House and Senate Begin Work on Ag Appropriations

By Jim Steadman|May 20, 2014

The Agriculture Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee has begun work on the FY15 agriculture spending measure, with the Senate Appropriations Committee looking to June and July for their spending discussions.

The National Cotton Council (NCC) has urged members of both the House and Senate subcommittees to reject any amendments that change the provisions of the recently enacted farm bill; to include cost share funding to USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service for the cotton pests eradication program; and to provide full funding for two international market development programs – Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD).

Cotton Council International is a major participant in the MAP and FMD programs and utilizes a significant amount of funding from both programs. That funding is combined with third party industry contributions to conduct international market development activities on behalf of U.S. cotton.

The House Agriculture Subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL).

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) has asked the Committee to complete work on at least half of the 12 regular spending bills by mid-June in order to have them ready for the Senate floor. She said she has been promised time on the floor in late June for work on the annual appropriations measures. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has reserved two weeks in July for work on more appropriations measures.