The Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee approved on a voice vote $21.25 billion in discretionary funding for its Fiscal Year 2017 agriculture funding bill, a decline from the previous year. The bill funds USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and other programs. Lawmakers offered no amendments. The full committee will meet May 19 to mark up the legislation.
The bill includes $1.5 million that meets the Obama administration’s request to pay for USDA staffers in Cuba. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has said the money would fund five people, a mix of staffers from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The APHIS staff would identify pests and issues that could affect US exports or potential Cuban imports.
Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill could go to the floor in June, but said that was his estimate. The full House Appropriations Committee approved its Agriculture spending bill (HR 5054) in April. It is unclear when it may go to the House floor.