On July 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 31-0, S. 1603, the FY2018 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies spending bill. The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies approved the legislation on July 18. The House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill on July 12 (see The Source, 7/14/17).
According to the committee report, the legislation would provide $145.923 billion in overall funding, which is $7.985 billion below FY2017 and $4.867 billion above the president’s FY2018 request. This amount includes $20.525 billion in discretionary funding and $124.9 billion in mandatory funding.
Additionally, the legislation would provide the National Institute of Food and Agriculture $400,000 for its women and minorities in STEM fields initiative. The committee also directs the FDA to make technical corrections to its seafood advice for pregnant and nursing women.
The following chart details funding for programs important to women and their families.
|
Program/Agency |
FY2017 |
President’s FY2018 Request |
|
|
Department of Agriculture – Domestic Food Programs |
|||
|
Food and Nutrition Service |
$108.111 billion |
$104.461 billion |
$104.731 billion |
|
Child Nutrition Programs |
$22.794 billion |
$24.256 billion |
$24.297 billion |
|
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) |
$6.35 billion |
$6.15 billion |
$6.35 billion* |
|
Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) |
$78.481 billion |
$73.613 billion |
$73.613 billion |
|
Commodity Assistance Program |
$315.139 million |
$293.591 million |
$317.139 million |
|
Department of Agriculture – Foreign Assistance |
|||
|
P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace |
$1.466 billion |
$0 |
$1.6 billion |
|
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition |
$201.626 million |
$0 |
$206.626 million |
|
Food and Drug Administration |
|||
|
Food and Drug Administration (overall) |
$4.725 billion |
$5.051 billion |
$5.218 billion |
|
User Fees |
$1.954 billion |
$3.222 billion |
$2.445 billion |
|
Mammography User Fees |
$20.522 million |
$21 million |
$20.522 million |
*Includes $80 million for breastfeeding support initiatives.
