This week, the House approved the FY2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and Department of Defense spending bills.
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
On August 2, the House approved, 237-18, the FY2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 3161), after rejecting, 212-216, a motion to recommit by Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill on July 12 (see The Source, 7/13/07).
The bill would provide $18.817 billion in total discretionary spending, $1 billion over FY2007 and $987.4 million over the administration’s request.
During debate on the measure, the House rejected an amendment by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to reduce discretionary funding in the bill by 5.5 percent, 146-284.
Report Language
Department of Agriculture
Child Nutrition Programs: Child nutrition programs would receive $13.903 billion in FY2008, $557.617 million more than FY2007 and $5.941 million above the budget request.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): The CSFP would receive $150 million, $42.798 million above FY2007. Under the administration’s budget request, this program would not have received funding. This program provides food aid for women, infants, children, and the elderly.
Food Stamps: Food Stamps would be allocated $39.816 billion in FY2008, $1.655 billion more than FY2007 and $22 million less than the administration’s request.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): The bill would fund WIC at $5.62 billion in FY2008, $415.57 million over FY2007 and $233.403 million more than President Bush’s budget request. Included in that amount is $15 million for a breastfeeding education program.
The committee “is concerned with the number of injuries and deaths of minors in agriculture. Current child labor law permits children as young as 12 years of age to work in the fields under very specific limitations, such as non-hazardous work that occurs beyond school hours. However, according to a 1998 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, workplace hazards, including pesticides, heat stress, heavy machinery, and sharp tools, combine to injure more than 100,000 children on farms every year. Between 1992 and 2000, more than 40 percent of all work-related deaths of minors in the U.S. occurred in agriculture. The committee directs the secretary of USDA [United States Department of Agriculture], in collaboration with the secretary of Labor, to develop a plan to address injuries and deaths of minors in agriculture and to submit the plan to the committee by March 1, 2008.”
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition: As requested by the administration, the McGovern Dole programs would be funded at $100 million in FY2007, $1 million more than FY2007.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA would receive $1.698 billion in FY2008, $128.465 million more than FY2007 and $62 million above President Bush’s request.
Office of Women’s Health: The committee “believes that the work of the Office of Women’s Health at FDA is critical to ensuring that the wide ranging policies and actions at the agency reflect the health needs of women, and include research, outreach, and analyses of data by demographic variables, including race and ethnicity. The committee provides $5 million for the Office of Women’s Health. The committee requests quarterly reports on the expenditures and staffing levels of the office to ensure that the resources provided are used exclusively for that office.”
Department of Defense
On August 5, the House passed, 395-13, the FY2008 Department of Defense spending bill (H.R. 3222). The House Appropriations Committee approved the measure on July 25 (see The Source, 7/27/07).
The bill would allocate $459.594 billion in FY2008, $39.723 billion above FY2007 (excluding emergency and supplemental appropriations) and $3.549 billion less than the administration’s request.
An amendment by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) that would have barred the use of funds in the bill to award a grant or contract based on the race, ethnicity, or gender of the grant applicant or prospective contractor was rejected, 126-284.
