Jim Nussle: “I rise to speak on the measure before us, providing budget authority for programming by the U.S. Department of…”

“I rise to speak on the measure before us, providing budget authority for programming by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others. It provides for about 20 percent of total USDA budget authority. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, I am pleased to note that this bill is consistent with the levels established in H. Con. Res. 95, the House concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2006. Overall spending in the bill is $29 million more than the 2005 enacted level and $22 million above the President's request. department of agriculture In most areas within USDA, appropriators ended up somewhere between the President's request and the 2005 enacted level. None of the President's initiatives to collect $178 million in new or increased user fees was taken up, making up the difference through spending reductions in some discretionary programs and through $1.4 billion in reductions in some mandatory programs authorized for the first time in the 2002 farm bill. The bill makes changes in various mandatory programs that reduce net budget authority by $1.4 billion. Specifically, it reduces budget authority by about 25 percent for a number of mandatory conservation programs and eliminates funding for a subset of agricultural research and rural development programs.…”