[Senate Hearing 110-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                         S. Hrg. 110-98

                                                        Senate Hearings

                                 Before the Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________


                                                     Agriculture, Rural

                                                  Development, Food and

                                                    Drug Administration

                                                   and Related Agencies

                                                         Appropriations

                                                            Fiscal Year
                                                                   2008

         th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION                                110 

                                                      H.R. 3191/S. 1859

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

    Food and Drug Administration

NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
   Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and 
       Related Agencies Appropriations, 2008 (H.R. 3191/S. 1859)



                                                         S. Hrg. 110-98
 
   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND 
          RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008

=======================================================================

                                HEARINGS

                                before a

                          SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

            COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE

                       ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                                   on

                           H.R. 3191/S. 1859

 AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD 
 AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES PROGRAMS FOR THE FISCAL 
         YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2008, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                               __________

                       Department of Agriculture
 Department of Health and Human Services: Food and Drug Administration
                       Nondepartmental witnesses

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations


  Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
                               index.html



                                 ______

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
33-905                      WASHINGTON : 2007
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                               __________

                      COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

                ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia, Chairman
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii             THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont            TED STEVENS, Alaska
TOM HARKIN, Iowa                     ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland        PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
HERB KOHL, Wisconsin                 CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri
PATTY MURRAY, Washington             MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California         JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota            LARRY CRAIG, Idaho
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
JACK REED, Rhode Island              SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey      WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado
BEN NELSON, Nebraska                 LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee

                  Terrence E. Sauvain, Staff Director
                  Bruce Evans, Minority Staff Director
                                 ------                                

     Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
                  Administration and Related Agencies

                     HERB KOHL, Wisconsin, Chairman
TOM HARKIN, Iowa                     ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah,
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California         ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota            MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
BEB NELSON, Nebraska                 LARRY CRAIG, Idaho
JACK REED, Rhode Island              SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas

                           Professional Staff

                             Galen Fountain
                        Jessica Arden Frederick
                             Dianne Preece
                      Fitzhugh Elder IV (Minority)
                       Stacey McBride (Minority)
                        Graham Harper (Minority)
                         Brad Fuller (Minority)

                         Administrative Support

                             Renan Snowden


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                       Tuesday, February 27, 2007

                                                                   Page
Department of Agriculture: Office of the Secretary...............     1
Department of Health and Human Services: Food and Drug 
  Administration.................................................   479
Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................   721


   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
          RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008

                              ----------                              


                       TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2007

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met at 10:02 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Herb Kohl (chairman) presiding.
    Present: Senators Kohl, Harkin, Dorgan, Feinstein, Nelson, 
Reed, Bennett, Specter, and Craig.

                       DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

                        Office of the Secretary

STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE JOHANNS, SECRETARY
ACCOMPANIED BY:
        CHARLES CONNER, DEPUTY SECRETARY
        W. SCOTT STEELE, BUDGET OFFICER
        DR. KEITH COLLINS, CHIEF ECONOMIST


                 opening statement of senator herb kohl


    Senator Kohl. Good morning. Today we will begin hearings 
for the fiscal year 2008 budget. Our first panel will include 
Secretary Johanns and other distinguished guests from the 
Department of Agriculture, and following that we'll hear from 
FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach on that agency's budget.
    This is our first hearing for the year and it will be the 
only general hearing on the fiscal year 2008 budget. The other 
hearings that we'll have will focus more on issue-specific 
areas such as food safety, conservation, and food aid. I hope 
this is a change in format that will allow us to study certain 
issues in more detail.
    As everyone knows, the fiscal year 2007 appropriations 
process was finished only a few weeks ago. While we understand 
the President's request for 2008 is not changed by that action, 
our bills by necessity build on previous year's action, and so 
we'll need specifics as soon as possible regarding how the USDA 
and the FDA will carry out this year's programs. I hope you 
will all work as quickly as you can to make sure that that 
information is available to us.
    The President's budget includes fiscal year 2008 
discretionary spending levels of more than $16 billion for USDA 
and more than $1.6 billion for FDA. This includes an increase 
of $43 million for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, an 
increase of more than $260 million for the Farm Service Agency, 
and an increase of $180 million for WIC. However, the budget 
also proposes the elimination of the Commodity Supplemental 
Food Program, which was proposed last year and which was 
rejected by this subcommittee.
    I would note that while the budget does include some new 
fee proposals, they are presented in such a way that there is 
little effect on 2008 funding levels. This is an improvement 
over previous years. However, there are a few legislative 
proposals, such as those regarding WIC and other programs, that 
will cause us some concern. So, Mr. Secretary, I look forward 
to your comments on those.
    There are a number of other issues in the budget that we 
will need to discuss, for example, eliminating the direct 
single family housing program, and a number of other rural 
development programs which are problematic.
    This has already been a busy year, with much yet to come. 
As we move through the appropriations process, I pledge to you 
that we will maintain a constructive dialogue with USDA and 
FDA. I can tell you that we intend to send our bills to the 
President well in advance of September 30, so we all need to 
work together so we can come to an agreement on administration 
priorities and congressional prerogatives as easily and as 
swiftly as possible.
    Having said that, I'd like now to turn to my good friend 
and the ranking member, Senator Bennett. As I've said many 
times, I want to publicly thank him and his staff for the 
helpful and bipartisan manner in which he has guided this 
subcommittee over the past few years, and I assure him and 
everyone else on this subcommittee that I intend to continue 
that very admirable practice.
    So, Senator Bennett, I would ask if you have any opening 
comments, and then we will turn to other members for their 
opening statements before we ask the Secretary to share his 
thoughts with us. We'll recognize members in turn based on 
their arrival, and in moving from majority to minority for the 
first round of questions I ask that we use the 5-minute rule. 
So, Senator Bennett.


                 STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROBERT F. BENNETT


    Senator Bennett. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I 
congratulate you on your assuming again the chairmanship of 
this subcommittee. I tried to follow your lead in the way that 
we ran things, and I am very grateful to you for your kind 
words. I believe we have an excellent working relationship on a 
bipartisan basis and I'm sure it will continue.
    I want to welcome Senator Nelson and Senator Reed, new 
members of this subcommittee. I think they will add a great 
deal to our deliberations. We arentering a very busy 
time for USDA and the FDA because in the next few months 
Congress will consider and, one hopes, pass the farm bill, the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Act, and the Medical Device User Fee 
Modernization Act. These are some of the most important 
reauthorizations that the Congress will deal with, and while 
it's the responsibility of the authorizers to address these 
issues, naturally that will strongly influence the work of this 
subcommittee.
    Now that the fiscal 2007 appropriations are in fact finally 
behind us and we focus on 2008, I'm delighted, Mr. Chairman, 
with your commitment to get this bill done in a timely fashion. 
We've done it before, and either the full committee or the 
House was unable to follow our excellent example and get things 
done in a timely fashion, but I know you will do that and I'll 
do everything I can to help you.
    So this morning I welcome Secretary Johanns and those 
accompanying him, and look forward to his testimony, and I also 
look forward to the second panel with Dr. von Eschenbach and 
those who will accompany him.
    This is a unique subcommittee. The life of every person in 
this country comes in direct contact with some of the product 
regulated or the programs carried out as a result of the 
appropriations we made in this subcommittee, and I don't think 
any other subcommittee can say that. Every single American is 
affected here, so that's how we will evaluate the budget 
proposals of USDA and FDA.
    Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, I want to offer 
some praise to three USDA employees in Utah, so that the record 
will show that I recognize their contribution: Bruce 
Richardson, who is the Farm Service Agency State Executive 
Director; Jack Cox, the Rural Development State Director; and 
Sylvia Gillan, the Natural Resources Conservation Service State 
Conservationist. Mr. Secretary, these are all three good 
people, and I wanted to make that comment for the record.
    Thank you very much for your courtesy, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Bennett. We'll turn to 
Senators for their comments, starting with Senator Dorgan. Then 
we'll recognize Senator Craig, then Senator Nelson, then 
Senator Reed, and then Senator Feinstein. Thank you.


                  STATEMENT OF SENATOR BYRON L. DORGAN


    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Thank you and the 
ranking member, and let me say that I sure do support the 
notion of getting this bill done, getting it done on time, 
getting it through the Senate, in conference, and getting to 
the President for signature. The mess that was created last 
year, it cannot be repeated, and the mess doesn't belong to any 
one person certainly, but we've got to finish all of these 
appropriations bills on time.
    I'm going to be asking Secretary Johanns some questions 
about disaster relief, as he might well expect. The three times 
I've gotten it through the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
twice through the full Senate, twice have gotten to conference, 
and it was blocked in conference. And I know the President at 
that point had opposed disaster relief. I'm going to ask 
Secretary Johanns about that today.
    I also want to ask some questions about the issue of 
opening the market to live Canadian cattle above 30 months of 
age, which will I'm told result in about 1.3 million head of 
Canadian cattle coming in this year, at a time when we have 
just heard of the ninth--I guess actually tenth case, if you 
consider the Canadian cow in the State of Washington--the tenth 
case of BSE in Canada. I just held a hearing on that subject in 
North Dakota last week, and I am very much opposed to the 
proposed rule offered by the USDA. I hope we can overturn that 
rule. I guess I hope the comment period will persuade the 
Secretary not to proceed.
    But both of these are very important issues. I want to 
especially focus on the issue of disaster relief, and I will 
wait until I question Secretary Johanns. Let me thank the 
Secretary and the other members of USDA who have come here.
    And, Mr. Collins, we had a discussion in North Dakota about 
you, as a matter of fact. Someone was quoting the USDA 
Economist, and I asked who, and they told me your name. I said, 
``Well, I know him.'' And I used to teach economics, but I was 
able to recover and move on. So we had a discussion about you. 
But let me thank you for being here again, as you have for many 
years, and being willing to visit with us about the agriculture 
economy.
    Secretary Johanns, welcome.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Dorgan.
    Senator Craig.


                    STATEMENT OF SENATOR LARRY CRAIG


    Senator Craig. Well, Mr. Chairman, because I certainly want 
to hear from the witnesses, and we have a lot to cover, I will 
be brief. But let me join with my colleague, Senator Bennett, 
in welcoming you to the chairmanship of this committee. We do 
cover a lot of areas of major importance to a good number of 
citizens in our country.
    We come to Ag Appropriations at a time when the business of 
crafting a new farm bill--and, Mr. Secretary, we're pleased 
that the work you have done puts you into the middle of that 
process. That's where a Secretary of Agriculture ought to be, 
and frankly, some of our Secretaries have not been there, and 
Congress has been doing the work in part on its own.
    But I think it is a cooperative kind of shaping of policy 
that is going to be extremely important for American 
agriculture and U.S. consumers in the future; and, I must also 
say, and the role agriculture is increasingly playing in the 
production of energy. That is where I spend a fair amount of my 
time these days, on that issue, and it is exciting for me to 
see a future in which agriculture becomes an increasingly major 
contributor to energy independence in this country, and policy 
is certainly going to reflect that, loan guarantees, the whole 
combination of things.
    Mr. Chairman, I recently said before a hearing that I felt 
that maybe we ought to take DOE's authority under Title 17 of 
the Energy Policy Act and give it to USDA. They seem to know 
how to get loan guarantees done, know how to do them, and 
that's not a criticism as much as it is an observation of where 
we are on that issue. That's important, and of course we'll 
hear from FDA in a few moments. That, too, is critical to us.
    I would hope that as we look at policy--and here is where 
my friend from North Dakota and I oftentimes agree more than 
disagree--Mr. Secretary, and as we shape policy that will be 
reflected in the new farm bill, that we be as much focused on 
our domestic needs as we are to our international trade 
obligations. I know there are certain pressures there as it 
relates to where we may or may not be in the discussion of 
trade with our neighbors from around the world.
    At the same time, I find it increasingly difficult to give 
and not get in return. And, having said that, the ability of 
American agriculture to produce is tied in part with trade. I 
know there needs to be balances, but there also needs to be 
balances.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I look forward to the 
testimony of you, Mr. Secretary.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Craig.
    Senator Nelson.


                    STATEMENT OF SENATOR BEN NELSON


    Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Secretary, panelists, good to have you here today. The 
future of agriculture I think is not only based on what we want 
in terms of food, but also what we need in terms of fuel. 
You've already heard me suggest changing the name of the bill 
from a farm bill to the Food and Fuel Security Act of 2007, to 
focus more on what it is we intend to do with American 
agriculture as we move forward.
    I'm hopeful today that you will be able, as a result of 
this hearing, to establish that the planning in this bill is 
based on the contingencies of everything going okay as well as 
if everything goes bad. All too often we look at the current 
market situation, we see $4 corn, the countercyclical payments, 
they're not what they have been, so we therefore don't need the 
money. If everything--as my dad used to say, the problem is, 
when everything is going bad you never think it will go good; 
when everything is going very, very well, you never think it's 
going to go bad again.
    And I'm hopeful that this bill doesn't constitute that kind 
of a bill, so that we are in a position, if things do change 
and the market changes dramatically and things are going 
downhill, that this bill will protect American agriculture. 
Because if we continue to import at the level we are and we 
can't export at the level that we're unable to export to right 
now, I don't know whether we're close, but maybe you can 
enlighten us on this in your testimony, whether we are right at 
becoming net importers of our food. And if that's the case, I 
have said if you like importing 70 percent of your oil, you'll 
love importing 70 percent of your food.
    So that's why I think it has to be about food security, 
produced here at home, and fuel security. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Nelson.
    Senator Reed.


                     STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED


    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'm eager 
to hear the testimony of our witnesses, and welcome them here 
this morning. Thank you.
    Senator Kohl. Senator Feinstein.


                 STATEMENT OF SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN


    Senator Feinstein. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have just a 
brief comment.
    Mr. Secretary, I want to thank you for your prompt 
declaration of a secretarial emergency in the California frost 
situation. The Governor has submitted costs of approximately 
$1.3 billion so far. It is a very major frost problem for the 
State, and of course we don't know how many of the trees are 
going to be taken out or crops prevented for the next 3 years 
because of the absence of bud wood, so it's an ongoing 
struggle.
    I wanted to mention one point, and that one point, and I'm 
going to ask you some questions about it, is that since USDA 
transferred responsibility for port inspections to the 
Department of Homeland Security, the number of inspections has 
gone down seriously in California. I just sent my staff to the 
State, and the number one problem they came back with is the 
concern over the absence of adequate inspections and the belief 
that next year is going to be a very bad year, with 
infiltrating pests coming through the borders.
    My information is that 60 percent of agricultural 
inspection specialists indicated they were doing fewer 
inspections since the transfer, and there's a problem. They 
don't believe that Customs and Border Patrol respect their 
work.
    As you know, Mexican fruit fly larvae have been picked up, 
and it took 4 months for it to be identified, is what it was. 
And of course the problem is that a resulting quarantine, 
quarantines vast areas of the State, so I'm going to ask you a 
little bit about that when my time for questions comes up.
    Thank you very much for being here. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.


                           PREPARED STATEMENT


    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much, Senator Feinstein.
    And now we turn to the Secretary for your remarks.
    The subcommittee has received a statement from Senator 
Cochran which will be placed in the record.
    [The statement follows:]

               Prepared Statement of Senator Thad Cochran

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing on the fiscal year 
2008 United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug 
Administration budgets. I welcome Secretary Johanns and Commissioner 
von Eschenbach back to the Committee.
    An important aspect of the Agriculture Appropriations bill is the 
funding it provides for agriculture research. This research is a 
critical part of ensuring that U.S. producers remain the leaders in 
food and fiber production. The funding this bill invests in agriculture 
research is a small sum compared to the economic benefit it has on a 
farmer's bottom line. I am concerned about the Administration's 
proposal to combine the Agricultural Research Service and the 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service into a 
single agency. The current structure of the Agriculture Research 
Service is working well and I believe it is important for the 
Agriculture Research Service to maintain its independent role in the 
Department of Agriculture.
    I was pleased that the fiscal year 2007 Senate Agriculture 
Appropriations bill fully funded the Wetlands Reserve Program. It is 
unfortunate that Congress was unable to complete this bill. The 
Wetlands Reserve Program has taken 1,750,000 acres of marginal 
croplands out of production and converted to more beneficial uses of 
enhanced flood protection, carbon sequestration, improved water 
quality, and wildlife habitat. Many of these acres are located in the 
Lower Mississippi River Flyway, the Nation's largest waterfowl flyway 
for wintering habitat.
    Last year, the Natural Resource Conservation Service adjusted the 
method it uses to appraise land for consideration under the Wetlands 
Reserve Program. I have heard from many constituents in my State and 
conservation organizations that this change would shift acres away from 
this important flyway to areas with significantly higher appraisal 
value. I would like to work with the Department to find a solution that 
would ensure this important program is implemented the way Congress 
intended.
    The Food and Drug Administration has the important role of 
protecting the public by ensuring the safety and efficacy of drugs and 
our Nation's food supply. Commissioner von Eschenbach, I look forward 
to your comments on the FDA's plan and priorities for the upcoming 
fiscal year. One example of the FDA's commitment to protecting the 
public is the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's research 
on the safety of natural products used as dietary supplements by many 
Americans. The National Center for Natural Products Research at the 
University of Mississippi is a partner with the FDA to provide 
research-based information on plant-derived products. With many new 
dietary supplements coming to the market, this research is increasingly 
important.

                  STATEMENT OF SECRETARY MIKE JOHANNS

    Secretary Johanns. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman and 
distinguished members of the committee, it's an honor to be 
here. I am joined today by some gentlemen that can assist me in 
answering questions. To my right is our deputy, Chuck Conner; 
to my left, Scott Steele, who is our budget officer; and of 
course you all know Dr. Collins, our chief economist.
    I am happy to report over the past year we've made a lot of 
progress in meeting the needs of the Nation by improving the 
rural economy and strengthening U.S. agriculture. Based on our 
conversations with Americans on the farm and off the farm, we 
developed a comprehensive list of farm bill proposals to 
strengthen the farm economy in rural America, and those were 
announced on the last day of January this year.
    My primary focus of course will be on the budget, but I 
would like to take just a few minutes to give an overview of 
the proposals. The 2007 farm bill proposals and the 2008 budget 
were developed on parallel tracks. The administration's farm 
bill proposals represent the final phase of what was a 2-year 
process. We listened to producers and stakeholders all across 
the country, and we took a reform-minded and a fiscally 
responsible approach to making farm policy more equitable and 
predictable and protected from challenge in the world trade 
arena.
    While I firmly believe that the current law was the right 
policy for the time, times do change and times have changed. 
When the 2002 farm bill was passed, commodity prices were low, 
exports had declined for several years, and the debt-to-asset 
ratio was nearly 15 percent.
    Today we see a different economic picture. Commodity prices 
are strong for most program crops. Exports have set records now 
several years in a row, including a record of $68 billion in 
2006, and projections suggest we will reach another record of 
$77 billion in 2007. We are experiencing the lowest debt-to-
asset ratio actually in recorded history. It's at about 11 
percent for 2006.
    Add to all of this the enormous impact of renewable energy 
on the economy, and it's clear a lot of things have changed 
since 2002. The time has come to move forward with a farm 
program that's market-oriented and considers more than 
commodity prices when determining the appropriate level of 
support.
    Our farm bill proposals bolster this administration's 
commitment to conservation, with an additional $7.8 billion 
over 10 years for conservation purposes. We propose an 
additional $1.6 billion over 10 years to advance the 
development and production of renewable energy. This will help 
to achieve the President's goal of reducing our dependence on 
gasoline by 20 percent in 10 years.
    We propose funding to support $1.6 billion in loans to 
rehabilitate over 1,200 rural critical access hospitals. 
Another $400 million would be focused on trade, making sure 
that our producers have a level playing field.
    These are just a few highlights. When combined, we spend 
about $10 billion less than what was spent under the 2002 bill 
over the last 5 years, excluding the ad hoc disaster 
assistance. It would be about $18.5 billion less if you include 
that. But, importantly, we uphold the President's plan to 
eliminate the deficit in 5 years. On the other hand, looking 
forward, our proposals would provide about $5 billion more than 
the projected mandatory spending if the 2002 farm bill were 
just simply extended.
    And this brings me to a quick review of the budget. The 
2008 budget accommodates the farm bill proposals by including 
an additional $500 million per year in the total for the 
Commodity Credit Corporation. That was put there as a place-
holder, anticipating the release of our proposals, the 
discretionary appropriation request pending before this 
committee, which does not include the Forest Service, is $16 
billion. It funds the highest priorities while exercising 
necessary fiscal discipline.
    I would like to note that the President's budget was 
developed prior to congressional action on funding for the 
remainder of fiscal year 2007. Therefore, our printed materials 
reflect an estimate for 2007 under terms of the Continuing 
Resolution that provided funding through February 15.
    Now that action has been taken on funding the balance of 
2007, I do want to thank the committee for addressing some 
really critical needs. Key among these resources are resources 
to ensure our meat and poultry inspection system can meet the 
demand for inspections, support for the Census of Agriculture, 
and funding to permit the Department to participate in 
reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    Utilizing $91 million in emergency supplemental funding, 
USDA has significantly increased our efforts relative to avian 
influenza overseas. The 2008 budget requests $82 million to 
continue and enhance ongoing efforts to fight AI, an increase 
of $32 million over the 2007 level. This funding will be used 
for surveillance and diagnostics work, preparedness, response 
efforts, international veterinary capacity-building, and 
research relative to poultry vaccines.
    The budget proposes $341 million for USDA's part of the 
President's Food and Ag Defense Initiative. This includes $325 
million, an increase of $148 million, to enhance our ongoing 
efforts to detect and respond to food emergencies and threats 
to agriculture. To keep USDA in the forefront of avian disease 
research, the budget also requests $16 million to complete the 
planning and design of the Consolidated Poultry Research 
Facility in Athens, Georgia.
    We are making considerable progress in ensuring the safety 
of meat, poultry, and egg products. The Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention has reported significant declines in 
foodborne illnesses. In order to continue protecting the 
Nation's supply of meat and poultry and egg products, this 
budget meets the demand for inspection services. The budget 
also requests funding to expand the Food Emergency Response 
Network, to increase the capability of State and local labs to 
handle large volumes of testing that would be needed in the 
event of a widespread food emergency.
    Moving on to energy, renewable energy supported by American 
agriculture and forestry does hold tremendous promise for our 
country. The budget proposes $397 million in loans, grants, and 
research, an increase of $161 million for our renewable energy 
programs. This amount includes $70 million for energy research. 
The majority of this will be focused on cellulosic energy. In 
addition to this research, the budget makes available over $320 
million in grants and guaranteed loans to assist efforts to 
support the commercialization of renewable energy.
    In the farm program area, our discretionary budget supports 
$3.4 billion in direct and guaranteed farm loans, which 
reflects the actual usage in recent years. The budget also 
requests $1.5 billion for the Farm Service Agency to deliver 
our farm programs. The level of funding is necessary to support 
approximately the same number of staff as we had in 2007.
    In 2008, crop insurance is expected to provide coverage for 
nearly $68 billion in agricultural production, double the 
amount of coverage provided in 2000. Recognizing the needs of 
all partners in the crop insurance system, the 2008 budget 
fully supports activities to ensure the integrity of the crop 
insurance program. These efforts have achieved savings of more 
than $456 million since the 2000 crop year, and program abuses 
have been curbed.
    Expanding access to global markets is essential for 
agriculture. Our budget proposals for 2008 support our 
continued commitment to trade expansion activities. Increased 
funding is proposed to permit FAS to maintain its overseas 
office presence and continue its representation and advocacy on 
behalf of U.S. agriculture.
    The budget includes $100 million for the McGovern-Dole 
International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. 
Additionally, we request funding in the Office of the Secretary 
to support the department's efforts in Afghanistan and in Iraq. 
In order to respond to emergency food needs during 2007, 
supplemental appropriations of $350 million are requested for 
the Public Law 480 Title II donations program.
    The 2008 budget includes discretionary funding for 
conservation technical assistance to meet high priority natural 
resource concerns. It supports about $4 billion in mandatory 
funding to continue implementation of the conservation 
programs. In aggregate, funding in the budget will support 
enrollment of an additional 17.8 million acres in conservation 
programs, bringing total enrollment to 215 million acres. 
That's the highest enrollment in history.
    For rural development, the 2008 budget provides a $15 
billion program level of activities to improve the economic 
opportunities and quality of life in rural America. The 
assistance will be used to finance home ownership, rural 
business, renewable energy, electric, telecommunications, water 
and wastewater disposal, other community facilities, and it 
will also support revitalization of our multifamily housing 
portfolio.
    In the research area, the 2008 budget funds the highest 
priority research. It also increases the use of competition to 
improve the quality of research, including a total of $257 
million for the National Research Initiative. The budget 
includes $104 million in increases for high priority research 
in areas such as food and ag defense, avian influenza, 
bioenergy, animal genomics and genetics.
    Finally, the budget includes an increase of $25 million to 
support the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
    The budget does fully fund the expected requirements of our 
three major nutrition programs: WIC, food stamps, and the 
school lunch program. For WIC, which is our largest 
discretionary program, the budget proposes $5.5 billion in 
program level to support the estimated 8.3 million 
participants. For food stamps, the budget includes resources to 
fully fund the estimated food cost inflation and participation, 
and provides a $3 billion contingency in case costs exceed the 
estimated level. We expect an increased level of school lunch 
participation due to the increased number of school age 
children, so we include an additional $632 million for our 
Children Nutrition Programs.
    We have had tremendous response to MyPyramid, and I'm 
confident the awareness of eating a nutritious diet and being 
active will improve the health of Americans. So in order to 
continue this success, the budget includes a small increase to 
make enhancements to MyPyramid.

                          PREPARED STATEMENTS

    Let me just wrap up and say I want to emphasize that the 
budget before you strengthens agriculture and rural economies. 
It protects our food supply. It builds on our conservation 
efforts, and provides for the neediest of our citizens. With 
that, those of us at the table would be happy to respond to 
your questions verbally or to submit answers in writing where 
appropriate. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    [The statements follow:]

                   Prepared Statement of Mike Johanns

    Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this Committee, I am 
pleased to appear before you to discuss the fiscal year 2008 budget for 
the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
    I am joined today by Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner; Scott Steele, 
our Budget Officer; and Keith Collins, our Chief Economist.
    It is a pleasure to come before the Committee to discuss U.S. 
agriculture and our efforts to make it stronger. I want to thank the 
Committee again this year for its support of USDA and for the long 
history of effective cooperation between this Committee and the 
Department in support of American agriculture. I look forward to 
working with you, Mr. Chairman, as well as the other Members to make 
progress on these issues during the 2008 budget process and to ensure 
strong programs for our Nation's farm sector and many other USDA 
programs.
    Over the past year, USDA has worked with and heard from people 
throughout the Nation about the importance of agriculture to the 
economy and the everyday life of all Americans. I am happy to report 
that we have made much progress in meeting the needs of the Nation, 
improving the rural economy, and strengthening U.S. agriculture. I 
would like to point out that:
  --Under President Bush's economic policy, rural America and U.S. 
        agriculture has prospered.
  --Renewable energy production has grown dramatically and is 
        contributing to the energy security of the United States as 
        well as improving the farm economy.
  --Utilizing $91 million in emergency supplemental funding, USDA 
        significantly increased its efforts to prepare for a potential 
        influenza pandemic and participated in the worldwide effort to 
        stop the spread of the H5N1 virus overseas.
  --We are making considerable progress in ensuring the safety of meat, 
        poultry, and egg products. Recalls of meat and poultry and 
        processed egg products have been cut in half during the last 4 
        years due to improved oversight and the downward trend is 
        continuing.
  --U.S. agricultural exports again reached a record level in 2006, and 
        are forecast to set another record in 2007. The 2007 forecast 
        level represents an increase of more than 50 percent since 
        2000.
  --We have continued our efforts to open new markets. During the past 
        year, Trade Promotion Agreements were signed with Colombia and 
        Peru, and negotiations were completed with Panama.
  --We remain committed to our objective of achieving fundamental 
        reform of agricultural trading practices through the Doha Round 
        of multilateral trade negotiations. Although no major 
        breakthroughs have been achieved, we are actively engaged in 
        discussions with our trading partners on technical aspects of 
        each of the three pillars in the agricultural area. We continue 
        to believe a successful outcome is achievable.
  --We are continuing to regain our beef export market. Markets have 
        been reopened or maintained in the countries that closed their 
        borders to U.S. beef products after the first detection of BSE. 
        Recent progress has been made in such countries as Russia, 
        Columbia, Peru, and Panama.
  --We have had tremendous response to MyPyramid, and I am confident 
        that as awareness of the importance of eating a nutritious diet 
        and being physically active increases, so will the health of 
        Americans.
    On January 31, 2007, I announced a comprehensive set of 2007 Farm 
Bill proposals for strengthening the farm economy and rural America. 
The 2008 budget is based on the current Farm Bill. However, beginning 
in 2008, the budget incorporates a $500 million increase each year in 
the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) estimates to accommodate the 
cost of new Farm Bill proposals to be allocated among the various 
titles of the bill.
2008 Budget
    The President and the Congress are facing many challenges. The 
President's 2008 budget meets these challenges by funding our highest, 
most important priorities, while exercising the fiscal discipline that 
is absolutely necessary to achieve the President's goals of 
strengthening the economy and balancing the budget.
    Today, I will be focusing on the proposals contained in the 2008 
budget. Let me take a moment to briefly point out how this budget 
supports our highest priority programs--programs that achieve results. 
This budget:
  --Fulfills our commitment to reduce trade barriers and expand 
        overseas markets;
  --Supports the President's vision for energy independence by 
        significantly increasing funding for biofuels;
  --Continues programs vital to the protection of agriculture from 
        disease, pests, and human threats, including avian influenza 
        and BSE;
  --Supports policies that ensure Americans continue to enjoy a safe 
        and wholesome food supply;
  --Provides sufficient resources to fully fund expected participation 
        and food cost inflation in our major nutrition assistance 
        programs;
  --Enhances the environment by providing a record level of funding to 
        enroll a record number of acres into conservation programs;
  --Builds a strong rural economy by supporting policies that enhance 
        job creation, improve rural infrastructure, and increase 
        homeownership opportunities; and
  --Supports on-going basic and applied sciences that provide the 
        technology and information necessary for the development of 
        innovative solutions facing American agriculture;
    USDA also shares the responsibility of controlling Federal 
spending. This means doing more with less, eliminating programs that 
are not getting the job done, cutting out wasteful spending, and 
reforming the earmark process. We are pleased that the House Joint 
Resolution for 2007 continuing appropriations significantly reduced 
USDA's earmarks, and hopes that the Committee will continue those 
worthy efforts. So, you will see throughout the 2008 budget proposals 
that terminate or reduce spending. These proposals will produce real 
savings in both mandatory and discretionary spending.
    The President's 2008 budget, which was released on February 5, 
2007, proposes to increase USDA's total budget authority from $88 
billion in 2007 to $91 billion in 2008. For the Department's 
discretionary budget, the overall request is $20 billion, about the 
same level as in 2007 level. The discretionary appropriation request 
pending before this Committee, which does not include the Forest 
Service, is $16 billion.
    I would now like to focus on some specific program highlights.
Pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI)
    The infrastructure developed in response to outbreaks of highly 
pathogenic AI has enabled the Department to strengthen its global 
leadership in combating its spread and keeping it from entering the 
United States. Utilizing the supplemental funding provided in fiscal 
year 2006, the Department has worked closely with international 
agencies and other countries to enhance the international capacity and 
technical skills necessary to keep AI at bay. Domestic efforts have 
built upon USDA programs that have been in place for more than two 
decades to prevent an outbreak of dangerous strains of AI in our 
country.
    The 2008 budget requests a total of approximately $82 million to 
continue and enhance on-going efforts related to AI, an increase of $32 
million over the amount estimated for 2007, not including supplemental 
funds. Of the increase, $20 million is related to continuing activities 
related to highly pathogenic AI, including: surveillance and 
diagnostics work; preparedness and response efforts; and international 
veterinary capacity building. An additional increase of $6 million is 
requested for the development of methods to detect AI in the 
environment and further AI research, including development of poultry 
vaccines. Another $6 million increase is requested to expand activities 
related to the on-going program for low pathogenic AI. Low pathogenic 
AI is of concern for its potential costs to the poultry industry and 
potential ability to mutate into highly pathogenic AI.
Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative
    USDA continues to be vigilant in ensuring the safety of 
agriculture. The Department is a strong partner in the Administration's 
efforts to prepare for any potential bioterrorist attack. We have 
established effective working relationships with other Federal agencies 
to ensure an appropriate Government response to a wide array of 
threats.
    To protect American agriculture and the food supply from 
intentional terrorist threats and unintentional introductions, the 
budget proposes $341 million for USDA's part of the President's Food 
and Agriculture Defense Initiative. Funding for ongoing programs is 
$325 million, an increase of nearly $148 million from the 2007 level. 
Of the total amount for on-going programs, an increase of about $36 
million for Food Defense would enhance the Food Safety and Inspection 
Service's (FSIS) ability to detect and respond to food emergencies and 
for USDA research agencies to conduct related research. For Agriculture 
Defense, the budget includes an increase of about $39 million for 
research on emerging and exotic diseases to, among other things, 
improve animal vaccines and facilitate rapid response to agricultural 
threats. An additional $72 million would be used to improve USDA's 
ability to safeguard the agricultural sector through enhanced 
monitoring and surveillance of pest and disease threats, improved 
response capabilities, and other efforts, such as an expansion of the 
National Veterinary Stockpile.
    In order to keep USDA in the forefront of avian disease research, 
the budget requests an increase of $16 million for planning and design 
of the Consolidated Poultry Research Facility in Athens, Georgia. This 
facility is critically needed to conduct research on exotic and 
emerging avian diseases that could have devastating effects on animal 
and human health.
Food Safety
    Americans enjoy one of the safest food supplies in the world. Data 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows improvements 
based on historical reductions in the incidence of foodborne illness. 
The continued reduction in illnesses from pathogens associated with the 
consumption of meat, poultry, and egg products is a tremendous success 
story. These results demonstrate that we are moving in the right 
direction. USDA is committed to continuing this positive trend in the 
future. We will continue to pursue the development and implementation 
of risk-based inspection systems that are grounded in science. These 
systems will make us smarter about where we focus our resources and our 
expertise to make the most difference.
    The 2008 budget requests record funding of nearly $1.1 billion, an 
increase of $104 million over 2007, for FSIS to protect the Nation's 
supply of meat, poultry and egg products. This includes $930 million in 
appropriated funds. About 80 percent of the increase in funds is for 
pay, including monies required for Federal and State inspection 
programs to meet the demand for inspection services. The budget 
requests an increase of $21.7 million to expand the Food Emergency 
Response Network (FERN and strengthen food and agriculture defense. 
With this funding, FSIS will continue to develop the network of food 
laboratories and the result will be an increase in the capability of a 
network of coordinated Federal, State and local laboratories to handle 
large volumes of testing that would be needed for biosurveillance or in 
the event of a widespread food emergency.
    The budget estimates that $135 million in existing user fees for 
voluntary inspection will be collected. For 2008, we will be submitting 
authorizing legislation to Congress to collect an additional $96 
million in user fees. The budget does not assume the use of these fees. 
Discretionary funding to cover the total cost of the program is 
included in the request. This includes legislation to authorize a 
licensing fee to collect $92 million from meat, poultry, and egg 
products establishments. In addition, it would also authorize the 
agency to recover $4 million for the cost of providing additional 
inspection services from establishments as a result of performance 
failures, such as sampling violations, recalls, or an outbreak of 
foodborne illness.
Energy
    Another priority for the Department and the Administration is a 
continued focus on expanding renewable energy. I sit before you today 
with the belief that renewable energy, supported by American 
agriculture and forestry, holds tremendous potential for the Nation's 
future. We are starting to see that the benefits of renewable energy 
are far-reaching and will continue to grow as energy production from 
renewable sources continues to expand in the near future. Renewable 
fuels reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which contributes to our 
Nation's security. Renewable fuels are environmentally friendly and 
produce fewer emissions of greenhouse gases than fossil fuels. 
Furthermore, renewable fuels are often produced in rural areas, 
providing a source of income for farmers, ranchers and rural Americans.
    USDA is committed to ensuring that renewable fuels production 
continues to help meet the Nation's energy and security needs. The 
budget includes $396 million, an increase of $161 million, for the 
Department's energy initiatives. Part of USDA's commitment is 
demonstrated through research activities. The 2008 budget includes $70 
million, an increase of $29 million, for energy research supported by 
ARS and CSREES. A majority of this research will focus on improving 
cellulosic ethanol production by improving feedstock growth potential 
and introducing new ways to harvest, handle, and transport the 
feedstock to production facilities. In addition, USDA is working to 
improve the conversion efficiency of biomass feedstocks into biofuels 
and bioproducts. This research will lead to new opportunities to expand 
renewable fuel's potential to meet the Nation's energy needs, while 
creating significant opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and rural 
communities.
    In addition to this research, the budget would make available 
nearly $320 million in grants, guaranteed loans, and other efforts to 
support the commercialization of renewable energy production. Through 
the Rural Development mission area, USDA is making financial support 
available to leverage private sector funding for small and large-scale, 
renewable energy generation activities. This financial support provides 
incentives for individuals and cooperatives to choose renewable energy 
production methods. USDA has also encouraged the development of various 
renewable energy projects, including ethanol plants and wind farms. We 
remain committed to expanding these opportunities to improve the 
Nation's energy security and environment, while providing additional 
possibilities to U.S. agricultural and rural communities.
Farm Commodity and Agriculture Credit Programs
    Rising crop prices, particularly for corn, has had a major impact 
on farm program costs, which is due to the rapid growth in ethanol 
production. As a result, farmers are relying more on the market for 
revenue rather than payments from the Government. As such, net outlays 
for the farm commodity programs funded through the Commodity Credit 
Corporation (CCC) are expected to decline significantly in 2007 and 
2008 as rising prices for corn and other major commodities are reducing 
outlays. Compared to estimates made when the 2002 Farm Bill was 
enacted, actual spending for CCC funded programs, which excludes some 
conservation programs, has been about $17 billion below the 2002 
projections when ad hoc disaster assistance is excluded. Beginning in 
2008, the budget incorporates a $500 million increase each year in the 
CCC estimates to accommodate the cost of the new Farm Bill proposals. 
This additional funding will be spread among various titles of the Farm 
Bill.
    USDA's farm credit programs provide an important safety net for 
farmers by providing a source of credit when they are temporarily 
unable to obtain credit from commercial sources. The 2008 budget 
supports about $3.4 billion in direct and guaranteed farm loans. The 
2008 budget proposes loan levels that generally reflect actual usage in 
recent years.
    The budget requests $1.5 billion for the Farm Service Agency to 
deliver farm programs. This level of funding will support approximately 
the same number of staff years as in 2007 and includes the funding to 
support ongoing operational needs based on current programs and the 
current delivery system. Once the parameters of the new Farm Bill are 
known, we may need to re-evaluate resource needs for program 
implementation, including staffing and information technology (IT).
Crop Insurance
    Crop insurance is designed to be the primary Federal risk 
management tool for farmers and ranchers. In 2008, crop insurance is 
expected to provide coverage for nearly $68 billion in risk protection, 
double the amount of coverage provided as recently as 2000. This growth 
has been accomplished, in part, through the development of new and 
innovative plans of insurance. These innovations have expanded coverage 
to new crops or improved the coverage available under existing 
policies.
    Over the years, Congress has challenged USDA to expand the 
availability of crop insurance to under-served commodities, in 
particular, to livestock and pasture, rangeland, and forage. I am happy 
to say that USDA is meeting that challenge. Currently, the crop 
insurance program offers protection for swine, fed cattle, feeder 
cattle; and, new for 2007, lamb. Also new for 2007, the crop insurance 
program is offering two innovative programs covering pasture, 
rangeland, and forage.
    In order to build on these successes, Risk Management Agency's 
(RMA) aging information technology (IT) system needs to be modernized. 
The existing IT system has been in service for more than a decade and 
needs to be upgraded to address evolving programmatic needs. That 
system was designed for a much smaller and simpler program. As a 
result, RMA must use numerous manual over-rides and work-arounds to 
support the new insurance products. This manual intervention increases 
the costs to maintain and operate the system. It also increases the 
risk of data errors that could jeopardize the integrity of the crop 
insurance program. The 2008 budget includes a legislative proposal to 
initiate a small participation fee in the Federal crop insurance 
program to fund modernization and maintenance of a new IT system. The 
fee would generate about $15 million annually, which would initially 
supplement the annual appropriation to modernize the IT system. 
However, in future years, the fee would replace appropriated funding 
for IT maintenance.
    In addition, the 2008 budget includes about $79 million in 
discretionary funding to administer the Federal crop insurance program, 
compared to about $76 million for 2007. The increase would accommodate 
pay costs and inflationary increases. The budget also includes a 
general provision to fund data mining and the common information 
management system through the crop insurance mandatory account.
International Programs
    Expanding access to global markets is essential for U.S. food and 
agricultural products, and plays a critical role in our efforts to 
provide a prosperous future for America's farmers and ranchers. In this 
regard, we must ensure that our producers and exporters have the tools 
they need to compete for a greater share of the benefits flowing from 
trade agreements and the resulting expansion in global markets.
    Our 2008 budget proposals support our continued commitment to trade 
expansion activities. Increased funding is provided for the Foreign 
Agricultural Service (FAS) to maintain its overseas office presence and 
continue its representation and advocacy activities on behalf of 
American agriculture.
    The FAS budget includes funding to restore the Cochran Fellowship 
Program to its traditional annual appropriated level of $5 million and 
also provides funding for FAS trade capacity building activities. Those 
activities assist developing countries to strengthen their agricultural 
policy making and regulatory systems adhere to internationally 
recognized standards and become better trading partners. By assisting 
them to adopt policies that meet World Trade Organization standards and 
adopt regulatory systems that are transparent and science-based, we 
improve access for U.S. products to their markets.
    For the foreign food assistance programs, the budget continues to 
place the highest priority on meeting emergency and economic 
development needs of developing countries. Appropriated funding for the 
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition 
Program is increased to $100 million, which will allow USDA to extend 
school feeding and educational benefits to about 2.5 million women and 
children during 2008. The program is helping children in countries with 
severe educational and nutritional needs. In recent years, more than 13 
million children throughout the world have received benefits from the 
McGovern-Dole program and its predecessor, the Global Food for 
Education Initiative.
    In order to respond to emergency food needs during 2007, 
supplemental appropriations of $350 million are being requested for the 
Public Law 480 Title II donations program. The additional funding will 
be used to address urgent humanitarian needs in the Darfur region of 
Sudan, including for refugees and others in Chad and surrounding areas 
who are affected by the violence. The funding will also assist in 
meeting other critical food needs, particularly in the Horn of Africa, 
southern Africa, and Afghanistan.
    For 2008, the budget requests appropriated funding of $1.2 billion 
for the Public Law 480 Title II program, which is expected to support 
the donation of 2.5 million metric tons of food commodities. In 
addition, to help improve the timeliness, efficiency, and effectiveness 
of the U.S. Government's response to emergency situations, increased 
flexibility is requested in the purchasing of Title II commodities.
    In addition, the budget requests funding in the Office of the 
Secretary to support the Department's efforts to assist in agricultural 
reconstruction activities in Afghanistan and Iraq. USDA is providing 
technical advisors assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture in Iraq who 
are assisting in agricultural planning, extension, and food safety and 
inspection. Other agricultural advisors are serving on the Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) working in the rural provinces of 
Afghanistan and Iraq on activities such as irrigation system 
rehabilitation, post-harvest loss reduction, marketing system 
improvements, and livestock health. These advisors are providing much 
needed, valuable assistance in addressing a wide range of problems 
brought on by years of neglect and mismanagement in the agricultural 
sectors of these two countries.
Conservation
    USDA also fosters environmental stewardship through conservation 
programs supported with mandatory CCC funding. The 2008 budget reflects 
an unprecedented commitment to conservation and includes nearly $4 
billion in mandatory funding to provide conservation financial and 
technical assistance on a cumulative total of 215 million acres, the 
greatest amount of conservation assistance provided in the Nation's 
history.
    Within the total amount of mandatory funds, the budget proposes 
over $455 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), an increase 
of $191 million, or nearly 72 percent over 2007. The projected WRP 
enrollment for 2008 would be the largest ever, involving up to 250,000 
acres, and will bring the total acreage enrolled in the program to 
2,275,000 acres, the maximum level authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. 
The WRP is the principal supporter of the President's goal to restore, 
protect, and enhance 3 million acres of wetlands by 2009.
    The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) accounts for more than half 
of the mandatory funds with total funding of just over $2 billion. 
Enrollment in CRP is expected to decline by about 9 percent to 33.6 
million acres in 2008. Although continuous sign-ups will be maintained, 
no general signups are assumed for 2007 and 2008 due to the increase in 
corn production to meet the demand for ethanol. Funding for the 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program will be maintained at $1 
billion to treat more than 170 million acres in 2008. The budget 
requests an increase of $57 million for the Conservation Security 
Program for total funding of $316 million. This level of funding will 
continue support to the more than 19,000 contracts signed in prior 
years.
    The 2008 budget includes $825 million in discretionary funding for 
on-going conservation work, a decrease of $94 million below the 2007 
level. This level of funding supports programs that provide the highest 
quality technical assistance to farmers and ranchers and address the 
most serious natural resource concerns. The budget includes a proposal 
to reduce the number of Federal coordinator positions funded under the 
Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) program, for a savings of 
$36 million. Under this proposal, the number of authorized RC&D areas 
would be maintained at the current level of 375, but coordinators would 
provide assistance to multiple areas by focusing on programmatic 
oversight.
Rural Development
    Through Rural Development (RD) programs, USDA improves the economy 
and quality of life in all of rural America by supporting essential 
housing and public facilities, such as water and sewer systems, health 
clinics, and electric and telecommunication systems. In addition, RD 
promotes economic development by providing guaranteed loans to 
businesses in coordination with the private sector.
    The 2008 budget supports $14.9 billion for the RD programs. This is 
about $985 million more than the amount estimated to be available for 
2007. At the requested level, most key rural development programs would 
be maintained at their historic operating levels.
    The 2008 budget does, however, contain some important changes in 
policy and funding priorities. In particular, the 2008 budget 
significantly increases funding for single-family guaranteed loans. 
Guaranteed loans, which are unsubsidized, have accounted for almost all 
of the growth in USDA's homeownership assistance. Due to the success of 
guaranteed single-family loans in meeting the needs of rural citizens, 
the budget does not include funding for direct single-family loans, a 
reduction of nearly $1.2 billion. While not funding direct loans is a 
change in policy for USDA, it is consistent with Federal housing policy 
as reflected in the programs administered by the Departments of Housing 
and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs. Moreover, it reflects 
recent changes in the home mortgage market that allow more low-income 
families to qualify for private sector loans. USDA's single family 
guaranteed program is expected to provide 39,000 homeownership 
opportunities in 2008.
    With regard to multi-family housing, the 2008 budget includes $567 
million for rental assistance payments. This funding is needed to 
provide for a higher rate of renewals due to recent action to reduce 
the renewal period from 5 to 1 year. The 2008 budget also includes 
$27.8 million to continue the Administration's initiative to revitalize 
USDA's portfolio of multi-family housing projects, which are home to 
close to half a million low-income families. A recent Supreme Court 
decision allows project sponsors to prepay their loans and convert 
their projects to uses other than low-income housing, putting tenants 
at risk of higher rents and potential loss of housing. The 
Administration's initiative includes providing housing vouchers to 
protect the rents of tenants of projects that are withdrawn from the 
portfolio, as well as the restructuring of existing loans in exchange 
for the project sponsor's agreement to stay in the program and make 
improvements to their projects. A pilot program, as authorized by the 
2006 Appropriations Act is already underway. The Administration plans 
to resubmit to the Congress draft legislation to authorize debt 
restructuring and other revitalization incentives.
    For the on-going electric and telecommunications programs, the 2008 
budget supports about $4.8 billion in direct loans, of which $4.1 
billion would be for the electric programs. Most electric loans would 
be at interest rates that are currently comparable to the direct 
municipal and direct Treasury rate programs. Combined, these programs 
would simplify the overall program with essentially no adverse impact 
on borrowers. The electric program would focus on financing the 
distribution and transmission of power and the improvement of existing 
generation facilities. The commercial sector should be relied on for 
financing new power generation. For the water and waste disposal 
program, the 2008 budget provides for $349 million in grants and almost 
$1.1 billion in direct loans. This reflects a lower grant-to-loan ratio 
than the current program because the Administration is re-proposing its 
plan to reduce interest rates in exchange for a reduced amount of 
grants. For most rural communities, which receive a combination of loan 
and grant assistance, the reduction in interest rates would be of 
greater benefit because it would reduce the overall debt servicing 
costs of their projects.
    The 2008 budget includes additional funding for the renewable 
energy and energy efficiency loan and grant program. It includes $15 
million for grants and supports $195 million in guaranteed loans, 
compared to $11 million for grants and $175 million in loans estimated 
to be available for 2007.
    The business and industry guaranteed loan program would be 
increased to $1 billion, which is the historic funding level for this 
program. This program and the intermediary re-lending program have been 
an important source of job creation in rural communities.
Research
    Over the last century, productivity has been a major focus of 
agricultural research. Driven by advances in plant and animal genetics, 
nutrition, and health, this research has paid off with major gains. 
Agricultural research is taking on the challenges of a new century and 
USDA's leadership will continue through innovative research in 
bioenergy production, obesity prevention, and food and agricultural 
defense.
    Advances in science have opened new frontiers in agricultural 
research that have put solutions to national challenges within our 
reach. It is important that we seize the opportunity by focusing our 
resources and efforts on the highest priority work relevant to the 
needs of producers and consumers of agricultural products. Our budget 
requests over $1 billion for the Agricultural Research Service. The 
proposed level includes $104 million in increases for high priority 
research on food and agricultural defense, bioenergy, plant and animal 
genomics and genetics, and human nutrition and obesity prevention. 
These lines of investigation have great potential to benefit producers 
and consumers; assure an abundant, safe, and inexpensive supply of 
food; and ensure the preservation of our natural resource base. The 
budget proposes elimination of $293 million of earmarked research and 
facility projects in ARS.
    A key factor in the success of agricultural research has been our 
continuing partnership with the land-grant universities and other 
performers of agricultural, natural resource and food research. These 
institutions provide a unique set of expertise in the range of 
scientific disciplines needed to address complex issues facing the 
food, agriculture and natural resource communities. Further, these 
partnerships foster the transfer of knowledge through higher education 
and the unique system of Extension that has been so successful in 
America. Our budget continues our support for university-based 
research, higher education and extension programs and addresses the 
need to focus those resources on the highest priorities. Under our 
proposal we are placing a greater emphasis on merit-based, peer-
reviewed grants to achieve the highest quality research from taxpayer 
dollars. In addition, $157 million of earmarked Cooperative State 
Research, Education, and Extension Service research grants and lower 
priority projects would be eliminated.
    A major element of the research budget is an increase of $68 
million, for total funding of $257 million, for the National Research 
Initiative--the Nation's premier competitive, peer-reviewed research 
program for fundamental and applied sciences in agriculture. This 
increase includes funding for bioenergy and biobased fuels, one of the 
Department's highest priority initiatives. It also supports integrated 
projects that focus on water quality, food safety, organic transition, 
and pest management. In total, $29 million would be added to CSREES 
programs for research in bioenergy.
    A longstanding part of USDA support for the university research 
partnership has been through the Hatch Act and McIntire-Stennis Act 
formula grant programs. As stated above, the budget continues funding 
for these programs with a proposal to emphasize funding for 
competitively awarded multi-state research programs to ensure the 
highest quality research proposals are supported. We will be working in 
close consultation with our university partners to craft the details of 
these modifications.
    The budget includes an increase of $25 million to support the 2007 
Census of Agriculture, the most comprehensive source of statistically 
reliable information regarding our Nation's agriculture. With 
information collected at the national, State, and county levels, the 
Census provides invaluable, comprehensive data on the agricultural 
economy which are relied upon to keep agricultural markets stable and 
efficient.
Nutrition Assistance
    The budget contains sufficient resources to fully fund expected 
participation and food cost inflation for the Department's three major 
nutrition assistance programs--Food Stamps; Women, Infants and Children 
(WIC); and Child Nutrition. Participation levels fluctuate with 
economic conditions and the budget keeps pace. WIC participation is 
expected to grow slowly in 2008 to a total of 8.3 million participants, 
while Food Stamp participation is estimated at 26.2 million, roughly 
the 2007 level. School Lunch participation is estimated to grow about 2 
percent to keep pace with the growing student population, as it has in 
recent years, to a new record level of 31.5 million children per day.
    For Food Stamps, legislation will be proposed that would exclude 
all retirement and education savings accounts from eligibility 
determinations regardless of how other programs treat them. By 2010, 
this would allow about 98,000 additional people to participate who, 
otherwise, would have been ineligible unless they spent down their 
retirement and education savings. This would add an estimated $44 
million in costs for 2008 and about $138 million in 2010 when fully 
implemented. The 2008 budget also reproposes legislation to restrict 
participation among certain households with incomes or resources above 
normal eligibility thresholds. Affected households are those that do 
not receive cash Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 
benefits, but become categorically eligible for food stamps because 
they receive a TANF-funded service, such as a one-time referral. This 
change would reduce costs by an estimated $65 million in 2008, with 
additional savings in subsequent years.
    The WIC request provides full funding for all those estimated to be 
eligible and seeking services. At the same time, the Department will 
work with stakeholders to contain costs and continue to improve the 
program's performance. WIC legislative proposals include limiting 
administrative funding to the 2006 per participant level and limiting 
categorical eligibility to those with incomes under 250 percent of 
poverty.
    The 2008 budget reproposes elimination of the Commodity 
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which is not available nationwide and 
duplicates two of the Nation's largest Federal nutrition assistance 
programs--Food Stamps and WIC. Eligible women, infants and children 
participating in CSFP will be encouraged to migrate to the WIC Program. 
Eligible elderly CSFP recipients will be encouraged to migrate to the 
Food Stamp Program, where most are believed to be eligible. The budget 
includes temporary transitional benefits for CSFP participants 60 years 
of age or older equaling $20 per month for the lesser of 6 months or 
until the recipient starts participating in the Food Stamp Program.
    As I mentioned earlier, we have had a great deal of success in 
promoting healthy eating habits and active lifestyles with MyPyramid. 
The MyPyramid website has received 2.6 billion hits since it was made 
available in April 2005. In order to continue this success, the budget 
includes an increase of $2 million to make enhancements to MyPyramid 
and to begin planning for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 
This supports two pillars of President Bush's HealthierUS Initiative, 
to eat a nutritious diet and to be physically active, and will help 
reduce obesity in America.
Department Management
    The 2008 budget continues our progress in improving the overall 
management of the Department. Increased funding is being sought for 
selected key priorities including:
  --Replacing the Department's outdated, core financial system and 
        supporting systems that no longer meet all Federal standards 
        for financial reporting and management. The budget requests 
        funding to begin a multi-year implementation of a replacement 
        system that will provide consistency and increase efficiencies 
        for financial reporting across the Department. The new system 
        will strengthen internal controls, eliminate material 
        weaknesses, and diminish improper payments, which will improve 
        the Department's overall financial management.
  --Expanding Civil Rights compliance reviews of agency hiring 
        practices and program activities. These reviews allow the 
        Department to identify and address issues of inequality and 
        unfairness in personnel decisions and the delivery of its 
        program benefits.
  --Continuing capital improvements to USDA facilities to ensure that 
        employees and customers have a safe and modern working 
        environment.
    In closing, I want to emphasize that the USDA budget fully supports 
the President's goals to strengthen the economy, increase security, and 
restrain spending. The budget before you addresses these goals by 
funding our highest priorities. These funding priorities strengthen 
agriculture and rural economies, protect our food supply, build on our 
conservation efforts, and provide for the neediest individuals.
    That concludes my statement. I look forward to working with Members 
and staff of the Committee and will be glad to answer questions you may 
have on our budget proposals.
                                 ______
                                 

   Prepared Statement of Boyd K. Rutherford, Assistant Secretary for 
              Administration, Department of Administration

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to submit this statement supporting the President's budget 
proposal for fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Agriculture's 
(USDA) Departmental Administration.
    Departmental Administration (DA) is at the core of USDA's 
management initiatives. Through a strong commitment to the President's 
Management Agenda, we have realigned our services to provide continued 
leadership and better program management, resulting in greater 
efficiencies, enhanced internal controls and effective customer 
service. DA enhances Department-wide strategies by ensuring appropriate 
administrative policy and by providing essential management to all 
agencies and staff offices. This is accomplished through our 
Department-wide management services, which include: human capital 
management; facilities operations; security services; procurement and 
property management; small business utilization; Administrative Law 
support; and ethics guidance.

                      FISCAL YEAR 2008 OBJECTIVES

    DA has the following objectives for fiscal year 2008 that 
contribute to the Department's ability to successfully fulfill its 
mission:
  --Ensure USDA has a diverse, ethical, results-oriented workforce able 
        to meet mission priorities and work cooperatively with USDA 
        partners and the private sector.
  --Ensure USDA has a trained acquisition workforce with the 
        procurement policies and systems needed to ensure 
        responsiveness, high quality, cost-effectiveness, and 
        accountability using an increasingly diverse vendor pool and 
        range of products.
  --Promote the efficient and economical use of USDA's resources to 
        support customers, promote organizational productivity, and 
        ensure accountability.
  --Provide the policies, technical guidance, and operating environment 
        that enhance the safety and security of USDA personnel, 
        information and facilities, and the continuity of its vital 
        programs and operations.
  --Provide formal adjudicative support.
  --Expand the implementation of the BioPreferredSM Program 
        within USDA and other Federal agencies. The 
        BioPreferredSM Program, authorized in the 2002 Farm 
        Bill, is a Federal procurement program that requires that 
        Federal agencies provide a preference for the purchase of USDA 
        designated biobased products. In fiscal year 2008 DA will be 
        jointly focused on establishing USDA as a leader in biobased 
        purchases and providing support and guidance to other Federal 
        agencies and to biobased manufacturers.

                        FISCAL YEAR 2008 REQUEST

    DA's fiscal year 2008 budget request is divided into three separate 
appropriations: DA Direct; Agricultural Building and Facilities and 
Rental Payments; and Hazardous Material Management.

                               DA DIRECT

    The DA Direct fiscal year 2008 budget is $24,608,000, which funds 
personnel and office operations costs. The increased request will 
address the following:
  --An increase to cover personnel costs for 2007 and 2008. This 
        appropriation funds administrative support in the National 
        Capital Area and on-going programs in human capital management 
        and small business utilization across the Department.
  --An increase for Continuity of Operations (COOP) for the Office of 
        the Secretary, providing guidance and training to the mission 
        areas, and providing support and training to USDA's National 
        Emergency Preparedness Team. These efforts will ensure USDA is 
        compliant with Executive Orders and Presidential Directives 
        associated with Emergency Preparedness and requirements for 
        Executive Branch COOP.
        agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments
    The fiscal year 2008 budget request for Agricultural Building and 
Facilities and Rental Payments is $216,837,000, of which $156,590,000 
is for rental payments to the General Services Administration (GSA) and 
Department of Homeland Security for security payments and $60,247,000 
for Building Operations and Maintenance.
    The increased request addresses the following:
  --An increase for the Central Rent Account is needed to fund the 
        estimated cost of GSA space assignments and physical security 
        costs payable to the Department of Homeland Security, increased 
        lease expenses, maintenance services, and preventative 
        maintenance services of the fire alarm and switchgear systems 
        located at the USDA Headquarters Complex.
  --An increase for repairs and maintenance projects for the USDA South 
        Building. The South Building of the Headquarters Complex was 
        built between 1930 and 1936 and houses approximately 4,600 
        employees. It is in much need of repair and maintenance. 
        Repairs are needed to bring several major systems up to current 
        code requirements and to generally improve employee safety. 
        Providing a safe and healthy work environment for our employees 
        supports our Human Capital Objective.
  --An increase to cover the rising cost for steam and electric 
        utilities for the USDA Headquarters Complex. GSA has notified 
        USDA to expect significant increases in 2007 and 2008 utility 
        costs. In 2005, the price of GSA's district steam increased by 
        22 percent. Paying utility costs from current Building 
        Operations funding will reduce funding available to address the 
        existing maintenance and repair needs for the facilities and 
        possibly contribute to future system failures.
  --An increase for annual contract increases due to the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act and collective bargaining. This request is needed 
        to pay mandatory increases for payroll and other fixed and 
        discretionary costs associated with operating USDA facilities. 
        This request supports DA's continuing efforts to provide high 
        quality services so that USDA personnel have the space, 
        facilities, mail and property services, personnel support and 
        resources needed to deliver their program services in a timely 
        and effective manner.
  --An increase to support the Building Operations and Maintenance 
        staffs in performing preventive and routine maintenance and 
        repairs in the USDA Headquarters' Complex, including the George 
        Washington Carver Center. This increase will cover rising 
        general operating costs and preventive maintenance repairs to 
        major systems within the Headquarters' Complex. The lack of 
        funding in previous years for major repairs has led to a series 
        of system failures which includes: repairs for building roofs 
        and major plumbing, electrical, heating, and air conditioning 
        systems. Instead of being able to address these matters before 
        they fail, the Department is often patching and repairing 
        damage resulting from the failure of systems long past their 
        useful life. Routine maintenance and minor repairs to major 
        systems, when done on a timely basis, prolong the life of 
        equipment and avoid costly repairs and replacement if the 
        equipment is allowed to fail.
  --An increase for the 2007 and 2008 pay costs. This increase is 
        necessary to be able to maintain this office's current staffing 
        levels without compromising its efforts to provide a safe 
        workplace for USDA Headquarters and the George Washington 
        Carver Center.

                     HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

    The fiscal year 2008 budget request for Hazardous Material 
Management is $12,200,000. The increase represents pay costs. This 
request will fund clean-up activities under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA'') 
and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''). The purposes 
of the Hazardous Materials Management Program are to cleanup and 
restore USDA-managed lands.

                               CONCLUSION

    The goal of DA is to provide the tools necessary for USDA to 
accomplish its mission of providing effective leadership on food 
safety, agriculture, and natural resources. Accordingly, we 
respectfully ask for your support in this effort.
    Thank you for this opportunity to present Departmental 
Administration's fiscal year 2008 request.
                                 ______
                                 

    Prepared Statement of David M. Combs, Chief Information Officer

                              INTRODUCTION

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to share with you our progress on using information 
technology (IT) to improve service delivery to the customers of the 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), while implementing Enterprise 
Architecture (EA) principles and Electronic Government (eGovernment) 
throughout the Department.
    USDA participates in 22 of the 30 government-wide President's 
Management Agenda (PMA) eGovernment initiatives and eight of the nine 
lines-of-business. At the same time, under the framework of the 
Department's EA, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is 
managing USDA IT investments to promote collaboration across common 
lines-of-business, reducing duplication through our internal Enterprise 
Shared Services, and finding savings by leveraging the USDA's size/
economies-of-scale in Department-wide IT acquisitions.
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for OCIO is $16.4 
million to continue to guide the Department's IT Strategy. We are 
requesting approximately $663,000 to cover pay costs.
   usda's fiscal year 2008 information technology investment summary
    During the fiscal year 2008 USDA budget preparation process, OCIO 
staff scrutinized agency IT investment plans to ensure alignment with 
USDA program delivery plans as well as the USDA EA. In fiscal year 
2008, the Department is requesting about $2.1 billion for IT. 
Components of the IT portfolio include:
  --$816 million (39 percent of fiscal year 2008 IT spending) for 
        transfer to the States for the development and maintenance of 
        automated systems to support Food Stamps, WIC, and related 
        programs.
  --$1.3 billion in IT discretionary funding as broken down, includes:
    --$467 million (36 percent) for support services (e.g. architects, 
            design engineers, project managers, and consultants). The 
            Department seeks to use small businesses, especially 
            disabled veteran owned businesses for these services.
    --$373 million (27 percent) for Federal IT personnel costs.
    --$170 million (13 percent) for computer and network equipment, 
            such as routers, servers, workstations and printers.
    --$188 million (15 percent) for out-sourced services (e.g. 
            telecommunications, help desk services, technical design 
            and architect services).
    --$93 million (7 percent) for software to support our data centers, 
            desktops, helpdesks and other hardware.
    Overall, the IT related proposals in this request represent about 3 
percent of the total $67 billion proposed for IT investments for the 
Federal Government in fiscal year 2008.
            service center modernization initiative--(scmi)
    The Common Computing Environment (CCE) initiative is managed by 
OCIO working in collaboration with the Service Center Agencies' (SCA). 
CCE supports over 36,000 Federal employees from the SCA and Information 
Technology Services (ITS), volunteers and partners in the delivery of 
over $55 billion in programs through our field office delivery system. 
The infrastructure is flexible and built around maximizing information 
sharing both within USDA and with other Federal, State and local 
agencies, the private sector, and USDA customers.
    The CCE is the commonly defined, commonly acquired, and commonly 
deployed IT infrastructure for the USDA county-based SCA, namely the 
Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service 
(NRCS), and Rural Development (RD). CCE was established to maximize 
data sharing, leverage investments and support true ``one-stop 
shopping'' for customers of the county-based agencies, and is managed 
by the ITS of OCIO. ITS serves as one unified organization dedicated to 
supporting both the shared and the diverse IT requirements of the SCA 
and their partner organizations.
    Several of ITS' significant accomplishments in 2006 include:
  --Deployment of database management systems in support of several FSA 
        applications was completed.
  --Completion of the Software Update Service (SUS) migration for large 
        offices was completed. SUS keeps computers up-to-date with the 
        latest critical updates, security updates, and service packs. 
        To date, a total of 89 security patches have been tested, 
        certified and deployed since SUS went live on August 2004.
  --Completed and awarded a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for 
        operational contract support. This allows for the consolidation 
        of many existing legacy contracts resulting in cost savings and 
        increased operational efficiency. Another BPA was awarded that 
        allows for the SCA to purchase hardware such as workstations 
        and certain peripherals as their need dictates and as their 
        funds allow. Over $13.7 million was spent on workstations at 
        the end of fiscal year 2006.
  --Deployed the Encrypted File System (EFS) to all laptops and tablet 
        personal computers (PC) in the end user computer environment. 
        EFS provides for the encryption of files, thus reducing the 
        risk of compromising sensitivity data in the event of a lost or 
        stolen laptop or tablet PC.
  --Conducted a disaster recovery test to simulate a loss of the Kansas 
        City Web Farm; one major FSA financial application was 
        successfully restored in St. Louis. Participated in the Kansas 
        City Regional Inter-Agency Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) 
        Exercise. The Federal exercise tested COOP essential functions 
        in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area and their ability 
        to efficiently perform their duties during emergency 
        situations. More than 600 officials representing over 30 
        Federal agencies participated in the exercise. This was the 
        third annual exercise and it exists as the largest interagency 
        COOP exercise outside of Washington, DC.
    ITS management of CCE is maturing into a fee-for-service activity, 
while still supporting the ``one-stop shopping'' aims of the SCMI. This 
support includes contract consolidation, BPAs, and negotiating with the 
SCA for needed levels of service, while at the same time researching 
and implementing ways to achieve economies of scale. Because of the 
establishment of ITS as a fee-for-service entity, funds necessary to 
maintain the SCA shared IT infrastructure will be based upon the level 
of service delivery the SCA choose to effect.
    To that end, the fiscal year 2008 CCE budget is requesting no 
funds. For fiscal year 2008, the funds normally requested in the CCE 
appropriation can be found in the individual agencies' budget requests.
    ITS provides unified management of the shared IT infrastructure of 
the SCA, including CCE but also non-CCE legacy technologies, and 
manages the use of the CCE funds. While the responsibility for 
developing IT applications remains with the agencies with little or no 
involvement from ITS, ITS does deploy the applications, provides the 
platforms they run on, and provides those components of the 
infrastructure that make them available, reliable, and secure.
    The organization measures its success against service level 
agreements with each of the SCA that define performance metrics and 
customer expectations. This provides openness to the agencies regarding 
the costs of IT infrastructure, maximum leverage for large-scale system 
management techniques and technologies, and a basis for continuous 
improvement. To implement these agreements, ITS and the SCA negotiated 
the service lines, the appropriate metrics, and acceptable levels of 
service.
    Going forward in fiscal year 2008 and beyond, ITS will determine 
the agency obligations based on the service usage. This will be a more 
equitable method that can also provide the agencies with the 
information they need to reduce costs by effectively managing their IT 
infrastructure use.
    Congressional support for the CCE initiative has been key to its 
success. As we move forward with ITS, Congressional support will remain 
critical.

                           TELECOMMUNICATIONS

    USDA continues to evolve its telecommunications services to meet 
customer needs and provide secure infrastructure for the President's 
expanding eGovernment initiatives. Following the successful deployment 
of the Department's enterprise telecommunications network, the 
Universal Telecommunications Network (UTN), all USDA agencies are 
accessing the Internet via the UTN. USDA agencies continue to move 
their existing networks to the UTN. Agency network migration and 
optimization activities are achieved through a UTN Technical Review 
Board that is aligned with the Department's IT governance methodology.
    We are also developing a Department-wide strategy for Voice over 
Internet Protocol (VoIP). During fiscal year 2007, we will complete an 
enterprise ``roadmap'' for USDA agencies to use in their businesses 
cases for VoIP investments. Additionally, USDA is heavily engaged in 
the General Services Administration (GSA) Network acquisition (which we 
expect will help further reduce our costs) and transition activities as 
well as migration activities for the transition to Internet Protocol 
version 6.

       NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DATA CENTER (NITC) HOSTING

    NITC continues to be USDA's centralized source for IT services 
offering 24/7 operations and customer support. The organization began 
fee-for-services operations in July 1973. NITC serves the needs of over 
25 USDA agencies, and more than 15 non-USDA agencies. Our customer 
portfolio grew by 10.5 percent in fiscal year 2006 to a total of $85.6 
million.
    Certified by GSA as a Level 4 Facility, as delineated in the 
Department of Justice Security Level standards, NITC operates as a Tier 
IV Electrically and Tier III Mechanically data center. An electrical 
upgrade has been completed that eliminates any single point of failure, 
increases availability, and adds redundancy.
    Recently NITC received an Office of Inspector General Unqualified 
Opinion in 2006 for Internal Controls, the Commissioner's Special 
Citation from the Food and Drug Administration for software development 
work, the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Award 
for Service Disabled Veterans, an ePermits Award, and a customer survey 
response of 85 percent satisfied or highly satisfied.

                          INFORMATION SECURITY

    For many years USDA has been slow to meet all Federal information 
security requirements. To address this situation, we have significantly 
improved the posture of our security program by shifting funds and 
developing policies and procedures. But there is still a tremendous 
amount of work to be done. The Federal Information Security Management 
Act (FISMA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-
130 require all Federal agencies, to certify and accredit (C&A) their 
systems. Through this effort we have improved our security plans, 
updated and corrected our security documentation, tested our networks 
and applications for security weaknesses, and successfully engaged our 
business organizations in the discipline of security management.
    USDA IT security staffs are now in the process of addressing 
security issues that arose through our C&A activities. Action plans 
have been established to mitigate specific security weaknesses and 
implement improved controls, and to meet the FISMA performance measures 
designed by OMB. These plans also support the remediation of 
information security weaknesses identified during the Department's 
implementation of the Circular A-123 review. Within the OCIO, we have 
established a rigorous process to track agencies in these corrective 
actions and to ensure they are completed in a timely and efficient 
manner.
    In order to eliminate the root causes for our security weaknesses, 
we must mature our information security processes. Automated tools are 
necessary to quickly and efficiently address cyber security risks. We 
must improve our ability to secure our data with monitoring devices and 
automated processes that assist in preventing disruption by intrusion 
or the introduction of malicious programs. During fiscal year 2006, we 
deployed an improved incident tracking system to help us better manage 
and report detected breaches. We will continue to maintain a rigorous 
security training and awareness program which requires annual 
participation by all USDA and contract personnel.
    Through good preventative planning, such as system C&A combined 
with improving the Department's overall operational response to 
security challenges, we are reducing the risk associated with the 
electronic use and delivery of USDA information and services. 
Congressional support for the initiatives we have planned is critical 
to their achieving the desired outcome.

                         ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

    We continue to move aggressively to implement inter-agency and 
inter-Departmental services to support common needs. The primary goals 
of our approach are to reduce costs and improve the quality of 
interactions with our customers.
    USDA, along with our partners in the other Federal agencies, has 
worked hard over the past 5 years to simplify citizen's access and 
interaction with their government. The results of these efforts are 
remarkable. As part of our support of the PMA's promise of easy access 
to the government, customers may now easily locate USDA's online 
information and services at www.usda.gov, and with ``MyUSDA'', visitors 
can customize USDA's Web-site to provide immediate access to the 
information they regularly want to see. Currently, 59 Web-sites have 
moved to the Department's Web standards, and another 31 agency sites 
are in the process of doing so. Our efforts reduced the burden on 
citizens, partners, and employees by simplifying access to the 
Department's information and services and streamlining internal 
processes. In addition, USDA is a partner in 30 inter-Departmental 
projects to improve citizen access to government. All fourteen USDA 
rulemaking agencies migrated in 2006 to the Federal Docket Management 
System which provides citizens easy access to USDA regulatory action. 
As a result, the public can review and comment on USDA regulatory 
actions through Regulations.gov.
    USDA posts all discretionary grants to Grants.gov which provides a 
single location for citizens to find funding opportunities and the 
ability to apply online for them using common forms, processes, and 
systems.
    USDA is a major geospatial data producer and contributor to the 
Federal Government's www.geodata.gov. USDA's partnership with the 
initiative allows cross-Departmental sharing of geospatial information 
and the opportunity for reducing costs.
    Through the USDA eAuthentication Service all USDA employees and 
over 130,000 customers use a secure, single sign-on to access 
applications, thereby reducing our customer support needs through 
improved security and usability. In addition to the 230 USDA 
applications, users can also use their eAuthentication credentials to 
access any of the 24 systems integrated with the Federal E-
Authentication Federation. The eAuthentication Service is a component 
of the streamlined implementation of Homeland Security Presidential 
Directive 12 (HSPD-12.
    AgLearn is USDA's implementation of the E-Training initiative. The 
consolidation of training and learning management functions within 
AgLearn allows agencies to cooperate in developing, tracking, and 
purchasing training. Training that has proved successful for one agency 
can easily be made available for others, eliminating redundant costs 
for course development and sharing subject matter expertise to a 
broader audience and the coordination of agency purchases of online 
courseware provides volume discounts. USDA provides its mandatory 
training through AgLearn including the annual Ethics, Security 
Awareness, and Privacy Basics. In an average month, more than 16,000 
AgLearn users complete nearly 27,000 training events. This has 
significantly reduced the overall USDA training costs normally 
associated with courses that require travel.

        ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE (EA) AND IT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

    USDA is managing its EA as a high-level roadmap to achieve our 
organizational and business needs within an efficient IT environment. 
USDA's EA program identifies similar processes and opportunities to 
improve and when possible share and reuse IT solutions across our 
agencies. We continue to assemble and refine the data needed, at both 
the Departmental level and within individual agencies, to better 
organize and analyze our business processes, information needs, and 
supporting technologies. The USDA EA Program is fully integrated with 
the Department's IT Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) 
process. USDA's central CPIC body reviews, monitors and approves all 
major IT investments to ensure alignment with the Department's 
strategic goals and objectives. The EA provides a formal basis for 
evaluating a single investment against other investments in terms of 
its contribution to enhanced delivery of customer services and 
opportunities for collaboration and reuse. In addition to strengthening 
the CPIC process, EA enables USDA to improve key Department-wide 
enterprise hardware, software, and service agreements.
    The quality of this work is supported by an IT Project Management 
Program. USDA has trained 480 project managers who have helped us keep 
our IT projects on schedule and within budget.

                               CONCLUSION

    Mr. Chairman, we are always looking for creative ways to improve 
our services, reduce our costs and be good stewards of the tax payers 
dollars. With the continued support of this Subcommittee and the 
Congress, I am confident that we will continue to be successful in 
achieving our objectives.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of Charles R. Christopherson, Jr., Chief Financial 
             Officer, Office of the Chief Financial Officer

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to 
present the fiscal year 2008 budget request for the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Chief Financial Officer 
(OCFO) and the Department's Working Capital Fund (WCF).
    The myriad of programs at the Department of Agriculture create a 
large financial organization. If compared to companies in the private 
sector, USDA would be both the ninth largest company and the ninth 
largest bank in the United States. Under the Chief Financial Officers 
Act of 1990 (CFO Act), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible 
for the financial management of the Department including financial 
policy, personnel, systems, and budget execution. First, this testimony 
will address the key areas of my responsibility under the CFO Act and 
then proceed into the specific budget of the OCFO and WCF.
    The President's budget for the Department of Agriculture is a 
comprehensive effort that involves the input of each mission area and 
staff office. The budgeting office does an exceptional job at managing 
and compiling the vast amount of financial information from each of the 
agencies within the Department. Over the years, the budget of the 
Department has remained relatively flat. The budget for fiscal year 
2008 is lean and focused on the highest priorities of the Department.
Summary of Financial Operations and Processes
    In the area of financial operations and policy, the Department of 
Agriculture continues to make vast improvements in business processes, 
improper payments, and internal controls. For fiscal year 2006, the 
Department of Agriculture attained another clean opinion on its annual 
financial statements.
    Also during 2006, USDA achieved compliance with OMB Circular A-123, 
Appendix A by completing the assessment of Internal Controls over 
Financial Reporting in a single-year. This effort involved over 1,000 
USDA employees from 29 agencies and staff offices. These employees 
documented over 5,000 controls within 13 financial cycles, 76 
processes, and 92 financially significant systems. A significant number 
of the controls documented during this process were also tested. The 
assessment resulted in identifying four materials weaknesses which are:
  --Obligations--Forest Service and Commodity Credit Corporation
  --Management Estimates and Accruals--Forest Service and Commodity 
        Credit Corporation
  --Producer Payments and Commodity Loans--Commodity Credit Corporation
  --Information Technology Controls--All Organizations
    Software Change Controls
    Disaster Recovery
    Access Control--Logical
    Access Control--Physical
    To manage the internal controls and eliminate material weaknesses, 
the Department has instituted a Senior Management Control Council, 
Chaired by the Deputy Secretary and Co-Chaired by the CFO with its 
committee members comprised of the highest ranking officials in each of 
our agencies and staff offices. The members of this committee are 
dedicated to the proper management and safe keeping of the funds of our 
Nation's tax paying citizens.
    In order to provide the most effective and efficient financial 
operations, this last year we started a dedicated effort of refining 
several of our processes and are actively moving to uniform processes, 
procedures, and systems across USDA. For example, this year we formed a 
grants committee to document the grants process across all mission 
areas of the Department. In the near future, a formal USDA process, 
with all of the correct internal controls, will be formally documented 
and we will start reducing the 13 grant systems into one. This will not 
be a new system, but one developed from a system currently in use in 
one of the agencies. The agency that currently operates that system 
will retain the management of the system while OCFO will manage the 
policy, process changes, and approve system modifications. We are also 
moving toward uniform processes for loans, contract invoices, and 
insurance.
    For all processes, we are moving toward solutions that provide 
electronic interfaces with the customers, automate document flow and 
approvals, and automate payments. The majority of the work will be 
accomplished with USDA employees and software that we currently own.
    Over this last year, we strengthened our policy on measuring 
improper payments to be in better alignment with the Improper Payments 
Act. Under the Act, agencies are required to measure both incorrect 
payment amounts and incomplete qualifying paperwork. Under this new 
policy, the Department continued to reduce incorrect payment amounts, 
but incomplete qualifying paperwork increased. The majority of the 
paperwork errors are in the Farm Service Agency. So as not to 
misinterpret the outcome of the information and to show the 
Department's commitment to correcting the paperwork problem, we met 
with House and Senate Committees. During these meetings we communicated 
both the results and the corrective plan. The agency continues to move 
forward with the corrections and we expect to see a vast reduction in 
paperwork issues in this year's review.
Financial Systems
    The Department's current primary financial systems were developed 
in the late 1970's and early 1980's. For the 2008 OCFO budget, includes 
a request to continue the replacement of financial systems that are 
critical for payments, reporting, and fiscal management.
    Two financial systems are in need of replacement at USDA. The first 
is the core financial system; the second is the farm payments system. 
Currently the core financial system is comprised of nine general ledger 
systems which have not been supported by the vendor for several years. 
The systems do not meet Federal financial system requirements, and are 
showing the early signs of failure. The primary objective of the 
Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) is to replace this 
20 year old, outdated mainframe technology providing for Department-
wide expanded functional capability, full integration of critical 
system components and high-quality production and customer support. 
FMMI also addresses a critical and growing need for better integration 
of program, financial, and budgetary information to support more 
efficient and effective management of USDA's missions and improved 
delivery of programs against established performance goals and 
objectives. Based on both the risk and the savings, we have accelerated 
the implementation timeline of this system to a 3 year implementation.
    The farm payments system is in critical need of modernization 
through replacement. This system manages the requirements and 
interactions of over 120 farm programs to create producer payments. The 
systems are homegrown, in an outdated programming language, and on 
hardware that is no longer manufactured. In addition, the systems 
cannot be modified to meet current Federal IT security requirements. 
Over the years, core financial software vendors have improved their 
products to support broader operational flexibility and requirements. 
Included in the request for proposals (RFP) for FMMI are the 
requirements and business cases to address the basic requirements of a 
modern farm programs system. We believe that the new financial system 
will provide a strong foundation to a modern and upgradeable payment 
system to support the farm programs.
    These critical systems are in the early phases of failure and 
require a multi-year implementation cycle. It is very important that 
the funds for these systems are approved at their requested fiscal year 
2008 budget levels.
Financial Personnel
    Employee turnover in the Department for fiscal year 2005 equaled 
8.36 percent. The majority of this turnover is related to retirements 
in the Department (4.6 percent). I believe that it is also safe to 
speculate that USDA turnover is impacted by promotions due to 
retirements in other government entities. We project that turnover due 
to retirements will increase by approximately 1 percent each year which 
equals approximately 8 percent (at least 12 percent with other elements 
of turnover) by fiscal year 2009. This high level of turnover places a 
significant amount of responsibility on our management teams, as they 
must transition knowledge based jobs. To address the transition and the 
shrinking workforce, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer is 
training the financial workforce, standardizing and documenting 
processes, and competing work skills that are available in the private 
sector.
    Employee Training.--Office of the Chief Financial Officer has 
started training employees in the skills of Lean Six Sigma, which is 
characterized as an improvement methodology because it uses data to 
identify waste and non-value added activities; reduce them, while 
improving service delivery. Through the Lean Six Sigma process, 
employees' document current business processes and then refine the 
process for a zero tolerance for errors; while using fewer resources 
and improving customer service. In addition, the Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer holds various training sessions every year in order 
to address the knowledge gap in financial and USDA knowledge due to the 
high turnover rate.
    Competitive Sourcing.--Competitive sourcing provides a resource to 
supplement skills and resources of the Department's workforce. The 
Center for Naval Analysis conducted a study titled Long-run Costs and 
Performance Effects of Competitive Sourcing, and found that competition 
drove costs down over 30 percent while improving performance. The 
process is designed to select the competitor who can provide the most 
cost effective service delivery methodology to the Department and 
ultimately the taxpayers. Returns on investment are even greater for 
the activities that agencies have identified most frequently from 
competition: IT, maintenance/property management, logistics, HR/
personnel servicing and education, and financial management. Two-year 
savings per Full-Time Equivalent studied in these categories generally 
range from $25,000 to $33,000. As required skill sets and technology 
change, the Federal sector, by using an external firm, can be flexible 
in the knowledge skill sets of technology teams by adjusting the 
requirements of the vendor's contract. Our veteran owned companies, 
small and disadvantaged businesses, as well as other private companies 
have been important to the past success of our government and will 
continue important technical skills in the future.
    Recruitment.--Last, we need to continue to recruit employees from 
our nation's universities into the Federal workforce. These young 
employees bring excitement to the work environment and complementary 
technical skills to our knowledge based employees. Since the Federal 
requirements for accounting are slightly different than those taught in 
the universities, we will partner with the USDA Graduate School to 
provide the additional Federal knowledge.
    This comprehensive approach to address the high turnover in the 
financial workforce should provide the Department with the employees 
required for the management and safeguarding of the assets appropriated 
by the Congress.
National Finance Center
    Before we move to the budget request, I would be remiss if I did 
not discuss the National Finance Center. The National Finance Center 
(NFC), located in New Orleans, provides payroll processing and related 
services for approximately 33 percent of the Federal civilian workforce 
in more than 175 government entities. In fiscal year 2006, the NFC 
processed $30 billion in payroll for approximately 595,000 Federal 
employees. The NFC provides a human resources suite of services to 
approximately 150,000 employees of which 72,000 are USDA employees in 
Farm Service Agency, Rural Development, Natural Resources Conservation 
Service, and Forest Service; and 69,400 Department of Homeland Security 
employees in Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Coast Guard 
and Headquarters. The NFC services the Office of Personnel Management 
performing health benefit reconciliations and health care premium 
processing on a Government-wide level. Finally, the NFC provides 
personnel transaction processing services for several agencies 
including TSA, Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA).
    The National Finance Center continues to prove the efficiencies and 
effectiveness of a very focused shared services operation. The payroll, 
human capital, and data center operations continue to be a low cost 
provider with a very high level of customer satisfaction. During fiscal 
year 2006, the NFC operations returned to New Orleans after relocating 
due to Hurricane Katrina. At the time of the return, the New Orleans 
area was still in the early stages of rebuild. The NFC employees have 
endured long lines at the limited number of grocery facilities, the 
constraints of living in FEMA trailers, slow payments of insurance 
proceeds, inflation in the cost of property insurance, and other 
hurdles. In addition, employees have increased workload as the employee 
vacancy rate has increased due to separations and retirements. Even 
with all of these hurdles, the work from the three CFO operations at 
the NFC is exceptional. We are very proud of these employees and 
consider them pioneers in the rebuild of New Orleans. Last year's 
significant results for the National Finance Center include:
  --Reduction of backlogs to pre-Katrina levels.
  --Implementation of the Department of Justice to the payroll system 
        (30,000 employees).
  --First stage implementation of Forest Service to the Human Resource 
        Line of Business suite of services.
  --Selection of and significant progress on the Primary Computer 
        Facility (PCF). As disclosed in our report to Congress, the 
        Primary Computer Facility is located at the Denver Federal 
        Center. The project is on target to complete the relocation of 
        the systems from the temporary disaster recovery facilities to 
        the PCF by June 2007.
Budget of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer
    The OCFO is responsible for the financial management of an 
enterprise with almost $75 billion in annual spending, over 106,000 
full time equivalents (staff years) and over $134 billion in assets.
    Areas of focus for fiscal year 2008 include supporting shared 
services that reduce the cost to USDA mission areas and the Federal 
Government; strengthening the financial operations of the program 
areas; completing uniform processes and procedures; creating efficient 
IT solutions; remediation of deficiencies in internal controls, and 
progressing in the implementation of the systems in critical need of 
replacement.
    Our fiscal year 2008 operating budget request is for $30.8 million, 
which includes increases for 2007 and 2008 pay costs as well as the 
replacement of the core financial system. Approximately 90 percent of 
the OCFO's obligations are for the salaries and benefits of the OCFO 
employees. OCFO is a labor intensive staff office with very little 
ability to absorb pay cost increases without holding a large number of 
positions vacant for the entire fiscal year; thereby adversely 
affecting its ability to lead the Department in the areas of financial 
management, oversight, and guidance necessary to prevent fraud, waste, 
and abuse; reduce risk of improper payments, plan for financial 
systems, and to institute proper internal financial controls. The pay-
related increases requested are necessary for us to accomplish key 
outcomes and to successfully meet our goals for fiscal year 2008.
    OCFO is requesting an increase in funding to partially fund the 
implementation of the system used to replace our core financial 
management systems and provide a foundation to the farm payments 
system. These systems are in critical need of replacement. As I stated 
above, this core system is replacing nine general ledger systems 
currently operating in USDA and provides the foundation system for the 
modernization of the farm payment system. Currently these systems do 
not meet the requirement of financial systems as required by the 
Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, are showing early signs 
of failure, and are no longer supported by the vendor. If the current 
systems fail, the Department will not be able to report required 
financial information, manage receipts, or produce payments. This 
system will also replace the four general ledger systems and five 
payment modules currently contained in the farm payment systems (all of 
which are no longer supported by the vendor). Continued reliance upon 
this old technology poses unacceptable risks to USDA financial 
operations and data. I greatly appreciate your support in the 
replacement of these key systems.
USDA Working Capital Fund
    The CFO is responsible for the budget of the Department's Working 
Capital Fund (WCF). The WCF serves as the Department's principal 
investment engine to achieve progress in developing and implementing 
new corporate systems.
    Unobligated Funds.--Under the authority of Congress, USDA is 
allowed to transfer unobligated balances from discretionary accounts 
into the WCF. For fiscal year 2005 the transfer was approximately $2 
million and for fiscal year 2006 the transfer was approximately $4 
million. During that same period we have received capital project 
requests for unobligated funds in excess of $30 million. While all of 
the requests appear to be very important, we have placed a priority to 
statutory obligations. The first obligation is for the capital required 
to meet the reporting requirements of the Transparency Act passed by 
Congress in this fiscal year. The next priority is to meet a small 
amount of the capital requirements of the PCF. As previously reported 
to Congress, the PCF will be operational by June of this year. The 
information concerning the transfer of unobligated funds and the 
capital requests for these funds will be reported to the Committees on 
Appropriations in the near future.
    Working Capital Funds--Capital.--For fiscal year 2007, request for 
the hardware to support corporate systems and facilities equaled $84.5 
million. The Department's available balance for allocation was $24.8 
million. The Department graded the investments with statutory, 
security, and disaster recovery receiving the highest scores for 
funding. Statutory investments include NFC's PFC, NFC's backup 
facility, and Homeland Security Operation Plan system. We are grateful 
for the support and look forward to working with the Committee as we 
repair and improve our corporate systems.
    Working Capital Funds--Operations.--In addition to the investments 
in corporate systems, the WCF supports the operations of our shared 
service activities. These services include financial management, 
information technology, payroll, human capital systems, communications, 
administration, as well as record keeping and item processing. It is 
our objective to use this financing mechanism to provide to the mission 
areas and the Federal Government the most effective cost-efficient 
services available.
    The President's fiscal year 2007 budget estimates that total costs 
for recurring operations in the WCF in fiscal year 2008 will be $534.3 
million, a 3.7 percent increase over the fiscal year 2007 estimate. The 
majority of this increase is to move the Department to a uniform human 
resource system hosted at the National Finance Center and an increase 
in the cost of services at the National Information Technology Center. 
Also included in the fund are such services as: video and 
teleconferencing production services provided by the Broadcast and 
Media Technology Center in the Office of Communications; personal 
property, mail, duplicating, and acquisition system provided by 
Department Administration.
    I would like to point out that the WCF financing mechanism, as a 
reimbursement for goods and services provided, gives us an opportunity 
to refine our estimates as newer and better information becomes 
available regarding customer demand and costs. Our office is working 
with activity centers to review fiscal year 2008 estimates with the 
goal of reducing the cost of individual services that are provided to 
USDA agencies. It was with this objective in mind that we were able to 
submit an operating estimate for fiscal year 2008 that is consistent 
with expected inflation.
    One thing we have done to impose more discipline on costs is to 
require individual activities to begin compiling and reporting costs 
for specific business lines within their respective activities. This 
method is being developed and refined as we move forward in fiscal year 
2007 and will be a critical element as we revisit fiscal year 2008 cost 
estimates. As we begin development of the fiscal year 2009 budget this 
spring, we will be reexamining fiscal year 2008 estimates for more 
economies and savings. As has been the practice for the last 2 fiscal 
years, we will establish spending targets for WCF activities that take 
into account the Department's spending priorities among its agencies 
reflected in the President's budget.
    Last year, we expressed to the Committee our appreciation for all 
of the assistance and support provided to the Department in the wake of 
Hurricane Katrina. It was a critical ingredient in our ability to 
resume normal business operations and recover from that event. We have 
continued to strengthen our business continuity practices, and we are 
working to ensure that in the event of the need to respond to a similar 
natural disaster in the future we are positioned even better to respond 
and ensure uninterrupted service to our customers. For your continued 
support in that effort, we are grateful.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to share the results 
we have achieved and our fiscal year 2008 budget request with the 
Subcommittee. We have very dedicated employees that are passionate 
about nature and conservation, food assistance and the Nation's health, 
rural America and renewable energy, food production and safety, and the 
vast benefits of scientific research. The budget for such a large 
Department is an effort based on the goals of our 5 year strategic 
plan, the highest priorities of each mission area, and replacing 
critical support infrastructure. We look forward to working together 
with you and the Subcommittee in fulfilling the vision for financial 
management and accountability we all have for USDA.
                                 ______
                                 

  Prepared Statement of Margo M. McKay, Assistant Secretary for Civil 
       Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to submit this statement supporting the President's fiscal 
year 2008 budget proposal for the United States Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 
(ASCR).
    The Office of the ASCR provides policy guidance, leadership, 
outreach, coordination, training, and complaint prevention and 
processing for USDA. Our mission is to provide equal opportunity, equal 
access and fair treatment for all USDA customers and employees.
    The Office of Civil Rights, under the ASCR, has made significant 
progress in complaint processing and complaint prevention. Overall USDA 
experienced a 15 percent decrease in the number of new Equal Employment 
Opportunity (EEO) complaints filed during fiscal year 2006 as compared 
to fiscal year 2005. The decrease in EEO complaint filing is attributed 
to factors such as increased usage of the Alternative Disputes 
Resolution (ADR) process, improved compliance and accountability, and 
an overall decrease in the size of the workforce.
    We have also strengthened our compliance and outreach efforts. In 
August 2006, we convened our Third Annual Partners' Meeting. This is a 
principal outreach effort for organizations representing underserved 
populations, including minority, small and limited resource farmers. 
These meetings continue dialogue with USDA stakeholders, providing a 
forum through which the voices and concerns of underserved constituents 
can be heard by USDA, and avenues can be found for resolving long-
standing issues of access and accountability.

                      FISCAL YEAR 2008 OBJECTIVES

    The Office of Civil Rights (CR) has the following strategic 
objectives for fiscal year 2008 that contributes to the Department's 
success. They are to:
  --Ensure employees and applicants are provided equal opportunities in 
        all aspects of employment activities.
  --Ensure USDA employment activities are conducted in a 
        nondiscriminatory manner and agencies comply with CR/EEO laws, 
        rules and regulations related to women, minorities, and persons 
        with disabilities.
  --Ensure equal access to USDA programs.
  --Ensure Program and EEO complaints are timely processed.
  --Ensure complaints are processed in an efficient and cost-effective 
        manner.
  --Increase USDA-wide awareness and use of Alternative Dispute 
        Resolution (ADR), and resolution of conflicts through ADR in 
        the early stages of workplace and program disputes (non-civil 
        rights).
  --Establish effective outreach programs in the Department to ensure 
        equal and timely access to USDA programs and services for all 
        customers, with special emphasis on the minority and 
        underserved.

