| Congress Approves Appropriations Bill |
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The fiscal 2005 omnibus appropriations bill has been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress will return to Washington next week to correct one IRS provision before sending the bill to the President for signature. The bill provides nearly $85.3 billion in mandatory agriculture spending for the next fiscal year; however, all funding figures are subject to a 0.83-percent across-the-board reduction. Successfully funded projects that directly impact the sheep industry include: scrapie eradication, wool research, Wildlife Services operations, Wildlife Services research, National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC), the Market Assistance Program and the Foreign Market Development program. The scrapie eradication program is slated to receive $17.7 million, an increase from the $15.4 million received in the current year. Funding for university wool research programs remains stable at $300,000. Wildlife Services operations will receive a slight increase to $73.7 million while Wildlife Services’ methods development will maintain a $17.4 million budget. An increase to $1 million from $500,000 has been allocated to NSIIC to continue funding loans and grants for the advancement of the U.S. sheep industry. The bill also fully funded both the Marketing Assistance Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) at $140 million and $34.5 million, respectively. The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) utilizes these matching-funds programs as a means of cost-sharing promotional and developmental functions for wool and pelts as well as overseas marketing activities. “The sheep industry compliments House Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-TX) and the Chairman of the Senate Robert Bennett (R-UT) for their support and leadership in the additional funding of key sheep programs at U.S. Department of Agriculture,” commented Peter Orwick, executive director for ASI. “Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Conrad Burns (R-MT), are also commended for going the extra mile to assist our industry.”
Source: ASI Weekly |