budget reconciliation remains unclear.  Some Senate Democrats have expressed concerns about the overall price of the $3.5 trillion package.  Because the Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, it would require all Democrats to support the package to ensure passage.  As a result, leaders in the House and Senate are currently negotiating how to move forward.  If the size of the budget reconciliation package is decreased, it is unclear what impact that would have on the agriculture section.