                     FISCAL YEAR 2008 KEY OUTCOMES

    CR plans to achieve the following key outcomes in fiscal year 2008:
  --Decrease in the number of individual EEO and Program complaints 
        filed.
  --Reduction in the average number of days to process Program and EEO 
        complaints to issuance of Report of Investigation and Final 
        Agency Decisions.
  --Increase in the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of processing of 
        Program and EEO complaints within the regulatory timeframes.
  --Increase in ADR usage.
  --Increase the number of minority, underserved, and socially 
        disadvantaged persons made aware of USDA programs and services.

                    FISCAL YEAR 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

    The fiscal year 2008 Appropriation request for CR is $23.1 million. 
The funding request includes increases for the following:
  --Civil Rights Enterprise System Improvements.--Funds for the Civil 
        Rights Enterprise System are requested to continue the 
        expansion of the complaints processing system. Funding is 
        necessary to support the President's Management Agenda 
        initiative of expanding electronic government by improving 
        complainant/customer access to information about the complaints 
        and providing a more accountable mechanism for EEO and Program 
        complaint filing. USDA agencies will be able to interface on a 
        Web-based system that will provide customers and employees 
        real-time data regarding their discrimination complaints. The 
        system encompasses a planned multi-year phased approach 
        projected through fiscal year 2009. After fiscal year 2009, the 
        implementation of the system will be complete and funds will 
        only be needed to support operation and maintenance.
  --Compliance Monitoring Activities.--Funding is needed to meet new 
        requirements designed to meet the affirmative employment goals 
        of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Management 
        Directive 715. In addition, CR will undertake significant 
        compliance activities in the field offices. Compliance reviews 
        will result in civil rights complaint prevention and new 
        complaint reductions.
  --Pay cost.--Funding is needed for the 2007 and 2008 pay raises.
    I would like to emphasize the importance of the Subcommittee's 
approval of the President's $23.1 million budget for CR. The proposed 
budget will help ensure that USDA continues to make substantial 
progress toward providing fair and equitable delivery of our services 
and programs to our customers and protecting the civil rights of USDA 
employees.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of Terri Teuber, Director, Office of Communications

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to 
discuss the fiscal year 2008 budget request for the Department of 
Agriculture's Office of Communications (OC).
    When Congress wrote the law establishing the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture in 1862, it said the Department's ``. . . general designs 
and duties shall be to acquire and to diffuse among the people of the 
United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture 
in the most general and comprehensive sense of the word.'' OC 
coordinates the implementation of that original mandate.
    OC coordinates communications with the public about USDA's 
programs, functions, and initiatives, providing vital information to 
the customers and constituency groups who depend on the Department's 
services for their well-being. For example, OC is coordinating the 
Department's communications efforts relating to the threat of avian 
influenza (AI) and is prepared, if necessary, to activate a Joint 
Information Center (JIC) funded through the Supplemental Appropriation, 
which would support the Department in meeting its obligations in the 
event of an AI detection and/or outbreak. This effort is a follow-on to 
efforts OC has undertaken in the past to inform the public of the 
Department's actions taken to protect animal and human health. OC 
assisted in addressing such serious issues as bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE), which have been of interest to consumers around 
the world. In addition, OC also coordinates the communications 
activities of USDA's seven major mission areas and provides leadership 
for communications within the Department to USDA employees.
    OC is adopting new technologies to meet the increased demands for 
the dissemination of accurate information in a timely manner. Using the 
Internet, radio, television and teleconference facilities, we are able 
to ensure that the millions of Americans whose lives are affected by 
USDA's programs receive the latest and most complete information. As 
the continuing concern over AI and BSE incidents demonstrate, these 
technologies are a critical resource used by the Secretary and the 
agencies to provide timely information, which helps to maintain 
consumer confidence and stabilize agricultural markets.
    OC's 5-year strategic goal is to provide maximum support to all 
mission areas of the Department in the development of programs and in 
creating awareness among the American public about USDA's initiatives 
and services. This is essential to providing effective customer 
services and efficient program delivery. As a result, we expect more 
citizens, especially those in underserved communities and geographic 
areas, to access helpful USDA services and information. A central 
element of this support is OC's active participation in the 
Department's eGovernment initiative as part of the President's 
Management Agenda. OC plays a key role in ensuring that the 
Department's eGovernment implementation results in the public's 
improved access to more current, accurate, relevant, and organized USDA 
products, services, and information. The USDA.gov portal, managed by 
OC, is customer- or citizen-centric, allowing OC to target information 
by audience preference, subject and personalization. On average, 1.5 
million citizens access the site weekly. The demand by citizens and 
other constituencies for information, via USDA.gov, Web casting, 
electronic mail distribution, teleconferences, and publications, is 
expected to continue to increase.
    OC will continue to take an active role in policy and program 
management discussions by coordinating the public communication of USDA 
initiatives. We will continue to provide centralized operations for the 
production, review, and distribution of USDA information to its 
customers and the general public. Also, we will monitor and evaluate 
the results of these communications. Our staff is instructed to use the 
most effective and efficient communications technology, methods, and 
standards in carrying out communications plans.
    Also, we are focusing on improved communications with USDA 
employees, especially those away from headquarters, which will enhance 
their understanding of USDA's general goals and policy priorities, 
programs and services, and cross-cutting initiatives.
    Our office will continue to work hard to meet our performance goals 
and objectives. We will work to communicate updated USDA regulations 
and guidelines, conduct regular training sessions for USDA 
communications staff about using communication technologies and 
processes to enhance public service, foster accountability for 
communications management performance throughout USDA, and continue to 
work to create a more efficient, effective and centralized OC.
    Increasing availability of USDA information and products to 
underserved communities and geographic areas through USDA's outreach 
efforts is integral to our performance efforts. OC will continue to 
provide equal opportunity for employment and promote an atmosphere that 
values individuals.

                    FISCAL YEAR 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

    OC is requesting a budget of $9,720,000, which includes an increase 
to cover fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008 pay costs.
    As more than 89 percent of OC's obligations are for salaries and 
benefits, the requested increase is vital to support and maintain 
staffing levels for current and projected demands for our products and 
services. While OC has realized some cost savings by replacing high 
grade employees who have retired with lower grade employees, our 
current budget leaves little flexibility for absorbing increased costs. 
In fact, OC would not be able to absorb the increased salary costs in 
fiscal year 2008 without placing considerable constraints on daily 
operations or affecting staff size and therefore the timely delivery of 
information to the public.
    Our central task is to ensure the development of communications 
strategies, which are vital to the overall formation, awareness and 
acceptance of USDA programs and policies. OC has led the adoption of 
content management software which speeds the addition of new material, 
improves our quality control measures to ensure the accuracy of the 
information available through USDA.gov, and reduces the staff time 
required for overall maintenance of the site.
    This improved control greatly reduces the time necessary to post 
important information to the media and the public while providing a 
greater ability to ensure the accuracy of the information. This allows 
OC to use a large document and Web repository, sharing resources and 
information with mission areas and agencies as well as the public.
    OC looks forward to continuing our commitment to the American 
public by providing timely, accurate information about our programs and 
services.
    This concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. I will be pleased to 
respond to any questions.
                                 ______
                                 

          Prepared Statement of Keith Collins, Chief Economist

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to discuss the general economic situation in U.S. 
agriculture as background for the Subcommittee's review of the 
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) fiscal year 2008 budget submission. 
I will review the major factors affecting agricultural markets in the 
coming year and their implications for financial conditions in U.S. 
agriculture.
    U.S. agriculture continues to prosper following the economic 
slowdown at the start of this decade. With solid growth in domestic and 
export demand, large crop harvests, and record-high cattle, broiler and 
milk prices, net cash farm income reached a record high $81.5 billion 
in 2004. In 2005, net cash farm income was nearly as high and the 
second highest on record despite a large increase in crop stocks which 
reduced crop prices; multiple hurricanes that shut down the central 
marketing infrastructure of the country; sharply higher energy prices 
that raised production, marketing and processing costs; continued loss 
of Asian beef markets; and the emergence of global Avian Influenza (AI) 
concerns. In 2006, net cash farm income is estimated at $66.7 billion, 
down from the previous 2 years, reflecting lower milk prices and 
government payments, smaller crop harvests, plus higher production 
expenses, especially energy costs.
    In 2007, global economic growth and food demand is expected to 
remain strong. However, growing demand for biofuels is expected to be 
the key factor driving crop prices. Markets for most major crops will 
experience stronger prices as stock levels decline. In addition, 
continued expansion of livestock production following several years of 
profitable returns could lead to slightly lower market prices for 
cattle and hogs. Weather, energy costs, higher interest rates, and a 
slow recovery of foreign markets due to animal health concerns are also 
likely to be factors affecting economic performance. Together, these 
factors suggest that net cash farm income will rise modestly in 2007. 
Rising expenses will cause financial stress for some farming 
operations, particularly livestock and poultry producers, but the 
overall farm economy is expected to perform above long-term average 
levels with net cash farm income forecast at $67.2 billion, farm 
household income remaining strong, and farm net worth continuing to 
increase.
Global Economic Growth and Farm Product Demand
    The U.S. economy grew at 3.4 percent in 2006, up from 2005's 3.2 
percent but below 2004's 3.9 percent. For 2007, U.S. Gross Domestic 
Product (GDP) growth is expected to be slightly less than last year. 
The decline in the rate of growth in 2007 from last year is expected to 
be due to slower growth in consumption, weak housing, and tight energy 
markets. Increased tightness in labor markets is likely also to be a 
factor. As the unemployment rate remains low, productivity growth and 
output growth usually remain at or just below trend.
    Real foreign economic growth accelerated in 2006 to 4.0 percent 
from 2005's strong growth rate of 3.7 percent, with many areas 
improving, particularly Western Europe and Asia. This year, Western 
Europe is expected to grow at above 2 percent for the second 
consecutive year, the first time this has happened since 1999-2000. 
Growth in Japan, Canada, and Mexico are expected to be slightly below 
2006. Asia, excluding Japan, will likely grow at 7 percent in 2007, 
above trend for the 4th consecutive year. Foreign economic growth is 
expected to be 3.7 percent in 2007, down slightly from 2006, but well 
above trend, as has been the case beginning in 2004.
    With the U.S. economy expected to have another year of steady 
growth, consumption expenditures on food continue to rise, although the 
rate of growth is likely to decline to near 4.4 percent from the 
unusually high 6 percent growth in 2006. Growth was less than 2.5 
percent during the economic slowdown in 2001 and 2002. This year, 
slower growth in consumer spending on food is likely, as consumers face 
heavy debt loads and high energy costs and are less likely to use 
household assets to finance consumption. Consumer spending, which 
accounts for two-thirds of GDP, increased by 4.4 percent in the last 
quarter of 2006, well above the third-quarter, but a slowdown is 
expected in the first quarter of 2007.
U.S. Agricultural Trade
    Turning to foreign demand for U.S. agricultural products, our 
latest quarterly forecast for farm exports in fiscal year 2007, 
released in March, is a record-high $78 billion, up $9.3 billion from 
fiscal year 2006's record. Gains are expected across the board in 
grains and feeds, livestock, and horticultural products.
    U.S. agricultural imports are forecast at a record $70 billion, $6 
billion more than in fiscal year 2006. The agricultural trade surplus 
for fiscal year 2007 is forecast at $8 billion, up from $4.7 billion in 
fiscal year 2006.
    While the agricultural export-weighted value of the dollar 
appreciated in the first half of 2006, it has depreciated steadily 
since July, continuing its declining long-term trend from 2001. The 
current period of strong foreign economic growth and continued effects 
of the decline in the value of the dollar from several years ago should 
result in higher U.S. agricultural exports in the future and a modestly 
improving trade balance. However, strong consumption growth in the 
United States and consumers' desire for year-round fruits and 
vegetables, as well as more variety, suggest the trade surplus in the 
future will be smaller than in the past. USDA's long-run projections 
issued February 14, 2007, forecast U.S. agricultural exports rising to 
nearly $94.8 billion by fiscal year 2016 and imports rising at an even 
faster pace to $92.7 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $2.1 billion.
Major Crops: Supply, Demand, and Price
    The 2005/06 marketing year began with relatively ample world crop 
supplies. Thus, despite declines in production of grains and cotton, 
stocks remained relatively stable year-to-year. Global oilseed 
production was record high in 2005/06, boosting stocks to record 
levels. As a result of these generally plentiful supplies, market 
prices were relatively flat. In 2006/2007, global wheat and coarse 
grain production declined as weather problems affected output. World 
oilseed production set another record and world cotton production rose 
slightly. Global total use this year is expected to rise for rice, 
coarse grains, oilseeds, and cotton. Global wheat use is expected to 
decline modestly, reflecting tighter supplies and higher prices. With 
generally lower production and rising consumption, global stocks of 
most major commodities, except oilseeds, will decline in 2006/2007, and 
grain (wheat and coarse grain) stocks will fall well below last year's 
levels. In the United States, supplies for feed grains, cotton, and 
rice are well below their record levels in 2005/2006. U.S. wheat 
supplies are down sharply from 2005/2006, but soybean supplies set 
another record.
    With world grain consumption during 2006/2007 expected to exceed 
last year's record high and again exceed world production, world grain 
stocks as a percent of total use are expected to fall to 15.5 percent, 
compared with 19.5 percent in 2005/2006. The picture for oilseeds is 
quite different as global soybean production is forecast to be record 
high for the third consecutive year, exceed consumption, and result in 
higher global stocks. For soybeans, global stocks as a percent of use 
is forecast to exceed the high set in 1986. World cotton stocks are 
expected to decline slightly as consumption exceeds production for the 
second consecutive season.
    For the United States, good grain and oilseed harvests and strong 
demand have supported above average farm income in recent years. 
Current market prospects look even brighter as growth in demand, 
particularly for producing biofuels, has pushed grain prices to 10-year 
highs. High grain prices and demand for vegetable oil have also pushed 
soybean prices higher, despite the higher soybean supplies.
    U.S. soybean stocks are expected to be record high at the end of 
2006/2007, rising 132 percent above the level of 2 years ago. This jump 
reflects the bumper harvest this past fall and the highest beginning 
stocks in 20 years. This stock buildup is projected despite expected 
record soybean crush and exports. Still, U.S. soybean prices this 
winter have been strong in the face of the prospective stock buildup, 
reflecting higher corn prices, purchases by index funds, and strong, 
biodiesel-driven soybean oil prices. For the year as a whole, the farm 
price received for soybeans is expected to average $6.30 per bushel 
compared with $5.66 last marketing year. Despite prospects for record 
production in the Southern Hemisphere and the increase in U.S. stocks, 
soybean prices will likely remain strong in the second half of the 
year, reflecting relatively high corn prices.
    For 2007/2008, high corn prices relative to soybeans likely will 
cause a sharp swing away from soybean planting. We expect a reduction 
in soybean planted area of about 5 million acres. Lower planted area, 
combined with trend yields, would result in production below expected 
use; consequently, carryover levels would decline significantly. 
Reduced production, lower stocks, and high corn prices should keep 
soybean prices strong into 2007/2008.
    The U.S. corn market in 2006/2007 is expected to see a second year 
of declining carryover as ending stocks fall markedly from 2005/2006. 
Corn prices have risen sharply since September 2006 when the market 
began to reflect the extraordinary ongoing expansion in corn-based 
ethanol production capacity. Additional factors supporting the rapid 
rise in corn prices have been the decline in 2006-crop corn acreage and 
yield and strong export demand. Farm-level corn prices are expected to 
average $3.20 per bushel this marketing year, up substantially from 
$2.00 per bushel last year. The increase in prices nearly eliminated 
loan deficiency payments (LDPs) and marketing loan gains (MLGs) for 
2006-crop corn. As of March 2007, LDPs and MLGs totaled only $3 million 
on 2006-crop corn with all of these payments occurring in the first 
weeks of the marketing year. For the 2005 crop, LDPs and MLGs totaled 
$4.6 billion, with 97 percent of that year's production receiving an 
average payment of $0.42 per bushel.
    Biofuels is now the most important influence on corn and other crop 
markets. Ethanol production this marketing year is expected to account 
for 20 percent of U.S. corn production. The USDA's long-term 
projections to 2016, released on February 14, 2007, project ethanol 
production will account for 30 percent of corn use by 2009/2010 and 
drive corn prices to $3.75 per bushel. Biodiesel production has 
increased from less than a half million gallons in 1999 to over 225 
million in 2006, equivalent to 8 percent of soybean oil production.
    In 2004, ethanol accounted for about 2 percent of motor gasoline 
use in the United States on a volume basis. Under the Department of 
Energy's Annual Energy Outlook 2007, ethanol use is expected to grow to 
over 7 percent of motor gasoline use by 2010. The USDA projections to 
2016 put corn-based ethanol production at 11 billion gallons by 2010/
2011. This would be a 3-fold increase in corn ethanol production since 
2004/2005.
    As a result of higher prices and returns for corn fueled by the 
expansion in ethanol use, corn area is expected to expand by about 9 
million acres in 2007. Much of this increase will come from soybeans. 
Additionally, area for cotton, hay, and other crops are all expected to 
decline to meet the demand for more corn production. Even with higher 
acreage and production, corn ending stocks are likely to tighten again 
in 2007/2008 and remain at relatively tight levels in the coming years 
as ethanol demand continues to be strong.
    The 2006/2007 wheat market reflects tighter world supplies, but 
continued strong demand. U.S. wheat stocks at the end of this marketing 
year are projected to decline from their levels in 2005/2006 as a 
result of weather problems that reduced yields in 2006. Farm prices are 
forecast to average $4.25 per bushel, up from $3.42 in 2005/2006 and 
$3.40 in 2004/2005. Prices in 2006/2007 have been boosted by weather 
problems in the United States and in Australia that reduced this year's 
production. Wheat prices have also benefited from rising corn prices.
    For 2007/2008, wheat acreage, which has been trending downward over 
the past 25 years, is expected to increase by nearly 3 million acres 
due to higher prices last fall that encouraged more seeding of winter 
wheat. Heavy fall rains limited seeding in the eastern Corn Belt, but 
the area is up for all classes of winter wheat. Yield prospects for the 
2007 crop remain favorable at this time as winter storms have brought 
much needed precipitation to the Central and Southern Plains. Global 
wheat production prospects are also good with most major wheat 
producing countries expected to expand acreage in 2007 because of 
strong prices. Weather in most of the major-producing countries has 
remained favorable for winter seeded crops. This suggests global wheat 
production will rise in 2007/2008. Based on trend yields, U.S. wheat 
production is expected to rebound in 2007, hitting its highest level 
since 2003. Despite higher expected demand, especially for feeding, 
ending stocks are expected to increase. Prices, however, are expected 
to be higher than in 2006/2007 as higher corn prices put a floor under 
wheat feeding value.
    U.S. cotton production fell 9 percent in 2006/2007 from the 
previous year's record, however, carryover stocks are still expected to 
rise for the third consecutive year and reach nearly 9 million bales. 
The increase is the result of declining domestic textile mill use and 
cotton exports. U.S. cotton mill use continues to trend down as textile 
mill activity continues to move offshore. Mill use this year is 
forecast at 5 million bales, compared with 5.9 million last season. 
Exports are forecast to decline by over 20 percent from last year's 
record to 14.0 million bales. Lower exports are due mainly to reduced 
import demand by China, the largest U.S. customer. Farm prices of 
cotton have been running about the same as year-ago levels. For 2007/
2008, lower acreage and production are expected to support prices. With 
the prospect of stronger exports due to rising world demand, ending 
stocks will likely decline.
    Tighter domestic rice supplies and higher global prices have helped 
to boost U.S. farm prices in 2006/2007. The global rice market is a 
major factor contributing to strong U.S. farm prices as global ending 
stocks are expected to be the lowest since 1983/1984 and the lowest 
stocks-to-use ratio since 1981/1982. The season-average-farm price is 
forecast at $9.85 per cwt, over $2 per cwt above the year earlier 
average price and the highest since 1996/1997. Rice ending stocks are 
forecast at 31 million cwt, down from carry-in stocks of 43 million 
cwt. Medium and short grain stocks, at about 8 million cwt, are the 
tightest since 1998/1999.
    A reduction in area in 2006 led to a decline in production. Higher 
fuel and fertilizer prices, difficulty acquiring bank loans, and 
weather-related problems in some areas--especially Louisiana and parts 
of Arkansas--accounted for much of the area decline in the South. A 
second consecutive cold, wet spring prevented California growers from 
boosting rice acreage, despite high prices and expectations of tight 
global supplies of medium-grain rice.
    On the demand side, impact in some markets from the discovery of 
trace elements of a genetically engineered strain of rice--Liberty Link 
Rice 601 (LL601)--in U.S. long-grain supplies and reduced production 
are behind expectations of weaker U.S. exports in 2006/2007--forecast 
at 102 million cwt, down 12 percent from the year earlier. Despite an 
expected drop in exports to Europe due to the European Union's 
rejection of U.S. rice due to LL601, U.S. exports to markets in the 
Western Hemisphere, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East are expected to 
be strong.
    For 2007/2008, U.S. farm prices of rice are expected to strengthen 
on continued tight domestic supplies and firm global prices. Planted 
area is expected to be about the same as 2006 with a rebound in 
California, but a reduction in area in the South. Higher net returns 
for competing crops--mostly corn, restrictions on the planting of 
Clearfield CL131 seed and low government payments could lead to reduced 
rice planted area in the South. Total use and ending stocks are 
expected to be about the same as 2006/2007.
    Farm program costs for the 2006 program crops are sharply lower due 
to higher grains and oilseeds prices. Counter-cyclical payments are 
projected at $1.5 billion, down from $4.7 billion from the 2005 crops. 
Outlays for 2006-crop marketing loan benefits are projected at $900 
million, down substantially from $6.3 billion for the 2005 crops. 
Program crop producers also receive more than $5.2 billion annually in 
direct payments.
    The 2006/2007 sugar market has differed from other crops this year 
as prices have declined, returning from the extreme highs attained when 
hurricanes drastically reduced supplies in 2005/2006. To meet this 
year's demand and help relieve market tightness, USDA increased import 
quotas above the minimums established under the World Trade 
Organization. However, 2006/2007 sugar imports, forecast at 2 million 
tons, would be down from 3.4 million tons last year.
    Farm sales of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and nursery and greenhouse 
products are expected to remain steady at $53 billion in 2007, 
accounting for 40 percent of all crop cash receipts. Fiscal year 2007 
U.S. horticultural exports are forecast at $18.4 billion and imports at 
$31.2 billion, indicating a continuing widening of the sector's 
traditional trade deficit.
Livestock & Livestock Products: Production, Demand, and Price
    Turning to livestock and poultry markets, U.S. red meat and poultry 
exports are expected to reach a record high in 2007. Pork exports are 
forecast to lead the way, increasing for the 17 consecutive year and 
exceeding 3.1 billion pounds carcass weight or 14.6 percent of 
production. After depressed sales in early 2006, poultry sales 
increased as foreign concerns about AI abated and United States broiler 
meat prices declined. Broiler exports likely will increase to 5.4 
billion pounds in 2007, but fall short of the record 5.6 billion pounds 
exported in 2001. Beef exports are expected to increase with the 
gradual expansion of exports to Japan and Korea. However, Korea's 
import restrictions and Japan's age limits on imported beef from the 
United States continue to limit growth. Although total beef exports are 
expected to increase 17 percent to 1.3 billion pounds in 2007, the 
level of exports will remain below the 2003 pre-bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy level of 2.5 billion pounds.
    Total U.S. production of meat and poultry is expected to be record-
high in calendar year 2007, but nearly flat growth in supplies of 
broiler meat are expected to support higher broiler prices and help 
maintain cattle and hog prices near last year's levels. For livestock 
and poultry producers, feed prices will be an important component of 
producer production decisions in the upcoming year.
    Beef production is currently forecast to increase 1.6 percent in 
2006 as both slaughter numbers increase. Slaughter weights could 
decline in 2006 due to higher feed prices. Steer prices will likely 
remain near last year's $85.41 per cwt and average $84-$89 per cwt. 
Poor forage conditions resulted in higher cow slaughter during 2006 as 
many producers lacked sufficient forage resources to support their 
herds. Herd expansion is expected to be slow as the January Cattle 
report indicated a small calf crop and producers expected to retain 0.5 
percent fewer heifers for addition to the beef breeding herd.
    Pork production in 2007 will expand about 2.6 percent, marking the 
7 year of expansion as producers continue to respond to favorable 
returns over the last several years. Given farrowing intentions 
reported in the most recent Hogs and Pigs report, inventories will 
continue to expand, albeit at slower rates. The increase in 2007 
production primarily will reflect increased slaughter as weight gains 
will be limited as producers respond to higher feed prices. Hog prices 
are expected to reflect the increased production, declining from 2006's 
$47.26 per cwt to average $45-47 per cwt.
    Broiler producers have endured several periods of low returns due 
to relatively low broiler prices in 2005 and 2006 and higher feed 
costs. Consequently, producers reduced chicks placed in 2006, resulting 
in the lowest rate of production growth since the early 1980s. 
Production growth in 2007 is expected to be even slower. With tighter 
broiler meat supplies, prices are expected to average 72-77 cents per 
pound in 2007, up 16 percent from 2006.
    Milk producers are expected to respond to higher feed prices and 
lower 2006 milk prices by modestly reducing cow inventories and as a 
result, the rate of growth of milk production in 2007 will be slower 
than in 2006. Production in 2006 increased almost 3 percent and the 
all-milk price declined to $12.90 per cwt from $15.15 per cwt in 2005. 
Output per cow in 2006 was affected by abnormally high temperatures in 
much of the country during the summer, but growth is expected to follow 
a more normal pattern in 2007. Demand for dairy products, both 
domestically and for export, is expected to remain relatively firm in 
2007. Commercial exports of nonfat dry milk and whey are likely to 
remain strong, reflecting limited supplies from competing exporters. 
Domestic demand for cheese and butter is also likely to remain firm, 
thus, prices of cheese, butter, nonfat dry milk, and whey are all 
forecast higher in 2007 and will support the all-milk price at $15.05-
$15.65 per cwt. With product prices above support, no Commodity Credit 
Corporation net removals are forecast.
Implications for the Financial Situation of U.S. Agriculture
    Net cash farm income declined to $66.7 billion in 2006 from the 
record and near record levels of 2004 and 2005 but is expected to be 
slightly higher at $67.2 billion in 2007. This year strong crop prices 
and a modest increase in livestock receipts are expected to lead to a 
$16 billion rise in cash receipts to a record-high $258.7 billion. This 
large increase in cash receipts is not translating into a large 
increase in net cash farm income because much of the increase in market 
receipts is expected to be offset by higher cash expenses and declining 
government payments.
    In 2005, government payments to producers were a record high $24.3 
billion, declined to $16.3 billion in 2006, and are expected to fall to 
$12.4 billion in 2007. In 2005, increased marketing loan costs, higher 
counter-cyclical payments, ad hoc disaster assistance, and tobacco 
program buyout payments, all contributed to higher government payments. 
Lower ad hoc disaster payments, marketing assistance loan outlays, and 
counter-cyclical payments will combine to reduce direct government 
payments in 2007, as they did in 2006.
    Cash production expenses are expected to rise 6 percent, or $12.2 
billion, in 2007 following increases of 5 percent in 2006 and 7 percent 
in 2005. Energy-related inputs (fertilizer, lime, fuels, oils, and 
electricity) increased by $1.9 billion in 2006 and are expected to rise 
by nearly $1 billion in 2007. Fuels and oils expenses are expected to 
moderate in 2007 as the Department of Energy projects that diesel 
prices in 2007 will fall by 1.8 percent from 2006.
    Farm household income is also expected to recover in 2007, after 
its first decline in 7 years in 2006. At over $80,700 in 2006, farm 
household income would still be 20 percent higher than in 2003 and well 
above the average of all U.S. households.
    Farm real estate values are expected to rise again in 2007, 
following a 7.5 percent gain in 2006. Another land value increase would 
continue the recent strong improvement in the farm sector balance 
sheet. The ratio of real estate value to net cash farm income, a 
concept similar to a price-to-earnings ratio, is forecast to remain 
high in 2007, near the highest level since the early 1980s. Between 
2003 and 2006, farm net worth went up by $510 billion or about $170 
billion per year, which is far more than the annual increase in farm 
income and farm debt. In 2007, increases in farm real estate values are 
expected to slow to 4.7 percent and farm net worth is expected to 
increase by $66 billion. Farm net worth is expected to reach another 
record high at $1.76 trillion by the end of 2007, and the debt-to-
equity ratio is forecast to remain at 13.4 percent, which would be the 
lowest on record.
    A return to slightly above average national farm income, for the 
second consecutive year, is likely to keep U.S. agriculture on a 
sustainable foundation. Most production sectors in U.S. agriculture are 
expected to see net cash income the same or higher in 2007, with hogs 
being the main exception. Farm prosperity in the coming year will be 
influenced by the durability of the United States foreign economic 
growth, oil prices, the value of the dollar, the ongoing biofuels 
production expansion and its impacts for feed costs, and trade-related 
animal health issues. The outcome of trade and farm bill negotiations 
will also be crucial determinants of the future direction of U.S. 
agriculture.

                    FISCAL YEAR 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

    The Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) advises the Secretary of 
Agriculture on the economic implications of USDA policies, programs and 
proposed legislation. OCE serves as the focal point for the Nation's 
agricultural economic intelligence and projections, risk analysis, 
global change issues, and cost-benefit analysis related to domestic and 
international food and agriculture, provides policy direction for the 
Department's bioenergy and biobased product programs, and is 
responsible for coordination, review and clearance of all commodity and 
aggregate agricultural and food-related data used to develop outlook 
and situation material within the Department.
    The OCE budget request for fiscal year 2008 is $11,347,000, which 
includes an increase of $360,000 for 2007 and 2008 pay costs. The 
budget request also includes an increase of $500,000 for the Methane-
to-Markets Initiative. The Methane-to-Markets Partnership is designed 
to promote cost-effective, near-term methane recovery internationally 
through partnerships with fourteen other countries, including Russia, 
China, the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil. Under this 
initiative, USDA will promote the international adoption of 
technologies to reduce methane emissions from animal waste systems and 
demonstrate United States leadership in reducing methane emissions.
    USDA support for the Methane-to-Markets Partnership will be used 
to: identify and promote areas of bilateral, multilateral, and private 
sector collaboration on methane recovery and use; develop emissions 
estimates and identify the largest relevant emission sources to 
facilitate project development; identify cost-effective opportunities 
to recover methane emissions and potential financing mechanisms to 
encourage investment; improve the legal, regulatory, financial, 
institutional and other conditions necessary to attract investment in 
methane recovery and utilization projects; identify and implement 
collaborative projects aimed at addressing specific challenges to 
methane recovery, such as raising awareness in key stakeholders, 
removing barriers to project development and implementation, 
identifying project opportunities, and demonstrating technologies; and 
develop and implement a process for evaluating progress and reporting 
results.
    That completes my comments and thank you. 

    
    
    
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of Phyllis K. Fong, Inspector General, Office of the 
                           Inspector General

    Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to the 
Subcommittee about the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) recent and 
ongoing audit and investigative work, and our fiscal year 2008 Budget 
Request.
    My testimony presents the highlights of our audit and investigative 
work for the period of March 2006-March 2007. OIG conducted extensive 
work in 2006 on important issues and USDA activities regarding food 
safety, the risks posed by plant and animal-based diseases, fraud that 
impairs vital nutrition and hurricane-relief programs, and financial 
management accountability within USDA agencies.
    To ensure that OIG devotes its resources to the most pressing 
issues and challenges facing USDA agencies, stakeholders, and 
consumers, we have formally prioritized our work and organized our 
resources according to three Strategic Goals. They are improving 
Safety, Security, and Public Health in USDA operations; enhancing 
Program Integrity in the many USDA benefit programs that touch the 
lives of your constituents; and oversight work regarding USDA's 
Management of Public Resources. This statement presents the key 
elements of our recent and current work to the Subcommittee under the 
framework of these three strategic priorities.

                  SAFETY, SECURITY, AND PUBLIC HEALTH

    One of OIG's top priorities is conducting independent and 
professional audits and investigations to protect the safety and 
security of USDA entities and the many agricultural stakeholders and 
consumers who benefit from USDA operations each day. In fiscal year 
2006, we issued 12 audit reports involving safety, security, and public 
health issues related to USDA programs and operations. During the 
fiscal year, OIG referred a total of 120 cases for prosecution.
Assessing the Performance of Consumer Safety Inspectors in Meat and 
        Poultry Establishments
    In our prior audits we determined that the Food Safety and 
Inspection Service's (FSIS) management control system needed 
strengthening to ensure accountability of consumer safety inspector 
performance. A key component of the FSIS management control system is 
the In-Plant Performance System (IPPS), which was established to 
strengthen supervision and improve inspector accountability. In 
response to several OIG audits, FSIS has cited IPPS reviews as a 
critical measure to improve monitoring of food safety at meat and 
poultry establishments.
    In our most recent audit of this area, issued in 2006, we evaluated 
the adequacy of agency policy and procedures related to preparing for, 
executing, and monitoring IPPS reviews. FSIS did not require 
supervisors to complete and/or document the completion of all IPPS 
review procedures when evaluating inspectors. In 84 percent of the 
inspector assessments OIG reviewed, certain elements of inspector 
duties--some of which could be considered critical \1\--were not 
addressed. We found that FSIS did not have a system to schedule and 
track the completion of IPPS reviews and supervisors were not required 
to use the extensive guidance available to help them prepare for the 
reviews. As a result, supervisors had not used significant segments of 
the guidance to enhance their onsite review of consumer safety 
inspectors.
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    \1\ Such as hazard analysis and critical control point system 
procedures.
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    FSIS agreed to closely monitor field managers and supervisors 
involved in the IPPS process, analyze IPPS review data, and 
periodically evaluate the IPPS review process. FSIS also agreed to 
revise its guidance to require supervisors to examine specific data 
sources and system reports before performing an IPPS review and 
complete and provide narratives for all IPPS review elements during an 
inspector's performance rating period.
Improving Pathogen Reduction Testing in Meat and Poultry Establishments
    The Pathogen Reduction Enforcement Program (PREP) is a system used 
to support FSIS' pathogen reduction efforts by scheduling 
microbiological product sampling at FSIS-inspected meat and poultry 
establishments and generating automated reports that allow FSIS 
managers to monitor both the sampling process and the results of 
laboratory tests.
    OIG evaluated the effectiveness of FSIS' process for scheduling and 
conducting microbiological testing of meat and poultry products. We 
found that in the testing programs for the adulterants E. coli 0157:H7 
and Listeria monocytogenes, FSIS had developed procedures to transfer 
establishment data from the Performance Based Inspection System (PBIS) 
to the PREP (two separate systems) and was selecting the identified 
meat and poultry establishments for testing within reasonable 
timeframes.
    However, we found that Salmonella testing program controls needed 
strengthening to ensure that all applicable establishments are included 
in the universe for microbiological testing. A significant number of 
establishments were excluded from Salmonell a testing due to 
ineffective processes for identifying establishments eligible for 
testing. FSIS district office personnel did not fully understand the 
process for inserting/updating establishments into the testing 
database. In one district we visited, 28 percent of the establishments 
subject to Salmonella testing were excluded from testing. We also found 
that establishments whose slaughter or processing activity falls below 
a specific threshold or produces non-intact beef products (such as raw 
ground beef sausages and meatballs) were also excluded from the 
universe for testing.
    We recommended that FSIS strengthen its procedures to ensure that 
all establishments subject to Salmonella testing are identified and 
modify PBIS to allow PREP to draw establishment information for testing 
from PBIS rather than depend on manual updates. The agency should 
develop a risk assessment to support its policy for excluding low-
volume establishments from Salmonella testing or conduct testing in all 
plants. Further, FSIS should obtain scientific advice to evaluate 
whether its policy of not testing certain raw ground beef products for 
E. coli O157:H7 contamination should be continued. FSIS officials 
generally agreed with OIG's findings and recommendations.
Assessing FSIS Oversight of State Meat and Poultry Inspection Programs
    FSIS has oversight responsibility for State meat and poultry 
inspection (MPI) programs to ensure that meat and poultry products sold 
intrastate meet inspection standards ``at least equal to'' \2\ Federal 
laws and regulations. OIG initiated a review to examine the 
effectiveness of FSIS management controls and procedures to ensure that 
State MPI programs were ``at least equal to'' Federal inspection 
programs.
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    \2\ As established by the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the 
Poultry Products Inspection Act.
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    We determined that FSIS was not providing timely oversight of State 
MPI programs. From October 2003 through June 2005, FSIS had conducted 
only 8 initial onsite reviews from a total of 28 State MPI programs. 
After our fieldwork began and since July 2005, FSIS initiated reviews 
of 16 more State MPI programs and developed plans to conduct the 4 
remaining reviews prior to the end of fiscal year 2006. Completing the 
review process is important, especially since four of the eight 
programs initially reviewed needed corrective actions to achieve ``at 
least equal to'' Federal standards.\3\
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    \3\ FSIS issued a report in January 2007 that contained the results 
of all 28 reviews.
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    Moreover, FSIS had not performed timely onsite fiscal reviews and 
reviews of new programs and did not timely implement its year-end grant 
closeout procedures to ensure that State MPI programs promptly returned 
any excess Federal funds. FSIS had not recovered $260,201 in excess 
Federal funds from one State for fiscal year 2004. In this State, 
during fiscal year 1997-2004, unnecessary interest costs of 
approximately $100,000 were incurred by the Federal Government because 
the State retained unused Federal funds.
    OIG made numerous program improvement recommendations based upon 
this audit. We recommended that FSIS establish criteria to determine 
how deficiencies in meat processing establishments affect State 
acceptability determinations. FSIS should analyze the staffing 
requirements of State MPI programs and confirm that laboratories adhere 
to standards ``at least equal to'' Federal requirements. The agency 
needs to eliminate the backlog of onsite fiscal reviews and perform 
timely, year-end grant closeouts of State MPI programs and seek prompt 
recovery of $260,201 from the identified State MPI program. FSIS 
responded positively to OIG's recommendations, and management decision 
was reached on 6 of the 12 recommendations.
The USDA Response to Avian Influenza
    The emergence of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) as a 
potential pandemic has rapidly changed the environment in which the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) operates. The 
November 1, 2005, issuance of the President's strategy for the 
preparation, detection, and response to a pandemic accelerated APHIS' 
actions in dealing with AI. The strategy recognizes roles for all 
segments of society, including Federal, State, local and Tribal 
governments, private industry, international trade partners, and 
individual citizens.
    In our June 2006 review of APHIS' oversight of Avian Influenza 
(AI), we concluded that APHIS has made commendable progress in 
developing plans and establishing the networks necessary to prepare 
for, and respond to, outbreaks of AI. However, APHIS had not yet 
developed a comprehensive approach for surveillance and monitoring of 
AI in domestic poultry. APHIS relies on a variety of voluntary State 
and commercial programs to monitor and test domestic poultry and wild 
birds. Because these programs are voluntary, APHIS did not know the 
extent of surveillance activity in place and was not gathering 
consistent data to properly detect changes in epidemiological 
parameters (e.g., subtype of AI or rate of prevalence) or to report 
incidents of AI in accordance with new international trade 
requirements.
    In regard to USDA's National AI Preparedness and Response Plan, OIG 
found that APHIS needed to provide additional guidance on preparing and 
responding to HPAI or notifiable AI outbreaks in live bird markets or 
other ``off farm'' environments.\4\ APHIS also needed to clarify 
actions that employees should take in obtaining and administering 
necessary vaccines and anti-virals in the event that a culling 
operation for HPAI occurs. Finally, APHIS needed to finalize 
interagency coordination on the process and procedures for notifying 
owners of susceptible animals of the current infectivity risks and the 
necessary protective actions they should take when an outbreak of AI 
occurs. In its response, APHIS described a number of initiatives 
planned and in process to address our concerns.
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    \4\ The plan is intended to complement regional, State, and 
industry plans that are written to be more specific to local issues and 
needs. States should continue to develop plans that are specific to 
their poultry industries and requirements. The USDA/APHIS plan will 
evolve as additional information and experience is gained.
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    OIG currently has a related audit underway. We are evaluating the 
effectiveness of APHIS' implementation of the Homeland Security 
Council's National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (issued May 2006). 
We will also follow up with the agency on its corrective actions 
responding to our prior audit.
Targeting the Smuggling of Animals and Plant Products
    The smuggling of animals and animal/plant products into the United 
States is of significant concern. The smuggling of these products 
presents both a human health risk and a risk to the United States' 
animal and plant populations because of the potential for the 
transmission of disease.
    OIG works closely with USDA regulatory agencies such as APHIS and 
FSIS that enforce standards for the importation for meat, poultry, and 
live animals into the United States. As stated in our testimony before 
the Subcommittee last year, OIG works with USDA agencies to achieve a 
balance among risk mitigation efforts, regulatory investigations, and 
criminal investigations when such products are smuggled into the United 
States. To achieve this goal, we have been working to establish 
protocols to clarify each USDA agency's role in response to smuggling. 
We anticipate the Department will issue these protocols this summer.
    One of the groups in which OIG is participating is an interagency 
working group comprised of both regulatory and law enforcement agencies 
from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of 
Justice, and the Department of Interior. While the initial objective of 
this working group was to improve smuggling investigations concerning 
HPAI, OIG's participation has also improved our investigative 
capabilities to respond to smuggling investigations involving any type 
of prohibited product. The inter-agency working group fostered 
productive relationships and communications between OIG and those 
departments and more clearly defined our respective roles.
    OIG participated in a joint investigation at the Port of Newark 
known as ``Operation Fowl Play.'' The investigation led to the seizure 
of approximately 1 million pounds of prohibited poultry, fowl, meat, 
pork, vegetables, fruit, and other merchandise over several months. The 
investigation, which began in 2005, involved several New York based 
companies responsible for importing these products from China.
Preparing for Agricultural Emergency Situations and Wildland Fire 
        Fatalities
    OIG's Emergency Response Team (ERT) and Wildland Fire Investigation 
Team (WFIT) engaged in training and were both actively deployed in 
fiscal year 2006. The ERT has the capability to safely and effectively 
respond to criminal acts that could threaten or compromise the United 
States' food supply, agricultural infrastructure, or USDA facilities. 
The WFIT is responsible for conducting an independent investigation 
into the deaths of any Forest Service (FS) firefighters who are killed 
as a result of a burnover or entrapment. We thank the Members of the 
Subcommittee for your continued support of these important programs.
    During 2006, ERT members participated in several tabletop exercises 
concerning AI and Foot and Mouth Disease, attended Food Defense 
Exercises, and State and local emergency preparedness meetings. Our ERT 
works with various Federal, State, and local agencies to educate them 
about the assistance and resources OIG can provide when an agriculture-
related incident occurs. Coordination with and outreach to our 
counterparts at the State and local level is vital to build the skills 
and partnerships necessary for effective, multilevel government 
responses to agricultural emergencies.
    During the execution of a search warrant in one investigation in 
2006, the ERT assisted with the identification and depopulation of game 
fowl at an illegal cockfighting pit in Oklahoma. Birds utilized in 
animal fighting competitions present a health risk to humans and 
animals because the birds may carry infectious diseases such as Exotic 
Newcastle Disease and AI.
    Our WFIT members undergo extensive training to gain the skills and 
experience necessary to conduct wildland fire-related 
investigations.\5\ The OIG agents comprising the WFIT attend the FS' 
Basic Fire Academy that incorporates training in Incident Command, 
Basic Wildfire Suppression Orientation, Firefighter Training, 
Introduction to Wildland Fire, and Interagency Serious Accident 
Investigation Training. In October 2006, WFIT members responded to the 
Esperanza Fire that claimed the lives of five FS fire engine crew 
members near Cabazon, California. WFIT members arrived at the site 
within 24 hours of the fatalities to begin organizing their 
investigation. OIG's investigation of the circumstances leading to the 
Esperanza Fire deaths is ongoing.
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    \5\  Public Law 107-203, enacted July 24, 2002, established the 
statutory requirement for a USDA-OIG investigation of FS fatalities 
occurring due to wildland fires.
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The Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program
    APHIS administers the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program 
(BTEP) that was established in 1917 to eliminate bovine tuberculosis 
(TB) in the United States. Because of concerns we previously identified 
regarding the agency's systemic classification and testing of relevant 
TB cases in one State, OIG conducted a more comprehensive audit of 
APHIS' administrative controls over BTEP. We found that APHIS had made 
improvements to BTEP since the Secretary's Emergency Declaration in 
October 2000,\6\ but weaknesses in oversight made it difficult for the 
agency to timely detect and eradicate the disease. APHIS' status 
system--important because it dictates the extent of Federal testing and 
movement controls for cattle in each State or zone--did not capture 
most TB cases. From fiscal year 2001 through 2005, 272 TB-infected 
cattle were detected through slaughter surveillance, but APHIS excluded 
96 percent from the status system because it could not locate the 
source herd or find an additional infected animal in that herd. 
Approximately 75 percent of the TB-infected cattle detected through 
slaughter surveillance originated in Mexico, and these animals spent 
months at U.S. farms and feedlots with no restrictions to prevent 
commingling with domestic cattle. Mexican cattle are tested before 
entry, but APHIS had not established controls to compensate for the 3- 
to2 month TB incubation period.
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    \6\  The emergency declaration authorized the transfer of $44.1 
million from emergency contingency funds to APHIS to expand the TB 
eradication program.
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    We recommended that APHIS perform program reviews periodically; 
review and approve States' annual and monthly reports and use them to 
assess/minimize areas of highest risk; enhance its two key BTEP control 
functions (the status classification and slaughter surveillance 
systems); and strengthen movement/testing controls to address the 
disease's incubation period. The agencies agreed to take corrective 
actions based on our findings and recommendations.
Agricultural Inspection Efforts on the U.S. Border
    With the creation of DHS in March 2003, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) assumed responsibility to inspect agricultural goods 
arriving at U.S. ports while APHIS retained responsibility for 
agriculture related policies and procedures. We issued a report in 
February 2007 from our joint review with DHS-OIG of border inspection 
issues. We assessed selected agricultural inspection activities that 
were transferred to CBP.
    Our joint review found that CBP generally complied with 
agricultural inspection requirements at the ports we visited. However, 
improvements are needed regarding risk identification activities. CBP's 
sampling for Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring (AQIM)--
which helps USDA predict future risks to agriculture from pests/
diseases--did not meet sampling requirements for 13 of 18 pathway 
activities at four ports.\7\ CBP also lacks a current staffing model 
for agriculture specialists and performance measures for many 
activities that would ensure personnel are used effectively.
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    \7\ Such as air passengers and truck cargo AQIM inspections.
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    APHIS officials agreed to develop a risk assessment process for 
incoming rail cargo. However, agency officials cite operational 
difficulties (such as obtaining timely cargo manifests) as a barrier to 
developing a workable system. APHIS has not yet issued policies and 
uniform procedures to clearly define how transportation/export 
shipments will be monitored. We also found that APHIS needs to issue 
instructions to CBP clarifying APHIS policy on labeling and packaging 
seized agricultural products.
        protecting and improving the integrity of usda programs
    OIG's second strategic priority is audit and investigative work to 
protect the integrity and efficiency of USDA programs and benefits. A 
substantial amount of OIG's audit and investigation resources in fiscal 
year 2006 were focused on Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management 
Agency (RMA) programs and operations. OIG continues to work to combat 
fraud and deter criminal activity in farm programs, such as payment 
limitations, crop insurance, and conversion of mortgaged property.
    Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs providing food assistance 
to needy Americans is a major portion of USDA's annual budget--the Food 
Stamp Program helps over 26 million people each month, and 15.5 million 
children receive a free or reduced-price school lunch. Fraud in FNS 
programs such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Food Stamp, 
and the Children and Adult Care Feeding Programs remains a high 
priority for OIG.
USDA Compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act
    Within USDA, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) is 
designated as the lead agency for coordinating and reporting on the 
Department's efforts to implement the Improper Payments Information Act 
(IPIA). OCFO has designated IPIA compliance as a top priority for 
fiscal year 2007.
    To determine the Department's compliance with IPIA, OIG initiated 
audits of four USDA agencies in fiscal year 2006--FSA, FS, Rural 
Development's (RD) Rural Housing Service (RHS), and the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Our objectives included 
reviewing agency efforts to quantify improper payments for high risk 
programs, assessing agency corrective actions related to our previous 
audits, and substantiating agency results reported in USDA's 
Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2005.
    Our audits revealed significant findings on agency compliance with 
IPIA. OIG found that valid statistical samples had not been performed 
for three of the four agencies reviewed. Improper payments reported in 
fiscal year 2005 were not properly calculated and the estimated 
improper payments reported in fiscal year 2005 did not always include 
payments made to ineligible recipients. We determined that corrective 
actions were too narrow in scope and ineffective in addressing our 
prior findings. OCFO generally agreed with our recommendations to 
correct these conditions and we are working with agencies to improve 
their implementation of IPIA requirements. OIG is currently auditing 
several USDA agencies to assess their efforts to quantify improper 
payment error rates for high risk programs.
Farm Programs--Improving Agency Controls to Prevent Loans to Ineligible 
        Recipients
    When farmers and ranchers are unable to repay their Farm Loan 
Programs (FLP) loans in full, Congress requires that FSA consider them 
ineligible for future loans. Using data-mining techniques, we reviewed 
the approximately 139,000 loans active in FSA's database (as of the 
beginning of fiscal year 2005) to isolate 239 borrowers who were 
potentially ineligible for having received prior debt forgiveness. Our 
detailed review of six potentially ineligible borrowers revealed that 
three were, in fact, ineligible and should not have received FLP loans. 
FSA subsequently reviewed all 239 borrowers and ultimately found 113 
loans totaling over $7.5 million, issued during 1999-2004, were 
ineligible. In general, we determined that the unauthorized assistance 
occurred because FLP loan officials did not follow established 
procedures for determining applicants' eligibility and FSA's automated 
management tools lacked the applicants' complete debt history.
    FSA took action to collect the 113 ineligible loans as appropriate. 
Further, FSA issued guidance to help employees determine whether 
applicants have received prior FLP debt forgiveness and is developing a 
new automated system that will automatically display applicants' 
complete debt histories. FSA is currently pilot testing the new system 
at two State offices and plans to implement it nationwide.
Improving the Integrity of the Crop Insurance Program
    Due to continuing concerns about costs incurred by the Federal crop 
insurance program, OIG conducted an overview of the program. In 
collaboration with FSA and RMA, OIG identified conditions that are 
often associated with fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
    We identified two major factors that must be in place to enhance 
the integrity of the crop insurance program: effective management 
controls to ensure program operations are meeting program objectives 
and aggressive enforcement through criminal investigations and agency 
compliance reviews.
    Based on this overview and our discussions with FSA/RMA about the 
current state of the crop insurance program, we presented a series of 
recommendations that are consistent with OIG's prior work. Among other 
recommendations, we found that agency officials should accelerate plans 
to create a single comprehensive information system for crop insurance, 
conservation, and farm programs; increase coordination and 
communication between RMA and FSA to ensure more effective growing 
season inspections; and strengthen RMA's oversight and monitoring of 
the private sector's application of the quality control review system.
Investigating Fraud in USDA Farm Programs
    A recent OIG investigation resulted in a Montana producer and a 
former loan officer being sentenced for a scheme in which the producer 
filed false claims with FSA in order to receive program payments. The 
producer circumvented program payment limitations to fraudulently 
receive $1.4 million. The private loan officer provided false financial 
documents to FSA regarding the other partners' participation in the 
farming operation. In July 2006, the producer was sentenced to serve 10 
months in Federal prison and ordered to pay $226,035 in restitution. 
The former loan officer was sentenced the following month to a period 
of home confinement and probation.
    Another OIG investigation into potential farm program fraud 
resulted in orders to repay the Government over $1 million and the 
sentencing of two individuals and three corporations in 2006. Our 
investigation revealed that two individuals and three corporations in 
the Texas panhandle fraudulently obtained approximately $400,000 in RMA 
crop insurance indemnity payments and FSA disaster program payments by 
shifting their unreported cotton production for program payment 
purposes. The producers assigned their hidden cotton production to 
other established accounts at a cotton gin owned by one of the 
individuals. A producer and two corporations were sentenced in August 
2006. The producer was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, followed 
by 36 months' supervised release, and was ordered to pay approximately 
$331,000 in restitution. The corporations each received sentences of 60 
months of probation and were ordered to pay restitution totaling 
approximately $331,000. In September 2006, the second individual and 
the remaining corporation were both sentenced to 60 months of probation 
and were ordered to pay restitution of $362,775, severally and jointly.
    A third OIG investigation involving farm program fraud resulted in 
the repayment of $1,085,000 to FSA. The Idaho producer involved 
received 3 years of probation and 80 hours of community service. The 
producer's son was also sentenced to 3 years probation and was fined 
$4,000. The sentence included a joint restitution order of $1,085,000 
imposed on the two defendants. The OIG investigation disclosed that the 
mother and son converted 305 head of cattle pledged as collateral to 
FSA. They pled guilty in May 2006 to theft/conversion of FSA 
collateral. FSA also has a lien against their property that is valued 
at more than $1 million.
USDA Food Programs--FNS Oversight of Electronic Benefits Transfer 
        Operations
    In fiscal year 2007, FNS estimates that Food Stamp benefits of 
about $30 billion will be provided to over 25 million participants. 
State agencies now deliver Food Stamp Program (FSP) benefits almost 
entirely through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems using EBT 
benefit cards issued to recipients. OIG has monitored and audited the 
implementation of EBT by FNS and States since the system's inception in 
the 1990s. We recently issued a follow-up audit to evaluate corrective 
actions FNS has taken in response to our prior audits and to ensure 
adequate agency oversight of EBT systems.
    We concluded that FNS oversight of EBT operations was generally 
effective. However, despite FNS requirements to safeguard EBT systems, 
inadequate control over State agency access to the system remains a 
problem. Based on our earlier work, FNS had agreed to strengthen 
procedures for controlling access to State EBT systems and directed 
States to conduct semiannual reviews of employee access. However, FNS 
did not independently confirm that States adequately controlled access.
    EBT trafficking through the illegal and unauthorized use of Point 
of Sale (POS) equipment is another system vulnerability. Unscrupulous 
retailers have circumvented the EBT security controls by fraudulently 
obtaining new equipment and/or illegally moving existing machines to 
unauthorized locations. Our September 2006 report found that in their 
contract proposals to acquire EBT systems, States were not required to 
consider equipment functionality and/or technological specifications 
that could prevent the illegal removal and unauthorized use of existing 
EBT POS equipment.
    Based on our audit, FNS agreed to take steps to ensure that States 
limit unauthorized access to EBT systems and to require States to 
implement, via the EBT contract, formal processes during POS equipment 
replacement to prevent retailers from fraudulently obtaining equipment.
    This year, we will conduct further audits regarding FNS oversight 
of EBT systems. Our work will include reviewing FNS oversight of the 
largest private EBT processor and two State agencies.
Investigations of EBT Trafficking
    OIG devotes extensive resources to investigate unscrupulous 
retailers who circumvent EBT security controls by fraudulently 
obtaining new equipment and/or illegally moving existing machines to 
unauthorized locations. In our Food Stamp Program investigative work, 
we focus our resources on high impact cases, such as those involving 
large-scale traffickers, those with potential connections to terrorist 
activity, and cases involving additional types of criminal activities 
beyond benefit fraud.\8\ Comparing our final fiscal year 2006 
investigative statistics to the prior fiscal year, the number of food 
stamp trafficking investigations we opened increased from 77 to 84; the 
number we referred to DOJ increased from 21 to 31; and the number of 
indictments resulting from OIG food stamp investigations increased from 
70 to 146.
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    \8\ Examples would be food safety concerns affecting public heath, 
such as contaminated food or black-market WIC products.
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    EBT fraud cases are very complex investigations, so OIG worked in 
2006 to develop and conduct training focused on improving methods to 
detect and analyze trends indicating fraud. OIG is creating a database 
that will capture vital information regarding EBT trafficking 
investigations to identify large scale fraud networks.
    OIG has initiated numerous investigations as a result of our 
collaborative efforts with multiple Federal and local law enforcement 
agencies. A major OIG food stamp fraud investigation resulted in a 
Chicago grocery store owner being sentenced in August 2006 to 51 months 
in prison and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution. The store 
owner pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Two months 
earlier, the store owner pled guilty in Federal court in Florida to 
conspiracy for providing funding to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in 
violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The store 
owner had conspired with other persons and unauthorized stores to 
conduct thousands of illegal electronic food stamp benefit 
transactions.
Expanding Efforts to Deter WIC Fraud
    WIC is a vital Federal program to provide supplemental foods and 
nutrition education to lower-income pregnant, breast-feeding, and 
postpartum women, and infants and children who are at nutritional risk.
    The main product purchased with WIC vouchers is infant formula. 
Theft rings around the country are stealing, re-labeling, and reselling 
infant formula. When infant formula is stolen, it is taken out of the 
regulated retail system, and there can be no guarantee the formula is 
safe and wholesome. In response to this growing concern, OIG is 
expanding alliances with State and local law enforcement agencies to 
better coordinate jurisdictional investigative efforts into broader 
regional efforts. Our ultimate objective is to develop a national 
initiative that will enable OIG to track and maintain records of stolen 
infant formula incidents across the United States.
    A recent OIG infant formula investigation involved an Ohio 
furniture store owner who led a nationwide network that trafficked in 
stolen merchandise and food stamps through inner-city markets. The 
stolen merchandise included infant formula, diabetic blood glucose test 
strips, and over-the-counter medications. The stolen merchandise was 
transported to wholesalers and warehouses in States including Indiana, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Florida, and California. The store owner 
and 24 other individuals were charged with crimes ranging from food 
stamp trafficking to transportation of stolen property and money 
laundering. During 2005-2006, 21 individuals have pled guilty or were 
found guilty, including the leader of the criminal organization. 
Sentences imposed on the defendants ranged from 8 months to 11 years, 
and monetary judgments and restitutions totaled over $2.7 million. On 
February 20, 2007, two of the three store owners involved in the scheme 
in Wisconsin pled guilty to false statements and conspiracy; the third 
is awaiting trial. This was a joint investigation with the FBI and the 
Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
    A second OIG infant formula investigation determined that a 
Pennsylvania convenience store owner was trafficking in food stamps and 
operating and engaging in an unlicensed money transmitting business. 
From 2001 to May 2006, the store owner transmitted more than $7 million 
without the license required by Federal and State law. The store owner 
bought and sold stolen goods such as infant formula, drug 
paraphernalia, and counterfeit cigarettes and music CDs. The store 
owner pled guilty in Federal court in November 2006 to operating an 
unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to forfeit over 
$252,000. This investigation was part of a taskforce that included OIG 
agents and several other Federal and State enforcement agencies (FBI, 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service, IRS, and the 
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue).
The OIG Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Audit Oversight and 
        Investigative Support
    During last year's testimony, we discussed USDA's role in the 
Federal recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. OIG 
continues to work with the President's Council on Integrity and 
Efficiency (PCIE) and DHS working groups to coordinate related 
investigative efforts and thereby maximize Federal investigative 
resources and prevent duplicative efforts. We coordinated efforts with 
both the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) OIG and 
DHS-OIG to develop computer matching agreements with RHS. These 
agreements facilitate the ability of the participants to identity 
improper and fraudulent disaster assistance payments. Data matching is 
a highly effective tool in disaster assistance payment investigations 
for all of the agencies involved.
    OIG special agents are working Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force 
investigations in the Gulf Coast region. We continue to receive 
referrals throughout the country on individuals who have submitted 
false claims or provided false statements to obtain Federal benefits 
for which they were not entitled. At this time, as hurricane 
reconstruction efforts in the Gulf Coast region continue, OIG has begun 
receiving investigative referrals from FSA and RD that involve larger 
monetary amounts of fraud or theft and more complex fraud cases.
    A recent example of our hurricane relief investigative work 
involved an Illinois woman who obtained at least $23,000 in Hurricane 
Katrina housing, food stamps, and cash assistance for which she was not 
entitled. OIG worked with the Postal Service's OIG to determine that 
the individual never resided in Louisiana or Mississippi and thus would 
not have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. The individual sought 
benefits for non-existent family members. She pled guilty in October 
2006 to mail fraud and false statements and was sentenced in January 
2007 to 48 months in Federal prison, followed by 36 months of 
supervised release, and was ordered to pay $23,982 in restitution.
    We have also committed significant audit resources to conduct 
reviews of the Department's hurricane relief efforts. In view of the 
substantial Federal funds appropriated for hurricane disaster relief, a 
continuing concern for both program managers and the Congress is the 
potential for excessive or duplicative payments to individuals in 
hurricane-affected communities.
    In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, RD--through RHS--
placed 11,000 evacuees into 4,100 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) apartment 
units in 45 States and provided $2.6 million in emergency rental 
assistance. OIG evaluated RHS management controls for multifamily 
housing funds targeted for disaster assistance. We found that most 
residents placed in RRH apartments needed only adequate housing and not 
rental assistance because the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) was already providing financial assistance. As a result, much of 
the $2.6 million provided by RHS duplicated FEMA assistance.
    Specifically, our review determined that RHS' database system 
contained generally inaccurate/incomplete information on hurricane 
victims and the amount of rental assistance they received. Some 
property owners required tenants to pay rent even though the owner had 
already received rental assistance directly from RHS. The agency was 
also not able to identify victims who used the FEMA identifying numbers 
of other individuals to obtain housing assistance. OIG found that some 
property owners had reclassified existing tenants as hurricane victims 
even though the tenants had no change in income or other circumstances. 
This resulted in unnecessary RRH rental assistance to the tenants.
    RHS agreed to improve its information system and related management 
controls. To better prepare for future disaster situations, the agency 
is implementing corrective actions regarding coordinating its actions 
and information with other Federal agencies providing housing 
assistance.
    This year, we will continue our oversight work regarding USDA's 
response to major hurricanes. OIG currently has 11 audits in process 
pertaining to the Department's hurricane relief operations, including 
reviews of FNS' Disaster Food Stamp Program payments in five hurricane-
affected States and RMA controls to provide hurricane victims in 
Florida with timely and accurate indemnity payments.
Assessing USDA Trade Programs and Operations
    In 2002, the Farm Bill and the President's Management Agenda (PMA) 
established a number of new goals and requirements for the Foreign 
Agricultural Service (FAS), the agency charged with coordinating USDA's 
international activities. The 2002 Farm Bill's trade section contained 
13 provisions affecting FAS programs, including export credit 
guarantees, market development, export enhancement, food aid 
development, and technical barriers to trade. OIG initiated a review to 
determine the status of FAS' efforts to implement the 2002 Farm Bill's 
trade and food aid programs and to evaluate the agency's efforts to 
address problems that the PMA identified in food aid programs.
    We found that FAS took prompt action to implement 10 out of the 13 
Farm Bill trade provisions within 1 year of enactment. However, FAS has 
not developed a business process to ensure that the Farm Bill's global 
market strategy requirements--coordinating USDA resources and programs 
with other Federal agencies to identify export opportunities and remove 
trade barriers--are being met on a global basis. FAS managers have 
followed a strategy of supporting agricultural exporters (referred to 
as ``cooperators'') when implementing their individual country and 
regional market strategies. In our view, such efforts have not been 
sufficiently integrated to produce a focused, global strategy that 
would allow FAS to effectively identify and react to changing trends in 
global markets. The U.S. share of global agricultural exports declined 
from 22 percent to 9.7 percent during 1984-2005, yet FAS officials do 
not believe that a central planning process or formal global marketing 
strategy is necessary.
    The PMA cited several problems in U.S. food aid programs, including 
program duplication between FAS and the U.S. Agency for International 
Development (USAID) that wasted donated food supplies and excessive 
administrative/transportation costs. OIG found that FAS has 
strengthened its program planning and improved consultation and 
coordination with USAID, USDA's Economic Research Service, and other 
organizations to develop better outcome-oriented performance measures 
and reporting. However, we recommended that FAS develop outcome-based 
performance measures to more accurately reflect program accomplishments 
in recipient countries. OIG is assessing the agency's response to our 
draft report and we anticipate issuing a final report in April 2007.
Identifying Barriers to U.S Agricultural Exports
    OIG received a congressional request in 2006 to review certain 
aspects of FAS market development programs in fostering expanded trade 
activities for U.S. agricultural exports. We initiated an audit to 
examine the extent to which FAS conducts outreach to U.S. agricultural 
interests to identify trade constraints and foreign agricultural 
business opportunities; determine if the agency is presenting 
information on identified trade barriers to the U.S. Trade 
Representative (USTR) and FAS' private sector cooperators; and review 
whether USDA efforts to promote U.S. agricultural exports are being 
presented, with measurable benchmarks, in the National Export Strategy. 
OIG's report was issued in February 2007. We found that FAS does not 
formally track its efforts to expand trade activities or conduct 
outreach to U.S. exporters and does not have a formal process for 
summarizing and presenting trade barriers to the USTR.
Ensuring Accountability in Foreign Food Aid Programs
    FAS administers foreign food aid programs, largely through grants 
to intermediaries known as private voluntary organizations (PVOs), the 
charitable, nonprofit organizations responsible for implementing 
program objectives abroad. FAS expended approximately $400 million for 
its food aid programs in fiscal year 2006. In March 2006, we issued a 
report assessing FAS' progress in addressing management control 
weaknesses regarding the Food for Progress program identified in an 
earlier OIG audit. Our latest report also reviewed eight judgmentally 
selected PVOs, three of which were the subjects of a hotline complaint. 
The audit evaluated issues such as internal agency controls/processes 
for evaluating grant proposals and awarding grant agreements, 
monitoring compliance with grant terms and conditions, and determining 
program results.
    OIG found that many of the recommendations from our prior audit 
report had not been implemented, and therefore FAS could not provide 
reasonable assurance that PVOs were meeting their program objectives or 
spending funds appropriately. FAS lacked procedures to confirm that 
PVOs were recognized by their host governments and were able to operate 
effectively in-country. FAS did not pursue grant funds lost due to PVO 
mismanagement. Due to these internal control weaknesses, we concluded 
that FAS did not adequately follow up and determine whether there was 
mismanagement of $2.2 million in grant funds.
    We recommended that FAS strengthen its ability to monitor food aid 
agreements by implementing procedures to review PVOs' semiannual 
reports, conduct onsite reviews, and complete closeout reviews of food 
aid agreements. The agency should confirm that PVOs are viable agents 
in their host countries before shipping donated commodities to these 
private groups and aggressively seek recovery of grant funds lost due 
to PVO mismanagement. Generally, FAS agreed with our recommendations 
and stated that agency efforts were underway to implement several of 
them.
Oversight of Farm, Conservation, and Research Programs in 2007
    OIG has initiated or plans to conduct several audits to review USDA 
farm and conservation programs. Work is underway to examine RMA's 
effectiveness in monitoring private insurance providers and determine 
if its compliance activities are adequate to improve the crop insurance 
program and reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. We are planning to review 
FSA's management controls in 2007 to assess their effectiveness to 
prevent farm program payments being made to producers who have been 
disqualified due to civil, criminal, or administrative actions.
    There is considerable congressional interest in expanding USDA's 
role in our nation's efforts to develop a viable renewable energy 
program. The Department's activities include financial incentives 
(loans, loan guarantees, grants for capital equipment) for farmers to 
grow crops that can produce renewable energy products such as ethanol. 
USDA research agencies are engaged in developing and improving methods 
to produce renewable energy. In 2007, OIG will evaluate the 
Department's efforts to foster renewable energy technologies as well as 
the coordination between USDA agencies and other Federal agencies. 
These audits are currently underway.
    NRCS' Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program 
offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance 
wetlands on their property. NRCS provides technical and financial 
support to help landowners with their wetland restoration efforts. We 
are reviewing the legitimacy of restoration costs and the agency's 
ability to monitor restoration efforts. A related voluntary agency 
program is the Conservation Security Program (CSP), in which payments 
are provided to landowners to maintain and enhance natural resources. 
CSP identifies and rewards those farmers and ranchers who are meeting 
the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on 
their operations. The Government Accountability Office reported that 
NRCS lacked adequate controls to prevent participants from receiving 
financial assistance from multiple programs for the same conservation 
practice. OIG has initiated an audit to determine whether NRCS has 
adequately implemented provisions of CSP. We are focusing on whether 
the agency has properly handled key issues such as program eligibility, 
the calculation of program payments, and the detection of improper 
payments.
    OIG also has an audit underway to review the agency's procedures to 
assess and prioritize the rehabilitation of dams constructed with NRCS 
funding. Many of these dams are nearing the end of their 50-year design 
life. A recent survey of known rehabilitation needs in 22 States 
revealed that more than 2,200 dams need rehabilitation at an estimated 
cost of more than $540 million. The cost of rehabilitation will only 
increase with time as deterioration increases, construction costs rise, 
and more rehabilitation needs are identified. The Watershed 
Rehabilitation Program budget reported in the USDA fiscal year 2008 
Budget Summary and Annual Performance Plan is $6 million. Our primary 
objective is to review the adequacy of NRCS program controls for the 
rehabilitation of flood control dams to mitigate potential threat or 
danger to life and property.
    Congress has provided substantial resources to support Agricultural 
Research Service (ARS) research regarding a wide array of food quality 
and safety issues, nutritional needs, and our environment's natural 
resource base. ARS spends approximately $1.1 billion annually on 1,200 
research projects organized into 22 national program areas at 100 
locations and 4 overseas laboratories. We are currently evaluating the 
efficacy of ARS management controls over its intramural and extramural 
research agreements to ensure they are properly implemented. Our audit 
is examining ARS procedures to ensure that research funding is used for 
its intended purposes, research projects are adequately monitored, and 
project milestones are properly managed.

               THE MANAGEMENT OF USDA'S PUBLIC RESOURCES

Information Technology Security in USDA
    In recent years, USDA's Office of the Chief Information Officer 
(OCIO) and OIG have placed a major emphasis on the need to plan and 
implement effective information technology (IT) security for the 
Department. OIG continues to conduct various audits and reviews of the 
Department's IT security systems to assess and improve their 
performance.
    Based on our reviews in 2006, the National Information Technology 
Center (NITC) in Kansas City, Missouri, sustained its unqualified 
opinion on its general control structure, and OCFO's National Finance 
Center (NFC) in New Orleans, Louisiana, received its first unqualified 
opinion on its design of its general control structure. However, we 
issued a qualified opinion on the effectiveness of NFC's controls 
because the controls were not operating during the entire year. This 
effectiveness qualification was primarily attributed to the disruptive 
effects of Hurricane Katrina on NFC's normal operating procedures. When 
our review determined that certain controls were not adequately 
designed, OCFO NFC updated its procedures to address our concerns.
    As required by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 
2002, our annual audit of the Department's IT security program 
continued to find significant weaknesses. These included needed 
improvement in contingency planning and testing, annual risk 
assessments, and configuration management. Due to the significance of 
the issues identified in our reviews, we continue to classify IT 
security as a material internal control weakness for USDA.
    USDA's Universal Telecommunications Network (UTN) is the critical 
general support system serving the Department's data network backbone 
for telecommunications and network support services. We identified 
weaknesses in OCIO's ability to effectively manage and secure the UTN. 
OCIO had not completed required system testing, security control 
testing, and certification/accreditation of the UTN network prior to 
implementation. OCIO concurred with our recommendations and has taken 
significant actions to address identified weaknesses.
Reducing Risks From Stolen USDA Computer Equipment
    In light of the disclosure or theft of Privacy Act/sensitive 
information from several Federal agencies in 2006 and OMB's recent 
mandates on securing such information, OIG is assessing potential risks 
at USDA. We issued a report on February 27, 2007, from our review of 
stolen equipment within USDA.
    To the extent possible, we identified the information maintained on 
the stolen computers as well as sensitive information currently 
maintained on computers within the Department. OIG found that controls 
over stolen computer equipment were lacking in the four USDA agencies 
reviewed.\9\ Specifically, we found Privacy Act/sensitive information 
was stored on computers that were stolen and the agencies did not 
notify the individuals whose information may have been compromised. 
Additionally, these agencies lacked policies and procedures to 
adequately notify proper authorities and affected parties when thefts 
of computer equipment occurred. The agencies agreed with OIG's 
recommendations.
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    \9\ FSA, NRCS, RD, and OCIO.
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    To date, OCIO has provided agencies with limited guidance on what 
actions to take if computers are lost or stolen. OIG recommended that 
OCIO implement Departmentwide guidance regarding tracking and reporting 
requirements for lost/stolen computer equipment. This should include 
procedures for determining whether the subject equipment may have 
contained Privacy Act or sensitive information.
USDA Procedures to Assess Employee Civil Rights Complaints
    We have previously presented testimony to the Subcommittee about 
our audit work focusing on the Department's processes and performance 
in handling allegations of discrimination against USDA employees or in 
USDA programs. Our most recent civil rights audit \10\ assessed the 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) 
implementation of prior OIG recommendations that focused on the 
agency's management and oversight of program and employment complaints. 
In response to a 2006 congressional request, we initiated an audit to 
evaluate the Department's progress in addressing employee civil rights 
complaints and employee accountability for acts of discrimination. OIG 
will identify and evaluate the adequacy of the Department's controls to 
properly process employee civil rights complaints and its processes to 
hold employees accountable for discrimination towards employees or in 
USDA programs. We anticipate issuing this report by the end of March 
2007.
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    \10\  ``Follow-up on Prior Recommendations for Civil Rights Program 
and Employee Complaints,'' issued September 2005.
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The National Computer Forensic Division: Advanced Investigative and 
        Evidentiary Support
    As an authoritative resource in the investigation and analysis of 
network intrusions and attacks on USDA networks, OIG's National 
Computer Forensic Division (NCFD) conducts thorough and accurate 
analyses of any IT network compromise by analyzing compromised servers, 
firewall logs, Intrusion Detection System logs, and Internet Protocol 
traffic logs. The NCFD continues to provide support, training, and 
advice on evidence collection and analysis to USDA agencies. During the 
past year, the NCFD provided onsite search warrant assistance for 12 
warrants and analysis for 38 cases involving criminal activity, 
employee misconduct, and network intrusions.
    An example of NCFD's work includes an investigation that was 
requested by the Department relating to a network intrusion and two 
servers that were compromised. NCFD determined that while two computer 
servers had been compromised multiple times by hackers in June 2006, 
the database containing personal identity information for 26,000 USDA 
employees had not been compromised or transferred from USDA computers. 
OIG is working with OCIO to ensure that all USDA networks and employee 
personal information are secure.
    Another recent investigation involved a woman employed as a 
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technician with FSA. The woman 
reproduced and sold 41 pirated copies of USDA-licensed software on two 
Internet auction websites. The woman received $7,120 from the sales of 
the pirated software although its retail value exceeded $326,000. In 
June 2006, the woman pled guilty in a Federal court in Indiana to 
copyright infringement and was sentenced to 5 years of probation, 
restitution of $7,120 to the company owning the software copyright, and 
forfeiture of all computer-related equipment seized at her residence. 
This case resulted in the first Federal criminal conviction in Indiana 
involving the illegal sale of copyrighted materials over the Internet.
    NCFD forensically imaged and analyzed the hard drives of eight 
computers in the GIS lab of FSA's Indiana State office for evidence 
that the software was copied utilizing one of the FSA computers. The 
forensic analysis produced evidence that was utilized in negotiating a 
guilty plea.
USDA Financial Management
    As defined by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), success 
in Federal financial management is an unqualified audit opinion with no 
reportable conditions and no instances of noncompliance with laws and 
regulations. In 2006, the Department's financial statements received 
unqualified audit opinions, as did six USDA entities.\11\ This is an 
improvement from previous years. However, the Department and three 
agencies had material weaknesses and reportable conditions. The 
Department and four agencies also had instances of noncompliance with 
laws and regulations.
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    \11\ Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Commodity Credit 
Corporation, FS, Rural Telephone Bank, FNS, and RD.
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    Specifically, the Department's material weaknesses related to 
improvements needed in overall financial management across USDA and IT 
security and controls. A reportable condition existed related to 
improvements needed in certain financial management practices and 
processes. Three instances of noncompliance were identified relating to 
the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, the Improper Payments 
Information Act, and Managerial Cost Accounting practices. OIG 
continues to work with OCFO to ensure effective financial management 
throughout USDA.
The Role of USDA and Agriculture in Protecting the Chesapeake Bay 
        Watershed
    The Chesapeake Bay Program, which is administered by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is mandated to direct 
restoration of the Chesapeake Bay through a regional partnership of 
Federal, State, and local agencies, academic institutions, and non-
government organizations. OIG participated in a joint review of the 
program with EPA's OIG that concentrated on the agricultural best 
management practices used to address non-point nutrient and sediment 
loading to the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    Despite significant efforts to improve water quality in the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed, excess nutrients and sediment continue to 
impair the Bay's water quality. Our joint review found that few of the 
agricultural practices in the State tributary strategies have been 
implemented because the agricultural community considers many of these 
practices to be either unprofitable or to require significant changes 
in farming techniques. We found that EPA must improve its collaboration 
with its Bay partners and the agricultural community to reduce the 
agricultural nutrients and sediments entering the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed. Members of the agricultural community have been reluctant to 
participate in this endeavor with EPA because of its regulatory 
enforcement role.
    We recommended that the Secretary or Deputy Secretary assign a 
senior-level official with commensurate authority to coordinate 
relevant USDA goals and programs with EPA and the Chesapeake Bay 
Program. USDA should consider the feasibility of targeting USDA funds 
on a regional and/or geographical basis to assist the Bay's 
environmental restoration. The Department should also direct USDA 
agencies to expedite the establishment of outcome-based performance 
measurements to properly evaluate their conservation activities. USDA 
generally agreed with our recommendations.
Evaluating Forest Service Use of Private Wildland Firefighting Crews
    As wildfire activity on National Forests (NF) has become more 
intense, FS has made increasing use of contract suppression crews to 
supplement agency resources. FS incident management personnel had 
previously noted numerous performance problems with poorly trained and 
inexperienced crews. Other reports (GAO, incident management personnel) 
have indicated similar problems. We evaluated FS' administration of 
these contracts and its coordination with other parties \12\ that also 
use these contracts.
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    \12\  Primarily State and local governments. The crews at issue in 
this report were obtained from the Oregon Department of Forestry's 
list.
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    We determined that FS needed to improve its contract oversight to 
ensure that contract employees had met both the training and experience 
requirements for the positions they held on fire fighting crews. Our 
review found that a significant number of contract firefighters may not 
have been qualified to perform the duties required under the contract. 
FS needed to address control weaknesses with wildfire suppression 
associations \13\ that provide training to contract employees. Language 
proficiency assessments should be improved to ensure contract crew 
personnel can communicate adequately with FS incident management 
personnel. Finally, we recommended that FS coordinate with other 
Federal agencies to identify undocumented workers on contracted crews. 
FS officials agreed with all of OIG's recommendations and established 
timeframes for corrective actions.
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    \13\ Private organizations that represent wildlife suppression 
contractors and provide training to their employees.
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Reducing Forest Service's Large Fire Suppression Costs: Shared 
        Responsibilities
    FS' wildfire suppression costs have exceeded $1 billion in 4 of the 
past 7 years. Our audit focused on the most significant ``cost 
drivers'' that were impacting fire suppression costs. We determined 
that the majority of FS' large fire suppression costs are directly 
linked to protecting private property--as opposed to National Forest 
System land--in the wildland urban interface (WUI). FS managers need to 
evaluate their agreements with State and local governments to ensure 
the costs of protecting the WUI are appropriately apportioned. A 
significant portion of these costs can be avoided and the safety of 
firefighters improved if the Federal Government can proactively work 
with State and local governments regarding prudent ``Firewise'' zoning 
and building codes.
    In another report focusing on wildland fire issues and the Healthy 
Forest Initiative, we determined that FS needs to change some policies 
regarding wildland fire use (WFU). Hazardous fuels such as dead 
vegetation and undergrowth in our national forests are increasing the 
size and complexity of wildland fires. FS needs to reduce these fuels, 
increase the number of qualified personnel, and expand WFU to help 
control the costs of future fires. OIG further recommended that the 
agency implement improved processes to more effectively hold managers 
accountable for the financial impact of their decisions.
    FS agreed with our findings and recommendations and initiated 
corrective actions. These include working with OIG to jointly develop 
training for FS personnel conducting reviews of large fire operations. 
FS and OIG will jointly conduct the training prior to the 2007 fire 
season.

                 OIG'S FISCAL YEAR 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

    Before concluding, I would like to briefly comment on OIG's fiscal 
year 2008 Budget Request. With your assistance and support, we are 
pleased to have built a solid record of constructive audit oversight 
and investigative accomplishment. Over the last 4 years we have 
produced a return on investment of $5.34 for each dollar of 
appropriated funds you have provided. During that period, our work has 
produced over $1.65 billion in monetary recoveries and cost avoidances, 
1,449 indictments and 1,358 convictions. In addition to our monetary 
results, we have made numerous recommendations that resulted in 
substantive management and program improvements. For example, in fiscal 
year 2006 we issued 425 program improvement recommendations and USDA 
managers agreed to implement 384 of them. These recommendations 
involved issues of congressional and public concern such as improving 
surveillance and monitoring of AI in domestic poultry, strengthening 
USDA's food inspection operations, and improving the collection of 
unauthorized farm program payments.
    In addition to the statistical accomplishments mentioned above, 
fiscal year 2006 and the first few months of fiscal year 2007 have been 
a particularly productive time for OIG in other ways as well. The 
following activities may be of particular interest to the Subcommittee.
  --OIG has devoted over $2 million and several staff years to 
        providing oversight to USDA programs supporting the Gulf Cost 
        region devastated during the 2005 hurricane season in order to 
        increase accountability in these programs and avoid waste and 
        fraud in the distribution of benefits. The $445,000 Congress 
        authorized in the fiscal year 2006 emergency supplemental to 
        support these efforts was of great assistance. Currently, we 
        have 11 audits and 11 investigations underway pertaining to 
        USDA hurricane recovery assistance programs.
  --We also directed resources to review Departmental plans to deal 
        with the threatened avian influenza pandemic, by advising the 
        Department on how it could improve its plans and programs.
  --OIG took prompt and comprehensive action to evaluate the 
        implementation of the Department's IT security system. Through 
        a coordinated program of audits, investigations, and other 
        reviews, USDA OIG is addressing the areas of highest risk and 
        providing insight and support to USDA program agencies.
  --We formed an Office of Inspections and Research (OIR) to address 
        emerging issues that may require scientific, legal, 
        statistical, or other expert competencies. Generally, OIR will 
        conduct short-term, focused reviews and inspections of USDA's 
        programs and operations. OIR projects completed in the last 
        year and currently underway include:
    A review of the Federal crop insurance program that, in 
            collaboration with FSA and RMA, identified a number of 
            fraud indicators or conditions that are often associated 
            with fraud, waste, and mismanagement.
    An inspection regarding the coordination of the Department's 
            international activities and agreements.
    An inspection of the security practices at a USDA laboratory that 
            found the laboratory had made many improvements, both 
            physical and through extensive training of personnel.
  --With the support of our congressional appropriators, we were able 
        to strengthen our ability to support USDA programs through 
        effective audits and investigations. Five years ago our 
        information technology systems were inadequate to support our 
        audit and investigative program. Thanks to your continued 
        support, our IT environment is current and able to support 
        sophisticated audit and investigative techniques. From fiscal 
        year 1996 to fiscal year 2006, OIG's staff level fell a total 
        of 21 percent--which directly translates into a commensurate 
        reduction in our audit and investigative capacity. With your 
        support, we were able to arrest that trend in fiscal year 2006 
        and have begun--in a very small way--to strengthen our 
        capacity.
    We respectfully request your support in continuing our efforts to 
maintain, and in some areas even improve, OIG effectiveness in fiscal 
year 2008. The President's request asks for the minimum necessary to 
support our staffing level and advance our ability to safely and 
effectively respond to emerging public health and agriculture security 
threats. Specifically, the President's fiscal year 2008 request of $84 
million for OIG provides for:
  --$1.9 million for 2008 mandatory pay costs.
  --$994,000 for 2007 pay costs.
  --$340,000 to fund five staff to reinforce our audit, investigation, 
        and inspection programs focusing on the approximately $20 
        billion spent annually on USDA farm programs.
  --$757,000 for necessary equipment and training updates to the 
        Computer Forensics Unit and the Emergency Response Team, and 
        implementation of an automated audit workpaper system that will 
        improve the timeliness of our audits and ensure that audit 
        evidence is kept in accordance with Department of Justice 
        standards.
    This concludes my testimony statement. I thank the Members of the 
Subcommittee for the opportunity to present information about OIG's 
activities and our fiscal year 2008 Budget Request.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of Nancy C. Pellett, Chairman and Chief Executive 
                  Officer, Farm Credit Administration

    Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, I am Nancy C. Pellett, 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Farm Credit Administration 
(FCA or Agency). On behalf of my colleagues on the FCA Board, Leland 
Strom of Illinois and Dallas Tonsager of South Dakota, and all the 
dedicated men and women of the Agency, I am pleased and honored to 
provide this testimony to the Subcommittee.
    I would like to thank the Subcommittee staff for its ongoing 
assistance during the budget process, and before I discuss the role and 
responsibility of the Farm Credit Administration and our budget 
request, I would respectfully bring to the Subcommittee's attention 
that FCA's administrative expenses are paid for by the institutions 
that we regulate and examine. In other words, FCA does not receive a 
Federal appropriation but is funded through annual assessments of Farm 
Credit System (System) institutions and the Federal Agricultural 
Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac). We fully support the proposed 2008 
Budget Submission of the President.
Mission of the Farm Credit Administration
    As directed by Congress, FCA's mission is to ensure a safe, sound, 
and dependable source of credit and related services for agriculture 
and rural America. The Agency accomplishes its mission in two important 
ways.
    First, FCA ensures that the System and Farmer Mac remain safe and 
sound and comply with the applicable law and regulations. Specifically, 
our risk-based examinations and oversight strategies focus on an 
institution's financial condition and any material existing or 
potential risk, as well as on the ability of its board and management 
to direct its operations. Our oversight and examination strategies also 
evaluate each institution's efforts to serve all eligible borrowers, 
including young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers.
    Secondly, FCA approves corporate charter changes, and researches, 
develops, and adopts regulations and policies that govern how System 
institutions conduct their business and interact with their customers 
and provides other necessary guidance. If a System institution violates 
a law or regulation, or operates in an unsafe or unsound manner, we use 
our supervisory and enforcement authorities to ensure appropriate 
corrective action.
Fiscal Year 2006 Accomplishments
    In 2006 we continued our efforts to achieve our Agency's strategic 
goals through (1) responsible regulation and public policymaking and 
(2) effective risk identification and corrective action. FCA has worked 
hard to maintain the System's safety and soundness. We also continually 
explore ways to reduce regulatory burden on the FCS and to ensure that 
all System institutions are able to provide agriculture and rural 
America with continuous access to credit and related services.
          examination programs for fcs banks and associations
    One of the Agency's highest priorities is the development and 
implementation of efficient and effective risk-based oversight and 
examination programs that meet the high standards and expectations of 
the Congress; investors in System debt obligations; the farmers, 
ranchers, and cooperatives that own System banks and associations; and 
the public at large. Our examination programs and practices have worked 
well over the years and have contributed to the present safe and sound 
overall condition of the System, but we must continue to evolve and 
prepare for the increasingly complex nature of financing agriculture 
and rural America.
    With the changes in the System and our human capital challenges 
within the Agency (i.e., pending retirements, normal attrition of 
staff, and the ever-increasing need for more sophisticated skills in 
the financial sector), we have undertaken a number of initiatives to 
enhance our skills and level of expertise in key functional examination 
areas. We have also realigned our organizational structure to make the 
best use of our resources. The evolving nature of agriculture and the 
Farm Credit System necessitates a flexible organizational structure at 
FCA. At the present time, the sound financial condition of the System 
also provides us a unique opportunity to prepare for the future. In 
2006 our Office of Examination completed its transition from a 
regionally based field office structure to division examination teams 
that are organized on a national basis. Office locations have been 
retained, but the examination programs are now managed nationally to 
better match examiner skills to material and strategic risks faced by 
the FCS institutions.
    On a national level, we actively monitor risks that may affect 
groups of System institutions or the entire System, including risks 
that may arise from the agricultural, financial, and economic 
environment in which the System institutions operate. Our job is not to 
forecast specific events but to understand the environment so that we 
can take steps to help System institutions take pre-emptive actions 
before adverse trends develop.
    Examiners also use a risk-based examination and supervision program 
to differentiate the risks and develop individualized oversight plans 
for each FCS institution. We set the scope and frequency of each 
examination based on the level of risk in the institution. In addition, 
we continually identify, evaluate, and proactively address risks within 
each institution. Examiners base the scope of their oversight and 
examination activities on their assessment of an institution's internal 
control environments and the ability of the institution's board and 
management to manage risks, both present and future. The frequency and 
depth of our examination activities may vary, but each institution is 
provided a summary of our activities and a report on its overall 
condition every 18 months as required by the Farm Credit Act.
    As part of our ongoing efforts, we monitor each institution's risk 
profile. The Financial Institution Rating System (FIRS) is the primary 
risk categorization and rating tool used by examiners to indicate the 
safety and soundness of an institution. The rating system is similar to 
other Federal financial regulators' CAMELS (capital adequacy, asset 
quality, management performance, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity 
to interest rate risk) rating scale. FIRS ratings range from 1 (for a 
sound institution) to 5 (for an institution that is likely to fail). 
Throughout fiscal year 2006, FIRS ratings as a whole continued to 
reflect the stable financial condition of the FCS. The overall trend in 
FIRS ratings continues to be positive, with eighty-three 1-rated 
institutions and seventeen 2-rated institutions, and one 3-rated 
institution. Importantly, there were no 4- or 5-rated institutions. In 
addition, no FCS institutions were under enforcement action and no FCS 
institutions were in receivership. The overall financial strength 
maintained by the System remains strong and does not pose material risk 
to investors in FCS debt, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation 
(FCSIC), and FCS institution stockholders.
    During fiscal year 2006, FCA also performed various examination and 
other services for the Small Business Administration, the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, FCSIC, and the National Cooperative Bank. 
Each of these entities reimburses FCA for its services. The safety and 
soundness of the System and Farmer Mac remains our primary objective. 
However, we believe the continuing use of FCA examination resources by 
other agencies is a positive reflection on the expertise of FCA 
examiners and serves to broaden their examination skills while 
increasing job satisfaction and employee retention. It also helps us 
defray some of the costs of our operations while providing a valuable 
service.

                          REGULATORY ACTIVITY

    Congress has given the FCA Board statutory authority to establish 
policy and prescribe regulations necessary to ensure that FCS 
institutions comply with the law and operate in a safe and sound 
manner. The Agency's regulatory philosophy articulates our commitment 
to establishing a flexible regulatory environment that enables the 
System, consistent with statutory authority, to offer high-quality, 
reasonably priced credit to farmers and ranchers, their cooperatives, 
rural residents, and other entities on which farming operations depend. 
This translates into developing balanced, well-reasoned, flexible, and 
legally sound regulations. We strive to ensure that the benefits of 
regulations outweigh the costs; to maintain the System's relevance in 
the marketplace and rural America; and to ensure that FCA's policy 
actions encourage member-borrowers to participate in the management, 
control, and ownership of their Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) 
institutions.
    For 2006 and early 2007, the Agency's regulatory and policy 
projects included the following:
  --A final rule on governance of FCS institutions that provided 
        enhanced oversight of management and operations by 
        strengthening the independence of System institution boards and 
        by incorporating best governance practices.
  --A final rule that amended and updated the regulations governing the 
        termination of System status by a System institution.
  --A final rule to improve the transparency of public disclosures, 
        strengthen board and management accountability and auditor 
        independence, and increase shareholder and investor confidence 
        in the System.
    In addition, relative to Farmer Mac, the Agency finalized a rule 
updating the Farmer Mac Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Stress Test. We 
amended the RBC regulations in response to changing financial markets, 
new business practices, and the evolution of the loan portfolio at 
Farmer Mac, as well as continued development of industry best practices 
among leading financial institutions. The rule is intended to more 
accurately reflect risk in the model in order to improve the model's 
output--Farmer Mac's regulatory minimum risk-based capital level.
    The Agency has also adopted an ambitious regulatory and policy 
agenda for 2007. The agenda includes the following goals:
  --Evaluating comments received on a proposed rule to change the 
        ownership requirement for the eligibility of processing and 
        marketing entities.
  --Continuing to evaluate how System partnerships and investments can 
        increase the availability of funds to help stimulate economic 
        growth and development in rural America under a pilot program 
        initiated during fiscal year 2005.
  --Continuing to review current regulatory requirements governing 
        eligibility and scope of lending to determine if these 
        requirements are reasonable in light of agriculture's changing 
        landscape. Agency staff will identify issues and explore 
        options for the Board's consideration.
  --Developing and issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 
        solicit public input on appropriate changes to FCA's capital 
        adequacy requirements for the System in light of Basel II and 
        IA proposals by the other Federal banking agencies.

