By a vote of 69 to 30, the U.S. Senate did pass the agricultural appropriations bill on Tuesday. This is the piece of legislation that funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and other related agencies through September 30 of next year. Here are a few of the highlights:
GIPSA: A policy rider was not included in the passed bill to defund the completion and implementation of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule.
HORSE PROCESSING: According to the United Horsemen, the bill also included no riders that would prohibit humane horse processing. This means that there was no language saying that federal inspectors/dollars could not be used in horse processing plants.
Overall, this bill represents a 15{fe867fa2be02a5a45e8bbb747b653fe2e9d0331fd056b85cd0c1a3542435a96e} reduction in ag funding levels since Fiscal Year 2010. The legislation now needs to be reconciled with the previous agricultural appropriations bill passed by the U.S. House. That bill cut ag funding levels by 26{fe867fa2be02a5a45e8bbb747b653fe2e9d0331fd056b85cd0c1a3542435a96e} and also contains language that continues to defund federal inspections for horse processing. The House bill was also passed with a provision that cuts any further spending into changes to the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s market competition rule.
© Northern Ag Network 2011
Haylie Shipp
