On July 20, the Senate passed, 79-13, the FY2001 agriculture appropriations bill (S. 2536). The House passed its bill (H.R. 4461) on July 11 (see The Source, 7/14/00). Prior to passage of the measure, the Senate adopted, by unanimous consent, an amendment by Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) expressing the sense of the Senate that nonprofit organizations providing transitional housing to victims of domestic violence be given preference in purchasing homes that are in default through the Rural Housing Service.
Overall, the bill would provide $4.1 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a $20 million increase over last year. Child nutrition programs would receive $9.5 billion, a slight decrease from the $9.6 billion the programs received in FY2000.