                          CORPORATE ACTIVITIES

    The pace of System restructuring remained slow in fiscal year 2006. 
Only one corporate application was submitted for FCA Board review and 
approval during fiscal year 2006, compared with four applications the 
prior year. As of January 1, 2007, the System had 95 direct-lender 
associations and five banks for a total of 100 banks and associations. 
Seven service corporations and special-purpose entities brought the 
total number of FCS institutions to 107 entities. Through mergers, the 
number of FCS associations has declined from 172 to 95 since 2000, and 
the number of FCS banks has dropped from seven to five.
Condition of the Farm Credit System
    I will now turn to the condition of the Farm Credit System. I am 
pleased to report that the System's overall condition and performance 
remained strong throughout 2006. The FCS is fundamentally sound in all 
material aspects, and it continues to be a financially strong, reliable 
source of affordable credit to agriculture and rural America. Capital 
levels continued to be strong, especially in consideration of the 
System's risk profile. Asset quality remained high, loan volume growth 
was strong, and favorable credit conditions enabled the System to 
achieve almost $2.4 billion in earnings for the 12 months ended 
December 31, 2006.
    Loan volume continued to grow at a strong pace during 2006 while 
loan quality remained high. Gross loans increased by 16.2 percent to 
123.4 billion. The level of nonperforming loans, including nonaccrual 
loans, decreased to 0.50 percent of gross loans outstanding. 
Delinquencies also remained minimal. The System has earned more than $1 
billion consistently since the early 1990s; as a result, capital 
remains strong and is made up largely of earned surplus, the most 
stable form of capital. A strong capital position will help the System 
remain a viable, dependable, and competitive lender to agriculture and 
rural America during any near-term downturns in the agricultural 
economy.
Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
    FCA also has oversight, examination, and regulatory responsibility 
for the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, which is commonly 
known as Farmer Mac.
    Congress established Farmer Mac in 1988 to provide secondary market 
arrangements for agricultural mortgage and rural home loans. In this 
capacity, Farmer Mac creates and guarantees securities and other 
secondary market products that are backed by mortgages on farms and 
rural homes. Through a separate office required by statute (Office of 
Secondary Market Oversight), the Agency examines, regulates, and 
monitors Farmer Mac's disclosures, financial condition, and operations 
on an ongoing basis and provides periodic reports to Congress.
    Like the Farm Credit System, Farmer Mac is a GSE devoted to 
agriculture and rural America. FCA and the financial markets recognize 
Farmer Mac as a separate GSE from the System's banks and associations. 
Farmer Mac is not subject to any intra-System agreements or to the 
joint and several liability of the FCS banks, nor does the Farm Credit 
System Insurance Fund back Farmer Mac's securities. However, by 
statute, in extreme circumstances Farmer Mac may issue obligations to 
the U.S. Treasury Department to fulfill the guarantee obligations of 
Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities.
    In conclusion, we at FCA remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure 
that the Farm Credit System and Farmer Mac remain financially strong 
and focused on serving agriculture and rural America.
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Request
    Earlier this fiscal year, the Agency submitted a proposed total 
budget request of $47,482,520 for fiscal year 2008. The Agency's 
proposed budget includes an assessment on System institutions for 
fiscal year 2008 of $42,550,000. The total amount of assessments 
collected from the FCS and Farmer Mac with carryover funds equals 
$46,000,000. Since approximately 82 percent of the Agency's budget goes 
for salaries, wages, and related costs, almost all of the total budget 
amount will be used for these purposes.
    It is our intent to stay within the constraints of our fiscal year 
2008 budget as presented, and we continue our efforts to be good 
stewards of the resources entrusted to us in order to meet our 
responsibilities. The Agency has worked hard to hold down the 
assessment to the System for our operations, and I believe we have 
achieved that objective over the past several years. While we are proud 
of our record and accomplishments, I assure you that the Agency will 
continue its commitment to excellence, effectiveness, and cost 
efficiency and will remain focused on our mission of ensuring a safe, 
sound, and dependable source of credit for agriculture and rural 
America. On behalf of my colleagues on the FCA Board and at the Agency, 
this concludes my statement and I thank you for the opportunity to 
share this information.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. We'll now 
begin our rounds of questions.

                           FSIS FUNDING LEVEL

    Mr. Secretary, I was pleased to see an increase in the 
budget for the Food Safety and Inspection Service of 
approximately $100 million over the level provided in fiscal 
year 2006, but as you know, Mr. Secretary, there were some very 
serious budget problems last year, even though we provided the 
requested funding. Can you commit that this funding level will 
be adequate, in light of increasing workload and industry 
growth, for FSIS to maintain the proper amount of staff with 
the ability to do the proper testing and the work throughout 
the country?
    Secretary Johanns. Yes, we believe it will. And you're 
absolutely right, last year we were in a very tough situation 
with the budget, and about 80 percent of this area is staffing, 
so if you get in a tough situation there's not much you can do. 
It's just a very, very difficult situation. But with the 
increased funding we have requested, we believe we can cover 
the anticipated need out there and meet the needs of this 
inspection area. So we appreciate your understanding of the 
situation, but we believe this will get us there.
    Senator Kohl. All right. Mr. Secretary, the problems faced 
in fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007 were the result of 
several years of FSIS being shortchanged in their pay costs, 
although Congress has always provided the full amount 
requested. We seem to have dug ourselves out of that hole. Will 
this funding level keep us above board, or is FSIS going to 
have to dig into their program levels to fully fund pay costs?
    Secretary Johanns. Well, I'll ask Scott to talk about pay 
costs, but again I think we're in good shape with this funding 
request to get the job done. But, Scott, talk about pay costs, 
if you will.
    Mr. Steele. Thank you. Yes, Senator, we have fully funded 
the on line inspection staff. We're anticipating the growth in 
the industry in terms of meat and poultry inspection 
requirements. Of course there is some uncertainty with that, in 
terms of how much demand for inspection will be out there in 
the meat industry, but this is our best estimate right now. 
Based on that, we have fully funded all the inspection 
requirements, on line inspectors, that we need.
    And of course, as the Secretary pointed out, a large part 
of the budget is for wages and benefits, so there is a limited 
amount of flexibility. But we are doing audits on the agency 
right now. We've had people come in and look at that, outside 
auditors to look at the financial balance sheets of the 
organization. We're doing a better job of tracking the 
expenditures in the agency. I think we're at this point in time 
on top of the workload and funding requirements, but we will 
keep the committee and staff informed as we move through the 
year and report to you if there are any changes to our 
estimates.
    Senator Kohl. That's good.

                          AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI)

    Mr. Secretary, the problem of avian flu, as we all know, 
has not gone away. In fact, there have been recent reports of 
an outbreak in England, and with spring weather around the 
corner there will be a lot of activity in migratory bird 
flyways. Can you tell us the total amount within APHIS that 
will be spent on avian flu activities this year, and tell us 
what this money will buy?
    Secretary Johanns. Yes. The 2008 budget requests a total of 
$82 million for avian influenza. This will continue efforts 
initiated with the supplemental funding, which if you'll 
remember was $91 million. $57 million of that is specifically 
designated for APHIS highly pathogenic AI activities.
    Funding will be used to continue our surveillance, 
diagnostics, preparedness and response efforts, and then a 
piece of that is for international veterinary capacity-
building. Of the total requested, $3.2 million is to develop 
methods to detect AI in the environment and over $5 million is 
for further AI research, including development of poultry 
vaccines.
    The 2008 budget also includes about $17 million for the 
APHIS ongoing low pathogenic program. Low path AI is a concern 
for its potential cost to the poultry industry, but it's also a 
concern to us because of the potential that it might mutate 
into the highly pathogenic variety, so we also pay attention to 
that. So that details what we're doing with the AI funding.
    Senator Kohl. Mr. Secretary, can we expect more outbreaks 
of avian flu this spring? And if we can, what precautions do 
you have in place?
    Secretary Johanns. Low pathogenic AI is common in the 
United States, so to address low path first, it's been around 
about 100 years. Birds go through a flu season much like humans 
go through a flu season. It's typically not fatal to birds, and 
it's not a problem to human consumption of poultry. You cook 
the bird and you kill the virus. And that would be true of both 
low and high path. But we will see low path. We have strategies 
in place to deal with that, but again, it's fairly common.
    We've only had high path avian influenza in the United 
States on three occasions. The most recent was in 2004. And so 
far in this most recent international outbreak of high path 
avian influenza, we have not detected it.
    And we have been doing aggressive testing, in cooperation 
with the Department of the Interior, of wild birds and in 
Alaska, birds that would come down through the United States, 
through the flyway. In fact, we've done 79,000 wild bird 
samples to date. We haven't detected it, which is good news. We 
will continue our efforts to monitor and detect, will continue 
to do environmental samples, but so far, so good, on the high 
path.

                           EMERALD ASH BORER

    Senator Kohl. Good. I'd like to ask you about emerald ash 
borer. Would you speak to the efforts of APHIS in undertaking 
to control and eradicate emerald ash borer where it has been 
found, and also please say a word about the surveys that the 
budget requests funding for in order to prevent the spread of 
emerald ash borer in States like my own of Wisconsin?
    Secretary Johanns. The budget includes $30.7 million, an 
increase of about $21 million over the 2007 Continuing 
Resolution, for emerald ash borer efforts. The funding will 
support survey efforts and regulatory activities to prevent 
additional spread of the pest. The budget also requests $2 
million in APHIS plant methods development, a line item to 
develop control methods to do a better job of managing EAB.
    The program's immediate goal is to protect infested areas 
by containing the current infestation--mainly that would be in 
Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana--and eliminate isolated outbreaks, 
such as those detected in States like yours or Illinois or 
Maryland, and develop a long term control and eradication 
strategy. So we've boosted our request for funding here by 
about $21 million over where we were with the Continuing 
Resolution.
    Senator Kohl. I thank you very much. I'd like to call on 
Senator Bennett.
    Senator Bennett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

                          FSA COMPUTER SYSTEM

    Mr. Secretary, we're becoming increasingly aware of the 
situation regarding the computer system in the Farm Service 
Agency. I'm sure you're familiar with that. I understand it has 
gotten so bad that direction has been given to State and county 
officers as to what times of day they could use the system 
because it's not up in a uniform fashion.
    Can you walk us through the issues in relation to that and 
what you're doing? The funding request did not appear in this 
year's budget, so I assume you have a strategy for dealing with 
it. Just talk us through that one.
    Secretary Johanns. Well, we are working with staff. In 
fact, I think it was yesterday we gave an extensive briefing 
with our computer experts on some of the problems we are 
facing. And I'll just be very candid with you. This is an area 
where we're going to need some help.
    Senator Bennett. Does ``help'' mean money?
    Secretary Johanns. It always does in government, doesn't 
it?
    Senator Bennett. Yes.
    Secretary Johanns. Here is the challenge we face. Beginning 
in November 2006, FSA experienced performance problems in its 
web-based software for programs such as the MILC program, 
Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments, and the 2007 crop year 
farm reconstitutions. The amount of time systems were off line, 
in other words, dark, became progressively longer. A number of 
corrective actions were put in place, but again, the problem 
just continued to worsen.
    So FSA did what you said, they rationed web access time to 
try to alleviate that overloading of computing resources, as a 
means to try to continue serving producers while other steps 
were put in place to aggressively diagnose the problem we're 
facing. That policy was suspended on February 9.
    A team was put together of USDA and private sector experts 
to observe the Kansas City Web Farm under a load situation. The 
team's recommendations to optimize the performance of the 
computing environment in applications systems are being 
implemented, and service has been restored at a pre-November 
level. That's my understanding. But I will tell you that I 
don't believe, in fact, no doubt about it, the problem is not 
solved.
    FSA and the department's OCIO have compiled a comprehensive 
list of investments in managed services that are needed to 
stabilize the infrastructure used by FSA to deliver program 
benefits. There's dozens of reasons as to why this is happening 
now, but suffice it to say that over time a lot has been added 
to this system, and maybe at times not enough money to deal 
with the issues that the system was asked to face.
    So what happens now, as it has been explained to me, and 
this is very nontechnical language, but let's say a farmer 
shows up and we put that farmer's information into the system 
to assist that farmer in some way. That is routed to our Kansas 
City facility, where that request works its way through a very 
complex system of lap and overlap and overlays, and quite 
honestly patched-together systems over a period of years. And 
as it's working its way through all of that and trying to make 
this work, a period of time elapses, and if you don't get your 
request met within that period of time, it will just kick you 
out.
    Senator Bennett. Yes. I don't want to go that deep into it 
because I want to hang onto my time, but I'm glad to know 
you're on top of it to that degree. Can we expect a request for 
reprogramming or a supplemental or something?
    Secretary Johanns. In the next 3 weeks we hope to have in 
front of you, your staff, a business case for what's going to 
be involved in this system. Here is what I will tell you, 
Senator, just to cut to the chase.
    I think there's going to be a short term response to this, 
because building a new system takes time and it's very 
expensive. It takes time. It could take 3 years plus. And so 
because of a new farm bill, because of a whole bunch of other 
things that just come along, I think there will be a short term 
response that we're going to have to deal with and then a long 
term approach to a system.
    Senator Bennett. I see. Well, thank you.

                          INTERNATIONAL TRADE

    Let's talk about international trade. You mentioned exports 
being up, record levels. Trade Promotion Authority is set to 
expire this year. How much of the increase that we've seen in 
farm exports can be attributed to TPA, and also Trade 
Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, for farmers? How effective has 
all of this been with respect to that, and what would be the 
effect if TPA expired without being renewed?
    Secretary Johanns. Personally, I think it would be a very 
bad situation for farmers. Our exports have been growing. There 
are better experts here on the panel that can tell you or offer 
thoughts about what is related to Trade Promotion Authority or 
what is not, but here is the bottom line.
    I don't think you will see another trade agreement 
negotiated or approved without Trade Promotion Authority. I 
think the trade initiative will just stop. It will just stop. 
Why? Why would a country negotiate with us, if the end result 
is there really is no agreement? There really is no end to the 
negotiations, and the possibilities for shaking on the deal and 
then the deal not really being a deal. So I personally believe 
it's critically important.
    I will also offer this, because I've said it publicly. To 
me it doesn't matter who is in the White House, it doesn't 
matter if it's one party or another party, I would have the 
same argument for Trade Promotion Authority no matter who was 
in the White House. I believe it's just an important part of 
what we do.
    Now, I think there's always an opportunity for discussion 
and analysis and debate about are we doing it well enough, are 
we not doing it well enough, what should we be doing, are we 
taking care of labor issues, environmental issues, trade 
issues, all of that. I think that's a very, very appropriate 
discussion. But I think without Trade Promotion Authority we 
disarm whoever is in the White House to negotiate trade 
agreements and bring those to the Senate and the House for 
approval.
    Senator Bennett. Thank you. I was going to discuss ag 
disaster assistance, but I think Senator Dorgan has signaled 
that he is going to deal with that.

              NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM (NAIS)

    Let me ask you one last question quickly about the National 
Animal Identification System. There is some confusion about 
that. We have given you some money in the past. You have asked 
for some more money. But can you help us understand exactly 
where that is and where you see it going in the coming year?
    Secretary Johanns. The first thing I want to tell you is 
that it is a voluntary system. The system that we have designed 
and articulated basically says to the producer, ``this is for 
you to make a decision as to whether this is the best approach 
for what you're doing in your operation.'' It is a voluntary 
system.
    The first piece of funding, if you will, actually predates 
me, but it was funding designed to put in place the structure 
necessary to do premises identification and lay the groundwork 
for the next steps. I can tell you that we had a goal at the 
end of January of having 25 percent of our premises registered, 
and we met that goal. We were right there. It was about 24.6 
percent, so we have met that goal, and we continue to work with 
States across the country.
    The bottom line is this, Senator. Some States are really 
doing well. They're doing great. They're registering premises. 
People believe in it. Other States are not doing as well. They 
are behind. They are not registering premises as aggressively. 
There is a debate in the country as to how important this might 
be, but I think we're overcoming that. We're working to get 
good information out there.
    Ultimately, I think it has to happen. I was an advocate 
when I was Governor. I'm an advocate now as Secretary. I do 
believe the voluntary approach beats the mandatory approach. I 
think that's where we need to be now. So I personally believe 
it is where we need to be headed.
    Senator Bennett. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Secretary Johanns. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much, Senator Bennett.
    Senator Dorgan.
    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.

                              DISASTER AID

    Mr. Secretary, welcome. I intend to try to offer a disaster 
aid provision to the emergency supplemental bill. I mentioned 
to you that I've done that three times. Twice it got through 
the full Senate, got to conference, and was blocked by the 
administration. If I am successful in getting a disaster aid 
bill through the Senate on this supplemental, I'm wondering 
whether the administration will continue to want to block it or 
whether you'll be working with us to try to pass it.
    Secretary Johanns. As you know, the administration's 
historic position is to require offsets to find a way to pay 
for disaster aid, and I don't see anything that would indicate 
a change in that historic position.
    Senator Dorgan. Well, the President doesn't request any 
offsets for any emergency supplemental bills.
    Secretary Johanns. In this area, the administration's 
position, though, has been to require offsets. Here is what I 
would say, Senator, and you know I went through this when I was 
governor, and it hasn't changed. On an annual basis we talk 
about disaster, and there will be disasters. This is a very, 
very large country. Weather patterns are different north to 
south and east to west. Probably the one guarantee I can make 
you each year is that somewhere in the United States there will 
be a disaster.
    It's just a big country. Somewhere there's going to be 
drought. Somewhere there's probably going to be hurricane and 
tornado and hail damage and all of the things that farmers and 
ranchers deal with. And yet in other parts of the country they 
oftentimes experience historically best years. I won't go 
through the figures. You know the figures. But I could cite 
figures about corn production this year and soybean production, 
etcetera.
    I personally believe that the long term answer to this is 
to look at what we're doing here in terms of the policy and try 
to figure out, is there a solution? I would love to sit down 
with you and talk to you about some of the proposals we've made 
in the farm bill, because I believe they'll make a big 
difference. I believe they will help this situation. Revenue 
countercyclical does work better----
    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Secretary, I only have 5\1/2\ minutes 
of it is now gone. I'm very interested in what you are saying, 
but that--I'm interested in a response to the question of will 
the administration attempt to block a disaster piece that I put 
in the emergency supplemental.
    Secretary Johanns. I can tell you, Senator, today the 
administration's position has been and will be that offsets 
will be required to finance that.
    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Secretary, did the administration 
request offsets when we provided farm disaster aid for farmers 
who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina?
    Secretary Johanns. We have programs for disaster aid that 
we administer, and we administered some of those programs there 
that were funded and we literally could identify some funding 
and go out there and try to help in the Katrina situation.
    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Secretary, with respect to Katrina, 
that disaster had a name. Last year's drought, the epicenter of 
which was in North and South Dakota, but it spread 
substantially, had no name. But the farmers in the Gulf region, 
as a result of Hurricane Katrina, did get disaster relief. A 
significant portion of that was declared emergency, signed by 
the President.
    I think it is unfair to suggest somehow that other farmers 
who lost everything, and there are others that did, should be 
subject to a different standard. And I just would say to you 
that I'm going to attempt once again to put a disaster 
provision in the emergency supplemental, and my hope is that 
this time the administration will not block it.

                       COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN LABELING

    I want to ask--again, we have such limited time--I want to 
ask about Canadian beef. I don't understand why the 
administration is so anxious to almost have a cattle drive from 
Canada coming to this country. One-third of the cattle that 
have been identified with BSE in Canada were born after the 
feed ban, and yet the administration tells us because of the 
imposition of a feed ban that we won't have any risk associated 
with this.
    It seems to me, Mr. Secretary, if you're at least 
considering, as you are, bringing in substantial additional 
animals from Canada, who just recently discovered their ninth 
case--or tenth, if you consider the American cow--of BSE, that 
before you would do that you would agree to implement country-
of-origin labeling and be aggressively interested in country-
of-origin labeling, after which we then have a discussion about 
whether it is protective of this country's economic interests 
and this country's beef industry to bring in additional cattle 
from Canada in the shadow of their ninth case of BSE. Would you 
respond?
    Secretary Johanns. I'd be happy to. In reference to the 
question about country-of-origin labeling, let there be no 
mistake. Country-of-origin labeling is the law, effective 
October 1, 2008. I want you to understand that although I may 
have personal feelings about it and desire to have a great 
debate about it, those personal feelings aren't important at 
this point. We will administer the law that Congress has put in 
place.
    In reference to the minimal risk rule that you referred to, 
that is in the rulemaking process at this point in time. We 
have sought comments. The deadline for that is coming up pretty 
quickly. We will very carefully review those comments and then 
make a decision about the appropriate course of action.
    We oftentimes say, and you've heard me say it, and probably 
read my comments when I speak of Japan and South Korea, that 
they must live by international standards. It's not fair to 
have a personal country standard. And so I will endeavor to do 
everything I can to make sure we live by those standards, and 
that not only do I preach them, but I'm willing to recognize 
those standards in this country. So that's kind of how we 
approach it.
    Senator Dorgan. Mr. Chairman, first of all, thank you. I 
would like to submit additional questions, and I'd like the 
record to show my great personal restraint in not responding to 
the cheerleading about Fast Track.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Dorgan.
    Senator Craig.
    Senator Craig. Byron, message received.

                     USDA LOAN GUARANTEE AUTHORITY

    Mr. Secretary, I have twice passed legislation seeking to 
increase USDA loan guarantee authority from the $40 million it 
is now to about $100 million. Your lawyers said then that they 
couldn't handle the logistics for projects this size. Now the 
President has proposed in his fiscal year 2008 budget a USDA 
loan guarantee package much larger than I ever tried to pass, 
as you know, to get into the ag portfolio new technologies. We 
must go beyond where we have been. I sensed that some years ago 
with anaerobic digestion and a combination of other things, not 
only to solve waste problems but to enhance energy production.
    Question: Since we are now talking in the backdrop of a new 
farm bill that will likely increase the energy title and 
therefore the loan guarantee authority for USDA, could you talk 
about the process of the USDA's loan guarantee program and your 
opinion as to how the department will handle this new loan 
guarantee authority?
    Secretary Johanns. Well, we do loan guarantees. They're not 
new to us, as you know, Senator, and they are something we're 
familiar with. In the farm bill proposal that we have 
submitted, we are proposing, for example, $2.1 billion in loan 
guarantees targeted at cellulosic ethanol.
    Senator Craig. Right.
    Secretary Johanns. And I guess probably the best way of 
answering your question is that the process that we have in 
place, we really envision as the process that would move us 
through those loan guarantees. So, again, it's not new for us. 
It's something we have done in the past. We feel confident that 
we can do it for what we're proposing in the future.
    Senator Craig. Okay. Well, we'll work with you on it. We're 
glad that USDA is moving more aggressively in that direction. 
That's certainly part of the solution of getting us over the 
hump in some of these changes necessary in technology, 
cellulosic being one of them.

             THE NATIONAL VETERINARIAN MEDICAL SERVICE ACT

    In December 2003 the President signed into law a USDA 
program called National Veterinarian Medical Service Act that 
provides incentive to bolster the number of veterinarians in 
the field who would serve as first responders in emergency 
situations. Now, we're primarily talking about large animal 
industry type veterinarians in rural areas.
    As I said in my opening statement, we are dumping millions 
of dollars into livestock disease research, and this panel 
helped provide hundreds of millions of dollars to create a 
National Animal Disease Lab in Ames, Iowa. I find it ironic 
that after spending all this money, we find ourselves in a 
crisis situation where we have a shortage of livestock 
veterinarians whose sole purpose is to intercept and defend 
this country against catastrophic animal diseases.
    Congress provided $500,000 in 2006, $750,000 in the 2007 
budget bill, to implement a pilot program, but your fiscal year 
2008 budget still does not support this program. Now I'm 
hearing from veterinarians that your department has no plan to 
implement the rules and regulations for the law passed over 3 
years ago to reverse the spiraling reduction in our first 
responders, i.e. large animal veterinarians. Your response to 
that?
    Secretary Johanns. You are right, there was $500,000 worth 
of funding in 2006. Here's what it boiled down to. By national 
standards, in trying to pull off a national program, it wasn't 
a huge amount of money, I think we would both agree. It turned 
out to be a rather complex program. It was a program that took 
some effort, if you will, to get together.
    I will assure you, Senator, it's not a program that we are 
opposed to, not at all. We see the need out there. Vets are 
educated and only a few of them decide to go with large animals 
versus the small animal practice. You see that in your State, 
we saw it in our State.
    Senator Craig. It's where the money is.
    Secretary Johanns. Yes. Well, and you know, there's just a 
certain difference in the kind of work that is performed, too.
    Senator Craig. Sure.
    Secretary Johanns. But we believe in the program. The only 
defense I can offer, and I don't want to sound defensive 
because we do like the program, is it just turned out to be 
more complicated than what it would appear.
    Senator Craig. Then my question is, is there a process of 
rules and regulations that will be implemented? Is this program 
something that will come into function, or is it at idle?
    Secretary Johanns. We are moving ahead with the design and 
the implementation of the program, so the answer to your 
question is yes.
    Senator Craig. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much.
    Senator Nelson.
    Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

                  ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR EARMARKS

    Mr. Secretary, as you know, during recent months there has 
been a great deal of attention drawn to earmarks, and we can 
certainly agree that transparency, accountability, and 
disclosure is extremely important on this topic. With that in 
mind, and this is sort of--it's a budget issue and question--
can you tell me if 100 percent of the congressionally-directed 
earmarks that go through USDA are actually allocated to the 
congressionally-directed recipient?
    Put another way, does USDA take some money, a certain 
percent of the earmark, for its own administrative expenses in 
connection with the earmark, both related and unrelated to the 
earmark? And would you support greater transparency, so that 
Congress and the public are aware of exactly how USDA directs 
this money? And it may be something you want to refer to 
somebody else, but----
    Secretary Johanns. I'll have Scott Steele offer a thought 
on that.
    Mr. Steele. Senator, yes, as I understand it, each of the 
agencies that pass through money through earmarks do take some 
administrative costs from that amount, and I think the 
percentages vary by agency. But yes, we think it should be 
transparent. I think that we do identify, and I'd have to check 
the records on this, and I can respond more for the record 
exactly what percentages agencies do take, but the Cooperative 
State Research, Education and Extension Service I know does 
take a certain percentage, and NRCS and the others do, but I 
think they do vary by agency.
    Senator Nelson. But what is the authority to do that? 
Because I'm not sure that there's any mandated percentage that 
is part of the earmark, that directs the agency to be able to 
do this. And so is the amount determined within the agency? Why 
is that not included within the appropriations process for the 
agency's budget, so it doesn't become skimming?
    Mr. Steele. Well, I don't know if it's called skimming or 
not. I think it's an issue of the cost of doing business. There 
are some administrative costs in dealing with implementing 
programs, and they can't all be ignored.
    Senator Nelson. Well, why wouldn't that be, without being 
argumentative, why wouldn't that be in the budget process, in 
the appropriations process we approve here?
    Mr. Steele. Well, the earmarks themselves, we have not 
requested earmarks in our budget request. We receive the 
earmarks from the Congress. So in our justification to the 
committees, we would not be justifying the earmark to the 
committee.
    We receive the money. In turn, we make use of it and follow 
the legislative intent, and I think in that process certain 
agencies have taken a percentage of the earmark for their 
administrative costs of tracking the expenditures and making 
sure that the work is carried out properly and there is some 
overhead costs that have to be covered in this process.
    Senator Nelson. But that's not an agency expenditure that's 
appropriated as part of the budgetary process.
    Secretary Johanns. No. I think what's happening here, 
Senator, is this. Historically earmarks have not been included 
in the administration's budget request. Even before the 
discussion really heated up on earmarks, you could go and look 
at past budget requests and we don't include them, so therefore 
there would be no administrative costs to include.
    But, as Scott indicates--and you probably have the numbers 
in front of you but we would be happy to supply them to the 
committee, too--there is a certain cost in just administering 
the earmark that has been established, and so that 
administrative cost has been covered by some piece of that, and 
I'm not even aware how much, for the program itself.
    Senator Nelson. Well, some are 2.5 percent for expenses 
related to implementing the President's Management Agenda; 
agency assessment of about 8 percent to pay for administrative 
support; program assessment, 2.5 percent to 9 percent, to 
support overall program direction. It means that the range 
could be from somewhere from 13 to 20.5 percent, or higher if 
the department charge is raised.
    It is something I think we need to look into as part of the 
appropriations process, so that we don't end up with, in 
effect, off-budget, outside appropriation, taking of certain 
expenses to the agency for the process of doing that. Or at 
least it ought to be formalized in some uniform way, so that if 
an earmark is in fact directed to a certain agency, that you 
know in advance what it's going to be, so it doesn't erode the 
amount of the earmark that you're expecting to go to the 
recipient.
    Secretary Johanns. We would be happy to work with you to 
find a very transparent approach, because I think the dilemma 
we find ourselves in is, we do have certain oversight 
responsibilities and so that's how this is coming about. But 
again, we want to be transparent about it. If we're doing 
something that you'd like to see different, we're open to----
    Senator Nelson. As a matter of compliment, you were able to 
provide us some of this information when we requested it. Some 
other agencies told us it was none of our business.
    Secretary Johanns. No, we're happy to provide it and happy 
to work through the issue.
    [The information follows:]

                   Administrative Costs for Earmarks

    Several USDA agencies administer funds as a result of Congressional 
earmarks. The amount of administrative costs withheld from an earmark 
differs based on the nature of the earmarked funds and the agency 
administering the particular earmark. There are some specific statutory 
set-asides that all agencies within USDA are required by law to apply 
against programs, including from earmarks. For example, all funding 
related to extramural research and development is subject to a 
requirement to set aside 2.5 percent of funds to be used for the Small 
Business Innovation Research Program (Small Business Research and 
Development Enhancement Act of 1992, Public Law 102-564, as amended). 
In addition, all biotechnology research projects are required to set 
aside 2.0 percent of funds to support the Biotechnology Risk Assessment 
program (Section 1668 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990, Public Law 101-624, as amended).
    In addition to statutory set-asides, agencies also have authority 
to use a portion of the appropriated funds to pay for administrative 
costs. The portion of the appropriated funds used to pay for 
administration costs may differ for each agency and program. Specific 
examples include:
  --The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service 
        (CSREES) has specific statutory authority (Section 1469 of 
        National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Policy 
        Act of 1977, Public Law 95-113, as amended) to retain up to 4 
        percent of amounts appropriated for research, extension and 
        teaching programs for administration of these programs.
  --The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) assesses 10 percent of all 
        appropriations to finance management costs associated with the 
        conduct of their nationwide research programs. ARS does not 
        have a separate budget line item to cover management support.
  --The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) assesses a 
        rate between 2.5 percent to 9 percent depending upon the 
        program. APHIS, like ARS, does not have a separate budget line 
        item to cover management support.

    Senator Nelson. My time has expired. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    Secretary Johanns. Yes.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Nelson. Senator Reed, then 
Senator Feinstein, then Senator Specter. Senator Reed?
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. 
Secretary and gentlemen.

                 PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS (PRTS)

    I understand that this budget for the first time includes 
$12.5 million to support USDA personnel in provincial 
reconstruction teams in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Is that 
correct, Mr. Secretary?
    Secretary Johanns. That is correct, yes.
    Senator Reed. Any reason why this is the first time it's 
been in the budget? I can tell you they are really high valued 
items over there.
    Secretary Johanns. Scott tells me that it was actually in 
last year's budget at $5 million, so maybe what caught your 
attention is that it's there this year at $12 million. The 
reason why it's there is that we do have a presence. We think 
that presence is important. We think we can do some good things 
in those countries.
    In fact, in one of the farm bill proposals we made, we 
identify a place for this kind of activity, whether it's Iraq 
or Afghanistan or some other place. We have international 
expertise. We have offices in 75 foreign countries or 70 
foreign countries. We are all over the world, and we think we 
can be very helpful.
    Senator Reed. Well, Mr. Secretary, I second that. I've been 
out visiting these PRT teams numerous times and talking to 
military leaders. I was up in Tikrit with General Nixon of the 
25th Infantry Division, and he said he could use many more USDA 
experts.
    Secretary Johanns. Yes.
    Senator Reed. Will you be able to fill all the requirements 
that you've received with this money?
    Secretary Johanns. Yes, we believe we will. I can give you 
an update today, that we have staff in Iraq and we have had 
from the beginning. We have, on the PRTs I think we have six 
positions, five of which are already there, and I think the 
sixth one will be heading over there in April of this year. So 
this would fund what we've been asked to do.
    Senator Reed. Are these contract personnel or employees?
    Secretary Johanns. No, they're employees.
    Senator Reed. There are some non-DOD agencies that are 
having difficulty getting personnel to go over, for a couple of 
reasons. One is, they don't get all the benefits that DOD gets, 
but also there's a fear that if they leave their job in the 
United States or elsewhere, that they will suffer in terms of 
promotion or their management will suffer in terms of losing a 
key person without replacement.
    How are you dealing with that? Say for example an expert 
from the Southeast of the United States goes overseas. Can you 
put a replacement in there, or does that agency or that unit 
have to get along without them?
    Secretary Johanns. I've never run into it, but I would tell 
you my personal approach would be that they not lose anything; 
that if they want to go over and do a period of time in Iraq, 
that is of real value, or Afghanistan, they should not be set 
back in their career pathway. But, like I said, I haven't run 
into it, so I'm hoping that's an indication that that has not 
been a problem. In fact, one of our personnel--he just 
refreshed my recollection--actually came back because they got 
a promotion, and so they came back to fill that promotion.
    Senator Reed. Well, I think this is a key area, and it's 
not just for the Department of Agriculture, it's for all the 
agencies that are complementing our military efforts, and I 
would ask you to go back and look seriously about the 
incentives or disincentives, about the ability to fill all of 
the requested slots and the sufficient funding to do that. But 
I note this is some progress. It's taken 4 years or so to 
finally gear up, but at least we've geared up.

                    LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD TO SCHOOLS

    Let me change topics quickly. In Rhode Island there's a 
number of organizations that are working with farmers in our 
State to bring locally produced food to schools, and I'm glad 
that one of the recent USDA farm bill proposals indicates 
support for fresh fruits and vegetables in schools. However, 
since the Farm-to-Cafeteria program was authorized in Section 
122 of the 2004 child nutrition and WIC reauthorization, the 
program has received no funding in the administration's budget. 
Why is that the case, if we're trying to get fresh food into 
the school cafeteria program?
    Secretary Johanns. Scott, do you know about past funding?
    Mr. Steele. Senator, I think that there was a pilot for the 
schools in prior years that we did fund, and we've been trying 
to get local sponsors to work and continue those pilots. But I 
think that the farm bill proposal is going to accelerate our 
efforts in dealing with this question.
    Secretary Johanns. Our farm bill proposals, and I'll turn 
to that, would dramatically boost our efforts here. We're 
proposing $2.75 billion--and these are all scored in a 10-year 
basis--$2.75 billion in funds to purchase fruits and vegetables 
for our food assistance programs, and an additional $500 
million to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables in 
our school meals program. So over $3 billion will go into 
fruits and vegetables purchases in nutrition or school lunch.
    Senator Reed. And just a final question because my time has 
expired, but there will be an emphasis on purchasing local 
produce from local farmers?
    Secretary Johanns. Absolutely. Wherever we can buy locally, 
we want to do that. And the other thing I would point out is 
that our proposals at least are for mandatory money, so again 
if Congress agrees with us, your fruit and vegetable producers, 
your specialty crop farmers, will see a pretty significant 
presence in the farm bill that they have never seen before.
    Senator Reed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    Senator Feinstein.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

              DHS AGRICULTURAL INSPECTIONS AT U.S. BORDERS

    If I might, Mr. Secretary, why don't we go to this question 
that I had about DHS taking over ag inspections at the border. 
Just from the California experience, there is some indication 
to me that this may not be the best way to go. Could you 
comment?
    Secretary Johanns. We have a cooperative effort that goes 
on here with Homeland Security, and the USDA is a part of that. 
We can give you some numbers of things that we have done 
together. I can tell you from the USDA standpoint it is our 
goal to work as seamlessly as we possibly can with DHS in the 
administration of this program, and our attitude is, if we have 
resources that might be helpful, we want to provide those 
resources and be of assistance.
    I think, Senator, part of what is maybe being experienced 
here, this was a change, and sometimes it just takes a while 
for the system to adjust to that change. Every time I go to 
California, and I'm there on a frequent basis, this issue does 
arise from the agricultural community, because they're worried 
about pests coming in and that sort of thing.
    Senator Feinstein. And they're coming in.
    Secretary Johanns. Well, and from the USDA standpoint, I 
want you to know that we're ready to do whatever we can to make 
the system work, and we'll work as seamlessly as we possibly 
can to do that.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, I am told that fewer ag 
inspections are being done since the transfer.
    Secretary Johanns. I don't have those numbers in front of 
me, but----
    Senator Feinstein. May I ask you to take a look at that?
    Secretary Johanns. I will.
    Senator Feinstein. And get back to me, because California's 
ag is so big and affects so many States, and the penalty that 
comes from having fruit fly and then you quarantine three 
counties, the penalty is enormous. The key has to be to keep 
contaminated fruit out. Right now there's a problem with 
avocados coming in with a pest attached, and it's not being 
caught.
    Secretary Johanns. I will be happy to dig into the numbers 
and we will provide you with that information.
    [The information follows:]

                   AGRICULTURAL QUARANTINE INSPECTION
                            [Inspection Data]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Pathway                   United States    California
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal Year 2002:
    Air Passengers arrivals.............      55,220,906      10,728,329
    Air Passengers inspected............      10,521,155       1,560,235
    Cargo inspections/clearances........       2,821,221         518,040

Fiscal Year 2003:
    Air Passengers arrivals.............      56,690,220      10,584,656
    Air Passengers inspected............       9,814,540       1,789,183
    Cargo inspections/clearances........       3,208,140         544,973

Fiscal Year 2004:
    Air Passengers arrivals.............      57,204,756      11,354,159
    Air Passengers inspected............      11,757,977       1,551,359
    Cargo inspections/clearances........       2,544,184         644,893

Fiscal Year 2005:
    Air Passengers arrivals.............      66,254,784      12,538,889
    Air Passengers inspected............      10,092,452       1,384,565
    Cargo inspections/clearances........       2,316,903         724,088

Fiscal Year 2006:
    Air Passengers arrivals.............      68,457,060      12,832,403
    Air Passengers inspected............       8,523,178       1,437,212
    Cargo inspections/clearances........       2,110,075         752,715
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One of the major benefits of transferring all port of entry 
inspections to one agency is a front line inspection for all types of 
contraband by one individual. As a result, the front line inspectors 
today are not solely agricultural, narcotics, or weapons inspectors, 
but rather they have been trained to detect any and all contraband. 
This system allows for an efficient use of resources without 
compromising protection. However, having the front line inspectors 
trained to detect multiple forms of contraband does not allow for a 
direct comparison with the inspection regime prior to the transfer. For 
example, all international air passengers must be cleared through the 
Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) 
primary inspection. They may be directed to undergo a secondary 
agricultural inspection for a variety of reasons. While the actual 
number of secondary agricultural inspections of air passengers has 
decreased since the transfer, the primary inspection now includes a 
much stronger agriculture component because APHIS provides basic 
agricultural training to all CBP inspectors. Additionally, CBP has a 
more sophisticated risk identification system and database that allows 
for more targeted inspections.

             AGRICULTURAL QUARANTINE INSPECTION (AQI) FEES

    Senator Feinstein. All right, because don't you have $133 
million for administrative expenses? Is that for new ag 
inspectors, or is that something else?
    Secretary Johanns. Scott, do you know?
    Mr. Steele. Senator, this is the Agricultural Quarantine 
Inspection fee program that we carry out. We collect these fees 
from airline passengers, and that money is collected and those 
fees do change periodically in terms of how much money we 
recover from them. Then some of that money is transferred over 
to DHS from the Department. At this point in time for the 2008 
budget, it looks like we have estimated obligations in this 
program of about $482 million, and about $299 million, almost 
$300 million, of that would be transferred to the Department of 
Homeland Security to carry out the inspections you're talking 
about.
    Now, APHIS does keep some of those fees for their own 
internal use in helping DHS carry out its responsibility, but 
DHS is now in charge of the front line inspectors. They would 
be the one checking the baggage and those kinds of things. 
APHIS would be called in if there needed to be fumigation, 
training, and other things, sort of a secondary back-up role to 
the DHS people. Now, those DHS people, they were transferred 
from APHIS over to DHS. They originally worked for USDA, and 
they are now working for DHS, and they are being assigned and 
managed by DHS.

                        NUMBER OF AQI INSPECTORS

    Senator Feinstein. How many of them are there?
    Secretary Johanns. I don't have an exact number, of the 
total number of inspectors, but we can provide that for the 
record and tell you exactly who is doing what.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, for the record, this is one 
Senator--
    Secretary Johanns. Yes, and how many are in California.
    Senator Feinstein [continuing]. That doesn't really like 
that transfer. I don't think that inspections are well served 
by taking agricultural people and putting them under DHS, where 
the mission is totally different, and I don't want to see my 
State suffer because of it, either. So I'm going to watch 
carefully, and I hope you will as well.
    Secretary Johanns. We will, and we'll get you that 
information you have requested.
    [The information follows:]
    Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Positions Transferred to DHS
    In fiscal year 2002, the Animal and Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) had 3,484 Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) full time 
equivalents (FTEs). Of these FTEs, 2,515 were inspection personnel.
    In fiscal year 2003, APHIS transferred 2,655 positions (529 of 
those positions were in California with 75 vacant positions) to the 
Department of Homeland Security. Of these 2,655 positions, 2,407 were 
inspection positions (including Plant Protection and Quarantine 
Inspectors and Technicians). Of the inspection positions, 346 were 
vacant at the time of the transfer (accordingly, 2061 inspection 
personnel were transferred). Of the total 2,655 positions, 387 were 
vacant.
    In fiscal year 2007, DHS informs the Department that they have 
2,188 agricultural specialist positions, including 130 vacancies. DHS 
also indicates that there are 337 inspectors currently located in 
California.

                       E. COLI IN SPECIALTY CROPS

    Senator Feinstein. Thank you. Let me go to E. coli. The 
outbreak of E. coli that essentially came from California 
products, at least the spinach, I mean, 90 percent of the 
United States is fed with that spinach, and I note that the 
budget increases by $4 million food safety research, but you 
also discontinue the food safety project at the Albany station 
in California which specifically targets E. coli, and so my 
question is, why?
    Secretary Johanns. This is one of the things that I 
mentioned in my opening statement. We did a farm bill proposal 
on kind of a parallel track with the budget, but eventually 
these two have to marry together because in 2008 we have a new 
farm bill.
    When it comes to specialty crops, I think you're going to 
like the proposals we have made. We are proposing not only that 
increase of additional fruit and vegetable purchases, which of 
course would be really good for California, but we're also 
proposing to increase research in that area by $1 billion--and 
again, these numbers are all on a 10-year score--because one of 
the things that we heard from our specialty crop farmers was, 
we need assistance in this area of research and phytosanitary/
sanitary issues.
    So we heard them, and again, never, I promise you, never in 
the history of farm bills have we had such a significant 
presence for specialty crop producers as what we are proposing. 
So if these proposals were to be adopted, there would be a 
major step forward for research in this area. It would be very 
significant.
    Senator Feinstein. My time is up, Mr. Chairman, but if I 
might just say--and you don't have to answer it, we can talk 
about this later--the time has perhaps come for some 
regulations from your department with respect to the 
phytosanitary handling of crops, to prevent this from happening 
again, instead of leaving it up to each State.
    Secretary Johanns. California has a very, very mature ag 
industry, as you know. They do good work. Some of their 
counties actually produce more agricultural products in value 
than some States. And so I guess what I would say to you is, we 
like what we're seeing there. They really do seem to be 
aggressively addressing this issue. Any time you go to a 
national phenomenon, it becomes that. I mean, it tends to be 
uniform, one-size-fits-all. I really want to talk to you about 
that before maybe any of us reach some conclusions on that.
    I would also mention that APHIS does work with California, 
and the FDA, in this area. But again, I think this would really 
warrant some serious thought and discussion, and I would really 
want to consult with our producers across the country, 
especially in California. They do some good work, as you know.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Feinstein.
    Senator Specter.
    Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

               COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM (CSFP)

    Mr. Secretary, I am concerned about the budget request 
which is $4 billion lower than the 2006-2007 level, and the 
termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program which 
provided some 6.4 million food packages to over 500,000 people 
in low income brackets, also seniors. I know that the 
projection is that the WIC program and food stamps will meet 
the needs, but that really isn't applicable when the seniors 
are not included in those programs.
    So my question, how can your department really keep up with 
the demands for very important services, and have a budget cut 
and not have even an inflationary increase, and continue to 
provide important programs like the Commodity Supplemental Food 
Program?
    Secretary Johanns. Overall, our nutrition programs are 
fully funded--not only funded for what we have today but the 
anticipated need. They're fully funded for the inflationary 
increase we anticipate, and they're even fully funded in terms 
of a contingency amount of money for WIC and food stamps. So we 
believe that we will meet the needs that are out there, and if 
we don't, if we have underestimated those, we have a 
contingency program that is available.
    Senator Specter. What is the contingency program?
    Secretary Johanns. It's a large amount of money. Scott, how 
much?
    Mr. Steele. Senator, yes, we have set aside additional 
money in a contingency fund if we would need to use it. It's $3 
billion for the Food Stamp Program. If our estimates are wrong 
on participation, we could then go to that contingency fund to 
make up the difference, the shortfall.
    In the WIC program it's $200 million. If we miss the 
estimate that we have now for 8.3 million women, infants and 
children, we would be able to tap into that $200 million if our 
estimate is wrong. So we have asked for that additional amount 
of money in the budget request.
    Secretary Johanns. Here is the situation on CSFP, and it is 
a popular program. It's certainly well received out there. Here 
is why it keeps popping up. The administrative costs get 
people's attention. They are about 46 percent of the food that 
is purchased. It is not a nationwide program. It's in 32 out of 
the 50 States, and I think we have it on some Indian 
reservations.
    And, again, we just believe--and we have monies in the 
budget for outreach--that if we can identify the people and 
move them to one of our other programs, it will work better for 
them. So that's why it keeps popping up every year.
    Senator Specter. Mr. Secretary, let me thank Keith Collins, 
your chief economist, for substantial help he has given us in 
the past when we've had some tough milk issues in Pennsylvania. 
I recall one incident where he came to the State and was 
enormously helpful.
    I'm not going to be able to stay for Commissioner von 
Eschenbach's testimony. I want to note with approval his 
confirmation. Good to see him on the job, past that hurdle.
    And one question which I would like him to answer for the 
record. It involves the--I note an increase in user fees, $15.7 
billion, on some of the drug review programs. We hear comments 
from time to time that the people who are awaiting those 
programs would be glad to increase their user fees if we could 
have more expeditious treatment. I'd like him to take a look at 
that question and give us a response in writing.
    Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Specter.
    Senator Harkin.
    Senator Harkin. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 
Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Deputy Secretary, and all of you 
who are here. I just had a couple of questions.

                            ORGANIC FARMING

    Again, we tried in the last farm bill, Mr. Secretary, to 
put in some funds and different programs to help organic 
farmers. There has always been this sort of ``valley of death'' 
as they call it, when a farmer wants to transition to become an 
organic. Well, you take 3 years. You've got to have 3 years. 
Well, during those 3 years you can't really say it's organic, 
so how do you get through that sort of ``valley of death'' from 
being nonorganic to being organic?
    So we put funds in the bill and we put a couple of programs 
in there to help farmers do this. I see that the budget now 
zeros this out, zeros this out. Let's see, where was it? Yes, 
we had $1.8 million, very small, in discretionary funds last 
year, and the budget would provide no funds at all.
    Now, we do have some money that we put in there, mandatory 
money. We do have some of the mandatory money in there, that's 
true, but that's sort of on research and stuff. But the 
transition funds--we do the research, and that money is there, 
Mr. Chairman, for research in organics and what farmers might 
do and how they set up marketing things and stuff like that. 
That's that research, but the transition funds were extremely 
important, and they're just zeroed out at a time when consumers 
can't get enough organics.
    The fastest growing part of the food industry in America is 
organics, 20 percent a year. People at Whole Foods say they 
can't get enough organics. They can't even keep up with it. So 
people want it. The producers can't keep up. It seems to me a 
great opportunity, and I just want to know what kind of 
justification there is, because I'm looking at the farm bill 
this year, and if nothing else, I'd like to actually beef that 
up and do more in that area, Mr. Secretary.
    Secretary Johanns. I was just looking at our proposals that 
we submitted to your Agriculture Committee, Mr. Chairman, 
relative to organic farming, and we're doing a number of things 
here that I think would be helpful. I don't pick up that 
proposal in what we've put here, though, I don't think.
    So I guess what I would offer to you, I'd be anxious to sit 
down with you and see if there's something we can do there, 
because you're right, there is a period of time where you 
transition. We do have some money in this year's budget, some 
mandatory funding, as you point out, but in the next farm bill 
there's probably an opportunity here to take a look at this 
issue again.
    Senator Harkin. I'm open for any suggestions you've got on 
things where we can work together and how we focus on this.
    And the other thing that I heard, Mr. Secretary, was that 
we just had a meeting with some of these farmers in Iowa 
recently, sometime in January, I think it was, and the problem 
seems to be in terms of marketing, regional kinds of processing 
facilities and stuff, where a small farmer could take this in 
and get it processed and packaged and sent out, someplace like 
that, so I would like to visit with you about that.
    Secretary Johanns. Okay.

                           DHS AQI INSPECTORS

    Senator Harkin. I am told that in my absence Senator 
Feinstein covered the problems with the inspectors coming in. I 
think we've got a real problem there, and we're going to have 
to think about whether or not, Mr. Chairman, whether or not 
these inspectors ought to be brought back under USDA or should 
they stay under DHS. And quite frankly, everything I have heard 
is that they were doing their job under Ag, they had a good 
structure for it, and now they have been shifted and it's sort 
of the tail end of everything out there under DHS. I just 
wonder if we shouldn't somehow bring them back in under USDA. I 
assume you spoke about that in my absence.
    Secretary Johanns. Yes. Senator Feinstein has asked for 
some information on where were we on inspections before the 
change, where are we at now, and we'll provide that.

                                FOOD AID

    Senator Harkin. Okay. The last thing I just want to cover 
is food aid. Because of the continuing crisis in Africa and 
everywhere else, we have been obligated to provide additional 
emergency funding for Title II international food aid above and 
beyond the appropriated levels, and this goes back for the last 
several years.
    Again, the administration--we're talking about a budget 
here, now--the administration has been unwilling to acknowledge 
that increased demand. They have not requested any funding 
above the recent level of $1.2 billion for Title II, and I'm 
wondering why, since we know we're going to have to provide 
more, why there isn't more of a budget thing and why there 
isn't some justification in the budget for this food aid? It 
just makes it tough on us when it's not in that budget.
    Now, if you don't have the answer now, if you could submit 
it in writing, that would be fine with me.
    Secretary Johanns. Okay. We'll submit it in writing.
    Senator Harkin. That's fine. Just look at that.
    Secretary Johanns. Okay.
    Senator Harkin. Same level it has always been every year. 
We've got to come in and get more and more every year. And I 
think as you look around the world now, we're going to be asked 
to do that again, so it should be part of the budget.
    Secretary Johanns. Okay.
    [The information follows:]
       2008 Budget Request for Public Law 480 Title II Donations
    The 2008 budget requests just over $1.2 billion of appropriated 
funding for Public Law 480 Title II donations; this is a slight 
increase above the level provided in 2007. The requested funding will 
be supplemented by reimbursements from the Maritime Administration for 
prior year cargo preference costs, which are expected to total just 
over $120 million in 2008.
    The appropriations request reflects a careful prioritization among 
the competing demands for international humanitarian assistance. The 
United States has a number of different programs and authorities for 
responding to humanitarian needs overseas, each of which is important 
and makes a unique contribution to our humanitarian response efforts.
    In addition, it is important to understand that emergency food 
needs are difficult to predict in advance, especially given the complex 
nature of evolving, rapidly changing conflicts and the unpredictability 
of rainy seasons in drought-prone areas. However, should unanticipated 
and extraordinary emergencies arise during the course of the year, the 
Administration has a number of options for responding, including a 
supplemental appropriations request and a release of commodities from 
the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. At present, the Trust holds 
915,000 metric tons of wheat and $107 million of cash. The wheat 
tonnage equivalent of that cash is approximately 500,000 metric tons, 
so in total the Trust has resources equal to about 1.4 million metric 
tons of wheat.
    In view of these considerations, the Administration believes the 
2008 budget continues our commitment to addressing the most severe and 
critical emergency food aid needs.

    Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Harkin.
    Senator Nelson, do you want to make comments?
    Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

                          CONTINGENCY FUNDING

    One quick item: Mr. Chairman, I commend the contingency 
fund to deal with the challenges of food stamps and making sure 
that the numbers match with the requirements. I wonder if it's 
possible to do a similar thing with mitigation funding, with a 
contingency fund.
    We know every year we're going to have disasters that will 
relate to agriculture, whether it's hurricanes or whether it's 
continuing drought. In the past they've been offset typically 
from some program within the previous farm bill, 2002. I 
remember Nebraska being a beneficiary of that when you were 
Governor. It's an ongoing situation. We don't know where it's 
going to happen, but we know that it will happen.
    Why aren't we in a position to set aside a contingency? If 
we're going to take $18 billion, roughly, out of the farm bill, 
why don't we preserve some of that to deal with the fact that 
disasters will occur that are not going to be adequately 
covered by crop insurance?
    There isn't any way an 8-year continuing drought can be 
covered by crop insurance. We went over that, I think, in the 
Senate Ag Committee, in talking about how we will balance that 
all out. But isn't it possible to set aside $5 billion or $6 
billion? If we can set aside $3 billion for food stamps, it 
would seem to me that we ought to be able to hedge our bet a 
bit on natural disasters for crop coverage.

                      CROP INSURANCE GAP COVERAGE

    Secretary Johanns. Here is the challenge you will face if 
you want to establish a fund and just have money in it, 
whatever that amount would be. Keep in mind during the last 
farm bill, notwithstanding the attempts to pass recent disaster 
relief, we spent about $8 billion on disaster relief programs, 
and the current discussion is somewhere along the lines of $3 
or $4 additional billion, so you could be up to around $12 
billion. And you're going to start with a baseline just like we 
did, and everything outside of that is above the baseline, and 
you know the drill on amounts above the baseline.
    Here is what I would offer to you, though. I do believe 
that this crop insurance approach is worth looking at. One of 
the big criticisms with crop insurance today is, you can't 
cover the gap, so we're proposing a gap coverage be made 
available to cover that typically 30 percent gap in coverage 
between 70 percent and 100 percent.
    And then the second thing is the revenue-based 
countercyclical program just will work better. We can't talk 
about the specific product, we're forbidden, but there is some 
effort to look at this issue of ongoing disaster and its impact 
on crop insurance and----
    Senator Nelson. Well, you just reach the base, so that 
ultimately you're out of business unintentionally.
    Secretary Johanns. Exactly. Dr. Collins can give you a 
great briefing on that. But we're looking at some of the very 
issues you're talking about, and this actually might--I would 
respectfully suggest--be a better model than just the fund.
    Senator Nelson. Well, I would agree with you for the 
occasional loss. I don't think that you can rely on crop 
insurance to cover a disaster that continues for 8 years. It's 
not designed to do that. That's like insuring your house and 
having it burn down every year for 8 years. The mechanism just 
doesn't presuppose that in the actuarial computations.
    But statistically I'm sure Mr. Steele could calculate over 
the last 20 years what, adjusted for current dollar value, what 
the crop losses have been that would be disaster occurrences, 
so that you could calculate highs and lows and treat it as, if 
you will, a contingency fund on an actuarial or statistical 
basis within the budget, and have it covered.
    Now, it's true, sometimes it's better to cover that 30 
percent. I understand that difference. But I don't think your 
crop insurance is going to work for a multiyear drought that 
goes on and on and on and on. For occasional losses, I think 
that's the way to go for 2 or 3 years, but not an 8- or 9-year 
loss as you know we're experiencing in southwest Nebraska.
    Something for you to consider, and I hope that you will 
take a close look at it, and I hope as we put together the 
appropriations package, we can work in that direction.
    Secretary Johanns. Okay. We would be anxious to sit down 
with you, and we'll consider your comments.
    Senator Nelson. Thank you.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much, Senator Nelson.
    And we would like to thank you, Secretary Johanns, along 
with Mr. Conner, Mr. Steele, Mr. Collins. Your testimony and 
your response to our questions has been really good, and we 
look forward to continuing to work with you as the process 
unfolds.
    Secretary Johanns. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]

                Questions Submitted by Senator Herb Kohl

                                  veal
    Question. Mr. Secretary, I am very concerned that we have some 
serious trade distortions with Canada which disadvantage U.S. veal 
producers.
    Wisconsin veal producers believe that Canadian policies, 
particularly access to low-priced feed coupled with support from the 
Quebec production price insurance program, give their competitors in 
Canada an unfair economic advantage in the form of lower production 
cost which encourage over production. Some of the increased production 
is exported to the U.S. market where it is further processed and sold 
as U.S. produced product. The relatively low cost of production in 
Canada also encourages many Canadian producers to purchase replacement 
calves in the United States which drives up prices for U.S. producers.
    I would like the USDA's Economic Research Service to review this 
topic and provide some updated data on this matter. I'm particularly 
interested in an updated comparison of subsidies which apply to U.S. 
veal producers and their counterparts in Canada.
    Answer. The information is submitted for the record.
    [The information follows:]
    In 2005 the cost of production for a milk- or formula-fed veal calf 
raised to about 450 pounds in the United States was $682.50 versus a 
net cost of $699.97 in Canada, which includes a payment from the 
Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program.
    Exports of veal meat from Canada to the United States in the 
carcass, cuts-bone-in, and cuts boneless categories (assumed to be 
available for further processing in the United States) have increased 
from 2000 to 2005.
    Carcass exports to the United States have risen rapidly due to 
increased slaughter capacity in Canada and restrictions on live animal 
trade as a result of BSE-related border measures. U.S. cattle export 
data to Canada do not provide breakouts by size so we cannot readily 
determine how many calves are really being shipped to Canada for veal. 
A category in USDA export statistics that includes these calves is 
Cattle not for Breeding which we show here for 2002 to 2006.
    Exports fell with the onset of BSE-related border measures, 
dropping from about 133,500 animals in 2002 to a low of 14,200 in 2004 
and rebounding slowly afterward. Exports reached 36,050 animals in 
2006. Purchases of veal calves by Canadians make up some unknown share 
of these exports.
    Veal market data reports show the following calf slaughter numbers 
in Canada and the United States in recent years.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Canada           U.S.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003....................................         251,309         971,459
2004....................................         284,334         838,405
2005....................................         267,900         717,338
2006....................................         245,341         698,618
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. I would also like to receive a summary of steps you have 
taken in conjunction with the U.S. Trade Representative to resolve this 
dispute.
    Answer. USDA, along with the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR), is aware of the concerns that have been 
identified and has examined Canadian Federal and provincial policies 
regarding support provided to Canadian veal producers. To date, USDA 
has not identified components of the Quebec Income Stabilization 
Program that are inconsistent with Canada's international obligations 
but remains open to additional information and assessment. There are 
several recent factors that have changed the dynamics of the United 
States and Canadian veal and veal calf markets, including the 
imposition of U.S. BSE restrictions on Canadian cattle. USDA will 
continue to monitor the situation closely. If new information indicates 
that Canada is not fully meeting its international obligations, USDA 
and USTR will take prompt action to address the matter.

         AFGHANISTAN/IRAQ PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

    Question. Last August, we received notification from the U.S. 
Department of State that $7.8 million of the Iraq Relief and 
Reconstruction Fund was being transferred to USDA to restore and expand 
a sustainable agriculture sector in Iraq. Your request for 2008 
includes $12.5 million for Provincial Reconstruction Teams to restore 
and stabilize the agricultural economies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
    Please tell us the amount of funds that USDA has used for these 
activities since the beginning of fiscal year 2006, including funds 
directly appropriated to USDA or transferred from other Departments. 
Also tell us what specific activities were carried out with these 
funds.
    Answer. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2006 through March 2007, 
USDA has expended approximately $3.39 million in Afghanistan ($2.45 
million transferred from USAID, $140,000 from the CCC-funded Emerging 
Markets Program, and $800,000 from USDA appropriated funding) to 
support USDA participation in the Provincial Reconstruction Teams 
(PRTs); to provide technical assistance and capacity building to the 
Ministry of Agriculture; and to support development of agriculture and 
trade programs at institutions of higher education. This amount will 
grow as additional expenses are incurred during fiscal year 2007.
    Since the beginning of fiscal year 2006 through March 2007, USDA 
has used approximately $6.56 million in Iraq ($5.3 million transferred 
from the State Department to support revitalization of Iraqi 
agricultural extension programs; $260,000 transferred from USAID to 
support USDA participation in the PRTs; and $1 million from USDA 
appropriated funding) to provide both agricultural advisors to the PRTs 
and Ministry of Agriculture, and public affairs specialist to work with 
the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO). This amount will also 
increase as we move through fiscal year 2007.
    Question. What specific outcomes have been realized by the 
expenditure of these funds and are these consistent (and on schedule) 
with the original objectives of the allocations?
    Answer. With this funding, USDA has been an active participant in 
the ongoing reconstruction initiatives in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In 
the case of Afghanistan, USDA has been able to introduce modern 
agriculture production and marketing techniques to the rural provinces. 
Among other things, efforts have been focused on irrigation system 
rehabilitation, post-harvest loss reduction, marketing system 
improvements and livestock health.
    In Iraq, USDA's Agricultural Extension Revitalization Program is on 
schedule to provide the first training of Iraqi extension agents in 
June 2007. In addition, USDA has deployed PRT and ministry advisors as 
well as public affairs specialists who are now embedded into the Iraqi 
and U.S. institutions to which they were assigned. Recruitment for 
additional advisors is ongoing. USDA is cooperating with other U.S. 
Government agencies to continue identifying appropriate assignments.
    The outcomes that have been achieved through these activities have 
been consistent with the purposes for which the funding was originally 
allocated.
    Question. How do you recruit people to take assignments in 
locations such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and how do you assure their 
security?
    Answer. The Foreign Agricultural Service coordinates the 
recruitment and selection of USDA agricultural advisors, drawing upon 
the expertise of the Department's agencies such as the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service, and the Agricultural Marketing Service, as well as the Land 
Grant Universities and 1890 colleges. A panel from USDA interviews and 
selects candidates, matching their technical skills, as well as their 
anticipated ability to operate in an insecure area, to skills needed in 
the PRTs. Recommendations are sent to the Secretary for final approval.
    Prior to deployment, all advisors attend a two-week security 
training program. Once deployed, each advisor is embedded with the U.S. 
military to ensure personal security.
    Question. In Afghanistan, there had been hopes that poppy 
production could be replaced with food crops that could help sustain 
their people. Yet we hear that poppy production there is still their 
leading crop and that the World Food Program considers that country in 
serious need of humanitarian food assistance.
    Explain what has been done to try and move Afghan farmers away from 
poppy production and why does it not seem to be working?
    Answer. USDA's role in support of the Administration's efforts to 
promote alternative livelihoods includes providing expertise to the 
Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen programs in 
agricultural extension, animal health, plant protection, and natural 
resources, and helps the Ministry extend its programs to all provinces 
and districts of the country. USDA's advisors on the PRTs work with 
their ministry counterparts to build capacity and develop programs at 
the local level.
    USDA helped to establish and continues to support the Afghan 
Conservation Corps which has employed thousands of Afghans in projects 
for reforestation, soil and water conservation, and conservation 
education. With local sales proceeds derived from the monetization of 
USDA food aid commodities, USDA has supported the renovation of 
agricultural and veterinary teaching facilities at Kabul University and 
the training of faculty. USDA also is working to build the capacity of 
five agricultural universities in Afghanistan, through faculty 
training, construction, and renovation of laboratories and classrooms.
    Finally, because livestock is vitally important to the Afghan 
economy, USDA is training Afghan veterinarians in the recognition, 
diagnosis, and control of animal diseases.

                     CCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the budget for the Common Computing 
Environment is spread to the 3 agencies it serves this year--Rural 
Development, the Natural Resources Conservation Services, and Farm 
Service Agency. However, total funding for CCE decreases by nearly $30 
million.
    It is not my understanding that information technology needs at 
USDA have decreased--in fact, at the Farm Service Agency--the opposite 
is true. We have all heard about the problems and delays at the county 
offices--when the East Coast is working, the West Coast can't work, and 
vice versa, or FSA risks overloading the system. This is clearly 
unacceptable, and although the Farm Bill is scheduled to be 
reauthorized this year, which will obviously increase FSA's workload, 
funding increases in their budget for IT will only maintain the 
antiquated system in place now. It's like trying to stop a dam from 
bursting with duct tape.
    Why is the budget for CCE decreasing this year, when needs are 
certainly not?
    Answer. Funding for the CCE has been comprised of Service Center 
Agency (FSA, NRCS, RD) information technology (IT) purchases through 
their own appropriations, in addition to funding provided through the 
CCE direct appropriation. This funding has been used to develop an 
infrastructure to support the business delivery functions of the 
Service Center Agency (SCA) field offices located across the country. 
The 2008 budget requests that $78.5 million with an additional $12 
million for CCE activities specific to FSA be included in the SCA 
salaries and expenses appropriations to meet the ongoing business 
delivery needs. This funding will support the continued IT activities 
of the SCAs as they jointly maintain the CCE infrastructure. In 
addition, the SCAs will continue to work with the Information 
Technology Services (ITS) division of the Office of the Chief 
Information Officer in USDA. ITS is funded through reimbursable 
agreements with the SCAs and delivers staffing and services to the 
agencies in support of the CCE. In coordination with ITS, the agencies 
will be able to ensure that the necessary services and staffing are 
available to maintain the infrastructure and program delivery.
    Question. Does the USDA have a solid budget estimate of the cost to 
replace the current outdated FSA computer system?
    Answer. FSA is planning to implement a long-term modernization 
effort known as MIDAS to replace its obsolete equipment. At this time, 
FSA anticipates submitting a business case for this investment to the 
Office of Management and Budget during March 2007. Preliminary cost 
estimates indicate that this planned transition would require about 
$278 million over fiscal years 2007 through 2009. It would also have a 
total 10-year lifecycle cost of $463 million unadjusted for risk and an 
estimated cost of $617 million when adjusted for risk.
    In addition to this modernization effort, further costs must be 
incurred to stabilize the FSA IT system components at field offices in 
the short term. These additional costs are estimated to be about $150 
million to bring the Kansas City web-based system up to at least 
moderate reliability; about $97 million to implement likely disaster 
assistance and Farm Bill legislation; and nearly $29 million to replace 
obsolete field office components. Thus, estimated total costs of nearly 
$553 million over fiscal years 2007 through 2010 will be required to 
bring the current system up reasonable operating capability and to 
transition to a modernized system. However, the actual modernization 
component as noted above is estimated to cost about $278 million.
    Question. Is this part of the Farm Bill proposals submitted? If 
not, where will this funding come from, since it is not in the 
President's budget?
    Answer. Funding for modernization of FSA's information technology 
systems is not included in the Administration's Farm Bill proposal. 
USDA is working with the Office of Management and Budget to identify an 
appropriate funding source for this investment.

                         AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

    Question. Federal support for agricultural research is one of the 
most important contributions we make to support productivity for our 
farmers, ranchers, and all parts of our rural economy. A very good case 
can be made that this type of research is not getting the full support 
it needs in terms of funding, but the results have been impressive.
    What, if anything, is broke about the current agricultural research 
programs? If there is a need to combine agencies like ARS and CSREES, 
isn't that just a matter of coordination? Isn't that the role of the 
Under Secretary now?
    Answer. While current agricultural research programs are 
functioning well, they can be strengthened. Currently, both ARS and 
CSREES support basic and applied research spanning the full spectrum of 
agriculture related issues including plant and animal systems, food and 
nutrition, and natural resources.
    Our proposal will greatly facilitate closer collaboration by 
establishing a single National Program Staff (NPS) to manage programs 
and resources across all areas of research, both intramural and 
extramural, as well as extension and education. This will help ensure 
that resources will be maximized and that the comparative strengths of 
our intramural and extramural system are better utilized to address 
critical problems facing agriculture.
    While the Under Secretary has a role in coordinating programs 
between the REE agencies, it is important that this coordination be 
institutionalized. This can best be accomplished by merging the 
agencies.
    Question. Can you please give us your view on how Federal support 
for agricultural research should be administered? For example, what is 
the role of the State/Federal partnerships that have worked so well 
over the past?
    Answer. Continued Federal support for agricultural research is 
critical to the future of American agriculture. It is important to 
maintain both strong intramural and extramural research programs. 
Central to USDA's extramural efforts is the State/Federal partnership 
with the Land Grant Universities and other cooperators. These efforts 
should be maintained and strengthened.
    Question. Do you think that USDA should have its own in-house 
research agency? As you know, there are proposals under consideration 
that would remove agricultural research from the jurisdiction of USDA 
and place it with an independent agency. How do you feel about that?
    Answer. Agricultural research and education is a core mission of 
USDA and it is important to maintain a strong intramural research 
capacity. The Administration strongly supports keeping intramural 
research efforts within the jurisdiction of USDA and does not support 
moving these efforts into an independent agency.
    One of the Administration's farm bill proposals would make 
significant changes to the Research, Education, and Economics mission 
area within USDA. Specifically, CSREES and ARS would be folded into one 
agency. The thrust of the argument for this change is that it will 
provide better coordination and allow for enhanced efficiency and 
effectiveness of program implementation and resource allocation.
    Question. How do you think we best meet the needs for long-term 
research that can be well served by long-term formula funds and 
competitive grants and the short term problem solving needs that can 
perhaps be best served by use of your special grant authorities? Do you 
think we need to maintain a balance to meet both these type of research 
needs?
    Answer. Our experience is that a mixed portfolio of formula funds 
and competitive grant programs allows us to address the needs of 
research for American agriculture. Our programs support the goals and 
objectives of USDA, and incorporate stakeholder input on a continuing 
basis. Formula funds ensure that each State has an immediate response 
capacity to address emerging issues and problems. When an issue arises, 
existing resources can be mobilized quickly to begin to deal with the 
problem.
    For those areas of longer-term concern, competitive programs are 
able to lay the scientific groundwork needed to address specific 
problems. Because these programs are designed at the Federal level, 
with stakeholder input, and take into account the needs of the entire 
nation, they apply available resources to America's highest 
agricultural research priorities. In our experience, well developed and 
logically structured competitive programs take no longer and can be as 
responsive to solving science based issues as legislatively mandated 
special research grants.

                NATIONAL VETERINARY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT

    Question. Please provide an update on the implementation of the 
National Veterinary Services Act.
    Answer. We plan to publish a Final Rule delegating the National 
Veterinary Medical Services Act program to CSREES in the Federal 
Register on March 19, 2007. Although there are additional 
administrative steps that must be completed prior to the distribution 
of funds, a framework for the program has been developed by CSREES. The 
Department recognizes the importance of this Act to the veterinary 
community and those that they serve and is moving forward in the 
implementation of this program as quickly as possible.

                               AVIAN FLU

    Question. Secretary Johanns, as you are aware, we provided in the 
Joint Resolution we recently passed more than $47 million to annualize 
funding provided in an fiscal year 2006 supplemental bill for avian flu 
activities in APHIS. Further increases are included in the budget, 
although we understand that this may change some based on passage of 
the joint resolution. Although it may seem that there was certainly a 
few months where we didn't hear about too many avian flu outbreaks, 
very recently there has been a new outbreak in Britain, and we are 
headed into the spring, when the birds will be migrating and we know 
their migratory patterns must be monitored closely. I know that you are 
aware of the importance of staying ahead of this situation--this is 
evidenced by your budget request.
    What is the total amount within APHIS that will be spent on avian 
flu activities this year? What will this money buy?
    Answer. APHIS is planning to spend $107.7 million ($30 million in 
2006 supplemental funding, $16.8 million carryover from Low Pathogenic 
Avian Influenza (LPAI), $47.2 million for highly pathogenic avian 
influenza (HPAI) appropriated funding and $13.7 million for LPAI 
appropriated funding) during fiscal year 2007. The use of these funds 
will increase surveillance in wildlife, domestic poultry, and game 
birds; increase and enhance existing preparedness; and provide capacity 
building for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the 
international community. Additionally, APHIS is increasing its 
interdiction activities to reduce the threat of an HPAI introduction 
through smuggling.
    Question. Can we expect more outbreaks of avian flu as we enter 
Spring?
    Answer. The United States has not experienced any introductions of 
the Asian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza. APHIS is 
confident that the current surveillance activities in wildlife, 
domestic poultry, as well as smuggling interdictions provide an ample 
early warning solution that will enable Federal, State, and local 
resources to rapidly respond to an incursion of the virus, and thereby 
limit its potential for spread.

                             EMERGING PESTS

    Question. Secretary Johanns, I was pleased to see an increase of 
$20.5 million in the Emerging Plant Pests program for Emerald Ash 
Borer, bringing total funding to respond to this pest to more than $30 
million. I was also pleased to see that a portion of this increase is 
going to support surveys in States where EAB is most likely to occur 
next, one of which is my home State of Wisconsin. USDA estimates, as 
you know, that if EAB is not contained and eradicated, it could cost 
State and local governments and landowners $7 billion over the next 25 
years for tree removal and replacement. It has already devastated areas 
where it has shown up.
    Could you please speak to the efforts APHIS is undertaking to 
control and eradicate Emerald Ash Borer where it has been found? Also, 
please talk about the surveys the budget requests funding for in order 
to prevent the spread of EAB. What do you do if you find it in a new 
place?
    Answer. APHIS and USDA's Forest Service have been cooperating with 
affected States since 2002 to address EAB. The program uses a 
management strategy with survey, regulatory, outreach, and control 
components designed to contain the general EAB infestation and find any 
isolated infestations and take appropriate action to contain or 
eradicate them. In December 2006, APHIS expanded its EAB quarantine 
regulations to cover the entire States of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, 
more than tripling the existing regulated area to prevent additional 
spread of EAB.
    Regulatory activities include monitoring high-risk businesses and 
ensuring that they move regulated articles only under compliance 
agreement with the EAB program as well as working to identify pathways 
for the potential movement of regulated articles and conducting special 
operations such as weigh station blitzes. The regulatory program also 
includes a strong outreach component to ensure that businesses and 
residents in quarantined areas are aware of the risk of moving items.
    Survey activities, including visual surveys and the use of 
detection trees, which are trees that have been stressed to release 
volatile chemicals attractive to the beetle, are used to detect the 
presence of EAB in new areas and delimit the extent of known 
infestations. If the program detects EAB outside of the known infested 
areas, delimiting surveys are conducted to determine how old and how 
large the infestation is and what action would be appropriate. The only 
available eradication method requires the removal of all ash trees 
within a half-mile radius of a young infestation. Such activities take 
place only at small, truly isolated infestations.
    APHIS is also investing in methods development projects for EAB, 
including more accurate survey methods and control options. The fiscal 
year 2008 Budget also requests funds to expand survey efforts into 
States near currently infested areas, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, and New York. These States have risk factors based on the 
movement of EAB host materials.
    Question. How does APHIS work to prevent things such as Emerald Ash 
Borers (EAB) and the Asian Longhorn Beetles from entering the United 
States? What improvements need to be made at the borders to prevent 
these incredibly expensive pests from entering and causing these 
problems?
    Answer. The Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection program protects 
the United States from the risks associated with the introduction of 
invasive agricultural pests and diseases. APHIS and the Department of 
Homeland Security cooperate to carry out this program, and fund the 
programs through a combination of appropriations and user fees. The 
Pest Detection program supports APHIS' goal of safeguarding U.S. 
agricultural and environmental resources by ensuring that new 
introductions of harmful plant pests and diseases are detected as soon 
as possible, before they cause significant damage. USDA is requesting a 
$15 million increase in the Pest Detection program for fiscal year 
2008.
    Exotic wood boring and bark beetles such as EAB and Asian 
longhorned beetle (ALB) likely entered the United States through 
infested solid wood packing materials such as pallets, crates, and 
other materials used in international shipping. These materials are 
often reused and reshipped many times throughout the world. Many 
countries have recognized the need to deal with the pest risk. APHIS 
worked with its international counterparts to develop standards for 
safely moving solid wood packing materials and implemented regulations 
based on the developed standards. While APHIS and affected States are 
still dealing with the effects of EAB and ALB and several other exotic 
forest pests already in the United States, we believe that the new 
regulation of wood packaging materials should help prevent future 
infestations of this type.

                     ERADICATION VERSUS MANAGEMENT

    Question. At what point do you make a determination that the 
eradication of a disease isn't possible, such as in the case of citrus 
canker? What are the next steps once that determination has been made.
    Answer. Although each pest or disease situation must be analyzed 
separately, there are several factors we consider when determining 
whether or not eradication is feasible. Among these are: the 
availability of adequate funding and active participation from Federal, 
State, and industry cooperators; weather and any other environmental 
constraints; the potential of the pest to do significant economic 
damage to agricultural or forest resources; the extent to which the 
pest or disease has spread; the availability of effective detection, 
diagnostic, and control technology; the availability of acceptable 
alternatives to eradication; public support for an eradication program; 
the disease's public health significance; and the vectors associated 
with a disease (e.g., mosquitoes, ticks, etc.).
    Federal officials take all of these and other factors into 
consideration as they determine whether the eradication of a pest or 
disease is possible. If one or more of these factors change 
considerably during the course of an eradication effort, the planned 
course of action will be reevaluated. Prior to making any major 
decisions about discontinuing an eradication effort, Federal officials 
will consult with their State and industry cooperators, then update 
policies and regulations as appropriate.

                            INVASIVE SPECIES

    Question. Please provide a list of current plant and animal 
invasive species, ranked by their threat level. What is APHIS' short 
and long-term plans to deal with these?
    Answer. The Administration has not ranked invasive species by 
threat level. Invasive species that APHIS addresses include, but are 
not limited to, the programs focused on cattle fever tick, 
Mediterranean fruit fly, emerald ash borer, potato cyst nematode, 
sudden oak death, citrus diseases, brucellosis, pseudorabies, and 
chronic wasting disease. APHIS addresses each of these threats as 
resources allow.
    Over the long term, APHIS develops response plans for exotic pests 
and diseases that have the potential to cause significant economic or 
environmental damage and uses its safeguarding system, which involves 
prevention, detection, and management components, to protect U.S. 
agriculture. Under the Pest and Disease Exclusion mission area, APHIS 
works to prevent exotic pests such as cattle fever tick and 
Mediterranean fruit fly from entering the United States. These and 
other pests have direct pathways into the United States. APHIS takes 
action at U.S. borders or in other countries to mitigate the risks 
associated with them.
    Under the Monitoring and Surveillance mission area, APHIS conducts 
plant pest surveys, animal health surveillance, and other activities 
designed to detect exotic plant pests and foreign animal diseases if 
they are present so that we can deal with them quickly if needed. These 
programs target a changing list of high-risk plant pests depending on 
trade and travel pattern and outbreaks in other countries. These 
programs also conduct intensive monitoring and emergency preparedness 
efforts. APHIS analysts follow animal and plant health situations 
around the world and frequently adjust monitoring and surveillance 
efforts and pest and disease exclusion priorities to safeguard U.S. 
agriculture and natural resources from high-risk pests and diseases.
    APHIS also works to control or eradicate high priority invasive 
species through programs in the Pest and Disease Management area, 
including, but not limited to, emerald ash borer, potato cyst nematode, 
sudden oak death, several citrus diseases, brucellosis, pseudorabies, 
and chronic wasting disease.

                  CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE/STATE MATCH

    Question. The budget request includes a decrease of over $6 million 
for activities related to chronic wasting disease. One of the 
justifications for this decrease is a match in which the Federal 
Government will pay for 60 percent of anticipated program needs, and 
the State will fund the rest. Similar proposals for State match are 
mentioned throughout the APHIS budget.
    Specifically for Chronic Wasting Disease, how will the requirements 
for the States change with this proposal? Will their funding level need 
to increase?
    Answer. The 2008 budget proposes a reduction of about $4 million. 
The program requirements for the chronic wasting disease (CWD) herd 
certification program (HCP) will not change with the funding reduction. 
At the requested funding level, USDA anticipates the States and 
cooperators would contribute additional resources to support the 
efforts at current levels.
    Question. More broadly, what amount does APHIS anticipate saving by 
requiring increased State matches for APHIS activities? Is there 
currently a mandated match level for States, or is this an entirely new 
proposal? If a State can't or does not provide the requested match 
amount, what will APHIS do then?
    Answer. The following table is provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Line Item                             Savings
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chronic Wasting Disease.................................          $4,400
Emerging Plant Pests--Citrus Health Response Program               2,300
 (Florida)..............................................
Emerging Plant Pests--Asian Longhorned Beetle (NJ & NY).           1,691
Emerging Plant Pests--Glassy-Winged Sharp Shooter                  1,001
 (California)...........................................
Johne's Disease.........................................           5,005
Noxious Weeds...........................................             300
                                                         ---------------
      Total.............................................          14,697
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is currently no mandated match level for States, nor is USDA 
proposing a mandated level. It is our goal to leverage increased 
participation from the States to maximize the benefits received from 
Federal dollars.
    If a State is unable to contribute the estimated amount for a 
particular program, USDA will evaluate the overall impact to program 
efforts and adjust future funding requests accordingly.

                            JOHNE'S DISEASE

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the APHIS budget for Johne's disease 
includes a decrease of nearly $10 million approximately 75 percent. One 
of the reasons for this justification is the supposition that States, 
universities, and producers, would be responsible for testing, herd 
clean-up, risk assessments and disease management, as well as the 
continuation of the national Johne's demonstration herd project.
    Was there any input gathered from those whose responsibilities will 
be increased before this proposal was put forth? Are these activities 
that the States, etc. are currently undertaking, or would have to pick 
up?
    Answer. USDA has consulted with our partners in the Voluntary 
Bovine Johne's Disease Control Program (VBJDCP), and they are aware of 
our request. From its inception, the VBJDCP has been a cooperative 
effort among APHIS, State departments of agriculture, and industry. 
States have been the main driving force of the VBJDCP. A large part of 
the Johne's disease funds not requested in the President's Budget has 
been used by the States to pay for producer testing and risk assessment 
fees. With a reduction in Federal funding, these costs will need to be 
covered by producers who benefit from this program. In addition, State 
and University partners would assume responsibility for continuation of 
the Johne's disease demonstration herd projects implemented in each 
region. These projects focus on new and current testing schemes and 
control methods to determine the most effective cost management 
practice options.
    APHIS will continue to provide oversight to the VBJDCP and support 
analysis of the national demonstration projects, along with continuing 
laboratory approval and licensing diagnostic tests and vaccines for 
commercial use.

                 NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

    Question. What is the status of the development of a National 
Animal Identification System?
    Answer. The National Animal Identification System is composed of 
three components: premises registration, animal identification, and 
animal tracing. Premises registration is the foundation of the program. 
As of March 12, 2007, all 50 States, 60 Tribes, and 2 U.S. Territories 
are capable of registering premises according to USDA standards, and 
approximately 378,000 locations have been registered.
    Significant progress has also been made on the second component of 
NAIS, animal identification. As of March 12, 2007, approximately 1 
million Animal Identification Number devices have been distributed.
    The third component of the NAIS, animal tracing, is currently under 
development with the help of USDA's industry and State partners. 
Industry, through private systems, and States will manage the animal 
tracing databases that maintain the movement records of animals. Full 
deployment of the Animal Trace Processing System is planned for the 
near future.
    Question. If such an animal identification system is made 
voluntary, what effect does APHIS anticipate that will have on 
participation? What efforts will be made to encourage participation?
    Answer. Participation in the NAIS is voluntary. The USDA remains 
committed to building upon our strong partnership with the States and 
industry to meet producers' needs and establish a versatile system that 
makes sense for everyone.
    Moving forward with this voluntary approach has allowed producers 
the opportunity to test the program and recommend the most practical 
solutions for a more effective system. In this sense, producers 
themselves are playing an active role in helping to shape the NAIS 
program so that it works well for their particular needs. Additionally, 
a voluntary NAIS allows for the best price competition between service 
providers (identification device manufacturers, database providers, 
etc.) and leaves room for market applications (such as age/source/
process verification) to help drive the system.
    To encourage participation, USDA has provided funding to facilitate 
development and implementation of an efficient system, and flexibility 
to adapt to producers' operations and needs. On February 2, 2007, USDA 
published a request for proposals from nonprofit organizations that 
wish to enter into cooperative agreements with USDA to advance premises 
registration. USDA will make up to $6 million available, subject to the 
availability of funding, for the cooperative agreements. These 
cooperative agreements will support the efforts of such organizations 
to promote the NAIS and, specifically, increase participation in 
premises registration--the foundation of the program.

                SMALL FARM/ORGANICS/AMS SEED MISLABELING

    Question. We continue to hear reports that the number of farmers in 
the United States is getting smaller and the farms are getting larger. 
Still, we have a responsibility to promote programs and policies to 
help small and beginning farmers be productive and able to maintain a 
reasonable life style. After all, these small independent farmers are 
truly small business entrepreneurs who need the government to be their 
friend, not their obstacle. I fear that in too many cases, government 
is their obstacle.
    Last year I asked you a question about how USDA can help these 
small farmers.
    What have you done since then to improve their opportunities?
    Answer. Through a number of different programs, USDA helps 
operators of small and medium-size farms. For example, the Farm Service 
Agency (FSA) provides a variety of farm loan programs, including 
traditional operating loans, beginning farmer and youth programs. The 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) helps small producers obtain 
greater access to marketing channels and engage in more profitable farm 
marketing activities through research, alternative market development, 
and grant programs. Additional information will be provided for the 
record.
    [The information follows:]
    FSA offers direct and guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans 
to family-size farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain commercial credit 
from a bank, Farm Credit System institution, or other lender. Borrowers 
include beginning farmers who do not qualify for conventional loans 
because they have insufficient financial resources, as well as 
established farmers who have suffered financial setbacks from natural 
disasters, or whose resources are too limited to maintain profitable 
farming operations. FSA loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, 
equipment, feed, seed, and supplies; they can also be used for building 
construction and improvements. FSA guaranteed loans provide 
conventional agricultural lenders with up to a 95 percent guarantee of 
the principal loan amount. The lender is responsible for servicing a 
borrower's account, including the collection of payments, for the life 
of the loan. All loans must meet certain qualifying criteria to be 
eligible for guarantees. Farmers interested in these loans must apply 
to a conventional lender, which then arranges for the FSA guarantee.
    AMS conducts or supports applied research to help small and medium-
sized farm producers and processors make better informed business 
decisions in the face of changing marketing conditions and practices; 
maintains a centralized information clearinghouse of agricultural 
marketing research materials and resources on the agency's website and 
disseminates research results, technical assistance, and data via 
internet, publications, conference presentations, and outreach efforts; 
administers the Farmers Market Promotion and Federal-State Marketing 
Improvement grant programs; and collaborates with other agencies that 
support small farm marketing, including State departments of 
agriculture, land-grant universities, Tribal governments, trade 
associations, non-profit organizations and private foundations.
    During fiscal year 2006 and early 2007 AMS supported four national 
and four regional farmers market and direct marketing workshops, and 
AMS personnel presented or trained at nineteen conferences and meetings 
that support small farms, farmers markets, and agricultural community 
outreach to improve food marketing practices among small-scale and 
socially disadvantaged farmers, and expand awareness of available 
marketing services and resources. Further, AMS created a regularly 
updated Farmers Market Resource Guide in March 2006 that provides a 
one-stop information source about available financial and technical 
assistance for farmers market and direct farm marketing activities.
    AMS also provides specific funding assistance. AMS awarded $1 
million through 20 Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grants for 
2006. Agricultural cooperatives; local and Tribal governments; non-
profit, public benefit and economic development corporations; and 
regional farmers' market authorities are eligible for FMPP grants. The 
Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) funded 27 
competitive matching grants worth $1.334 million to State Departments 
of Agriculture and other appropriate State agencies to assist in 
exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural 
products and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving 
the efficiency and performance of the U.S. marketing system. The 
majority of FSMIP projects are geared toward small to medium sized 
producers. In addition, the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program makes 
funds available to State departments of agriculture to enhance the 
competitiveness of specialty crops. It has made $6.58 million available 
to 50 States (and to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia).
    Question. When we see problems like the mis-labeling of GM grain 
that gets into the market place, that sends a very troubling message to 
our trade partners and can create problems that small operators can't 
absorb.
    We have heard several reports of genetically modified material 
getting into crops intended for commercial sales, the most well-known 
being rice. What has the economic effect been of instances such as 
this?
    Answer. The economic effect can be reductions in seed available for 
planting and potential trade restrictions. For example, two popular 
long grain rice varieties can no longer be planted for commercial 
production due to the presence of genetically modified material. The 
value of certified seed of these varieties produced in 2006 for 
planting in 2007 is estimated to be $39 million.
    Question. What programs does USDA have in place to make sure those 
sort of labeling problems don't happen?
    Answer. The Agricultural Marketing Service administers the 
interstate labeling provisions of the Federal Seed Act, a truth-in-
labeling law that regulates the interstate shipment of agricultural and 
vegetable seeds. Enforcement of the Act by AMS helps ensure that seed 
purchased by small independent farmers is of high quality and 
truthfully labeled. However, the Act does not regulate biotechnology 
traits or biotechnologically derived seeds. Instead, the Act considers 
biotechnology derived seeds found in traditional varieties as ``other'' 
crop seeds and they have to be labeled as such. If the biotechnology 
derived seeds exceed 5 percent, they have to be listed as a separate 
component on the seed label.
    Question. As you know, the organics label is a very important 
label, what are you doing to protect the integrity of that label?
    Answer. USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) is responsible for 
administering the organic regulations and ensuring that all 
requirements are met to protect the integrity of the organic label. The 
2008 budget includes an increase of about $1 million above the 2007 
level of $2 million to ensure that the NOP can meet the needs of the 
rapidly growing organic industry. The increase will support, among 
other efforts, development of standards requested by the industry and 
regulatory enforcement to maintain labeling credibility. To ensure 
compliance with the regulations, the NOP directly oversees its 
accredited certifying agents to monitor organic producers and 
processors, conducts retail surveillance, conducts investigations, 
takes action on complaints, and imposes penalties where appropriate.

           GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIALS IN COMMERCIAL CROPS

    Question. How is AMS, and USDA overall, working to prevent the 
introduction of genetically modified materials into crops intended for 
commercial sales?
    Answer. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
involved in regulation of the biotechnology industry. Various measures 
are used in authorized field tests to ensure that genetically 
engineered organisms are confined to the test site. The measures 
include isolation distances to mitigate cross pollination with other 
crops and weedy relatives, cleaning of farm equipment to mitigate the 
inadvertent spread of seed, timely disposition of the field test, and 
post-harvest monitoring for volunteers. To ensure compliance, 
inspections of the test site, facilities, and records are conducted. 
Once a crop is deregulated, that crop is considered no different than 
conventional crops and may be planted without restrictions from APHIS.
    For organic products, regulations of AMS' National Organic Program 
prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms in organic 
production. Accredited certifying agents review organic production and 
handling plans before certified organic production begins to ensure 
that no genetically modified organisms are used in production and that 
handling procedures protect organic products from contact with 
genetically engineered materials. Penalties are in place for 
intentional disregard of the regulations.

                   COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING (COOL)

    Question. Please provide an update on plans to implement COOL.
    Answer. AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with 14 States 
for the purpose of conducting audits of retail establishments to 
enforce the COOL regulations for fish and shellfish. Audits in States 
without cooperative agreements were conducted by USDA personnel. In 
fiscal year 2006 1,159 retail stores were audited; the number of audits 
in fiscal year 2007 will increase slightly.
    For the remaining covered commodities, AMS will issue proposed 
regulations for public comment and issue final regulatory actions to 
implement COOL by the statutorily established effective date.
    Question. If language was enacted that would move the current 
implementation date for COOL forward to sometime during fiscal year 
2008, please explain what steps would be required to implement it on an 
accelerated schedule. What funds would be required to implement COOL 
during fiscal year 2008?
    Answer. To implement COOL for the remaining covered commodities on 
an accelerated schedule, it could be necessary for AMS to issue final 
regulatory actions without the benefit of a public comment process.
    Given the current implementation date, AMS will not need additional 
funding in fiscal year 2008. To include the additional commodities, the 
program needs to develop the necessary regulations. Once regulations 
are established, the program must expand retail and supplier 
enforcement through adequate Federal staffing and by establishing 
additional cooperative agreements with State agencies and U.S. 
territories to conduct retail surveillance audits. The program would 
focus on training and educating Federal and State employees on their 
enforcement responsibilities; overseeing the uniform application of the 
requirements from the Federal level; conducting educational and 
outreach activities with interested parties; conducting routine 
surveillance and product trace-back audits throughout the supply chain 
to ensure proper labeling and enforcement; responding to formal 
complaints; and initiating enforcement actions against violators. Since 
expanding the current program to all commodities in the statute will 
constitute an increase in program activity, implementation will require 
an increase in funding.

                         RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY

    Question. Is RMA developing any new products to serve regions of 
the country that currently have few, if any, options for risk 
management? If so, please explain them.
    Answer. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) has undertaken an 
evaluation of its product portfolio to identify gaps in availability, 
particularly with respect to underserved crops and/or regions. This 
evaluation found that, with few exceptions, crop insurance coverage is 
generally available for the most economically significant crops in the 
underserved regions. This result is consistent with the conclusions of 
a recent independent evaluation of RMA's product portfolio. This 
suggests that RMA should place greater emphasis on improving currently 
available products to provide more effective risk management 
protection, and target efforts on the development of new products 
towards filling the few remaining gaps. RMA is currently conducting 
comprehensive evaluations of several crop programs to identify areas 
for improvement, particularly among underserved regions.
    In addition, RMA has implemented several new products, most notably 
Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite), 
and two Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) pilot programs. The AGR, 
AGR-Lite and PRF programs are particularly oriented to producers for 
whom traditional crop insurance products were either impractical, or 
did not provide effective risk management protection. In addition, over 
twenty pilot programs are currently active that pertain to specialty 
crops, including pilot programs for processing chili peppers, Hawaii 
Tropical Fruit, and Florida Fruit Trees. RMA also has ongoing 
development efforts for a revenue insurance product for certain 
specialty crops, as well as an umbrella weather-peril product that 
could provide effective coverage for certain crops with relatively 
limited market value. Additional risk management tools are developed 
through partnership agreements that impact underserved producers. These 
partnership agreements deal with a wide range of topics including the 
development and understanding of markets, pest and disease control, and 
water management.
    The Crop Insurance Board also accepts private sector submissions 
that allows persons to develop and submit for approval their own 
products targeted to specific risk management needs.

                             GLOBAL WARMING

    Question. USDA conservation programs provide a model for natural 
resources protection on a vast scale. Today, there is much discussion 
about the issue of global climate change.
    Please describe any current agricultural activities that may 
contribute to global climate change.
    Answer. Through a portfolio of beneficial conservation programs and 
energy conservation practices Producers have opportunities to save 
money and time while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There are 
several agricultural and forestry production systems that can be 
implemented to reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon storage, called 
sequestration, in soils and vegetation. Many conservation practices 
used by agricultural producers can mitigate negative effects attributed 
to climate change. One example of a specific practice is Conservation 
tillage. Residues and tillage can be managed to build organic matter 
and to sequester carbon while also reducing energy requirements and 
soil erosion. Another example is Comprehensive Nutrient Management 
systems. These systems can capture methane for energy production while 
also reducing negative water quality impacts.
    Question. Please describe any changes in agricultural production or 
conservation practices that might better mitigate against the threat of 
global climate change. For example, what are the benefits of carbon 
sequestration as a means to reduce greenhouse gasses or other potential 
contributors to global warming?
    Answer. USDA is providing incentives and supporting voluntary 
actions by private landowners in targeting efficiency improvements 
through the USDA/Department of Energy (DOE)/Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) AgSTAR, as well as many other programs. USDA has 
instituted new standards and is targeting specific incentives that 
encourage carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission 
reduction efforts. USDA also is sponsoring improved monitoring and 
reporting guidelines for voluntary initiatives. USDA agencies and their 
partners are developing tools to estimate the amount of carbon stored 
and GHG emissions reduced at the field and producer level. Such tools 
will make it easier for producers to estimate carbon storage and GHG 
emissions reductions.
    The Agricultural Research Service conducts global climate change 
research under the Global Change National Program. This research 
focuses on four aspects of global change: Carbon Cycle and Carbon 
Storage; Trace Gases; Agricultural Ecosystem Impacts; and Changes in 
Weather and the Water Cycle at Farm, Ranch, and Regional Scales. These 
factors may significantly affect agricultural productivity and are not 
addressed specifically by other ARS National Programs. Recently, in 
response to concerns about global climate change, a strong interest has 
developed in determining how agricultural activities and practices can 
be used to store carbon, particularly in soil. A Federal multi-agency 
research initiative on the carbon cycle, the U.S. Global Change 
Research Program Carbon Cycle Initiative, is under development to 
address carbon cycle science.

