On May 29, the House Appropriations Committee approved, 31-18, the FY2015 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Subcommittee approved the legislation on May 20 (see The Source, 5/23/14).
According to the committee report, the bill would allocate $20.88 billion in discretionary funding in FY2015 for programs at the Department of Agriculture, the FDA, and other agencies. This amount is equal to the amount enacted in FY2014 and $457.266 million over the amount requested by President Obama for FY2015.
The amount allocated to the FDA does not include funding for the mammography quality standards user fees (p. 54). However, the report “urges FDA to quickly follow up the November 2011 meeting of the National Mammography Quality Assurance Advisory Committee by promptly reviewing the evidence…including information related to an individual’s breast density in the mammogram lay report and physician report” (p. 57).
“The committee directs the Office of Cosmetics and Colors (OCAC) to respond by March 15, 2015, to a citizen petition setting safety levels for trace amounts of lead in cosmetics. The committee notes that every year since FY2012, it has repeatedly requested that OCAC respond to this petition. The committee urges OCAC to make this a priority” (p. 62).
The chart below details funding levels for programs important to women and their families.
| Program/Agency | FY2014 | President’s FY2015 Request | Senate FY2015 | House FY2015 |
|
Department of Agriculture – Domestic Food Programs |
||||
| Food and Nutrition Service | $108.585 billion | $112.047 billion | $109.802 billion | $109.825 billion |
| Child Nutrition Programs | $19.288 billion | $20.537 billion | $20.497 billion | $20.524 billion |
| Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) | $6.716 billion | $6.823 billion | $6.623 billion* | $6.623 billion* |
| Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | $82.17 billion | $84.256 billion | $82.251 billion | $82.251 billion |
| Commodity Assistance Program | $269.701 million | $275.701 million | $275.701 million | $275.701 million |
|
Department of Agriculture – Foreign Assistance Programs |
||||
| P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace | $1.466 billion | $1.4 billion | $1.466 billion | $1.466 billion |
| McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition | $185.126 million | $185.126 million | $185.126 million | $198.126 million |
|
Food and Drug Administration |
||||
| FDA | $2.552 billion | $2.575 billion | $2.588 billion | $2.574 billion |
| User Fees | $1.826 billion | $2.162 billion | $1.902 billion | $1.868 billion |
| Mammography User Fees | $19.318 million | $19.705 million | $19.705 million | Does not include |
*Includes support for the breastfeeding peer counseling program.
