Thomas Foley: “However, now, despite the strong support of the House, and by reference the conference committee, the Rural Utilities…”

“However, now, despite the strong support of the House, and by reference the conference committee, the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture has ignored the intent of Congress and refused to fund the Harbor Branch-FSU aquaculture project. In fact, it is my understanding that the agency rejected the congressional language as "nonbinding" and made fundamental errors in analyzing the proposal that was submitted to the Department for funding. Mr. Chairman, was it the intent of the committee and the Congress that the proposed Harbor Branch-Florida State University project be fully funded by the Rural Utilities Service in fiscal 2000?”