                           VALUE-ADDED GRANTS

    Question. Funding has been provided for Value-Added Agricultural 
Product Market Development Grants since the Agricultural Risk 
Protection Act of 2000. Ample time has elapsed to evaluate the 
effectiveness of this program.
    Please describe the types of products that have been funded.
    Answer. A wide variety of projects are funded, including value 
added products made from meat, dairy products, grains, fruits and 
vegetables, oilseeds, and renewable energy sources. Grant funds 
totaling $150,000 were used as working capital for the start up phase 
of a new tilapia production facility where the fish will be raised and 
processed into fillets. Other types of products include wine, compost 
made from diary waste, wind energy, soy-flour, identity-preserved 
yogurt, dehydrated apple slices, and branded cuts of beef.
    Question. Are these products becoming marketable and sustainable?
    Answer. Information about the long-term sustainability became 
available early this year from a study that the University of Missouri 
has done. The study indicates that approximately 60 percent of the 
projects funded resulted in a marketable product.
    Question. What are the outcome measures that are being used to 
determine the success of this program?
    Answer. Several measures evaluating the program are in place, 
including the number of jobs created, the increase in producer revenue 
due to the project, the increase in customer base due to the project, 
and the sustainability of the business receiving the grant.
    Question. How many grants and how much funding has been provided to 
energy-related projects?
    Answer. Since 2001, 155 grants have been made for energy-related 
projects, totaling $25.2 million.
    Question. How successful are these energy-related projects and how 
do you define success?
    Answer. We define the success of energy-related projects in the 
same way as for other project types--we consider any project that 
resulted in a marketable product to be successful. We estimate that 
approximately 48 percent of energy related projects resulted in a 
marketable product. This compares to 60 percent success in projects 
over all for the value added program.

                  SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING LOAN PROGRAMS

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the Budget terminates the direct single 
family housing loan program that has served very low and low income 
rural households well for over 40 years. The 2000 Census reveals that 
7.8 million of the non-metropolitan population is poor, 5.5 million 
face housing cost overburden, and 1.6 million non-metro housing units 
are either moderately or severely substandard.
    While the direct loan program is terminated, funding for the 
guaranteed loan program is given a concomitant increase. However, this 
increase comes with a 50 percent rise in the fee to participate. 
Average incomes of households in the guaranteed program are about twice 
as high as in the direct program, and this fee increase will force 
those incomes higher.
    The Administration proposes to submit legislation for subsidized 
guaranteed options, but no language has been provided and no funding is 
requested in 2008.
    Given the large income differential between direct and guaranteed 
program participants, how will very low income households gain 
assistance for homeownership loans?
    Answer. We anticipate that many very-low income families will be 
able to participate in our guaranteed homeownership program. Currently 
about 30 percent of those families who have received guaranteed loans 
have very low and low incomes.
    Question. When does the Administration expect to send up 
legislation on subsidized guarantees?
    Answer. We anticipate the legislative package will be delivered 
soon.
    Question. The current direct program can provide mortgage interest 
rates as low as 1 percent for very low income households. How deeply 
subsidized do you expect the proposed guaranteed program to be?
    Answer. We are currently developing options to assist very low and 
lower income families through the subsidized guaranteed program. Our 
goal is to help more lower income families to achieve homeownership 
through a guaranteed loan originated and serviced by private sector 
lenders. Currently interest rate reduction provisions have not been 
developed.
    Question. Do you expect the guarantee fee increase to result in a 
deterioration in the credit quality of the guaranteed portfolio?
    Answer. No, all applicants will be required to meet current credit 
quality standards. The proposed fee increase, which can be financed as 
part of the loan, will only increase the average customer's loan 
payment by about $7 per month.
    Question. How much do you expect the average income of guaranteed 
program participants to rise as a result of raising the fee?
    Answer. We do not expect to see an increase in the income of our 
guarantee program participants.

                         OFFICE CONSOLIDATIONS

    Question. Mr. Secretary, delivering a direct single family housing 
program is clearly much more labor intensive than a guaranteed program. 
In conjunction with refocusing housing lending from direct to 
guaranteed loans, Rural Development is proposing to reduce staff 
somewhat and consolidate its field office structure.
    What is the proposed magnitude of staff reductions, and extent of 
field office consolidations?
    Answer. Any office consolidations that may occur will be done so as 
recommended by each Rural Development State Director in order to 
accommodate a reduction of management levels in each State while 
recognizing population shifts, the need to improve delivery systems in 
order to deliver all programs in all locations and to accommodate 
enhancements in technology enabling us to do business in new ways.
    Since the State plans are currently being reviewed, we do not know 
the number of offices to be closed or that will operate on a part-time 
basis. RD will keep the Committee informed of its plans. It is RD's 
intent that the realignment be completed by March, 2008.
    Rural Development operated with 6,475 FTE's in fiscal year 2006, 
and expects to operate with 6,300 FTE's in fiscal year 2007. Rural 
Development is not proposing a Reduction-in-Force and all employees 
will be offered a position at their current grade and pay level. We are 
also seeking Voluntary Early Retirement Authority which could be of 
interest to those employees who are several years short of being 
eligible for regular retirement.

                      COMMUNITY FACILITIES GRANTS

    Question. Rural Development's Community Facilities program includes 
direct loans, guaranteed loans, and grants to support essential 
community facilities in poor, remote rural communities. Through this 
program communities can finance rural hospitals, health clinics, day 
care centers, libraries, town halls, fire trucks and other first 
responder vehicles and equipment, and a myriad of other essential 
community facilities. This has been one of the most successful programs 
in Rural Development's portfolio.
    Budget authority may be transferred among the loan and grant 
programs. However, this Budget appears to eliminate the grant program, 
leaving only direct and guaranteed loans to meet needs of small rural 
communities.
    What is the back-log of applications and pre-applications for loans 
and grants?
    Answer. As of March 13, 2007, there were 667 applications and pre-
applications totaling $955,581,290 for the Community Facilities direct 
loan program, 48 applications and pre-applications totaling 
$176,316,844 for the guaranteed loan program, and 757 applications and 
pre-applications totaling $62,511,425 for the grant program.
    Question. Will the aggregate requested program level be adequate 
for the fiscal year 2008 demand?
    Answer. The aggregated requested program level will be adequate to 
meet our highest priorities in fiscal year 2008.
    Question. How will small, low income communities, who in the past 
relied on grant assistance, finance the community infrastructure they 
need?
    Answer. There are a number of Federal community development 
programs and State and local economic development agencies designed to 
serve low-income and rural communities. A recent GAO report highlighted 
73 Federal agencies which serve the purpose of economic development, 
with several of these specifically supporting the construction of 
facilities in low-income rural communities.
    Question. Has Rural Development estimated the impacts of this 
proposal on communities by size, region and income level? What are the 
results of that study?
    Answer. No, RD has not estimated the impacts by size, region and 
income level. However, as there are other Federal agencies providing 
grant funding for low-income rural communities, the impacts of the 
proposal will be ameliorated.

                      MUTUAL AND SELF-HELP HOUSING

    Question. The Self Help Housing Program has been hugely successful 
in assisting very low income households become successful homeowners. 
With technical assistance provided by grantees, program participants 
jointly contribute sweat equity as they construct their new homes. Long 
term financing has been provided by the Sec. 502 direct program. 
However, this Budget terminates the direct program, terminates the Sec. 
523 Self-Help Land Development loan program, and reduces Self-Help 
grants by 72 percent.
    In the face of the success and long term support for the Self-Help 
program, why is the Administration taking this action at this time?
    Answer. Increasing cost in other Rural Housing Programs and fiscal 
year 2008 budget constraints require program reductions. Rural 
residents participating in the Self Help Housing program are encouraged 
to seek financing using the Section 502 guaranteed program or obtain 
financing from the private sector.
    Question. What are the private sector funding sources that will 
replace this program, and provide homeownership opportunities for these 
very low income households?
    Answer. Most Self-Help Housing grantees have been successful in 
securing other financial assistance to operate their programs. We 
anticipate that grantees can seek further funds from outside sources 
and use the Habitat for Humanity model which does not rely upon Federal 
financing.

                          RURAL RENTAL HOUSING

    Question. Mr. Secretary, this Budget again proposes to terminate 
direct rural rental housing loans (Sec. 515), to rely solely on the 
Sec. 538 guaranteed loan program for affordable rural rental housing 
construction. The direct program provides subsidized mortgage loans and 
allows the opportunity for rental assistance for very low income 
tenants. Subsidized financing, coupled with rental assistance that caps 
certain tenants' rent payments at 30 percent of income, allows the 
program to serve tenants with mean incomes under $10,000.
    The bulk of Sec. 515 tenants are very low income, with a majority 
female headed households, elderly and/or handicapped. Without the Sec. 
515 program, what will be the source of new affordable rental housing 
for these, most vulnerable, rural residents?
    Answer. Section 538 guaranteed multi family rural rental housing 
program has experienced great success and will be the primary source of 
multi family units without Section 515 funding.
    Question. Rental assistance is not available in Sec. 538 projects. 
Without rental assistance, how can the Sec. 538 program reach the very 
low income rural population now being served?
    Answer. The section 538 program reaches very low income rural 
population in two ways. Leveraged tax credit financing is present in 
nearly 80 percent of section 538 projects. Nearly 7,000 units currently 
enjoy tax credits. Additionally, savings incurred from interest credit 
subsidies are passed on to the tenants through lower required rent 
payments.
    Question. Are there areas of the country where the Sec. 515 
program, even without new rental assistance, could reach very low 
income households that would not be served through the Sec. 538 
program?
    Answer. The section 538 program can provide rents that are 
comparable to the rents created by the section 515 program without 
rental assistance. This is because the section 538 is eligible to be 
combined with 9 percent tax credits, as well as other affordable 
funding sources. The 538 program also offers an interest credit which 
buys down the interest rate of up to $1.5 million of the lender's loan 
to the Applicable Federal Rate for the entire term of the loan and loan 
amortizations of up to 40 years. These factors all aid in the creation 
of units with affordable rents.

                  MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION

    Question. Mr. Secretary, Rural Development has a direct loan 
portfolio reflecting over 17,000 properties, containing over 460,000 
affordable rental units. Many of these properties are in excess of 20 
years old, in need of substantial repair and rehabilitation. A recent 
study indicated that the portfolio could be segmented into three 
components: 10 percent are in growing markets in which it is 
economically feasible for owners to prepay, leave the program, and 
raise rents; 10 percent are in declining markets where the costs of 
maintaining the properties exceed the foreseeable benefits and need; 
and the 80 percent balance of the portfolio that is appropriate for 
revitalization and retention in the affordable housing program. Last 
year the Administration proposed revitalization legislation, including 
restructuring tools such as interest rate reductions, loan deferrals, 
reamortizations, subordination, debt forgiveness, etc. Funds were 
provided in fiscal year 2006 for a demonstration revitalization program 
for rural rental housing properties.
    Please provide a summary of actions taken under the fiscal year 
2006 revitalization demonstration program.
    Answer. Last year we were able to approve and obligate funding to 
revitalize 78 properties with over 2,300 apartment units in 16 States, 
using $8.9 million in budget authority provided to the demonstration 
program.
    Question. How much of the funds were utilized and in what manner?
    Answer. We were able to obligate the following program level 
amounts: $48 million in debt deferral, $4.5 million in soft ``bullet'' 
(any loan that requires a generous repayment term usually at the end of 
the life of the loan and it is anticipated that the loan will be 
refinanced) loans, $.28 million in zero percent loans and $.21 million 
in grants.
    Question. What is the status of a demonstration for fiscal year 
2007?
    Answer. With a similar level of budget authority this year, we 
anticipate that the funding NOFA will be released during the month of 
April. Our key demonstration goals this year are to fund revitalization 
transactions in every State, fund an increased number of portfolio 
level transactions and increase the use of leveraged funds.
    Question. What is the status of the Administration's revitalization 
legislation proposal?
    Answer. Our legislative proposal is currently in the final stages 
of review. We expect to transmit it to Congress shortly.
    Question. What were the lessons learned under the fiscal year 2006 
demonstration and have you revised the legislative proposal 
accordingly?
    Answer. We found last year that by using debt deferral and 
carefully underwriting revitalization transactions, we were able to 
approve transactions with very limited rent increases. We also found 
last year that applications were received from approximately 4,100 
properties or a quarter of the Section 515 properties in our portfolio. 
The large number of applicants reflects the clear need to have new cost 
effective revitalization tools to help preserve this valuable 
portfolio.

                     MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING VOUCHERS

    Question. In the face of loan prepayment demands by multi-family 
housing property owners, raising the specter of increased rents for 
very low income rural tenants, $16 million was provided in fiscal year 
2006 for rental housing vouchers.
    How many properties, containing how many units, prepaid in fiscal 
year 2006?
    Answer. In fiscal year 2006, owners of 151 properties containing 
2,330 units went through the Rural Development prepayment process. In 
addition, 58 properties containing about 1,000 units completed the 
foreclosure process. This was a total of 209 properties containing 
3,330 units.
    Question. How many properties and units do you expect to prepay in 
fiscal year 2007 and in fiscal year 2008?
    Answer. We are currently forecasting a total of 225 properties 
containing about 3,600 units to prepay or complete foreclosure 
proceedings in fiscal year 2007. We are currently forecasting a total 
of 275 properties containing about 4,400 units to prepay or complete 
foreclosure proceedings in fiscal year 2008.
    Question. How many vouchers, using how much of the funds, were 
obligated in fiscal year 2006?
    Answer. In fiscal year 2006, we offered vouchers to all tenants in 
properties where the mortgage was prepaid after September 30, 2005. The 
first voucher was issued in April, 2006. Three hundred and eight one-
year vouchers were obligated for a total of $601,000 which represents 
12 months of payment.
    Question. What are your forecasts for voucher utilization in fiscal 
year 2007 and fiscal year 2008?
    Answer. In the first 6 months of fiscal year 2007, approximately 
600 vouchers were obligated for a total of $1.5 million. We are 
estimating to obligate a total of 1,800 vouchers this fiscal year and 
we estimate obligating about 2,200 vouchers in fiscal year 2008. Our 
experience, somewhat limited at this point, is that about half of a 
property's tenants accept the offer of a voucher, and of those about 
half utilize the voucher. The majority of the tenants utilize the 
voucher in the property where they were living at the time of 
prepayment or foreclosure, although the voucher can be used in any 
property where the owner will accept it.

                   RURAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

    Question. Mr. Secretary, this Budget, again, terminates successful 
grant programs that promote economic development and job creation in 
rural America. Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) facilitate 
development of small and emerging business enterprises, while Rural 
Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG) provide technical assistance for 
business development planning. Current funding levels would create or 
save about 24,500 jobs, through 560 recipients, in rural areas 
desperately needing development assistance.
    On a cost per job basis, these grant programs are probably the most 
effective in the Rural Development portfolio. Why is the Administration 
proposing to terminate such successful programs?
    Answer. Funding can be provided by other business loan and grant 
programs within the Federal Government and rural development.
    Question. This proposal was soundly rejected last year. What has 
changed in the rural economy to make this proposal now more palatable?
    Answer. Limited discretionary funding, higher priorities, and the 
need to support other Departmental priorities all played into the 
Administration's proposal. Rural Development intends to focus its 
resources on programs with higher potential for encouraging private-
sector investments, and that would reach a broader range of rural 
communities.

              FINANCING NEW ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITIES

    Question. Mr. Secretary, we understand that there are about 66 
electric Generation and Transmission (G&T) cooperatives and 864 
distributional cooperatives, many of which rely on the Rural Utilities 
Service (RUS) electric loan program for financing. These cooperatives 
serve about 13 percent of U.S. electric customers, provide 11 percent 
of electric sales, and own about 4 percent of total U.S. operational 
capacity.
    Cooperatives are entering a new wave of power plant investment to 
increase capacity and replace aging infrastructure that dates from the 
mid-1970's to mid 1980's. Planning for new construction takes several 
years, followed by construction periods that can span 5 years or 
longer. Cooperatives depend on the Federal Government for adequate, low 
cost financing to accommodate the Nation's growing energy needs. 
Financing is principally provided by Federal Financing Bank (FFB) loans 
guaranteed by RUS, which is offered at Treasury interest rates plus \1/
8\ percent.
    We are concerned that this Budget will not meet capital needs of 
rural electric cooperatives. RUS currently has applications exceeding 
$10 billion for generation and transmission purposes, scheduled for 
funding in fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008. About 80 percent of 
this total is for construction of new baseload generation. This Budget 
seeks only $4.1 billion in fiscal year 2008 funding, and, for the first 
time, bars funding for new baseload generation.
    Prohibiting new baseload generation will make many of these plants 
less feasible economically at a time when electricity demand is growing 
rapidly. Rural consumers already pay an average of 12 percent higher 
electric rates than neighboring utilities. Terminating Federal funding 
will force rural electric cooperatives to face higher interest rates, 
shorter loan terms, and raise rates charged to rural customers.
    In the face of demonstrated needs for extensive infrastructure 
replacement and expansion, why is the Administration barring access to 
financing for new baseload generation?
    Answer. There are significant demands on RUS electric loan 
resources. Needs for transmission and plant upgrades, including 
environmental upgrades, as well as the need for new generation plans 
are high. Due to the inherent risks associated with construction of 
baseload generation, other significant demands on loan resources and 
the ability to obtain commercial financing, the Administration 
determined that restricting the use of electric loan funds made the 
best use of taxpayer funds while still providing significant support 
for rural electric needs.
    However, understanding the concerns of Congress, the Administration 
has committed to providing a generation only subsidy rate.
    Question. What studies has the Administration performed that 
indicate sufficient private financing is available to meet this 
immediate need for baseload generation?
    Answer. Though no studies have been conducted by the 
Administration, there is significant liquidity in the capital markets 
to absorb demand for this segment of the energy sector.
    Question. Has the RUS estimated the impacts of this policy change 
on electricity costs of rural consumers? What are the impacts?
    Answer. The Administration has not estimated the impacts of this 
proposal on electricity costs.

                        WATER AND WASTE PROGRAM

    Question. Mr. Secretary, Rural Development's Water and Waste Water 
program has provided loan and grant funds for years to small rural 
communities to ensure adequate clean water and sanitary waste disposal 
systems. This Budget again proposes to alter the method to determine 
borrower interest rates. Poverty and intermediate interest rates would 
float such that the poverty rate would be 60 percent of the market rate 
and the intermediate rate would be 80 percent of market. In the current 
interest rate environment, poverty and intermediate interest rates 
would substantially fall. Projects would be financed with substantially 
more debt and reduced grant funds, but with little change in 
communities' debt burdens due to the dramatic interest rate reductions.
    Will you provide assurance that small, poor communities will not be 
left out of the program, and that debt burdens will not increase and 
raise water and sewer rates?
    Answer. The lower interest rate would allow a small community to 
borrow more loan funds without an increase in their annual debt 
repayment. While a community's total debt may increase, their annual 
debt burden should not increase and will not raise water and sewer 
rates. Our objective is to provide a funding mix of low interest loan 
and grant funds to keep user rates reasonable and consistent with the 
cost of similar systems in the area. It is still anticipated that grant 
funds would be focused on helping the neediest communities. With lower 
interest rates, we would be able to increase our reach to more 
communities with lower incomes.
    Question. Do regulations still allow borrowers with loan funds 
obligated but not closed to receive the interest rate in effect at the 
time of obligation or closing?
    Answer. Yes.
    Question. What is the magnitude of loan funds currently obligated 
but not closed?
    Answer. As of March 13, 2007, there were $2,482,693,545 in loan 
funds obligated but not closed. This represents 1,813 unclosed loan 
obligations.
    Question. Please provide a distribution of unclosed obligations, by 
year.
    Answer. As of March 13, 2007, the unclosed obligations by year 
were:
    [The information follows:]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Fiscal year                      No.           Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007....................................             209    $270,506,775
2006....................................             655     845,439,746
2005....................................             399     569,531,323
2004....................................             226     328,100,059
2003....................................             116     164,029,838
2002....................................             113     172,123,226
2001....................................              25      37,473,080
2000....................................              24      39,727,518
1999....................................              19      21,932,140
1998....................................              15      23,712,840
1997....................................               5       4,201,300
1996....................................               4       4,260,700
1995....................................  ..............  ..............
1994....................................               1         300,000
1993....................................               2       1,355,000
                                         -------------------------------
      Total.............................           1,813   2,482,693,545
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) ISSUES

    Question. Mr. Secretary, it appears that automated systems for the 
Farm Service Agency (FSA) are currently in an untenable situation. The 
current spate of severe access and response problems emerged last 
November, peaking in January with field offices experiencing only 
sporadic, random access to program software. FSA program participants 
faced substantial delays while FSA field staff endured long, erratic 
periods of unresponsive software.
    Please describe how this Budget addresses FSA IT needs.
    Answer. The fiscal year 2008 President's Budget provides sufficient 
funding to maintain the IT system at its current level of operation. 
USDA is working with the Office of Management and Budget to identify an 
appropriate funding source for stabilization and modernization.
    Question. Our understanding is that it will take hundreds of 
millions to fully resolve the unstable IT situation. Please provide a 
detailed plan, with associated costs, that generates a long-term, 
sustainable, solution to this problem.
    Answer. A business plan is being prepared to address the 
requirements and resources necessary to stabilize the current system, 
prepare it for implementation of a potential disaster bill and the new 
farm bill, and replace the current system with a fully modernized and 
integrated new system.
    FSA's business plan includes the following major components:
  --Network Stabilization (e.g., expand equipment capacity, purchase 
        monitoring tools and hire personnel to monitor the system)
  --Stabilize Databases and Farm Program Payment Applications (e.g., 
        establish proper test environment; employee training and 
        consultants to address database design, configuration and 
        problems; update applications; establish data warehouse for 
        queries and reporting)
  --Disaster Bill (e.g., hardware, software development and testing)
  --Farm Bill (e.g., hardware, software development and testing)
  --Modernization (e.g., capital investments and incremental operating 
        costs)
  --Field office system replacement (e.g. replacement of field office 
        servers)
    The following table summarizes the estimated costs.
    [The information follows:]

                                  FSA IT SYSTEM STABILIZATION AND MODERNIZATION
                                           [Preliminary Cost Estimate]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Fiscal Year
                                 ----------------------------------------------------------------   Total Cost
                                       2007            2008            2009            2010         Requirement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Requirements:
    Network Stabilization.......      11,467,850      12,966,667      12,548,750  ..............      36,983,267
    Database/Application              12,983,000      44,047,100      12,067,100  ..............      69,097,200
     Stabilization..............
    Disaster Bill...............       8,500,000  ..............  ..............  ..............       8,500,000
    Farm Bill \1\...............      16,000,000      42,000,000  ..............  ..............      58,000,000
    Modernization...............         675,521     132,154,811     120,572,189  ..............     253,402,521
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.....................      49,626,371     231,168,578     145,188,039  ..............     425,982,988
                                 ===============================================================================
Incremental Operating
 Requirements:
    Network Stabilization.......       4,949,286       5,307,077       6,798,435       1,556,275      18,611,072
    Database/Application               8,120,857       7,245,800       8,864,800  ..............      24,231,457
     Stabilization..............
    Disaster Bill...............  ..............       5,080,000      25,420,000  ..............      30,500,000
    Farm Bill \1\...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
    Modernization...............  ..............      12,118,000      12,364,000  ..............      24,482,000
    Field Office System           ..............      19,200,000       9,600,000  ..............      28,800,000
     Replacement \2\............
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................      13,070,143      48,950,877      63,047,235       1,556,275     126,624,530
                                 ===============================================================================
Total Cost:
    Network Stabilization.......      16,417,136      18,273,743      19,347,185       1,556,275      55,594,339
    Database/Application              21,103,857      51,292,900      20,931,900  ..............      93,328,657
     Stabilization..............
    Disaster Bill...............       8,500,000       5,080,000      25,420,000  ..............      39,000,000
    Farm Bill \1\...............      16,000,000      42,000,000  ..............  ..............      58,000,000
    Modernization...............         675,521     144,272,811     132,936,189  ..............     277,884,521
    Field Office System           ..............      19,200,000       9,600,000  ..............      28,800,000
     Replacement \2\............
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.....................      62,696,514     280,119,454     208,235,274       1,556,275     552,607,517
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Farm Bill estimate includes only IT related costs. Additional expenditures to deliver the 2007 Farm Bill
  will be required. For example, temporary employee cost for the 2002 Farm Bill was approximately $26 million
  for 1,100 temporary employees.
\2\ Includes only those costs necessary to upgrade network servers located in field office locations. Estimate
  does not include normal replacement costs for other field office equipment (e.g. phone systems, printers,
  workstations, mobile devices, GPS systems, etc.) which may also be approaching the end of their expected
  useful life.

                  FSA FIELD STAFF AND OFFICE STRUCTURE

    Question. Mr. Secretary, adequate FSA field staffing and office 
locations have been issues for some time. Substantial concerns were 
raised in the recent past in response to FSA plans to restructure.
    What are current plans for altering FSA field staffing levels and 
field office locations?
    Answer. FSA has asked each State Executive Director (SED) to 
conduct an independent local-level review of the efficiency and 
effectiveness of FSA offices in their respective State. There is no 
national plan or formula for closing or consolidating offices. SEDs and 
State committees have been directed by the FSA Administrator to form a 
review committee to identify what the optimum network of FSA 
facilities, staffing, training and technology should be for their 
State. Efficiencies will be based on each State's individual needs and 
will be within existing budgetary resources and staffing ceilings. FSA 
is also committed to coordinating with Congress, stakeholders, local 
groups and customers to ensure the agency offers the best service 
possible.

                      FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

    Question. The budget request includes an increase of $24.8 million 
for the financial management system of the Chief Financial Officer.
    What will the total cost for completion of this system be?
    Answer. The estimated cost for implementation of USDA's new 
financial management system is approximately $90 million.
    Question. How many years will it take for this system to be 
completed?
    Answer. Our preliminary schedule shows completion of implementation 
at the end of fiscal year 2011. USDA is presently in the acquisition 
phase and has yet to award a contract for services or hosting.
    Question. If no funds are provided for this, will work continue?
    Answer. If appropriated funding is not provided, the project will 
continue, but will do so at a pace that reflects the funding that would 
be available, and this is likely to be at a much slower pace than 
projected. Funding would be sought from other sources--the Working 
Capital Fund, reimbursements from customer agencies, purchase card 
rebate proceeds, and/or any funds that might be made available under 
authority to transfer unobligated balances. By relying upon these 
alternative sources, implementation timing will be affected as these 
resources may also be needed for other important corporate investments. 
To the extent that implementation is delayed, USDA will need to 
maintain operation of the legacy financial system, adding additional 
costs.

                 CAPITAL SECURITY COST SHARING PROGRAM

    Question. The budget includes an increase of $5,241,000 under the 
Foreign Agricultural Service for the Capital Security Cost Sharing 
Program. Since fiscal year 2005, this program has increased 
substantially.
    When do you expect funding for this to plateau and then start to 
decline?
    Answer. The Capital Security Cost Sharing (CSCS) program is 
designed to generate a total of $17.5 billion to fund 150 new 
diplomatic facilities over a 14-year period. The FAS assessment 
comprises approximately 70 percent of USDA's total annual contribution 
to the program. In the case of FAS, its assessment started at $0.6 
million in 2005 and increased to over $5.5 million in 2007. It is 
estimated to increase annually until 2009, at which time the estimated 
annual assessed level will total approximately $9 million. This level 
is assumed to remain constant at that point for the next 9 years with 
FAS payments totaling as much as $140 million over the life of the 
program.
    Question. What assurance have you received from the State 
Department that FAS is paying for space that they actually occupy?
    Answer. FAS Washington staff have worked closely with our field 
offices and with the State Department's Office of Building Operations 
to correctly identify positions that should be billed to FAS. Also, 
according to Section 604 of the Secure Embassy Construction and 
Counterterrorism Act of 1999, the funds collected under the CSCS 
program are devoted entirely to the construction of new embassy and 
consular compounds worldwide, regardless of presence.
    Question. Is the agency currently paying for space in facilities 
where they do not have a presence?
    Answer. The CSCS program funds construction of new U.S. embassy 
compounds by contributions from all agencies in proportion to their 
overseas presence. Of the 80 planned security projects in the next 
seven years, FAS will occupy space in 27 of the new facilities.
    Question. Which agencies at USDA contribute to the Capital Security 
Cost Share Program?
    Answer. Other USDA agencies that contribute to the CSCS program 
include the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural 
Research Service, Rural Development, Natural Resources Conservation 
Service, and Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
    Question. Is this reflected in all of their budget justifications? 
If not, why?
    Answer. Like FAS, APHIS and ARS display their contributions to the 
CSCS program in their explanatory notes. In the case of the other 
agencies, the amounts involved are less than $60,000 for 2008, and the 
agencies have not displayed them separately from other administrative 
funding.

          PUBLIC LAW 480 TITLES I AND II AND FOOD FOR PROGRESS

    Question. Over the past several years, funds have been transferred 
from Public Law 480 Title I to carry out activities under the Food for 
Progress program. Please explain the impact of your request to 
eliminate the Title I program will have on the Food for Progress 
program.
    Answer. Food for Progress programming in 2008 will continue to be 
carried out through Commodity Credit Corporation funding. The 2008 
President's budget projects that CCC-funded Food for Progress 
programming will total approximately $163 million.
    Public Law 480 Title I funding to carry out Food for Progress will 
no longer be available in 2008. Although no funding was appropriated 
for Public Law 480 Title I for 2007, approximately $39 million of Title 
I funding that was carried over from prior years is being used to 
support Food for Progress programs this year. No similar carry over 
balances are expected to be available during 2008.
    Question. Is it your anticipation that there will be increased 
availability of funds in fiscal year 2008 for non-emergency programs 
under Title II? If not, is the Title I elimination another overall 
reduction in non-emergency food aid programs?
    Answer. It is difficult to predict with certainty what the level of 
emergency needs will be in 2008 and, therefore, difficult to state 
whether funding for non-emergency programs will increase above this 
year's level. When the 2007 budget recommended no further funding for 
Public Law 480 Title I, a corresponding increase of $80 million was 
requested for Public Law 480 Title II donations. That increase was 
approved and remains in the base funding level for Title II and can, 
therefore, be used to support either emergency or non-emergency Title 
II programming.

                 AGRICULTURAL RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

    Question. The Department supports the use of Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams as a way to assist, re-stabilize, and promote 
agricultural production in certain areas of the world, such as Iraq and 
Afghanistan. However, it seems that many of the developmental aspects 
of these teams could also serve in developing countries, such as in 
sub-Saharan Africa, where the ability to promote food security is 
crucial.
    Do you think that the use of a mechanism similar to the Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams could serve a useful purpose as part of an overall 
global food security strategy?
    Answer. The PRTs were first established in Afghanistan for the 
international community to provide improved security and to facilitate 
reconstruction, along with economic development, throughout the 
country. The PRTs are seen as transitional structures and operate in 
high risk, unstable and difficult situations. The PRTs have a broad 
mandate in bringing reconstruction to the local people and allow the 
U.S. Government to engage with key government, military, tribal, 
village, and religious leaders in the provinces, while monitoring and 
reporting on important political, military and reconstruction 
developments. They also provide protective services to experts 
providing assistance.
    USDA has found PRTs to be effective in allowing USDA agricultural 
advisors to work and directly affect agriculture on a local level in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. PRTs could serve a useful purpose as part of an 
overall global food security strategy, especially in reconstruction and 
stabilization situations. In other situations they might have 
usefulness but, as transitional structures, they would need to be 
modified considerably to make them relevant and cost effective.
    Question. If not, then why do you think they will be successful in 
Afghanistan and Iraq?
    Answer. USDA believes that PRTs in Afghanistan and Iraq are 
effective platforms from which our specialists can operate. USDA's PRT 
advisors continue to make significant contributions to the training of 
Ministry of Agriculture staff at the local level, and they provide 
valuable expertise to local and international non-governmental 
organizations, donors, and others working in agricultural development. 
PRTs allow USDA to work in close collaboration with other agencies to 
plan and implement projects that utilize a combination of resources. 
Many of these projects would be beyond the capacity of USDA alone.

                        CONSERVATION OPERATIONS

    Question. For Conservation Technical Assistance, there is an 
increase of $1,000,000 for a stand-alone financial audit.
    Why is this audit necessary?
    Answer. The Conservation Technical Assistance program is the 
foundation for all of USDA's conservation efforts. This makes it vital 
for policy officials to have the most accurate information possible in 
order to make the best programmatic and management decisions. An 
independent financial audit will help the agency identify weaknesses in 
program implementation and help institute improvements for program 
management and accountability.
    Question. What concerns were raised in order for these funds to be 
needed?
    Answer. During preparation of the 2008 President's budget request, 
issues of program management and accountability were closely looked at. 
It was determined that an independent financial audit would help 
identify steps needed to address concerns regarding improper or 
duplicate payments; large number of up(down)ward adjustments, proper 
use of commitments and obligations; and validity of open obligations 
and reimbursable accounts.
    Question. The budget includes a decrease of $17,225,000 for the 
Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative but retains $10,000,000 for a 
competitive grants program.
    Please explain the purpose and aspects of this program.
    Answer. By Congressional directive in recent years, NRCS provided 
technical assistance to owners and managers of private grazing lands to 
improve long-term productivity and ecological health. In fiscal year 
2006, Congress directed that $4,188,000 (of the $27,500,000 GLCI 
earmark) be used on efforts to manage the spread of invasive species. A 
nationwide competitive grants process was used to carry out the fiscal 
year 2006 Congressional directive. The President's 2008 budget proposes 
to continue the competitive grants program to control invasive species. 
It is estimated that invasive plants infest over 100 million acres of 
grazing land in the United States.
    Question. How will these funds be awarded?
    Answer. A nationwide announcement would be issued to attract viable 
applications from eligible government and non-government organizations 
and individuals to compete for the available funding. The grants would 
be awarded based on various elements in the applications including 
purpose and goals, soundness of approach, proposed project management, 
and transferability (technology transfer). A matching contribution 
would be required of the applicant. A portion of the funds would be set 
aside for competition among limited resource farmers and ranchers and 
Tribes.
    Question. What are the goals and expected outcomes of this program?
    Answer. The objective of the invasive species grants would be to 
encourage and support the management and control of invasive species 
affecting grazing lands. We will use the ``cooperative conservation'' 
approach to address invasive species concerns on a local, statewide, or 
regional basis. The use of Integrated Pest Management techniques and 
biological pest control methods would be encouraged.

                 RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

    Question. The budget includes a decrease of $37,717,000 for 
Resource Conservation and Development program activities. Included in 
this is a proposed consolidation of RC&D Coordinators, reducing the 
number from 375 to 50.
    Why is this consolidation necessary?
    Answer. The Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) analysis found 
the program to be duplicative of other conservation and rural 
development programs and the program does not prioritize or target 
funding effectively. Specifically, the purposes and services provided 
by the RC&D program overlap with other similar resource conservation 
planning, rural economic development, and community facilities/
amenities development services provided by other USDA agencies (such as 
the Forest Service and Rural Development) and other Federal departments 
(such as the Department of Commerce's Economic Development 
Administration).
    Question. What plans are currently in place should the Committee 
decide to decrease funding for RC&D?
    Answer. While the overall program budget will decrease, NRCS will 
continue to provide support through a state-wide RC&D coordinator. The 
coordinator's role will focus more on coordinating USDA assistance 
toward the implementation of RC&D Area Plans rather than day-to-day 
operations of RC&D councils. For several years, USDA has partnered with 
the National Association of RC&D Councils, Inc. to increase the 
capacity and sustainability of RC&D councils across the country. Many 
councils have increased their partnerships and financial portfolios so 
they are less reliant on NRCS direct technical and financial 
assistance. The budget proposal reflects an expectation that more 
councils will be able to take on the additional responsibility.
    Question. Will staff be folded into other agencies within the 
Department?
    Answer. The majority of RC&D coordinators are classified in such a 
way that they will fit well within other jobs and activities of NRCS. 
Most RC&D Coordinators were previously NRCS Soil Conservationists prior 
to becoming RC&D Coordinators. The majority would easily adjust to soil 
conservationist type work at the field level.

                     AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

    Question. How does AMS intend to protect the organic standard in 
light of current FDA proposals to approve food from cloned animals, 
with no requirement for labeling?
    Answer. In response to the FDA announcement regarding cloned 
animals, AMS issued a notice to the industry that, pursuant to the 
National Organic Program (NOP) regulations, cloning is a prohibited 
practice in organic production. AMS also consulted the National Organic 
Standards Board (NOSB) and received a recommendation to prohibit not 
only cloning as a production method, but the use of their progeny in 
organic production as well. AMS intends to develop rulemaking or 
guidance related to clones and their progeny in organic production.
    Question. What actions has AMS taken in response to the audits 
performed by the American National Standards Institute in 2004 and by 
the USDA Office of Inspector General in 2005, which made strong 
recommendations about changes needed in the administration of the 
National Organic Program?
    Answer. The audit conducted by the American National Standards 
Institute (ANSI) found that there were many procedures, required by an 
ISO Guide 61 system (since revised by ISO and reissued as ISO 17011), 
that the ANSI auditors were not able to identify during the onsite 
audit. In response, AMS assigned a task force of experienced quality 
system specialists to work on the NOP quality management system. Those 
processes were completed by the September 2005 target date agreed to by 
AMS. Some processes that require participation by certifying agents or 
certified operations, such as our reinstatement procedures, have been 
posted on the NOP website. Some additional procedures have been posted 
as they were approved by the Office of the Inspector General, who 
conducted a separate but similar review at about the same time. The OIG 
audit found similar deficiencies as the ANSI audit and identified 10 
action items to be completed by the NOP. All of the OIG action items 
have been completed.

           NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST SHARE PROGRAM

    Question. Of the $5 million provided in the fiscal year 2002 Farm 
Bill for the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, how 
much remains unobligated and/or unspent? Please provide a breakdown of 
the States with remaining unobligated and/or unspent funds, as well as 
a list of States that have spent all of their funds.
    Answer. The information is provided for the record. As of March 20, 
2007, $148,340 is unobligated and unspent funds total $247,100 for the 
24 States with funds remaining.
    Eighteen States have exhausted all of their allotted funds: 
Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, 
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
    Seven States that have spent more than 90 percent of program 
allotted funds: California, Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, Oregon, 
South Dakota, and Vermont.
    Seventeen States have more than 10 percent of program allotted 
funds remaining: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, 
Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
    Eight States chose not to participate in this program: Alabama, 
Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Nevada, Rhode Island, and 
West Virginia.
    Question. If funding for the National Organic Certification Cost 
Share Program remains unobligated and/or unspent in some States at the 
end of fiscal year 2007, does USDA have the authority to make that 
funding available to other States? Does USDA plan to do so?
    Answer. Within each AMS-State cooperative agreement, there is a 
provision that gives AMS the authority to terminate agreements and 
redistribute unspent funds to other States that have exhausted funds. 
If States are not actively obligating funds and large balances remain 
unspent at the end of fiscal year 2007, AMS will exercise this 
authority.
    Question. What is the total funding provided in the fiscal year 
2008 budget for the National Organic Program?
    Answer. The fiscal year 2008 request for Organic Standards is $3.18 
million.

                             EMERGING PESTS

    Question. How does APHIS work to prevent things such as Emerald Ash 
Borers and Asian Longhorn Beetles from entering the United States? What 
improvements need to be made at the borders to prevent these incredibly 
expensive pests from entering and causing these problems?
    Answer. The Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection program protects 
the United States from the risks associated with the introduction of 
invasive agricultural pests and diseases. APHIS and the Department of 
Homeland Security cooperate to carry out this program, and fund the 
programs through a combination of appropriations and user fees. The 
Pest Detection program supports APHIS' goal of safeguarding U.S. 
agricultural and environmental resources by ensuring that new 
introductions of harmful plant pests and diseases are detected as soon 
as possible, before they cause significant damage. USDA is requesting a 
$15 million increase in the Pest Detection program for fiscal year 
2008.
    Exotic wood boring and bark beetles such as EAB and Asian 
longhorned beetle (ALB) likely entered the United States through 
infested solid wood packing materials such as pallets, crates, and 
other materials used in international shipping. These materials are 
often reused and reshipped many times throughout the world. Many 
countries have recognized the need to deal with the pest risk. APHIS 
worked with its international counterparts to develop standards for 
safely moving solid wood packing materials and implemented regulations 
based on the developed standards. While APHIS and affected States are 
still dealing with the effects of EAB and ALB and several other exotic 
forest pests already in the United States, we believe that the new 
regulation of wood packaging materials should help prevent future 
infestations of this type.
    Question. At what point do you make a determination that the 
eradication of a disease isn't possible, such as in the case of citrus 
canker? What are the next steps once that determination has been made?
    Answer. Although each pest or disease situation must be analyzed 
separately, there are several factors we consider when determining 
whether or not eradication is feasible. Among these are: the 
availability of adequate funding and active participation from Federal, 
State, and industry cooperators; weather and any other environmental 
constraints; the potential of the pest to do significant economic 
damage to agricultural or forest resources; the extent to which the 
pest or disease has spread; the availability of effective detection, 
diagnostic, and control technology; the availability of acceptable 
alternatives to eradication; public support for an eradication program; 
the disease's public health significance; and the vectors associated 
with a disease (e.g., mosquitoes, ticks, etc.).
    Federal officials take all of these and other factors into 
consideration as they determine whether the eradication of a pest or 
disease is possible. If one or more of these factors change 
considerably during the course of an eradication effort, the planned 
course of action will be reevaluated. Prior to making any major 
decisions about discontinuing an eradication effort, Federal officials 
will consult with their State and industry cooperators, then update 
policies and regulations as appropriate.
    Question. Specifically for Chronic Wasting Disease, how will the 
requirements for the States change with the proposal for a match in 
which the Federal Government will pay for 60 percent of anticipated 
program needs, and the State will fund the rest? Will the State funding 
level need to increase?
    Answer. The 2008 budget proposes a reduction of about $4 million. 
The program requirements for the chronic wasting disease (CWD) herd 
certification program (HCP) will not change with the funding reduction. 
At the requested funding level, USDA anticipates the States and 
cooperators would contribute additional resources to support the 
efforts at current levels.
    Question. More broadly, what amount does APHIS anticipate saving by 
requiring increased State matches for APHIS activities? Is there 
currently a mandated match level for States, or is this an entirely new 
proposal? If a State can't or does not provide the requested match 
amount, what will APHIS do then?
    Answer. The following table is provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Line Item                             Savings
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chronic Wasting Disease.................................          $4,400
Emerging Plant Pests--Citrus Health Response Program               2,300
 (Florida)..............................................
Emerging Plant Pests--Asian Longhorned Beetle (NJ & NY).           1,691
Emerging Plant Pests--Glassy-Winged Sharp Shooter                  1,001
 (California)...........................................
Johne's Disease.........................................           5,005
Noxious Weeds...........................................             300
                                                         ---------------
      Total.............................................          14,697
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is currently no mandated match level for States, nor is USDA 
proposing a mandated level. It is our goal to leverage increased 
participation from the States to maximize the benefits received from 
Federal dollars.
    If a State is unable to contribute the estimated amount for a 
particular program, USDA will evaluate the overall impact to program 
efforts and adjust future funding requests accordingly.

                      APHIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

    Question. Please provide a chart showing all cooperative agreements 
with States and other organizations to be carried out in fiscal year 
2007, including total funding provided by Congress, and funding 
retained by APHIS.
    Answer. Given the timing of the full-year fiscal year 2007 
appropriation, APHIS is currently in the process of negotiating with 
States and other organizations in the development of work plans and 
agreements for this year. Therefore, the requested information is not 
available at this time. This information will be provided when 
available, but not later than August 1, 2007.
    Question. Was there any input gathered from those whose 
responsibilities will be increased before this proposal was put forth 
to decrease funding for Johne's disease? Are these activities that the 
States, etc. are currently undertaking, or would have to pick up?
    Answer. USDA has consulted with our partners in the Voluntary 
Bovine Johne's Disease Control Program (VBJDCP), and they are aware of 
our request. From its inception, the VBJDCP has been a cooperative 
effort among APHIS, State departments of agriculture, and industry. 
States have been the main driving force of the VBJDCP. A large part of 
the Johne's disease funds not requested in the President's Budget has 
been used by the States to pay for producer testing and risk assessment 
fees. With a reduction in Federal funding, these costs will need to be 
covered by producers who benefit from this program. In addition, State 
and University partners would assume responsibility for continuation of 
the Johne's disease demonstration herd projects implemented in each 
region. These projects focus on new and current testing schemes and 
control methods to determine the most effective cost management 
practice options.
    APHIS will continue to provide oversight to the VBJDCP and support 
analysis of the national demonstration projects, along with continuing 
laboratory approval and licensing diagnostic tests and vaccines for 
commercial use.

                      COMMON COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

    Question. Why is the budget for CCE decreasing this year, when 
needs are certainly not?
    Answer. Funding for the CCE has been comprised of Service Center 
Agency (FSA, NRCS, RD) information technology (IT) purchases through 
their own appropriations, in addition to funding provided through the 
CCE direct appropriation. This funding has been used to develop an 
infrastructure to support the business delivery functions of the 
Service Center Agency (SCA) field offices located across the country. 
The 2008 budget requests that $78.5 million with an additional $12 
million for CCE activities that are specific to FSA be included in the 
SCA salaries and expenses appropriations to meet the ongoing business 
delivery needs. This funding will support the continued IT activities 
of the SCAs as they jointly maintain the CCE infrastructure. In 
addition, the SCAs will continue to work with the Information 
Technology Services (ITS) division of the Office of the Chief 
Information Officer in USDA. ITS is funded through reimbursable 
agreements with the SCAs and delivers staffing and services to the 
agencies in support of the CCE. In coordination with ITS, the agencies 
will be able to ensure that the necessary services and staffing are 
available to maintain the infrastructure and program delivery.
    Question. Please provide a chart showing the total CCE funding, 
either within the CCE account or at the Agencies, over the past 5 
years.
    Answer. A chart has been provided for the record showing the 
funding for the CCE for fiscal year 2002 through fiscal year 2006. This 
chart includes funding from the CCE direct appropriation, agency direct 
purchases of IT equipment and services for the CCE, and agency 
reimbursements of the OCIO-Information Technology Services (ITS) 
through the Working Capital Fund (WCF). These amounts paid for ITS 
operating expenses for the CCE and other IT activities, such as 
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
    [The information follows:]

                                                   CCE FUNDING
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Fiscal year
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       2002            2003            2004            2005            2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding Source:
    CCE Direct Appropriation....     $59,369,000    $133,155,000    $118,585,000    $121,577,300    $108,971,000
    Service Center Agency IT          29,174,241      30,924,733      30,748,000      55,413,000      30,265,009
     purchases for CCE (paid
     directly to vendors; did
     not go through WCF)........
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................      88,543,241     164,079,733     149,333,000     176,990,300     139,236,009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Does the USDA have a solid budget estimate of the cost to 
replace the current outdated FSA computer system?
    Answer. FSA is planning to implement a long-term modernization 
effort known as MIDAS to replace its obsolete equipment. FSA 
anticipates submitting a business case for this investment to the 
Office of Management and Budget during March 2007. Preliminary cost 
estimates indicate that this planned transition would require about 
$278 million over fiscal years 2007 through 2009. It would also have a 
total 10-year lifecycle cost of $463 million unadjusted for risk and an 
estimated cost of $617 million when adjusted for risk.
    In addition to this modernization effort, further costs must be 
incurred to stabilize the FSA IT system components at field offices in 
the short term. These additional costs are estimated to be about $150 
million to bring the Kansas City web-based system up to at least 
moderate reliability; about $97 million to implement likely disaster 
assistance and Farm Bill legislation; and nearly $29 million to replace 
obsolete field office components. Thus, estimated total costs of nearly 
$553 million over fiscal years 2007 through 2010 will be required to 
bring the current system up reasonable operating capability and to 
transition to a modernized system. However, the actual modernization 
component as noted above is estimated to cost about $278 million.
    Question. Is an FSA replacement system part of the Farm Bill 
proposals submitted? If not, where will this funding come from, since 
it is not in the President's budget?
    Answer. Funding for modernization of FSA's information technology 
systems is not included in the Administration's Farm Bill proposal. 
USDA is working with the Office of Management and Budget to identify an 
appropriate funding source for this investment.

                  COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM

    Question. How many people currently on CSFP do you estimate will 
lose all benefits, either by not deciding to participate in Food 
Stamps, or receiving fewer benefits under Food Stamps?
    Answer. We do not know how many current CSFP participants would not 
participate or potentially receive a food stamp benefit lower than the 
value of the CSFP package. We estimate that CSFP participants who opt 
to transition to food stamps will receive an average monthly benefit of 
$54 per person. In contrast, we project that the average CSFP food 
package for elderly people would have a retail value of about $44 in 
fiscal year 2007.

              PROPOSED LIMIT ON WIC ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDING

    Question. Please explain how the proposed limit on WIC 
administrative funding will affect the activities that WIC providers 
are required to carry out, including nutrition education, referral 
services, and other important services?
    Answer. We appreciate the hard work that WIC professionals have 
done to create and operate one of our premier nutrition assistance 
programs. However, nutrition services and administration (NSA) funding 
continues to require a greater and greater proportion of the annual WIC 
appropriation. In every other sector of government--Federal, State and 
local--we have all had to learn to become more efficient within tighter 
administrative budgets. We believe WIC can, too. WIC State agencies 
have achieved remarkable success in controlling food costs; we have no 
doubt that the same creativity can be applied to the NSA costs without 
compromising important client services and program operations.
    Our proposal would provide NSA funds at the fiscal year 2006 per-
person level. This would allow for a greater proportion of appropriated 
funds to be used for food benefits and to ensure that funding continues 
to be adequate to serve all eligible individuals who wish to 
participate. It is anticipated that the total appropriation needed for 
fiscal year 2008 would be reduced by approximately $145 million through 
this redirection of NSA funds to food funds.
    Question. Please outline how this proposal is different from the 
fiscal year 2007 budget request.
    Answer. The current proposal is intended to provide a reduction in 
WIC NSA funding to slow its growth rather than to ``cap'' the funds 
available for NSA at 25 percent as proposed in the fiscal year 2007 
budget.
    Current legislation provides an amount for State agency NSA grants 
sufficient to guarantee a national administrative grant per participant 
(AGP). The guaranteed national AGP for each fiscal year is based on the 
prior year's AGP, inflated by the State and Local Purchase Index, as 
required by legislation. The WIC AGP inflation rate from fiscal year 
2006 to fiscal year 2007 was 6 percent.
    Our current proposal would reduce the AGP used to determine the 
proportion of funds made available for NSA in fiscal year 2008 rather 
than using the inflated fiscal year 2007 AGP level.
    Question. If this proposal is not adopted, will your request level 
for WIC still be adequate?
    Answer. USDA estimates that setting the fiscal year 2008 
administrative grant per participant at the fiscal year 2006 level will 
save approximately $145 million through redirection of NSA funds to 
food funds. If this proposal is not adopted, then an additional $145 
million would be needed in the fiscal year 2008 appropriation for the 
WIC Program in order to support average monthly participation at the 
anticipated level of 8.28 million.
    Question. Will the proposal regarding income limits actually save 
any money? Will this proposal, if included, require States to re-check 
the eligibility of all of their participants?
    Answer. USDA estimates that approximately $2 million per year will 
be saved by the proposal to limit income eligibility based on 
participation in Medicaid to those individuals whose incomes are below 
250 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines. This will help ensure 
that WIC benefits are targeted to those most in need. The proposal 
would not require States to re-check the eligibility of all of their 
current participants. Rather, affected States will need to ask new WIC 
applicants and applicants whose prior certification has expired to show 
documentation of eligibility in a means-tested program other than 
Medicaid, such as the Food Stamp Program or Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families, or to show documentation of their income to determine 
eligibility.
    Question. How many States will be affected by the income 
eligibility proposal, and how much will it cost them to re-certify all 
WIC participants? How many people do you think will have to be re-
certified, and how many ineligible participants will be identified?
    Answer. Based on current Medicaid income eligibility levels, seven 
States would be affected: Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The proposal would not require 
these States to re-certify current participants. Rather, these seven 
States will need to ask new WIC applicants and applicants whose prior 
certification has expired to show documentation of eligibility in a 
means-tested program other than Medicaid, such as the Food Stamp 
Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or to show 
documentation of their income to determine eligibility. We estimate 
that approximately 3,000 applicants who are on Medicaid in these States 
will have incomes above the 250 percent threshold and therefore no 
longer be eligible for benefits.

                FOOD STAMP PROGRAM LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS

    Question. How does the legislative proposal in the Food Stamp 
Program work to streamline Federal assistance programs?
    Answer. Many of the proposals work together to streamline the 
administration of the Food Stamp Program by simplifying complex 
policies, while at the same time supporting low-income working 
families. For example, we are proposing to exclude all retirement 
accounts and certain educational savings accounts from resources when 
determining eligibility. This simplifies the eligibility determination 
on the part of the State agencies while encouraging low-income families 
to save for retirement and their children's future even if they 
experience a temporary need for food stamps. We are proposing to 
exclude combat related pay for military personnel. This proposal would 
make permanent a policy that has been enacted on a yearly basis through 
the budget process. This proposal makes it easier for State agencies to 
determine eligibility while supporting the families of service 
personnel fighting overseas by ensuring that they do not lose food 
stamps as a result of the additional deployment income. Taken as a 
whole, these proposals would have a significant affect on streamlining 
the administration of the Food Stamp Program.

               CENTER FOR NUTRITION POLICY AND PROMOTION

    Question. Please list all cooperative agreements or contracts 
entered into by CNPP in regard to My Pyramid, including funding levels 
and recipients.
    Answer. Current contracts are for hosting and maintenance 
operations, evaluation, customer service, and refinement of tools 
already developed for the MyPyramid.gov Web site. Three cooperative 
agreements exist for educational purposes in support of MyPyramid and 
the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. No funds are exchanged 
between parties for these cooperative agreements. A list will be 
provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hosting and Maintenance Contracts (for support of
 website and associated databases):
    National Information Technology Center, Kansas City,        $181,000
     KS.................................................
    American Systems Corporation, Chantilly, VA.........          90,000
    Akamai Technologies, Cambridge, MA..................         120,000
Evaluation (for 12 month American Customer Satisfaction
 Index):
    ForSee Results, Ann Arbor, MI.......................          25,000
Customer Service (for customer support specialist):
    Network Management Resources Consulting, Inc.,                79,451
     Annapolis, MD......................................
Refinement of Tools (to increase usability of existing
 interactive tools):
    Porter Novelli, Washington, DC......................         102,052
Cooperative Agreements (To promote MyPyramid and the
 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans):
    Tufts University, Boston, MA and Safeway, Inc.,              ( \1\ )
     Pleasanton, CA.....................................
    Naturally Nutrient Rich Coalition (NNRC), Chicago,           ( \1\ )
     IL.................................................
    Hispanic Communication Network (HNC), Washington, DC         ( \1\ )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No funds were exchanged for Cooperative Agreements.

                   FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE

    Question. Will States receive the full funding level they requested 
in fiscal year 2007 with the additional funding that we provided in the 
Joint Resolution?
    Answer. Funding levels for the States are reviewed in order to 
determine the amounts they require to perform their inspection tasks 
and may at times vary from the amount requested. However, adequate 
funds are available for States.
    Question. Is the President's budget for fiscal year 2008 sufficient 
to provide the States with their full funding request in fiscal year 
2008 for their State meat inspection programs?
    Answer. FSIS requests an increase of nearly $1 million for State 
MPI programs in fiscal year 2008, as stated in the amended budget 
explanatory notes. The fiscal year 2008 President's Budget provides 
full funding for the State MPI programs based on estimated needs when 
the budget was proposed. FSIS will know the funding request from the 
States sometime after August 2007, when the States provide updated 
funding needs.
    Question. Please provide information regarding any long-term 
contracts FSIS has regarding public meeting space, including funding 
spent on these contracts.
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service has no long-term 
contracts for public meeting space.
    Question. Please provide information on employee performance 
bonuses at FSIS in fiscal year 2006, including the total amount of 
bonuses provided to GS employees, and the total amount of bonuses 
provided to SES employees.
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service's Senior Executive 
Service (SES) performance awards for fiscal year 2006 totaled $269,362, 
and were paid in fiscal year 2007 using fiscal year 2007 funds. For 
fiscal year 2006, all other employees received a total of $2,774,926 in 
bonuses.
    Question. How often do processing inspectors working in combination 
slaughter/processing plants have to perform slaughter duties because of 
an absence of a slaughter inspector due to vacancies, illness, 
vacations, etc.? Please describe the type of records the Agency keeps 
in such instances provide those records for the past 2 years.
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service utilizes a variety 
of strategies to staff critical slaughter positions when absences occur 
due to vacancies, illnesses, and vacations. These strategies include 
utilization of relief inspectors and relief public health 
veterinarians, other-than-permanent employees, higher graded slaughter 
inspection personnel, and processing inspection personnel. The use of 
processing inspectors to cover the absence of slaughter inspectors has 
been policy for several decades, and is the best use of staff, as the 
presence of inspectors at slaughter facilities must be continuous. 
Documentation of the daily staffing strategies utilized at each plant 
is not maintained. Thus, records on the use of these staffing 
strategies are not available.
    Question. What is the current career ladder for FSIS inspection 
personnel? For the years 1996-2006, please identify the number of 
Agency employees by GS level that worked in Agency headquarters; that 
worked in field locations. How will the Agency's implementation of RBI 
affect the numbers of employees in each GS level?
    Answer. FSIS' inspection program personnel include the following 
primary occupations:
  --Food Inspection (slaughter), GS-5, career ladder GS-7
  --Consumer Safety Inspectors (processing), GS-8, career ladder GS-9
  --Consumer Safety Inspectors (relief positions), GS-10
  --Public Health Veterinary Medical Officers, GS-11, career ladder GS-
        12
    Under a more robust risk-based inspection system for meat and 
poultry processing, USDA will continue using the same number of 
inspection program personnel, spending the same amount of overall time 
conducting inspections. Risk-based inspection is about working smarter 
to protect public health by having inspection personnel spend more time 
in the processing plants that need assistance and expertise.
    A chart identifying the number of Food Safety and Inspection 
Service positions at headquarters and in field positions (1996-2006) 
follows:
    [The information follows:]

                                                                               FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE
                                                                      Actual Headquarters and Field Positions for 1996-2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            1996          1997          1998          1999          2000          2001          2002          2003          2004          2005          2006
                                       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Grade                  Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash          Wash
                                         DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field   DC    Field
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Executive Service..............    16       5    23       1    20       1    21  ......    21  ......    19       2    19       2    21  ......    26  ......    25       1    25       1
GS-15.................................    44       9    45      30    45      30    57      25    51      25    52      25    51      26    59      27    60      26    59      32    58      32
GS-14.................................    89      44   100      48   100      48   102      49    93      46    94      46   103      58   107      72    98      72   130      87   128      85
GS-13.................................   212     246   215     347   215     347   248     297   232     283   248     301   221     331   228     351   208     369   293     406   240     394
GS-12.................................    91     956   148     939   148     939   106     935    81     874    91     883    93     889   108     960    97   1,027   117   1,058    97   1,027
GS-11.................................    67     387    28     463    28     463    36     406    35     345    42     329    34     384    44     304    32     280    53     260    45     253
GS-10.................................  ....     176  ....     195     1     345  ....     471     2     510  ....     515     1     516     1     494     2     459     1     409     1     403
GS-9..................................    60   2,195   104    ,264   109   2,168    42   2,017    41   1,826    45   1,859    49   1,951    43   1,878    57   1,971    49   1,959    42   1,892
GS-8..................................    25   1,235     8   1,220     8   1,171    13     986    11   1,023    12   1,046    11   1,068    14   1,101    31     965    14     959    12     930
GS-7..................................    86   3,492    84   3,265    84   3,267    75   3,551    70   3,647    64   3,630    54   3,348    57   3,234    74   3,278    60   3,223    55   3,120
GS-6..................................    73      63    38      70    38      70    34      55    37      47    27      47    17      43    14      42    11      50    14      48    11      46
GS-5..................................    68     460    46     341    44     341    16     284    18     656    19     676    11     317    12     401    14     313    11     240     8     232
GS-4..................................    20      84    38      49    38      49     7      54     2      34  ....      36     1      32     3      24     3      51     8      38     6      36
GS-3..................................     2      17     3       6     3       6     1  ......  ....  ......  ....      21     1      20     2      19     1       1  ....  ......  ....  ......
GS-2..................................     2       2  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....       1  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......
GS-1..................................     2       1  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....
Ungraded Positions....................     2      19     2      24     1      22     1      23  ....      23  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......  ....  ......
                                       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total Permanent Positions.......   859   9,391   882   9,262   882   9,267   759   9,153   694   9,339   713   9,417   666   8,985   713   8,907   720   8,863   834   8,720   728   8,451
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. In late October 2006, 493 beef carcasses at the Swift & 
Company plant located in Grand Island, Nebraska were inadvertently 
sprayed with sewage water. Instead of condemning the carcasses 
according to the provisions of 9 CFR 318.14, FSIS management officials 
instead approved a ``rework'' of the contaminated carcasses. Please 
explain the justification for this action.
    Answer. Under 9 CFR 318.2(d), USDA's Food Safety and Inspection 
Service (FSIS) has historically considered offers to recondition 
product if it believes that an establishment can make the product safe 
for human consumption. I will provide more information on this 
particular action for the record.
    [The information follows:]
    In this case, the establishment developed an aggressive 
reconditioning plan based on relevant science, in close consultation 
with FSIS officials, and approved by FSIS. After reconditioning, 
extensive testing showed that, microbiologically, these carcasses had 
testing results equal to or better than carcasses normally processed at 
the facility.
    Question. The fiscal year 2008 budget proposal calls for the 
imposition of a licensing fee on all meat, poultry and egg production 
facilities within FSIS jurisdiction. Will the approximately 1000 
foreign establishments that are eligible to export to the United States 
also be subject to such a licensing fee?
    Answer. No, foreign establishments eligible to export to the United 
States would not be subject to the proposed fee. USDA is recommending a 
fee for each Federally inspected establishment or official plant to 
partially cover the costs of USDA inspection services.
    Question. The fiscal year 2008 calls for the imposition of 
reinspection fees for all firms that are subject to failure of 
performance standards and/or recalls. Will foreign establishments that 
export to the United States be subject to reinspection fees when FSIS 
auditors find violations of U.S. standards?
    Answer. No. The proposal would not provide for charging fees to 
foreign establishments that export meat, poultry or egg products to the 
United States. FSIS may decertify foreign establishments, i.e., 
prohibit them from exporting meat, poultry or egg products to the 
United States, if it finds that they do not meet the requirements set 
forth in its regulations for imports.
    Question. What is the status of the study being conducted in Canada 
to justify less than daily inspection of processed meat and poultry 
products that are exported to the United States?
    Answer. The Canadians are continuing their study of less-than-daily 
inspection, and nothing has been submitted to USDA at this time. Once a 
study is completed, it will need to be peer reviewed and the data 
assessed by USDA. The Canadians will maintain daily inspection for any 
product exported to the United States until the study is completed and 
reviewed and a decision is made on how to proceed.
    Question. What is the Meat Safety Enhancement Program as it applies 
to meat imports from Australia? How does it differ from traditional 
inspection procedures? Have there been any Australian establishments 
approved to export meat products to the United States using MSEP? Are 
there any pending applications from any Australian meat establishments 
to use MSEP to export to the United States? If there are, what is the 
status of those applications? What criteria will FSIS use to make its 
final determination on the viability of those applications?
    Answer. Australia's Meat Safety Enhancement Program (MSEP) is an 
alternative inspection program to Australia's traditional slaughter 
inspection procedures, which rely solely on government-paid inspectors. 
MSEP differs from Australia's traditional inspection approach by using 
both company inspectors and government-paid inspectors. It was 
developed by the Australian government patterned after the United 
States' HACCP-Based Inspection Model Project (HIMP). USDA's Food Safety 
and Inspection Service determined MSEP to be equivalent in 1999. While 
one MSEP establishment in Australia has applied for the ability to 
export its product to the United States, FSIS has not given approval 
until it completes its assessment of a pilot study carried out by the 
establishment and the Australian government and concurs that the food 
safety conditions established as part of the 1999 equivalence decision 
are being achieved.

                       FSIS RISK BASED INSPECTION

    Question. Please provide us an update on the FSIS announcement 
regarding its change to risk-based inspection. What is the ultimate 
goal of this change, and do you believe that FSIS has the right science 
and testing capabilities at this time, to do this safely?
    Answer. A risk-based inspection system will help USDA improve the 
safety of meat and poultry products from USDA-inspected processing 
establishments, and therefore decrease the incidence of illness and 
deaths caused by foodborne pathogens.
    Since USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection 
program personnel are in each plant every day, FSIS has the necessary 
scientific and testing data to institute a risk-based inspection system 
in processing establishments. In addition to considering the inherent 
risk of product, as well as its volume, FSIS will use seven key factors 
to specifically determine a plant's ability to control risk: food 
safety recalls; verified food safety consumer complaints; noncompliance 
records that are significant to public health, enforcement actions FSIS 
has taken against establishments, ready-to-eat and E. coli O157:H7 
sampling results, ready-to-eat Listeria monocytogenes control 
alternatives, and a plant's Salmonella verification category. For more 
information on how FSIS will measure risk in 30 prototype processing 
establishments, visit the agency's Web site at: http://
www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/RBI_Meeting_040207/index.asp.
    Question. Do you currently have enough data on E. coli, Salmonella 
and Listeria testing, for example, to make sure that you are targeting 
the right plants, or are you still collecting it?
    Answer. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has 
sufficient data to establish the plants' ability to control risk, but 
the agency will continue to collect data on a daily basis. The data 
already on hand is historical, and the last 12 months data can be used 
to calculate ability to control risk. The data the agency will collect 
in the future will give FSIS a snapshot of current conditions in 
establishments, as well as provide the agency with a measure of 
establishments' ability to control risk that particular day. The data 
will allow FSIS to adjust plant inspection intensity in real-time, 
based on current data, thereby being more proactive instead of reactive 
by, for instance, increasing intensity after a recall.
    Specifically with regard to E. coli O157:H7, Listeria 
monocytogenes, and Salmonella sampling analysis, in calendar year 2003, 
FSIS conducted over 80,000 analyses of samples, and that number grew to 
almost 100,000 in CY 2006. These sampling data, particularly when 
combined with the other risk-based factors, provide FSIS with a very 
good picture of the food safety controls within regulated 
establishments.
    Question. Will risk-based inspection result in fewer food 
inspectors at processing facilities?
    Answer. Under a more robust risk-based inspection system for meat 
and poultry processing, USDA will continue using the same number of 
inspection program personnel, spending the same amount of overall time 
conducting inspections. Risk-based inspection is about working smarter 
to protect public health by having inspection personnel spend more time 
in the processing plants that need assistance and expertise.
    Question. What level of funding has been used so far to develop 
this program?
    Answer. FSIS has not dedicated a specific funding level for the 
risk-based inspection initiative. However, some of the recent 
expenditures for this effort include public meetings and technical 
summits, employee meetings, meetings with the National Advisory 
Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, a contract with Resolve Inc., 
and other miscellaneous items.
    Question. Please provide a detailed explanation of the evaluation 
FSIS will undertake of the pilot risk-based inspection program before 
expanding it to further plants. How will you measure success or 
failure, and what are the parameters of that determination?
    Answer. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) intends to 
implement and review risk-based inspection for processing in a careful 
and deliberative manner. The perfect report card for the long-term 
would be a measured decrease of food borne disease and death. While 
FSIS is still in the process of developing how we intend to evaluate 
RBIS, in the near-term, FSIS will compare such measures as verified 
consumer food safety complaints, product recalls, and changes in the 
effectiveness of establishment risk controls between RBIS and 
traditionally-inspected establishments. In addition, FSIS will be 
interviewing inspection program personnel, and the USDA's Office of 
Inspector General will be continuing to audit the development and 
implementation of RBIS.
    Question. What role is turning off the PBIS inspection task 
scheduler playing in risk-based inspection in processing? Have there 
been circumstances when the PBIS scheduler has been turned off within 
the past 5 years, and if so, please identify those circumstances and 
the reasons for them.
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will no 
longer use the Performance Based Inspection System (PBIS) database 
scheduler in the initial 30 prototype processing locations under risk-
based inspection. However, at that time, the agency will not 
discontinue the use of PBIS as a whole--only the scheduler. Processing 
inspectors at the prototype processing locations will continue to 
report their findings into the PBIS system, and these data will be 
analyzed on an on-going basis.
    In 2000, FSIS allowed District Offices the option of not scheduling 
the inspection procedures to be performed in a plant on a specific day. 
This change recognized that some establishments operate seasonally, 
such as plants that specialize in seasonal or holiday meats; some 
operate infrequently, such as one day per week; and some prepare 
products for inspection by FSIS and by the Department of Health and 
Human Services' Food and Drug Administration on different days. This 
policy saves inspection program personnel time, since they do not have 
to check a ``not performed'' box for a day when an establishment is 
simply not producing FSIS-inspected product.
    Question. The fiscal year 2008 budget proposal calls for the 
expenditure of funds during the last quarter of the fiscal year to 
cover the costs of training and relocation of staff when risk-based 
inspection in slaughter is implemented. How did the Agency arrive at 
those figures? Does the Agency anticipate reductions in staff when 
risk-based inspection in slaughter is implemented?
    Answer. The agency's goal is to begin to implement risk-based 
inspection for young chickens at slaughter plants during the last 
quarter of fiscal year 2008. For that to happen, FSIS will need to have 
a final rule in place.
    Implementation of risk-based inspection in slaughter facilities is 
projected to require two weeks of training for Food Inspectors and one 
week for Consumer Safety Inspectors. Cost considerations include 
travel, per diem, supplies, and materials as well as backfill of 
frontline inspection personnel while employees are in training. These 
costs also include post-training meetings conducted by FSIS' Technical 
Service Center employees to ensure consistent policy application. Other 
cost considerations include employee relocation expenses in accordance 
with Federal travel regulations.
    Risk-based inspection in processing establishments will not lead to 
reductions in the inspection program personnel workforce. Once it is 
implemented in the future, risk-based inspection for slaughter may 
result in a redistribution of the inspection workforce.
    Question. Does the Agency anticipate reductions in the overall 
inspection workforce as it implements both risk-based inspection in 
processing and slaughter? If it does, what role will attrition play in 
those reductions? Will the Agency be forced to reduce staffing through 
layoffs?
    Answer. Under a more robust risk-based inspection system for meat 
and poultry processing, USDA will continue using the same number of 
inspection program personnel, spending the same amount of overall time 
conducting inspections.
    Risk-based inspection for slaughter will likely result in a 
redistribution of the inspection workforce. Anyone who is employed by 
FSIS when risk-based inspection for slaughter is implemented and 
desires to keep working for the agency will continue to do so. Risk-
based inspection is about working smarter to protect public health by 
having inspection personnel spend more time in the plants that need 
assistance and expertise.
    Question. What Notices and Directives has the Agency issued in 
preparation for the implementation of risk-based inspection in 
processing? What is the legal justification for implementing risk-based 
inspection in processing without the need for formal rulemaking or a 
change in existing statutes?
    Answer. As of February 27, 2007, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection 
Service (FSIS) has not issued any directives, but will issue a 
directive to personnel regarding the implementation of risk-based 
inspection at the thirty prototype processing locations in order to 
instruct employees on how they are to perform daily tasks. In addition, 
before implementing the nationwide risk-based inspection system for 
processing, the agency will issue either an updated or new directive 
for personnel. I will have FSIS provide additional information 
explaining this rationale more thoroughly.
    [The information follows:]
    The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 511-599) is the 
law under which regulatory agencies, including FSIS create the rules 
and regulations necessary to implement and enforce the statute such as 
the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, 
and the Egg Products Inspection Act. Section 553 of the APA, titled 
``Rule making'' defines the procedures and specifies exemptions from 
rulemaking. Section 553(a) of the APA States that matters relating to 
agency management or personnel are not subject to rule making. Risk-
based inspection does not place new regulatory requirements on 
establishments that will be subject to this new inspection management 
strategy. What risk-based inspection does is determine which inspection 
tasks are to be completed by FSIS inspectors for specific 
establishments. This is a matter of agency management, and so is not 
subject to rule making.
    Even though rule making is not required, FSIS has engaged in, and 
plans to continue to engage in, a public, transparent development 
process in devising its new management strategy. The agency believes 
that public involvement by its stakeholders will yield the best results 
and the best positive effects on public health in the end. As FSIS 
gains practical insights from prototyping risk-based inspection, the 
agency plans to adapt the system to changing circumstances and its 
evolving understanding as to how best to manage inspection staff.
    Some of FSIS' public participation activities used in the 
development of risk-based inspection include a two-day public listening 
session in October 2006, and three public sessions with the National 
Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection to gather input. In 
addition, on April 2, 2007, FSIS will hold a public meeting to gather 
feedback on the proposed methodology to determine plant ability to 
control risk, and specifically how best to utilize noncompliance 
records. The agency will also hold another public meeting on April 5, 
2007, to determine to how to improve attribution data. Public meetings 
are scheduled for April 25 and 30, 2007, to discuss how best to use 
establishment volume and establishment reported data, respectively, in 
the formulas for risk determination.
    Question. What is the status of the installation of the FSIS 
Automated Technology Suite (FACTS)? How is FACTS being used in the data 
collection for plants involved in the risk-based inspection in 
processing program? Please specify all the types of recorded data 
available to the Agency that will be considered in making decisions for 
risk-based inspection. For example, the Agency plans to use information 
on Noncompliance Records (NRs)--what specific information is available 
on a NR that will be factored into RBI decisions?
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) Automated 
Technology Suite (FACTS) applications have been incorporated into the 
Public Health Data Consolidation business case. When fully funded, this 
will allow FSIS to continue building an information technology system 
that is modernized to consolidate data into one data warehouse system 
and process and analyze this data through transactional systems. With 
this initiative FSIS will be able to gather data efficiently, increase 
data integrity and security, and expedite analysis of all FSIS data.
    The data from the processing plants that has already been gathered, 
along with risk-based inspection data to be gathered, will be stored 
and utilized through the data warehouse system described above.
    Since FSIS inspection program personnel are in each plant every 
day, the agency has the necessary data to institute an enhanced risk-
based inspection system in processing establishments. In addition to 
considering the inherent risk of product, as well as its volume, FSIS 
will use seven key factors to specifically determine a plant's ability 
to control risk: food safety recalls; verified food safety consumer 
complaints; noncompliance records that are significant to public 
health, enforcement actions FSIS has taken against establishments, 
ready-to-eat and E. coli O157:H7 sampling results, ready-to-eat 
Listeria monocytogenes control alternatives, and a plant's Salmonella 
verification category. For more information on how FSIS will measure 
risk in 30 prototype processing establishments, visit the agency's Web 
site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/
RBI_Meeting_040207/index.asp.

                          FSIS FOOD INSPECTORS

    Question. Please provide vacancy rates for food inspectors by 
district. Please provide a breakdown of FSIS inspectors and plant 
responsibility over the past 5 years.
    Answer. As of February 27, 2007, the inspection work force has 
increased by 139 positions since the end of fiscal year 2006. These are 
potential new employees who have passed background checks, had 
satisfactory interviews, and have agreed to a start date. At any given 
time, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) shows a vacancy 
rate due to a lag in hiring, attrition, difficulty in recruiting in 
some remote areas, difficulty in recruiting in some high income 
locations, and retirement. To meet current demand, FSIS projects that 
we would have 7,500 in-plant personnel by the end of the fiscal year. 
The information is provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]

                                       IN-PLANT OFF-LINE VACANCY DATA \1\
                                            [As of February 27, 2007]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   Current Value
                            District                                 Positions      Employment    Rate (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alameda.........................................................          275.00          229.00           16.73
Denver..........................................................          278.00          253.00            8.99
Minneapolis.....................................................          185.00          167.00           9.730
Des Moines......................................................          259.00          236.00            8.88
Lawrence........................................................          227.00          206.00        \1\ 9.25
Springdale......................................................          313.00          286.00            8.63
Dallas..........................................................          229.00          183.00           20.09
Madison.........................................................          148.00          140.00            5.41
Chicago.........................................................          278.00          234.00           15.83
Philadelphia....................................................          281.00          259.00            7.83
Albany..........................................................          254.00          214.00           15.75
Beltsville......................................................          190.00          170.00           10.53
Raleigh.........................................................          261.00          233.00           10.73
Atlanta.........................................................          333.00          297.00           10.81
Jackson.........................................................          317.00          296.00          6.6296
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      Total.....................................................        3,828.00        3,403.00          11.10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Talmadge/Aiken (T/A) plants are not included.


                                        ON-LINE (SLAUGHTER) VACANCY DATA
                                            [As of February 27, 2007]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Current
                            District                                 Positions      Employment     Vacancy Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alameda.........................................................          209.00          175.00           16.27
Denver..........................................................          220.00          187.00           15.00
Minneapolis.....................................................          164.00          141.00           14.02
Des Moines......................................................          413.00          373.00            9.69
Lawrence........................................................          334.00          313.00            6.29
Springdale......................................................          453.00          431.00            4.86
Dallas..........................................................          337.00          309.00            8.31
Madison.........................................................          104.00           90.00           13.46
Chicago.........................................................          169.00          141.00           16.57
Philadelphia....................................................          142.00          126.00           11.27
Albany..........................................................           33.00           25.00           24.24
Beltsville......................................................          275.00          255.00           7.270
Raleigh.........................................................          504.00          456.00            9.52
Atlanta.........................................................          509.00          450.00           11.59
Jackson.........................................................          612.00          576.00            5.88
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      Total.....................................................        4,478.00        4,048.00           9.60
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: It is important to note that the total number of field inspection staff identified above cannot be
  compared with the total number of ``field staff'' in an exhibit of FSIS' fiscal year 2008 Explanatory Notes
  entitled: ``Permanent Positions by Grade and Staff Year Summary -2006 Actual and Estimated 2007 and 2008.''
  The field staff identified above relate to the inspection personnel whereas the ``field staff'' in the
  ``Permanent Positions by Grade and Staff Year Summary--2006 Actual and Estimated 2007 and 2008'' exhibit
  relate to all FSIS staff outside of the Washington, D.C. area (e.g., Technical Service Center staff in Omaha,
  Nebraska, Financial Processing Center in Urbandale, IA, lab personnel in the three FSIS laboratories, etc.)


                              INPLANT POSITION AND EMPLOYMENT FIVE YEAR HISTORY \1\

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      On-Line        Off-Line      Enforcement,    Public Health
                                 --------------------------------  Investigation  Veterinariian/
                                                                     Analysis      Veterinarian
                                                                     Officer/         Medical
                                                                    Compliance      Officer \2\        Total
                                      Sla-07         CSI 08-10        Officer    ----------------
                                                                 ----------------
                                                                     GS 12-13        GS 11-13
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Available Positions
Fiscal Year 03..................           3,952           3,491             189             992           8,624
Fiscal Year 2004................           3,652           3,749             195             983           8,579
Fiscal Year 05..................           3,547           3,608             212             995           8,362
Fiscal Year 06..................           3,509           3,556             215             966           8,246
Fiscal Year 07 \2\..............           3,518           3,610             202             964           8,294
           Employment
Fiscal Year 03..................           3,310           3,226             189             838           7,563
Fiscal Year 2004................           3,302           3,090             195             850           7,437
Fiscal Year 2005................           3,217           3,150             188             831           7,386
Fiscal Year 2006................           3,158           3,183             185             793           7,319
Fiscal Year 20071A\3\...........           3,147           3,181             183             772           7,283
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ T/Apositions are not included.
\2\ Includes VMS.
\3\ Current as of 2/27/2007. The end of fiscal year projected employment is 7,500.


                    OTHER THAN PERMANENT--STAFF YEARS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Years                                Usage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003....................................................             438
2004....................................................             377
2005....................................................             310
2006....................................................             298
\1\ 2007................................................             360
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Planned OTP usage.

                         RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY

    Question. Is RMA developing any new products to serve regions of 
the country that currently have few, if any, options for risk 
management? If so, please explain them.
    Answer. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) has undertaken an 
evaluation of its product portfolio to identify gaps in availability, 
particularly with respect to underserved crops and/or regions. This 
evaluation found that, with few exceptions, crop insurance coverage is 
generally available for the most economically significant crops in the 
underserved regions. This result is consistent with the conclusions of 
a recent independent evaluation of RMA's product portfolio. This 
suggests that RMA should place greater emphasis on improving currently 
available products to provide more effective risk management 
protection, and target efforts on the development of new products 
towards filling the few remaining gaps. RMA is currently conducting 
comprehensive evaluations of several crop programs to identify areas 
for improvement, particularly among underserved regions.
    In addition, RMA has implemented several new products, most notably 
Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite), 
and two Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) pilot programs. The AGR, 
AGR-Lite and PRF programs are particularly oriented to producers for 
whom traditional crop insurance products were either impractical, or 
did not provide effective risk management protection. In addition, over 
twenty pilot programs are currently active that pertain to specialty 
crops, including pilot programs for processing chili peppers, Hawaii 
Tropical Fruit, and Florida Fruit Trees. RMA also has ongoing 
development efforts for a revenue insurance product for certain 
specialty crops, as well as an umbrella weather-peril product that 
could provide effective coverage for certain crops with relatively 
limited market value. Additional risk management tools are developed 
through partnership agreements that impact underserved producers. These 
partnership agreements deal with a wide range of topics including the 
development and understanding of markets, pest and disease control, and 
water management.
    The Crop Insurance Board also accepts private sector submissions 
that allows persons to develop and submit for approval their own 
products targeted to specific risk management needs.

                 NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

    Question. What is the status of the development of a National 
Animal Identification System?
    Answer. The National Animal Identification System is composed of 
three components: premises registration, animal identification, and 
animal tracing. Premises registration is the foundation of the program. 
As of March 12, 2007, all 50 States, 60 Tribes, and 2 U.S. Territories 
are capable of registering premises according to USDA standards, and 
approximately 378,000 locations have been registered.
    Significant progress has also been made on the second component of 
NAIS, animal identification. As of March 12, 2007, approximately 1 
million Animal Identification Number devices have been distributed.
    The third component of the NAIS, animal tracing, is currently under 
development with the help of USDA's industry and State partners. 
Industry, through private systems, and States will manage the animal 
tracing databases that maintain the movement records of animals. Full 
deployment of the Animal Trace Processing System is planned for the 
near future.
    Question. If such an animal identification system is made 
voluntary, what effect does APHIS anticipate that will have on 
participation? What efforts will be made to encourage participation?
    Answer. Participation in the NAIS is voluntary. The USDA remains 
committed to building upon our strong partnership with the States and 
industry to meet producers' needs and establish a versatile system that 
makes sense for everyone.
    Moving forward with this voluntary approach has allowed producers 
the opportunity to test the program and recommend the most practical 
solutions for a more effective system. In this sense, producers 
themselves are playing an active role in helping to shape the NAIS 
program so that it works well for their particular needs. Additionally, 
a voluntary NAIS allows for the best price competition between service 
providers (identification device manufacturers, database providers, 
etc.) and leaves room for market applications (such as age/source/
process verification) to help drive the system.
    To encourage participation, USDA has provided funding to facilitate 
development and implementation of an efficient system, and flexibility 
to adapt to producers' operations and needs. On February 2, 2007, USDA 
published a request for proposals from nonprofit organizations that 
wish to enter into cooperative agreements with USDA to advance premises 
registration. USDA will make up to $6 million available, subject to the 
availability of funding, for the cooperative agreements. These 
cooperative agreements will support the efforts of such organizations 
to promote the NAIS and, specifically, increase participation in 
premises registration--the foundation of the program.

                            INVASIVE SPECIES

    Question. Please provide a list of current plant and animal 
invasive species, ranked by their threat level. What is APHIS' short 
and long-term plans to deal with these?
    Answer. The Administration has not ranked invasive species by 
threat level. Invasive species that APHIS addresses include, but are 
not limited to, the programs focused on cattle fever tick, 
Mediterranean fruit fly, emerald ash borer, potato cyst nematode, 
sudden oak death, citrus diseases, brucellosis, pseudorabies, and 
chronic wasting disease. APHIS addresses each of these threats as 
resources allow.
    Over the long term, APHIS develops response plans for exotic pests 
and diseases that have the potential to cause significant economic or 
environmental damage and uses its safeguarding system, which involves 
prevention, detection, and management components, to protect U.S. 
agriculture. Under the Pest and Disease Exclusion mission area, APHIS 
works to prevent exotic pests such as cattle fever tick and 
Mediterranean fruit fly from entering the United States. These and 
other pests have direct pathways into the United States. APHIS takes 
action at U.S. borders or in other countries to mitigate the risks 
associated with them.
    Under the Monitoring and Surveillance mission area, APHIS conducts 
plant pest surveys, animal health surveillance, and other activities 
designed to detect exotic plant pests and foreign animal diseases if 
they are present so that we can deal with them quickly if needed. These 
programs target a changing list of high-risk plant pests depending on 
trade and travel pattern and outbreaks in other countries. These 
programs also conduct intensive monitoring and emergency preparedness 
efforts. APHIS analysts follow animal and plant health situations 
around the world and frequently adjust monitoring and surveillance 
efforts and pest and disease exclusion priorities to safeguard U.S. 
agriculture and natural resources from high-risk pests and diseases.
    APHIS also works to control or eradicate high priority invasive 
species through programs in the Pest and Disease Management area, 
including, but not limited to, emerald ash borer, potato cyst nematode, 
sudden oak death, several citrus diseases, brucellosis, pseudorabies, 
and chronic wasting disease.

                     AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

    Question. We have heard several reports of genetically modified 
material getting into crops intended for commercial sales, the most 
well-known being rice. What has the economic effect been of instances 
such as this?
    Answer. The economic effect can be reductions in seed available for 
planting and potential trade restrictions. For example, two popular 
long grain rice varieties can no longer be planted for commercial 
production due to the presence of genetically modified material. The 
value of certified seed of these varieties produced in 2006 for 
planting in 2007 is estimated to be $39 million.

           GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIALS IN COMMERCIAL CROPS

    Question. How is AMS, and USDA overall, working to prevent the 
introduction of genetically modified materials into crops intended for 
commercial sales?
    Answer. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
involved in regulation of the biotechnology industry. Various measures 
are used in authorized field tests to ensure that genetically 
engineered organisms are confined to the test site. The measures 
include isolation distances to mitigate cross pollination with other 
crops and weedy relatives, cleaning of farm equipment to mitigate the 
inadvertent spread of seed, timely disposition of the field test, and 
post-harvest monitoring for volunteers. To ensure compliance, 
inspections of the test site, facilities, and records are conducted. 
Once a crop is deregulated, that crop is considered no different than 
conventional crops and may be planted without restrictions from APHIS.
    For organic products, regulations of AMS' National Organic Program 
prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms in organic 
production. Accredited certifying agents review organic production and 
handling plans before certified organic production begins to ensure 
that no genetically modified organisms are used in production and that 
handling procedures protect organic products from contact with 
genetically engineered materials. Penalties are in place for 
intentional disregard of the regulations.

                           VALUE-ADDED GRANTS

    Question. Funding has been provided for Value-Added Agricultural 
Product Market Development Grants since the Agricultural Risk 
Protection Act of 2000. Ample time has elapsed to evaluate the 
effectiveness of this program.
    Please describe the types of products that have been funded.
    Answer. A wide variety of projects are funded, including value 
added products made from meat, dairy products, grains, fruits and 
vegetables, oilseeds, and renewable energy sources. Grant funds 
totaling $150,000 were used as working capital for the start up phase 
of a new tilapia production facility where the fish will be raised and 
processed into fillets. Other types of products include wine, compost 
made from diary waste, wind energy, soy-flour, identity-preserved 
yogurt, dehydrated apple slices, and branded cuts of beef.
    Question. Are these products becoming marketable and sustainable?
    Answer. Information about the long-term sustainability became 
available early this year from a study that the University of Missouri 
has done. The study indicates that approximately 60 percent of the 
projects funded resulted in a marketable product.
    Question. What are the outcome measures that are being used to 
determine the success of this program?
    Answer. Several measures evaluating the program are in place, 
including the number of jobs created, the increase in producer revenue 
due to the project, the increase in customer base due to the project, 
and the sustainability of the business receiving the grant.
    Question. How many grants and how much funding has been provided to 
energy-related projects?
    Answer. Since 2001, 155 grants have been made for energy-related 
projects, totaling $25.2 million.
    Question. How successful are these energy-related projects and how 
do you define success?
    Answer. We define the success of energy-related projects in the 
same way as for other project types--we consider any project that 
resulted in a marketable product to be successful. We estimate that 
approximately 48 percent of energy related projects resulted in a 
marketable product. This compares to 60 percent success in projects 
over all for the value added program.
                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Tom Harkin

                 AGRICULTURE QUARANTINE AND INSPECTION

    Question. In 2002, agriculture inspectors who protect our Nation 
from invasive species and pests at ports of entry were transferred from 
USDA to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Consequently, now 
USDA is responsible for creating the policy for agriculture inspections 
at ports of entry but DHS is responsible for the implementation of that 
policy.
    Secretary Johanns, can you tell me how much control USDA still has 
over the agriculture inspectors at ports of entry?
    Answer. In order to fulfill the requirements of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002, USDA and DHS entered into a memorandum of 
agreement (MOA) which specified the roles of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP). Through this MOA, CBP conducts the majority of the front line 
activities. APHIS provides training, risk assessment, and technical 
support.
    Question. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that came 
out last year noted that agriculture inspectors' morale is low, their 
rates of interception of potentially harmful material is low, and that 
there are fewer canine units performing inspections. Can USDA do 
anything to improve these problems, or is this responsibility now 
entirely in the hands of DHS?
    Answer. After the issues were highlighted by GAO, the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service within USDA and the Customs and Border 
Protection within DHS instituted quarterly face-to-face meetings. These 
meetings occur at both the technical level and managerial level. These 
meetings ensure transparency and are a forum for addressing present and 
future issues.
    Question. What would be the positive and negative impacts in 
transferring these inspectors back to USDA from DHS?
    Answer. The USDA supports the President's decision to transfer 
inspectors from the USDA to DHS. This decision allowed for the creation 
of a consolidated border inspection organization which provides 
information sharing, streamlined services, cross-training among 
specialists, and innovative techniques that were not possible when 
border inspection was the responsibility of three separate agencies. 
Rather than limiting agricultural inspection to a relatively small 
cadre of specialized inspectors, DHS greatly expanded the number of 
inspectors who can screen air passengers and vehicles at land border 
crossings for prohibited agricultural products.

                      U.S. FOREIGN FOOD ASSISTANCE

    Question. As a result of continuing food crises in Africa and 
elsewhere, Congress has been obliged to provide additional emergency 
funding for Title II international food aid above and beyond 
appropriated levels for the last several years.
    Why has the Administration been unwilling to acknowledge that 
increased demand for emergency food assistance has persisted, and not 
requested funding above the recent levels of $1.2 billion for Title II 
in the fiscal 2008 budget proposal?
    Answer. The 2008 budget request reflects a careful prioritization 
among the competing demands for international humanitarian assistance. 
It is also important to understand that emergency food needs are 
difficult to predict in advance, especially given the complex nature of 
evolving, rapidly changing conflicts and the unpredictability of rainy 
seasons in drought-prone areas.
    Nevertheless, the 2008 budget does support our commitment to 
addressing the most severe and critical emergency food aid needs. And 
should unanticipated needs arise, the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust 
is available to ensure we can respond to them.
    Question. The USDA policy with respect to the Bill Emerson 
Humanitarian Trust, at least as indicated in the budget summary 
document for fiscal 2008, is that up to 500,000 tons of food is 
available annually for unanticipated emergency food assistance. Since 
the Emerson Trust now has commodity reserves of about 800,000 tons, 
that would last less than 2 years. When does the Administration plan to 
ask for funds to replenish the Trust?
    Answer. The Trust currently holds 915,000 metric tons of wheat and 
$107 million of cash. Based on a current price of hard red winter wheat 
of about $216 per metric ton, that cash equates to approximately 
495,000 metric tons of wheat. That amount, combined with the 915,000 
metric tons of wheat held in the Trust, provides a total tonnage of 
just over 1.4 million metric tons. Wheat is not the only commodity that 
might be needed in an emergency, of course, but because it is used so 
frequently in overseas feeding programs, it provides a good 
illustration of the level of the Trust's resources.
    At this time, the Administration is not planning to request funds 
to replenish the Trust. However, in 2 recent years, $20 million was 
transferred annually from the Public Law 480 program to the Commodity 
Credit Corporation as reimbursement for commodities previously released 
from the Trust, and those funds were, in turn, assigned to the Trust. 
The Administration may consider future transfers of Public Law 480 
funds that can be used to replenish the Trust, but current statutory 
authorities preclude annual reimbursement and replenishment above the 
$20 million level.

                             CROP INSURANCE

    Question. Wouldn't the Department's request to utilize mandatory 
funds to cover data mining and computer hardware costs cover some of 
the same costs that the user fee proposal would pay for?
    Answer. No. The data mining operation is conducted on separate IT 
systems than those that would be funded through the user fee proposal. 
The existing IT system used by the Risk Management Agency (RMA) is 
outdated and is not capable of conducting the data mining activities. 
Consequently, RMA contracts with Tarleton State University to perform 
the data warehousing and data mining activities mandated by Congress.

                NATIONAL VETERINARY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT

    Question. In 2003 Congress passed the National Veterinary Medical 
Services Act to address the shortage of large animal veterinarians 
across the country. Four years later the regulations have yet to be 
issued for this program even though Congress has appropriated $1 
million for the program. At last year's agriculture appropriations 
hearing, you said the regulations would be done in 18 months.
     When can we expect to see USDA release the regulations for this 
program?
    Answer. We plan to publish a Final Rule delegating the National 
Veterinary Medical Services Act program to CSREES in the Federal 
Register on March 19, 2007. Although there are additional 
administrative steps that must be completed prior to the distribution 
of funds, a framework for the program has been developed by CSREES.

