Farm Bill Under Construction
On Thursday June 7, the Senate voted 90-8 in favor of advancing the farm bill, allowing senators to begin debate on the controversial bill starting the week of June 11. The bill includes Agriculture Risk Coverage Plan, which will offer shallow-loss coverage to farmers and replace the previous direct payment program and the countercyclical payment program. This program is continually opposed by Southern senators from rice, peanut and cotton states due to the benefits received by Midwestern and Plain State farmers.
On Tuesday June 5, the House Appropriations Committee released its FY 2013 Agriculture Appropriations Bill which allocates $140.7 billion in program funding. The programs allocated funding include:
- $2.1 billion to rural economic development programs, a decrease of $180 million from the previous year
- $65.3 million to the business and industry loan programs, $9.5 million decrease from the previous year
- $484 million to rural infrastructure programs for rural water and waste programs
- $7.3 billion for rural electric and telephone infrastructure loans
- $15 million for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine program
- $21 million for rural broadband loans
The bill will come before the full House in the coming weeks.
Fiscal Year 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations
On Wednesday June 6, the House Appropriations Committee released FY 2013 Housing and Urban Development Funding Bill which will move on to the subcommittee to be voted on. On Thursday June 7, the House Appropriations Transportation and Housing Subcommittee gave voice vote approval to a funding bill which will provide $51.6 billion in discretionary spending for federal transportation and housing programs. The funding level is $3.9 billion less than FY 2012 and $1.9 billion less than the Administration’s budget. Some programs within bill include:
- $17.6 billion to the Department of Transportation, $69 million below last year’s amount
- $39.1 billion to the highway bill from the Highway Trust Fund to be allocated to the Federal Highway Program
- $12.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration
- $2 billion to the Federal Railroad Administration
- $2 billion for the Federal Transit Administration
- $8.4 billion to state and local transit grant funding through the Mass Transit Account
- $776 million for transportation safety in funding to transportation and safety programs and agencies
Housing programs within the bill are funded at $9.3 billion. The bill ensures the continuation of benefits to every eligible individual and family receiving assistance. Some programs included in the bill are:
- $33.6 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development
- $26.3 billion to Public and Indian Housing
- $650 million to the Native American Block Grants
- $7 billion to Community Planning and Development programs
- $3.3 billion to the Community Development Block Grant Program
- Funding was denied for the Choice Neighborhoods Grant Program
The bill will come before the full House in the coming weeks.
Army Corps of Engineers Budget Adjustments
On Friday June 1, the House approved an amendment to decrease the Army Corps of Engineers construction account by $1 million and increase the operation and maintenance account by $571,429. The budget adjustment would increase both the construction account for flood protection and the Corps administration account for civil works programs by $2 million. The Appropriations bill will allocate $32.3 billion in actual program funding for FY 2013. The funding for 2013 is $623 million less last year’s funding and $1.2 billion below the president’s budget request.
Further funding eliminations were rejected 113-275 by the House. These eliminations include$1.5 billion in funding cuts which would have come from renewable energy programs and also eliminating $115 million in renewable energy funding for FY 2014. Although this funding cut did not pass, a $10 million cut to Department of Energy salaries and expenses was approved 216-177.
If you have any questions how Federal legislation can our could impact your community or project, contact KL&J’s Government Affairs Group today!