                     CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM

    Question. As part of the Continuing Resolution for fiscal year 
2007, it is my understanding that the CSP includes a funding cap that 
will result in farmers and ranchers receiving a pro-rated reduced 
payment for contract modifications, which they are required to complete 
despite reduced payment.
    How much of a reduction from the contract level will producers have 
to accept? Is there consideration of giving farmers the option of 
delaying their compliance with the modified contract if the Federal 
Government is not living up to its side of the bargain to make payment? 
If a farmer receives a partial CSP payment this year, will USDA pay the 
rest of the balance next year (or out of any supplemental funding 
provided in fiscal year 2007)?
    Answer. Unmodified contracts and those that were modified but did 
not exceed their 2006 payment level, are fully funded in 2007. 
Participants with 2007 contract obligations that exceeded their 2006 
level will receive just over half of the amount above what they 
received in 2006.
    If the producer is not in compliance with the modified contract, 
the State Conservationist has the flexibility, on a case by case basis, 
to make adjustments to the participant's contract.
    CSP is annually funded and payments will be made up to the level of 
funding made available by Congress.

            APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR RURAL AREAS

    Question. In 1985, Congress authorized the implementation of a 
sustainable agriculture information service, Appropriate Technology 
Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), to provide technical assistance and 
information to farmers, ranchers, extension agents, educators and 
others involved in sustainable agriculture. ATTRA now supports more 
than 20 agricultural specialists working in six locations across the 
Nation. I strongly urge USDA to not consider ATTRA an earmark given it 
was authorized in the 1985 farm bill.
     What will USDA do to ensure ATTRA's funding level remains intact 
for fiscal year 2007?
    Answer. Under the first Continuing Resolution $936,000 was 
obligated in 2007 for ATTRA compared to about $2.5 million that was 
provided in 2006. The revised Continuing Resolution reduced funding for 
rural cooperative development grants and no further funding was 
provided for ATTRA. No funding is included in the 2008 budget request 
for ATTRA, although the budget request does include funding for similar 
competitive grants.
                                 ______
                                 

             Questions Submitted by Senator Byron L. Dorgan

                          ARS RESEARCH FUNDING

    Question. Secretary Johanns, in your statement you describe how the 
President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for USDA meets the 
challenges of the agricultural community by ``funding our highest, most 
important priorities.'' That is why I was disappointed to see harsh 
cuts to important agricultural research across the country, 
particularly in North Dakota.
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget cuts research at the Fargo 
and Mandan ARS Centers. These cuts include research into wheat and 
barley scab, sclerotinia--a white mold disease that wilts or rots 
broadleaf crops, and precision agriculture.
    Can you please explain why these research programs are singled out 
for cuts in the fiscal year 2008 budget?
    Answer. The 2008 Budget for ARS proposes to discontinue funding for 
a number of research projects added by Congress that provide mostly 
localized benefits and do not have a nationwide impact. Doing so will 
enable the Department to focus limited resources on higher priority 
research and on addressing important national goals such as emerging 
and exotic diseases of plants and animals, renewable energy and 
obesity.

           NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK FUNDING

    Question. The National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) was 
established to create a greater infrastructure that enabled a rapid and 
adequate response to animal health emergencies. In addition to 
protecting animal health and the agriculture industries, these labs 
also play an important role in protecting public health.
    The Network was started with 12 ``pilot labs'' around the country, 
and has since been expanded to include diagnostic labs from virtually 
every State. My State of North Dakota is a full partner in the network 
and is certified to respond in four areas, including avian influenza 
(AI), exotic Newcastle disease (END), foot and mouth disease (FMD), and 
classical swine fever (CSF).
    Of the funding provided for the NAHLN, some goes to maintain the 12 
pilot labs, and the rest is distributed to some of the remaining 
diagnostic labs. It appears that there are inadequate resources going 
into the NAHLN to adequately fund all participating labs or support the 
infrastructure that was created.
    Will the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for NAHLN 
support some operating or structural costs of each participating 
diagnostic lab (as supported by the American Veterinary Medical 
Association, the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory 
Diagnosticians, and the National Institute for Animal Agriculture)?
    Answer. The NAHLN is a cooperative effort between the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Cooperative State 
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). CSREES provides 
infrastructure support to the 12 NAHLN pilot labs, while APHIS provides 
infrastructure support to other laboratories in the network as funds 
become available.
    APHIS' fiscal year 2008 budget request will support upgrading three 
laboratories to biosafety level (BSL)-3 requirements. The agency is 
currently conducting disease risk assessments to determine the highest 
priority labs for the upgrade. The assessment will determine those 
areas that have the greatest risk of the introduction of a disease for 
which diagnostics would require this level of bio-security.
                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Richard J. Durbin

              FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM IN SCHOOLS

    Question. With the President's Budget request, how many new States 
will be able to join the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program this 
year?
    Answer. The Department is not proposing to expand the Fresh Fruit 
and Vegetable Program. Instead, our Farm Bill proposal would increase 
mandatory spending for fruits and vegetables in the National School 
Lunch and School Breakfast Programs by $500 million over 10 years. In 
addition, the Farm Bill proposal would increase section 32 spending on 
fruits and vegetables by $2.75 billion over 10 years, some of which 
would likely go to schools. The Department considered a range of 
approaches to increase the availability of fruits and vegetables in 
schools, and ultimately selected this approach because it has the 
potential to increase fruit and vegetable access to the greatest number 
of school children.
    The Administration is committed to increasing fruit and vegetable 
consumption, given their importance to health and the specific 
recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Increased 
funding for fruits and vegetables in the school programs will help 
support the Administration's implementation of the 2005 Dietary 
Guidelines for Americans in the more than 31 million lunches served 
every school day.
    Question. Is there a set of selection criteria at USDA for 
admittance to the program?
    Answer. Almost all of the States currently participating in the 
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program were designated by Congress. Since 
the Department is not proposing to expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable 
Program, we have not developed selection criteria for additional 
States.
    Question. Which States are poised to be accepted to the program 
soonest?
    Answer. The Department is aware that a number of additional States 
have expressed interest in participating in the Fresh Fruit and 
Vegetable Program. The program has been well received by students and 
by State and local school administrators in those places where it 
currently operates. However, we believe that the policy emphasis is 
best placed on our Farm Bill proposals. The Administration's Farm Bill 
proposals have the potential to increase fruit and vegetable access to 
school children in every State.

        BROADBAND AND DISTANCE LEARNING AND TELEMEDICINE FUNDING

    Question. The President's Budget decreases funding for the set of 
broadband programs housed at USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS). The 
budget proposes to cut the Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and 
Broadband Program from $85 million in 2006 (actual) to $31 million 
(fiscal year 2008 Budget). Grants are cut from $70 million in fiscal 
year 2006 (actual) to $25 million (fiscal year 2008 Budget). Total 
direct loan levels are decreased from $1.155 billion in fiscal year 
2007 (estimated) to $300 million (fiscal year 2008 Budget). Direct 
loans for distance learning and telemedicine are eliminated entirely, 
from a level of $156 million in fiscal year 2007 (estimated).
    Can you explain the reasons why funding levels for these programs 
were decreased?
    Answer. The distance learning and telemedicine program has received 
only a few applications for loans since the program was established a 
number of years ago. The 2008 budget maintains the grant portion of the 
program at its current level of about $25 million although it does not 
include funding for other broadband grant programs for which about $20 
million is available for 2007. The 2008 budget also includes funding 
for $300 million in broadband loans which is expected to be enough to 
meet the needs of those rural communities that have no or only limited 
access to broadband services.
    Question. How do these decreases fit within the President's stated 
policy objective of making broadband universal and affordable by 2007?
    Answer. USDA is providing a sufficient level of funding to meet the 
expected demand for loans. Moreover, program regulations are being 
revised to focus on areas that do not already have existing broadband 
providers. These revisions are expected to improve the performance of 
meeting the President's goal of universal and affordable service 
budget.
    Question. Are there alternative funding streams or mechanisms in 
the President's Budget that make up for these decreased funding levels?
    Answer. Currently the USDA's telecommunication loan programs 
finance technology that supports Broadband ready capabilities. Further, 
the Administration's 2007 Farm Bill proposal addresses the need for 
enhancing rural infrastructure by providing an additional $500 million 
over 10 years. Both the broadband access and the distance learning and 
telemedicine programs are included among the programs that would be 
eligible for this funding.
    Question. Last, have you heard of Connect Kentucky's work mapping 
broadband networks and increasing build out and demand in rural areas, 
and would you be interested in looking at ways the Department could 
work to facilitate similar work in other States and regions?
    Answer. I understand that Connect Kentucky was recently recognized 
by the Economic Development Agency for excellence in innovation. It is 
a model for State-wide commitment for using technology to address 
economic opportunities and quality of life. Most importantly, it has an 
advisory board consisting of a wide range of public and private sector 
partners. I would encourage anyone with an interest in rural 
development to visit its website for more information.

                   RURAL DEVELOPMENT HOUSING PROGRAMS

    Question. The President's Budget contains significant modifications 
to the rural housing programs run through USDA Rural Development (RD).
     Can you please provide detailed information to assure me that USDA 
RD's overall loan activity in the area of housing would not decrease if 
these policy proposals were enacted into law?
    Answer. The 2008 budget provides for over $5 billion in housing 
loans, which is slightly higher than the amount available for 2007. In 
2007 the total single family housing homeownership lending available 
was $4.7 billion ($1.1 billion for direct loans and $3.6 billion for 
guarantees). Historically, RHS has offered both direct and guaranteed 
homeownership loans. Beginning in 2008 however, RHS will only offer 
guaranteed loans. The budget provides no funding for the 502 direct 
single family housing loan program, but total lending for single family 
housing homeownership loans will be $1 million higher then in 2007 at 
$4.8 billion. The direction of Rural Development's single family 
housing mortgage assistance over the last two decades has been towards 
guaranteed loans. Solely utilizing guarantees for single family housing 
mortgage is consistent with the other Federal homeownership programs. 
In fact, there are no Federal single family direct loan homeownership 
programs for urban areas.
    Furthermore, financial markets have become more efficient and 
increased the reach of mortgage credit to lower credit qualities and 
incomes. While there are still rural areas with ``pockets of need'', 
these areas are shrinking as improvements and innovations in the 
banking industry take hold, use of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac grows, 
and lending through the internet have become more prevalent. Therefore, 
utilizing the private banking industry to provide this service, with a 
guarantee from the Federal Government, is a more efficient way to 
deliver that assistance.
    The demand for Rural Development's single family housing guaranteed 
loan program has been consistently strong both among borrowers and 
private lenders. We have no reason to expect a change to this in 2008 
and are confident that with the requested level of funding for 
guaranteed loans, RHS will be able to facilitate the dream of 
homeownership to more rural residents than we did in 2007.
    Question. What motivated the policy proposal of decreasing direct 
loan activity to the area of guaranteed loans--are there differentials 
in default rates or other operational aspects that inspired the 
policies?
    Answer. No other Federal agency offers direct loans for single 
family housing. So the decision was made to conform to a consistent 
Federal policy on the type of assistance to provide in promoting 
homeownership. Further, guaranteed loans have accounted for almost all 
the growth in our program activity since the mid 1990's and borrowers 
with very low and low incomes account for 30 percent of this activity. 
Default rates for both direct and guaranteed loans have been relatively 
low, although this was not a factor in the decision.
    Question. Currently, what is the difference in the terms and rates 
offered to applicants on average through the direct loan versus the 
loan guarantee program, and would the President's policies negatively 
affect RD housing loan applicants?
    Answer. In short, the difference is that interest rates on direct 
loans may be subsidized down to 1 percent and there are no fees, while 
the interest rates on guaranteed loans reflect the market rate and 
there is a one-time fee which is currently set at 2 percent and 
proposed to be increased to 3 percent in the 2008 budget.
    USDA recognizes that guaranteed loans are more costly to borrowers 
than direct loans and is examining alternatives for proposed 
legislation to provide a subsidy to soften the difference. Specifically 
to help replace the loss of assistance for mortgage credit from the 
direct loan program, the Administration expects to propose legislation 
to authorize a subsidized guaranteed single family housing program.

                      CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM

    Question. In terms of conservation, the Budget proposes to 
eliminate new enrollments in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 
2007 and 2008. The economics of high commodity prices will play a 
significant role in landowner decisions to re-enroll in the program.
    Given these higher prices and higher motivation not to participate 
in CRP as well as the Administration's 2007 Farm Bill conservation 
recommendations, why is the Administration proposing no new sign ups in 
2007 and 2008?
    Answer. As you point out, higher commodity prices will probably 
dissuade many landowners from participating in the CRP. For this 
reason, the Administration's budget baseline does not assume a general 
sign-up for 2007 or 2008. However, continuous sign-up of high-priority 
buffers, wetlands and other initiatives, as well as the Conservation 
Reserve Enhancement Program, will continue and USDA encourages farmers 
and ranchers to consider these opportunities. We are closely monitoring 
interest in CRP re-enrollment, planting projections, and supply-demand 
situations for various commodities to determine the most appropriate 
future actions in administering the CRP.

                   NRCS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUNDING

    Question. Also, I have been concerned to see USDA Natural Resources 
Conservation Service (NRCS) technical assistance (TA) funding decrease. 
The fiscal year 2008 Budget proposes to cut TA from $708 million in 
fiscal year 2007 (estimated) and $727 million in fiscal year 2006 
(actual) to $689 million in fiscal year 2008 (proposed).
    How is NRCS supposed to support higher program activities when its 
TA allocation is being cut?
    Answer. Higher priority program activities within NRCS will 
continue to be supported in 2008. The decrease in conservation 
technical assistance (CTA) that you reference in your question 
represents amounts for Congressional earmarks in the CTA account and 
reflects the realignment of the Administration's conservation 
priorities.
    It should be noted that NRCS also provides technical assistance to 
producers through other discretionary programs as well as through 
mandatory programs authorized in the current Farm Bill. Our 2007 Farm 
Bill proposals significantly increase funding for conservation programs 
and include the technical assistance component needed to implement 
these programs.

                            BSE SURVEILLANCE

    Question. In 2004, USDA boosted BSE testing. Over a period of 18-
months, a total of 759,000 cattle were tested and two additional cases 
of BSE were detected. USDA has relied on this data to prove that BSE is 
rare in the United States; however, USDA's Inspector General criticized 
the expanded testing program. The IG noted that because the expanded 
program was voluntary, the testing might not have captured a 
representative sample of the Nation's herd.
    Last year, USDA announced plans to scale back BSE testing by 90 
percent and based its decision on the results of the expanded testing 
program.
    With 35 million cattle slaughtered for the U.S. food supply each 
year, how can testing only 40,000 cattle each year be sufficient to 
detect BSE?
    Answer. The expanded surveillance effort, which was biased toward 
finding the disease, was designed to estimate the level of disease 
presence in the United States and provide input for designing a long-
term surveillance plan. USDA has now developed such a plan. USDA has 
the ability to detect BSE at 1 infected animal per 1,000,000 adult 
cattle with a high degree of confidence. This ability far exceeds the 
international standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE).
                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Ben Nelson

                          DISASTER ASSISTANCE

    Question. The Administration has worked to block each and every 
emergency disaster assistance funding legislation we have attempted in 
the Senate and it has consistently argued against the need for such 
assistance. As I look through the President's budget proposal and the 
USDA budget justifications I am struck by two things: first, that there 
is practically no funding for drought and disaster assistance; and 
second, there is no funding for efforts to mitigate the devastating 
impacts of droughts and disasters.
    As such, I have to ask what the Administration proposes to do, or 
expects to see happen, with regard to the many farmers and ranchers 
that continue to suffer from drought?
    Answer. The Federal crop insurance program is intended to be, and 
should remain, our foremost tool to assist farmers and ranchers 
impacted by natural disasters of all types. The Administration's budget 
request fully funds the Federal crop insurance program.
    In addition, this Administration has responded, with appropriate 
forms of assistance, to mitigate losses resulting from drought and 
other forms of disaster. However, this assistance has been crafted to 
specifically target producers directly impacted by adverse weather 
conditions. For example, the Administration developed the Livestock 
Assistance Grant Program (LAGP) which provided $50 million in State 
block grants to help livestock producers recover forage production 
losses due to drought conditions during 2006. Furthermore, I would note 
that the assistance provided by this Administration has been provided 
within our available resources. Accordingly, this Administration would 
strongly urge Congress to fully offset the cost of any ad hoc disaster 
assistance with commensurate reductions in other agricultural spending.
    Question. And, if the Administration is so opposed to providing 
emergency disaster aid why does it completely fail to provide funding 
to help mitigate the impacts from droughts and natural disasters?
    Answer. The President's budget request for 2008 was prepared on a 
parallel track with the Administration's 2007 Farm Bill proposals. 
Taken together, these two documents provide for both disaster 
assistance and disaster mitigation. The 2008 budget request fully funds 
the Federal crop insurance program which is intended to be the primary 
tool for providing disaster assistance. In addition, a key farm bill 
proposal would improve the counter-cyclical payment (CCP) program by 
basing payments on revenue rather than price. Crop prices tend to be at 
their highest following a disaster. Under the current design of the CCP 
program high commodity prices means that producers are not eligible to 
receive a CCP payment. However, this is precisely the time when 
producers need the payments the most. Producers cannot benefit from 
high commodity prices if they have no commodity to sell. Our farm bill 
proposal would correct this situation by providing an effective means 
of mitigating the financial effects of a disaster.

             USDA RENEWABLE ENERGY AND BIOFUELS INVESTMENT

    Question. I applaud the Administration's multiple investments in 
renewable fuels and biofuels in the fiscal year 2008 budget, but I am 
concerned that we are not doing enough to help this important industry 
progress as expeditiously as possible.
    Can you explain what the goals are for the renewable energy and 
biofuels investments in this budget?
    Answer. The energy goals of this budget are to expand research and 
development of potential bioenergy sources and to encourage 
commercialization of production facilities and infrastructure by 
increasing the production of renewable energy, particularly biofuels 
from cellulosic feedstocks. USDA will focus primarily on research and 
development of innovative processes that are cost-effective and energy 
efficient, and financial support aimed at advancing commercial 
applications to facilitate sufficient amounts of private sector 
investment.
    Question. What achievements can we expect to see and when can we 
expect to see them?
    Answer. Ultimately, we expect to develop and encourage the adoption 
of technologies for commercially viable, low cost and energy efficient 
production of cellulosic ethanol. This includes the development of 
commercially-viable, value-added co-products. This achievement will be 
reached when cellulosic energy is a vital component of the Nation's 
energy production as was highlighted by the ``20 in 10'' initiative in 
the President's State of the Union address. Even though commercial 
viability of cellulosic ethanol may be several years off, the 
Department has already achieved numerous advances that will contribute 
to this ultimate goal. Included in these advancements are innovations 
in cellulosic feedstock development and research into energy conversion 
techniques.
    Question. In what ways do the various proposals for renewable fuels 
complement each other--both within the USDA budget and across budgets 
with other agencies such as the Department of Energy?
    Answer. USDA has the scientific expertise for conducting and 
administering research programs relating to all aspects of crop 
production, including post harvest usage of crops. Consequently, it is 
ideally suited to address these aspects of advancing the Nation's 
biofuel industry. Moreover, USDA's Rural Development mission area has 
the experience and capacity to provide financial support for a wide 
range of business and infrastructure projects that will be needed to 
encourage private sector investments in the industry. There are a 
number of other Federal agencies that have expertise to offer, most 
notably the Department of Energy (DOE) for its research capacities. To 
avoid duplication and ensure coordination, USDA, DOE and other Federal 
agencies are participating in the statutorily established Biomass 
Research and Development Board to coordinate activities.
    Question. Can you further explain how the USDA and DOE budgets work 
together to make sure we are advancing our biofuels industry in the 
most efficient and timely manner, without unnecessary duplication or 
conflict?
    Answer. USDA and DOE are working together through the Biomass 
Research and Development Board and the USDA Energy Council. The 
Administration's Farm Bill proposes that this relationship be 
strengthened by moving the authority for USDA's existing renewable 
energy and energy efficiency loan and grant program, which is a stand 
alone authority contained in the 2002 Farm Bill, into the Biomass 
Research and Development Act of 2000, which established the Biomass 
Research and Development Board and contains the authority for the 
Biomass Research and Development program that received funding under 
Section 9008 of the 2002 Farm Bill.
    Additionally, DOE and USDA will lead an interagency effort to 
prepare a detailed multi-year interagency coordination plan (MYICP). 
The MYICP will aim to improve the efficient use of resources by 
minimizing duplication of effort and defining clear roles and 
responsibilities for each agency and program. The MYICP will define a 
realistic long-term vision for achieving public policy goals through 
biomass utilization.
    Question. With regard to the production of cellulosic ethanol: do 
you feel that we (both Congress and the Administration) are doing 
enough to make sure that not only are we advancing the production of 
cellulosic ethanol, but that we are also keeping up on a parallel track 
the advancement of the on-farm production of a diverse range of biomass 
feedstocks--such as, developing the infrastructure and logistical 
components for harvesting, transporting, storing and handling these 
potentially bulky feedstocks?
    Answer. Production of cellulosic ethanol is at an early stage of 
development. New technologies will have a significant influence on the 
types of infrastructure and other related needs for commercial 
production. These technologies will likely affect even the location of 
production facilities. Consequently, while USDA is aware of various 
infrastructure and environmental issues relating to ethanol production, 
it is too early to know what the funding needs to address these issues 
may be. However, USDA does have research activities underway that are 
looking into the issues of harvesting, transportation, and storage of 
the feedstocks.
    Question. Where in this budget are the Administration's investments 
in this important part of the cellulosic ethanol production chain?
    Answer. There are a number of USDA programs that are available to 
support a cellulosic energy industry. Possible programs include The 
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient loan and grant program, Business 
and Industry guaranteed loan program, and the Value Added Producer 
Grant program can be used to finance renewable energy related 
activities. In most cases, these programs serve a multitude of purposes 
and funding for celluloic industry needs is not specifically targeted 
for this purpose.

                  RURAL DEVELOPMENT GUARANTEED LENDING

    Question. Can you further explain the Administration's focus for 
rural development funding on guaranteed business and industry loans 
versus other programs such as the rural business grants, etc.?
    Answer. In general, loans and loan guarantees are effective in 
providing support for rural infrastructure and they are less costly to 
the Government than grants. Rural Development intends to re-focus its 
limited resources on programs that have more potential for encouraging 
private sector investments and that would reach a broader range of 
rural communities. However, there is a role for the limited use of 
grants for such things as market surveys and technical assistance as 
well as demonstration projects.
    Question. Do you have any data or other information that supports 
concentrating funding on the loans instead of the grants?
    Answer. The 2008 budget contains information on the Government's 
cost for various loan programs. For example, it shows that the $43.2 
million in budget authority for business and industry loan guarantees 
will support about $1 billion in private sector financing. Further, the 
Administration's 2007 Farm Bill proposal indicates that $210 million in 
budget authority will support $2.17 billion in guaranteed loans. It 
also indicates that the Administration proposes that the loan limit for 
renewable energy loans for cellulosic facilities be increased to $100 
million. If the same amount of budget authority were used to finance 
such facilities, only a small fraction of projects could be financed 
unless the grant funds are used only for specific purposes that 
encourage private sector financing.
    Question. Certainly many of the witnesses at a recent rural 
development hearing before the Senate Ag Committee raised concerns 
about an over-emphasis on loans instead of grants for rural 
communities, especially when compared with how we provide funding to 
urban communities. Do you have any information or explanation for this 
discrepancy?
    Answer. There is no denying the fact that certain needs for both 
rural and urban communities require mostly Federal funding, for example 
roads or rental housing projects. Minimizing the use of grant funds 
allows Rural Development to provide funding to more communities. For 
example, the 2008 budget proposes to reduce the interest rate on Water 
and Waste Disposal loans and reducing the amount of grants. This 
proposal is expected to provide more assistance to most rural 
communities at no additional cost to the Government.

                  COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM

    Question. The Administration again proposes cutting the Commodity 
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) this year because it has concluded 
that the CSFP program is duplicative of other nutrition programs. This 
is the exact opposite of what I am hearing from folks in Nebraska, 
specifically as it relates to elderly recipients and the supplemental 
nature of the products this program provides.
    What support do you have for the conclusion that this is a 
duplicative program?
    Answer. The CSFP does not duplicate other programs in every 
respect. However, there is significant overlap between the CSFP 
eligible populations of women, infants and pre school children and 
those of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants 
and Children (WIC). There is also significant overlap between the CSFP 
eligible elderly population and that of the Food Stamp Program. In 
addition, low-income elderly persons have access to the Emergency Food 
Assistance Program and programs administered by the Administration on 
Aging. Our priority is to fund the Food Stamp Program, WIC, and the 
Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) because they are nationally 
available, including in the communities served by CSFP. I will ask the 
agency to provide some additional details on this.
    [The information follows:]
    CSFP was created in January 1969 to assist nutritionally at-risk 
women, infants, and pre school children by providing commodities in 
specific amounts judged necessary for their health. WIC was enacted in 
September 1972 serving a very similar purpose through provision of 
coupons that could be redeemed at food retailers for supplemental food. 
WIC soon became the preeminent program serving this population, 
currently reaching over 8 million participants in an average month in 
fiscal year 2006, while CSFP WIC-type participation is about 40,000. 
WIC provides eligible participants better nutrition education, more 
active referrals to needed health care resources, and higher 
supplemental food benefits than the CSFP.
    The Food Stamp Program is the Nation's primary domestic nutrition 
assistance program for low-income households including the elderly. The 
Food Stamp Program is a mandatory program available in all 
jurisdictions. It is designed to provide low-income households with 
adequate resources to buy a nutritious, low-cost diet. Because the CSFP 
operates in limited areas, some low-income elderly have access to 
nutrition assistance through commodities and/or Food Stamps, while most 
others must rely on Food Stamps, TEFAP and Administration on Aging 
programs for such help.
    Ensuring adequate funding for programs that have the scope and 
reach necessary to provide access to eligible people wherever they may 
reside is a better and more equitable use of scarce resources than to 
allocate them to programs that cannot provide access to many areas of 
the country. For this reason, the Administration has placed a priority 
on funding the Food Stamp Program, WIC, and other nationally-available 
programs, such as the Administration on Aging programs for seniors and 
the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provide benefits 
to eligible people wherever they may live, including communities 
currently served by CSFP. All seniors over age 60 are eligible for both 
congregate and home-delivered nutrition assistance provided by one of 
655 Area Agencies on Aging, which are funded through the Administration 
on Aging in the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to 
the Administration on Aging programs for seniors, low-income 
individuals of any age have access to TEFAP.
    Question. How is it duplicative, particularly with regard to the 
specific components of CSFP compared to Food Stamps and WIC; i.e. where 
do those programs provide the food packages and items to needy and 
elderly people?
    Answer. It is duplicative in that there are other, nationally 
available nutrition assistance programs that serve the same or similar 
demographics. In the few areas where CSFP is available, there is 
significant overlap between the eligible populations and areas of 
operation of CSFP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC), 
and for elderly eligibles, CSFP and the Food Stamp Program. Both the 
Food Stamp Program and WIC are available nationwide. Benefits in the 
Food Stamp Program provide low-income households with adequate 
resources to buy a nutritious, low-cost diet.
    Question. Does the Administration have any idea of how many people 
will not be served or by how much they will lose support?
    Answer. Most of the current CSFP participants will be able to 
switch over to food stamps and/or WIC. Spending for WIC food benefits 
would be as much, or more, than CSFP benefits; and for the elderly, the 
average elderly food stamp benefit purchases about 50 percent more than 
the retail value of the CSFP benefit. There would be some current CSFP 
recipients who would not qualify for either of these programs and who 
would need to go to TEFAP and/or the Agency on Aging programs. I have 
asked staff to provide more specifics.
    [The information follows:]
    Recent program reporting data show that about 463,000 individuals 
participated in CSFP in 2006--40,000 women, infants, and pre school 
children, and 423,000 elderly, persons 60 years of age or older. The 
Department estimates that a substantial portion of the women, infants 
and children who participate in CSFP will be eligible for WIC. The two 
groups of CSFP participants that are not eligible for the WIC program 
are children between the ages of 5 and 6 and certain women who are 6 to 
12 months post-partum.
    Based on the circumstances and experiences of all low-income 
elderly, we believe about two-thirds of the projected 423,000 elderly 
CSFP participants will be eligible for food stamps. Compared to CSFP 
benefits, food stamp benefits are more advantageous for elderly persons 
because they often have medical conditions that limit their food 
choices. Also, food stamps allow them to select foods appropriate to 
their preparation abilities and cultural preferences, both a challenge 
to meet via commodity distribution, where food selection is more 
limited than at food stamp retailers.
    In addition to food stamps, all seniors over age 60 are eligible 
for both congregate and home-delivered nutrition assistance provided by 
one of 655 Area Agencies on Aging, which are funded through the 
Administration on Aging in the Department of Health and Human Services. 
Low-income individuals of any age also have access to the Emergency 
Food Assistance Program and other government and private non-profit 
programs that offer nutrition assistance.

                        U.S. AGRICULTURAL TRADE

    Question. Finally, below are two common assumptions or perceptions 
that many believe help drive farm policy development. I have a few 
questions that correspond to these assumptions, and I would welcome 
answers to the questions that include any information or compilation of 
information (reports, charts, graphs, etc.) that address each:
    Increased net agricultural exports through trade agreements 
focusing on greater market access are assumed to have been successful 
and that they hold the greatest promise for U.S. agriculture.
    Has USDA developed a year-by-year analysis for the U.S. 
agricultural net balance of trade for the years 1975-2006--including 
the trade balance in both nominal terms, and in inflation adjusted 2006 
dollar terms, as well as highlighting specific years when significant 
agricultural trade agreements have been passed? Please provide.
    Answer. A table showing the U.S. agricultural trade balance from 
fiscal year 1975 to fiscal year 2006 will be submitted for the record. 
The trade balance is shown in nominal terms and real terms, using the 
GDP deflator based on 2000, as reported in the 2007 Economic Report of 
the President. In general, the agricultural trade balance has reflected 
the U.S. exchange rate, growing when the dollar was weak, such as in 
the early 1980s and early 1990s, but shrinking when the dollar 
appreciated, such as in the mid-1980s and in the early 2000s. Imports 
have been growing rapidly over the past decade, and do not seem to be 
strongly influenced by the value of the dollar. Exports have increased 
significantly the past few years, reflecting higher commodity prices 
and a weaker dollar.
    The change in the agricultural trade surplus does not correspond 
with the implementation of a particular free trade agreement (FTA) for 
several reasons. FTAs are, by design, implemented slowly over a 
transition period to expressly avoid major trade disruptions. The U.S.-
Canada FTA began in 1989, and U.S. exports increased by $4 billion that 
year. But the NAFTA with Mexico began in 1994, and U.S. exports stayed 
about the same as in 1993. However, when viewed over the longer term, 
data show that the value of U.S. agricultural exports to Canada have 
increased by 119 percent and to Mexico by 181 percent since 
implementation of NAFTA. In addition, Canada and Mexico are now more 
important markets for U.S. agriculture than they were before NAFTA. In 
1993, Canada and Mexico combined accounted for about 21 percent of 
total U.S. agricultural exports. By 2006, that percentage had risen to 
32 percent.
    Exports in any 1 year are more influenced by changes in world 
commodity prices and global economic growth than by FTAs. Imports are 
more influenced by economic growth in the United States, which 
translates into greater purchasing power for U.S. consumers and greater 
demand for imported goods.
    [The information follows:]

                                 VALUE OF U.S. AGRICULTURAL TRADE BY FISCAL YEAR
                                            [In billions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   GDP deflator    Trade Balance
              Year                    Exports         Imports      Trade Balance     2000=100        in 2000 $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1975............................           21.82            9.44           12.38            38.0           32.58
1976............................           22.74           10.49           12.25            40.2           30.48
1977............................           23.97           13.36           10.61            42.8           24.80
1978............................           27.29           13.89           13.40            45.8           29.27
1979............................           31.98           16.19           15.79            49.5           31.91
1980............................           40.47           17.29           23.18            54.0           42.92
1981............................           43.78           17.34           26.44            59.1           44.75
1982............................           39.10           15.46           23.64            62.7           37.70
1983............................           34.77           16.28           18.49            65.2           28.36
1984............................           38.03           18.91           19.12            67.7           28.24
1985............................           31.20           19.74           11.46            69.7           16.44
1986............................           26.31           20.88            5.43            71.3            7.61
1987............................           27.88           20.65            7.23            73.2            9.87
1988............................           35.32           21.01           14.30            75.7           18.89
1989............................           39.67           21.57           18.10            78.6           23.03
1990............................           40.35           22.71           17.64            81.6           21.62
1991............................           37.86           22.74           15.13            84.4           17.93
1992............................           42.55           24.50           18.05            86.4           20.89
1993............................           43.06           24.60           18.46            88.4           20.88
1994............................           43.89           26.56           17.33            90.3           19.19
1995............................           54.61           29.79           24.82            92.1           26.95
1996............................           59.79           32.44           27.34            93.9           29.12
1997............................           57.31           35.65           21.65            95.4           22.70
1998............................           53.66           36.83           16.83            96.5           17.44
1999............................           49.12           37.29           11.83            97.9           12.08
2000............................           50.76           38.86           11.90           100.0           11.90
2001............................           52.72           39.03           13.69           102.4           13.37
2002............................           53.32           40.95           12.37           104.2           11.87
2003............................           56.01           45.68           10.33           106.4            9.71
2004............................           62.41           52.66            9.75           109.4            8.91
2005............................           62.52           57.74            4.78           112.7            4.24
2006............................           68.72           64.03            4.70           115.8            4.06
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October-September fiscal year.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Economic Report of the President for GDP deflator

    Question. Has USDA developed an equivalent analysis and graph for 
only the food portion of the U.S. agricultural balance of trade, since 
the commonly published agricultural trade balance includes forest and 
other non-food items. Please provide.
    Answer. There is no commonly accepted definition of ``food'' for 
purposes of analyzing U.S. agricultural trade. For example, the 
Department of Commerce includes fish and fish products in its 
definition of food trade, but USDA does not include fish in its 
official U.S. agricultural trade figures.
    Tables will be provided for the record that show one breakdown of 
food trade, including fish. In general, practically all U.S. 
agricultural imports are food, under this definition. The share of food 
in U.S. agricultural exports has been growing, as exports have 
diversified into many more products such as fruits, vegetables, meats, 
and processed foods.
    [The information follows:]

                                                                                    U.S. AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS
                                                                                    [In billions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                             Cal. yrs
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1989            1990            1991            1992            1993            1994            1995            1996
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All processed foods.............................................          19.304          20.399          20.426          21.557          21.630          23.588          24.768          27.556
    Grain mill products.........................................           1.217           1.240           1.328           1.658           1.608           1.962           2.194           2.666
    Sugar & confections.........................................           1.862           2.188           2.091           2.142           2.059           2.088           2.330           3.101
    Preserved fruits & vegetables...............................           2.326           2.589           2.404           2.623           2.414           2.597           2.658           3.118
    Dairy products..............................................            .740            .783            .702            .782            .768            .855           1.060           1.227
    Meat products...............................................           2.597           3.016           2.999           2.758           2.915           2.799           2.486           2.474
    Fish and seafood............................................           5.381           5.169           5.604           5.617           5.761           6.545           6.691           6.607
    Bakery products.............................................            .343            .347            .381            .422            .473            .546            .603            .660
    Miscellaneous foods.........................................           1.337           1.358           1.488           1.622           1.781           1.967           2.150           2.395
    Beverages...................................................           3.501           3.708           3.429           3.934           3.852           4.229           4.595           5.308
Unprocessed foods...............................................           2.843           3.341           3.472           3.449           3.795           4.027           4.460           5.032
    Fruits, nuts, vegetables....................................          72.795          73.286          73.425          73.395          73.665          73.921           4.405           4.961
    Fish and seafood............................................            .048            .055            .047            .054            .130            .106            .055            .072
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTAL FOOD IMPORTS........................................          22.146          23.740          23.899          25.006          25.424          27.615          29.228          32.589
                                                                 ===============================================================================================================================
      TOTAL NONFOOD IMPORTS.....................................           5.161           4.403           4.628           5.458           5.598           6.060           7.773           7.602
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.


                                                                              U.S. AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS--CONTINUED
                                                                                    [In billions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                     Cal. yrs.
                                                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       1997            1998            1999            2000            2001            2002            2003            2004            2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All processed foods.............................          30.072          31.858          34.549          36.600          37.024          37.807          42.465          47.067          51.029
    Grain mill products.........................           2.768           2.715           2.546           2.557           2.369           2.275           2.577           3.298           3.408
    Sugar & confections.........................           3.119           3.189           2.947           2.818           2.982           3.378           4.283           4.450           5.027
    Preserved fruits & vegetables...............           3.279           3.250           3.852           3.834           3.624           3.219           3.740           4.068           4.487
    Dairy products..............................           1.164           1.398           1.456           1.529           1.642           1.575           1.740           2.027           2.224
    Meat products...............................           2.825           3.044           3.477           3.992           4.447           4.443           4.618           5.858           5.895
    Fish and seafood............................           7.626           8.025           8.872           9.593           9.268           9.356           9.914          10.056          10.625
    Bakery products.............................            .711            .799            .921           1.032           1.124            .821            .878            .929           1.007
    Miscellaneous foods.........................           2.650           2.998           3.160           3.189           3.098           3.295           3.521           4.114           4.578
    Beverages...................................           5.929           6.441           7.318           8.056           8.472           9.445          11.194          12.265          13.780
Unprocessed foods...............................           5.173           5.878           6.289           6.631           7.351           8.775           9.968          11.235          12.444
    Fruits, nuts, vegetables....................           5.093           5.808           6.239           6.279           6.880           8.074           8.928          10.070          11.097
    Fish and seafood............................            .080            .071            .050            .351            .470            .700           1.040           1.165           1.347
                                                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTAL FOOD IMPORTS........................          35.246          37.737          40.838          43.231          44.375          46.581          52.433          58.302          63.473
                                                 ===============================================================================================================================================
      TOTAL NONFOOD IMPORTS.....................           8.609           7.254           5.756           5.688           4.730           5.384           5.897           6.895           7.780
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.


                                                                                    U.S. AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS
                                                                                    [In billions of Dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                              Cal.yrs
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1989            1990            1991            1992            1993            1994            1995            1996
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All processed foods.............................................          15.546          17.133          18.906          21.460          22.129          24.726          27.643          28.441
    Grain mill products.........................................           5.163           4.782           5.081           5.633           5.724           6.101           6.775           6.930
    Sugar & confections.........................................            .521            .649            .682            ,726            .822            .871            .891            .890
    Preserved fruits & vegetables...............................           1.423           1.771           1.966           2.210           2.294           2.580           2.869           2.960
    Dairy products..............................................            .493            .439            .553            .832            .951            .867            ,872            .827
    Meatproducts................................................           2.864           3.270           3.780           4.376           4.504           5.315           6.572           7.067
    Fish and seafood............................................           2.288           2.785           3.041           3.358           2.964           3.010           3.145           2.909
    Bakery products.............................................            .110            .190            .233            .306            .358            .389            .382            .407
    Miscellaneous foods.........................................           1.684           1.912           2.167           2.470           2.762           3.318           3.590           3.935
    Beverages...................................................           1.000           1.335           1.405           1.549           1.751           2.276           2.545           2.517
Unprocessed food................................................           2.861           3.877           4.131           4.462           4.788           5.517           5.579           5.884
    Fruits, nuts, vegetables....................................           2.815           3.810           4.031           4.368           4.709           5.436           5.478           5.779
    Fish and seafood............................................            .047            ,067            .100            .094            .080            .081            .101            .105
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTAL FOOD EXPORTS........................................          18.407          21.010          23.037          25.922          26.918          30.244          33.222          34.324
                                                                 ===============================================================================================================================
      TOTAL NONFOOD EXPORTS.....................................          24.030          21.334          19.453          20.631          18,989          19.040           26275          28.998
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.


                                                                              U.S. AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS--CONTINUED
                                                                                    [In Billions of Dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                     Cal. yrs.
                                                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       1997            1998            1999            2000            2001            2002            2003            2004            2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ali processed foods.............................          29.654          28.150          27.655          28.245          30.112          26.565          28.652          28.525          32.076
    Grain mill products.........................           8.063           7.807           6.600           6.454           7.081           6,871           6.852           6.969           7.534
    Sugar & confections.........................            .929            .849            .884           1.041           1.230           1.052           1.119           1.238           1.307
    Preserved fruits & vegetables...............           3.163           3.105           3.209           3.243           3.243           2.783           2.906           2.994           3.160
    Dairy products..............................           1.048           1.008           1.029           1.076           1.192           1.047           1.131           1.642           1.788
    Meatproducts................................           7.021           6.552           6.644           7.202           7.533           5,096           6.034           3.937           5,400
    Fish and seafood............................           2.029           2.642           2.651           2.894           2.606           2.629           2.898           3.112           2.909
    Bakery products.............................            .446            .459            .456            .466            .489            .386            .385            .429            .478
    Miscellaneous foods.........................           3.762           3.912           3.799           3.662           3.717           4.018           4.501           5,111           6.029
    Beverages...................................           2.613           2.429           2.394           2.451           2.732           2.705           3.097           3.306           3.270
Unprocessed food................................           6.007           5.951           5.790           6.238           6.261           7.257           7.894           9.149          10.633
    Fruits, nuts, vegetables....................           5.878           5.676           5.544           5.984           5.973           6.763           7.328           8.405           9.744
    Fish and seafood............................            .130            .275            .246            .254            .288            .494            .566            .744            .889
                                                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTAL FOOD EXPORTS........................          35.662          34.101          33.445          34.483          36.373          33.822          36.547          37.674          42.709
                                                 ===============================================================================================================================================
      TOTAL NONFOOD EXPORTS.....................          24.228          19.956          17.821          19.668          20.467          22.392          26.012          27.352          24.249
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

    Question. It is generally assumed that approximately one-third of 
all U.S. farm production is exported. According to some analysts, 
however, 8 percent of the farm value of U.S. agricultural production is 
exported, and the ``one-third'' figure is largely based on processed 
food value at the export/import points, not farm-gate value, which 
arguably skews the data.
    Has USDA analyzed and tabulated data showing the proportion of 
total farm cash receipts ($239.0 billion in 2005) that have been 
exported, based on farm value for the years 1975 to 2006? Please 
provide.
    Answer. There are several ways to measure the importance of trade 
to the agricultural sector, and none is perfect. A typical approach is 
to compare the value of exports to the value of agricultural 
production, or to farm cash receipts. One shortcoming of this method is 
that exports are valued at the point of export, which includes the 
value of farm-to-port transportation and other costs. It is also 
difficult to measure the value of processed products at the farm gate, 
which account for a large share of U.S. agricultural exports. Another 
factor affecting export share that is not captured in this measure is 
the increasing amount of corn, soybeans, and other feeds that are 
exported indirectly in the form of meat rather than directly.
    USDA's Economic Research Service uses two methods to examine the 
share of production that is exported. One approach is based on volume 
weights, and the other is based on dollar values.
    Information reported by ERS using these two methods, will be 
supplied for the record. Data are not available before 1980.
    [The information follows:]

                                  EXPORT SHARES OF U.S. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Measure                          1980-84         1990-94          1999            2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of production:
    Volume-based................................            29.2            23.1            22.8            21.9
    Value-based.................................            21.9            16.8            16.7            17.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Both the volume and value measures include primary livestock and 
crop commodities as well as major processed food products. Each measure 
has advantages. The volume-based measure reduces the variations due to 
product prices, while the value measure better reflects product 
quality, such as differences between a pound of steak and a pound of 
hamburger.
    To make volume- and value-based export shares comparable, the 
measures include only products for which both production and export 
volumes are available. Products excluded for this reason are mostly 
minor and include greenhouse and nursery products, seeds, cattle, hides 
and skins, and animal fats.
    The export share of U.S. agricultural production, based on volume, 
has averaged 22 percent since 1996, reflecting the high weight of 
exported food and feed grains, oilseeds and oilseed products, cotton, 
and tobacco relative to their total harvested weight. However, this 
overall export share masks differences in trends between livestock 
products and crops and crop products. The export share of U.S. 
livestock products rose from 3 percent in the 1980s to more than 10 
percent in recent years, while the export share of crops and crop 
products fell from over 30 percent to 23 percent during the same 
period. Behind these contrasting trends has been the increase in U.S. 
livestock and poultry production and the corresponding feed 
requirements that have diminished feed grains available for export.
    The export share of U.S. agricultural products, based on values, 
averaged 17 percent from 1998 to 2002, 5 percentage points lower than 
the volume-based average. The lower value-based measure reflects the 
lower aggregate value of livestock exports relative to their farm 
production value. The historical movement of the two export share 
measures shows no consistent pattern--about half the time they move in 
the same direction and the other half not. For example, the volume-
based share declined from 23 percent in 2001 to 22 percent in 2002, 
while the value-based share rose from 17 to 18 percent.
                                 ______
                                 

                Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed

          PROGRESS IMPLEMENTING LOCAL FOOD PURCHASE PROVISION

    Question. Section 4303 of the 2002 Farm Bill allows school 
districts to pursue a local food purchasing preference.
    Can you tell me about USDA's progress in implementing the 
provision?
    Answer. This Farm Bill provision authorized funds to be requested 
to encourage schools to purchase locally produced foods and to provide 
grants and technical assistance for projects that improve access to 
local foods from small farmers and support school garden programs. This 
provision has not been funded. Nonetheless, I know that the Food and 
Nutrition Service has done quite a bit to encourage local purchases 
anyway. I will ask staff to provide more details on this.
    [The information follows:]
    Regarding implementation of section 4303 of the 2002 Farm Bill, the 
Conference Report that accompanied the Farm Bill indicated that this 
provision was not intended to permit State or local geographic 
preferences, or to circumvent Federal procurement requirements. School 
districts participating in the National School Lunch and School 
Breakfast Programs are prohibited by government-wide regulation from 
applying a geographic preference in their procurements.
    Although no funds have been appropriated to carry out Section 4303, 
USDA has supported farm to school initiatives. In 1997, the Food and 
Nutrition Service established a ``farm to school'' initiative which is 
based on the cooperation of Federal, State, and local governments, as 
well as local farm and educational organizations. The initiative 
encourages schools to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables. As 
part of this initiative, USDA has created two publications, which are 
posted on our web site, called Eat Smart-Farm Fresh! A Guide to Buying 
and Serving Locally-Grown Produce in School Meals and Small Farms/
School Meals Initiative: a Step-by-Step Guide on How to Bring Small 
Farms and Local Schools Together. These publications provide practical 
tips in a handbook format on how school food service personnel can 
purchase products from local farmers.
    Questions. If it is USDA's position that Congress's guidance in 
Section 4303 is inadequate to authorize farm to school initiatives and 
other local food purchasing programs, what language would you recommend 
that Congress include in the next Farm Bill to make clear its intent to 
authorize and encourage programs?
    Answer. Current statutory authority does not unduly restrict farm 
to school and local food purchasing initiatives. Although school 
districts participating in the National School Lunch and School 
Breakfast Programs are prohibited by government-wide regulation from 
applying a geographic preference in their procurements, school 
districts may tailor their procurement specifications to maximize full 
and open competition and obtain high quality fresh produce for their 
school meal programs, in many instances from local producers. 
Consequently, we do not believe any change to current law is necessary 
to further authorize or encourage farm to school initiatives.
    The Department is supportive of farm to school initiatives, and 
believes that these initiatives can be successful within the framework 
of current law and regulations and free and open competition for 
contracts.
                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Robert F. Bennett

                           RENTAL ASSISTANCE

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the budget proposes changing the length of 
rental assistance contracts to a term of 1 year. Prior to fiscal 2007, 
those contracts were generally longer in length. The fiscal 2007 budget 
proposed a reduction to 2 years, and now the fiscal 2008 budget 
proposes renewing contracts for 1 year.
    Can you please explain the rationale behind this change?
    Answer. Other Federal housing programs offering rental assistance 
provide annual renewals, for instance the Department is aware of 
similar assistance offered by the department of Housing and Urban 
Development. The budget change will not affect the cost of the program, 
but the change in contract terms will impact the distribution of budget 
authority during the transition period.
    Question. Would this change improve the ability of USDA to estimate 
the number of contracts expiring in a given year?
    Answer. USDA has several tools available to assist in estimating 
the number of contracts expiring in a given year. However, contract 
costs are subject to many variables, including tenant income 
variations, increases in operating costs (particularly insurance and 
energy costs) that result in rent increases that increase the use of 
rental assistance, and rental assistance utilization rates that vary by 
property. The effects of these variables may be more prominent on 
contracts with a one-year term than contracts with multiple years, 
which could spread the impact of such variables across a longer period 
of time. USDA intends to monitor closely the performance of these one-
year contracts and is developing an analysis of these variables on 
rental assistance.
    Question. If this proposal is adopted, there would be a significant 
amount of contracts expiring in 2008, ranging from 5-year contracts 
signed in 2003 to some one-year contracts signed in 2007.
    How will this affect the budget for fiscal 2009?
    Answer. Current estimates for fiscal year 2009 indicate 
approximately 231,000 rental assistance units will be up for renewal. 
This is 84 percent of all rental assistance units. These consist of 
units obligated prior to fiscal year 2004 and units obligated under 
contract term limits in fiscal year 2005, fiscal year 2007 and fiscal 
year 2008.
    Question. Do you feel a significant amount of additional funding 
will be necessary to renew this extreme volume of contracts?
    Answer. There would be additional costs of continuing the same 
terms and conditions of contracts.
    Question. Do you feel that adequate funding to cover all of these 
contracts will appear in your budget proposal for next year?
    Answer. No decisions have been made for the President's 2009 
Budget.
    Question. Do you feel that Rural Development has the staff and 
resources needed to renew such a high volume of contracts in 1 year?
    Answer. The majority of the tasks associated with renewing 
contracts are already automated, and we are currently modifying 
documents to require minimal manual intervention for renewals. We 
believe that Rural Development has the staff and resources needed for 
this renewal process.

                    RURAL DEVELOPMENT--DIRECT LOANS

    Question. Funding for both Single Family and Multi-Family Direct 
Loans has been eliminated in your budget proposal.
    Can you please explain the basis for eliminating these programs?
    Answer. The other major Federal single family housing guarantee 
programs, including those operated by HUD and VA, rely on guaranteed 
loans. Direct loan programs are more costly to taxpayers. Based upon 
the fiscal year 2008 budget, the taxpayer's cost for providing a direct 
subsidized housing loan of $100,000 would be $9,357. With a 3 percent 
guarantee fee, a guaranteed housing loan of $100,000 costs the taxpayer 
only $200. With the same cost, taxpayers can provide one direct housing 
loan or almost 50 guaranteed loans. For this reason, guaranteed loans 
have accounted for virtually all the growth in our Single Family 
Housing program since the mid 1990s.
    With regard to Multifamily Housing program, the primary reason for 
not requesting funds for direct loans is to concentrate on 
revitalization of existing portfolio. Direct loans for section 515 new 
construction have a subsidy rate of 45.67 percent and these projects 
also regenerate additional costs for rental assistance payments.
    Question. If adopted, what effect will these changes have on the 
make-up of the participants in single family and multi-family housing 
programs? Will there be people who participate in these programs now 
who will no longer be eligible?
    Answer. We anticipate that many customers once served by the direct 
housing loan program will be able to be served by the guaranteed 
program. Moreover, directing resources to our existing multifamily 
portfolio will protect the rent of existing tenants.

             RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY CROP INSURANCE USER FEE

    Question. The budget proposes the collection of a user fee from 
participants in the crop insurance program to fund the Risk Management 
Agency's IT modernization beginning in fiscal 2009.
    Please explain how the user fee would function and who would pay 
the fee?
    Answer. The fee would be payable by the private sector insurance 
companies who participate in the Federal crop insurance program. The 
fee would be capped at $15 million annually and would be based on a 
percentage of the premium written by the companies during the prior 
crop year. In this way, the companies that are the primary 
beneficiaries of the IT system would pay the larger portion of the fee. 
Based on current projections of total premiums, the fee is expected to 
be about one-quarter cent per dollar of premium.
    Question. How would this proposal, if adopted, affect future RMA IT 
appropriations requests? Did I understand your testimony correctly that 
this fee would replace the need for appropriated IT funds entirely?
    Answer. It is anticipated that the fee would eventually replace the 
need for appropriated funding. However, the budget proposal is designed 
such that the fee would initially supplement the annual appropriation 
for information technology (IT). This funding would be used to 
modernize the IT system currently in use by the Risk Management Agency 
(RMA). However, once modernization is complete, the funding would be 
used for IT maintenance and would replace the need for appropriated 
funding. We anticipate that the modernization process will take about 2 
years to complete.

                   RENEWABLE ENERGY--COMMODITY PRICES

    Question. The recent boom in biofuel production has caused some 
commodity prices to spike. While this has a positive effect on many 
agricultural economic aspects, such as farmers earning more of their 
income from the market, these price increases have also caused negative 
results for some. Livestock feed prices have climbed dramatically, 
putting a strain on many ranchers across the country. Also, higher 
commodity prices have had a negative impact on food aid, since fewer 
commodities can be purchased for the same dollar amount.
    With such a strong focus on renewable energy in both this budget 
and your farm bill proposal, how do you propose to combat the negative 
aspects of these new policies?
    Answer. The extraordinary price run-up that started last fall has 
raised costs for the livestock and poultry industry, along with other 
users of corn. The spillover has also led to higher prices for most 
other commodities and is straining fixed budgets for food aid. However, 
as often noted, the best cure for high prices is high prices. That is, 
the market is responding to the incentive of high prices by a dramatic 
expansion in corn acreage that will boost supplies and lead to 
substantial moderation in prices.
    There is no denying that this transition period before adjustments 
have occurred will be painful, but it should also be noted that grain 
prices have been very low for many years. In real terms, these prices 
have been extremely low and have made it difficult for farmers to cover 
costs without support from the Government. Consumers pay a record low 
share of their incomes for food in this country. Because of the 
expansion of biofuels, we do not project grain prices to fall back to 
very low levels, like the $2.00 per bushel corn of recent years. Rising 
productivity and response to market incentives will bring prices down 
in the next few years from the highs seen last winter. Any 
breakthroughs in the production of ethanol from cellulosic materials 
would also contribute to easing pressure on grain supplies. Given huge 
interest and new investments in research, the ability to use cellulosic 
feedstocks, in a cost-effective way, for ethanol production may not be 
far away.
    In the current environment, there are other adjustments taking 
place to reduce pressure on the livestock industry. Cattle and dairy 
producers are increasingly feeding distillers grains, a by-product of 
ethanol production. Research is underway to make these by-products more 
useable to pork and poultry feeders, as only limited amounts can be fed 
to these animals given current formulations.
    On the food aid side, higher prices are not all negative. Many, if 
not all, farmers in developing countries face low prices, frequently 
reflecting an urban bias. These farmers respond to market incentives 
too. The well publicized case of Mexico, where corn-based tortilla 
prices have risen sharply, also offers an encouraging lesson. Mexican 
farmers are expanding corn production, and this will help contribute 
greatly to rural development as much as to increasing local food 
supplies.
    We will continue to coordinate closely with the program agencies, 
USAID, FAS, to review commodities requested and complete market 
research to identify the most economical and effective products. 
Contracts are awarded based on lowest landed cost, so FSA must evaluate 
the combined commodity cost and the freight cost. The new award system 
implemented in February 2007 should help achieve some cost savings in 
all international food aid purchases.

                    AGRICULTURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE

    Question. There have been many efforts in Congress to pass 
comprehensive disaster assistance for the nation's farmers and ranchers 
dating back to 2005. I fully expect attempts by Members to include an 
agriculture disaster package in the supplemental appropriations bill 
Congress will soon be considering.
    In your opinion, is there a need for ag disaster, and if so, where 
is it needed the most?
    Answer. This Administration does not deny there have been times it 
has been necessary to provide relief to farmers and ranchers harmed by 
natural disasters. In fact, since 2005, this Administration has 
developed numerous ad hoc disaster assistance programs to aid producers 
impacted by adverse weather. However, these programs have been targeted 
to producers directly impacted by these extraordinary weather events. 
What this Administration has not supported are Congressional efforts to 
provide a multi-billion dollar, broad based, non-targeted disaster 
assistance package covering a time period when producers have seen 
record or near record production and/or farm income levels and crop 
insurance losses have been at record or near record lows. The 
Administration would not support a broad disaster bill unless it is 
fully offset from other agricultural spending.
    While individual producers in certain regions of the nation have 
experienced crop losses due to adverse weather, the farm economy 
overall has been financially strong. For calendar year 2005, total crop 
cash receipts were $114 billion, the second highest ever. Preliminary 
estimates for calendar year 2006 are that total crop cash receipts will 
reach a record $122 billion. However, that record is expected to be 
short-lived as calendar year 2007 crop cash receipts are forecasted to 
reach nearly $134 billion.
    For the period 2003-2005 the crop insurance loss ratio has averaged 
just 0.77, including a record low of 0.60 in 2005. This means that, on 
average, only 77 cents have been paid out in indemnities for each $1 of 
premium. And, while the loss ratio for the 2006 crop year is not yet 
finalized, current estimates place it at about 0.8. By comparison, 
during the early 1990's the loss ratio averaged nearly 1.5.
    Question. What has USDA done to address disaster needs since the 
start of 2005? Has the money that has been obligated by the department 
actually made its way to producers?
    Answer. Throughout this period, assistance has been available under 
Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 
Program.
    In addition, in October 2005, USDA authorized the use of $250 
million from Section 32 funds for crop disaster, livestock, tree, and 
aquaculture assistance. These funds are being distributed by way of 
five new programs; the Tree Indemnity Program (TIP), the Hurricane 
Indemnity Program (HIP), the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and the 
Feed Indemnity Program (FIP); and an Aquaculture Grant Program.
    Producers in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North 
Carolina and Texas counties declared primary presidential or 
secretarial disaster areas in 2005 because of hurricanes were eligible 
to apply for assistance under the new programs. In general, funds under 
these programs have been distributed to producers. However, for some 
programs it has been necessary to delay payments until it could be 
determined if there would be a need to prorate the available funding.
    I will provide a list of further measures taken by USDA to assist 
farmers and ranchers in 2006.
    [The information follows:]
    Sign-up for programs authorized by the Emergency Agricultural 
Disaster Assistance Act of 2006 began on December 11, 2006.
    In August 2006, USDA authorized $780 million in assistance to help 
farmers and ranchers manage drought and weather related production 
challenges. This funding included a $50 million Livestock Assistance 
Grant Program for States which had counties which were designated as D3 
or D4 on the Drought Monitor anytime between March 7 and August 31, 
2006.
    In fiscal year 2006, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) provided $48 
million in Emergency (EM) loan assistance.
    On July 13, 2006, USDA announced the expansion of Conservation 
Reserve Program (CRP) acreage eligible for emergency haying and grazing 
for livestock producers hit hard by drought. The expansion allows 
livestock producers from eligible counties to obtain needed hay or 
forage. The expanded area radiates 150 miles out from any county 
approved for emergency haying and grazing.
    USDA also reduced producers' CRP rental payments by 10 percent, 
instead of the standard 25 percent, on CRP lands that are hayed or 
grazed under emergency authority in 2006.
    On July 14, 2006 USDA announced sign-up for the Emergency 
Forestry--Conservation Reserve Program.
    On June 29, 2006, USDA announced $11.8 million in Emergency 
Conservation Program (ECP) funding for 18 States to help producers 
rehabilitate land damaged by drought and other natural disasters.
    On June 9, 2006, USDA announced the availability of $75.7 million 
in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funds for victims of the 2005 
hurricanes.
    On March 24, 2006, USDA announced that agricultural producers in 16 
Texas counties adversely affected by wildfires would be eligible to 
receive $8.1 million in ECP funds.
    On March 21 2006, USDA announced that agricultural producers in six 
Oklahoma counties and 27 north Texas counties affected by wildfires 
could remove dry grass on and move cattle to CRP acreage, without 
facing charges for grazing value or the baled value of removed forage.
    On March 15, 2006, USDA announced the allocation of more than $20 
million in ECP funds to 26 states affected by drought, wildfires and 
other natural disasters.
    On March 3, 2006, USDA announced the allocation of $63 million in 
ECP funds to assist agricultural producers struck by hurricanes in the 
Gulf of Mexico region during calendar year 2005.

                           USER FEE PROPOSALS

    Question. The budget proposes user fees totaling $149 million for 
the Food Safety and Inspection Service, Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service, Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards 
Administration and Risk Management Agency. In previous fiscal years, 
USDA assumed savings for these fee requests. I am pleased to see that 
this budget request does not assume savings. However, I understand that 
USDA expects to realize savings from these fees in fiscal 2009. 
Realizing this savings requires USDA to actively engage the Congress 
and affected industry to pass this legislation.
    Please describe, in detail, USDA's plan for getting each user fee 
passed including discussions with industry and the authorizing 
committees.
    Answer. Although the budgetary treatment of proposed user fees has 
changed this year, procedures for implementing new user fees would 
remain the same. Generally, the steps for user fee implementation 
consist of: submitting proposed legislation to Congress; participating 
in special hearings or answering Congressional inquiries about the 
proposed fees; and engaging in the Federal rule-making process after 
enactment. Statutory prohibitions prevent us from lobbying for passage 
of new user fee legislation outside our communication with Congress. 
The rule-making process provides an opportunity for public input on any 
proposed rule. All public comments are evaluated and considered before 
a final rule is promulgated.

                           GREENBOOK CHARGES

    Question. I am concerned that the charges assessed to the agencies 
by USDA, known commonly as greenbook charges, have grown excessively 
over the last few years.
    Please provide, for the record, greenbook charges by category for 
each agency for fiscal year 2006, 2007, and 2008. For each category, 
provide an explanation of how the charges were assessed.
    Answer. The actual funding for fiscal year 2006 and estimated 2007 
funding by category for greenbook charges, including an explanation of 
how the charges were assessed, is provided for the record. Estimates 
for fiscal year 2008 greenbook charges have not been decided.
    The cost breakout by agency for the greenbook charges is also 
provided for the record. The actual costs by agency for fiscal year 
2007 are not yet known.
    [The information follows:]

                  Department Wide Reimbursable Programs
[USDA Agencies fiscal year 2006 Allowance and fiscal year 2007 Estimated
                              Cost Shares]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Fiscal year     Fiscal year
                                          2006 allowance   2007 estimate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agricultural Marketing Service..........      $1,291,169      $1,392,694
 Agricultural Research Service..........       4,378,636       4,915,646
 Animal and Plant Health Inspection            4,563,266       5,020,820
 Service................................
 Cooperative State Research, Education           493,847         313,085
 and Extension Service..................
 Departmental Administration............         181,779         250,226
 Economic Research Service..............         278,897         235,454
 Farm Service Agency....................       5,293,884       8,175,512
 Food and Nutrition Service.............       1,604,131       1,103,188
 Food Safety and Inspection Service.....       4,584,996       4,890,378
 Foreign Agricultural Service...........       1,125,309         993,690
 Forest Service.........................      20,141,973      21,221,635
 Grain Inspection, Packers and                   364,035         409,168
 Stockyards Administration..............
 National Agricultural Statistics                789,616         632,371
 Service................................
 National Appeals Division..............          80,711          49,284
 Natural Resources Conservation Service.       5,555,459       5,583,986
 Office of Budget and Program Analysis..          33,508          30,091
 Office of Chief Economist..............         114,940          99,493
 Office of Civil Rights.................          94,242          92,852
 Office of Communications...............          66,883          49,916
 Office of Executive Secretariat........          10,749           9,316
 Office of General Counsel..............         151,143         164,899
 Office of the Chief Financial Officer..         735,596       1,096,120
 Office of the Chief Information Officer       5,969,036       2,832,153
 Office of the Inspector General........         448,138         457,316
 Office of the Secretary................          65,775          13,314
 Risk Management Agency.................         452,737         263,383
 Rural Development......................       4,312,387       3,547,010
                                         -------------------------------
      TOTAL.............................      63,182,838      63,843,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

    Question. The budget proposal requests an increase of almost $25 
million for the development of a new financial management system. 
Implementing new IT systems is often very costly, especially replacing 
a financial system as large as USDA's.
    How much does USDA plan to spend on the financial system 
implementation in fiscal 2007? Did this funding come from annual 
appropriations or from the working capital fund?
    Answer. USDA intends to spend $4.5 million in fiscal year 2007 for 
implementation activities. These funds would come from reimbursements 
received from USDA customer agencies to continue the planning and 
initial implementation of the Financial Management Modernization 
Initiative.
    Question. Does USDA plan to fund any part of the financial system 
in fiscal 2008 from the working capital fund?
    Answer. The President's fiscal year 2008 budget includes an 
estimate of $5.5 million in operating support for this project, to be 
recovered via reimbursements from USDA customer agencies under the 
Working Capital Fund. This estimate is subject to change as the 
implementation schedule and requirements gathering move forward.
    Question. Does the fiscal 2008 budget request any funding for the 
financial system from the interior appropriations subcommittee for the 
Forest Service?
    Answer. The fiscal year 2008 budget for the Forest Service does not 
request any funds for the financial system from the Interior 
Appropriations Subcommittee. We do not expect to begin implementation 
of the Forest Service into the new system until after fiscal year 2008.
    Question. Has USDA entered into a contract with a private company 
for the implementation of the new financial system? If so, please 
explain the terms of the contract. For example, what constitutes 
satisfactory completion of the system implementation by the contractor?
    Answer. USDA is currently in the acquisition process and has not 
entered into a contract.
    Question. What is the estimated total cost for development and 
implementation of the new financial system?
    Answer. The estimated cost for implementation of USDA's new 
financial management system is approximately $90 million.
    Question. How much of the total development and implementation 
costs will be requested through the agriculture appropriations 
subcommittee?
    Answer. At this time, no final decision has been made as to the 
allocation of funding needed for Financial Management Modernization 
Initiative implementation between the Agriculture and Interior 
appropriations subcommittees.
    Question. How much of the total development and implementation 
costs will be requested through the interior appropriations 
subcommittee for the Forest Service?
    Answer. At this time, no final decision has been made as to the 
allocation of funding needed for Financial Management Modernization 
Initiative implementation between the Agriculture and Interior 
appropriations subcommittees.
    Question. How much of the total development and implementation 
costs will be funded through the working capital fund?
    Answer. We do not expect that development and implementation costs 
will be funded through the Working Capital Fund (WCF). We have a small 
amount of operating funds budgeted for the system through the WCF, but 
it is our aim that development and implementation funds be made 
available through appropriations and Departmental Reimbursable Program 
authority, if appropriate.
    Question. Once the system is implemented, how much will operations 
and maintenance of the financial system cost annually?
    Answer. The estimated average annual operations and maintenance 
cost for the expected life of the system, for the period fiscal year 
2012 through fiscal year 2021, is approximately $50 million.
    Question. Will annual appropriations or the working capital fund 
pay for operations and maintenance costs?
    Answer. Historically USDA has used the working capital fund 
reimbursement mechanism to pay for USDA's financial management system 
operations and maintenance costs.

                              FSIS FUNDING

    Question. The Food Safety and Inspection Service received a 
significant funding increase of more than $57 million in the fiscal 
2007 joint resolution. How does FSIS plan to spend the additional 
funding?
    Answer. FSIS allocated the fiscal year 2007 increase of $62.1 
million by funding pay costs, employee benefits and activities to 
strengthen the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative.
    Question. How many staff will FSIS be able to hire as a result of 
the additional funding?
    Answer. FSIS is actively recruiting and hiring for positions in all 
of its 15 Districts and intends on filling 98 positions for slaughter 
services and 86 positions for in-plant processing in fiscal year 2007. 
In addition, the agency is recruiting to fill new positions resulting 
from industry growth and vacancies resulting from attrition.

                         RISK BASED INSPECTION

    Question. Mr. Secretary, recently the Food Safety and Inspection 
Service announced a plan and time table for implementing risk based 
inspection in meat and poultry plants.
    Please explain this proposal.
    Answer. Under a risk-based inspection system, the type and 
intensity of inspection activity at each establishment will be 
determined by the relative inherent risk of product, the volume 
processed, and the ability of each establishment to control risk. Risk-
based inspection will allow USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS) to more effectively allocate inspection resources to those 
processing plants that need them the most and carry out less intense 
inspection at plants with better risk control, while continuing daily 
inspection at all processing facilities. The public health goal of 
risk-based inspection is to target FSIS resources more directly at the 
greatest risks and reduce overall risks found in meat, poultry and egg 
products under agency jurisdiction.
    Question. How have industry and consumer groups reacted to this 
proposal?
    Answer. Most of the industry and consumer groups with whom FSIS has 
met believe the concept of risk-based inspection can achieve the 
desired goal of using FSIS resources more effectively.
    Question. Does FSIS have an IT system for collecting and analyzing 
data for risk based inspection? If not, why not?
    Answer. In fiscal year 2008, FSIS will use base funds to help move 
forward with information technology hardware and software improvements. 
The improvements are necessary to build a public health data 
infrastructure that will allow for real-time data analysis--a key 
element of the enhanced risk-based inspection system. FSIS efforts to 
upgrade its information technology infrastructure are expected to be 
completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. The IT system will 
improve data by incorporating new inspection data generated as a 
consequence of planned enhancements to inspection activity. In 
addition, the agency will design an external-USDA peer-reviewed, risk 
assessment to model the implementation of risk-based inspection in 
processing plants such that we can predict and respond to the public 
health outcomes of inspection activity nationwide.
    Question. How does FSIS expect risk based inspection will make meat 
safer for consumers?
    Answer. RBI will make meat safer for consumers by targeting 
inspection resources to high risk activities and establishments. This 
will help ensure that meat and poultry products are being more 
effectively inspected using state-of-the-art data collection techniques 
and analysis.
    Question. How will FSIS measure the success of the program?
    Answer. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) intends to 
implement and review risk-based inspection for processing in a careful 
and deliberative manner. The perfect report card for the long-term 
would be a measured decrease of food borne disease and death. While 
FSIS is still in the process of developing how we intend to evaluate 
RBIS, in the near-term, FSIS will compare such measures as verified 
consumer food safety complaints, product recalls, and changes in the 
effectiveness of establishment risk controls between RBIS and 
traditionally-inspected establishments. In addition, FSIS will be 
interviewing inspection program personnel, and the USDA's Office of 
Inspector General will be continuing to audit the development and 
implementation of RBIS.
    Question. Will total inspection hours or inspection staff be 
reduced as a result of this proposal?
    Answer. Under a more robust risk-based inspection system for meat 
and poultry processing, USDA will continue using the same number of 
inspection program personnel, spending the same amount of time 
conducting inspections. Risk-based inspection is about working smarter 
to protect public health by having inspection personnel spend more time 
in the processing plants that need assistance and expertise.

                 NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the Congress has provided over $99 million 
for the implementation of an animal identification system. I understand 
that an additional $18.7 million has been transferred from the 
Commodity Credit Corporation for this purpose as well. The fiscal 2008 
budget request proposes an additional $33 million to continue this 
project. If this funding is provided in fiscal 2008, the total amount 
spent on the animal identification system will be in excess of $150 
million by the end of 2008. Unfortunately, the direction USDA plans to 
go with this system is still not clear.
    What has all this funding accomplished?
    Answer. The National Animal Identification System is composed of 
three components: premises registration, animal identification, and 
animal tracing. Premises registration is the foundation of the program. 
As of March 12, 2007, all 50 States, 60 Tribes, and 2 U.S. Territories 
are capable of registering premises according to USDA standards, and 
approximately 378,000 locations have been registered.
    Significant progress has also been made on the second component of 
NAIS, animal identification. As of March 12, 2007, approximately 1 
million AIN devices have been distributed.
    The third component of the NAIS, animal tracing, is currently under 
development with the help of USDA's industry and State partners. 
Industry, through private systems, and States will manage the animal 
tracing databases that maintain the movement records of animals. Full 
deployment of the Animal Trace Processing System is planned for the 
near future.
    Question. In USDA's opinion, how does a comprehensive animal 
identification system work from identification of an animal disease 
outbreak to resolution of the problem?
    Answer. The NAIS includes three components: premises registration, 
animal identification, and animal tracing. When the system is fully 
operational, all three of the NAIS components would be used together to 
provide a streamlined system of information in a disease situation. 
This information would be available to help investigate the source of a 
disease outbreak and identify any animals and/or locations in the 
United States that may be at risk of spreading disease.
    An example will be provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]
    A diseased animal is detected at a slaughterhouse; authorized 
animal health officials enter the animal's identification number (AIN) 
into the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Animal Trace 
Processing System (ATPS); the search will provide information on AIN 
devices distributed to a premises and animal movement records for that 
animal from the private/State animal tracing database; authorized 
animal health officials then have a listing of locations associated 
with the animal; the search will also provide the other animal 
identification numbers that were present on the premises during the 
time the animal in question was there. This helps officials identify 
animals that may have been exposed to the disease. Animal health 
officials can then begin an epidemiologic investigation and take 
precise actions to address the situation, minimize its impact on 
producers, and speed disease response efforts.
    While NAIS will not ``prevent'' the initial occurrence of a 
disease, it can reduce or prevent the spread of disease. Without this 
system of information, it can take days, weeks, and too often, months 
of manual searching to complete a disease investigation. Moreover, the 
inability to quickly address an emerging animal disease can have 
negative economic and domestic/international trade implications for the 
livestock industry and governments. Having NAIS--a streamlined, modern 
information system--in place will not only speed up disease response 
but also ensure that these efforts are comprehensive and accurate.
    Question. How much does USDA estimate the animal identification 
system will cost when completed? Is there an end in sight to continual 
$33 million funding requests?
    Answer. It is projected that, once NAIS has been fully implemented, 
the funding necessary to maintain the system will be less than the 
funding necessary to create the supporting infrastructure in all 
States, participating Tribes, and Territories. However, premises 
information will need to be updated as changes occur throughout the 
country. Participants in the private sector will require ongoing 
administrative support and the technologies that enhance NAIS. 
Therefore, funding will still be necessary to maintain the system, to 
preserve security, to make any necessary upgrades, and to ensure that 
producers are well-informed regarding the system.

         COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM (CSFP) ELIMINATION

    Question. Mr. Secretary, for the second year in a row the budget 
request eliminates the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which 
serves the elderly and young women and their children in 32 States, 2 
Indian reservations, and the District of Columbia. The elimination of 
this program results in a $107 million reduction from the fiscal 2007 
joint resolution rate. Please explain why USDA chose to eliminate this 
program.
    Answer. In the Administration's view, ensuring adequate funding for 
programs that have the scope and reach necessary to provide access to 
eligible people wherever they may reside is a better and more equitable 
use of scarce resources than to allocate them to programs that cannot 
provide access to many areas of the country. For this reason, the 
Administration has placed a priority on funding the Food Stamp Program, 
WIC, and other nationally-available programs which provide benefits to 
eligible people wherever they may live, including communities currently 
served by CSFP.
    Question. Does the budget proposal provide an alternative for all 
CSFP participants?
    Answer. In the Administration's view, ensuring adequate funding for 
programs that have the scope and reach necessary to provide access to 
eligible people wherever they may reside is a better and more equitable 
use of scarce resources than to allocate them to programs that cannot 
provide access to many areas of the country. For this reason, the 
Administration has placed a priority on funding FSP, WIC, and other 
nationally-available programs which provide benefits to eligible people 
wherever they may live, including communities currently served by CSFP.
    Included in these programs are Federal nutrition assistance 
programs targeted specifically to seniors. These programs, administered 
by the Administration on Aging and authorized by the Older Americans 
Act of 1965, include congregate nutrition services and home-delivered 
nutrition services and are available nationwide to all seniors aged 60 
and older. The Administration's 2008 budget request includes $383 
million and $181 million for these two programs, respectively. In 
addition, the 2008 budget request includes $147 million for the 
Nutrition Services Incentive Program. Combined, the Older Americans 
Nutrition Programs serve about 250 million congregate and in-home meals 
to about 2.6 million older adults annually. In addition to the 
Administration on Aging programs for seniors, low-income individuals of 
any age have access to TEFAP.
    Question. What percentage of elderly CSFP participants are 
currently enrolled in food stamps and receive CSFP as a supplement to 
their monthly food stamp allotment?
    Answer. We estimate that about 20 percent of elderly CSFP 
participants are currently enrolled in food stamps, based on data on 
low-income elderly individuals we have used in our budget estimates.

                       WIC LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS

    Question. Mr. Secretary, the budget includes a proposal to reduce 
state nutrition services and administration grants in the WIC program. 
Specifically, the proposal reduces the per participant nutrition 
services and administration amount paid to states in fiscal 2008 back 
to the fiscal 2006 rate. The proposal is accompanied by a $145 million 
reduction to the WIC program in the budget. Please explain why USDA 
chose to reduce the NSA grant to states.
    Answer. The current proposal is intended to provide a reduction in 
WIC NSA funding to slow its growth. Further cost containment is needed 
to maintain the Program's ability to serve all eligible persons 
expected to seek services in fiscal year 2008, which is estimated to be 
approximately 8.28 million persons. WIC State agencies have been 
extremely successful in containing food costs. We therefore believe WIC 
State agencies can achieve similar success in containing NSA costs.
    Question. Why did USDA choose to go back to 2006 as the base year 
instead of keeping costs flat at the 2007 rate?
    Answer. The administrative expenditure per participant (AGP) is 
determined each year by inflating the prior year's AGP by the State and 
Local Expenditure Index (SLEI). From fiscal year 1999 through fiscal 
year 2006, the SLEI increased 32 percent, or an average of 4.5 percent 
per year. The SLEI increase from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2007 
is even higher at 6 percent. Over the same period, some broader 
measures of inflation (e.g., the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 
Earners and Clerical Workers and the Gross Domestic Product Price 
Index) have risen more slowly (21 percent and 18 percent respectively). 
Given that these other measures reflect a significantly lower rate of 
inflation than the SLEI, using 2006 as the base year will reduce the 
AGP so that it is more consistent with what would have occurred if it 
had grown at a rate comparable to those broader inflation indicators.
    Question. Why did USDA choose to use the budget as a vehicle for 
changing the NSA grant amount instead of asking for the change as a 
part of farm bill discussions with the authorizing committees?
    Answer. For the proposed NSA cost containment initiative to be 
effective for fiscal year 2008, the proposal had to be included in the 
fiscal year 2008 budget request.
    Question. How will this reduction impact the states ability to 
implement new WIC programs such as the revised food packages that are 
to be implemented at the end of this year?
    Answer. State agencies will be encouraged to work with Federal 
program staff to seek efficiencies in the administration of the 
requirements so that the reduction in NSA funding does not negatively 
impact program operations. FNS does not believe that the food package 
rule will necessitate increased staff or any other action that would 
result in major, additional administrative expenditures over the long 
term. FNS does not expect the reduction in NSA will affect the States' 
ability to implement the revisions to the food packages.

               WIC MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FUNDING

    Question. The budget request does not include funding for 
Management Information Systems. Please describe the current state of 
Management Information Systems in the WIC program including a 
discussion of states that still use paper systems to manage WIC 
caseload.
    Answer. Currently, all State agencies use automated systems to 
manage caseload and support daily operations. While the vast majority 
of WIC systems are electronic rather than paper-based, many clinics 
have insufficient computers to accommodate every workstation. Thus, in 
some cases participant data may be collected manually and later entered 
into a centralized system.
    Question. Why does the budget not include funding for Management 
Information Systems?
    Answer. The fiscal year 2008 budget does not request additional 
funding for implementation of WIC EBT. In fiscal years 2006 and 2007, 
$19.8 million was available for management information systems and 
technology needs. Assuming these funds are not needed to support 
caseload in fiscal year 2007, current funding is sufficient through 
fiscal year 2008 for system development and EBT initiatives.

                   WIC $200 MILLION CONTINGENCY FUND

    Question. The budget request proposes to increase the WIC 
contingency fund to $200 million from $125 million. Why does the 
contingency fund need to be increased?
    Answer. Increasing the amount of funds available in the contingency 
fund will allow the Department to ensure that adequate funds are 
available to support expected participation should food costs exceed 
projections. The Department is concerned about the potential of 
increased food costs in fiscal year 2008. Infant formula rebate savings 
are a significant and integral part of the WIC Program and are 
estimated to support the participation of over 2 million women, infants 
and children. Any erosion of these savings has serious implications for 
funding needs to support projected participation. In the past 2 to 3 
years, the Department has observed a reduction in the percent discount 
on infant formula received by some WIC State agencies, which has led to 
increased formula costs. For example, twenty-seven geographic State 
agencies have recently awarded contracts that have started in fiscal 
year 2007 or fiscal year 2008 and all but one of these State agencies 
received a rebate that yields a significant decrease in the discount on 
the wholesale cost from that received in its prior contract.

                            WIC FOOD PACKAGE

    Question. The updated WIC food package is supposed to be finalized 
and implemented at the end of this year. Is the Department on-time to 
implement the food package?
    Answer. Over 46,000 comments that were received on the proposed 
changes to the WIC food packages published for comment August 7, 2006 
and are currently being analyzed. We anticipate issuing an interim 
final rule updating the WIC food packages in September 2007.

           RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS REORGANIZATION

    Question. One of the administration's farm bill proposals would 
make significant changes to the Research, Education, and Economics 
mission area within USDA. Specifically, CSREES and ARS would be folded 
into one agency. The thrust of the argument for this change is that it 
will lead to better coordinated research and end redundancies.
     Is that not the job of the Under Secretary?
    Answer. While the Under Secretary has a role in coordinating the 
efforts of the four REE agencies, it is important to institutionalize 
this coordination within the agencies themselves. This can best be 
accomplished by merging ARS and CSREES into a single agency with a 
single national program staff.
    This will help ensure that resources will be maximized and that the 
comparative strengths of our intramural and extramural system are 
better utilized to tackle critical problems facing agriculture. This 
merger will also strengthen the tie between USDA's intramural research 
programs and the extension service. This will facilitate a broader 
dissemination of science-based technologies to farmers and ranchers.
    Question. Does he not have the authority to make ARS and CSREES 
operate more efficiently?
    Answer. While the Under Secretary has the authority to help make 
REE agencies more efficient, the current organizational structure of 
the mission area is a limiting factor. By having separate agencies with 
separate national program staffs, there are some inefficiencies that 
cannot be fully addressed without bringing the agencies together. The 
merger of ARS and CSREES will better enable the Under Secretary to 
overcome these inefficiencies.
    Question. Why don't you use the budget process to better coordinate 
research?
    Answer. The REE budget process promotes research coordination 
across the REE agencies. As part of the budget formulation process, 
each year the Under Secretary, in consultation with the agency 
Administrators, identifies high priority issues for which coordinated 
budget requests are developed. The proposals take into consideration 
the current research program within each agency and identify program 
enhancements that are responsive to research needs and agency 
strengths. For example, the President's fiscal year 2008 budget 
proposes complementary budget increases in bioenergy for CSREES, ARS, 
and ERS. Merging ARS and CSREES would result in one National Program 
staff and a single planning process for each program that would result 
in an integrated plan for the core program that capitalizes on the 
strengths of intramural and extramural research and minimizes any 
undesirable redundancies.
    Question. What steps have you taken in the fiscal 2008 budget to 
eliminate redundancies and better coordinate research among ARS and 
CSREES?
    Answer. For the REE fiscal 2008 budget, similar to previous years, 
the Under Secretary, in consultations with the agency Administrators, 
identified high priority issues for which coordinated budget requests 
were developed, thus promoting cross-agency coordination. The Under 
Secretary also oversaw the development of the agency proposed budgets 
to ensure an appropriate balance across programs and agencies. In some 
cases, this involved reprogramming within the core budget.
    Throughout the fiscal year, the agencies frequently coordinate 
efforts on a range of research issues. For example, ARS and CSREES have 
recently developed a joint plan to address the Colony Collapse Disorder 
threatening the honey bee industry and production of many crops. Were 
ARS and CSREES to merge, there would be one national program staff that 
would routinely develop integrated program plans with intramural and 
extramural components. Such plans would inherently promote coordination 
and avoid redundancy.
    Question. What specific direction has been provided to Under 
Secretary Buchanan to make certain that redundancies are eliminated and 
research is better coordinated?
    Answer. USDA is continually striving to maximize the efficiency and 
effectiveness of its programs. Likewise, Under Secretary Buchanan is 
looking for ways to make REE agencies more efficient and effective. 
Merging ARS and CSREES will help reduce redundancies and better 
coordinate research, thus furthering this objective.

                        APHIS PROGRAM COST SHARE

    Question. The President's budget for the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service requests decreases for numerous programs such as 
Agricultural Quarantine Inspection, Boll Weevil, Brucellosis, Chronic 
Wasting Disease, Asian Longhorned Beetle, Glassy-winged Sharpshooter, 
Johne's Disease, Pink Bollworm, Wildlife Services Operations and 
Wildlife Services Methods Development. The justification for the 
funding reductions is the assumption that States or other cooperators/
beneficiaries will begin paying more toward efforts to fight such plant 
and animal pests and diseases. In some cases, specific cost-share rates 
are indicated.
    For the record, please provide the funding contributions and cost-
share rates for Federal vs. State/Local/Other for fiscal year 2006, and 
estimates for fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008. for all programs 
in the budget that request decreases to allow others to assume a larger 
funding portion of the program. In addition, please indicate what 
process and/or policies the Department uses to determine appropriate 
cost-share rates for these programs, and provide information on what 
indication you have that other State/cooperator/beneficiaries will 
begin paying the additional costs when Federal contributions are 
reduced.
    Answer. The following table depicts the funding contributions and 
cost-share rates for fiscal year 2006. In addition, we have provided 
estimates for fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008.
    [The information follows:]

                                       TOTAL FUNDING: ALL SOURCES (ANNUAL)
                                              [Dollars in Millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Percent
                                                      Federal       Cooperator         Total          Federal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chronic Wasting Disease:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................         $15.163          $4.473         $19.636           77.22
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................          13.746           9.164          22.910           60.00
    fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................          10.009          11.141          21.150           47.32
EPP-Asian Longhorned Beetle:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................          27.322          10.434          37.756           72.36
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................          19.904          13.713          33.617           59.21
    Fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................          18.316          15.404          33.720           54.32
EPP-Citrus Health:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................          21.191          39.884          61.075           34.70
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................          36.455          29.022          65.477           55.68
    Fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................          34.409          33.368          67.777           50.77
EPP-Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................          27.311          25.443          52.754           51.77
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................          24.130          25.000          49.130           49.11
    Fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................          23.174          27.133          50.307           46.07
Johne's Disease:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................          13.057           6.900          19.957           65.43
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................          12.080           7.877          19.957           60.53
    Fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................           3.266          16.691          19.957           16.37
Noxious Weeds:
    Fiscal year 2006 actual.....................           1.875           0.121           1.996           93.94
    Fiscal year 2007 (estimated)................           1.441           0.121           1.562           92.25
    Fiscal year 2008 (estimated)................           1.146           0.716           1.862           61.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Emergency program costs generally have been shared by APHIS and the 
State(s). These arrangements may also include local governments, 
industries, organizations, and groups that benefit from or are affected 
by animal and plant protection.
    Long-standing relationships between APHIS and State and industry 
cooperators usually enable an effective programmatic response to 
serious outbreaks. While cooperator contributions are frequently in-
kind or intangible in the early stages of a program, after several 
years USDA expects that funding would be requested at both the Federal 
and State levels, as appropriate, to ensure continued progress in 
controlling and/or managing the pest or disease. When requested funding 
is not provided, USDA evaluates the overall impact to program efforts 
and adjusts future funding requests accordingly.
    USDA believes that increased participation by all parties will 
facilitate improved planning and funding decisions by the Federal 
Government and its cooperators regarding plant and animal pest and 
disease programs. However, USDA has no pre-determined rates.
    In planning with our partners, we consider factors such as the 
availability of funding to program participants; weather and any other 
environmental constraints; the potential of the pest to cause 
significant economic damage to agricultural or natural resources; the 
extent to which the pest or disease has spread; the availability of 
effective detection and control technology or availability of 
diagnostic tests; and, the availability of acceptable alternatives for 
controlling and managing the pest or disease.

      CROSS-CUTTING TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

    Question. What is the basis for the funding increase proposed for 
fiscal year 2008?
    Answer. As the usage of biotechnology, both domestically and 
internationally, has expanded in recent years, the Department has 
recognized the need to increase its oversight and regulatory activities 
in this area. The requested funding increase would allow for the 
expansion of regulatory and trade strategies for specialty crops and 
transgenic animals, and improved communication materials for both 
domestic and international markets.
    Question. Specifically, how will the funds for ``cross-cutting 
trade negotiations and biotechnology resources'' be used?
    Answer. Cross-cutting trade and biotechnology funding would be used 
to conduct: quantitative analyses and studies needed to support 
increasingly complex compliance activities; expand a project to develop 
a regulatory and trade strategy for specialty crops; increase 
regulatory activity in the area of transgenic animals--domestically, in 
international markets, and in international standard setting 
organizations; and increase outreach activities for both domestic and 
international markets. These projects would involve multiple USDA 
agencies.
    Question. Please discuss specific results achieved using these 
funds in the past?
    Answer. The Foreign Agricultural Service has used this funding to 
support U.S. trade policy objectives for agricultural biotechnology 
that include expanding market access through negotiation and coalition 
building initiatives. The funds support USDA bilateral and multi-
lateral negotiating efforts by providing the means to sponsor technical 
and policy level exchanges (e.g., during the Korea and Malaysia FTA 
negotiations, Vietnam WTO accession negotiations, etc.), and to support 
the U.S. WTO challenge of the EU moratorium on agricultural 
biotechnology approvals. The funds also have helped to support U.S. 
coalition building efforts to address overly restrictive 
interpretations of the Cartagena Protocol. U.S. outreach efforts center 
around an array of USDA sponsored workshops hosted in multiple foras, 
including the Asia Pacific Economic Council and North American 
Biotechnology Initiative, to raise awareness of the importance of sound 
regulatory systems. Initiatives undertaken using these funds are aimed 
at increasing market access for U.S. agricultural trade and fostering 
implementation of policies that are transparent and based on sound 
science through coalition building, global public diplomacy, the 
advancement of science-based regulation and in accordance with 
international obligations.
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has used the funds 
to focus on two areas. First, to strengthen Federal-State partnerships, 
APHIS' Biotechnology Regulatory Services supported the pilot State 
inspection project, designed and began developing an on-line 
biotechnology training module for State regulatory officials and 
others, and conducted outreach to State regulators. Second, APHIS 
implemented recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General to 
enhance compliance and inspection activities, and funded select 
biotechnology inspections.
    The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 
used the funds to support the initial phases of the Specialty Crops 
Regulatory Initiative (SCRI), an effort by a diverse group of public 
and private-sector stakeholders to establish an entity that can assist 
developers of biotechnology-derived specialty crops to complete the 
existing regulatory process. During 2006-2007, a consultant for the 
SCRI planning group began development of a business plan and structure 
for SCRI, as well as a roadmap for phased implementation of the SCRI 
program.
    Question. Why should the funds be appropriated to the Office of the 
Secretary instead to specific agencies?
    Answer. Because of the cross-cutting nature of these activities, 
which can involve a number of different USDA agencies, the Department 
proposed several years ago that the funding be provided to the Office 
of the Secretary. This approach allows the funding to be allocated in 
response to emerging issues to whatever agency or agencies have the 
appropriate expertise and knowledge to address them. In addition, 
having a central fund helps in the coordination of these activities 
within the Department and avoids duplication in agencies' efforts.

        OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS

    Question. How would the funding be allocated between Iraq and 
Afghanistan?
    Answer. USDA estimates that $5.3 million will be used to support 
PRT activities in Afghanistan and $7.2 million will be used to support 
PRT activities and related technical assistance in Iraq. These 
estimates are subject to change as conditions and opportunities 
dictate.
    Question. For each country, please explain what activities the 
members of the PRT will be involved in.
    Answer. In Iraq, USDA's advisors serving with the PRTs will work to 
support a market-based approach to agribusiness; improve livestock 
health and animal production; improve the production of dryland 
agriculture, especially wheat yields and crop diversification; and 
increase the production and processing of horticultural crops.
    In Afghanistan, USDA will address many of the same issues, and will 
also continue efforts to improve irrigation and farm water use 
efficiency; promote post-harvest storage for improved nutrition; 
stimulate tree production, reforestation, and re-vegetation; and 
reestablish production of high-value horticultural crops.
    Question. How will you measure success?
    Answer. USDA's PRT advisors rely on funding from USAID and the 
military to carry out specific reconstruction projects. In designing 
projects, each advisor will establish metrics to measure success. In 
the long-term, success will be evident in improved crop yields, 
increased irrigated land under cultivation, and greater food stores in 
periods of seasonal need.
    Question. How will you ensure these funds are used effectively?
    Answer. USDA has instituted programmatic and administrative 
controls in field offices as well as Washington-based offices. USDA 
coordinated closely with other U.S. Government, Iraqi, and Afghan 
agencies to ensure that programs are designed to meet the specific 
needs of the end users.
    Question. How much of the requested funding will go into the field?
    Answer. USDA estimates that of the $12.5 million requested for 
these activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, 76 percent or approximately 
$9.5 million will be used to cover in-country staff salaries, 
operations, and technical assistance/capacity building activities.
    Funding that is not used in country covers items that are essential 
for the administration and conduct of these activities. They include 
the costs for such things as recruitment and selection, medical and 
security clearances, supplies and equipment (e.g., satellite phones), 
travel for both recruitment interviews and deployment to the countries, 
and associated administrative costs of FAS, which administers these 
activities on behalf of the Department.
    Question. Will any of the requested funding go to the State 
Department and/or Defense Department? Is so, for what?
    Answer. USDA anticipates that approximately $200,000 will be 
transferred to the State Department to cover fiscal year 2008 
International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) 
charges related to USDA activities in Afghanistan. However, we do not 
anticipate that USDA will be assessed fiscal year 2008 ICASS charges 
for USDA activities in Iraq.

        AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE, BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

    Question. How much will the new facility in Athens, Georgia cost to 
construct, furnish, and equip?
    Answer. The latest design and construction estimate is $207 
million--$16 million for design in fiscal year 2008 and $191 million 
for construction. Equipment necessary for the facility is included in 
the total construction cost.
    Question. Please describe the process used to determine that this 
facility is necessary?
    Answer. Avian Influenza is a continuing problem in Asia where 
millions of poultry have been killed to protect both the industry and 
the consumers, and where over 150 humans have died from infection after 
direct contact with sick birds. Avian influenza and other viral 
diseases of poultry, such as NewCastle disease that recently devastated 
the poultry industry in the Southwest require new technologies to 
understand the origin and spread of the disease, their rapid detection 
and their control through vaccines and novel management approaches. A 
leading laboratory in the world to conduct research on such poultry 
diseases is the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, 
Georgia. The high containment laboratory is housed in outdated 
facilities that make it difficult to meet the needs of a modern bio-
containment facility. Clearly, a new facility is critical to the 
protection of humans as well as poultry. The proposed new, modernized 
facility will meet the long term needs for bio-containment laboratory 
and animal space. It will enable scientists to more adequately address 
the emerging/exotic poultry diseases which threaten not only the 
Nation's poultry industry but potentially the health of hundreds of 
thousands of Americans. This new facility would consolidate existing 
facilities in Athens, Georgia, and East Lansing, Michigan, some of 
which were constructed as early as 1939.
    Question. How will ARS manage this construction project to make 
sure it is on budget and on time?
    Answer. ARS has experience managing projects of this complexity and 
scope as evidenced by the successful implementation of the Ames 
Modernization Project. The engineering and contract management 
responsibilities and oversight will be handled by the ARS Facilities 
Division (FD). All detailed planning, design, scheduling and day-to-day 
construction inspection will be achieved through contracts with 
architect-engineering firms with oversight provided by the FD. Rigorous 
quality assurance measures will be instituted and lessons learned from 
the Ames Modernization Project related to bio- containment construction 
will be incorporated into the management strategy to ensure budget, 
schedule, and quality issues are adequately addressed.
    Question. Are all ARS facilities currently in good repair? Do they 
meet all applicable state and Federal codes? Do they pose any threat to 
human health or safety? Please provide information, including an 
estimated cost, for each location where repairs are necessary to bring 
the facility into compliance.
    Answer. In response to Executive Order 13327, Real Property Asset 
Management, ARS is in the process of implementing a Facility Asset 
Management program that will capture accurate repair and modernization 
needs--information not currently available. A private firm specializing 
in documenting facility condition was hired to support our efforts by 
sampling facility condition, analyzing ARS replacement values, and 
providing estimates of repair needs based upon sampling results and 
industry metrics. Based upon this analysis it has been determined that 
the ARS facility portfolio is considered to be in ``fair'' condition 
with an average condition index of 0.90 out of 1.0, and total deferred 
maintenance needs estimated at $317 million.
    All human health or safety issues are handled immediately utilizing 
existing funding resources. All non-threatening code issues are 
addressed as funds become available.
    Question. Please provide an update on the status of the Anacostia 
Waterfront Corporation's Riverwalk project along the perimeter of the 
U.S. National Arboretum.
    Answer. The U.S. National Arboretum (USNA) has contracted with a 
landscape architecture firm to develop a conceptual plan for 
improvements to and development of the USNA property adjacent to the 
Anacostia River water front. The plan includes access to the Anacostia 
River, a tram stop on the flood plain area, and considerable 
improvements to the entire Asian Collections. Portions of this area 
will become accessible and a new parking lot, as well as orientation 
and restroom facilities are planned. The USNA has met with the National 
Park Service to coordinate long-range plans which were then 
incorporated into a revised USNA Master Plan that was approved by the 
National Capital Planning Commission and the U. S. Commission on Fine 
Arts.

                        USDA OVERSEAS ACTIVITIES

    Question. Please provide information on the activities of USDA in 
the Middle East, Southwest Asia, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and East 
Africa.
    Answer. The requested information will be provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]
    Middle East and Southwest Asia.--With funding from the Department 
of State under the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), USDA is 
implementing projects supporting Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Trade 
and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs), and WTO Accession for 
selected countries in the North Africa and the Gulf Region. Activities 
include technical assistance in food safety and food defense, animal 
health, plant health, and environmental considerations in these areas.
    In Egypt, USDA and USAID are actively engaged in capacity building 
programs in cooperation with Egyptian Ministries. A main effort is to 
develop a biosafety regulatory system. Other U.S.-Egyptian capacity 
building efforts include U.S. inter-agency and Egyptian science and 
technology collaboration and training on sanitary and phytosanitary 
(SPS) standards.
    The Cochran Fellowship Program has trained 163 fellows from 
Southwest Asia and Middle Eastern countries since 1999. Recent programs 
include training in food safety, agricultural extension, grain 
procurement and poultry management. The Norman E. Borlaug International 
Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program (Borlaug Fellows 
Program) conducts faculty and scientist exchange programs with 
developing countries. During fiscal years 2004-2007, the Borlaug 
Fellows program included eight participants from the Middle East and 12 
from Southwest Asia.
    India.--USDA is the lead agency on the U.S.-India Agricultural 
Knowledge Initiative (AKI), a 3-year public/private sector Presidential 
Initiative. Support for this initiative comes from USDA and across the 
U.S. Government, resulting in a large number of successful activities 
in four focus areas: (1) university capacity building; (2) 
biotechnology; (3) food processing and marketing; and (4) water 
resource management. For example, USDA is currently supporting four 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) technicians in India 
working on pre-clearance of mangoes. USDA is hosting two workshops on 
food safety regulations in Mumbai and Bangalore, with an upcoming 
workshop on biotechnology for the public and private sector and 
scientists. In addition, USDA worked with the National Association of 
State Universities and Land Grant Colleges to fund small seed grants to 
foster university-to-university collaboration.
    With funds from USAID, USDA is providing training and technical 
assistance to the Government of India on rural electrification and 
alternative financing models. The Cochran Fellowship Program has 
trained 97 Indians since 2000. Under the India-U.S. Agriculture 
Knowledge Initiative, the Cochran Program will train 12 individuals per 
year from 2006 through 2008.
    Afghanistan.--USDA's primary technical assistance initiatives in 
Afghanistan address a range of issues, including livestock health, SPS 
standards, agricultural extension, conservation of biodiversity, 
rangelands and watersheds management, and capacity building in 
information technology and communications. Under the Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) program, USDA has deployed and supported 36 
agricultural advisors from nine USDA agencies on 9-month assignments. 
The advisors' activities focus on projects that rehabilitate a 
province's agricultural infrastructure, both physical and 
institutional. In 2007, USDA is providing seven advisors for PRTs.
    The Cochran Fellowship Program has trained 14 Afghans since 2004 in 
the areas of small business entrepreneurship and animal disease 
diagnosis. The Cochran Program is currently planning programs for 
fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008 in the areas of animal health and 
agricultural extension.
    Pakistan.--Under a reimbursable agreement, since 2006 USDA has had 
two staff members detailed to USAID/Pakistan, working on the 4-year, 
$200 million Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction Program. USDA staff 
lead a 10-person team spread across four locations in Pakistan. The 
teams focus on construction, training, capacity building, and the 
rehabilitation of livelihoods (agriculture and markets). The Cochran 
Program has trained 20 Fellows from Pakistan since 2000 in the areas of 
feed manufacturing, grain procurement, cotton classification, 
cooperative development, biotechnology and wheat milling.
    East Africa.--In 2007, USDA led an Agribusiness Trade and 
Investment Mission to East Africa. Participant countries included 
Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The 
Mission's objectives were to promote U.S.-Africa agribusiness 
cooperation, trade, and investment. Under the Africa Growth and 
Opportunities Act (AGOA) USDA is implementing an SPS program that 
includes capacity building in plant and animal health and food safety 
systems for the East Africa region. This program specifically helps the 
following East African countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and 
Tanzania. The Cochran Fellowship Program has trained 207 fellows from 
East Africa; Cochran expects to train a total of 20-25 participants 
from these countries in fiscal year 2007. The Borlaug Fellows program 
on Women in Science has supported six scholars from Kenya and five from 
Uganda.
    USDA has also provided food assistance to various countries in 
these regions as follows:

 USDA FOOD AID ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED COUNTRIES IN FISCAL YEAR 2006 AND
                            FISCAL YEAR 2007
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Country                       Activity            Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan........................  School feeding........        $26.2
Afghanistan........................  Agricultural                   12.7
                                      development.
Afghanistan........................  Agricultural and rural         10.4
                                      development.
Afghanistan........................  Agricultural and rural          9.5
                                      development.
Bangladesh.........................  School feeding and              4.4
                                      food processing
                                      improvements.
Bangladesh.........................  School feeding........          7.4
Ethiopia...........................  Support for poverty             6.3
                                      alleviation programs.
Jordan.............................  Agricultural                   20.0
                                      development, natural
                                      resource management,
                                      and income
                                      supplements for the
                                      poor.
Kenya..............................  School feeding........         18.1
Kenya..............................  Dairy development.....          7.8
Kenya..............................  Rural development and           9.1
                                      improvement in
                                      financing system.
Lebanon............................  Agricultural                    9.2
                                      development and food
                                      security.
Mozambique.........................  Agricultural                   12.7
                                      development.
Mozambique.........................  School feeding........          4.4
Mozambique.........................  Rural development and           8.4
                                      HIV/AIDS education
                                      and prevention.
Pakistan...........................  School feeding and              8.1
                                      food processing
                                      improvement.
Pakistan...........................  School feeding........          7.0
Pakistan...........................  Relief for earthquake          11.9
                                      victims.
Sri Lanka..........................  School feeding........          0.2
Sri Lanka..........................  Agricultural                   10.7
                                      development and de-
                                      mining.
Tanzania...........................  Agricultural                    6.8
                                      development.
Yemen..............................  Rural development.....         11.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH

    Question. Please provide an overview on all food safety research 
being conducted through ARS and CSREES.
    Answer. The information is submitted for the record.
    [The information follows:]
    ARS food safety research focuses on finding ways to assess and 
control potentially harmful food contaminants. These activities are 
conducted through 4 program components: microbial pathogens; chemical 
contaminants; mycotoxins and plant toxins. Research is designed to 
yield science-based knowledge on the safe production, storage, 
processing and handling of plant and animal products, and on the 
detection and control of toxin-producing and/or pathogenic bacteria and 
fungi, parasites, chemical contaminants, mycotoxins, plant toxins and 
biosecurity. This knowledge will assist regulatory agencies and the 
food industry in reducing the incidence of foodborne illnesses. ARS 
research also assists defense related agencies.
    The research program is directed towards improving public health, 
which is in-line with other countries. Research accomplishments are 
measured by the development, transfer and implementation of new 
technologies to Federal agencies and the private sector. Since food-
safety and -security are global issues, research also involves both 
national and international collaborations.
    The program's role in bioterrorism related research is to establish 
methods to protect ``at-risk'' foods; strengthen and expand laboratory 
preparedness; and develop rapid and confirmatory laboratory methods to 
analyze suspect foods for ``select agents,'' toxins and chemical 
contaminants.
    Research is coordinated to meet the needs of USDA-FSIS; DHHS-FDA 
and the CDC, EPA and the DHS. The Program collaborates with the FDA, 
CDC, DHS, and fellow USDA agencies CSREES, ERS and FSIS on a wide 
variety of issues.
    A detailed 2006-2010 Action Plan outlining the ARS Food Safety 
Research Program is available at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/
programs/programs.htm?np_code=108&docid=278
    The Food Safety Program has a long history of accomplishments for 
its major stakeholders and customers. The 5-year Accomplishment Report 
is available at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs/
programs.htm?np_code=108&docid=7589
    Recent areas of accomplishment include:
  --Sensing technologies that enable detection of fecal contamination 
        on animal carcasses and produce, helping lower the incidence of 
        E. coli 0157:H7.
  --Giving cattle an oral dose of sodium chlorate prior to slaughter 
        holds promise as an effective intervention to kill E. coli in 
        live cattle.
  --Rapid, sensitive and inexpensive assays for detecting pathogens and 
        chemical residues, for example dioxins in food.
    Among the food safety research goals for the coming 5-years are:
  --Understanding the epidemiology and ecology of pathogens in the farm 
        environment through production and processing.
  --Development of intervention strategies to control pathogens in 
        animal and produce production and processing.
  --Identification of factors responsible for mediating antibiotic 
        resistance in foodborne and other bacteria.
  --Genomics to understand the differences between pathogens and non-
        pathogens, and identify factors that encode for variations in 
        virulence.
  --Development and validation of methodologies and rapid screening 
        tests, including on-line methods, to detect fungal and plant 
        toxins.
    The Food Safety Program involves 10 major laboratories and 
approximately 250 scientists. The total budget for fiscal year 2007 is 
$105.2 million.
    CSREES' competitively funded food safety research programs are 
presently focusing on a few areas of interest to U.S. agriculture and 
consumers, including microbial contamination of fresh produce which is 
minimally processed prior to consumption. Bacterial pathogens E. coli 
and Salmonella are emphasized in this area as they have been 
particularly problematic. Contamination of seafood with viruses and 
Vibrio bacteria, Campylobacter and Salmonella bacteria in poultry and 
swine, and epidemiological approaches to development of on-farm 
mitigation measures and analysis of critical control points are also 
focus areas for the Agency this year. Also funded are competitively 
awarded projects which couple research, education, and extension 
activities with focus on education, certification, and training of 
industry, retail personnel, and consumers. Integrated food safety 
projects also include emphasis in analysis of microbial contamination 
of fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and poultry with subsequent 
information exchange through formal and informal educational settings.
    Funded projects cover a wide variety of food safety issues; 
however, all maintain a scope of funding that relies on producing real-
world answers to problems facing the food production, processing, 
distribution and regulatory communities as well as consumers. Priority 
areas align with CSREES mission and relevant goals, and demonstrate 
relevance to U.S. agriculture. Priorities are assessed annually to 
ensure food safety programs are able to respond to emerging issues. It 
is estimated that $23 million of CSREES funds in fiscal year 2006, 
fiscal year 2007, and fiscal year 2008 support food safety research.
                                 ______
                                 

             Questions Submitted by Senator Robert C. Byrd

                 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

    Question. Could you please provide the committee with information 
regarding plans by the Department to close agency field offices across 
the country, including the possible reorganization of these offices 
within each State? The committee is aware that some States are 
currently operating with a deficit in funding and one of the options 
apparently being discussed to address these deficits is the 
reorganization of field offices in these states. I have been informed 
that NRCS in West Virginia, for example, could have a loss in workforce 
to address the deficit in our state. I have heard concerns from my 
constituents that a NRCS office in Hamlin, West Virginia, could be 
closed which will result in a loss of services to constituents in 
southern West Virginia.
    Answer. In the face of constrained discretionary funding levels, 
NRCS has taken appropriate management steps to ensure that NRCS 
operates within its budget. As part of this effort, a central point of 
focus has been to ensure that there is the right number of offices in 
the right places. NRCS has not prescribed specific office moves or 
consolidation from Washington, DC. Instead, NRCS leadership believes 
that local agency staff, including the State Conservationist, know the 
State and local needs better than anyone. State Conservationists have 
to manage and work within a budget allocation each year. As a result, 
states are working with local partners, stakeholders, and constituents 
to develop plans that work to the betterment of each locale. Consistent 
with the Department's policy of keeping Congress informed of its 
activities, NRCS will notify Congress of office closures as 
appropriate.

                           RURAL DEVELOPMENT

    Question. Could you please provide the committee with information 
regarding plans by the Department to close agency field offices across 
the country, including the possible reorganization of these offices 
within each State? The committee is aware that some states are 
currently operating with a deficit in funding and one of the options 
apparently being discussed to address these deficits is the 
reorganization of field offices in these states. I have heard concerns 
from my constituents that it is possible that Rural Development offices 
could be closed or reorganized in West Virginia which will result in a 
loss of services to my constituents.
    Answer. The Rural Development State Directors have developed their 
reorganization plans for National Office consideration. While some 
employees will be working at a different office location, we are making 
every effort to minimize the disruption to staff. Rural Development is 
not proposing a Reduction-in-Force and all employees will be offered a 
position at their current grade and pay level. We are also seeking 
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority which could be of interest to 
those employees who are several years short of being eligible for 
regular retirement.
    Since the State plans are currently being reviewed, we do not know 
the number of offices to be closed or that will operate on a part-time 
basis. RD will keep the committee informed of its plans. It is RD's 
intent that the reorganization be completed by March, 2008.
    Our intent is to train staff so that they are knowledgeable in all 
Rural Development programs in order to provide better customer. We 
anticipate no reduction in services and plan to continue to provide 
comprehensive access to our programs.

                          FARM SERVICE AGENCY

    Question. Could you please provide the committee with information 
regarding plans by the Department to close agency field offices across 
the country, including the possible reorganization of these offices 
within each State? The committee is aware that some states are 
currently operating with a deficit in funding and one of the options 
apparently being discussed to address these deficits is the 
reorganization of field offices in these States. I have heard concerns 
from my constituents that it is possible that Farm Service Agency 
offices could be closed or reorganized in West Virginia which will 
result in a loss of services to my constituents.
    Answer. As competition and accountability for limited resources 
continue to increase, we want to ensure we are still providing our 
customers with the efficient, accurate and timely service they deserve. 
Our FSA State Executive Directors (SEDs) are conducting independent, 
local-level reviews of the efficiency and effectiveness of the FSA 
office structure in their State. In each State, the SED and State 
Committee have formed a review committee to develop proposals for the 
optimum network of FSA facilities, staffing, training, and technology 
for their State within existing budgetary resources and staffing 
ceilings. FSA is committed to meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers 
in the 21st century, and our hope is to wisely invest in our employees, 
technology and equipment.
    There is no comprehensive national plan or formula for identifying 
the optimum network of FSA offices. Each State will submit 
recommendations to FSA's Deputy Administrator for Field Operations for 
review. If a State's plan proposes office closures or consolidations, 
we will strictly and faithfully follow the congressional and public 
notification procedures as required and outlined in Public Law 110-5. 
If a State recommends that any of our offices be closed or 
consolidated, we will hold public meetings in that county with area 
farmers, ranchers, and stakeholders within 30 days of headquarters 
concurrence with the plan. We will notify Congress of the Agency's 
intent to close offices 120 days prior to closure.
                                 ______
                                 

              Question Submitted by Senator Arlen Specter

                  COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM

    Question. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides 
6.4 million food packages to over 500,000 mothers, infants, children, 
and primarily low-income seniors--in fiscal year 2005, 15,575 
households in PA received CSFP packages. CSFP food packages are 
delivered monthly, and provide $20 worth of food including cheese, 
milk, and canned fruits and vegetables. In his fiscal year 2008 budget 
request, as in his fiscal year 2007 request, the President eliminated 
this program, stating that Food Stamps and the WIC program could meet 
the needs of CSFP recipients. Congress provided $112 million in fiscal 
year 2006 and has maintained that level in the fiscal year 2007 
Continuing Resolution. Seniors, who represent 90 percent of CSFP 
recipients, are not eligible for the WIC program, and many of these 
seniors are also not eligible for food stamps, or are only eligible to 
receive $10 per month in food stamp benefits. Additionally, for seniors 
with disabilities, the CSFP program meets a vital need by bringing food 
directly to their homes. How does the Department plan to meet the needs 
of many of these seniors who depend on the CSFP program and who will 
not be eligible to receive any benefits, or will receive reduced 
benefits, from the Food Stamp program?
    Answer. Elderly participants who are leaving the CSFP upon 
termination of its funding and who are not already receiving food stamp 
benefits would be eligible to receive a transitional benefit worth $20 
per month, ending in the first month following enrollment in the Food 
Stamp Program under normal program rules, or 6 months, whichever occurs 
first. Based on the information we have about the characteristics of 
all elderly food stamp participants, the average monthly food stamp 
benefit for an elderly person living alone was $70 per month in 2005. 
The percentage of food stamp households with elderly that received the 
maximum benefit (14.1 percent) was nearly as large as the percentage 
that received the minimum benefit of $10 (15.5 percent). Using 
information on the financial circumstances of low-income elderly, we 
estimate that CSFP participants transitioning to food stamps will 
receive an average monthly benefit of $54 per person.
    Elderly CSFP participants who are ineligible for food stamps will 
be treated no differently than anyone else living in similar 
circumstances who is currently unable to participate in the CSFP due to 
its limited availability. Former CSFP participants will have access to 
the Emergency Food Assistance Program and other government and private 
non-profit programs that offer community-based food assistance 
opportunities.
    Included in these programs are Federal nutrition assistance 
programs targeted specifically to seniors. These programs, administered 
by the Administration on Aging and authorized by the Older Americans 
Act of 1965, include congregate nutrition services and home-delivered 
nutrition services. The Administration's 2008 budget request includes 
$383 million and $181 million for these two programs, respectively. In 
addition, the 2008 budget request includes $147 million for the 
Nutrition Services Incentive Program. Combined, the Older Americans 
Nutrition Programs serve about 250 million congregate and in-home meals 
to about 2.6 million older adults annually.

                         FSIS IT INFRASTRUCTURE

    Question. It is my understanding that USDA's Food Safety and 
Inspection Service is initiating a major change in its inspection 
program in order to allocate Agency resources according to risk. In 
order to determine risk on an ongoing basis, the Agency will need to 
analyze a significant amount of data from a wide variety of diverse 
sources. Please detail the level of funding for information technology 
infrastructure for FSIS for fiscal year 2008 and compare this funding 
to 1) previous funding for information technology for FSIS for the past 
3 fiscal years, and 2) information technology infrastructure funding 
for other agencies in the Department.
    Answer. A chart detailing the funding for information technology 
infrastructure for USDA by mission area, for the previous 3 fiscal 
years, is provided for the record.
    [The information follows:]

                                  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS BY AGENCY
                                              [Dollars in Millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Fiscal Year
                     Agency                      ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    2002 Actual     2006 Actual    2007 Estimate    2008 Budget
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services:
    Foreign Agricultural Service................           $23.3           $23.1           $29.9           $26.2
    Farm Service Agency.........................           237.6           263.6           270.4           303.0
    Risk Management Agency......................            17.6            20.4            21.7            30.7
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal, FFAS............................           278.5           307.2           322.0           359.9
                                                 ===============================================================
Food Nutrition and Consumer Services: Food and              52.2           593.8           605.3           641.2
 Nutrition Service..............................
Food Safety: Food Safety and Inspection Service.            39.6            43.4            40.2            38.2
Natural Resources and Environment:
    Natural Resources Conservation Service......            71.8           102.3           104.4            71.6
    Forest Service..............................           411.2           396.7           410.0           407.1
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal, NRE.............................           483.0           499.0           514.3           478.7
                                                 ===============================================================
Research, Education and Economics:
    Agricultural Research Service...............            37.4            52.2            59.1            39.3
    Cooperative State Research, Education &                 10.0             9.7            10.8            10.8
     Extension Service..........................
    Economic Research Service...................             7.1             7.3             6.1             6.3
    National Agricultural Statistics Service....            23.5            24.1            24.3            24.8
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal, REE.............................            78.0            93.2           100.3            81.3
                                                 ===============================================================
Rural Development: Rural Development............           108.5           119.9           137.5           138.1
Marketing and Regulatory Programs:
    Agricultural Marketing Service..............            18.1            35.8            35.2            48.3
    Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service..            75.1            81.7            73,7            76.2
    Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards                   6.9            12.6            12.3            10.7
     Administration.............................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal, MRP.............................           100.0           130.0           121.2           135.2
                                                 ===============================================================
Office of the Chief Financial Officer: Office of            83.4            99.5           188.7           118.8
 the Chief Financial Officer....................
Office of the Chief Information Officer:
    Office of the Chief Information Officer.....           145.0            62.2            54.0            30.2
    Common Computing Environment................           179.9           128.3           217.8         ( /1/ )
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal, OCIO............................           324.9           190.4           271.8            30.2
                                                 ===============================================================
Staff Offices...................................            45.7            44.7            56.5            69.7
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total, Information Technology Investments...         1,593.9         2,121.0          ,357.9        2,091.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fiscal year 2008 President's Budget includes funding for CCE in FSA, RD, and NRCS.

    Question. Is the current level of funding sufficient for FSIS' data 
analysis needs for the Agency's new risk-based inspection initiative?
    Answer. The Food Safety and Inspection Service's fiscal year 2008 
budget request includes sufficient funding for hardware and software 
application needs, which includes the agency's needs for risk-based 
inspection in processing.
                                 ______
                                 

           Questions Submitted by Senator Christopher S. Bond

                     LOAN PROGRAM DELINQUENCY RATES

    Question. For the geopolitical districts (States, Congressional 
districts) involved in each Federally declared disaster during the past 
5 years, please provide a table showing the delinquency rates of 
participants in all USDA loan programs for each of the past 5 years.
     Please clearly indicate in which of the past 5 years the disaster 
affecting that district was declared and what the nature of the 
disaster was.
    Answer. I have asked my staff to prepare the available data.
    [The information follows:]

                                             EMERGENCY DISASTER DESIGNATIONS APPROVED/PROCESSED BY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH, PECD
                                                                               [Final totals for fiscal year 2002]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         State Abbrev                 Name          PRE-Primary   PRE-Contiguous    ADM-Primary   ADM-Contiguous    SEC-Primary   SEC-Contiguous        PRE             ADM             SEC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL............................  Alabama.........              19              35  ..............  ..............  ..............               7              54  ..............               7
AK............................  Alaska..........               6              15  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              21  ..............  ..............
AZ............................  Arizona.........               4              11  ..............  ..............              20              10              15  ..............              30
AR............................  Arkansas........              20              69               9              29               6              26              89              38              32
CA............................  California......  ..............               1  ..............  ..............              10              49               1  ..............              59
CO............................  Colorado........              59               9  ..............  ..............              62              61              68  ..............             123
CT............................  Connecticut.....  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              10  ..............  ..............              10
DE............................  Delaware........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               1  ..............  ..............               1
FL............................  Florida.........               4               3  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               7  ..............  ..............
GA............................  Georgia.........  ..............               5               2              10              25              86               5              12             111
HI............................  Hawaii..........  ..............  ..............               1  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               1  ..............
ID............................  Idaho...........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              10              47  ..............  ..............              57
IL............................  Illinois........             106             129  ..............  ..............  ..............               9             235  ..............               9
IN............................  Indiana.........              72             112               5              22               6              34             184              27              40
IA............................  Iowa............              21              26  ..............  ..............               8              29              47  ..............              37
KS............................  Kansas..........              35              40  ..............               6              75             135              75               6             210
KY............................  Kentucky........              86             157  ..............               2  ..............              19             243               2              19
LA............................  Louisiana.......              15              15  ..............               2              32              26              30               2              58
ME............................  Maine...........  ..............  ..............               1  ..............              27               5  ..............               1              32
MD............................  Maryland........               3               7               1  ..............  ..............               8              10               1               8
MA............................  Massachusetts...  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               7              12  ..............  ..............              19
MI............................  Michigan........               7              14  ..............               1             107              59              21               1             166
MN............................  Minnesota.......              26              70  ..............  ..............              15              36              96  ..............              51
MS............................  Mississippi.....              21              38               6              15              21              43              59              21              64
MO............................  Missouri........             142             283  ..............               1              14              51             425               1              65
MT............................  Montana.........               5              10  ..............  ..............              56              24              15  ..............              80
NE............................  Nebraska........               1               5               9              35             104             125               6              44             229
NV............................  Nevada..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               1              15  ..............  ..............              16
NH............................  New Hampshire...  ..............               2  ..............  ..............  ..............              11               2  ..............              11
NJ............................  New Jersey......  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NM............................  New Mexico......  ..............              10  ..............  ..............              38              24              10  ..............              62
NY............................  New York........              56              15               1               4              54             106              71               5             160
NC............................  North Carolina..  ..............               8  ..............  ..............              60              53               8  ..............             113
ND............................  North Dakota....              10              35  ..............  ..............              83              39              45  ..............             122
OH............................  Ohio............  ..............              10  ..............               2              43              95              10               2             138
OK............................  Oklahoma........              48              37               1               4             105              28              85               5             133
OR............................  Oregon..........               5               9  ..............  ..............               7              26              14  ..............              33
PA............................  Pennsylvania....  ..............               7  ..............  ..............              46              36               7  ..............              82
RI............................  Rhode Island....  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               4  ..............  ..............               4
SC............................  South Carolina..  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              46              11  ..............  ..............              57
SD............................  South Dakota....  ..............               1  ..............  ..............              55              54               1  ..............             109
TN............................  Tennessee.......              36              72               7              20              27              77             108              27             104
TX............................  Texas...........              67             215               6              34              69             300             282              40             369
UT............................  Utah............  ..............               7  ..............  ..............              53              11               7  ..............              64
VT............................  Vermont.........               4              15  ..............  ..............              11              16              19  ..............              27
VA............................  Virginia........              25              86  ..............  ..............              14              80             111  ..............              94
WA............................  Washington......  ..............  ..............               1               6              17              43  ..............               7              60
WV............................  West Virginia...              11              41  ..............  ..............  ..............               7              52  ..............               7
WI............................  Wisconsin.......              27              51               9              34  ..............               6              78              43               6
WY............................  Wyoming.........  ..............               4  ..............  ..............              29              41               4  ..............              70
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................  ................             941           1,679              59             227           1,363           1,995           2,620             286           3,358
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................                                                                               6,264
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE=Presidental, ADM=FSA Administrator, SEC=Sectretarial.


                                             EMERGENCY DISASTER DESIGNATIONS APPROVED/PROCESSED BY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH, PECD
                                                                            [Preliminary totals for fiscal year 2003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         State Abbrev                 Name          PRE-Primary   PRE-Contiguous    ADM-Primary   ADM-Contiguous    SEC-Primary   SEC-Contiguous        PRE             ADM             SEC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL............................  Alabama.........              69              68  ..............               4              67              49             137               4             116
AK............................  Alaska..........              11              18  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              29  ..............  ..............
AZ............................  Arizona.........               1               6  ..............  ..............              16               9               7  ..............              25
AR............................  Arkansas........              41              75              28              72              93              48             116             100             141
CA............................  California......  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              52              74  ..............  ..............             126
CO............................  Colorado........              29              28  ..............               3               6              26              57               3              32
CT............................  Connecticut.....               8               7  ..............               8               8              13              15               8              21
DE............................  Delaware........               7               8  ..............               1               3               7              15               1              10
FL............................  Florida.........              10              20  ..............               2              12              23              30               2              35
GA............................  Georgia.........  ..............              32               4              13             270              67              32              17             337
HI............................  Hawaii..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               1  ..............  ..............  ..............               1
ID............................  Idaho...........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              24              35  ..............  ..............              59
IL............................  Illinois........              16              46  ..............               4              65              66              62               4             131
IN............................  Indiana.........              67              87  ..............  ..............              74              51             154  ..............             125
IA............................  Iowa............  ..............               4               2              11              21              34               4              13              55
KS............................  Kansas..........              15              50  ..............               5              63              66              65               5             129
KY............................  Kentucky........             119             157  ..............               6             120              61             276               6             181
LA............................  Louisiana.......              86             118               2              11              63              51             204              13             114
ME............................  Maine...........              12              11  ..............  ..............              16               2              23  ..............              18
MD............................  Maryland........              44              52  ..............  ..............              21              12              96  ..............              33
MA............................  Massachusetts...              14              14              10               3              12              12              28              13              24
MI............................  Michigan........              14              14               2              11              33              25              28              13              58
MN............................  Minnesota.......  ..............  ..............              10              31               6              22  ..............              41              28
MS............................  Mississippi.....              57             114  ..............               6              82              50             171               6             132
MO............................  Missouri........              75              73  ..............               9              29              59             148               9              88
MT............................  Montana.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               2               3  ..............  ..............               5
NE............................  Nebraska........              19              52              21              62              53              17              71              83              70
NV............................  Nevada..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              34               6  ..............  ..............              40
NH............................  New Hampshire...               7              15  ..............               3              10  ..............              22               3              10
NJ............................  New Jersey......              26              22               8              12              19              20              48              20              39
NM............................  New Mexico......  ..............               3  ..............  ..............  ..............              17               3  ..............              17
NY............................  New York........             133              95               9              39              81              82             228              48             163
NC............................  North Carolina..              76              76               1               5              44              79             152               6             123
ND............................  North Dakota....               1               6  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               7  ..............  ..............
OH............................  Ohio............              76             181              21              28             158              24             257              49             182
OK............................  Oklahoma........              41              77               1               5              75              47             118               6             122
OR............................  Oregon..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              14              38  ..............  ..............              52
PA............................  Pennsylvania....              50             111  ..............               6              59              49             161               6             108
RI............................  Rhode Island....               2               6  ..............               3               5  ..............               8               3               5
SC............................  South Carolina..               6              15  ..............  ..............              46              25              21  ..............              71
SD............................  South Dakota....  ..............               5               9              18               8              31               5              27              39
TN............................  Tennessee.......             120             179               3               9             108             149             299              12             257
TX............................  Texas...........              91             212               1               9             163             222             303              10             385
UT............................  Utah............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              29               8  ..............  ..............              37
VT............................  Vermont.........               4              16  ..............               2               6              20              20               2              26
VA............................  Virginia........             139             166              15              48             105             144             305              63             249
WA............................  Washington......  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              34              86  ..............  ..............             120
WV............................  West Virginia...              79             119  ..............              12              51              54             198              12             105
WI............................  Wisconsin.......  ..............  ..............               4              16              41              35  ..............              20              76
WY............................  Wyoming.........  ..............               3  ..............  ..............               7              11               3  ..............              18
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................  ................           1,565           2,361             151             477           2,309           2,029           3,926             628           4,338
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      GRAND TOTAL.............                                                                               8,892
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE=Presidental, ADM=FSA Administrator, SEC=Sectretarial.


                                             EMERGENCY DISASTER DESIGNATIONS APPROVED/PROCESSED BY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH, PECD
                                                                            [Preliminary totals for fiscal year 2004]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         State Abbrev                 Name          PRE-Primary   PRE-Contiguous    ADM-Primary   ADM-Contiguous    SEC-Primary   SEC-Contiguous        PRE             ADM             SEC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL............................  Alabama.........              67              44  ..............  ..............  ..............               5             111  ..............               5
AK............................  Alaska..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
AZ............................  Arizona.........  ..............               2  ..............  ..............  ..............               9               2  ..............               9
AR............................  Arkansas........              28              35              14              29              55              83              63              43             138
CA............................  California......               8              18  ..............  ..............              40             181              26  ..............             221
CO............................  Colorado........  ..............               2  ..............               2              49              71               2               2             120
CT............................  Connecticut.....               7               8  ..............  ..............               8               9              15  ..............              17
DE............................  Delaware........  ..............               2  ..............  ..............  ..............               3               2  ..............               3
FL............................  Florida.........             174             117  ..............  ..............  ..............               9             291  ..............               9
GA............................  Georgia.........             124             157  ..............  ..............              87              37             281  ..............             124
HI............................  Hawaii..........  ..............  ..............               3  ..............               7               2  ..............               3               9
ID............................  Idaho...........  ..............               7  ..............  ..............              33              63               7  ..............              96
IL............................  Illinois........               4              40  ..............               5              42              53              44               5              95
IN............................  Indiana.........              89             104  ..............  ..............              30              34             193  ..............              64
IA............................  Iowa............              77              83  ..............               9              72              74             160               9             146
KS............................  Kansas..........              31              77  ..............               2             129             103             108               2             232
KY............................  Kentucky........             105              92               1               6  ..............              23             197               7              23
LA............................  Louisiana.......              17              30               1               6              49              38              47               7              87
ME............................  Maine...........              25              23  ..............  ..............               4               9              48  ..............              13
MD............................  Maryland........  ..............              11  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              11  ..............  ..............
MA............................  Massachusetts...              17              15  ..............  ..............              10              13              32  ..............              23
MI............................  Michigan........              23              31               1               5             126              90              54               6             216
MN............................  Minnesota.......  ..............              15               5              25              65              59              15              30             124
MS............................  Mississippi.....              23              35               3              10  ..............              11              58              13              11
MO............................  Missouri........              37              43  ..............               5              78              81              80               5             159
MT............................  Montana.........  ..............               4  ..............  ..............              46              45               4  ..............              91
NE............................  Nebraska........              39              61              17              50              61              99             100              67             160
NV............................  Nevada..........               1               7  ..............  ..............              17              13               8  ..............              30
NH............................  New Hampshire...               8              15  ..............  ..............  ..............               6              23  ..............               6
NJ............................  New Jersey......               2              12  ..............  ..............              16               3              14  ..............              19
NM............................  New Mexico......  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              32              20  ..............  ..............              52
NY............................  New York........              18              62               7              20              55             101              80              27             156
NC............................  North Carolina..              86              79  ..............               1               6              29             165               1              35
ND............................  North Dakota....              27              32  ..............               4              82              44              59               4             126
OH............................  Ohio............              72             130  ..............  ..............              46              77             202  ..............             123
OK............................  Oklahoma........  ..............               7  ..............               1  ..............              34               7               1              34
OR............................  Oregon..........              30              10  ..............  ..............              12              44              40  ..............              56
PA............................  Pennsylvania....              70             102               2              14               1              19             172              16              20
RI............................  Rhode Island....  ..............               7  ..............  ..............  ..............               6               7  ..............               6
SC............................  South Carolina..              22              57  ..............  ..............               8              20              79  ..............              28
SD............................  South Dakota....               9              21  ..............               6              74              70              30               6             144
TN............................  Tennessee.......  ..............              35  ..............  ..............              12              32              35  ..............              44
TX............................  Texas...........  ..............               5               6              41              82             432               5              47             514
UT............................  Utah............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              20              30  ..............  ..............              50
VT............................  Vermont.........               7              17  ..............  ..............  ..............               4              24  ..............               4
VA............................  Virginia........              22              64               2               6               9              50              86               8              59
WA............................  Washington......              15              18  ..............  ..............              29              45              33  ..............              74
WV............................  West Virginia...              84             124  ..............               2  ..............               4             208               2               4
WI............................  Wisconsin.......              44              44              39             161              59              38              88             200              97
WY............................  Wyoming.........  ..............  ..............  ..............               2              14              37  ..............               2              51
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................  ................           1,412           1,904             101             412           1,565           2,362           3,316             513           3,927
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      GRAND TOTAL.............                                                                               7,756
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE=Presidental, ADM=FSA Administrator, SEC=Sectretarial.


                                             EMERGENCY DISASTER DESIGNATIONS APPROVED/PROCESSED BY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH, PECD
                                                                               [Final totals for fiscal year 2005]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         State Abbrev                 Name          PRE-Primary   PRE-Contiguous    ADM-Primary   ADM-Contiguous    SEC-Primary   SEC-Contiguous        PRE             ADM             SEC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL............................  Alabama.........              53              95  ..............              10  ..............              21             148              10              21
AK............................  Alaska..........               3               5  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               8  ..............  ..............
AZ............................  Arizona.........              15              18               3               6  ..............               3              33               9               3
AR............................  Arkansas........               0               6  ..............               2              40              56               6               2              96
CA............................  California......              15              18               1               5              49             146              33               6             195
CO............................  Colorado........               0               5  ..............  ..............               5              23               5  ..............              28
CT............................  Connecticut.....               0               4  ..............  ..............               4               9               4  ..............              13
DE............................  Delaware........               1               2  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               3  ..............  ..............
FL............................  Florida.........              30              62  ..............               1  ..............               4              92               1               4
GA............................  Georgia.........               0              27              22              77              32              49              27              99              81
HI............................  Hawaii..........               1  ..............               4  ..............  ..............  ..............               1               4  ..............
ID............................  Idaho...........               1               6  ..............  ..............              11              37               7  ..............              48
IL............................  Illinois........              16              24  ..............  ..............              93              27              40  ..............             120
IN............................  Indiana.........             136              45              20              16  ..............              24             181              36              24
IA............................  Iowa............               0               6  ..............               1              16              27               6               1              43
KS............................  Kansas..........              41              35  ..............               3              19             101              76               3             120
KY............................  Kentucky........              30              82  ..............              10  ..............              24             112              10              24
LA............................  Louisiana.......              54              83               1               6  ..............              20             137               7              20
ME............................  Maine...........              13              11  ..............  ..............               2               6              24  ..............               8
MD............................  Maryland........               0               2  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               2  ..............  ..............
MA............................  Massachusetts...               0               3               3               5               2               8               3               8              10
MI............................  Michigan........               0               3              27              25              94              41               3              52             135
MN............................  Minnesota.......               7              19  ..............  ..............              65              82              26  ..............             147
MS............................  Mississippi.....              74              70              11              44              69              49             144              55             118
MO............................  Missouri........               0              13  ..............               1             112              20              13               1             132
MT............................  Montana.........               0               1  ..............  ..............              43              49               1  ..............              92
NE............................  Nebraska........              11              26              12              32              30              54              37              44              84
NV............................  Nevada..........               2              12  ..............               3              19              13              14               3              32
NH............................  New Hampshire...               0               5  ..............               2  ..............  ..............               5               2  ..............
NJ............................  New Jersey......              14              30  ..............  ..............               4              11              44  ..............              15
NM............................  New Mexico......               0              10  ..............  ..............               1              14              10  ..............              15
NY............................  New York........              48             113               7              23              65             105             161              30             170
NC............................  North Carolina..               0              26  ..............  ..............  ..............               7              26  ..............               7
ND............................  North Dakota....              26              49  ..............  ..............              14              23              75  ..............              37
OH............................  Ohio............              79              59               6              24             108              82             138              30             190
OK............................  Oklahoma........               0              10  ..............  ..............              60              41              10  ..............             101
OR............................  Oregon..........               0               1  ..............  ..............               5              26               1  ..............              31
PA............................  Pennsylvania....              11              50  ..............               2  ..............              18              61               2              18
RI............................  Rhode Island....               0  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               0  ..............  ..............
SC............................  South Carolina..              28              12  ..............  ..............  ..............               1              40  ..............               1
SD............................  South Dakota....               7              22  ..............               3               3              26              29               3              29
TN............................  Tennessee.......              15              47               1               4              30              69              62               5              99
TX............................  Texas...........              22              35               3              21              96             579              57              24             675
UT............................  Utah............              10              31               1               5               2              17              41               6              19
VT............................  Vermont.........  ..............               1  ..............  ..............  ..............               6               1  ..............               6
VA............................  Virginia........              10              13  ..............  ..............               2               8              23  ..............              10
WA............................  Washington......               0               2  ..............  ..............               9              27               2  ..............              36
WV............................  West Virginia...               6              20  ..............               4  ..............              19              26               4              19
WI............................  Wisconsin.......               0  ..............  ..............  ..............              16              58               0  ..............              74
WY............................  Wyoming.........               1               5  ..............               3               5              12               6               3              17
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................  ................             780           1,224             122             338           1,125           2,042           2,004             460           3,167
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      GRAND TOTAL.............                                                                               5,631
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE=Presidental, ADM=FSA Administrator, SEC=Sectretarial.


                                     EMERGENCY DISASTER DESIGNATIONS APPROVED/PROCESSED BY THE DISASTER ASSISTANCE BRANCH/EMERGENCIES SECTION (DAB/ES), PECD
                                                                               [Final totals for fiscal year 2006]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         State Abbrev                 Name          PRE-Primary   PRE-Contiguous    ADM-Primary   ADM-Contiguous    SEC-Primary   SEC-Contiguous        PRE             ADM             SEC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL............................  Alabama.........  ..............  ..............  ..............               2              67             103  ..............               2             170
AK............................  Alaska..........               1               3  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............               4  ..............  ..............
AZ............................  Arizona.........               6              14  ..............  ..............              14              10              20  ..............              24
AR............................  Arkansas........               7              29              23              72              98             113              36              95             211
CA............................  California......              48              54  ..............  ..............              55              97             102  ..............             152
CO............................  Colorado........  ..............               5  ..............  ..............              79             187               5  ..............             266
CT............................  Connecticut.....               5              14               1               5              16              17              19               6              33
DE............................  Delaware........               1               4  ..............  ..............  ..............               2               5  ..............               2
FL............................  Florida.........              17              35  ..............  ..............  ..............              15              52  ..............              15
GA............................  Georgia.........  ..............               6               7              36             267              57               6              43             324
HI............................  Hawaii..........               2  ..............               2  ..............               2  ..............               2               2               2
ID............................  Idaho...........               1               9  ..............  ..............  ..............              12              10  ..............              12
IL............................  Illinois........               6              22  ..............  ..............               5              33              28  ..............              38
IN............................  Indiana.........               2               5               5              15              24              47               7              20              71
IA............................  Iowa............  ..............               2               2              12              24              68               2              14              92
KS............................  Kansas..........              24              48  ..............  ..............              12             109              72  ..............             121
KY............................  Kentucky........               2              23  ..............  ..............             109              43              25  ..............             152
LA............................  Louisiana.......               8              32  ..............  ..............              40              41              40  ..............              81
ME............................  Maine...........               1               4  ..............  ..............  ..............               2               5  ..............               2
MD............................  Maryland........               3              24  ..............  ..............  ..............               6              27  ..............               6
MA............................  Massachusetts...              12              17               1               3              13              27              29               4              40
MI............................  Michigan........  ..............               2  ..............  ..............              74              79               2  ..............             153
MN............................  Minnesota.......              18              40               1               6              36              37              58               7              73
MS............................  Mississippi.....  ..............               4  ..............  ..............             166              28               4  ..............             194
MO............................  Missouri........              48             155  ..............              12  ..............              17             203              12              17
MT............................  Montana.........  ..............               7               4              18               3              25               7              22              28
NE............................  Nebraska........              29              35  ..............  ..............              98             136              64  ..............             234
NV............................  Nevada..........               6              16  ..............  ..............  ..............              13              22  ..............              13
NH............................  New Hampshire...              13              20  ..............  ..............              10               7              33  ..............              17
NJ............................  New Jersey......               3              15  ..............  ..............              36              12              18  ..............              48
NM............................  New Mexico......              15              34  ..............  ..............              31              31              49  ..............              62
NY............................  New York........              21              59               3              18              93             267              80              21             360
NC............................  North Carolina..              10              22  ..............  ..............  ..............              33              32  ..............              33
ND............................  North Dakota....              35              50  ..............               4              90              38              85               4             128
OH............................  Ohio............               9              24  ..............  ..............  ..............              19              33  ..............              19
OK............................  Oklahoma........              29              73               1              11             154              55             102              12             209
OR............................  Oregon..........              20              26  ..............  ..............              10              61              46  ..............              71
PA............................  Pennsylvania....              28              96  ..............  ..............              23              60             124  ..............              83
RI............................  Rhode Island....  ..............               6  ..............  ..............               5              12               6  ..............              17
SC............................  South Carolina..               7               7  ..............               4  ..............              18              14               4              18
SD............................  South Dakota....              32              44               3              13              94             156              76              16             250
TN............................  Tennessee.......              15              51               2              15              42             153              66              17             195
TX............................  Texas...........              33             123               2               9             342           1,252             156              11           1,594
UT............................  Utah............  ..............               1  ..............  ..............               1              12               1  ..............              13
VT............................  Vermont.........  ..............              12  ..............  ..............              14              25              12  ..............              39
VA............................  Virginia........              37              68  ..............  ..............              51             142             105  ..............             193
WA............................  Washington......              11              13  ..............  ..............              28              42              24  ..............              70
WV............................  West Virginia...  ..............               5  ..............  ..............              29              30               5  ..............              59
WI............................  Wisconsin.......  ..............  ..............               3              12              46              98  ..............              15             144
WY............................  Wyoming.........  ..............               1  ..............  ..............  ..............              14               1  ..............              14
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      TOTALS..................  ................             565           1,359              60             267           2,301           3,861           1,924             327           6,162
                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      GRAND TOTAL.............                                                                               8,413
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE=Presidental, ADM=FSA Administrator, SEC=Sectretarial.

    This data represents the dollar delinquency rate for all geographic 
counties, whether or not there was any loan activity in those counties. 
Data is as of December 31 in order to correspond to calendar year 
Presidential and Secretarial disaster declarations. For the year of the 
disaster declaration, primary counties are highlighted in red and 
contiguous counties in yellow. This data represents a snapshot on a 
particular day. In some instances, the delinquencies identified may be 
resolved within days as producers sell their crop and apply the 
proceeds to their loans

                                                   DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM DELINQUENCIES (ALL LOAN TYPES)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          DELQ RATE  12/  DELQ RATE  12/  DELQ RATE  12/  DELQ RATE  12/  DELQ RATE  12/
                STATE NAME                           COUNTY NAME               31/06           31/05           31/04           31/03           31/02
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALABAMA...................................  AUTAUGA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .01             .08
ALABAMA...................................  BALDWIN.....................  ..............             .36            2.89            3.02             .99
ALABAMA...................................  BARBOUR.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.47             .04
ALABAMA...................................  BIBB........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           13.38
ALABAMA...................................  BLOUNT......................            2.55            1.47            1.65            1.15            9.29
ALABAMA...................................  BULLOCK.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           12.85
ALABAMA...................................  BUTLER......................  ..............             .76            5.90            3.25  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CALHOUN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.34             .70
ALABAMA...................................  CHAMBERS....................  ..............  ..............            1.17             .92  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CHEROKEE....................             .12            2.29             .84  ..............            1.04
ALABAMA...................................  CHILTON.....................  ..............  ..............            2.30            1.98           16.72
ALABAMA...................................  CHOCTAW.....................          100.00           62.66           33.12           25.45            8.34
ALABAMA...................................  CLARKE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CLAY........................             .77             .98            2.99  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CLEBURNE....................           36.33            4.77            7.68            4.76            2.88
ALABAMA...................................  COFFEE......................  ..............             .68            1.35             .33             .27
ALABAMA...................................  COLBERT.....................             .28  ..............  ..............            3.50            2.42
ALABAMA...................................  CONECUH.....................            4.33            3.79            1.14            5.13  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  COOSA.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  COVINGTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .29  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CRENSHAW....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  CULLMAN.....................  ..............            8.60            4.18            1.99            1.72
ALABAMA...................................  DALE........................  ..............            2.96  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  DALLAS......................            1.01            1.05            4.01             .62             .65
ALABAMA...................................  DE KALB.....................            7.15            2.33            5.49            3.86            2.80
ALABAMA...................................  ELMORE......................  ..............           10.38            1.49            1.20             .64
ALABAMA...................................  ESCAMBIA....................            1.72             .38  ..............            4.17            4.00
ALABAMA...................................  ETOWAH......................            2.22            2.18             .93           14.89            7.83
ALABAMA...................................  FAYETTE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.08            3.75
ALABAMA...................................  FRANKLIN....................            1.01             .92             .84             .94            1.18
ALABAMA...................................  GENEVA......................            2.81            4.15            3.73            3.77            3.58
ALABAMA...................................  GREENE......................            1.86             .94            1.28            1.89            5.83
ALABAMA...................................  HALE........................            7.16           15.01            7.92            6.29             .73
ALABAMA...................................  HENRY.......................  ..............  ..............            2.58            4.29            1.61
ALABAMA...................................  HOUSTON.....................  ..............            7.73            5.22            4.10            2.63
ALABAMA...................................  JACKSON.....................            5.22            7.37            9.79            8.19            5.49
ALABAMA...................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............           10.86  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  LAMAR.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.30            2.91
ALABAMA...................................  LAUDERDALE..................            1.25             .81           12.12           11.75            8.91
ALABAMA...................................  LAWRENCE....................           11.42            9.59            7.31            5.25            4.20
ALABAMA...................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............           15.54  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  LIMESTONE...................            2.51            1.05             .66            2.30             .10
ALABAMA...................................  LOWNDES.....................           15.00           17.36           16.71           14.30           14.66
ALABAMA...................................  MACON.......................            4.93  ..............            8.92  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  MADISON.....................            2.39             .65            1.40            2.13             .17
ALABAMA...................................  MARENGO.....................            3.21            3.78            2.87            1.73            1.57
ALABAMA...................................  MARION......................  ..............  ..............            5.36  ..............             .57
ALABAMA...................................  MARSHALL....................             .02             .97            2.42             .03            8.02
ALABAMA...................................  MOBILE......................  ..............            1.32  ..............           14.97  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  MONROE......................            1.49            1.39            2.23            1.49            1.13
ALABAMA...................................  MONTGOMERY..................             .13             .20            2.30  ..............            4.37
ALABAMA...................................  MORGAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .29
ALABAMA...................................  PERRY.......................           11.51           10.92            3.92            5.46            1.29
ALABAMA...................................  PICKENS.....................            3.79            3.76            1.60            1.93             .59
ALABAMA...................................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           18.73
ALABAMA...................................  RANDOLPH....................             .28             .12             .33             .07  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  RUSSELL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  SHELBY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.48            6.54
ALABAMA...................................  ST. CLAIR...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  SUMTER......................           10.43            4.20            4.93            8.01            8.21
ALABAMA...................................  TALLADEGA...................            1.83  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.14
ALABAMA...................................  TALLAPOOSA..................  ..............            2.24  ..............  ..............            2.44
ALABAMA...................................  TUSCALOOSA..................            1.08             .62            3.82             .18  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  WALKER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.16
ALABAMA...................................  WILCOX......................            2.12  ..............            1.93             .31  ..............
ALABAMA...................................  WINSTON.....................  ..............  ..............             .27            1.79            1.76
ALASKA....................................  ALEUTIANS E BOROUGH.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  ALEUTIANS W CENSUS A........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  ANCHORAGE BOROUGH...........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  BETHEL CENSUS AREA..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  BRISTOL BAY BOROUGH.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  DENALI BOROUGH..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  DILLINGHAM CENSUS A.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR........           11.75           10.74            8.53           11.32            5.82
ALASKA....................................  HAINES BOROUGH..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  JUNEAU......................             .17            1.33            1.40            8.95            5.50
ALASKA....................................  KENAI PENINSULA.............            4.12  ..............  ..............  ..............           15.99
ALASKA....................................  KETCHIKAN GATEWAY...........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  KODIAK ISL. BOROUGH.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  LAKE & PENINSULA............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  MATANUSKA-SUSITNA...........           14.53           10.61            7.19            4.15            3.89
ALASKA....................................  NOME CENSUS AREA............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  NORTHWEST ARCTIC............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  PRINCE OF WALES.............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  SITKA BOROUGH...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  SKAGWAY-YAKUTAT-ANGO........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  SOUTHEAST FAIRBANKS.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  VALDEZ-CORDOVA..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  WADE-HAMPTON................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  WRANGELL-PETERSBURG.........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  YAKUTAT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ALASKA....................................  YUKON-KOYUKUK...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ARIZONA...................................  APACHE,S....................           38.25           32.21           23.82           10.62            8.74
ARIZONA...................................  COCHISE.....................           19.73           20.85           20.15           14.46           22.17
ARIZONA...................................  COCONINO....................  ..............  ..............           11.99           10.45           15.54
ARIZONA...................................  GILA........................           86.80           72.30           63.01           44.74  ..............
ARIZONA...................................  GRAHAM......................           18.78            8.77            5.11           33.36           31.82
ARIZONA...................................  GREENLEE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           19.31
ARIZONA...................................  LA PAZ......................  ..............  ..............            4.61  ..............           19.71
ARIZONA...................................  MARICOPA....................           21.63           48.43           39.07           66.94           62.73
ARIZONA...................................  MOHAVE......................            9.17            1.49            9.28            8.05            9.44
ARIZONA...................................  NAVAJO,S....................           70.65           32.30           80.77           76.52           58.92
ARIZONA...................................  PIMA........................           54.40          100.00           47.09           43.44           45.98
ARIZONA...................................  PINAL.......................           24.87           23.21            3.46           19.13           13.15
ARIZONA...................................  SANTA CRUZ..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ARIZONA...................................  YAVAPAI.....................  ..............           80.69           78.00           76.27           71.46
ARIZONA...................................  YUMA........................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .13           11.30
ARKANSAS..................................  ARKANSAS....................            6.38            8.46            5.92            7.33            8.45
ARKANSAS..................................  ASHLEY......................           15.50           26.88           22.61           30.67           32.25
ARKANSAS..................................  BAXTER......................             .04             .03             .18             .07  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  BENTON......................            5.16            9.05            6.22            4.90            8.93
ARKANSAS..................................  BOONE.......................  ..............  ..............             .10             .01             .03
ARKANSAS..................................  BRADLEY.....................           44.57           44.07           48.42           51.24           39.29
ARKANSAS..................................  CALHOUN.....................           57.07           53.37           46.60           38.11           23.28
ARKANSAS..................................  CARROLL.....................            1.74            1.67            1.52             .96             .50
ARKANSAS..................................  CHICOT......................           30.48           25.83           24.66           20.40           26.57
ARKANSAS..................................  CLARK.......................             .14           15.56           14.32            1.39            3.03
ARKANSAS..................................  CLAY........................             .57            7.53            2.66            3.22             .04
ARKANSAS..................................  CLEBURNE....................            1.50             .83             .88            1.12            1.88
ARKANSAS..................................  CLEVELAND...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  COLUMBIA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           25.19           20.54
ARKANSAS..................................  CONWAY......................            3.72            4.01            4.60            3.33            3.10
ARKANSAS..................................  CRAIGHEAD...................            2.18            3.06             .88            6.90            4.34
ARKANSAS..................................  CRAWFORD....................            2.36             .76            3.86            2.48            2.53
ARKANSAS..................................  CRITTENDEN..................           25.94           35.00           37.17           30.91           31.61
ARKANSAS..................................  CROSS.......................           22.11           10.77           20.66           11.07            9.75
ARKANSAS..................................  DALLAS......................            9.09  ..............  ..............             .38            6.19
ARKANSAS..................................  DESHA.......................            4.25            2.69            5.72            7.53            4.99
ARKANSAS..................................  DREW........................           19.45            4.28            2.29           14.55           10.97
ARKANSAS..................................  FAULKNER....................           26.65           20.50           14.94            1.10            4.57
ARKANSAS..................................  FRANKLIN....................             .85             .76             .37            2.40            2.24
ARKANSAS..................................  FULTON......................            4.65            1.70            2.57            1.38            1.41
ARKANSAS..................................  GARLAND.....................           19.47  ..............  ..............             .25  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  GRANT.......................  ..............            6.00           57.29           57.50           59.97
ARKANSAS..................................  GREENE......................  ..............             .18            3.20            9.74           16.34
ARKANSAS..................................  HEMPSTEAD...................             .42            2.88            4.13            2.72            1.18
ARKANSAS..................................  HOT SPRING..................            2.45  ..............  ..............             .21             .04
ARKANSAS..................................  HOWARD......................           21.67           21.65           18.48           15.12           13.28
ARKANSAS..................................  INDEPENDENCE................            4.49            3.47            4.46            1.74            2.08
ARKANSAS..................................  IZARD.......................             .78            1.12             .89            8.44            7.17
ARKANSAS..................................  JACKSON.....................            8.03            5.39            4.12           12.11           18.23
ARKANSAS..................................  JEFFERSON...................           17.66           17.57           18.59           20.55           15.71
ARKANSAS..................................  JOHNSON.....................             .73             .33             .34             .21             .22
ARKANSAS..................................  LAFAYETTE...................            7.14            6.68            8.55           10.98            8.83
ARKANSAS..................................  LAWRENCE....................             .27             .25  ..............             .02           13.38
ARKANSAS..................................  LEE.........................           21.15           21.84           20.10           24.83           25.61
ARKANSAS..................................  LINCOLN.....................           44.89           44.62           33.82           25.54           20.05
ARKANSAS..................................  LITTLE RIVER................            5.63           15.13           21.42           19.06           15.89
ARKANSAS..................................  LOGAN.......................            8.47            5.33            5.11             .29            1.15
ARKANSAS..................................  LONOKE......................            8.93            7.39            5.63            4.52            5.72
ARKANSAS..................................  MADISON.....................             .14             .13            5.67           13.10           10.00
ARKANSAS..................................  MARION......................  ..............  ..............           10.70           11.33            9.53
ARKANSAS..................................  MILLER......................            3.55            1.89            5.62            3.94            3.58
ARKANSAS..................................  MISSISSIPPI.................            2.31            2.45            4.66            3.31            5.75
ARKANSAS..................................  MONROE......................           12.17           11.97           20.02           22.42           29.36
ARKANSAS..................................  MONTGOMERY..................            8.29            6.87            6.85            5.95            2.79
ARKANSAS..................................  NEVADA......................           23.13           24.92           19.65           17.26           17.57
ARKANSAS..................................  NEWTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  OUACHITA....................            1.26           41.07           19.28           10.29            5.70
ARKANSAS..................................  PERRY.......................  ..............  ..............             .93  ..............  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  PHILLIPS....................           36.77           35.21           33.13           34.06           33.43
ARKANSAS..................................  PIKE........................            1.71           12.05           11.79            6.83           12.35
ARKANSAS..................................  POINSETT....................            2.14            3.80            7.08           10.69           10.39
ARKANSAS..................................  POLK........................            2.38            1.79            1.26             .64            2.02
ARKANSAS..................................  POPE........................            5.60            4.28            2.38             .69             .32
ARKANSAS..................................  PRAIRIE.....................           11.70           10.77            6.50            5.63            2.71
ARKANSAS..................................  PULASKI.....................            1.91            1.79            1.54            3.08           19.15
ARKANSAS..................................  RANDOLPH....................            6.76            8.20            7.49            4.69            3.96
ARKANSAS..................................  SALINE......................  ..............            5.45            2.74  ..............  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  SCOTT.......................            2.38            1.68             .05  ..............  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  SEARCY......................            3.40            2.42            2.58            4.63             .22
ARKANSAS..................................  SEBASTIAN...................  ..............            2.04            1.19             .24  ..............
ARKANSAS..................................  SEVIER......................            2.82            1.94            4.65            4.53            3.72
ARKANSAS..................................  SHARP.......................             .11             .87            1.43            1.45            1.39
ARKANSAS..................................  ST. FRANCIS.................           15.12            5.17            5.64            5.14            5.17
ARKANSAS..................................  STONE.......................             .80             .60            1.78            1.56             .40
ARKANSAS..................................  UNION.......................           18.71           12.14            9.31            8.02            6.78
ARKANSAS..................................  VAN BUREN...................            2.48            8.03            6.57            6.09            5.76
ARKANSAS..................................  WASHINGTON..................            3.63            2.05            1.07            1.12            9.48
ARKANSAS..................................  WHITE.......................            4.47            4.63            7.18            9.68            9.84
ARKANSAS..................................  WOODRUFF....................           21.91           21.26           21.96           18.11           17.66
ARKANSAS..................................  YELL........................             .14             .16             .28             .11             .42
CALIFORNIA................................  ALAMEDA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           12.00           53.62
CALIFORNIA................................  ALPINE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  AMADOR......................            2.63            2.72             .31  ..............            4.39
CALIFORNIA................................  BUTTE.......................           10.64           18.08           12.49           20.14           17.14
CALIFORNIA................................  CALAVERAS...................           63.73           94.84           14.25            5.74  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  COLUSA......................           34.86            4.66            4.29            4.30            6.96
CALIFORNIA................................  CONTRA COSTA................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  DEL NORTE...................  ..............            3.49             .27            2.07            5.24
CALIFORNIA................................  EL DORADO...................  ..............           42.31           39.25           17.24           25.00
CALIFORNIA................................  FRESNO......................           17.78           15.64           28.52           26.82           24.26
CALIFORNIA................................  GLENN.......................            3.77            5.26            8.07            9.15            7.96
CALIFORNIA................................  HUMBOLDT....................            5.93            6.53           13.11           21.56           35.17
CALIFORNIA................................  IMPERIAL....................  ..............            1.06           24.81           26.92           15.59
CALIFORNIA................................  INYO........................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .60             .91
CALIFORNIA................................  KERN........................            1.47           59.46           65.12           61.27           56.85
CALIFORNIA................................  KINGS.......................  ..............             .12           11.20            7.33            4.63
CALIFORNIA................................  LAKE........................            8.81            6.83           15.08           22.35           29.56
CALIFORNIA................................  LASSEN......................           67.08           70.99           65.40           60.13           60.49
CALIFORNIA................................  LOS ANGELES.................  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............           86.33
CALIFORNIA................................  MADERA......................           19.78           19.90           18.28           19.58           22.25
CALIFORNIA................................  MARIN.......................            1.33           10.56           10.65           10.19            1.93
CALIFORNIA................................  MARIPOSA....................            4.80  ..............  ..............           41.10           37.81
CALIFORNIA................................  MENDOCINO...................           30.00           22.87           23.54           24.44           14.60
CALIFORNIA................................  MERCED......................           47.89           44.13           38.33           35.29           34.20
CALIFORNIA................................  MODOC.......................           15.23           15.67           13.55           13.22           12.67
CALIFORNIA................................  MONO........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  MONTEREY....................           17.58           10.66            8.86           23.70           25.28
CALIFORNIA................................  NAPA........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  NEVADA......................           19.56           16.30            9.44  ..............            8.21
CALIFORNIA................................  ORANGE......................           88.96           77.59           18.78           17.18  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  PLACER......................            7.03           15.72           19.99           23.63           21.49
CALIFORNIA................................  PLUMAS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  RIVERSIDE...................            6.20            2.32            3.89           21.51           54.80
CALIFORNIA................................  SACRAMENTO..................           37.68           32.57           23.28           21.42           12.25
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN BENITO..................           93.48           91.52           90.98           90.90           93.89
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN BERNARDINO..............           76.77           24.07           32.32           30.76           28.85
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN DIEGO...................           20.95           20.23           57.61           53.98           60.50
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN FRANCISCO...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN JOAQUIN.................           12.16           13.75           18.73           18.16           20.46
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN LUIS OBISPO.............           45.47           42.65           29.58           27.78           25.90
CALIFORNIA................................  SAN MATEO...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  SANTA BARBARA...............           20.12            8.14           15.11  ..............            3.62
CALIFORNIA................................  SANTA CLARA.................           82.53           78.46           79.50           78.30           77.80
CALIFORNIA................................  SANTA CRUZ..................            7.83           13.98            9.94            9.32            7.10
CALIFORNIA................................  SHASTA......................  ..............  ..............             .70  ..............             .70
CALIFORNIA................................  SIERRA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .41  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  SISKIYOU....................            1.97            1.95           11.05            9.46            7.22
CALIFORNIA................................  SOLANO......................            6.57  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.64
CALIFORNIA................................  SONOMA......................           18.00           62.28           74.25           64.65           39.72
CALIFORNIA................................  STANISLAUS..................            2.20            2.66            6.76            6.08            5.67
CALIFORNIA................................  SUTTER......................            2.94            3.06            2.04            5.92            5.82
CALIFORNIA................................  TEHAMA......................           13.24           11.06           11.88           14.10            7.58
CALIFORNIA................................  TRINITY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  TULARE......................            4.65            7.12            9.56           11.84           10.82
CALIFORNIA................................  TUOLUMNE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
CALIFORNIA................................  VENTURA.....................           72.04           75.51           74.61           73.49           70.47
CALIFORNIA................................  YOLO........................            1.13             .21            8.95            6.90            3.98
CALIFORNIA................................  YUBA........................             .45             .04            1.46             .77            2.28
COLORADO..................................  ADAMS.......................            4.76            6.91           11.81            3.56            3.57
COLORADO..................................  ALAMOSA.....................            1.75            2.68            3.68            9.87            6.29
COLORADO..................................  ARAPAHOE....................            6.87           16.63           17.91           18.69  ..............
COLORADO..................................  ARCHULETA...................            4.05            1.60            2.45            1.05             .55
COLORADO..................................  BACA........................           10.15           15.86           15.64            9.69           26.44
COLORADO..................................  BENT........................             .32           19.41           23.31           14.88           11.26
COLORADO..................................  BOULDER.....................            3.87  ..............            1.43            7.54  ..............
COLORADO..................................  BROOMFIELD..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  CHAFFEE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  CHEYENNE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  CLEAR CREEK.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  CONEJOS.....................            7.54            9.09            5.98            7.20           21.36
COLORADO..................................  COSTILLA....................            3.35            3.33            2.12            1.07            7.88
COLORADO..................................  CROWLEY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           15.82
COLORADO..................................  CUSTER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           34.64
COLORADO..................................  DELTA.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  DENVER......................           99.61           99.81          100.00            3.88  ..............
COLORADO..................................  DOLORES.....................  ..............            2.32             .26  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  DOUGLAS.....................           14.10             .80            2.25  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  EAGLE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  EL PASO.....................           18.70           15.84           12.11            9.83           12.27
COLORADO..................................  ELBERT......................             .83            2.87            2.54            1.57            3.12
COLORADO..................................  FREMONT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  GARFIELD....................            9.61  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  GILPIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  GRAND.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  GUNNISON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  HINSDALE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  HUERFANO....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.57
COLORADO..................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............           15.04            7.82  ..............
COLORADO..................................  KIOWA.......................            2.81            1.48  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  KIT CARSON..................             .98            1.07            1.75  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  LA PLATA....................            6.13             .31  ..............             .15            1.83
COLORADO..................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  LARIMER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           11.69           13.31
COLORADO..................................  LAS ANIMAS..................           12.68           12.23           16.56           15.52            4.72
COLORADO..................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.43             .27             .49             .06            1.28
COLORADO..................................  LOGAN.......................            7.90           10.79            6.67           10.08            4.62
COLORADO..................................  MESA........................            2.69  ..............            1.06           20.00           10.50
COLORADO..................................  MINERAL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  MOFFAT......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  MONTEZUMA...................            3.45             .89             .91            1.69            3.76
COLORADO..................................  MONTROSE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.22            1.21
COLORADO..................................  MORGAN......................           10.75           13.76           16.19           15.85           12.72
COLORADO..................................  OTERO.......................            3.49             .93             .94           37.90           39.62
COLORADO..................................  OURAY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  PARK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .29
COLORADO..................................  PHILLIPS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  PITKIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  PROWERS.....................           22.38           21.52           19.77           22.56           29.61
COLORADO..................................  PUEBLO......................             .33  ..............  ..............             .01            5.74
COLORADO..................................  RIO BLANCO..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  RIO GRANDE..................  ..............             .22             .95            2.40             .50
COLORADO..................................  ROUTT.......................  ..............  ..............            8.97  ..............            8.95
COLORADO..................................  SAGUACHE....................             .83            8.63            8.11           12.61            8.01
COLORADO..................................  SAN JUAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  SAN MIGUEL..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  SEDGWICK....................  ..............            3.85            3.71            4.46            9.29
COLORADO..................................  SUMMIT......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  TELLER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
COLORADO..................................  WASHINGTON..................            6.53            4.31            3.00            4.12            6.35
COLORADO..................................  WELD........................           17.81           13.03           15.04           12.70           14.09
COLORADO..................................  YUMA........................             .06           16.40           13.01           13.12            9.98
CONNECTICUT...............................  FAIRFIELD...................  ..............  ..............           59.10           38.25           19.18
CONNECTICUT...............................  HARTFORD, PT................            1.87  ..............  ..............            9.54           28.30
CONNECTICUT...............................  LITCHFIELD..................             .09  ..............           17.49           12.73           12.07
CONNECTICUT...............................  MIDDLESEX,S.................  ..............  ..............           33.81           32.51           38.51
CONNECTICUT...............................  NEW HAVEN, NE...............  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............  ..............
CONNECTICUT...............................  NEW LONDON..................  ..............             .68           30.59           25.51           23.40
CONNECTICUT...............................  TOLLAND.....................           15.02           26.65           27.26           23.94           18.46
CONNECTICUT...............................  WINDHAM.....................            7.56            3.39            2.72            5.89            2.23
DELAWARE..................................  KENT........................  ..............  ..............           10.54            3.89            1.30
DELAWARE..................................  NEW CASTLE..................           45.75           45.23           43.45           35.88           17.07
DELAWARE..................................  SUSSEX......................           66.24           75.39           41.44           37.24           32.17
FLORIDA...................................  ALACHUA.....................  ..............  ..............             .51  ..............            7.50
FLORIDA...................................  BAKER.......................           91.38           90.51           89.90           62.60           38.06
FLORIDA...................................  BAY.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............           89.94            2.00
FLORIDA...................................  BRADFORD....................  ..............  ..............           23.64  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  BREVARD.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.32
FLORIDA...................................  BROWARD.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .58             .28
FLORIDA...................................  CALHOUN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  CHARLOTTE...................           82.38           83.18           84.04           66.58           48.92
FLORIDA...................................  CITRUS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  COLLIER.....................  ..............  ..............           14.15  ..............           38.59
FLORIDA...................................  COLUMBIA....................             .23  ..............            6.00            8.14            4.04
FLORIDA...................................  DADE........................            3.16            6.02            4.35            5.67           10.85
FLORIDA...................................  DE SOTO.....................  ..............  ..............             .13  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  DIXIE.......................  ..............           22.24           11.78           11.13           10.33
FLORIDA...................................  DUVAL.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  ESCAMBIA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.93
FLORIDA...................................  FLAGLER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.74            2.80
FLORIDA...................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  GADSDEN.....................           25.89             .06  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  GILCHRIST...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  GLADES......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  GULF........................  ..............             .02  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  HAMILTON....................  ..............            2.61           22.96           24.19           30.87
FLORIDA...................................  HARDEE......................  ..............  ..............            3.87           26.75           78.32
FLORIDA...................................  HENDRY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............          100.00
FLORIDA...................................  HERNANDO....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  HIGHLANDS...................             .50            8.05             .41           25.94           24.27
FLORIDA...................................  HILLSBOROUGH................           13.54           11.52           17.24           17.60           14.79
FLORIDA...................................  HOLMES......................             .47            1.31            3.94            4.30            7.79
FLORIDA...................................  INDIAN RIVER................            8.04            6.59            7.15           32.98           21.50
FLORIDA...................................  JACKSON.....................             .40             .15             .95           16.95           45.45
FLORIDA...................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.16  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  LAFAYETTE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03             .03
FLORIDA...................................  LAKE........................            2.34             .19           46.71           48.20            8.04
FLORIDA...................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............           30.00           34.64
FLORIDA...................................  LEON........................  ..............           12.42  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  LEVY........................            6.22            6.20            4.54            1.84            2.12
FLORIDA...................................  LIBERTY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  MADISON.....................           28.22           25.02           17.62           14.66           27.68
FLORIDA...................................  MANATEE.....................           10.77            9.21           67.33           31.69           18.33
FLORIDA...................................  MARION......................  ..............           77.13           67.14           89.48           92.16
FLORIDA...................................  MARTIN......................  ..............            7.94           15.46            6.03  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  NASSAU......................  ..............  ..............          100.00           85.72           52.93
FLORIDA...................................  OKALOOSA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.41            8.85
FLORIDA...................................  OKEECHOBEE..................            8.56            7.86            8.48            2.76            1.35
FLORIDA...................................  ORANGE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  OSCEOLA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  PALM BEACH..................           45.43           38.52           44.41           38.49           31.62
FLORIDA...................................  PASCO.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           51.76           48.64
FLORIDA...................................  PINELLAS....................  ..............           14.34  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  POLK........................            9.55           15.82           15.42           15.47           10.72
FLORIDA...................................  PUTNAM......................  ..............             .08             .92           15.48            9.97
FLORIDA...................................  SANTA ROSA..................             .57  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.40
FLORIDA...................................  SARASOTA....................  ..............           99.43           85.87           82.99           79.72
FLORIDA...................................  SEMINOLE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  ST. JOHNS...................  ..............  ..............            1.01            2.44  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  ST. LUCIE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............           50.18           67.13
FLORIDA...................................  SUMTER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .32
FLORIDA...................................  SUWANNEE....................           58.17           18.15           13.07            6.70            6.07
FLORIDA...................................  TAYLOR......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  UNION.......................           16.91           15.15           13.98           14.67           84.13
FLORIDA...................................  VOLUSIA.....................             .08            3.31           11.61           11.79            7.76
FLORIDA...................................  WAKULLA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
FLORIDA...................................  WALTON......................             .22           22.30           20.02           17.83           21.76
FLORIDA...................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .42           25.12
GEORGIA...................................  APPLING.....................            1.43            6.62            2.38             .23             .35
GEORGIA...................................  ATKINSON....................  ..............  ..............             .43           11.44           18.75
GEORGIA...................................  BACON.......................            2.68            4.16            5.55           10.59           15.18
GEORGIA...................................  BAKER.......................            3.84            3.09            2.28            2.26           20.79
GEORGIA...................................  BALDWIN.....................           49.10           52.55           46.90           24.18           19.74
GEORGIA...................................  BANKS.......................           63.49           69.48           65.46           40.84           31.57
GEORGIA...................................  BARROW......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  BARTOW......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.90           10.17
GEORGIA...................................  BEN HILL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  BERRIEN.....................            4.12            1.99            3.22            4.29            5.20
GEORGIA...................................  BIBB........................  ..............             .47  ..............            4.51  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  BLECKLEY....................           30.33            6.91           15.89            7.97            9.54
GEORGIA...................................  BRANTLEY....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  BROOKS......................           19.91           18.07           17.73           12.57           10.22
GEORGIA...................................  BRYAN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  BULLOCH.....................            4.59            8.67            5.20            3.52            1.55
GEORGIA...................................  BURKE.......................           11.45           11.05            8.60            5.34            4.12
GEORGIA...................................  BUTTS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CALHOUN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CAMDEN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CANDLER.....................  ..............  ..............           50.19  ..............           66.70
GEORGIA...................................  CARROLL.....................             .05           57.07           56.06           54.55           54.25
GEORGIA...................................  CATOOSA.....................  ..............           14.93  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CHARLTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CHATHAM.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CHATTAHOOCHEE...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CHATTOOGA...................            1.14            6.12           14.44            5.96            6.46
GEORGIA...................................  CHEROKEE....................           21.68  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CLARKE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CLAY........................          100.00           25.14           14.24           22.93           11.21
GEORGIA...................................  CLAYTON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CLINCH......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  COBB........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  COFFEE......................           15.54           12.15            8.45            6.68            5.46
GEORGIA...................................  COLQUITT....................           16.99           10.43           17.56           13.89           22.68
GEORGIA...................................  COLUMBIA....................  ..............  ..............            5.97             .45  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  COOK........................           10.93            6.37            6.97            5.96           10.60
GEORGIA...................................  COWETA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  CRISP.......................            2.38            3.56            1.82             .87  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DADE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DAWSON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DECATUR.....................           11.88           16.67           12.67           28.27           19.58
GEORGIA...................................  DEKALB......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DODGE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DOOLY.......................            1.11             .72            4.03            5.44            3.53
GEORGIA...................................  DOUGHERTY...................  ..............  ..............           45.24           28.54  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  DOUGLAS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  EARLY.......................            7.21             .06             .37  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  ECHOLS......................            6.03            2.84           11.93            9.51  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  EFFINGHAM...................  ..............  ..............           26.70           24.03  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  ELBERT......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03            5.38
GEORGIA...................................  EMANUEL.....................  ..............  ..............             .94             .79             .42
GEORGIA...................................  EVANS.......................  ..............  ..............           53.79            4.56  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  FANNIN......................  ..............           12.89           10.23            1.91  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  FAYETTE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  FLOYD.......................            3.62            3.27  ..............            8.99            3.27
GEORGIA...................................  FORSYTH.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............             .33            9.65            5.86
GEORGIA...................................  FULTON......................           98.52           98.87           99.15           99.35           99.52
GEORGIA...................................  GILMER......................             .63             .24            3.23            8.21            3.55
GEORGIA...................................  GLASCOCK....................  ..............           26.52  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  GLYNN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  GORDON......................             .16             .36            3.23            1.40           11.72
GEORGIA...................................  GRADY.......................  ..............           15.24           23.35           21.85           50.79
GEORGIA...................................  GREENE......................           13.02           10.61            7.33            6.48            6.89
GEORGIA...................................  GWINNETT....................  ..............           98.62           97.55           96.35           95.03
GEORGIA...................................  HABERSHAM...................  ..............  ..............            1.35  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  HALL........................            8.30           10.01            7.97           11.21            4.66
GEORGIA...................................  HANCOCK.....................           21.80            4.02            3.14            2.21             .36
GEORGIA...................................  HARALSON....................             .90  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  HARRIS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  HART........................  ..............  ..............             .90             .51            1.35
GEORGIA...................................  HEARD.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           14.57           12.28
GEORGIA...................................  HENRY.......................  ..............             .42            3.27  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  HOUSTON.....................           32.71           23.83           22.09           25.46           19.14
GEORGIA...................................  IRWIN.......................           14.60           22.38           21.54           23.70           23.42
GEORGIA...................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............            7.05           20.92           16.96
GEORGIA...................................  JASPER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.83  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  JEFF DAVIS..................           11.80            9.50            6.16            2.56            4.19
GEORGIA...................................  JEFFERSON...................            9.97           10.15            9.07            7.38            6.82
GEORGIA...................................  JENKINS.....................  ..............            1.55             .45            4.69  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  JOHNSON.....................             .96             .53             .77             .20             .17
GEORGIA...................................  JONES.......................  ..............  ..............            2.09            7.31  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  LAMAR.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  LANIER......................  ..............            2.24           31.23           13.44             .78
GEORGIA...................................  LAURENS.....................           17.10           22.00            5.21           18.69           14.73
GEORGIA...................................  LEE.........................           14.98           12.72           16.89           21.29           12.65
GEORGIA...................................  LIBERTY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .01            1.28
GEORGIA...................................  LONG........................           31.53           26.81           22.15           17.41           16.69
GEORGIA...................................  LOWNDES.....................           48.04           46.15           40.30           41.42           26.99
GEORGIA...................................  LUMPKIN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  MACON.......................           11.05            9.07           20.71           18.11           17.20
GEORGIA...................................  MADISON.....................            3.20            1.58             .13             .25            1.59
GEORGIA...................................  MARION......................  ..............  ..............            3.97  ..............            1.87
GEORGIA...................................  MCDUFFIE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  MCINTOSH....................  ..............  ..............  ..............          100.00          100.00
GEORGIA...................................  MERIWETHER..................  ..............  ..............            2.79  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  MILLER......................  ..............            1.60            1.49            1.32           10.11
GEORGIA...................................  MITCHELL....................           10.23           12.08           11.79            6.76            6.49
GEORGIA...................................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............           39.77            1.88            8.51  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  MORGAN......................  ..............  ..............             .60             .21            4.25
GEORGIA...................................  MURRAY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           16.05
GEORGIA...................................  MUSCOGEE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  NEWTON......................  ..............  ..............            4.38  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  OCONEE......................            1.46            1.42            1.84            1.37            3.97
GEORGIA...................................  OGLETHORPE..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.99            1.39
GEORGIA...................................  PAULDING....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  PEACH.......................  ..............  ..............           12.08           13.97           15.25
GEORGIA...................................  PICKENS.....................           53.92           64.55           61.68           46.72           44.07
GEORGIA...................................  PIERCE......................           10.71           18.52           16.41           18.53           24.41
GEORGIA...................................  PIKE........................           52.89           46.56           39.13           35.93           29.41
GEORGIA...................................  POLK........................  ..............           33.01           24.02           24.27           15.33
GEORGIA...................................  PULASKI.....................             .87            2.81            7.25            6.21            8.12
GEORGIA...................................  PUTNAM......................            7.54            5.69            3.44            3.77           10.80
GEORGIA...................................  QUITMAN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  RABUN.......................            3.96            3.07            2.82  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  RANDOLPH....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  RICHMOND....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  ROCKDALE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............          100.00
GEORGIA...................................  SCHLEY......................           42.67           64.10           46.02           39.05           32.36
GEORGIA...................................  SCREVEN.....................            9.25           15.38           14.77           14.02            9.09
GEORGIA...................................  SEMINOLE....................            6.30            4.79            7.89           39.12           55.39
GEORGIA...................................  SPALDING....................  ..............             .89            1.18            1.12             .93
GEORGIA...................................  STEPHENS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  STEWART.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           20.27  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  SUMTER......................           23.77           25.12           25.06           22.57           25.58
GEORGIA...................................  TALBOT......................           76.12           51.52           24.65  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  TALIAFERRO..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  TATTNALL....................            4.62            7.65            7.55           33.24           38.38
GEORGIA...................................  TAYLOR......................            7.47            4.83            3.86            3.70            7.00
GEORGIA...................................  TELFAIR.....................            4.73            3.80            2.97            3.53            2.77
GEORGIA...................................  TERRELL.....................            8.93            6.81            3.29            6.10            3.62
GEORGIA...................................  THOMAS......................           20.58           21.90           19.49           15.46           13.48
GEORGIA...................................  TIFT........................           22.67           22.13           22.20           29.22           27.01
GEORGIA...................................  TOOMBS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .19
GEORGIA...................................  TOWNS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.80  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  TREUTLEN....................           35.50           22.44           22.01           15.71            7.18
GEORGIA...................................  TROUP.......................            6.91            8.24            8.16  ..............            3.03
GEORGIA...................................  TURNER......................            1.13            1.19            8.89           11.63           11.82
GEORGIA...................................  TWIGGS......................            1.14  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.41
GEORGIA...................................  UNION.......................             .10            8.36             .25             .17            8.67
GEORGIA...................................  UPSON.......................  ..............  ..............           27.54           13.85  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WALKER......................            7.39            3.42            9.45            1.22             .10
GEORGIA...................................  WALTON......................  ..............            8.54  ..............           39.05           40.38
GEORGIA...................................  WARE........................            2.05            1.16            1.71             .07            5.60
GEORGIA...................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WAYNE.......................           12.41            9.07            9.21            8.38            5.82
GEORGIA...................................  WEBSTER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WHEELER.....................            1.59  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WHITE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WHITFIELD...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WILCOX......................            5.39            2.20             .69            1.52            1.15
GEORGIA...................................  WILKES......................            7.17           28.99           10.94           61.06           46.06
GEORGIA...................................  WILKINSON...................  ..............           25.63  ..............  ..............  ..............
GEORGIA...................................  WORTH.......................           36.87           33.03           29.62           25.26           23.94
GUAM......................................  AGANA.......................            3.27            2.16           14.54           20.50           21.57
HAWAII....................................  AMERICAN SAMOA..............            2.10            1.23  ..............  ..............  ..............
HAWAII....................................  HAWAII, E. (HILO)...........           13.25           10.53            6.28            8.08            6.72
HAWAII....................................  HONOLULU....................           39.48           32.20           30.25           29.07           23.75
HAWAII....................................  KALAWAO.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
HAWAII....................................  KAUAI.......................            4.93            8.88            7.60            9.31            7.30
HAWAII....................................  MAUI........................            1.23            6.87            7.40            8.34            5.79
IDAHO.....................................  ADA.........................            4.66            6.10            6.40            8.43            4.99
IDAHO.....................................  ADAMS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  BANNOCK.....................             .73             .46             .52  ..............            2.72
IDAHO.....................................  BEAR LAKE...................            1.37             .42  ..............             .22             .25
IDAHO.....................................  BENEWAH.....................            4.19  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  BINGHAM.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  BLAINE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.58            1.32
IDAHO.....................................  BOISE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  BONNER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.59
IDAHO.....................................  BONNEVILLE..................            4.06            2.86            7.71            3.52            3.01
IDAHO.....................................  BOUNDARY....................  ..............  ..............            3.68            2.92            1.57
IDAHO.....................................  BUTTE.......................            1.13             .33            5.69            6.95            3.78
IDAHO.....................................  CAMAS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  CANYON......................            3.74            8.78            5.06            7.86            8.69
IDAHO.....................................  CARIBOU.....................            4.57            2.37            2.20            1.03             .18
IDAHO.....................................  CASSIA......................            4.37            2.29            1.62            1.89            4.03
IDAHO.....................................  CLARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           23.47           15.30
IDAHO.....................................  CLEARWATER..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  ELMORE......................            1.43             .13           11.21            4.54            3.04
IDAHO.....................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............             .39             .24             .65             .52
IDAHO.....................................  FREMONT.....................            3.03             .33           33.61           22.54           48.12
IDAHO.....................................  GEM.........................             .73            1.30             .87            6.40            4.53
IDAHO.....................................  GOODING.....................            1.10             .77  ..............           14.49           13.69
IDAHO.....................................  IDAHO.......................           30.46           28.86           12.02            9.75            6.98
IDAHO.....................................  JEFFERSON...................            3.56            1.16            2.08            1.24            1.84
IDAHO.....................................  JEROME......................            2.48  ..............            2.15            1.05            1.64
IDAHO.....................................  KOOTENAI....................             .01  ..............            3.74             .07  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  LATAH.......................            2.87  ..............            7.16           30.93           42.19
IDAHO.....................................  LEMHI.......................           19.91           24.18           19.33            9.17            4.82
IDAHO.....................................  LEWIS.......................           14.85           13.49           12.55           13.71           20.62
IDAHO.....................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............             .60            1.59             .88
IDAHO.....................................  MADISON.....................            3.50            4.06           14.15           13.08            2.71
IDAHO.....................................  MINIDOKA....................           14.28           13.96           11.21            9.37           13.80
IDAHO.....................................  NEZ PERCE...................  ..............            2.00             .10             .48             .43
IDAHO.....................................  NORTH CUSTER................  ..............            6.14            2.78             .58            1.23
IDAHO.....................................  ONEIDA......................             .73             .16            1.16           25.53           27.09
IDAHO.....................................  OWYHEE......................           11.47            7.72            8.11           12.97            8.28
IDAHO.....................................  PAYETTE.....................  ..............             .52           32.41           24.66            8.36
IDAHO.....................................  POWER.......................             .07            2.88            6.48            4.98             .51
IDAHO.....................................  SHOSHONE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  TETON.......................            5.31  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IDAHO.....................................  TWIN FALLS..................            1.21             .63             .46             .13             .66
IDAHO.....................................  VALLEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           45.81           11.76
IDAHO.....................................  WASHINGTON..................            1.10            2.37            1.11            3.85            2.01
ILLINOIS..................................  ADAMS.......................             .28  ..............            1.13            3.86            2.99
ILLINOIS..................................  ALEXANDER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  BOND........................             .21             .14             .12  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  BOONE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.32            6.91
ILLINOIS..................................  BROWN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  BUREAU......................  ..............  ..............             .69            1.06            4.03
ILLINOIS..................................  CALHOUN.....................            6.44            6.02  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CARROLL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CASS........................            5.16            4.73  ..............           23.87           16.04
ILLINOIS..................................  CHAMPAIGN...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CHRISTIAN...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CLARK.......................            5.82            5.86            6.35            3.36            2.38
ILLINOIS..................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .22  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CLINTON.....................  ..............  ..............             .63            1.25             .92
ILLINOIS..................................  COLES.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  COOK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.97             .96
ILLINOIS..................................  CUMBERLAND..................  ..............            6.31            4.95            4.01            1.27
ILLINOIS..................................  DEKALB......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  DEWITT......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  DOUGLAS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  DUPAGE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  EDGAR.......................             .54             .51             .21             .17  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  EDWARDS.....................  ..............             .47            1.08             .79             .75
ILLINOIS..................................  EFFINGHAM...................           12.56           11.73           11.01            8.40            7.85
ILLINOIS..................................  FAYETTE.....................             .26  ..............             .07            4.27            4.62
ILLINOIS..................................  FORD........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............            7.85            4.11           14.89           14.87
ILLINOIS..................................  FULTON......................             .72            2.98           12.62           13.09            9.99
ILLINOIS..................................  GALLATIN....................           10.00            8.92            6.84            8.97            8.50
ILLINOIS..................................  GREENE......................            2.46            2.53            2.83             .71             .91
ILLINOIS..................................  GRUNDY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .78  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  HAMILTON....................             .89             .04             .22             .30             .31
ILLINOIS..................................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............             .86             .33             .13             .03
ILLINOIS..................................  HARDIN......................            8.94  ..............            2.35            5.44            7.12
ILLINOIS..................................  HENDERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.51            4.60
ILLINOIS..................................  HENRY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.00
ILLINOIS..................................  IR0QUOIS....................            1.44             .64             .87             .45             .48
ILLINOIS..................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  JASPER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.12            2.52
ILLINOIS..................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  JERSEY......................  ..............            1.82            1.22             .15            4.64
ILLINOIS..................................  JO DAVIESS..................             .13  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  JOHNSON.....................             .26            7.40             .56             .76            2.60
ILLINOIS..................................  KANE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  KANKAKEE....................             .86             .77             .16             .87             .14
ILLINOIS..................................  KENDALL.....................            4.32             .75             .40            4.94           13.20
ILLINOIS..................................  KNOX........................             .56             .28             .85             .76            1.52
ILLINOIS..................................  LA SALLE....................             .03  ..............             .07             .04             .05
ILLINOIS..................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  LAWRENCE....................            1.24            1.26            1.17            4.21            1.05
ILLINOIS..................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............            1.74            1.12             .42
ILLINOIS..................................  LIVINGSTON..................             .22             .25             .47             .48             .40
ILLINOIS..................................  LOGAN.......................  ..............  ..............             .13             .18            1.46
ILLINOIS..................................  MACON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MACOUPIN....................             .18            1.78             .60             .59             .92
ILLINOIS..................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MARION......................             .37            1.80            1.52            1.32            1.00
ILLINOIS..................................  MARSHALL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MASON.......................  ..............  ..............             .63  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MASSAC......................            4.13            8.45            5.32            3.19            9.47
ILLINOIS..................................  MCDONOUGH...................            1.42            1.45            1.43            1.25            2.06
ILLINOIS..................................  MCHENRY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MCLEAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MENARD......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           14.57  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MERCER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  MONTGOMERY..................            6.88            6.80            6.21            5.52           31.88
ILLINOIS..................................  MORGAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .34             .31
ILLINOIS..................................  MOULTRIE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  OGLE........................            8.25            7.11            6.97           11.93           10.32
ILLINOIS..................................  PEORIA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  PERRY.......................            2.78            3.14            1.80  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  PIATT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.38  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.61            1.55
ILLINOIS..................................  POPE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  PULASKI.....................            3.09            5.63            3.88            1.83            1.38
ILLINOIS..................................  PUTNAM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .47
ILLINOIS..................................  RANDOLPH....................  ..............            2.40            2.04  ..............            4.51
ILLINOIS..................................  RICHLAND....................            1.05             .71             .76             .83            1.01
ILLINOIS..................................  ROCK ISLAND.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  SALINE......................            4.33            4.76            3.78            4.96            7.00
ILLINOIS..................................  SANGAMON....................  ..............  ..............            3.08            7.74            6.52
ILLINOIS..................................  SCHUYLER....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.70  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............           60.17           57.25           38.54           29.62
ILLINOIS..................................  SHELBY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  ST. CLAIR...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.25            9.10
ILLINOIS..................................  STARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  STEPHENSON..................             .23             .76            1.11            1.09             .70
ILLINOIS..................................  TAZEWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.21  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  UNION.......................           10.11           11.83            7.76            4.80            3.67
ILLINOIS..................................  VERMILION...................            2.04            1.96            1.80            1.33            1.24
ILLINOIS..................................  WABASH......................            1.66            1.43            1.59             .36  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .05  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............             .02  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WAYNE.......................             .46             .16             .06  ..............            1.41
ILLINOIS..................................  WHITE.......................  ..............            3.41            5.02            3.51  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WHITESIDE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.29            1.70
ILLINOIS..................................  WILL........................           10.67            8.83            7.84            7.21            6.62
ILLINOIS..................................  WILLIAMSON..................  ..............            3.67             .98            1.22  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WINNEBAGO...................  ..............  ..............           30.31  ..............  ..............
ILLINOIS..................................  WOODFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  ADAMS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            5.95
INDIANA...................................  ALLEN.......................  ..............  ..............            3.52            4.88           17.24
INDIANA...................................  BARTHOLOMEW.................             .79             .34             .42  ..............             .51
INDIANA...................................  BENTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.25           11.57
INDIANA...................................  BLACKFORD...................  ..............             .19  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  BOONE.......................  ..............            9.82            7.19            8.48           11.60
INDIANA...................................  BROWN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  CARROLL.....................             .05  ..............             .13             .49             .15
INDIANA...................................  CASS........................             .13             .73  ..............  ..............             .83
INDIANA...................................  CLARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  CLINTON.....................            2.71            5.09            3.25            8.94           33.67
INDIANA...................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           71.69
INDIANA...................................  DAVIESS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .06
INDIANA...................................  DEARBORN....................  ..............  ..............            8.39           60.49           57.14
INDIANA...................................  DECATUR.....................             .81            2.79            2.65            1.41            1.87
INDIANA...................................  DEKALB......................             .25             .13            3.63             .33            9.60
INDIANA...................................  DELAWARE....................            1.69  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  DUBOIS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           13.21
INDIANA...................................  ELKHART.....................            2.05  ..............           21.49           20.58           19.71
INDIANA...................................  FAYETTE.....................            9.19           10.12           14.66           13.58           11.25
INDIANA...................................  FLOYD.......................  ..............  ..............           41.47           34.85           30.94
INDIANA...................................  FOUNTAIN....................            7.06            5.35            4.77           26.61           22.59
INDIANA...................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           49.50           36.17
INDIANA...................................  FULTON......................            1.98            2.37            1.14             .35            2.14
INDIANA...................................  GIBSON......................  ..............           11.25            1.58             .24           55.09
INDIANA...................................  GRANT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .24             .23
INDIANA...................................  GREENE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  HAMILTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  HANCOCK.....................            5.08            7.38            6.32            6.37             .24
INDIANA...................................  HARRISON....................             .50             .69             .59             .63             .28
INDIANA...................................  HENDRICKS...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.01
INDIANA...................................  HENRY.......................            6.22            5.47            5.48           11.98           14.43
INDIANA...................................  HOWARD......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           19.37           16.74
INDIANA...................................  HUNTINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03
INDIANA...................................  JACKSON.....................            1.48            1.63             .90            7.22            6.65
INDIANA...................................  JASPER......................             .51            2.26            4.14            8.02            2.69
INDIANA...................................  JAY.........................           13.78           10.19            7.81            4.62            1.33
INDIANA...................................  JEFFERSON...................            8.93           11.21           10.76           11.91           11.53
INDIANA...................................  JENNINGS....................            5.87            5.07            4.65           27.66           24.23
INDIANA...................................  JOHNSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  KNOX........................            3.50  ..............             .01  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  KOSCIUSKO...................            2.63            2.45            3.80            2.92            2.77
INDIANA...................................  LAGRANGE....................             .18  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.45
INDIANA...................................  LAKE........................           11.66            7.03            6.08            3.00            2.73
INDIANA...................................  LAPORTE.....................           10.63           14.47            8.01            8.01            5.82
INDIANA...................................  LAWRENCE....................             .28             .31             .20            6.83            5.59
INDIANA...................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.88            8.14
INDIANA...................................  MARION......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  MARSHALL....................            2.71           14.33           11.08           11.09           10.18
INDIANA...................................  MARTIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  MIAMI.......................            3.33            2.79            2.48            1.52            5.36
INDIANA...................................  MONROE......................  ..............          100.00  ..............          100.00          100.00
INDIANA...................................  MONTGOMERY..................            1.28             .87            3.07            6.25            3.66
INDIANA...................................  MORGAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.18  ..............
INDIANA...................................  NEWTON......................            4.77            1.85            5.47            2.43            3.34
INDIANA...................................  NOBLE.......................            2.98             .75             .13            3.34  ..............
INDIANA...................................  OHIO........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  ORANGE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.62           63.76
INDIANA...................................  OWEN........................  ..............  ..............             .92           35.60           41.18
INDIANA...................................  PARKE.......................           14.40            5.34            4.15            2.62           12.94
INDIANA...................................  PERRY.......................  ..............             .38  ..............            8.17  ..............
INDIANA...................................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  PORTER......................  ..............             .20            6.22           14.10            8.36
INDIANA...................................  POSEY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  PULASKI.....................            6.16            8.12            7.12           11.70            8.71
INDIANA...................................  PUTNAM......................            2.71  ..............  ..............           45.38           49.07
INDIANA...................................  RANDOLPH....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .87
INDIANA...................................  RIPLEY......................  ..............            1.14           15.32            3.41             .89
INDIANA...................................  RUSH........................             .20           14.84           12.99            7.99            7.44
INDIANA...................................  SCOTT.......................           49.49           48.17  ..............             .07             .18
INDIANA...................................  SHELBY......................  ..............  ..............             .30             .60             .12
INDIANA...................................  SPENCER.....................             .90             .12             .36  ..............             .14
INDIANA...................................  ST. JOSEPH..................            2.11           13.88           11.22           12.28           14.48
INDIANA...................................  STARKE......................            1.54            6.60            4.23            8.38            9.01
INDIANA...................................  STEUBEN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.92
INDIANA...................................  SULLIVAN....................            2.51            1.45             .73  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  SWITZERLAND.................           22.38           17.80           14.81           13.70           34.26
INDIANA...................................  TIPPECANOE..................            3.89            2.84           21.70           12.16           23.34
INDIANA...................................  TIPTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           28.35
INDIANA...................................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............             .30  ..............            3.20
INDIANA...................................  VANDERBURGH.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  VERMILLION..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  VIGO........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  WABASH......................  ..............             .74             .87            1.29            1.11
INDIANA...................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.01  ..............
INDIANA...................................  WARRICK.....................           35.82           35.33           47.95           43.27           40.09
INDIANA...................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............             .31            2.25            1.79
INDIANA...................................  WAYNE.......................           20.70  ..............  ..............            4.54           34.66
INDIANA...................................  WELLS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
INDIANA...................................  WHITE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           15.39           13.91
INDIANA...................................  WHITLEY.....................            1.62            1.13  ..............            1.02             .17
IOWA......................................  ADAIR.......................            2.60            2.78            2.56  ..............            5.23
IOWA......................................  ADAMS.......................  ..............             .18  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  ALLAMAKEE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  APPANOOSE...................             .14             .16  ..............             .28            7.53
IOWA......................................  AUDUBON.....................  ..............  ..............             .08  ..............             .02
IOWA......................................  BENTON......................            4.61            3.52            2.51            2.83            3.17
IOWA......................................  BLACK HAWK..................  ..............           12.18            7.91  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  BOONE.......................  ..............             .70            1.09             .96             .57
IOWA......................................  BREMER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .30
IOWA......................................  BUCHANAN....................            3.06            2.91            3.17            3.14            2.98
IOWA......................................  BUENA VISTA.................            3.56            1.51            2.59            1.22            1.09
IOWA......................................  BUTLER......................            1.55            1.66            1.65            1.43            2.47
IOWA......................................  CALHOUN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  CARROLL.....................             .07             .06             .09             .17             .36
IOWA......................................  CASS........................           12.49           11.46           12.53           12.75           10.59
IOWA......................................  CEDAR.......................            1.11            1.32             .87             .69             .41
IOWA......................................  CERRO GORDO.................            8.96            9.21            4.81            4.39            4.62
IOWA......................................  CHEROKEE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .83
IOWA......................................  CHICKASAW...................            3.72            3.84            5.34            3.50            4.49
IOWA......................................  CLARKE......................             .02             .02             .01             .02             .44
IOWA......................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  CLAYTON.....................  ..............            1.08  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  CLINTON.....................             .01  ..............  ..............             .02             .18
IOWA......................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  DALLAS......................  ..............            6.07            4.21            2.35  ..............
IOWA......................................  DAVIS.......................             .49            1.96            3.66            2.25            1.29
IOWA......................................  DECATUR.....................             .07             .06             .05             .14             .13
IOWA......................................  DELAWARE....................  ..............  ..............             .37             .02             .25
IOWA......................................  DES MOINES..................             .66  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  DICKINSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  DUBUQUE.....................             .10            1.04            1.00            3.36            3.62
IOWA......................................  EMMET.......................             .35  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  FAYETTE.....................             .89            1.19             .88             .94            1.06
IOWA......................................  FLOYD.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............            1.23           12.54             .27
IOWA......................................  FREMONT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  GREENE......................           14.16           13.12           10.23            7.75            5.73
IOWA......................................  GRUNDY......................            2.16            1.74  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  GUTHRIE.....................  ..............             .29             .38             .24            1.66
IOWA......................................  HAMILTON....................           45.51           40.07           29.90           32.63           28.80
IOWA......................................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............            3.73            2.83            2.47            1.93
IOWA......................................  HARDIN......................  ..............  ..............            3.42            1.95             .46
IOWA......................................  HARRISON....................  ..............             .21            1.59            1.33            1.55
IOWA......................................  HENRY.......................            8.39           11.46            2.23            2.22            5.69
IOWA......................................  HOWARD......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .05             .27
IOWA......................................  HUMBOLDT....................             .35  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  IDA.........................             .01             .03  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  IOWA........................             .85            2.25            1.45            1.95            1.36
IOWA......................................  JACKSON.....................             .78            3.69            3.84            3.59            3.05
IOWA......................................  JASPER......................             .28  ..............  ..............             .06  ..............
IOWA......................................  JEFFERSON...................            1.49            1.41            1.29             .68            1.73
IOWA......................................  JOHNSON.....................            3.91            3.78            2.88             .03           15.34
IOWA......................................  JONES.......................            2.00            2.37            1.58             .78             .14
IOWA......................................  KEOKUK......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .18
IOWA......................................  KOSSUTH.....................             .75  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.10
IOWA......................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............             .72             .07           10.65
IOWA......................................  LINN........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  LOUISA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .02
IOWA......................................  LUCAS.......................            3.06            3.03            2.79            3.11            2.57
IOWA......................................  LYON........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  MADISON.....................            7.52           40.71           32.88           29.41           18.51
IOWA......................................  MAHASKA.....................  ..............            1.32            1.16             .93             .83
IOWA......................................  MARION......................  ..............             .12            2.22             .13             .09
IOWA......................................  MARSHALL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .05            5.01
IOWA......................................  MILLS.......................            6.76            5.44            3.66            1.34            1.95
IOWA......................................  MITCHELL....................            1.82            2.57            1.30            9.44            5.67
IOWA......................................  MONONA......................             .13  ..............             .10  ..............             .85
IOWA......................................  MONROE......................             .02             .13            1.31             .37             .39
IOWA......................................  MONTGOMERY..................            1.92            6.87            1.91            1.75            1.71
IOWA......................................  MUSCATINE...................  ..............             .69  ..............             .26             .14
IOWA......................................  O'BRIEN.....................            1.50  ..............            4.87  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  OSCEOLA.....................             .31             .78             .88            1.08            1.21
IOWA......................................  PAGE........................             .65             .49             .61             .75            1.38
IOWA......................................  PALO ALTO...................             .05  ..............  ..............             .04  ..............
IOWA......................................  PLYMOUTH....................             .02             .58             .79            4.59            3.84
IOWA......................................  POCAHONTAS..................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03            3.48
IOWA......................................  POLK........................           17.55           15.65           17.04            5.45            2.57
IOWA......................................  POTTAWATTAMIE...............            4.57            4.39            5.44            4.77            2.97
IOWA......................................  POWESHIEK...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.23            1.00
IOWA......................................  RINGGOLD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .02             .46
IOWA......................................  SAC.........................             .55             .61             .96            1.06            5.40
IOWA......................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .19  ..............
IOWA......................................  SHELBY......................             .55  ..............             .11  ..............             .21
IOWA......................................  SIOUX.......................  ..............             .74  ..............  ..............             .94
IOWA......................................  STORY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  TAMA........................            3.10            3.19            1.51            1.96             .68
IOWA......................................  TAYLOR......................           22.04           25.04           25.46           22.78           28.09
IOWA......................................  UNION.......................            8.41            6.66            6.18            5.75            5.43
IOWA......................................  VAN BUREN...................             .36             .33             .37             .75             .74
IOWA......................................  WAPELLO.....................             .28  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.44
IOWA......................................  WASHINGTON..................             .79             .11             .15            4.30             .67
IOWA......................................  WAYNE.......................  ..............  ..............             .23  ..............            2.59
IOWA......................................  WEBSTER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  WINNEBAGO...................            1.22            1.10            4.05            2.45            1.48
IOWA......................................  WINNESHIEK..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.19            1.09
IOWA......................................  WOODBURY....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.65
IOWA......................................  WORTH.......................             .56  ..............             .24  ..............  ..............
IOWA......................................  WRIGHT......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.00
KANSAS....................................  ALLEN.......................  ..............            2.57            7.08           22.93           35.46
KANSAS....................................  ANDERSON....................            1.11  ..............  ..............             .07  ..............
KANSAS....................................  ATCHISON....................            1.37            1.15            1.39            3.36            2.86
KANSAS....................................  BARBER......................             .05             .92            1.50            1.10             .48
KANSAS....................................  BARTON......................             .70             .27             .54             .75             .54
KANSAS....................................  BOURBON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  BROWN.......................             .15  ..............             .18  ..............            1.01
KANSAS....................................  BUTLER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .18             .32
KANSAS....................................  CHASE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  CHAUTAUQUA..................            2.75            1.87             .43  ..............             .99
KANSAS....................................  CHEROKEE....................  ..............            3.57            3.16  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  CHEYENNE....................            6.41            4.80            4.92            3.22            2.40
KANSAS....................................  CLARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.40  ..............
KANSAS....................................  CLAY........................             .14             .16             .37             .15             .01
KANSAS....................................  CLOUD.......................            1.55            2.30            7.39            7.74            7.42
KANSAS....................................  COFFEY......................           20.01           17.26            3.51            2.64            3.12
KANSAS....................................  COMANCHE....................             .84            2.02            1.06            2.74            3.71
KANSAS....................................  COWLEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.99             .01
KANSAS....................................  CRAWFORD....................             .49  ..............  ..............             .73             .38
KANSAS....................................  DECATUR.....................            4.43            3.99            3.12            2.45            2.27
KANSAS....................................  DICKINSON...................            3.15            1.90            5.32            3.67            3.13
KANSAS....................................  DONIPHAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .92  ..............
KANSAS....................................  DOUGLAS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.34
KANSAS....................................  EDWARDS.....................            1.65            1.78            2.31            1.81            4.78
KANSAS....................................  ELK.........................            1.26            3.26            2.15            2.88            2.24
KANSAS....................................  ELLIS.......................             .74             .25            1.37            1.32             .94
KANSAS....................................  ELLSWORTH...................             .42             .42             .29             .27             .09
KANSAS....................................  FINNEY......................            1.27            1.99            2.38             .60             .84
KANSAS....................................  FORD........................            3.03            3.79            2.78            1.34            3.55
KANSAS....................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............             .33            1.19            5.15            3.33
KANSAS....................................  GEARY.......................            1.97  ..............  ..............  ..............             .64
KANSAS....................................  GOVE........................            6.15            6.20            5.36           15.28           12.10
KANSAS....................................  GRAHAM......................             .45             .89             .54             .49             .33
KANSAS....................................  GRANT.......................  ..............             .22           11.29            8.45           16.01
KANSAS....................................  GRAY........................             .25             .41             .10            3.36            1.14
KANSAS....................................  GREELEY.....................            2.40            2.14            3.44            1.78            1.75
KANSAS....................................  GREENWOOD...................  ..............  ..............           14.56           29.21           27.27
KANSAS....................................  HAMILTON....................             .93  ..............  ..............  ..............             .10
KANSAS....................................  HARPER......................             .37             .93             .97            1.25            1.07
KANSAS....................................  HARVEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.24
KANSAS....................................  HASKELL.....................            4.48            3.83            3.50           19.58            2.60
KANSAS....................................  HODGEMAN....................             .36             .27            2.71            3.98            2.12
KANSAS....................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............            1.07  ..............            1.20  ..............
KANSAS....................................  JEFFERSON...................             .45  ..............  ..............  ..............             .16
KANSAS....................................  JEWELL......................            2.43            2.30            2.49            2.24            2.36
KANSAS....................................  JOHNSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  KEARNY......................            1.47            1.06             .98            1.25            1.11
KANSAS....................................  KINGMAN.....................            3.31            2.55            3.81            5.39            4.74
KANSAS....................................  KIOWA.......................            2.33  ..............            2.13            1.15            1.36
KANSAS....................................  LABETTE.....................             .72             .87            1.01             .95             .82
KANSAS....................................  LANE........................             .39             .84             .90             .75             .85
KANSAS....................................  LEAVENWORTH.................           23.78           18.46           15.55           12.73            9.82
KANSAS....................................  LINCOLN.....................             .10             .47             .77            1.18            1.48
KANSAS....................................  LINN........................  ..............  ..............             .18           18.21           15.95
KANSAS....................................  LOGAN.......................            2.91             .69            2.15            2.73             .61
KANSAS....................................  LYON........................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .52             .18
KANSAS....................................  MARION......................  ..............            2.23            1.07            1.52             .37
KANSAS....................................  MARSHALL....................            1.13            1.85            1.21            1.78            2.08
KANSAS....................................  MCPHERSON...................            2.91            3.19            2.56            4.04            5.57
KANSAS....................................  MEADE.......................             .32             .86             .72             .79            2.27
KANSAS....................................  MIAMI.......................            9.28           10.80            8.66            6.62            6.56
KANSAS....................................  MITCHELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .53
KANSAS....................................  MONTGOMERY..................             .46            1.09            6.43            7.64            7.74
KANSAS....................................  MORRIS......................  ..............  ..............            5.18            5.19            5.52
KANSAS....................................  MORTON......................            1.68            1.05            1.76            1.09             .03
KANSAS....................................  NEMAHA......................             .05             .06             .06             .06             .15
KANSAS....................................  NEOSHO......................  ..............             .90           19.53           13.85            1.57
KANSAS....................................  NESS........................            1.82             .80             .63             .74             .79
KANSAS....................................  NORTON......................            1.12             .96             .99            1.03            1.12
KANSAS....................................  OSAGE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           32.62           31.65
KANSAS....................................  OSBORNE.....................             .30             .32            2.33             .95             .82
KANSAS....................................  OTTAWA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  PAWNEE......................             .32             .85  ..............  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  PHILLIPS....................             .63             .18             .70             .56             .57
KANSAS....................................  POTTAWATOMIE................             .28            1.15             .99            1.92            2.11
KANSAS....................................  PRATT.......................             .91             .39            2.97            1.59            2.90
KANSAS....................................  RAWLINS.....................  ..............  ..............            3.55            1.61            1.66
KANSAS....................................  RENO........................             .60             .35             .33            1.02            5.37
KANSAS....................................  REPUBLIC....................            2.12            2.34            1.92            2.13            1.56
KANSAS....................................  RICE........................             .51            1.57            2.00            2.71            2.41
KANSAS....................................  RILEY.......................  ..............             .74            9.64           12.09            9.53
KANSAS....................................  ROOKS.......................            3.21            3.33            3.76            1.62            3.44
KANSAS....................................  RUSH........................            2.61             .18             .27  ..............             .32
KANSAS....................................  RUSSELL.....................            2.95             .22             .10             .92            1.14
KANSAS....................................  SALINE......................            8.89            9.11  ..............            7.88            7.50
KANSAS....................................  SCOTT.......................             .68            2.62            2.60             .74             .07
KANSAS....................................  SEDGWICK....................             .16             .86             .51             .24            1.19
KANSAS....................................  SEWARD......................            4.57            2.49           10.64           34.22           34.73
KANSAS....................................  SHAWNEE.....................  ..............  ..............            2.52  ..............  ..............
KANSAS....................................  SHERIDAN....................             .47             .65             .79            1.14            1.24
KANSAS....................................  SHERMAN.....................            5.73            4.45           11.27            6.33            6.99
KANSAS....................................  SMITH.......................             .35             .76             .33             .48             .32
KANSAS....................................  STAFFORD....................            4.70            1.36            1.07             .40            2.77
KANSAS....................................  STANTON.....................            1.37             .63             .82            3.98             .81
KANSAS....................................  STEVENS.....................            1.57            5.29            2.75            8.67            3.74
KANSAS....................................  SUMNER......................            1.18            1.97            3.65            3.94            5.10
KANSAS....................................  THOMAS......................            2.82            2.94            3.40             .28             .15
KANSAS....................................  TREGO.......................            5.06            6.49            1.44            1.38             .41
KANSAS....................................  WABAUNSEE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .75             .77
KANSAS....................................  WALLACE.....................             .17  ..............             .66            5.85            3.33
KANSAS....................................  WASHINGTON..................            2.42            1.93            2.75            2.60            1.97
KANSAS....................................  WICHITA.....................            5.52            3.74            3.26            3.88            3.62
KANSAS....................................  WILSON......................            1.97            1.02             .32            5.90            6.18
KANSAS....................................  WOODSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.54            2.48
KANSAS....................................  WYANDOTTE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  ADAIR.......................             .03             .11             .39             .10             .16
KENTUCKY..................................  ALLEN.......................             .63             .55             .10             .16             .02
KENTUCKY..................................  ANDERSON....................  ..............             .51  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BALLARD.....................  ..............             .48             .33            4.39            1.99
KENTUCKY..................................  BARREN......................            7.01            7.16            6.65            6.71            3.91
KENTUCKY..................................  BATH........................            3.47            3.45            3.25            3.06             .95
KENTUCKY..................................  BELL........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BOONE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BOURBON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BOYD........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BOYLE.......................             .25             .23  ..............             .80             .19
KENTUCKY..................................  BRACKEN.....................  ..............  ..............             .16            5.13            3.22
KENTUCKY..................................  BREATHITT...................            3.30  ..............           15.87            4.37            3.38
KENTUCKY..................................  BRECKINRIDGE................             .10             .11             .39             .51             .37
KENTUCKY..................................  BULLITT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  BUTLER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .21
KENTUCKY..................................  CALDWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .27            3.16
KENTUCKY..................................  CALLOWAY....................            1.62             .10            2.51             .15  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  CAMPBELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  CARLISLE....................             .15  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.43
KENTUCKY..................................  CARROLL.....................           26.22           23.52           24.66           21.13           17.81
KENTUCKY..................................  CARTER......................            3.38             .14  ..............  ..............            1.79
KENTUCKY..................................  CASEY.......................           34.07           29.06           26.41           30.61           17.18
KENTUCKY..................................  CHRISTIAN...................            2.92            2.44            2.19             .87            1.04
KENTUCKY..................................  CLARK.......................             .11  ..............  ..............             .47             .35
KENTUCKY..................................  CLAY........................           10.10            7.56           10.91            8.72           16.83
KENTUCKY..................................  CLINTON.....................             .34            2.59            2.41            2.19            7.95
KENTUCKY..................................  CRITTENDEN..................             .45            3.03            2.18             .18           36.71
KENTUCKY..................................  CUMBERLAND..................           16.22           19.38           18.40           14.34           11.44
KENTUCKY..................................  DAVIESS.....................  ..............           29.99           29.32           35.96           35.57
KENTUCKY..................................  EDMONSON....................            4.71             .87             .01            2.31            3.19
KENTUCKY..................................  ELLIOTT.....................  ..............           22.40           20.76           14.57            7.74
KENTUCKY..................................  ESTILL......................             .17             .29  ..............  ..............            3.97
KENTUCKY..................................  FAYETTE.....................            1.25  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  FLEMING.....................            1.40            1.17             .94             .70            1.00
KENTUCKY..................................  FLOYD.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.26           21.44
KENTUCKY..................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  FULTON......................  ..............            2.60            2.85            1.14  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  GALLATIN....................           20.52           17.35           15.70           13.72           12.31
KENTUCKY..................................  GARRARD.....................             .08  ..............  ..............  ..............             .92
KENTUCKY..................................  GRANT.......................            2.22            1.09  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  GRAVES......................             .61             .26             .24             .28            4.01
KENTUCKY..................................  GRAYSON.....................  ..............             .84             .54             .61             .32
KENTUCKY..................................  GREEN.......................  ..............             .78  ..............             .04            1.59
KENTUCKY..................................  GREENUP.....................            1.80            4.05            1.49            4.37            2.15
KENTUCKY..................................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  HARDIN......................  ..............             .27  ..............             .09             .27
KENTUCKY..................................  HARLAN......................          100.00          100.00          100.00           77.76  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  HARRISON....................            1.40            1.21            1.64            1.65            1.51
KENTUCKY..................................  HART........................            1.00             .97             .96            1.00             .67
KENTUCKY..................................  HENDERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.68  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  HENRY.......................            5.73            7.97            6.99            5.82            6.46
KENTUCKY..................................  HICKMAN.....................  ..............             .59  ..............  ..............            1.28
KENTUCKY..................................  HOPKINS.....................  ..............           10.92            7.94  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  JACKSON.....................             .05            2.10            2.24            2.40             .57
KENTUCKY..................................  JEFFERSON...................             .18  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  JESSAMINE...................            5.55            1.88             .18  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  JOHNSON.....................            1.52             .96            1.82            1.13             .89
KENTUCKY..................................  KENTON......................            3.41  ..............  ..............            4.05  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  KNOTT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .50           35.41
KENTUCKY..................................  KNOX........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.50
KENTUCKY..................................  LARUE.......................  ..............           14.05           15.79           16.53           13.70
KENTUCKY..................................  LAUREL......................  ..............  ..............            1.32            2.17            1.20
KENTUCKY..................................  LAWRENCE....................            3.27            1.81            1.03  ..............           17.97
KENTUCKY..................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .77
KENTUCKY..................................  LESLIE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  LETCHER.....................  ..............  ..............           17.19           52.76           17.20
KENTUCKY..................................  LEWIS.......................             .14            1.54             .86  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  LINCOLN.....................            3.01            2.48            4.73            3.79           12.35
KENTUCKY..................................  LIVINGSTON..................  ..............             .74             .60            4.14            3.96
KENTUCKY..................................  LOGAN.......................            1.74            2.75            1.65             .78             .53
KENTUCKY..................................  LYON........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            6.06
KENTUCKY..................................  MADISON.....................             .92  ..............  ..............             .72            2.91
KENTUCKY..................................  MAGOFFIN....................  ..............            7.88           16.78           10.57            6.09
KENTUCKY..................................  MARION......................             .22             .03             .30  ..............            1.98
KENTUCKY..................................  MARSHALL....................  ..............           26.70           11.32            6.50  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  MARTIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  MASON.......................            4.58            3.05            1.54            6.32            6.00
KENTUCKY..................................  MCCRACKEN...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .33             .14
KENTUCKY..................................  MCCREARY....................           13.59            7.38  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  MCLEAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  MEADE.......................  ..............            1.21             .20             .07  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  MENIFEE.....................             .11            5.53            5.54            3.79            3.82
KENTUCKY..................................  MERCER......................  ..............  ..............            1.84            1.08            1.70
KENTUCKY..................................  METCALFE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            5.79
KENTUCKY..................................  MONROE......................  ..............            2.57            3.23            1.88            1.51
KENTUCKY..................................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............            1.30            1.16            2.49             .40
KENTUCKY..................................  MORGAN......................             .16             .30             .60             .68            9.20
KENTUCKY..................................  MUHLENBERG..................  ..............            3.37  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  NELSON......................            2.31            2.54            2.27           20.61           20.92
KENTUCKY..................................  NICHOLAS....................             .33            3.27            2.97            2.84            1.82
KENTUCKY..................................  OHIO........................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  OLDHAM......................  ..............  ..............            1.48             .88  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  OWEN........................           27.76           20.59           15.15           11.82           10.09
KENTUCKY..................................  OWSLEY......................            3.11  ..............           35.67           27.86           22.70
KENTUCKY..................................  PENDLETON...................            5.61            4.87            2.40             .90  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  PERRY.......................           50.62           15.53           10.13           17.77           13.61
KENTUCKY..................................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  POWELL......................  ..............             .01             .58             .14  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  PULASKI.....................             .79             .49             .65            1.05             .40
KENTUCKY..................................  ROBERTSON...................            6.17            5.29           10.34            8.36            8.22
KENTUCKY..................................  ROCKCASTLE..................            2.32            1.80            1.33            1.16            1.01
KENTUCKY..................................  ROWAN.......................             .33            3.49  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  RUSSELL.....................            6.13            4.77            4.31            3.45            3.14
KENTUCKY..................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            6.30
KENTUCKY..................................  SHELBY......................             .40             .48             .64            2.05           14.96
KENTUCKY..................................  SIMPSON.....................            8.13           11.20            3.43           11.23            9.54
KENTUCKY..................................  SPENCER.....................  ..............            3.98            5.31             .83  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  TAYLOR......................  ..............  ..............             .73             .62            1.05
KENTUCKY..................................  TODD........................             .66             .48             .29             .18             .39
KENTUCKY..................................  TRIGG.......................           15.17           32.97           32.54           30.58            1.05
KENTUCKY..................................  TRIMBLE.....................  ..............  ..............             .61             .04  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.53
KENTUCKY..................................  WARREN......................            6.99            7.14            7.17            5.32            3.59
KENTUCKY..................................  WASHINGTON..................            3.99            4.96            4.28            4.27            3.68
KENTUCKY..................................  WAYNE.......................             .40             .04             .06             .09  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  WEBSTER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.61            1.59
KENTUCKY..................................  WHITLEY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
KENTUCKY..................................  WOLFE.......................            2.76            2.85            2.32            1.14             .72
KENTUCKY..................................  WOODFORD....................  ..............            3.86            2.66            1.67            1.84
LOUISIANA.................................  ACADIA......................           25.99           36.66           24.63           14.01           15.20
LOUISIANA.................................  ALLEN.......................           25.86           18.36           16.26           11.41            7.05
LOUISIANA.................................  ASCENSION...................  ..............  ..............  ..............           79.45           78.82
LOUISIANA.................................  ASSUMPTION..................  ..............  ..............             .69  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  AVOYELLES...................           15.16           19.11           10.01           12.75           11.09
LOUISIANA.................................  BEAUREGARD..................  ..............  ..............            7.94            3.81           66.56
LOUISIANA.................................  BIENVILLE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  BOSSIER.....................            9.13            9.66           27.68           15.89           19.41
LOUISIANA.................................  CADDO.......................             .60            5.61           20.13           19.70           17.89
LOUISIANA.................................  CALCASIEU...................           63.06           52.62           59.44           45.12           52.20
LOUISIANA.................................  CALDWELL....................             .16            1.78            1.62            1.18            3.26
LOUISIANA.................................  CAMERON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  CATAHOULA...................           11.54           12.34           10.28           11.03           11.07
LOUISIANA.................................  CLAIBORNE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.08
LOUISIANA.................................  CONCORDIA...................           17.62           17.90           17.72           16.00           17.79
LOUISIANA.................................  DE SOTO.....................           35.54           31.87           29.26           22.72           16.34
LOUISIANA.................................  EAST BATON ROUGE............  ..............  ..............           37.10           29.84           23.11
LOUISIANA.................................  EAST CARROLL................           15.81           21.92           20.87           19.07           15.71
LOUISIANA.................................  EAST FELICIANA..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  EVANGELINE..................             .49            2.69             .49           44.67           59.04
LOUISIANA.................................  FRANKLIN....................           21.38           22.94           25.74           26.39           28.61
LOUISIANA.................................  GRANT.......................            8.78            7.41            6.61            6.98           61.45
LOUISIANA.................................  IBERIA......................           19.46           19.57           19.72           27.57           31.92
LOUISIANA.................................  IBERVILLE...................           17.74           15.44           19.66           23.98           18.03
LOUISIANA.................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  JEFFERSON DAVIS.............            5.12            5.16            2.20            2.16            1.27
LOUISIANA.................................  LA SALLE....................  ..............           71.56           53.22           22.51           70.55
LOUISIANA.................................  LAFAYETTE...................  ..............  ..............           12.78           16.65           11.12
LOUISIANA.................................  LAFOURCHE...................  ..............  ..............            6.40           16.06           25.44
LOUISIANA.................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............             .65            1.34            3.66  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  LIVINGSTON..................             .21            3.22  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  MADISON.....................           13.32            9.59            6.62            6.76            5.13
LOUISIANA.................................  MOREHOUSE...................           15.31           14.39           15.09           14.07           12.06
LOUISIANA.................................  NATCHITOCHES................            8.62            9.53            8.21           26.06           88.68
LOUISIANA.................................  ORLEANS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  OUACHITA....................           47.64           43.12           42.41           17.52           37.71
LOUISIANA.................................  PLAQUEMINES.................             .11             .19  ..............            1.20           20.90
LOUISIANA.................................  POINTE COUPEE...............           16.14           17.21           20.79           16.72           26.96
LOUISIANA.................................  RAPIDES.....................           13.27           18.28           21.95           28.31           28.89
LOUISIANA.................................  RED RIVER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           25.11
LOUISIANA.................................  RICHLAND....................           25.48           26.91           27.74           27.03           33.13
LOUISIANA.................................  SABINE......................            4.59            5.55            5.09           27.05           52.37
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. BERNARD.................  ..............  ..............            6.11            2.27            1.41
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. CHARLES.................  ..............            8.29  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. HELENA..................           22.98           46.15           24.14           19.24           22.41
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. JAMES...................            6.18            7.47  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. LANDRY..................            8.94           13.93           13.10           21.90           17.72
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. MARTIN..................            2.29            6.78           10.21           11.82           20.14
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. MARY....................           25.47            7.71            3.13             .84            7.10
LOUISIANA.................................  ST. TAMMANY.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  TANGIPAHOA..................           11.16           13.28           11.80           10.15            7.81
LOUISIANA.................................  TENSAS......................           38.51           35.93           31.49           31.20           26.90
LOUISIANA.................................  TERREBONNE..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  UNION.......................             .16            1.86            1.70            1.72            6.02
LOUISIANA.................................  VERMILION...................            9.45           11.92            9.61           16.97           17.69
LOUISIANA.................................  VERNON......................           31.16            6.35           35.00            4.14           29.59
LOUISIANA.................................  WASHINGTON..................             .17            1.10            2.09            4.39             .85
LOUISIANA.................................  WEBSTER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  WEST BATON ROUGE............  ..............  ..............             .54             .53  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  WEST CARROLL................           20.00           18.17           19.49           20.37           18.54
LOUISIANA.................................  WEST FELICIANA..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
LOUISIANA.................................  WINN........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MAINE.....................................  ANDROSCOGGIN................            1.51            1.76            2.00  ..............  ..............
MAINE.....................................  AROOSTOOK, PT...............           17.81           18.33           15.98           15.32           20.08
MAINE.....................................  CUMBERLAND, PT..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MAINE.....................................  FRANKLIN....................            2.79  ..............           21.15           20.10           14.09
MAINE.....................................  HANCOCK, PT.................             .84            2.07            4.59            7.82            7.02
MAINE.....................................  KENNEBEC, PT................            4.66            4.18            3.69            9.55           12.96
MAINE.....................................  KNOX........................           26.50           15.58           11.13           16.53           12.56
MAINE.....................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............            3.69            4.25           29.51
MAINE.....................................  OXFORD......................           11.11            8.52            8.53            6.02            5.09
MAINE.....................................  PENOBSCOT, PT...............           12.81           14.06           11.72           12.09           10.20
MAINE.....................................  PISCATAQUIS.................  ..............  ..............  ..............           10.13            8.89
MAINE.....................................  SAGADAHOC...................  ..............  ..............            1.12            2.13  ..............
MAINE.....................................  SOMERSET....................            2.11            1.71            2.16            3.14            1.41
MAINE.....................................  WALDO, PT...................  ..............           15.76  ..............  ..............            5.82
MAINE.....................................  WASHINGTON, PT..............            8.21           31.97           18.56           11.35           15.79
MAINE.....................................  YORK........................           11.18            6.49            3.12            1.78  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  ALLEGANY....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  ANNE ARUNDEL................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  BALTIMORE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  BALTIMORE CITY..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  CALVERT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  CAROLINE....................  ..............            4.47            3.31            8.26            9.26
MARYLAND..................................  CARROLL.....................             .81             .16            3.05             .75            1.26
MARYLAND..................................  CECIL.......................  ..............            1.53  ..............  ..............  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  CHARLES.....................           24.08           20.03           18.60           15.89           15.01
MARYLAND..................................  DORCHESTER..................  ..............  ..............           25.21           15.76           10.71
MARYLAND..................................  FREDERICK...................           31.03           21.14           20.05           13.63           13.31
MARYLAND..................................  GARRETT.....................            2.78            2.37            4.57            3.76            1.69
MARYLAND..................................  HARFORD.....................  ..............            5.58            4.96            2.29            2.23
MARYLAND..................................  HOWARD......................  ..............  ..............            8.74            5.50            5.59
MARYLAND..................................  KENT........................            9.31           13.07            2.95            5.42            2.62
MARYLAND..................................  MONTGOMERY..................           21.51           16.75           10.98           10.45            8.77
MARYLAND..................................  PRINCE GEORGE'S.............           30.65           28.06           25.35           23.64           21.96
MARYLAND..................................  QUEEN ANNE'S................           56.91            5.46            4.04            1.30  ..............
MARYLAND..................................  SOMERSET....................           25.28           15.70           38.89           34.76           38.54
MARYLAND..................................  ST. MARY'S..................  ..............  ..............           21.45           10.97            5.23
MARYLAND..................................  TALBOT......................  ..............  ..............           22.00            8.23           19.21
MARYLAND..................................  WASHINGTON..................            1.32             .98            6.14            7.27            8.65
MARYLAND..................................  WICOMICO....................            2.57  ..............           38.30           42.74           29.85
MARYLAND..................................  WORCESTER...................           36.13           49.04           39.25           33.72           31.81
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  BARNSTABLE..................           13.50           10.40            8.42            6.83            5.65
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  BERKSHIRE...................            8.88            9.73           10.30           10.24           13.20
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  BRISTOL.....................           11.75            8.40            7.64            9.76           12.54
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  DUKES.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.77
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  ESSEX.......................           24.58           19.91           18.38           19.66           19.19
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  FRANKLIN, PT................           11.68           17.14           18.80           16.18           16.34
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  HAMPDEN, PT.................            4.41            4.96            2.21            1.87            3.59
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  HAMPSHIRE...................           35.99           36.23           34.86           33.76           29.96
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  MIDDLESEX...................           26.85           27.18           24.75           18.47           17.95
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  NANTUCKET...................  ..............  ..............           13.89  ..............  ..............
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  NORFOLK.....................           25.61           34.21           18.64            7.81            4.73
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  PLYMOUTH, PT................            9.30            8.78            9.11            6.85            5.15
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  SUFFOLK.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MASSACHUSETTS.............................  WORCESTER, PT...............           16.42           24.50           24.11           24.76           21.57
MICHIGAN..................................  ALCONA......................            2.58             .65             .55  ..............             .82
MICHIGAN..................................  ALGER.......................            1.40             .95  ..............  ..............            1.80
MICHIGAN..................................  ALLEGAN.....................            1.19  ..............            6.53  ..............             .31
MICHIGAN..................................  ALPENA......................            1.84            1.37             .55            1.39            1.95
MICHIGAN..................................  ANTRIM......................  ..............             .12  ..............             .24  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  ARENAC......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  BARAGA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  BARRY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  BAY.........................            8.97            9.65           13.41            8.94            8.89
MICHIGAN..................................  BENZIE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           20.40           21.77
MICHIGAN..................................  BERRIEN.....................            4.35            3.79            2.76            1.34            3.34
MICHIGAN..................................  BRANCH......................            2.81             .77            3.50             .80  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  CALHOUN.....................           11.55            6.77            5.13            3.75           11.15
MICHIGAN..................................  CASS........................            5.78            5.23            7.22            1.78            1.22
MICHIGAN..................................  CHARLEVOIX..................  ..............           79.34           77.04           65.98           52.52
MICHIGAN..................................  CHEBOYGAN...................            1.51            1.70             .93             .03  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  CHIPPEWA....................             .54             .57            1.25             .54            1.06
MICHIGAN..................................  CLARE.......................  ..............            1.13  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  CLINTON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .19  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  DELTA.......................             .76           14.97           15.57           12.46           10.36
MICHIGAN..................................  DICKINSON...................  ..............  ..............            5.02  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  EATON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  EMMET.......................  ..............  ..............           38.71           29.93           26.63
MICHIGAN..................................  GENESEE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  GLADWIN.....................           15.11           10.98           10.47            8.33            7.47
MICHIGAN..................................  GOGEBIC.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  GRAND TRAVERSE..............            2.01  ..............            1.18  ..............            1.73
MICHIGAN..................................  GRATIOT.....................            2.47            2.54            3.29            2.85            3.50
MICHIGAN..................................  HILLSDALE...................            1.86            6.44            5.60            4.38            4.26
MICHIGAN..................................  HOUGHTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  HURON.......................  ..............  ..............             .55             .13             .31
MICHIGAN..................................  INGHAM......................            8.56            7.29            2.29            2.00           42.89
MICHIGAN..................................  IONIA.......................            6.29            1.55            2.00  ..............             .64
MICHIGAN..................................  IOSCO.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  IRON........................            4.85            1.55           36.38           61.81           22.52
MICHIGAN..................................  ISABELLA....................             .64  ..............             .15            1.17  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  JACKSON.....................            5.38            3.61            3.31             .82            1.02
MICHIGAN..................................  KALAMAZOO...................           11.95            4.27            2.18            2.22             .15
MICHIGAN..................................  KALKASKA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .82            6.16
MICHIGAN..................................  KENT........................             .25            7.26            9.33            2.66           70.03
MICHIGAN..................................  KEWEENAW....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  LAPEER......................            4.61            7.78            5.15            4.58            4.25
MICHIGAN..................................  LEELANAU....................             .30             .42  ..............  ..............             .56
MICHIGAN..................................  LENAWEE.....................            7.30            6.97            6.38            6.89            4.92
MICHIGAN..................................  LIVINGSTON..................  ..............  ..............            4.84             .30  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  LUCE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MACKINAC....................            2.40  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MACOMB......................  ..............  ..............            6.77  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MANISTEE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MARQUETTE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MASON.......................            1.36            1.59            1.63            1.55            1.88
MICHIGAN..................................  MECOSTA.....................            6.72            6.64             .37  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MENOMINEE...................             .15            2.58            5.32            3.69            2.34
MICHIGAN..................................  MIDLAND.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  MISSAUKEE...................  ..............           22.87           21.02           20.24           17.76
MICHIGAN..................................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .06           39.39
MICHIGAN..................................  MONTCALM....................            2.70            2.81            1.43            1.20            1.87
MICHIGAN..................................  MONTMORENCY.................            1.66            2.24  ..............  ..............             .39
MICHIGAN..................................  MUSKEGON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.52            1.11
MICHIGAN..................................  NEWAYGO.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  OAKLAND.....................            7.95  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  OCEANA......................            8.98           16.79           14.20           10.08           15.24
MICHIGAN..................................  OGEMAW......................  ..............             .07  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  ONTONAGON...................            7.46            5.66            1.00           26.06           24.56
MICHIGAN..................................  OSCEOLA.....................            3.56            2.04            1.27  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  OSCODA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  OTSEGO......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  OTTAWA......................  ..............            1.69             .66             .58             .53
MICHIGAN..................................  PRESQUE ISLE................            7.70            3.69            4.60            5.18            4.84
MICHIGAN..................................  ROSCOMMON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  SAGINAW.....................             .16  ..............             .04            2.36            2.21
MICHIGAN..................................  SANILAC.....................            4.68            4.47            4.32            4.03            4.19
MICHIGAN..................................  SCHOOLCRAFT.................             .73  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  SHIAWASSEE..................            5.65            5.30            5.86            1.21  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  ST. CLAIR...................  ..............  ..............  ..............           30.78           28.40
MICHIGAN..................................  ST. JOSEPH..................            2.49            2.94            2.12            2.43            3.63
MICHIGAN..................................  TUSCOLA.....................            4.02            4.04            3.95            4.29            4.59
MICHIGAN..................................  VAN BUREN...................  ..............  ..............             .76            2.03            5.99
MICHIGAN..................................  WASHTENAW...................            2.59            2.91            2.89            2.45            1.53
MICHIGAN..................................  WAYNE.......................             .55             .52             .44             .32  ..............
MICHIGAN..................................  WEXFORD.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           25.85           51.85
MINNESOTA.................................  AITKIN......................            6.78            6.30           10.32            9.88           22.35
MINNESOTA.................................  ANOKA.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  BECKER......................             .61             .80             .59           11.26           10.95
MINNESOTA.................................  BELTRAMI....................            4.25             .16  ..............             .38            4.80
MINNESOTA.................................  BENTON......................             .64             .66            2.54            1.55            1.23
MINNESOTA.................................  BIG STONE...................  ..............  ..............            2.03  ..............             .58
MINNESOTA.................................  BLUE EARTH..................             .15             .20  ..............  ..............             .07
MINNESOTA.................................  BROWN.......................             .96             .92            1.84            1.54            1.54
MINNESOTA.................................  CARLTON.....................            3.05            3.08            3.14            2.26  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  CARVER......................             .51  ..............             .61             .01             .85
MINNESOTA.................................  CASS........................            8.79            4.55            6.14            8.55           10.30
MINNESOTA.................................  CHIPPEWA....................  ..............  ..............             .78            2.73            2.25
MINNESOTA.................................  CHISAGO.....................  ..............  ..............             .71           24.58           32.28
MINNESOTA.................................  CLAY........................            3.03            5.44            4.51            3.88            8.01
MINNESOTA.................................  CLEARWATER..................             .68             .28            2.38            3.42            5.62
MINNESOTA.................................  COOK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  COTTONWOOD..................            3.16            3.39            5.32            2.77            2.18
MINNESOTA.................................  CROW WING...................  ..............            2.34            4.86            1.51            5.85
MINNESOTA.................................  DAKOTA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  DODGE.......................            1.10             .01             .07  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  DOUGLAS.....................            3.38            3.08            3.88            1.07            2.53
MINNESOTA.................................  FARIBAULT...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .09
MINNESOTA.................................  FILLMORE....................             .24             .11             .06             .77            3.50
MINNESOTA.................................  FREEBORN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.20
MINNESOTA.................................  GOODHUE.....................  ..............            3.83            3.25            1.80             .99
MINNESOTA.................................  GRANT.......................             .47             .44           11.19             .09            1.11
MINNESOTA.................................  HENNEPIN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  HOUSTON.....................  ..............  ..............             .25            1.01           16.03
MINNESOTA.................................  HUBBARD.....................  ..............  ..............           10.51            2.87            2.17
MINNESOTA.................................  ISANTI......................            2.63            2.70  ..............            3.08  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  ITASCA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.59           13.49
MINNESOTA.................................  JACKSON.....................            2.45            2.36            2.48            1.77             .39
MINNESOTA.................................  KANABEC.....................             .26             .06            1.92            2.17           28.92
MINNESOTA.................................  KANDIYOHI...................  ..............             .39             .97            4.95            4.59
MINNESOTA.................................  KITTSON.....................             .36             .17             .14            1.45            6.70
MINNESOTA.................................  KOOCHICHING.................            1.56             .72            1.37            1.09             .58
MINNESOTA.................................  LAC QUI PARLE...............            1.26  ..............             .01             .11             .86
MINNESOTA.................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  LAKE OF THE WOODS...........            6.11            8.25            7.90           11.78           11.00
MINNESOTA.................................  LE SUEUR....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  LINCOLN.....................             .87             .64             .10            1.97            2.49
MINNESOTA.................................  LYON........................            4.42            5.01            6.87            6.88            4.66
MINNESOTA.................................  MAHNOMEN, S.................             .11             .60            3.82            4.20            4.38
MINNESOTA.................................  MARSHALL,W..................             .33             .42            1.13            1.13            2.63
MINNESOTA.................................  MARTIN......................             .28             .03             .20             .32             .59
MINNESOTA.................................  MCLEOD......................             .55             .36             .65             .20            4.93
MINNESOTA.................................  MEEKER......................           10.10            7.44            6.93            6.52            5.68
MINNESOTA.................................  MILLE LACS..................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .99            2.71
MINNESOTA.................................  MORRISON....................            3.09            1.96            6.00            4.44            6.29
MINNESOTA.................................  MOWER.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.93            5.92
MINNESOTA.................................  MURRAY......................            1.33            1.20            2.11            1.81            2.44
MINNESOTA.................................  NICOLLET....................             .43             .41             .49             .53             .42
MINNESOTA.................................  NOBLES......................            2.73            2.73            3.73            4.31            4.19
MINNESOTA.................................  NORMAN......................             .21  ..............             .28             .43            2.40
MINNESOTA.................................  OLMSTED.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  PENNINGTON..................             .32             .86            1.20            1.14            1.80
MINNESOTA.................................  PINE........................            5.82            7.36            3.33            1.29             .39
MINNESOTA.................................  PIPESTONE...................            1.28            1.34            1.39            2.89            3.70
MINNESOTA.................................  POPE........................            1.28             .94             .60           13.95           12.36
MINNESOTA.................................  RAMSEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  RED LAKE....................             .72             .54             .18             .11             .88
MINNESOTA.................................  REDWOOD.....................            1.47            2.09            1.87            1.40            1.42
MINNESOTA.................................  RENVILLE....................            6.42            6.70            9.08           10.10            8.57
MINNESOTA.................................  RICE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .37
MINNESOTA.................................  ROCK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.46
MINNESOTA.................................  ROSEAU......................            3.48            4.31            5.99            7.01            8.65
MINNESOTA.................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  SHERBURNE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  SIBLEY......................            2.18            1.58            3.00            3.83            4.42
MINNESOTA.................................  ST. LOUIS, S................             .18  ..............            1.06             .82             .57
MINNESOTA.................................  STEARNS.....................             .14             .68             .07             .26             .33
MINNESOTA.................................  STEELE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  STEVENS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  SWIFT.......................             .63             .62            1.39            1.31            1.83
MINNESOTA.................................  TODD........................             .74             .53            4.74            3.79            3.03
MINNESOTA.................................  TRAVERSE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  WABASHA.....................            1.98            2.86            2.89            1.99             .51
MINNESOTA.................................  WADENA......................             .84            5.55            6.31           19.55           21.18
MINNESOTA.................................  WASECA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  WASHINGTON..................           22.76            7.86  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  WATONWAN....................             .85             .41  ..............             .07  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  WEST OTTER TAIL.............             .83             .43            1.41            2.50            2.12
MINNESOTA.................................  WEST POLK...................             .06             .81             .92             .91            1.39
MINNESOTA.................................  WILKIN......................  ..............             .01             .02  ..............             .02
MINNESOTA.................................  WINONA......................             .98             .08            5.15            7.52            7.37
MINNESOTA.................................  WRIGHT......................             .26  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MINNESOTA.................................  YELLOW MEDICINE.............             .03             .05            1.31             .49            1.10
MISSISSIPPI...............................  ADAMS.......................  ..............  ..............            4.15           10.99           10.71
MISSISSIPPI...............................  ALCORN......................             .23             .38             .16             .13            1.25
MISSISSIPPI...............................  AMITE.......................           18.85           19.52           14.11            7.96            9.83
MISSISSIPPI...............................  ATTALA......................  ..............             .68            7.75            8.64            5.90
MISSISSIPPI...............................  BENTON......................           24.12           18.35           16.33           25.70           30.75
MISSISSIPPI...............................  BOLIVAR.....................           54.54           61.68           61.76           57.79           56.13
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CALHOUN.....................             .64            6.09            9.04            8.10            8.71
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CARROLL.....................  ..............             .27             .44            6.90           34.08
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CHICKASAW...................           11.33           11.69           12.10           12.22            9.59
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CHOCTAW.....................           21.55           17.82           14.35           10.74            5.58
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CLAIBORNE...................            9.00            8.88           13.45           11.64           25.27
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CLARKE......................  ..............  ..............            1.05            3.23             .65
MISSISSIPPI...............................  CLAY........................           26.91           25.88           23.45           12.83            8.46
MISSISSIPPI...............................  COAHOMA.....................           42.43           44.60           50.31           44.68           38.84
MISSISSIPPI...............................  COPIAH......................  ..............  ..............           23.45           20.20           16.73
MISSISSIPPI...............................  COVINGTON...................  ..............            7.19            5.78            4.35            5.54
MISSISSIPPI...............................  DESOTO......................           29.20           73.04           67.61           60.75           61.15
MISSISSIPPI...............................  FOREST......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           49.45           45.67
MISSISSIPPI...............................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............            1.19  ..............            6.78
MISSISSIPPI...............................  GEORGE......................  ..............           78.65           82.44           85.35           84.61
MISSISSIPPI...............................  GREENE......................  ..............            2.39            2.32            2.90            4.00
MISSISSIPPI...............................  GRENADA.....................           12.92             .63             .60             .54             .43
MISSISSIPPI...............................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............            5.46  ..............            7.93           20.95
MISSISSIPPI...............................  HARRISON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           54.70
MISSISSIPPI...............................  HINDS.......................  ..............             .95           15.65           17.22            7.05
MISSISSIPPI...............................  HOLMES......................           23.32           28.84           29.61           26.42           22.83
MISSISSIPPI...............................  HUMPHREYS...................           27.74           28.93           36.34           56.13           59.23
MISSISSIPPI...............................  ISSAQUENA...................           21.64           19.49           36.02           38.65           29.16
MISSISSIPPI...............................  ITAWAMBA....................  ..............  ..............           34.45           31.14           45.42
MISSISSIPPI...............................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSISSIPPI...............................  JASPER......................             .17             .53            1.89            2.91            1.31
MISSISSIPPI...............................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............             .44            4.31            2.98            2.67
MISSISSIPPI...............................  JEFFERSON DAVIS.............           15.64           30.19           36.39           38.96           35.29
MISSISSIPPI...............................  JONES.......................            3.40            3.95            6.48            2.96           22.73
MISSISSIPPI...............................  KEMPER......................            2.58            3.17            3.48            3.13            4.58
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LAFAYETTE...................  ..............  ..............            1.87           37.11           24.23
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LAMAR.......................           23.99           23.89           21.55           24.79           27.74
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LAUDERDALE..................           45.03           43.37           43.43           35.08           49.68
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LAWRENCE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .04
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LEAKE.......................           29.19           26.36           26.77           37.45           41.38
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LEE.........................             .11  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LEFLORE.....................           76.86           75.74           70.95           67.95           64.77
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............            3.14            2.55           18.28
MISSISSIPPI...............................  LOWNDES.....................            2.58            3.29            2.74            1.50             .77
MISSISSIPPI...............................  MADISON.....................            4.83            7.14           20.99           19.08           15.00
MISSISSIPPI...............................  MARION......................           30.58           23.88           23.59           23.17           17.91
MISSISSIPPI...............................  MARSHALL....................           62.67           60.50           68.86           63.73           55.63
MISSISSIPPI...............................  MONROE......................           11.51           12.96           11.17           15.91           13.37
MISSISSIPPI...............................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............             .89            2.09            3.71            3.32
MISSISSIPPI...............................  NESHOBA.....................  ..............             .07  ..............            1.31            1.25
MISSISSIPPI...............................  NEWTON......................            6.78             .05            2.79            5.66           13.07
MISSISSIPPI...............................  NOXUBEE.....................           26.94           28.75           23.83           24.78           20.83
MISSISSIPPI...............................  OKTIBBEHA...................           11.17            6.54            5.45            3.24            1.19
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PANOLA......................           11.21           12.82           50.82           47.23           43.01
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PEARL RIVER.................           39.53           46.29           51.06           55.69           62.82
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PERRY.......................  ..............             .14             .18            1.02  ..............
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PIKE........................           38.10           44.52           45.87           42.44           40.89
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PONTOTOC....................             .21             .14            1.91            9.42           15.39
MISSISSIPPI...............................  PRENTISS....................  ..............            6.66            5.58            4.38            3.97
MISSISSIPPI...............................  QUITMAN.....................           52.65           48.94           50.07           44.71           39.25
MISSISSIPPI...............................  RANKIN......................           67.35           65.85           54.37           51.65           54.04
MISSISSIPPI...............................  SCOTT.......................            6.57            5.90            7.09            4.90           21.02
MISSISSIPPI...............................  SHARKEY.....................           72.34           78.58           78.90           70.64           70.95
MISSISSIPPI...............................  SIMPSON.....................           53.02           48.00           51.34           54.39           50.89
MISSISSIPPI...............................  SMITH.......................           10.31           15.64           10.88            8.96            8.90
MISSISSIPPI...............................  STONE.......................            2.37           62.82           59.21           58.47           58.94
MISSISSIPPI...............................  SUNFLOWER...................           58.82           61.08           57.47           50.55           56.04
MISSISSIPPI...............................  TALLAHATCHIE................           26.90           28.06           23.92           21.89           22.51
MISSISSIPPI...............................  TATE........................           29.10           37.93           51.55           47.39           51.07
MISSISSIPPI...............................  TIPPAH......................           10.25            8.51            8.60           16.31           12.47
MISSISSIPPI...............................  TISHOMINGO..................           45.32           50.16           41.78           33.36           29.77
MISSISSIPPI...............................  TUNICA......................           55.31           57.64           52.72           48.74           49.60
MISSISSIPPI...............................  UNION.......................            8.98            8.63            7.91            7.14            6.01
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WALTHALL....................            5.38           23.08           23.30           24.17           26.76
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WARREN......................           22.83           21.01           20.20           27.98           21.97
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WASHINGTON..................           55.50           56.92           47.24           63.73           60.91
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WAYNE.......................  ..............             .51            2.01            1.00            2.62
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WEBSTER.....................             .90             .58             .01            1.67  ..............
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WILKINSON...................             .49  ..............  ..............            3.33           14.58
MISSISSIPPI...............................  WINSTON.....................  ..............             .08            2.34            1.91            1.12
MISSISSIPPI...............................  YALOBUSHA...................            5.98            7.15            6.51            4.01            3.66
MISSISSIPPI...............................  YAZOO.......................           15.67           16.37           21.37           30.08           32.13
MISSOURI..................................  ADAIR.......................             .67  ..............             .06  ..............             .20
MISSOURI..................................  ANDREW......................  ..............  ..............             .16            2.08            2.06
MISSOURI..................................  ATCHISON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  AUDRAIN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .22            1.13
MISSOURI..................................  BARRY.......................             .44             .21  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  BARTON......................             .24             .06             .01             .60             .80
MISSOURI..................................  BATES.......................           11.69            9.86            8.58            6.23            5.00
MISSOURI..................................  BENTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .67            1.04
MISSOURI..................................  BOLLINGER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  BOONE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  BUCHANAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  BUTLER......................            8.89            7.96            8.01           12.41            9.86
MISSOURI..................................  CALDWELL....................  ..............  ..............             .19             .13  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CALLAWAY....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CAMDEN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CAPE GIRARDEAU..............             .39             .25  ..............            1.34             .29
MISSOURI..................................  CARROLL.....................  ..............             .35             .03  ..............            1.48
MISSOURI..................................  CARTER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CASS........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CEDAR.......................  ..............           13.99           15.20            7.57            9.97
MISSOURI..................................  CHARITON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .11
MISSOURI..................................  CHRISTIAN...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CLARK.......................            1.26            1.96             .90            1.30             .45
MISSOURI..................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CLINTON.....................  ..............            1.27  ..............             .82  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  COLE........................             .98             .87            1.15            2.36  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  COOPER......................             .07  ..............             .10  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .75  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  DADE........................  ..............             .41  ..............  ..............             .66
MISSOURI..................................  DALLAS......................           12.82            8.40            6.31            5.90           24.55
MISSOURI..................................  DAVIESS.....................  ..............  ..............            9.14            7.29            6.19
MISSOURI..................................  DEKALB......................            1.13            1.17            1.76             .72             .15
MISSOURI..................................  DENT........................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.57  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  DOUGLAS.....................            1.91             .80             .10             .04            1.05
MISSOURI..................................  DUNKLIN.....................             .32             .02            1.02            1.93             .72
MISSOURI..................................  FRANKLIN....................             .28             .33  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  GASCONADE...................             .50             .26            2.61  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  GENTRY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  GREENE......................             .41             .31  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  GRUNDY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .39
MISSOURI..................................  HARRISON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.51            5.06
MISSOURI..................................  HENRY.......................            5.63           21.55           12.92           12.36           10.55
MISSOURI..................................  HICKORY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  HOLT........................            1.02            1.02            1.09             .25            1.28
MISSOURI..................................  HOWARD......................             .30             .09  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  HOWELL......................            9.34             .20             .20  ..............             .20
MISSOURI..................................  IRON........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............           23.38           22.15           11.85
MISSOURI..................................  JASPER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .43             .22
MISSOURI..................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  JOHNSON.....................           23.09           23.23           23.32           19.78           16.14
MISSOURI..................................  KNOX........................            7.88            2.63            3.31            1.70            6.81
MISSOURI..................................  LACLEDE.....................            2.20            2.17            4.68            8.28            5.21
MISSOURI..................................  LAFAYETTE...................             .25             .27  ..............             .52  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  LAWRENCE....................  ..............             .30             .42             .14            7.99
MISSOURI..................................  LEWIS.......................             .43            4.33            7.09            5.64            3.52
MISSOURI..................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.35  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  LINN........................             .04             .03             .46             .39  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  LIVINGSTON..................            3.86            3.04            3.10            3.18            2.58
MISSOURI..................................  MACON.......................            1.20             .95             .41            1.86             .57
MISSOURI..................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .02            5.86
MISSOURI..................................  MARIES......................             .62            1.10  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  MARION......................  ..............            2.62  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  MCDONALD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           12.72            9.54
MISSOURI..................................  MERCER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .01            2.98
MISSOURI..................................  MILLER......................            1.35            2.15            2.83            1.78            9.40
MISSOURI..................................  MISSISSIPPI.................            5.39            5.64            7.74           12.63            6.17
MISSOURI..................................  MONITEAU....................            9.44  ..............            2.19           13.69           10.81
MISSOURI..................................  MONROE......................            1.47            1.33             .48            3.76  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  MORGAN......................  ..............             .59             .58  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  NEW MADRID..................             .33             .20            5.73            6.40            5.61
MISSOURI..................................  NEWTON......................            2.64  ..............            2.45            1.55             .43
MISSOURI..................................  NODAWAY.....................             .04  ..............             .03             .40             .27
MISSOURI..................................  OREGON......................            1.78             .63  ..............             .24            5.41
MISSOURI..................................  OSAGE.......................            1.74            1.22             .70             .79            1.28
MISSOURI..................................  OZARK.......................            1.47            1.96            9.54            7.79            7.36
MISSOURI..................................  PEMISCOT....................           12.97           13.35           11.36           12.77            9.35
MISSOURI..................................  PERRY.......................            2.34  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  PETTIS......................  ..............  ..............             .15             .17             .06
MISSOURI..................................  PHELPS......................             .55  ..............  ..............             .01  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  PIKE........................  ..............             .29  ..............            1.16             .17
MISSOURI..................................  PLATTE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.43  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  POLK........................            1.08             .17  ..............  ..............            1.50
MISSOURI..................................  PULASKI.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  PUTNAM......................            4.62             .30             .25             .55           11.98
MISSOURI..................................  RALLS.......................  ..............  ..............             .25             .30  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  RANDOLPH....................             .01  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.52
MISSOURI..................................  RAY.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  REYNOLDS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  RIPLEY......................             .74             .70             .54             .28             .08
MISSOURI..................................  SALINE......................             .02             .12             .64             .90            1.26
MISSOURI..................................  SCHUYLER....................             .13  ..............             .74            1.06            8.55
MISSOURI..................................  SCOTLAND....................  ..............            2.89  ..............             .37             .12
MISSOURI..................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............             .19           32.64  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  SHANNON.....................            3.59  ..............            9.00             .40             .41
MISSOURI..................................  SHELBY......................             .22  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  ST LOUIS CITY...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  ST. CHARLES.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  ST. CLAIR...................            3.61            5.73            5.96            7.69            7.08
MISSOURI..................................  ST. FRANCOIS................  ..............             .20  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  ST. LOUIS...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  STE. GENEVIEVE..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  STODDARD....................            1.30            1.19             .86             .66            1.18
MISSOURI..................................  STONE.......................  ..............             .28             .27            1.38  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  SULLIVAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .15
MISSOURI..................................  TANEY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  TEXAS.......................             .04             .20             .20             .18             .78
MISSOURI..................................  VERNON......................             .21           31.45           24.13           14.72           12.03
MISSOURI..................................  WARREN......................            3.81  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.14  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  WAYNE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           13.91            3.66
MISSOURI..................................  WEBSTER.....................            1.22             .35             .11           14.84           13.38
MISSOURI..................................  WORTH.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .86  ..............
MISSOURI..................................  WRIGHT......................            4.06            2.69            1.44            1.16             .05
MONTANA...................................  BEAVERHEAD..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.67            1.45
MONTANA...................................  BIG HORN....................           15.98           18.39           22.98           24.15           20.84
MONTANA...................................  BLAINE......................           40.00           38.09           37.02           37.85           32.28
MONTANA...................................  BROADWATER..................            1.95  ..............           62.56           58.47           53.05
MONTANA...................................  CARBON......................           43.20           12.63           11.52           18.21           18.47
MONTANA...................................  CARTER......................            4.96            5.58           18.72           14.03           12.52
MONTANA...................................  CASCADE.....................             .54  ..............             .76             .30             .22
MONTANA...................................  CHOUTEAU....................             .94             .66             .55            1.26            1.41
MONTANA...................................  CUSTER......................             .08             .09             .33             .97             .27
MONTANA...................................  DANIELS.....................            5.01            4.43            6.77            7.18            7.05
MONTANA...................................  DAWSON......................             .14            4.85            3.45            1.76            1.36
MONTANA...................................  DEER LODGE..................             .07  ..............  ..............             .14             .51
MONTANA...................................  FALLON......................            1.69            1.50            1.47             .95            1.32
MONTANA...................................  FERGUS......................            1.58             .35            1.70            2.30            2.88
MONTANA...................................  FLATHEAD....................  ..............            7.14            9.81           23.99           21.19
MONTANA...................................  GALLATIN....................             .81  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  GARFIELD....................           35.40           19.14           50.87           44.82           35.03
MONTANA...................................  GLACIER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           11.63
MONTANA...................................  GOLDEN VALLEY...............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .86  ..............
MONTANA...................................  GRANITE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.11
MONTANA...................................  HILL........................            1.09            1.19  ..............            1.58            2.72
MONTANA...................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  JUDITH BASIN................  ..............             .22  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  LEWIS AND CLARK.............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  LIBERTY.....................            1.30            3.32  ..............  ..............            5.07
MONTANA...................................  LINCOLN.....................            9.25            8.83            8.25            7.96            6.99
MONTANA...................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .23            1.24
MONTANA...................................  MCCONE......................             .96            1.39            1.16            1.62            2.52
MONTANA...................................  MEAGHER.....................  ..............  ..............             .55  ..............            1.72
MONTANA...................................  MINERAL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  MISSOULA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .55
MONTANA...................................  MUSSELSHELL.................  ..............  ..............           32.28            3.02            1.22
MONTANA...................................  PARK........................           21.11           18.82           13.87           12.10           10.47
MONTANA...................................  PETROLEUM...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  PHILLIPS....................           10.84            9.07            6.54            6.00            9.33
MONTANA...................................  PONDERA.....................            3.86            2.93            2.67            1.92            1.12
MONTANA...................................  POWDER RIVER................  ..............            2.68            1.76            3.47             .51
MONTANA...................................  POWELL......................             .51            5.27            5.22            2.88            2.94
MONTANA...................................  PRAIRIE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            6.82            1.93
MONTANA...................................  RAVALLI.....................           12.09            5.59  ..............            6.84            2.20
MONTANA...................................  RICHLAND....................            1.96            5.61           11.20           12.69            7.92
MONTANA...................................  ROOSEVELT...................             .27  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.22
MONTANA...................................  ROSEBUD.....................             .69  ..............            1.18             .20            2.03
MONTANA...................................  SANDERS.....................            9.31            7.13           22.95           12.48            7.97
MONTANA...................................  SHERIDAN....................  ..............             .27             .06  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  SILVER BOW..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
MONTANA...................................  STILLWATER..................            6.02           15.91           15.15           14.07           10.75
MONTANA...................................  SWEET GRASS.................            3.54            1.01            2.93            2.14             .28
MONTANA...................................  TETON.......................           15.20           25.81           24.27            4.10            4.06
MONTANA...................................  TOOLE.......................             .23             .30             .35             .43             .22
MONTANA...................................  TREASURE....................  ..............           26.91           24.22           11.38  ..............
MONTANA...................................  VALLEY......................           17.32           19.80           20.87           19.95           17.15
MONTANA...................................  WHEATLAND...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.76  ..............
MONTANA...................................  WIBAUX......................             .04  ..............             .62            1.24             .14
MONTANA...................................  YELLOWSTONE.................           21.61           20.18           16.67           13.40            9.39
NEBRASKA..................................  ADAMS.......................             .42             .47             .52             .76             .50
NEBRASKA..................................  ANTELOPE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .29             .25
NEBRASKA..................................  ARTHUR......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  BANNER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  BLAINE......................           11.81  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  BOONE.......................             .05  ..............  ..............            1.01            3.62
NEBRASKA..................................  BOX BUTTE...................  ..............  ..............             .09  ..............             .23
NEBRASKA..................................  BOYD........................            1.15            1.20            2.52            1.64            2.57
NEBRASKA..................................  BROWN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .12
NEBRASKA..................................  BUFFALO.....................            1.36            2.77           15.84           14.24           19.72
NEBRASKA..................................  BURT........................             .39             .39            9.33           12.06            7.38
NEBRASKA..................................  BUTLER......................             .13            4.60             .09             .03             .63
NEBRASKA..................................  CASS........................  ..............  ..............             .25             .79             .39
NEBRASKA..................................  CEDAR.......................             .67             .30             .20             .02             .04
NEBRASKA..................................  CHASE.......................            7.44             .68             .32            2.35            2.03
NEBRASKA..................................  CHERRY......................             .55             .84             .49             .38            1.02
NEBRASKA..................................  CHEYENNE....................            1.59            2.98            1.50            5.19            4.90
NEBRASKA..................................  CLAY........................            1.00            1.25             .27             .92           14.32
NEBRASKA..................................  COLFAX......................             .10             .31             .57            6.96            2.53
NEBRASKA..................................  CUMING......................             .33             .30             .30             .34             .33
NEBRASKA..................................  CUSTER......................            5.99            5.20             .34            2.32            2.10
NEBRASKA..................................  DAKOTA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  DAWES.......................  ..............            1.58             .42  ..............             .47
NEBRASKA..................................  DAWSON......................             .04             .05            1.50             .79            1.03
NEBRASKA..................................  DEUEL.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  DIXON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .39
NEBRASKA..................................  DODGE.......................             .51             .45            3.16            2.83            2.65
NEBRASKA..................................  DOUGLAS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  DUNDY.......................  ..............  ..............            4.11           17.06            5.79
NEBRASKA..................................  FILLMORE....................             .79  ..............  ..............  ..............             .77
NEBRASKA..................................  FRANKLIN....................            1.36  ..............             .07             .66            5.90
NEBRASKA..................................  FRONTIER....................            1.14             .95            2.01            4.21            2.02
NEBRASKA..................................  FURNAS......................             .56            3.49            3.42            3.46            3.63
NEBRASKA..................................  GAGE........................             .13             .07             .07             .67             .38
NEBRASKA..................................  GARDEN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  GARFIELD....................            1.11  ..............            4.02           30.23           31.15
NEBRASKA..................................  GOSPER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.28             .41
NEBRASKA..................................  GRANT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  GREELEY.....................             .87             .77             .75             .69           11.38
NEBRASKA..................................  HALL........................  ..............             .27            1.10           13.11           11.59
NEBRASKA..................................  HAMILTON....................             .24  ..............             .70             .49             .16
NEBRASKA..................................  HARLAN......................             .70  ..............             .57            7.66            2.10
NEBRASKA..................................  HAYES.......................           16.68           15.19           14.26            8.22            7.15
NEBRASKA..................................  HITCHCOCK...................  ..............            9.03           16.46           14.05           12.63
NEBRASKA..................................  HOLT........................             .12  ..............             .45             .09             .06
NEBRASKA..................................  HOOKER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  HOWARD......................            1.88             .29             .46            3.24            1.01
NEBRASKA..................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............             .36           13.10           14.09           16.90
NEBRASKA..................................  JOHNSON.....................            1.08             .33            1.31            1.14             .51
NEBRASKA..................................  KEARNEY.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.66
NEBRASKA..................................  KEITH.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.64  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  KEYA PAHA...................             .49  ..............            4.06            6.90            3.02
NEBRASKA..................................  KIMBALL.....................  ..............             .79             .49           13.56             .60
NEBRASKA..................................  KNOX........................            1.89            1.38            1.13            1.10            2.90
NEBRASKA..................................  LANCASTER...................  ..............             .06  ..............             .41             .33
NEBRASKA..................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.72            1.40             .70            1.55            3.33
NEBRASKA..................................  LOGAN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.03
NEBRASKA..................................  LOUP........................            2.19             .15  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............             .15  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  MCPHERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEBRASKA..................................  MERRICK.....................            3.09            3.64            4.89            8.04            6.56
NEBRASKA..................................  MORRILL.....................           21.95           18.30           17.96           15.57           14.30
NEBRASKA..................................  NANCE.......................             .68             .10             .24             .25             .23
NEBRASKA..................................  NEMAHA......................             .79             .68             .84             .83            2.84
NEBRASKA..................................  NUCKOLLS....................            2.59            2.32            6.45            6.12           11.10
NEBRASKA..................................  OTOE........................             .76             .79             .73             .82            9.64
NEBRASKA..................................  PAWNEE......................             .35            2.27             .89             .88            2.25
NEBRASKA..................................  PERKINS.....................  ..............  ..............             .11             .04             .12
NEBRASKA..................................  PHELPS......................            1.53            2.38            3.99            6.57            8.44
NEBRASKA..................................  PIERCE......................             .64            1.19             .60            1.67             .90
NEBRASKA..................................  PLATTE......................             .72             .70             .89            1.02             .09
NEBRASKA..................................  POLK........................             .06  ..............  ..............             .65            3.44
NEBRASKA..................................  RED WILLOW..................            3.03            1.97             .95            1.68            2.26
NEBRASKA..................................  RICHARDSON..................             .49             .54            1.79             .97            1.55
NEBRASKA..................................  ROCK........................            1.58            2.10            1.64            4.60           16.59
NEBRASKA..................................  SALINE......................             .52             .52             .98             .89            1.25
NEBRASKA..................................  SARPY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .45             .35
NEBRASKA..................................  SAUNDERS....................             .28             .22  ..............             .82             .69
NEBRASKA..................................  SCOTTS BLUFF................           16.20           18.17           16.03           16.82           15.09
NEBRASKA..................................  SEWARD......................  ..............             .16             .14  ..............            1.07
NEBRASKA..................................  SHERIDAN....................            4.40            1.73            1.26             .87             .07
NEBRASKA..................................  SHERMAN.....................            3.12            1.51            1.01             .94           16.82
NEBRASKA..................................  SIOUX, S1/2.................            1.92             .35  ..............             .32            1.39
NEBRASKA..................................  STANTON.....................            2.68             .21            8.93            6.62            6.33
NEBRASKA..................................  THAYER......................             .51             .50            4.62            5.42            3.46
NEBRASKA..................................  THOMAS......................  ..............            5.42            4.65           19.72           34.47
NEBRASKA..................................  THURSTON....................             .28  ..............           10.10            6.31            6.64
NEBRASKA..................................  VALLEY......................            3.59            2.79             .42             .40             .60
NEBRASKA..................................  WASHINGTON..................             .03             .01             .11             .93            2.47
NEBRASKA..................................  WAYNE.......................            1.65           14.61           14.73           16.56           12.93
NEBRASKA..................................  WEBSTER.....................  ..............  ..............             .35             .22            1.46
NEBRASKA..................................  WHEELER.....................             .08  ..............  ..............  ..............             .96
NEBRASKA..................................  YORK........................            5.39            3.81            3.39            3.56            7.07
NEVADA....................................  CARSON CITY.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  CHURCHILL...................            2.13           14.53  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  CLARK.......................  ..............             .01             .81  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  DOUGLAS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  ELKO........................           20.36            7.29           13.63            6.27            6.41
NEVADA....................................  ESMERALDA...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  EUREKA......................             .20           24.81           17.02           12.39           11.28
NEVADA....................................  HUMBOLDT....................           15.59           19.47            6.83            9.72            6.05
NEVADA....................................  LANDER......................            2.06  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  LINCOLN.....................           24.31  ..............  ..............  ..............           74.44
NEVADA....................................  LYON........................  ..............  ..............            3.55             .98  ..............
NEVADA....................................  MINERAL.....................  ..............  ..............           22.34            6.29  ..............
NEVADA....................................  NYE,NW......................  ..............             .53  ..............           30.90           28.93
NEVADA....................................  PERSHING....................             .54  ..............  ..............             .33  ..............
NEVADA....................................  STOREY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEVADA....................................  WASHOE......................           70.07           68.04           63.04           58.07           54.38
NEVADA....................................  WHITE PINE..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  BELKNAP.....................            2.68             .88             .91            1.59            2.67
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  CARROLL.....................            2.61  ..............  ..............            3.03  ..............
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  CHESHIRE....................  ..............             .07  ..............             .06  ..............
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  COOS........................            4.40            6.40            6.46            8.17            7.54
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  GRAFTON.....................  ..............            3.59            4.04            4.72            3.95
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  HILLSBOROUGH................             .89  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  MERRIMACK...................             .29  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  ROCKINGHAM..................             .04  ..............  ..............             .02             .52
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  STRAFFORD...................            4.61            4.19            4.38            3.73            3.58
NEW HAMPSHIRE.............................  SULLIVAN....................  ..............             .35  ..............            4.43            1.56
NEW JERSEY................................  ATLANTIC....................            8.36           25.38           30.29           31.23           28.26
NEW JERSEY................................  BERGEN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  BURLINGTON..................           34.19           29.72           25.86           24.93           26.37
NEW JERSEY................................  CAMDEN......................  ..............           43.62           43.43           29.95           26.95
NEW JERSEY................................  CAPE MAY....................  ..............           16.01           80.06           79.93           79.95
NEW JERSEY................................  CUMBERLAND..................           37.81           35.00           40.14           38.70           42.37
NEW JERSEY................................  ESSEX.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  GLOUCESTER..................           58.84           67.47           57.78           55.76           53.93
NEW JERSEY................................  HUDSON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  HUNTERDON...................            2.46            4.89           11.12            9.30           13.31
NEW JERSEY................................  MERCER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  MIDDLESEX...................           82.88           82.86           82.68           82.66           56.49
NEW JERSEY................................  MONMOUTH....................           56.77           75.28           74.72           74.00           59.26
NEW JERSEY................................  MORRIS......................  ..............            1.98  ..............  ..............           10.28
NEW JERSEY................................  OCEAN.......................  ..............           90.95  ..............  ..............            9.43
NEW JERSEY................................  PASSAIC.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  SALEM.......................           48.91           49.26           53.50           46.95           49.33
NEW JERSEY................................  SOMERSET....................  ..............             .74           40.11           35.87           25.40
NEW JERSEY................................  SUSSEX......................            3.77            1.71  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW JERSEY................................  WARREN......................            5.11            4.41            4.24            5.28            4.12
NEW MEXICO................................  BERNALILLO WEST.............           41.39           27.29           15.81            1.20  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  CATRON......................            7.28            5.13            6.78            3.70            3.15
NEW MEXICO................................  CHAVES......................           31.80           26.59           21.63           18.16           17.87
NEW MEXICO................................  CIBOLA......................           47.44           74.12           72.48           68.32           65.66
NEW MEXICO................................  COLFAX......................  ..............            1.99  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  CURRY.......................            4.45            4.19            7.58           11.91           10.09
NEW MEXICO................................  DEBACA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .96  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  DONA ANA....................            9.27            9.11            7.80            5.96             .65
NEW MEXICO................................  EDDY........................           28.85           19.77           13.65           14.74            9.74
NEW MEXICO................................  GRANT.......................           28.41           23.42           18.45           18.04           10.15
NEW MEXICO................................  GUADALUPE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  HARDING, PT.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  HIDALGO.....................           16.29           17.69           22.09           23.80            8.57
NEW MEXICO................................  LEA.........................           17.67           15.88           14.62            8.52            8.12
NEW MEXICO................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.76            2.52           14.11           13.10           11.09
NEW MEXICO................................  LOS ALAMOS..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  LUNA........................            3.87            6.65            6.84            3.84            2.51
NEW MEXICO................................  MCKINLEY....................            8.99           11.57           15.15           26.61           20.31
NEW MEXICO................................  MORA........................  ..............             .26             .17             .87            1.40
NEW MEXICO................................  OTERO, PT...................           27.20           23.35           25.27           13.59           13.43
NEW MEXICO................................  QUAY........................  ..............             .34            2.08            2.21            1.73
NEW MEXICO................................  RIO ARRIBA..................            9.39           17.54           15.79           12.09           10.74
NEW MEXICO................................  ROOSEVELT...................           21.77           22.28           26.80           21.02           18.83
NEW MEXICO................................  SAN JUAN....................           45.80           42.09           33.05            9.10            3.37
NEW MEXICO................................  SAN MIGUEL..................             .15           44.63           32.06           37.85           45.32
NEW MEXICO................................  SANDOVAL....................            6.49            7.84            4.99             .37             .11
NEW MEXICO................................  SANTA FE, N.................            9.56           21.99           11.72            7.26  ..............
NEW MEXICO................................  SIERRA......................           27.37           19.38           17.14           16.70           14.75
NEW MEXICO................................  SOCORRO.....................           30.24           31.48           24.60           20.72           19.54
NEW MEXICO................................  TAOS........................  ..............  ..............            2.75            4.02            3.15
NEW MEXICO................................  TORRANCE....................            2.33           25.76           22.26           21.53           21.58
NEW MEXICO................................  UNION.......................            4.21            2.79            1.51  ..............           11.38
NEW MEXICO................................  VALENCIA, WEST..............            8.20            6.63            9.57            2.27            2.06
NEW YORK..................................  ALBANY......................            1.62            2.82            8.40  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  ALLEGANY....................           12.98           11.53           10.78            9.24            4.83
NEW YORK..................................  BRONX.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  BROOME......................  ..............  ..............            2.65            1.62             .03
NEW YORK..................................  CATTARAUGUS.................             .89            5.00           10.69           12.42           21.44
NEW YORK..................................  CAYUGA......................           17.87           15.49           16.56           18.46           16.03
NEW YORK..................................  CHAUTAUQUA..................            5.96            9.56            7.83            8.59            8.62
NEW YORK..................................  CHEMUNG.....................  ..............            1.69            6.35  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  CHENANGO....................            6.18            5.41            4.45           12.21           20.02
NEW YORK..................................  CLINTON.....................            4.35  ..............           27.49           39.16           31.95
NEW YORK..................................  COLUMBIA....................            3.49            7.00            5.12            5.88            6.96
NEW YORK..................................  CORTLAND....................            2.26            1.51            2.26             .93            1.18
NEW YORK..................................  DELAWARE....................           14.31           14.68           15.85           17.22           26.81
NEW YORK..................................  DUTCHESS....................  ..............           26.31           32.60           45.68           50.85
NEW YORK..................................  ERIE........................            7.06            7.08            9.73           13.82           16.84
NEW YORK..................................  ESSEX.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.99  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  FRANKLIN....................           21.37           27.43           25.49           27.46           26.41
NEW YORK..................................  FULTON......................  ..............             .43             .45            1.15             .33
NEW YORK..................................  GENESEE.....................           10.59           27.01           22.99           14.99           13.03
NEW YORK..................................  GREENE......................            7.40  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  HAMILTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  HERKIMER....................            4.12            4.91            4.99            5.98            4.76
NEW YORK..................................  JEFFERSON...................            4.68            6.41            7.75            7.55           16.84
NEW YORK..................................  KINGS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  LEWIS.......................           11.05            9.29            8.62            9.91           26.21
NEW YORK..................................  LIVINGSTON..................           32.63           34.53           36.79           36.03           36.47
NEW YORK..................................  MADISON.....................           10.01           11.85           12.42           10.81            7.55
NEW YORK..................................  MONROE......................            4.09           11.20           11.13           14.80           24.48
NEW YORK..................................  MONTGOMERY..................            2.28            2.93            1.41            5.95            5.01
NEW YORK..................................  NASSAU......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  NEW YORK....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  NIAGARA.....................            2.08            2.50            1.83            8.02           13.21
NEW YORK..................................  ONEIDA......................            1.23            5.77            6.12           19.98           17.48
NEW YORK..................................  ONONDAGA....................           10.50           19.57           10.99           14.55           11.22
NEW YORK..................................  ONTARIO.....................           12.78           14.43           19.41           24.70           26.16
NEW YORK..................................  ORANGE......................           14.63           10.60           33.45           35.43           44.92
NEW YORK..................................  ORLEANS.....................           29.28           27.80           27.84           19.57           26.08
NEW YORK..................................  OSWEGO......................           44.08           29.59           24.34           22.63           21.86
NEW YORK..................................  OTSEGO......................            1.99            2.54            6.26            6.01           10.50
NEW YORK..................................  PUTNAM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  QUEENS......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  RENSSELAER..................  ..............            5.76            5.22           15.09           10.58
NEW YORK..................................  RICHMOND....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  ROCKLAND....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  SARATOGA....................           45.25           25.64           23.63           21.92           19.44
NEW YORK..................................  SCHENECTADY.................  ..............           19.34             .51  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  SCHOHARIE...................            1.84            2.36            5.47            4.83            3.95
NEW YORK..................................  SCHUYLER....................             .24  ..............            1.21            2.07           11.63
NEW YORK..................................  SENECA......................            2.07            2.68            5.46            3.99            2.41
NEW YORK..................................  ST. LAWRENCE................           13.13           13.57           13.70           14.19           14.31
NEW YORK..................................  STEUBEN.....................            5.06            8.08            6.14           23.87           26.88
NEW YORK..................................  SUFFOLK.....................            1.13  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.94
NEW YORK..................................  SULLIVAN....................            2.52            1.73  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  TIOGA.......................           15.93           13.11            8.66            6.97            7.63
NEW YORK..................................  TOMPKINS....................           11.80           10.05           19.50            8.86            8.20
NEW YORK..................................  ULSTER......................           33.51           40.62           43.30           37.21           37.05
NEW YORK..................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NEW YORK..................................  WASHINGTON..................           16.95           12.25           21.58           20.32           21.81
NEW YORK..................................  WAYNE.......................           15.42           13.07           11.53           14.13           10.98
NEW YORK..................................  WESTCHESTER.................           48.51           49.68           54.19           60.25           67.02
NEW YORK..................................  WYOMING.....................            5.72            6.48            6.59            6.61           19.97
NEW YORK..................................  YATES.......................           10.87            9.81            8.01            7.92            8.44
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ALAMANCE....................  ..............  ..............            1.76            2.55  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ALEXANDER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.88  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ALLEGHANY...................           19.48           19.37           20.35           17.24           14.44
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ANSON.......................  ..............            4.49            2.71           18.84           15.56
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ASHE........................           19.84           17.74            9.33            8.39            2.97
NORTH CAROLINA............................  AVERY.......................            4.18            3.63            3.63            5.92            5.48
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BEAUFORT....................            5.23            6.59            8.54            6.89           14.71
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BERTIE......................             .40  ..............            3.12            5.47           12.50
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BLADEN......................           19.96           26.55           24.50           21.61           23.95
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BRUNSWICK...................  ..............  ..............           21.28           12.44           12.33
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BUNCOMBE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  BURKE.......................  ..............            5.06  ..............           36.56           31.82
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CABARRUS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CALDWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CAMDEN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CARTERET....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           45.63
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CASWELL.....................           22.78           26.68           27.53           23.50           22.43
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CATAWBA.....................           64.17           61.04  ..............            1.69  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CHATHAM.....................            1.04             .41             .96            7.23            3.43
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CHEROKEE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CHOWAN......................             .33  ..............            3.99  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CLEVELAND...................            1.18             .15            2.86  ..............             .91
NORTH CAROLINA............................  COLUMBUS....................            8.57            9.51            6.02            2.75            2.33
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CRAVEN......................           13.86           16.78           11.51           20.12           19.10
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CUMBERLAND..................  ..............            5.91           23.90           11.36           32.80
NORTH CAROLINA............................  CURRITUCK...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.62
NORTH CAROLINA............................  DARE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  DAVIDSON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  DAVIE.......................  ..............           23.14  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  DUPLIN......................            2.07            2.01            3.44            2.84            2.49
NORTH CAROLINA............................  DURHAM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  EDGECOMBE...................            7.20            8.25           10.58           10.74           15.96
NORTH CAROLINA............................  FORSYTH.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............            3.13  ..............           12.98
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GASTON......................  ..............  ..............           99.41          100.00          100.00
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GATES.......................            4.02            7.73            6.89            6.24            7.98
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GRAHAM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           98.17           97.97
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GRANVILLE...................  ..............           56.27           57.08           41.42           41.78
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GREENE......................           10.28           14.61           14.52           11.20            9.73
NORTH CAROLINA............................  GUILFORD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.08  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HALIFAX.....................           30.11           26.19           24.47           38.17           43.81
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HARNETT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           25.76           28.24
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HAYWOOD.....................             .61  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HENDERSON...................           62.67           60.55           52.17           44.97           35.67
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HERTFORD....................           23.37           20.01           16.94           16.40           18.74
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HOKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............           11.56           11.63
NORTH CAROLINA............................  HYDE........................           17.32           11.51            9.02            2.69            3.34
NORTH CAROLINA............................  IREDELL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .89             .14
NORTH CAROLINA............................  JACKSON.....................  ..............            1.70  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  JOHNSTON....................            7.61           11.13           13.08           17.13           21.65
NORTH CAROLINA............................  JONES.......................            4.55           16.72            9.39  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  LENOIR......................            5.16            4.53            5.27            2.52            1.55
NORTH CAROLINA............................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           18.22
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MACON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MADISON.....................            7.78           15.24           13.19            9.55            9.91
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MARTIN......................            8.92            8.38            7.77            7.18           12.18
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MCDOWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MECKLENBURG.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MITCHELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  MOORE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  NASH........................            2.36            1.04            1.53            7.34            6.45
NORTH CAROLINA............................  NEW HANOVER.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  NORTHAMPTON.................           17.11           14.57           21.63           26.68           31.55
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ONSLOW......................            6.50            7.58            9.05           53.65           53.67
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ORANGE......................           82.77           69.64           69.25           67.44           56.28
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PAMLICO.....................             .91           32.13            6.56           11.73           11.04
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PASQUOTANK..................             .81             .68            7.21             .86             .69
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PENDER......................           72.13           73.16           71.62           74.00           70.98
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PERQUIMANS..................             .32             .71             .97  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PERSON......................           31.78           29.28           29.14           25.31           23.54
NORTH CAROLINA............................  PITT........................           49.09           45.86           40.08           40.08           39.76
NORTH CAROLINA............................  POLK........................            8.52  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  RANDOLPH....................  ..............  ..............            5.15            2.55            2.54
NORTH CAROLINA............................  RICHMOND....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ROBESON.....................           30.76           54.99           49.62           45.28           42.21
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ROCKINGHAM..................            6.33            8.13             .75             .37           28.84
NORTH CAROLINA............................  ROWAN.......................           10.09  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  RUTHERFORD..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.05  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  SAMPSON.....................           12.67            9.76            9.26           42.47           47.85
NORTH CAROLINA............................  SCOTLAND....................  ..............  ..............           84.80           69.78           36.99
NORTH CAROLINA............................  STANLY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.37
NORTH CAROLINA............................  STOKES......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  SURRY.......................             .47  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  SWAIN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  TRANSYLVANIA................           72.66           71.39           71.38           70.37           69.91
NORTH CAROLINA............................  TYRRELL.....................           10.26            3.74            9.79           56.96           55.82
NORTH CAROLINA............................  UNION.......................           25.12           57.71           20.36           16.83           28.02
NORTH CAROLINA............................  VANCE.......................  ..............  ..............           17.09           14.02           15.30
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WAKE........................  ..............           27.46           32.17           25.91           32.42
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WARREN......................           22.33           29.11           23.04           24.36           53.96
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WASHINGTON..................           14.61           17.52            6.66            3.41            7.43
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WATAUGA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WAYNE.......................  ..............            5.08            3.55            6.77            8.29
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WILKES......................            1.78            1.60            2.27            2.22            2.63
NORTH CAROLINA............................  WILSON......................            7.63            7.36             .18             .32            1.33
NORTH CAROLINA............................  YADKIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
NORTH CAROLINA............................  YANCEY......................  ..............             .48            1.35  ..............            1.12
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  ADAMS.......................            6.20            5.65            4.26            4.30            4.64
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BARNES......................  ..............  ..............            3.97            2.98            2.36
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BENSON......................            1.53            3.18            2.75            4.24            4.44
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BILLINGS....................            4.37             .63             .14            1.75            1.29
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BOTTINEAU...................            2.04            1.63            2.75            2.68            3.25
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BOWMAN......................  ..............  ..............             .85             .20             .58
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BURKE.......................  ..............  ..............             .50  ..............             .45
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  BURLEIGH....................             .31            3.06            1.93            1.51            2.14
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  CASS........................            2.24             .86  ..............             .11             .57
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  CAVALIER....................             .34             .37             .08             .08             .30
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  CORSON SD, PT...............             .09  ..............  ..............             .28            3.56
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  DICKEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.88             .45
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  DIVIDE......................             .58             .16             .53             .33            1.50
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  DUNN, PT....................           51.09           48.57           43.23           39.54           36.15
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  EDDY........................             .18            5.97            4.09            2.13            3.16
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  EMMONS......................             .88            1.35            1.06            1.07            3.06
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  FOSTER......................  ..............  ..............           10.74            8.71            7.48
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  GOLDEN VALLEY...............            1.92             .54            1.04             .12            1.14
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  GRAND FORKS.................             .37  ..............             .54            3.45            2.94
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  GRANT.......................            1.86            1.00            1.04            1.74            1.59
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  GRIGGS......................  ..............  ..............            2.49             .53            2.76
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  HETTINGER...................             .35            1.49             .74            1.89            3.45
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  KIDDER......................             .69            3.00            4.09            1.90            4.81
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  LAMOURE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .53             .20
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  LOGAN.......................             .37            1.34             .45             .56             .64
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MCHENRY.....................            1.54            1.62            2.29            2.23            1.78
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MCINTOSH....................            1.19             .63             .49            1.01            1.72
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MCKENZIE, PT................           23.90           22.20           20.71           19.44           17.73
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MCLEAN, PT..................           22.21           19.26           16.05           12.37           13.14
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MERCER, PT..................           56.65           52.20           45.12           37.57           32.15
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MORTON......................            2.09            1.83            1.76            1.66            2.81
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  MOUNTRAIL, PT...............           41.43           42.29           42.97           39.96           35.83
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  NELSON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .53
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  OLIVER......................            2.53            8.08            6.22            6.07            1.95
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  PEMBINA.....................            5.29            6.43            5.87            6.87            6.74
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  PIERCE......................            1.47            1.11            1.22             .88             .37
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  RAMSEY......................  ..............  ..............             .12             .09            4.61
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  RANSOM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .10             .72
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  RENVILLE....................  ..............             .05             .02            2.31            1.62
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  RICHLAND....................             .38  ..............  ..............            3.13            4.18
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  ROLETTE.....................            3.42            1.56            6.09            3.98           21.21
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  SARGENT.....................            1.55             .54             .46             .27            1.92
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  SHERIDAN....................           14.57           15.73           11.29           12.88            7.01
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  SIOUX.......................           20.53           24.96           26.89           26.74           33.27
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  SLOPE.......................             .02  ..............             .51  ..............             .36
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  STARK.......................            2.56             .59            3.82            2.52            2.73
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  STEELE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .13             .18
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  STUTSMAN....................            1.18            2.33            7.43            3.45            2.19
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  TOWNER......................            5.25            4.72            3.34            4.17            8.69
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  TRAILL......................             .56             .25  ..............             .05            4.60
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  WALSH.......................            3.51            2.85            2.77            3.70            3.93
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  WARD........................            2.54            2.45            3.70            6.02            3.70
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  WELLS.......................             .82             .38  ..............            5.43            4.97
NORTH DAKOTA..............................  WILLIAMS....................            5.83            5.37            8.36            8.66            9.58
OHIO......................................  ADAMS.......................             .39             .96            1.58            1.39            1.92
OHIO......................................  ALLEN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  ASHLAND.....................             .99            1.59            1.91             .91            3.03
OHIO......................................  ASHTABULA...................           14.35            8.09            6.89            9.02            2.40
OHIO......................................  ATHENS......................  ..............  ..............           18.03            6.20            1.52
OHIO......................................  AUGLAIZE....................  ..............            1.16           29.35           23.07           21.58
OHIO......................................  BELMONT.....................           17.86           17.73           18.38           18.85           20.79
OHIO......................................  BROWN.......................            7.74             .31            7.88             .71             .22
OHIO......................................  BUTLER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           19.36           17.59
OHIO......................................  CARROLL.....................            8.14            7.13            6.97            6.42            2.79
OHIO......................................  CHAMPAIGN...................             .55             .04  ..............  ..............             .97
OHIO......................................  CLARK.......................            1.14            1.06            1.08            1.24            1.35
OHIO......................................  CLERMONT....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  CLINTON.....................            1.14             .27            2.54             .82             .29
OHIO......................................  COLUMBIANA..................             .19             .04             .37            4.29            3.30
OHIO......................................  COSHOCTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .85
OHIO......................................  CRAWFORD....................  ..............  ..............             .61  ..............           41.02
OHIO......................................  CUYAHOGA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  DARKE.......................            5.21            4.71           10.05           17.04           15.07
OHIO......................................  DEFIANCE....................             .23             .36  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  DELAWARE....................           42.59           39.65           29.84           44.80           37.91
OHIO......................................  ERIE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  FAIRFIELD...................            1.49            5.05            5.23            7.54           11.16
OHIO......................................  FAYETTE.....................            9.43            9.13            7.55            8.14            4.14
OHIO......................................  FRANKLIN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  FULTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.20            1.56
OHIO......................................  GALLIA......................           47.94           72.71           21.20           42.88           39.03
OHIO......................................  GEAUGA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  GREENE......................            7.58            5.53            8.02           15.31           12.55
OHIO......................................  GUERNSEY....................             .84  ..............  ..............  ..............             .06
OHIO......................................  HAMILTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  HARDIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .56
OHIO......................................  HARRISON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  HENRY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  HIGHLAND....................  ..............  ..............             .11             .08             .08
OHIO......................................  HOCKING.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  HOLMES......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.60
OHIO......................................  HURON.......................  ..............            4.54            4.48           13.43           10.01
OHIO......................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............           40.48           32.43           32.67
OHIO......................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............           11.33            5.17  ..............
OHIO......................................  KNOX........................            6.23            4.63            6.57            4.78            5.46
OHIO......................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  LAWRENCE....................             .30  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  LICKING.....................  ..............  ..............            1.21            7.19            4.60
OHIO......................................  LOGAN.......................            1.11           56.54           42.11           38.42           38.54
OHIO......................................  LORAIN......................             .35            1.79            1.27           12.47           11.49
OHIO......................................  LUCAS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  MADISON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .15             .09
OHIO......................................  MAHONING....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  MARION......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  MEDINA......................           19.43             .75             .67             .58             .60
OHIO......................................  MEIGS.......................           19.79           19.80           20.15            8.77            8.13
OHIO......................................  MERCER......................           26.96           33.16           50.46           42.32           40.86
OHIO......................................  MIAMI.......................  ..............            2.72            2.62            1.69            3.99
OHIO......................................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............  ..............           19.11           13.76            9.16
OHIO......................................  MORGAN......................           18.49           11.58            8.28            3.25            2.36
OHIO......................................  MORROW......................             .29             .74             .92            1.78             .44
OHIO......................................  MUSKINGUM...................            9.47  ..............  ..............             .07             .45
OHIO......................................  NOBLE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  OTTAWA......................             .88             .96             .59             .86             .36
OHIO......................................  PAULDING....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  PERRY.......................  ..............  ..............            5.19            8.97            1.58
OHIO......................................  PICKAWAY....................           27.21           25.00           23.90           23.09           35.35
OHIO......................................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  PORTAGE.....................  ..............  ..............            3.31            3.07             .33
OHIO......................................  PREBLE......................            1.28             .96            1.56           11.30           11.93
OHIO......................................  PUTNAM......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  RICHLAND....................             .37  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  ROSS........................  ..............  ..............  ..............            9.91            9.36
OHIO......................................  SANDUSKY....................  ..............  ..............             .95           19.59           18.18
OHIO......................................  SCIOTO......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  SENECA......................             .72             .07             .08             .08             .07
OHIO......................................  SHELBY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  STARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            7.61           13.89
OHIO......................................  SUMMIT......................  ..............  ..............            4.67  ..............           17.39
OHIO......................................  TRUMBULL....................            2.05             .88            1.62            2.21            1.95
OHIO......................................  TUSCARAWAS..................             .93  ..............           12.65           28.39           46.16
OHIO......................................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           58.35
OHIO......................................  VAN WERT....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  VINTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............           35.66           13.06            8.06           47.60
OHIO......................................  WAYNE.......................            1.38  ..............             .63  ..............            5.52
OHIO......................................  WILLIAMS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.93
OHIO......................................  WOOD........................            5.22            5.93            8.55  ..............  ..............
OHIO......................................  WYANDOT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OKLAHOMA..................................  ADAIR.......................            1.13            6.57            4.90            2.79            2.13
OKLAHOMA..................................  ALFALFA.....................  ..............             .43             .23            8.50            6.62
OKLAHOMA..................................  ATOKA.......................            1.99           10.84           11.11           10.21           64.02
OKLAHOMA..................................  BEAVER......................            1.13            2.00            3.92            8.36            8.10
OKLAHOMA..................................  BECKHAM.....................            5.89            7.31            6.57            4.99            5.81
OKLAHOMA..................................  BLAINE......................            7.43            6.46            6.62            6.12            9.42
OKLAHOMA..................................  BRYAN.......................            4.01            5.96            9.22           10.34           15.21
OKLAHOMA..................................  CADDO.......................            4.97            4.71            6.70           14.94           13.66
OKLAHOMA..................................  CANADIAN....................            4.81             .50            1.64            1.86            6.11
OKLAHOMA..................................  CARTER......................            1.13             .13            2.89            1.33             .57
OKLAHOMA..................................  CHEROKEE....................            1.08            1.24            1.60            2.92            2.01
OKLAHOMA..................................  CHOCTAW.....................           16.45           11.87           11.11           26.33           26.90
OKLAHOMA..................................  CIMARRON....................            6.54            4.55            3.88            4.46            3.40
OKLAHOMA..................................  CLEVELAND...................           33.81           25.05           16.25            5.86            4.76
OKLAHOMA..................................  COAL........................            1.64             .84            2.15           17.12           16.06
OKLAHOMA..................................  COMANCHE....................            2.42             .75            1.10            7.56            9.06
OKLAHOMA..................................  COTTON......................            5.65            1.77            3.15           25.87           28.04
OKLAHOMA..................................  CRAIG.......................             .19           15.06           14.74           12.33           12.71
OKLAHOMA..................................  CREEK.......................            1.14             .48  ..............             .91  ..............
OKLAHOMA..................................  CUSTER......................            9.77            4.80            5.12            4.64            2.63
OKLAHOMA..................................  DELAWARE....................            7.25            5.69            5.23           13.23           12.47
OKLAHOMA..................................  DEWEY.......................            8.78            7.93            7.25            5.85            5.34
OKLAHOMA..................................  ELLIS.......................            8.99            7.63            3.82            4.01            2.89
OKLAHOMA..................................  GARFIELD....................            1.49            2.98            2.25             .91            2.50
OKLAHOMA..................................  GARVIN......................            7.44            2.77            5.40            4.86            7.83
OKLAHOMA..................................  GRADY.......................            2.07            2.60            3.09            3.25            2.36
OKLAHOMA..................................  GRANT.......................            2.76            3.31            8.90           10.30            9.06
OKLAHOMA..................................  GREER.......................            5.65            7.94           11.10            5.49            6.13
OKLAHOMA..................................  HARMON......................            4.74            4.07            4.68            4.89            3.83
OKLAHOMA..................................  HARPER......................           14.81           10.95            7.11            3.38            1.93
OKLAHOMA..................................  HASKELL.....................             .42             .27            1.40            2.09            2.28
OKLAHOMA..................................  HUGHES......................           15.62           20.21           23.58           33.96           31.70
OKLAHOMA..................................  JACKSON.....................            5.49            4.27            5.13            4.07            3.96
OKLAHOMA..................................  JEFFERSON...................            4.59           13.05           16.28           17.55           11.63
OKLAHOMA..................................  JOHNSTON....................            5.80            5.68            5.97            7.89           10.48
OKLAHOMA..................................  KAY.........................            1.49            1.40            4.28            2.80            3.65
OKLAHOMA..................................  KINGFISHER..................            4.35            3.97            4.14            7.16            6.71
OKLAHOMA..................................  KIOWA.......................            7.72            5.06            5.14            5.52           11.07
OKLAHOMA..................................  LATIMER.....................             .91             .12           18.81           20.40           14.81
OKLAHOMA..................................  LE FLORE....................            6.82            6.23            4.50            6.12            7.86
OKLAHOMA..................................  LINCOLN.....................           12.61           10.43            7.66            5.37            7.46
OKLAHOMA..................................  LOGAN.......................            2.74            7.83            6.43            6.51            8.46
OKLAHOMA..................................  LOVE........................            2.44             .75            3.13            4.51            3.95
OKLAHOMA..................................  MAJOR.......................            1.85            1.91            1.26            2.00            5.73
OKLAHOMA..................................  MARSHALL....................            5.97            5.85            6.54            7.35           59.81
OKLAHOMA..................................  MAYES.......................            8.37            8.78           10.76           10.65            9.74
OKLAHOMA..................................  MCCLAIN.....................            7.90            5.02           19.72           20.89           28.12
OKLAHOMA..................................  MCCURTAIN...................            3.61            3.48            1.60            4.97           20.27
OKLAHOMA..................................  MCINTOSH....................            3.62            4.54            3.83            4.43            3.44
OKLAHOMA..................................  MURRAY......................            3.72            3.52           15.78            5.31           12.68
OKLAHOMA..................................  MUSKOGEE....................           12.03           11.28           12.42           11.88           18.79
OKLAHOMA..................................  NOBLE.......................             .75             .66            1.37            1.11             .82
OKLAHOMA..................................  NOWATA......................             .77             .48            5.67            2.74            1.60
OKLAHOMA..................................  OKFUSKEE....................            4.65           14.32           14.52           28.27           30.72
OKLAHOMA..................................  OKLAHOMA....................           28.45           26.88           21.71           20.80           49.90
OKLAHOMA..................................  OKMULGEE....................            9.62            8.78            6.66            7.10            5.09
OKLAHOMA..................................  OSAGE.......................            4.60            8.00            9.55           11.18           12.26
OKLAHOMA..................................  OTTAWA......................            4.86            5.81           11.63           11.32           10.88
OKLAHOMA..................................  PAWNEE......................           22.19           23.28           10.45           11.16            8.38
OKLAHOMA..................................  PAYNE.......................           13.94           20.18           22.05           29.37           23.08
OKLAHOMA..................................  PITTSBURG...................            3.63            6.85            6.90            5.91            6.92
OKLAHOMA..................................  PONTOTOC....................            2.47            4.68            7.90           16.31           16.78
OKLAHOMA..................................  POTTAWATOMIE................             .50            9.57           16.40           17.94           17.07
OKLAHOMA..................................  PUSHMATAHA..................           29.48           31.94           33.57           30.18           34.34
OKLAHOMA..................................  ROGER MILLS.................  ..............            1.65            2.45            1.52            2.33
OKLAHOMA..................................  ROGERS......................           10.27           11.75           15.84           14.89           16.82
OKLAHOMA..................................  SEMINOLE....................             .72            1.03            1.66            5.07            2.79
OKLAHOMA..................................  SEQUOYAH....................            5.45            5.97            5.35            6.40            7.16
OKLAHOMA..................................  STEPHENS....................             .50             .70            4.35            3.91            4.62
OKLAHOMA..................................  TEXAS.......................            8.91           15.36           11.51            9.29           14.75
OKLAHOMA..................................  TILLMAN.....................            3.04            3.61            2.02            2.41            3.61
OKLAHOMA..................................  TULSA.......................            8.46           12.40           12.70           13.81            8.01
OKLAHOMA..................................  WAGONER.....................           15.27           11.78           10.46           16.72           14.33
OKLAHOMA..................................  WASHINGTON..................             .25            1.18             .15  ..............  ..............
OKLAHOMA..................................  WASHITA.....................           12.23            3.45            2.78            3.31           10.97
OKLAHOMA..................................  WOODS.......................             .18            3.11            3.68            4.80            8.51
OKLAHOMA..................................  WOODWARD....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           42.50
OREGON....................................  BAKER.......................            5.41            4.17            3.92            1.90            3.65
OREGON....................................  BENTON......................            4.47            6.76            3.26            1.73            2.73
OREGON....................................  CLACKAMAS...................            7.67            9.05           13.39            4.19            3.33
OREGON....................................  CLATSOP.....................           56.61           52.21           36.87           29.98           24.91
OREGON....................................  COLUMBIA....................            9.91            7.41            7.01           10.21            8.79
OREGON....................................  COOS........................            2.28            2.01            2.32            5.64            7.90
OREGON....................................  CROOK.......................           11.86            4.57  ..............  ..............            4.29
OREGON....................................  CURRY.......................            4.41            1.49            1.09            2.32            2.60
OREGON....................................  DESCHUTES...................            6.46  ..............            6.79            5.73             .77
OREGON....................................  DOUGLAS.....................             .79            1.15             .85            4.13            3.02
OREGON....................................  GILLIAM.....................            7.47            9.53            3.70            8.74            9.11
OREGON....................................  GRANT.......................             .05             .47             .13  ..............            3.69
OREGON....................................  HARNEY......................            4.07            6.11            7.56            4.59            4.29
OREGON....................................  HOOD RIVER..................             .44             .43            9.39           23.38           20.31
OREGON....................................  JACKSON.....................            3.03            4.40            3.02           19.39           15.32
OREGON....................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............           11.12           10.12            8.78
OREGON....................................  JOSEPHINE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OREGON....................................  KLAMATH.....................             .07             .50           10.22            9.30            6.65
OREGON....................................  LAKE........................             .45            1.31            3.79            4.00             .41
OREGON....................................  LANE........................            1.88            2.63            1.96           11.74           10.68
OREGON....................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OREGON....................................  LINN........................            4.72            5.63            5.52            3.24            3.90
OREGON....................................  MALHEUR.....................            5.69            4.62            4.13            4.48            5.31
OREGON....................................  MARION......................            5.83            3.12            2.58            2.89            3.95
OREGON....................................  MORROW......................  ..............            2.66  ..............  ..............  ..............
OREGON....................................  MULTNOMAH...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OREGON....................................  POLK........................            1.61             .80             .87            3.00            1.51
OREGON....................................  SHERMAN.....................            4.28            1.75           21.84           16.45           14.88
OREGON....................................  TILLAMOOK...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .47             .50
OREGON....................................  UMATILLA....................            1.76            2.25            3.25            3.37            4.49
OREGON....................................  UNION.......................           16.18           13.93            2.71            2.07            2.81
OREGON....................................  WALLOWA.....................             .41            3.03            1.75            1.97            3.77
OREGON....................................  WASCO.......................  ..............             .11  ..............             .76             .05
OREGON....................................  WASHINGTON..................             .59             .75             .71             .74             .77
OREGON....................................  WHEELER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
OREGON....................................  YAMHILL.....................           26.59           33.67           22.97           17.20           12.51
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  ADAMS.......................             .55            1.64            3.07           19.39            2.53
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  ALLEGHENY...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  ARMSTRONG...................           17.64           23.54           38.84            6.95            4.60
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BEAVER......................  ..............  ..............            8.33  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BEDFORD.....................             .19             .20             .21             .18             .34
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BERKS.......................            7.34           10.54           11.05           15.82           12.61
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BLAIR.......................             .67  ..............  ..............            1.07             .07
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BRADFORD....................             .25             .34             .55            1.44            1.96
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BUCKS.......................  ..............  ..............           10.04           15.11            8.29
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  BUTLER......................             .08            4.33            3.21            1.17            1.53
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CAMBRIA.....................            2.50            3.09            2.86            5.97            7.93
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CAMERON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CARBON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CENTRE......................             .13             .15             .07             .43             .91
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CHESTER.....................           11.27            8.46            9.56           11.30           11.22
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CLARION.....................            4.67            6.15            5.71           11.55            7.92
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CLEARFIELD..................            3.90            3.06            5.58            1.64            2.25
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CLINTON.....................             .27  ..............            1.40             .54             .79
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  COLUMBIA....................           13.89           19.78           11.96           11.39           13.72
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CRAWFORD....................            4.22            2.61             .88             .25            4.41
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  CUMBERLAND..................            4.40            2.29            4.25            2.78            2.14
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  DAUPHIN.....................  ..............             .42  ..............             .43            2.69
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  DELAWARE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  ELK.........................           92.80           90.74           89.88           88.51           86.62
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  ERIE........................             .29             .19            1.99            2.36            2.26
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  FAYETTE.....................            1.19  ..............             .08  ..............            3.68
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  FOREST......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  FRANKLIN....................             .70             .75           21.02           11.97           14.58
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  FULTON......................             .33             .38             .31            5.98            6.04
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  GREENE......................  ..............  ..............            7.06            5.18            4.26
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  HUNTINGDON..................             .53             .31             .87             .91            1.69
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  INDIANA.....................  ..............            3.41           12.39           10.16           12.30
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............            1.02            1.47  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  JUNIATA.....................            2.23            5.33            1.67            1.35             .55
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LACKAWANNA..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LANCASTER...................            1.43             .95            3.16            3.45            2.80
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LAWRENCE....................           13.75            9.96           10.89           10.10           14.42
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LEBANON.....................           15.25           13.01            5.75            3.65            9.15
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LEHIGH......................            1.15  ..............  ..............             .01  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LUZERNE.....................  ..............           10.85            5.90           21.20           17.29
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  LYCOMING....................            2.83            7.15            1.13             .48            2.27
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MCKEAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .03
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MERCER......................            6.65            6.40            5.15            8.10            3.01
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MIFFLIN.....................            1.66             .67            5.64            4.95            4.54
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MONROE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MONTGOMERY..................           28.67           30.01           32.24           28.30           33.57
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  MONTOUR.....................  ..............  ..............            2.48             .80            1.58
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  NORTHAMPTON.................           72.55           73.70           84.03           48.17           42.22
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  NORTHUMBERLAND..............            3.97            3.17            1.05             .58            4.80
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  PERRY.......................            5.23            4.53            1.19  ..............             .58
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  PHILADELPHIA................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  PIKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  POTTER......................             .04  ..............  ..............            1.23            1.99
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  SCHUYLKILL..................            2.57            1.56            1.27            2.86             .17
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  SNYDER......................            2.63            2.85            4.95            4.72            3.47
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  SOMERSET....................            1.78             .55             .09  ..............             .02
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  SULLIVAN....................  ..............            2.66  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  SUSQUEHANNA.................  ..............             .29             .31            9.23            7.06
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  TIOGA.......................             .21             .66            6.07            5.25            7.24
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  UNION.......................  ..............            2.00            1.52            1.53            1.99
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  VENANGO.....................            5.49            3.86            2.47             .40  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  WARREN......................             .01  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.89
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  WASHINGTON..................            8.13            5.13            8.51            1.92             .99
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  WAYNE.......................            1.34           34.98           19.69           15.77           19.82
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  WESTMORELAND................           17.19           19.44           15.13           11.07            8.10
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  WYOMING.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
PENNSYLVANIA..............................  YORK........................             .06  ..............            4.83            4.33           16.28
PUERTO RICO...............................  ADJUNTAS....................           27.19           25.23           23.03           20.81           18.03
PUERTO RICO...............................  AGUADILLA...................           82.23           80.72           75.99           66.63           60.99
PUERTO RICO...............................  BARRANQUITAS................           16.12           13.82           15.33           15.35           14.34
PUERTO RICO...............................  BAYAMON.....................           67.93           62.64           60.00           57.92           59.70
PUERTO RICO...............................  CAGUAS......................           30.39           26.63           20.94           15.71           14.91
PUERTO RICO...............................  CAMUY.......................           45.93           37.67           31.24           24.49           23.60
PUERTO RICO...............................  CIALES......................           48.26           45.99           38.05           32.76           24.59
PUERTO RICO...............................  COAMO.......................           28.66           24.99           21.65           17.19           12.28
PUERTO RICO...............................  COROZAL.....................           22.12           17.24           14.77           13.37           17.01
PUERTO RICO...............................  FAJARDO.....................           47.25           50.10           44.53           39.49           36.05
PUERTO RICO...............................  GUAYAMA.....................           48.71           48.91           46.65           44.69           43.21
PUERTO RICO...............................  HUMACAO.....................           28.15           23.76           22.62           22.91           20.16
PUERTO RICO...............................  JAYUYA......................            7.08            8.25            7.47            7.61            9.90
PUERTO RICO...............................  JUANA DIAZ..................           20.75           18.93           21.95           27.88           26.87
PUERTO RICO...............................  LARES.......................           25.14           23.69           21.38           20.04           17.21
PUERTO RICO...............................  MAYAGUEZ....................           13.88           12.57           12.07           12.03           12.05
PUERTO RICO...............................  MOROVIS.....................           43.02           39.79           38.43           31.53           25.85
PUERTO RICO...............................  RIO GRANDE..................           22.78           20.71           15.63           12.24            9.76
PUERTO RICO...............................  SAN GERMAN..................           41.89           37.19           34.89           33.26           31.61
PUERTO RICO...............................  SAN LORENZO.................           19.95           26.07           17.89           11.34            9.17
PUERTO RICO...............................  SAN SEBASTIAN...............           24.51           22.49           21.44           21.47           24.55
PUERTO RICO...............................  UTUADO......................           15.45           13.16           11.66           10.28           10.85
PUERTO RICO...............................  YAUCO.......................           35.83           31.87           26.73           22.77           17.73
RHODE ISLAND..............................  BRISTOL.....................           38.13            2.96  ..............           11.20  ..............
RHODE ISLAND..............................  KENT........................           34.74           29.11           25.94           22.42           19.75
RHODE ISLAND..............................  NEWPORT.....................           30.40           25.20           22.76           23.11           24.62
RHODE ISLAND..............................  PROVIDENCE..................            7.70            5.64            4.20            2.26            8.40
RHODE ISLAND..............................  WASHINGTON..................            1.67            5.20            1.58            1.97            8.34
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  ABBEVILLE...................  ..............            1.82            1.76            1.41  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  AIKEN.......................  ..............  ..............            6.75            9.81            4.90
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  ALLENDALE...................  ..............  ..............            1.66            1.75            4.21
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  ANDERSON....................           10.74           33.49           20.30            1.41            1.21
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  BAMBERG.....................  ..............             .72  ..............             .46            1.79
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  BARNWELL....................           47.59           52.40           48.94           49.41           48.54
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  BEAUFORT....................           58.85           98.22           98.17           98.16           98.10
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  BERKELEY....................  ..............  ..............           10.70            5.70            4.56
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CALHOUN.....................           24.53           20.48           16.97           13.62           14.31
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CHARLESTON..................           21.55           28.16           15.76           19.03           14.25
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CHEROKEE....................            5.61  ..............            4.64  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CHESTER.....................  ..............  ..............            3.47  ..............           11.34
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CHESTERFIELD................             .32  ..............             .68             .72            1.43
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  CLARENDON...................            4.76           19.57           16.33           14.60           12.91
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  COLLETON....................           21.81           19.87           17.73           17.72           14.46
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  DARLINGTON..................            4.23            4.60            3.60            3.02            3.83
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  DILLON......................            1.69            1.16            1.43            1.38            1.15
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  DORCHESTER..................             .94            1.08           16.02            9.73            9.48
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  EDGEFIELD...................  ..............           72.07           67.44           71.54           73.57
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  FAIRFIELD...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  FLORENCE....................           21.28           20.73           28.95           27.39           25.67
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  GEORGETOWN..................            5.65  ..............            3.54            3.07            6.09
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  GREENVILLE..................  ..............  ..............            2.03  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  GREENWOOD...................           14.47           11.76           10.16            9.46            5.07
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  HAMPTON.....................  ..............  ..............           14.95           55.76           66.83
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  HORRY.......................  ..............             .13             .18             .09            1.21
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  JASPER......................           64.42           80.66           79.83           79.36           74.86
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  KERSHAW.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  LANCASTER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  LAURENS.....................  ..............           11.08           19.07           10.73           13.37
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  LEE.........................            1.13            1.55            9.39            7.89            6.58
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  LEXINGTON...................            1.80            1.93            3.36            1.26            4.09
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  MARION......................           16.65           16.55           24.16           21.06           14.25
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  MARLBORO....................            5.35            5.23            4.60            2.99            9.00
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  MCCORMICK...................  ..............  ..............  ..............           12.75  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  NEWBERRY....................            1.10             .60            6.56            3.21            1.97
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  OCONEE......................            8.39           12.57           23.55           45.06           43.43
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  ORANGEBURG..................            5.13            8.43            7.06            4.91            4.25
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  PICKENS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .14  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  RICHLAND....................  ..............           10.35  ..............            1.79           18.54
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  SALUDA......................            1.80            1.23            2.51            1.92            3.18
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  SPARTANBURG.................           23.15           20.69            5.13            3.22            1.90
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  SUMTER......................            7.83            6.16            4.10            4.56            6.65
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  WILLIAMSBURG................           15.95           17.11           19.87           17.91           15.60
SOUTH CAROLINA............................  YORK........................             .54             .45  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  AURORA......................            3.05            2.37            1.81            1.60            1.24
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BEADLE......................             .56             .80             .87            7.14           13.03
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BENNETT.....................             .39             .53             .49             .06             .43
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BON HOMME...................            2.20            1.59            3.03             .86             .18
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BROOKINGS...................             .27             .66             .19             .34             .17
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BROWN.......................             .07             .08             .07             .07             .24
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BRULE.......................  ..............  ..............             .56             .01             .68
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BUFFALO.....................  ..............  ..............             .11             .46             .08
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  BUTTE.......................  ..............             .03  ..............             .06            1.74
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CAMPBELL....................             .13             .13             .09             .08            8.74
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CHARLES MIX.................            2.46            2.71            2.68            2.48            2.82
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CLARK.......................  ..............             .02             .01             .63            2.48
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CLAY........................             .12             .14             .12  ..............             .74
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CODINGTON...................            1.24            1.63            1.59             .51            4.25
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  CUSTER......................             .36  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  DAVISON.....................           18.27           15.31           26.96           23.40           19.72
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  DAY.........................            1.08             .33            6.58            2.52             .90
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  DEUEL.......................            1.91             .31             .24             .65             .20
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  DEWEY.......................            5.45            6.77            4.99            4.76            4.12
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  DOUGLAS.....................             .05             .38             .09             .01  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  EDMUNDS.....................             .17  ..............             .02            1.37            1.40
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  FALL RIVER..................             .24  ..............  ..............  ..............             .39
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  FAULK.......................             .04             .06  ..............             .06             .03
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  GRANT.......................             .42             .44             .11  ..............             .93
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  GREGORY.....................             .82             .86             .78             .72            3.29
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HAAKON......................             .67             .47             .25            1.06             .30
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HAMLIN......................             .93             .94             .79             .64            1.82
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HAND........................             .18             .50             .23            1.05            1.78
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HANSON......................  ..............  ..............             .10  ..............             .47
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HARDING.....................             .36  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.49
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HUGHES......................  ..............             .03  ..............  ..............             .01
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HUTCHINSON..................  ..............             .02  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  HYDE........................             .26  ..............             .24             .39            1.31
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  JACKSON.....................            1.31            1.21            1.05             .57             .70
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  JERAULD.....................             .05             .06             .04             .32             .10
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  JONES.......................             .61             .71             .60             .70  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  KINGSBURY...................             .82             .34             .13             .03            1.87
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  LAKE........................  ..............             .47             .40             .40             .28
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  LAWRENCE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  LYMAN.......................             .77  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.41
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MARSHALL....................             .11            1.39            1.02             .83            1.25
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MCCOOK......................  ..............           15.58            3.88            2.72            1.72
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MCPHERSON...................  ..............  ..............             .93            1.07             .71
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MEADE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MELLETTE,W..................  ..............            1.62            1.70            1.69  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MINER.......................  ..............             .18             .26            6.22            3.97
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MINNEHAHA...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .54             .37
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  MOODY.......................             .04  ..............  ..............             .22  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  PENNINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .09  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  PERKINS.....................             .27             .15             .22             .66            1.17
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  POTTER......................            1.01             .90             .68             .51             .16
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  ROBERTS.....................             .18  ..............  ..............             .31            1.03
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  SANBORN.....................  ..............  ..............             .71  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  SHANNON, PT WEST............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .10             .10
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  SPINK.......................            2.83             .73             .71            4.47            4.03
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  STANLEY.....................             .21  ..............             .43  ..............  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  SULLY.......................             .59  ..............  ..............  ..............           39.81
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  TODD........................  ..............             .94             .82             .77             .68
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  TRIPP.......................            2.05            2.30            2.73            4.82            3.46
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  TURNER......................             .03  ..............             .47  ..............             .12
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  UNION.......................             .57            1.24            1.73             .21  ..............
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  WALWORTH....................           16.12           13.62           10.14           10.01           13.28
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  YANKTON.....................             .08             .14             .08            2.42            1.76
SOUTH DAKOTA..............................  ZIEBACH.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           19.65
TENNESSEE.................................  ANDERSON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  BEDFORD.....................            5.06             .73             .68             .67            6.97
TENNESSEE.................................  BENTON......................  ..............  ..............            3.55             .87  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  BLEDSOE.....................           12.10           10.76            9.02            6.96            7.20
TENNESSEE.................................  BLOUNT......................  ..............  ..............            8.55            9.96            1.30
TENNESSEE.................................  BRADLEY.....................           13.65            9.96            8.70           14.16           10.29
TENNESSEE.................................  CAMPBELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............            5.04            6.10
TENNESSEE.................................  CANNON......................            5.00            1.80             .85  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  CARROLL.....................             .07            4.31            6.99            4.39           20.45
TENNESSEE.................................  CARTER......................           43.56  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  CHEATHAM....................           21.19           15.92           34.26           25.99           43.80
TENNESSEE.................................  CHESTER.....................            3.75            2.44            1.55             .80             .66
TENNESSEE.................................  CLAIBORNE...................            1.99           18.28           22.10           21.90           20.40
TENNESSEE.................................  CLAY........................  ..............  ..............             .26            1.64             .95
TENNESSEE.................................  COCKE.......................  ..............            7.44            3.37             .10            7.00
TENNESSEE.................................  COFFEE......................            6.24            4.79            3.99            5.43            3.62
TENNESSEE.................................  CROCKETT....................            6.59            6.12            5.36            4.75            4.94
TENNESSEE.................................  CUMBERLAND..................            8.91           14.43            4.67            6.02            1.75
TENNESSEE.................................  DAVIDSON....................  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  DECATUR.....................            1.86            1.92            4.39            4.62            3.46
TENNESSEE.................................  DEKALB......................            1.95           11.01            9.42            7.66            6.99
TENNESSEE.................................  DICKSON.....................            5.27            4.66            7.66           12.14            3.62
TENNESSEE.................................  DYER........................            1.31            5.56            6.76            6.07            4.76
TENNESSEE.................................  FAYETTE.....................            2.21            2.92            3.90            4.10            6.11
TENNESSEE.................................  FENTRESS....................           20.51           20.06           22.24           14.34            9.48
TENNESSEE.................................  FRANKLIN....................            8.10            6.41            5.50            3.80            3.53
TENNESSEE.................................  GIBSON......................             .59             .86             .01             .01  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  GILES.......................            7.57            5.06            6.41            9.43            3.34
TENNESSEE.................................  GRAINGER....................            1.35  ..............            6.52            4.16            1.37
TENNESSEE.................................  GREENE......................           10.25           15.03           24.69           24.69           20.52
TENNESSEE.................................  GRUNDY......................            4.94            4.11            3.37            2.54            9.59
TENNESSEE.................................  HAMBLEN.....................            7.39  ..............  ..............  ..............           34.92
TENNESSEE.................................  HAMILTON....................           57.11           49.55           21.85            6.52           39.20
TENNESSEE.................................  HANCOCK.....................  ..............           13.40           13.37           10.33           10.71
TENNESSEE.................................  HARDEMAN....................            1.91             .01             .58            2.71            3.23
TENNESSEE.................................  HARDIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .42            2.24
TENNESSEE.................................  HAWKINS.....................            9.81             .04             .13             .05             .09
TENNESSEE.................................  HAYWOOD.....................            5.40            5.82           11.03           15.19           11.73
TENNESSEE.................................  HENDERSON...................           10.27           11.06            5.05            1.80            7.87
TENNESSEE.................................  HENRY.......................            4.90            6.00           10.17            5.47           11.26
TENNESSEE.................................  HICKMAN.....................            2.95  ..............            6.71            3.30             .12
TENNESSEE.................................  HOUSTON.....................             .24  ..............             .55             .49  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  HUMPHREYS...................            9.19            6.83             .87            2.08            1.71
TENNESSEE.................................  JACKSON.....................            7.82            7.66             .23             .19            5.83
TENNESSEE.................................  JEFFERSON...................            3.68            3.36            2.57            6.12            7.16
TENNESSEE.................................  JOHNSON.....................  ..............            1.88  ..............             .03             .64
TENNESSEE.................................  KNOX........................           15.79           13.89             .31             .30             .46
TENNESSEE.................................  LAKE........................  ..............  ..............            3.34            3.17            2.81
TENNESSEE.................................  LAUDERDALE..................            8.65            6.41            4.88            7.17            9.67
TENNESSEE.................................  LAWRENCE....................            5.58            6.65            2.59            2.40            5.08
TENNESSEE.................................  LEWIS.......................  ..............             .12             .08             .04             .04
TENNESSEE.................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.73            8.36            5.78            4.01            2.74
TENNESSEE.................................  LOUDON......................  ..............             .25           14.68            9.47            5.75
TENNESSEE.................................  MACON.......................  ..............             .60             .80             .53             .59
TENNESSEE.................................  MADISON.....................            7.28           10.27            8.02            5.08            4.70
TENNESSEE.................................  MARION......................            3.21            1.29            1.57            1.04            4.58
TENNESSEE.................................  MARSHALL....................           20.32           18.48           14.78           12.91            5.67
TENNESSEE.................................  MAURY.......................            6.95            7.40            9.09            6.41            4.45
TENNESSEE.................................  MCMINN......................           26.67           22.99            7.09            5.28           20.76
TENNESSEE.................................  MCNAIRY.....................             .53            6.19            4.04            2.88            3.08
TENNESSEE.................................  MEIGS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .59            2.73
TENNESSEE.................................  MONROE......................            4.93            1.61            1.00            4.50           11.18
TENNESSEE.................................  MONTGOMERY..................            3.51            4.18            5.76           15.52           12.88
TENNESSEE.................................  MOORE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.85  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  MORGAN......................            1.60           18.03            9.97            6.59            2.35
TENNESSEE.................................  OBION.......................             .37             .36  ..............             .32             .23
TENNESSEE.................................  OVERTON.....................           13.91           12.13            9.58            8.26            8.29
TENNESSEE.................................  PERRY.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  PICKETT.....................            1.31            8.64            1.28             .21  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  POLK........................            4.01            2.33             .82  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  PUTNAM......................  ..............            2.81           65.22           64.18           61.32
TENNESSEE.................................  RHEA........................            1.26            1.23            2.96            1.89  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  ROANE.......................            8.55            6.06            5.82            6.27            3.18
TENNESSEE.................................  ROBERTSON...................            6.41            8.13            8.74            8.28            4.83
TENNESSEE.................................  RUTHERFORD..................             .41             .21             .65            2.51            9.70
TENNESSEE.................................  SCOTT.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.92            2.24
TENNESSEE.................................  SEQUATCHIE..................  ..............  ..............  ..............           17.16           16.69
TENNESSEE.................................  SEVIER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            3.36  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  SHELBY......................            4.12            3.89            4.40            3.85            7.47
TENNESSEE.................................  SMITH.......................            2.05  ..............            2.35            2.35            1.71
TENNESSEE.................................  STEWART.....................            2.73            1.94            2.44            2.01            2.59
TENNESSEE.................................  SULLIVAN....................           32.40           25.75           22.98           18.37           14.99
TENNESSEE.................................  SUMNER......................            7.75            4.99            2.44            1.44            1.45
TENNESSEE.................................  TIPTON......................  ..............            3.97            2.31            3.84            5.89
TENNESSEE.................................  TROUSDALE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  UNICOI......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TENNESSEE.................................  UNION.......................  ..............  ..............            2.64             .36            1.06
TENNESSEE.................................  VAN BUREN...................            2.62            2.44            1.12            2.10           72.06
TENNESSEE.................................  WARREN......................            4.65            3.93            4.51            2.52            7.05
TENNESSEE.................................  WASHINGTON..................            4.75            4.00            1.82             .68             .55
TENNESSEE.................................  WAYNE.......................             .09            1.02            1.21             .06            2.06
TENNESSEE.................................  WEAKLEY.....................            2.74            2.13             .87            2.00            3.07
TENNESSEE.................................  WHITE.......................             .90            2.66            3.79            1.49            1.43
TENNESSEE.................................  WILLIAMSON..................            2.53            3.00            3.89            1.99            1.26
TENNESSEE.................................  WILSON......................  ..............             .09            3.44            1.95            2.16
TEXAS.....................................  ANDERSON....................           40.46           42.48           38.24           39.01           22.33
TEXAS.....................................  ANDREWS.....................  ..............  ..............           64.50           77.41           65.46
TEXAS.....................................  ANGELINA....................           22.56            4.85            5.59            3.50           76.24
TEXAS.....................................  ARANSAS.....................          100.00          100.00          100.00          100.00          100.00
TEXAS.....................................  ARCHER......................            3.26            3.60            6.07            1.76            7.13
TEXAS.....................................  ARMSTRONG...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  ATASCOSA....................             .45             .37           38.04           31.00           35.68
TEXAS.....................................  AUSTIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  BAILEY......................            7.69           13.47           13.84           24.04           26.00
TEXAS.....................................  BANDERA.....................  ..............  ..............           96.81           74.62           70.47
TEXAS.....................................  BASTROP.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  BAYLOR......................           10.15  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  BEE.........................           22.76           31.12           38.52           41.03           36.51
TEXAS.....................................  BELL........................           37.60           10.68           59.72           55.38           43.71
TEXAS.....................................  BEXAR.......................  ..............            7.37            9.55           26.53           13.06
TEXAS.....................................  BLANCO......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  BORDEN......................             .01            1.13            3.52            2.47            2.00
TEXAS.....................................  BOSQUE......................  ..............            1.26  ..............  ..............           27.83
TEXAS.....................................  BOWIE.......................            1.65            2.63            4.12            2.20            2.03
TEXAS.....................................  BRAZORIA....................           42.03           67.46           33.71           55.82           60.22
TEXAS.....................................  BRAZOS......................           73.25           81.70           99.55           97.54           95.36
TEXAS.....................................  BREWSTER....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           39.23           17.21
TEXAS.....................................  BRISCOE.....................  ..............            1.02             .11  ..............            7.39
TEXAS.....................................  BROOKS......................           17.07           16.28           41.66           59.75           50.39
TEXAS.....................................  BROWN.......................  ..............           22.29           21.34           18.59           27.51
TEXAS.....................................  BURLESON....................  ..............             .54  ..............            5.49  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  BURNET......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           99.99          100.00
TEXAS.....................................  CALDWELL....................  ..............           33.10           25.34           52.02           48.78
TEXAS.....................................  CALHOUN.....................           31.39           33.33           31.55           32.77           30.14
TEXAS.....................................  CALLAHAN....................            2.98            2.92             .24            4.36            3.33
TEXAS.....................................  CAMERON.....................           38.59           49.93           56.50           65.93           63.10
TEXAS.....................................  CAMP........................  ..............  ..............           17.40           10.58           12.05
TEXAS.....................................  CARSON......................  ..............  ..............           27.86           38.54           23.64
TEXAS.....................................  CASS........................             .67             .14             .15  ..............             .20
TEXAS.....................................  CASTRO......................           10.91           31.06           44.72           39.96           42.84
TEXAS.....................................  CHAMBERS....................           64.40           58.70           60.40           89.81           81.48
TEXAS.....................................  CHEROKEE....................            3.99           28.21           25.54           32.76           37.21
TEXAS.....................................  CHILDRESS...................           24.31           20.08           16.16           14.79           16.51
TEXAS.....................................  CLAY........................            2.25            1.07            4.10            7.18            8.80
TEXAS.....................................  COCHRAN.....................           19.75           37.43           34.17           33.93           29.05
TEXAS.....................................  COKE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  COLEMAN.....................           80.53           74.72           74.34           62.35           60.90
TEXAS.....................................  COLLIN......................            4.76            4.65             .80             .65            3.99
TEXAS.....................................  COLLINGSWORTH...............           22.57           16.82           12.46           10.21            6.33
TEXAS.....................................  COLORADO....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           16.94
TEXAS.....................................  COMAL.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  COMANCHE....................           52.33           63.18           62.11           56.87           49.95
TEXAS.....................................  CONCHO......................  ..............  ..............  ..............           25.81           43.42
TEXAS.....................................  COOKE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           41.59
TEXAS.....................................  CORYELL.....................           10.88           59.99           57.20           66.72           59.84
TEXAS.....................................  COTTLE......................           35.29           33.76           33.56           33.61           31.43
TEXAS.....................................  CRANE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  CROCKETT....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  CROSBY......................           13.41           20.71           21.81           21.16           20.42
TEXAS.....................................  CULBERSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           62.15
TEXAS.....................................  DALLAM......................            3.14            2.45            8.04            6.51            3.28
TEXAS.....................................  DALLAS......................  ..............            4.35  ..............           17.46           15.63
TEXAS.....................................  DAWSON......................           14.72           27.05           36.64           47.28           51.79
TEXAS.....................................  DEAF SMITH..................  ..............            3.71            7.91           13.09           28.31
TEXAS.....................................  DELTA.......................            6.18            4.06            2.39            5.49            5.33
TEXAS.....................................  DENTON......................  ..............  ..............           71.01           68.13           49.36
TEXAS.....................................  DEWITT......................  ..............  ..............            4.00           24.69           30.21
TEXAS.....................................  DICKENS.....................           34.01           33.91           35.10           37.23           50.97
TEXAS.....................................  DIMMIT......................           95.24           94.05           65.45           61.16           64.74
TEXAS.....................................  DONLEY......................  ..............            3.44            5.20            5.20           13.78
TEXAS.....................................  DUVAL.......................           17.71           21.60           24.99           32.58           19.98
TEXAS.....................................  EASTLAND....................           38.53           37.27           31.22           32.52           24.37
TEXAS.....................................  ECTOR.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  EDWARDS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  EL PASO.....................           36.27           45.16           46.78           46.96           45.39
TEXAS.....................................  ELLIS.......................            7.27           26.14           47.05           42.37           39.77
TEXAS.....................................  ERATH.......................           40.03           48.82           44.12           39.49           37.00
TEXAS.....................................  FALLS.......................           24.72           26.44           36.14           50.05           61.25
TEXAS.....................................  FANNIN......................            7.11            9.77           13.98           31.68           32.18
TEXAS.....................................  FAYETTE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           65.69           34.85
TEXAS.....................................  FISHER......................            1.12            3.74            4.58           12.90           13.70
TEXAS.....................................  FLOYD.......................            9.43            7.04           11.87           16.39           15.79
TEXAS.....................................  FOARD.......................           30.72           34.26           43.43           48.08           48.51
TEXAS.....................................  FORT BEND...................  ..............            2.30            3.93  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  FRANKLIN....................            2.57            1.17            2.24            1.24            5.75
TEXAS.....................................  FREESTONE...................           10.55           11.60           17.96           33.73           40.06
TEXAS.....................................  FRIO........................           66.56           70.09           63.32           66.32           64.85
TEXAS.....................................  GAINES......................            1.33            2.05            5.16           13.75           15.07
TEXAS.....................................  GALVESTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  GARZA.......................             .51  ..............             .14            3.22             .29
TEXAS.....................................  GILLESPIE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.08           10.03
TEXAS.....................................  GLASSCOCK...................           18.32           15.40           13.81           11.48           13.26
TEXAS.....................................  GOLIAD......................  ..............  ..............           64.24           80.19           47.58
TEXAS.....................................  GONZALES....................             .05            3.86           11.91           18.30           30.41
TEXAS.....................................  GRAY........................  ..............            3.10  ..............  ..............             .73
TEXAS.....................................  GRAYSON.....................  ..............           44.36           35.21           38.81           27.93
TEXAS.....................................  GREGG.......................           28.04           21.67            3.63            2.22            2.39
TEXAS.....................................  GRIMES......................            5.37  ..............  ..............             .03            2.17
TEXAS.....................................  GUADALUPE...................             .30             .94            3.01            3.37            2.06
TEXAS.....................................  HALE........................            2.15           14.31           16.18           23.58           24.31
TEXAS.....................................  HALL........................            2.46            6.51            4.80            7.22            5.31
TEXAS.....................................  HAMILTON....................  ..............           23.36           16.12           21.51           40.02
TEXAS.....................................  HANSFORD....................  ..............  ..............           21.23           13.93            4.41
TEXAS.....................................  HARDEMAN....................           14.68           20.18           20.63           18.11           14.03
TEXAS.....................................  HARDIN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  HARRIS......................  ..............           14.79           14.78           11.52           10.82
TEXAS.....................................  HARRISON....................           28.32           16.28           10.68            2.17           25.18
TEXAS.....................................  HARTLEY.....................  ..............           12.51           12.60            6.02            4.97
TEXAS.....................................  HASKELL.....................           13.34            9.29           24.13           34.22           32.38
TEXAS.....................................  HAYS........................           34.03           39.83           35.54           31.99           28.04
TEXAS.....................................  HEMPHILL....................  ..............  ..............             .57            4.09  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  HENDERSON...................           39.34           33.15           30.24           29.68           24.58
TEXAS.....................................  HIDALGO.....................           34.44           49.30           59.09           57.00           53.27
TEXAS.....................................  HILL........................            1.75            6.26           13.55           18.84           17.31
TEXAS.....................................  HOCKLEY.....................           15.47           29.09           37.91           35.76           34.53
TEXAS.....................................  HOOD........................  ..............           31.54           34.90           81.74           81.56
TEXAS.....................................  HOPKINS.....................             .21            4.28            4.18           12.89           13.61
TEXAS.....................................  HOUSTON.....................           65.09           52.43           63.44           64.72           61.69
TEXAS.....................................  HOWARD......................           21.34           28.71           29.59           25.88           29.17
TEXAS.....................................  HUDSPETH....................           16.27           45.67           38.02           37.10           38.82
TEXAS.....................................  HUNT........................             .82            1.61             .72             .52  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  HUTCHINSON..................  ..............            2.06  ..............           21.37  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  IRION.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  JACK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           97.01
TEXAS.....................................  JACKSON.....................           17.78           21.02           23.58           28.14           34.50
TEXAS.....................................  JASPER......................             .40           11.89           78.13           78.14           69.37
TEXAS.....................................  JEFF DAVIS..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  JEFFERSON...................           27.30           81.72           76.04           69.32           78.38
TEXAS.....................................  JIM HOGG....................           95.59           91.55           90.22           84.79           62.29
TEXAS.....................................  JIM WELLS...................           14.30           24.02           30.25           24.66           22.56
TEXAS.....................................  JOHNSON.....................            2.71           25.30           22.05           25.60           23.21
TEXAS.....................................  JONES.......................           14.62           14.26           20.66           22.03           21.84
TEXAS.....................................  KARNES......................            7.28           22.04           18.88           19.44           27.45
TEXAS.....................................  KAUFMAN.....................           21.96           30.57           30.83           47.37           44.00
TEXAS.....................................  KENDALL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           44.34           44.17
TEXAS.....................................  KENEDY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  KENT........................           13.72           10.23           14.80           37.78           17.36
TEXAS.....................................  KERR........................  ..............           23.72           66.30          100.00          100.00
TEXAS.....................................  KIMBLE......................  ..............            1.54            2.77             .84            1.69
TEXAS.....................................  KING........................            8.43            6.46  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  KINNEY......................            4.58  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  KLEBERG.....................           47.29           61.82           55.74           56.88           53.05
TEXAS.....................................  KNOX........................             .48           10.41           11.13            8.10           14.53
TEXAS.....................................  LA SALLE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           34.39           36.12
TEXAS.....................................  LAMAR.......................             .92            2.78            3.07            8.36           10.36
TEXAS.....................................  LAMB........................           12.88           41.98           46.54           55.04           60.54
TEXAS.....................................  LAMPASAS....................  ..............           44.95           38.58           34.71           29.70
TEXAS.....................................  LAVACA......................  ..............  ..............           40.22           35.26           92.16
TEXAS.....................................  LEE.........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  LEON........................  ..............           33.17           41.82           52.02           64.37
TEXAS.....................................  LIBERTY.....................  ..............           19.39           13.84           11.20           47.24
TEXAS.....................................  LIMESTONE...................           32.70           36.71           41.62           35.58           39.12
TEXAS.....................................  LIPSCOMB....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  LIVE OAK....................           20.64           16.69           24.17           21.51           21.03
TEXAS.....................................  LLANO.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  LOVING......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  LUBBOCK.....................             .43            5.98            7.80           14.60           13.72
TEXAS.....................................  LYNN........................             .38            1.21            5.47            9.51            8.84
TEXAS.....................................  MADISON.....................           76.09  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  MARION......................           22.95           27.47           21.73           18.47           16.61
TEXAS.....................................  MARTIN......................            6.67           20.48           26.28           29.88           47.24
TEXAS.....................................  MASON.......................           44.31           40.97           32.75           40.35           34.68
TEXAS.....................................  MATAGORDA...................           17.97           23.69           16.90           17.67           17.64
TEXAS.....................................  MAVERICK....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  MCCULLOCH...................  ..............            8.23            4.73           10.30           17.20
TEXAS.....................................  MCLENNAN....................  ..............            4.92            3.30           11.19           11.21
TEXAS.....................................  MCMULLEN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  MEDINA......................  ..............  ..............           19.75           51.30           41.71
TEXAS.....................................  MENARD......................  ..............           16.87           20.61           13.73           30.59
TEXAS.....................................  MIDLAND.....................           19.53           22.33           17.83           28.02           26.38
TEXAS.....................................  MILAM.......................            6.39           18.48           31.72           26.87           32.20
TEXAS.....................................  MILLS.......................           97.12           97.56           67.92           69.82           66.43
TEXAS.....................................  MITCHELL....................            2.86            3.25            8.08           20.16           16.17
TEXAS.....................................  MONTAGUE....................           26.86            9.52            4.68           12.02            5.65
TEXAS.....................................  MONTGOMERY..................           29.73           28.25            6.68           86.92           37.36
TEXAS.....................................  MOORE.......................           44.71           28.06           24.56            9.49           18.05
TEXAS.....................................  MORRIS......................           37.70           22.23           11.28            7.88  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  MOTLEY......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           13.39
TEXAS.....................................  NACOGDOCHES.................           29.94           33.24           34.25           33.33           33.30
TEXAS.....................................  NAVARRO.....................           55.20           43.68           59.73           32.31           51.08
TEXAS.....................................  NEWTON......................           54.30           54.38           48.23           40.69           36.06
TEXAS.....................................  NOLAN.......................            8.71            5.74           19.48           31.23           27.88
TEXAS.....................................  NUECES......................           17.21           19.71           16.38           24.20           21.53
TEXAS.....................................  OCHILTREE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  OLDHAM......................  ..............           22.37           21.58           20.07           23.34
TEXAS.....................................  ORANGE......................           31.06            8.09            9.37           21.93             .68
TEXAS.....................................  PALO PINTO..................  ..............           97.64           97.54           70.26           61.54
TEXAS.....................................  PANOLA......................           49.64           35.62           35.60           33.34           31.61
TEXAS.....................................  PARKER......................           27.80           15.93           15.27            5.97           29.53
TEXAS.....................................  PARMER......................            1.24            2.23           14.28           15.69           14.80
TEXAS.....................................  PECOS.......................  ..............            2.83            1.46           18.97           18.45
TEXAS.....................................  POLK........................           43.71           45.33           42.63           39.55           55.69
TEXAS.....................................  POTTER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  PRESIDIO....................           43.37           35.14           28.08           17.18           38.90
TEXAS.....................................  RAINS.......................  ..............            1.39            9.25            6.99           31.62
TEXAS.....................................  RANDALL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............           18.87           28.88
TEXAS.....................................  REAGAN......................           24.84           24.99           26.01           31.87           30.62
TEXAS.....................................  REAL........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  RED RIVER...................            8.68            8.17            9.29           22.46           18.69
TEXAS.....................................  REEVES......................           22.29           31.03           23.89           21.63           40.08
TEXAS.....................................  REFUGIO.....................            6.74           14.18           11.17           10.47            9.77
TEXAS.....................................  ROBERTS.....................  ..............  ..............           24.22           14.88           13.65
TEXAS.....................................  ROBERTSON...................            3.97           17.47           21.59           27.45           26.48
TEXAS.....................................  ROCKWALL....................           31.20           37.40           57.82           59.18           53.32
TEXAS.....................................  RUNNELS.....................            5.38           14.83           23.18           28.89           28.01
TEXAS.....................................  RUSK........................            3.26           20.15           34.57           30.62           29.82
TEXAS.....................................  SABINE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  SAN AUGUSTINE...............  ..............            1.17             .87           14.46           13.01
TEXAS.....................................  SAN JACINTO.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  SAN PATRICIO................           13.01           12.91           24.38           17.91           14.56
TEXAS.....................................  SAN SABA....................           47.77           35.39           28.28           33.45           23.72
TEXAS.....................................  SCHLEICHER..................             .82           18.01           15.36           11.75           12.95
TEXAS.....................................  SCURRY......................  ..............            3.58            8.69            5.54            3.46
TEXAS.....................................  SHACKELFORD.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  SHELBY......................           19.56           24.00           20.77           22.37           17.91
TEXAS.....................................  SHERMAN.....................            2.25  ..............           54.85           32.83           35.45
TEXAS.....................................  SMITH.......................  ..............  ..............           27.61           27.99           52.67
TEXAS.....................................  SOMERVELL...................  ..............  ..............            3.00  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  STARR.......................           29.20           53.83           36.97           36.39           35.95
TEXAS.....................................  STEPHENS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  STERLING....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  STONEWALL...................            1.84            2.14             .95           12.04           12.18
TEXAS.....................................  SUTTON......................           20.31           20.59           13.82            9.71           10.32
TEXAS.....................................  SWISHER.....................            1.83            2.59            3.83            4.21            8.06
TEXAS.....................................  TARRANT.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  TAYLOR......................             .23            1.27             .15             .10             .07
TEXAS.....................................  TERRELL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           14.25
TEXAS.....................................  TERRY.......................            6.22            5.92            6.77           12.24           11.69
TEXAS.....................................  THROCKMORTON................  ..............           41.43           35.93           30.39           14.63
TEXAS.....................................  TITUS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .70             .43
TEXAS.....................................  TOM GREEN...................           16.22           10.26           14.25           12.17           13.77
TEXAS.....................................  TRAVIS......................  ..............  ..............           99.57           91.45           88.31
TEXAS.....................................  TRINITY.....................           40.71           42.22           46.99           41.74           38.02
TEXAS.....................................  TYLER.......................           27.70           24.35           20.29           16.41           14.35
TEXAS.....................................  UPSHUR......................  ..............             .47  ..............  ..............           26.27
TEXAS.....................................  UPTON.......................            5.13            2.19            9.09           12.91           25.42
TEXAS.....................................  UVALDE......................            1.06  ..............           22.36           24.62           35.92
TEXAS.....................................  VAL VERDE...................  ..............            5.68  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  VAN ZANDT...................            2.81           31.40           25.37           41.51           43.15
TEXAS.....................................  VICTORIA....................           40.58           30.21           21.97           38.73           30.34
TEXAS.....................................  WALKER......................  ..............  ..............            2.78            2.75             .76
TEXAS.....................................  WALLER......................             .95  ..............  ..............           99.29           24.85
TEXAS.....................................  WARD........................  ..............  ..............             .44             .53  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  WEBB........................  ..............  ..............           35.76           34.50           33.55
TEXAS.....................................  WHARTON.....................           12.15           16.91           15.20           22.47           23.36
TEXAS.....................................  WHEELER.....................  ..............           31.49           28.03           20.67           27.88
TEXAS.....................................  WICHITA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  WILBARGER...................            6.58            9.23           14.66           13.72           14.49
TEXAS.....................................  WILLACY.....................           53.11           47.35           37.49           32.25           33.08
TEXAS.....................................  WILLIAMSON..................           68.13           69.02           63.64           70.94           54.50
TEXAS.....................................  WILSON......................           27.75           43.71           54.61           55.44           51.59
TEXAS.....................................  WINKLER.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
TEXAS.....................................  WISE........................  ..............  ..............           59.90           14.39           75.05
TEXAS.....................................  WOOD........................            3.35            1.49            2.61            4.67           58.36
TEXAS.....................................  YOAKUM......................            7.26            9.36            9.94           19.08           17.62
TEXAS.....................................  YOUNG.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           39.62
TEXAS.....................................  ZAPATA......................  ..............           38.30           42.45           36.44           30.93
TEXAS.....................................  ZAVALA......................           10.79  ..............           29.48           62.95           54.87
UTAH......................................  BEAVER......................             .23  ..............  ..............            1.47             .80
UTAH......................................  BOX ELDER...................            5.58            1.60            9.87           10.85           12.25
UTAH......................................  CACHE.......................            4.61            2.03            2.34            3.36            1.64
UTAH......................................  CARBON......................  ..............             .29  ..............  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  DAGGETT.....................  ..............             .28            8.48            5.77            3.64
UTAH......................................  DAVIS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  DUCHESNE....................  ..............            2.77             .18             .02             .14
UTAH......................................  EMERY.......................  ..............             .35             .69             .33  ..............
UTAH......................................  GARFIELD....................             .17             .12             .98            1.61            1.62
UTAH......................................  GRAND,E.....................  ..............            3.75            2.70            3.44  ..............
UTAH......................................  IRON........................            4.88  ..............            1.68             .75  ..............
UTAH......................................  JUAB........................             .84             .81             .57             .64             .56
UTAH......................................  KANE........................  ..............            2.18            1.52            2.60            2.17
UTAH......................................  MILLARD.....................             .90             .73            2.20            5.97            6.01
UTAH......................................  MORGAN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  PIUTE.......................             .71             .13            1.78            2.07            3.78
UTAH......................................  RICH........................  ..............  ..............            1.94            2.16            1.71
UTAH......................................  SALT LAKE...................  ..............  ..............             .59  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  SAN JUAN....................             .11             .10             .03  ..............             .04
UTAH......................................  SANPETE.....................             .65            1.26            1.25             .69            1.39
UTAH......................................  SEVIER......................            2.61            2.08             .46            1.25            3.45
UTAH......................................  SUMMIT......................             .12             .24  ..............  ..............            1.33
UTAH......................................  TOOELE......................            2.18            1.25  ..............  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  UINTAH......................             .49             .03             .50             .18             .15
UTAH......................................  UTAH........................            2.39             .16             .32            1.41             .91
UTAH......................................  WASATCH.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
UTAH......................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.61            3.08
UTAH......................................  WAYNE.......................             .91             .77            4.27            4.02            4.36
UTAH......................................  WEBER.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VERMONT...................................  ADDISON.....................            4.00            6.23            8.61            9.57            8.24
VERMONT...................................  BENNINGTON..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           22.65
VERMONT...................................  CALEDONIA...................           13.93           12.49           13.63           11.62           12.33
VERMONT...................................  CHITTENDEN..................  ..............             .98  ..............  ..............            1.33
VERMONT...................................  ESSEX.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.78             .98
VERMONT...................................  FRANKLIN....................            1.87            6.05            6.40            5.92            6.79
VERMONT...................................  GRAND ISLE..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.20            1.63
VERMONT...................................  LAMOILLE....................  ..............            2.73  ..............            7.43            8.28
VERMONT...................................  ORANGE......................  ..............  ..............            3.73            3.22            2.95
VERMONT...................................  ORLEANS.....................             .02             .13  ..............  ..............             .05
VERMONT...................................  RUTLAND.....................            2.26            2.93             .33            2.22            4.85
VERMONT...................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............            4.66            2.18  ..............  ..............
VERMONT...................................  WINDHAM.....................             .39            4.48            2.45            4.32            3.48
VERMONT...................................  WINDSOR.....................           23.76           20.36           22.63           16.35           18.89
VIRGIN ISLANDS............................  ST. CROIX...................           37.62           32.24           26.64           21.58           18.75
VIRGIN ISLANDS............................  ST. JOHN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGIN ISLANDS............................  ST. THOMAS..................  ..............  ..............             .53  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ACCOMACK....................            3.31            2.36            5.05           11.24            7.93
VIRGINIA..................................  ALBEMARLE...................            1.73  ..............            3.68  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ALEXANDRIA CITY.............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ALLEGHANY...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  AMELIA......................            4.09            8.93            6.81           11.27            5.86
VIRGINIA..................................  AMHERST.....................            2.96            5.14            2.59             .67  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  APPOMATTOX..................            6.01            3.33           35.11           31.30           26.85
VIRGINIA..................................  ARLINGTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  AUGUSTA.....................            1.26             .36            6.06            8.74           20.50
VIRGINIA..................................  BATH........................  ..............  ..............          100.00           87.63           76.36
VIRGINIA..................................  BEDFORD.....................            1.90  ..............            1.39            1.58           10.00
VIRGINIA..................................  BEDFORD CITY................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  BLAND.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.02  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  BOTETOURT...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  BRISTOL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  BRUNSWICK...................             .83             .44            1.84            2.24           11.75
VIRGINIA..................................  BUCHANAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  BUCKINGHAM..................             .18  ..............           10.04             .85             .44
VIRGINIA..................................  BUENA VISTA.................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CAMPBELL....................             .20            3.14             .34             .84            4.47
VIRGINIA..................................  CAROLINE....................  ..............            2.29            2.15           20.64           19.29
VIRGINIA..................................  CARROLL.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .96            1.95
VIRGINIA..................................  CHARLES CITY................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CHARLOTTE...................            1.62            1.52  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CHESAPEAKE..................           63.71           61.72           56.41           48.77           46.53
VIRGINIA..................................  CHESTERFIELD................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CLARKE......................  ..............  ..............            2.60            1.32           10.38
VIRGINIA..................................  COLONIAL HEIGHTS............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  COURTLAND...................           14.07           15.34           16.64           18.29           19.52
VIRGINIA..................................  COVINGTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  CRAIG.......................            9.82  ..............            5.48            6.21            5.95
VIRGINIA..................................  CULPEPER....................           28.72           24.06           17.24           14.64           10.60
VIRGINIA..................................  CUMBERLAND..................             .57             .31            1.24            2.17            5.48
VIRGINIA..................................  DANVILLE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  DICKENSON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  DINWIDDIE...................           67.18           76.61           72.65           71.87           71.01
VIRGINIA..................................  EMPORIA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ESSEX.......................            1.15            4.61            2.76            1.98            1.47
VIRGINIA..................................  FAIRFAX.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  FAIRFAX CITY................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  FALLS CHURCH................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  FAUQUIER....................            2.36             .18             .17            8.25            4.89
VIRGINIA..................................  FLOYD.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  FLUVANNA....................  ..............  ..............            3.41            3.97           15.29
VIRGINIA..................................  FRANKLIN....................            6.03            9.81           11.81           10.54           24.45
VIRGINIA..................................  FRANKLIN CITY...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  FREDERICK...................            2.19            7.53            7.06            6.52            5.00
VIRGINIA..................................  FREDERICKSBURG..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GALAX.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GILES.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GLOUCESTER..................           10.27            8.81           11.80  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GOOCHLAND...................             .30             .35             .61             .79  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GRAYSON.....................            5.80            3.56            1.77             .28  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GREENE......................            3.10  ..............  ..............            9.05  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  GREENSVILLE.................  ..............           12.82            1.72  ..............            5.89
VIRGINIA..................................  HALIFAX.....................            4.45            3.84            5.76            7.27           18.31
VIRGINIA..................................  HAMPTON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  HANOVER.....................            2.98            1.63            2.03            8.15            6.48
VIRGINIA..................................  HARRISONBURG................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  HENRICO.....................            8.13  ..............            9.34  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  HENRY.......................           24.81           20.54           17.03           13.13           13.56
VIRGINIA..................................  HIGHLAND....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  HOPEWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ISLE OF WIGHT...............            1.85            7.32           10.33            4.57           11.68
VIRGINIA..................................  JAMES CITY..................           21.38           20.65           19.63           18.81           18.13
VIRGINIA..................................  KING AND QUEEN..............            8.40            6.37            5.10           20.22           16.10
VIRGINIA..................................  KING GEORGE.................  ..............            1.01           18.53            9.26           11.30
VIRGINIA..................................  KING WILLIAM................  ..............  ..............            4.89  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  LANCASTER...................  ..............  ..............  ..............           44.04           68.26
VIRGINIA..................................  LEE.........................             .58  ..............             .13  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  LEXINGTON...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  LOUDOUN.....................            4.78  ..............  ..............           14.22           16.94
VIRGINIA..................................  LOUISA......................            2.80  ..............  ..............            5.73  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  LUNENBURG...................  ..............             .67             .71             .55            1.18
VIRGINIA..................................  LYNCHBURG...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  MADISON.....................           11.76            7.78           14.81            4.80            8.34
VIRGINIA..................................  MANASSA PARK CITY...........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  MANASSAS....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  MARTINSVILLE................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  MATHEWS.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  MECKLENBURG.................             .69           12.73           12.12            9.78            8.26
VIRGINIA..................................  MIDDLESEX...................           16.15            7.61            6.73            6.07             .06
VIRGINIA..................................  MONTGOMERY..................  ..............  ..............  ..............            2.15  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NELSON......................  ..............  ..............            1.76  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NEW KENT....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NEWPORT NEWS................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NORFOLK CITY................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NORTHAMPTON.................            7.22           15.64           19.20           12.02            1.99
VIRGINIA..................................  NORTHUMBERLAND..............           90.62           90.22           90.22           89.72           88.58
VIRGINIA..................................  NORTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  NOTTOWAY....................             .79  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ORANGE......................            1.65  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.17
VIRGINIA..................................  PAGE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PATRICK.....................            4.32             .37  ..............             .76             .78
VIRGINIA..................................  PETERSBURG..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PITTSYLVANIA................            5.84            6.05            5.89            3.79            1.14
VIRGINIA..................................  POQUASON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PORTSMOUTH CITY.............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  POWHATAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PRINCE EDWARD...............  ..............            8.51            2.91  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PRINCE GEORGE...............            3.03           19.99            5.02            2.94            3.67
VIRGINIA..................................  PRINCE WILLIAM..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  PULASKI.....................           71.12           72.07           70.96           69.47           48.43
VIRGINIA..................................  RADFORD.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  RAPPAHANNOCK................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  RICHMOND....................            8.44            5.56            1.12           10.91           16.45
VIRGINIA..................................  RICHMOND CITY...............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ROANOKE.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ROANOKE CITY................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  ROCKBRIDGE..................             .89            2.29             .45             .96            5.18
VIRGINIA..................................  ROCKINGHAM..................            1.38            1.29             .57  ..............            3.08
VIRGINIA..................................  RUSSELL.....................  ..............  ..............            1.06            1.25             .40
VIRGINIA..................................  SALEM.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  SCOTT.......................           31.38           29.03           21.91           21.64           18.60
VIRGINIA..................................  SHENANDOAH..................            1.02            1.28            2.46            4.30            1.22
VIRGINIA..................................  SMYTH.......................  ..............           38.87           34.67           31.11           22.97
VIRGINIA..................................  SPOTSYLVANIA................           45.60           32.38           25.52            2.66            2.80
VIRGINIA..................................  STAFFORD....................  ..............  ..............            2.01            2.66  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  STAUNTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  SUFFOLK.....................            7.04            2.08            2.31            9.47            8.24
VIRGINIA..................................  SURRY.......................            9.50            4.73            5.72            5.06             .07
VIRGINIA..................................  SUSSEX......................           11.71           11.49            3.87            6.40            3.36
VIRGINIA..................................  TAZEWELL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  VIRGINIA BEACH (CITY........  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WARREN......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WASHINGTON..................  ..............            3.83            3.25            4.71            2.14
VIRGINIA..................................  WAYNESBORO..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WESTMORELAND................           13.10            7.58           19.94            1.26            8.60
VIRGINIA..................................  WILLIAMSBURG................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WINCHESTER..................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WISE........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
VIRGINIA..................................  WYTHE.......................           36.09           29.32           27.37           21.51           18.52
VIRGINIA..................................  YORK........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  ADAMS.......................            7.30           11.35           15.57           18.73           10.65
WASHINGTON................................  ASOTIN......................  ..............  ..............          100.00  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  BENTON......................            1.68            2.32            4.27            5.39            3.68
WASHINGTON................................  CHELAN......................            2.42            3.47            3.07            2.56            6.03
WASHINGTON................................  CLALLAM.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  CLARK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  COLUMBIA....................  ..............  ..............            2.94  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  COWLITZ.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  DOUGLAS.....................            1.60            3.41            4.09            4.43            4.20
WASHINGTON................................  FERRY.......................           35.65           34.59           36.55           32.98           41.27
WASHINGTON................................  FRANKLIN....................            4.19           17.04           10.24           10.86            6.74
WASHINGTON................................  GARFIELD....................            1.18            4.77  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  GRANT, N....................            1.00            2.00            2.21            2.33            2.09
WASHINGTON................................  GRAYS HARBOR................  ..............             .15  ..............  ..............             .93
WASHINGTON................................  ISLAND......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  JEFFERSON...................  ..............  ..............           25.25  ..............             .35
WASHINGTON................................  KING........................  ..............  ..............            8.35  ..............            4.04
WASHINGTON................................  KITSAP......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  KITTITAS....................             .03             .64             .63            9.99            9.62
WASHINGTON................................  KLICKITAT...................             .21             .40             .29             .29           15.28
WASHINGTON................................  LEWIS.......................           21.84           19.92           34.06           28.02           21.59
WASHINGTON................................  LINCOLN.....................            1.54            1.78             .93             .66             .22
WASHINGTON................................  MASON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  OKANOGAN....................           14.55           13.39           15.21           12.62           12.77
WASHINGTON................................  PACIFIC.....................            3.54            2.16            1.75            1.31             .98
WASHINGTON................................  PEND OREILLE................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  PIERCE......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  SAN JUAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  SKAGIT......................           14.22           13.15           19.79           21.50           19.50
WASHINGTON................................  SKAMANIA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  SNOHOMISH...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .69
WASHINGTON................................  SPOKANE.....................            6.01            1.99            2.29            8.09            5.34
WASHINGTON................................  STEVENS.....................            3.62             .64           11.65            9.28           10.21
WASHINGTON................................  THURSTON....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WASHINGTON................................  WAHKIAKUM...................  ..............  ..............           17.21           13.77           10.96
WASHINGTON................................  WALLA WALLA.................            4.32            3.42            2.92            4.62            7.06
WASHINGTON................................  WHATCOM.....................            4.30            2.42            3.43            2.45            3.71
WASHINGTON................................  WHITMAN.....................            1.91            1.54            6.51            4.54            2.86
WASHINGTON................................  YAKIMA......................            6.28            8.04            6.78            6.70            5.05
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  BARBOUR.....................             .20             .12            4.77            4.25            8.04
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  BERKELEY....................            6.35           42.59           37.20           41.43           22.99
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  BOONE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  BRAXTON.....................            1.01            1.58            1.77           14.37           12.31
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  BROOKE......................            4.12           13.19  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  CABELL......................            4.24            1.21            9.68            8.65            6.08
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  CALHOUN.....................             .93            1.02             .65            1.05            2.37
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  CLAY........................            1.86             .54  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  DODDRIDGE...................             .29           10.23            7.24            8.40            4.99
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  FAYETTE.....................            3.65           12.96           29.85           31.48           11.83
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  GILMER......................            1.84             .77            2.08            2.93           18.68
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  GRANT.......................            1.44            1.88            1.01             .36             .03
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  GREENBRIER..................           11.65           12.61           10.12            8.75            6.99
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  HAMPSHIRE...................            9.69            9.54            7.27            7.10            1.96
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  HANCOCK.....................           16.16            9.42  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  HARDY.......................            1.26             .24             .04            1.79            2.96
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  HARRISON....................            5.81            6.06            9.81            7.79            7.55
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  JACKSON.....................            1.23             .69             .24             .07  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  JEFFERSON...................           10.24            8.26            6.36           10.29            3.37
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  KANAWHA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  LEWIS.......................             .51           18.01           14.41           16.15           22.58
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  LINCOLN.....................            4.11            1.64            6.69            8.65            3.67
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  LOGAN.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MARION......................            1.48            8.86            4.81            2.45  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MARSHALL....................           10.11           12.10            9.53            8.49            8.20
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MARSHALL....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MASON.......................            3.33            6.00            9.15           10.39            8.78
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MCDOWELL....................           28.81           24.36           18.97           13.37            7.47
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MERCER......................            8.92           10.65           10.32            9.32            6.70
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MINERAL.....................            1.84  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MINGO.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MONONGALIA..................  ..............             .20             .22             .12  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MONROE......................           13.21           14.04            9.98            8.84            7.78
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  MORGAN......................            6.83            2.91            6.49            2.43  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  NICHOLAS....................            3.30            1.02             .17             .36            1.45
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  PENDLETON...................            1.90             .76            1.13            1.25             .02
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  PLEASANTS...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  POCAHONTAS..................  ..............             .09             .55            1.12            1.26
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  PRESTON.....................            1.22            5.47            1.94            9.33            8.96
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  PUTNAM......................             .18            3.47            5.09            5.87            4.04
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  RALEIGH.....................           25.55           22.09           20.78           20.47           17.08
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  RANDOLPH....................             .19  ..............            3.49             .15  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  RITCHIE.....................            1.72             .67           14.10            1.31            9.21
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  ROANE.......................            1.12            1.00            1.06            1.26            6.30
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  SUMMERS.....................           15.57            9.47            7.77            6.25            7.00
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  TAYLOR......................  ..............            1.15             .94            2.91             .87
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  TUCKER......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  TYLER.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             .09
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  UPSHUR......................            5.84           14.17           11.22           10.22           15.91
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WAYNE.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.70  ..............
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WEBSTER.....................            2.01            1.41  ..............            3.49            2.44
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WETZEL......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            4.01            2.93
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WIRT........................  ..............             .70            2.09            3.05            5.28
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WOOD........................  ..............           17.00           15.91           35.87           29.28
WEST VIRGINIA.............................  WYOMING.....................           20.44           22.44           10.96            4.80  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  ADAMS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  ASHLAND.....................             .20            3.10            3.74            3.47            7.27
WISCONSIN.................................  BARRON......................            2.16  ..............             .24            2.09             .35
WISCONSIN.................................  BAYFIELD....................             .31             .28            1.75             .94            2.94
WISCONSIN.................................  BROWN.......................             .20             .21            3.22            3.76            1.74
WISCONSIN.................................  BUFFALO.....................  ..............             .42             .51  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  BURNETT.....................  ..............             .38            1.34             .48  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  CALUMET.....................            1.05  ..............  ..............            4.41            1.16
WISCONSIN.................................  CHIPPEWA....................            1.35             .71            5.69            6.09            3.92
WISCONSIN.................................  CLARK.......................             .55             .51             .84            1.06             .85
WISCONSIN.................................  COLUMBIA....................            4.11            1.58            2.54            1.70            2.91
WISCONSIN.................................  CRAWFORD....................             .31  ..............  ..............             .30             .16
WISCONSIN.................................  DANE........................  ..............             .82             .71            1.35            9.23
WISCONSIN.................................  DODGE.......................            3.84            3.47            3.49            6.21            3.37
WISCONSIN.................................  DOOR........................  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.43             .61
WISCONSIN.................................  DOUGLAS.....................             .36  ..............             .41            5.50            2.31
WISCONSIN.................................  DUNN........................            1.09            4.13            5.26            9.56            8.23
WISCONSIN.................................  EAU CLAIRE..................            8.31  ..............            2.21            1.12            2.31
WISCONSIN.................................  FLORENCE....................           11.97            7.08            1.41  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  FOND DU LAC.................            1.79            2.30            3.56            6.26            4.65
WISCONSIN.................................  FOREST......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  GRANT.......................             .07             .88            1.07            2.28            1.03
WISCONSIN.................................  GREEN.......................             .37            1.67            4.27            3.71            4.35
WISCONSIN.................................  GREEN LAKE..................             .39             .28             .20            1.37             .98
WISCONSIN.................................  IOWA........................             .61             .01  ..............             .50            1.97
WISCONSIN.................................  IRON........................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.01
WISCONSIN.................................  JACKSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  JEFFERSON...................             .19             .06  ..............             .12            1.12
WISCONSIN.................................  JUNEAU......................            1.56             .18             .18             .97  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  KENOSHA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  KEWAUNEE....................            2.85            2.96            2.69            2.44            3.60
WISCONSIN.................................  LA CROSSE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .41            1.42
WISCONSIN.................................  LAFAYETTE...................             .47             .34             .57             .42             .64
WISCONSIN.................................  LANGLADE....................             .65            4.62            2.65            3.45            2.62
WISCONSIN.................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............            1.99  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  MANITOWOC...................             .04             .34             .28             .12             .15
WISCONSIN.................................  MARATHON....................             .14            2.14            1.04            2.74            7.32
WISCONSIN.................................  MARINETTE...................            5.84            5.46            3.94            3.52            4.03
WISCONSIN.................................  MARQUETTE...................            2.77  ..............  ..............           11.20            2.25
WISCONSIN.................................  MENOMINEE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  MILWAUKEE...................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  MONROE......................             .03             .91            1.48             .56             .27
WISCONSIN.................................  OCONTO......................            1.69            2.07             .66            1.38            1.20
WISCONSIN.................................  ONEIDA......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  OUTAGAMIE...................             .85            1.37            2.40             .94             .69
WISCONSIN.................................  OZAUKEE.....................  ..............  ..............            6.58            2.42  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  PEPIN.......................             .58  ..............  ..............  ..............            6.28
WISCONSIN.................................  PIERCE......................            2.44            2.28            1.11  ..............             .29
WISCONSIN.................................  POLK........................            1.78             .69             .52             .21             .35
WISCONSIN.................................  PORTAGE.....................            1.46            1.44             .63             .40            1.68
WISCONSIN.................................  PRICE.......................             .24            1.02            1.41             .43  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  RACINE......................            3.55  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  RICHLAND....................            1.47             .75            1.15             .76            1.00
WISCONSIN.................................  ROCK........................             .40            4.61            7.76            5.99            8.24
WISCONSIN.................................  RUSK........................             .54  ..............            2.63            1.59            7.86
WISCONSIN.................................  SAUK........................            1.55            2.74            3.22            2.23            4.12
WISCONSIN.................................  SAWYER......................  ..............  ..............            1.27  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  SHAWANO.....................            2.21            1.95            1.96            2.47             .60
WISCONSIN.................................  SHEBOYGAN...................  ..............            4.56            3.46            1.11            1.02
WISCONSIN.................................  ST. CROIX...................             .01             .28  ..............             .95             .50
WISCONSIN.................................  TAYLOR......................  ..............             .03             .71             .77             .69
WISCONSIN.................................  TREMPEALEAU.................            2.29            2.29            1.90            1.74            1.88
WISCONSIN.................................  VERNON......................             .17             .41             .34             .47            1.34
WISCONSIN.................................  VILAS.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            5.67
WISCONSIN.................................  WALWORTH....................  ..............  ..............            1.08            1.61             .27
WISCONSIN.................................  WASHBURN....................             .22  ..............             .33  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  WASHINGTON..................             .03  ..............  ..............            7.00            5.56
WISCONSIN.................................  WAUKESHA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WISCONSIN.................................  WAUPACA.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............             .96            1.98
WISCONSIN.................................  WAUSHARA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............            1.00
WISCONSIN.................................  WINNEBAGO...................  ..............  ..............             .82  ..............           12.93
WISCONSIN.................................  WOOD........................            1.44            1.06             .84             .33            3.32
WYOMING...................................  ALBANY......................  ..............             .30  ..............  ..............            7.86
WYOMING...................................  BIG HORN, SOUTHERN..........            2.82            8.53            7.08            6.89           18.84
WYOMING...................................  CAMPBELL....................           43.00           25.88           21.15            4.87  ..............
WYOMING...................................  CARBON......................            1.23  ..............             .48            7.38            5.93
WYOMING...................................  CONVERSE....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  CROOK.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  FREMONT.....................           10.62           14.63           13.63           14.11           12.15
WYOMING...................................  GOSHEN......................            6.54           11.37            9.51            7.25            5.40
WYOMING...................................  HOT SPRINGS.................           16.64           14.96           12.87           10.20            9.51
WYOMING...................................  JOHNSON.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  LARAMIE.....................           13.77           18.56           15.62           14.36           10.50
WYOMING...................................  LINCOLN.....................  ..............  ..............            1.87  ..............            4.13
WYOMING...................................  NATRONA.....................             .33             .19  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  NIOBRARA....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  PARK........................  ..............  ..............             .21            2.00            2.27
WYOMING...................................  PLATTE......................            5.94            6.06            4.54            8.68            7.66
WYOMING...................................  SHERIDAN....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  SUBLETTE....................          100.00           65.30           70.56  ..............            6.48
WYOMING...................................  SWEETWATER..................            5.59  ..............           12.60  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  TETON.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
WYOMING...................................  UINTA.......................           20.12           13.49            7.44            1.96            1.99
WYOMING...................................  WASHAKIE....................            2.12            1.42            2.35  ..............            3.95
WYOMING...................................  WESTON......................  ..............  ..............  ..............            8.37  ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                              PRESIDENTIAL DISASTER DECLARATIONS WITH INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Year                     State              County             Date               FEMA No                       Incident Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Barbour..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Bibb.............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Blount...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Calhoun..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Cherokee.........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Cleburne.........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Cullman..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Dale.............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  DeKalb...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Etowah...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Fayette..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Franklin.........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Greene...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Hale.............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Henry............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Houston..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Jefferson........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Lamar............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Lawrence.........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Marion...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Marshall.........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Morgan...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Pickens..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Shelby...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  St. Clair........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Talladega........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Tuscaloosa.......  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Walker...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alabama..........  Winston..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1442-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Aniak, Crooked     6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Creek.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Chignik Bay area.  12/04/02........  FEMA-1445-DR........  Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal
                                                                                                               Erosion and Tidal Surge
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Delta Greely       11/08/02........  FEMA-1440-DR........  Earthquake
                                                    Regional
                                                    Educational
                                                    Attendance Area.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Ekwok and New      6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Stuyahok in the
                                                    Southwest Region
                                                    REAA.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Fairbanks North    6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Star Borough.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Fairbanks North    11/08/02........  FEMA-1440-DR........  Earthquake
                                                    Star Borough.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Kenai Peninsula    12/04/02........  FEMA-1445-DR........  Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal
                                                    Borough.                                                   Erosion and Tidal Surge
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Kodiak Island      12/04/02........  FEMA-1445-DR........  Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal
                                                    Borough.                                                   Erosion and Tidal Surge
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Kwethluk in the    6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Lower Kuskokwim
                                                    REAA.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  McGrath and Lime   6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Village in the
                                                    Iditarod REAA.
2002..........................  Alaska...........  Red Devil and      6/26/02.........  FEMA-1423-DR........  Flooding
                                                    Sleetmute in the
                                                    Kuspuk REAA.
2002..........................  Arizona..........  Apache...........  6/25/02.........  FEMA-1422-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Arizona..........  Coconino.........  6/25/02.........  FEMA-1422-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Arizona..........  Fort Apache        6/25/02.........  FEMA-1422-DR........  Wildfires
                                                    Indian
                                                    Reservation.
2002..........................  Arizona..........  Gila.............  6/25/02.........  FEMA-1422-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Arizona..........  Navajo...........  6/25/02.........  FEMA-1422-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Adams............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Alamosa..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Arapahoe.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Archuleta........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Baca.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Bent.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Boulder..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Broomfield City    6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
                                                    and County.
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Chaffee..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Cheyenne.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Clear Creek......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Conejos..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Costilla.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Crowley..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Custer...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Delta............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Denver City and    6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
                                                    County.
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Dolores..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Douglas..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Eagle............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  El Paso..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Elbert...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Fremont..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Garfield.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Gilpin...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Grand............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Gunnison.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Hinsdale.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Huerfano.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Jackson..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Jefferson........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Kiowa............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Kit Carson.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  La Plata.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Lake.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Larimer..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Las Animas.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Lincoln..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Mesa.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Mineral..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Moffat...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Montezuma........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Montrose.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Otero............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Ouray............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Park.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Pitkin...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Pueblo...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Rio Blanco.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Rio Grande.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Routt............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Saguache.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  San Juan.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  San Miguel.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Southern Ute       6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
                                                    Reservation.
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Summit...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Teller...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Ute Mountain       6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
                                                    Reservation.
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Washington.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Weld.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Colorado.........  Yuma.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1421-DR........  Wildfires
2002..........................  Federated States   Chuuk State......  7/11/02.........  FEMA-1427...........  Tropical Storm Chata'an, including
                                 of Micronesia.                                                                flooding, mudslides and landslides
2002..........................  Guam.............  Territory of Guam  7/06/02.........  FEMA-1426-DR........  Typhoon Chata'an
2002..........................  Guam.............  Territory of Guam  12/08/02........  FEMA-1446-DR........  Super Typhoon Pongsona
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Adams............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Alexander........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Bond.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Brown............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Calhoun..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Cass.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Champaign........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Christian........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Clark............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Clay.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Clinton..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Coles............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Crawford.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Cumberland.......  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  De Witt..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Douglas..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Edgar............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Edwards..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Effingham........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Fayette..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Ford.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Franklin.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Fulton...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Gallatin.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Greene...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Hamilton.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Hancock..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Hardin...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Iroquois.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Jackson..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Jasper...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Jefferson........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Jersey...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Johnson..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Lawrence.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Logan............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Macon............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Macoupin.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Madison..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Marion...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Mason............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Massac...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  McDonough........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Menard...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Monroe...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Montgomery.......  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Morgan...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Moultrie.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Perry............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Piatt............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Pike.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Pope.............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Pulaski..........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Randolph.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Richland.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Saline...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Sangamon.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Schuyler.........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Scott............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Shelby...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  St. Clair........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Union............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Vermilion........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Wabash...........  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Washington,......  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Wayne............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  White............  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Illinois.........  Williamson.......  5/21/02.........  FEMA-1416-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Martin...........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Bartholomew......  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Blackford........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Brown............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Daviess..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Dearborn.........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Dearborn.........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Decatur..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Delaware.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Fayette..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Franklin.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Gibson...........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Gibson...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Grant............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Greene...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Hancock..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Hendricks........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Henry............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Jay..............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Johnson..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Knox.............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Lawrence.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Madison..........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Monroe...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Morgan...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Orange...........  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Owen.............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Pike.............  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Pike.............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Posey............  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Posey............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Randolph.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Rush.............  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Shelby...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Sullivan.........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Tipton...........  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburg.......  9/25/02.........  FEMA-1433-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Indiana..........  Vigo.............  6/13/02.........  FEMA-1418-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Allamakee........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Benton...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Buchanan.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Cedar............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Clayton..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Clinton..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Delaware.........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Des Moines.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Dubuque..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Fayette..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Henry............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Iowa.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Jackson..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Johnson..........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Jones............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Lee..............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Linn.............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Louisa...........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Muscatine........  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Scott............  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Iowa.............  Winneshiek.......  6/19/02.........  FEMA-1420-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Allen............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Anderson.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Barber...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Bourbon..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Butler...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Chautauqua.......  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Coffey...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Cowley...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Crawford.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Douglas..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Elk..............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Franklin.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Greenwood........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Labette..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Linn.............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Miami............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Montgomery.......  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Neosho...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Osage............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Sumner...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Wilson...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kansas...........  Woodson..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1402-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Bath.............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Bell.............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Bourbon..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyd.............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Breckinridge.....  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Carter...........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Clay.............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Crittenden.......  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Fleming..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Floyd............  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Grayson..........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Greenup..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Hancock..........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Hardin...........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Harlan...........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Henderson........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Hopkins..........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Knox.............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Laurel...........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Laurel...........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Lawrence.........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Leslie...........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Letcher..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Letcher..........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Lewis............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Marion...........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Martin...........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  McCreary.........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  McLean...........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Meade............  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Menifee..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Montgomery.......  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Morgan...........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Nicholas.........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Ohio.............  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Perry............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Pike.............  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Rockcastle.......  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Rowan............  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Union............  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Webster..........  5/07/02.........  FEMA-1414-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Kentucky.........  Whitley..........  4/04/02.........  FEMA-1407-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Acadia...........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Allen............  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Ascension........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Assumption.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Avoyelles........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Beauregard.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Calcasieu........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Cameron..........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  East Baton Rouge.  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  East Feliciana...  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Evangeline.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Iberia...........  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Iberia...........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Iberville........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson........  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson Davis..  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Lafayette........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Lafourche........  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Lafourche........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Livingston.......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Livingston.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Orleans..........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Orleans,.........  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Plaquemines......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Plaquemines......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Pointe Coupee....  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Rapides..........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Bernard......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Bernard......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Charles......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Charles......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Helena.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. James........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. John the       9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
                                                    Baptist.
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. John the       10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
                                                    Baptist.
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Landry.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Martin.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Mary.........  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St. Tammany......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  St.Tammany.......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Tangipahoa.......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Tangipahoa.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Terrebonne.......  9/27/02.........  FEMA-1435-DR........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Terrebonne.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Vermillion.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  Washington.......  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Louisiana........  West Baton Rouge.  10/03/02........  FEMA-1437-DR........  Hurricane Lili
2002..........................  Maryland.........  Calvert..........  5/01/02.........  FEMA-1409-DR........  Tornado
2002..........................  Maryland.........  Charles..........  5/01/02.........  FEMA-1409-DR........  Tornado
2002..........................  Maryland.........  Dorchester.......  5/01/02.........  FEMA-1409-DR........  Tornado
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Becker...........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Beltrami.........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Clay.............  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Clearwater.......  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Itasca...........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Kittson..........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  McLeod...........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Pennington.......  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Polk.............  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Roseau...........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Minnesota........  Wright...........  6/14/02.........  FEMA-1419-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Amite............  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Clay.............  11/14/02........  FEMA-1443-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Hancock..........  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Harrison.........  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Jackson..........  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Lowndes..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1443-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Monroe...........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1443-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Noxubee..........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1443-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Oktibbeha........  11/14/02........  FEMA-1443-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Pearl River......  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Pike.............  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Mississippi......  Stone............  10/01/02........  FEMA-1436...........  Tropical Storm Isidore
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Adair............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Audrain..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Barton...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Bates............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Benton...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Bollinger........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Boone............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Buchanan.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Butler...........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Caldwell.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Cape Girardeau...  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Carroll..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Carter...........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Cass.............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Cedar............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Chariton.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Clair............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Clark............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Clay.............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Clinton..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Cooper...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Crawford.........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Daviess..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Dent.............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Douglas..........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Dunklin..........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Grundy...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Henry............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Howard...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Howell...........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Iron.............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Jackson..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Jefferson........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Johnson..........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Knox.............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Lafayette........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Lewis............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Linn.............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Livingston.......  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Macon............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Madison..........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Marion...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Monroe...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Morgan...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Oregon...........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Ozark............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Perry............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Pettis...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Platte...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Ralls............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Randolph.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Ray..............  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Reynolds.........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Ripley...........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Saline...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Scotland.........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Shannon..........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Shelby...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  St Francois......  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  St Geneieve......  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  St. Sullivan.....  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Stoddard.........  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Texas............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Vernon...........  2/06/02.........  FEMA-1403-DR........  Severe Winter Ice Storm
2002..........................  Missouri.........  Wayne............  5/06/02.........  FEMA-1412-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  New York.........  Clinton..........  5/16/02.........  FEMA-1415-DR........  Earthquake
2002..........................  New York.........  Essex............  5/16/02.........  FEMA-1415-DR........  Earthquake
2002..........................  Northern Mariana   Island of Rota...  12/11/02........  FEMA-1447-DR........  Super Typhoon Pongsona
                                 Islands.
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Cuyahoga.........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Hancock..........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Ottawa...........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Paulding.........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Putnam...........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Seneca...........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Summit...........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Ohio.............  Van Wert.........  11/18/02........  FEMA-1444-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Alfalfa..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Beaver...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Beckham..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Blaine...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Caddo............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Canadian.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Cimarron.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Cleveland........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Comanche.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Creek............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Custer...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Dewey............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Ellis............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Garfield.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Garvin...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Grady............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Grant............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Greer............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Harmon...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Harper...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Jackson..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Kay..............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Kingfisher.......  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Kiowa............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Lincoln..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Logan............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Major............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  McClain..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Mills............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Noble............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Nowata...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Oklahoma.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Osage............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Pawnee...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Payne............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Pottawatomie.....  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Roger............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Rogers...........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Stephens.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Texas............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Tillman..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Tulsa............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Washington.......  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Washita..........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Woods............  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Oklahoma.........  Woodward.........  2/01/02.........  FEMA-1401-DR........  Ice Storm
2002..........................  Tennessee........  and..............  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Anderson.........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Bedford..........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Bledsoe..........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Bledsoe..........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Blount...........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Carroll..........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Claiborne........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Cocke............  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Coffee...........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Crockett.........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Cumberland.......  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Fentress.........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Gibson...........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Hancock..........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Hawkins..........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Henderson........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Loudon...........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Madison..........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Marshall.........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Montgomery.......  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Morgan...........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Roane............  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Rutherford.......  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Scott............  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Sevier...........  4/05/02.........  FEMA-1408-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Sumner...........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Tipton...........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Tennessee........  Van Buren........  11/13/02........  FEMA-1441-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Bexar............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Aransas..........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Atascosa.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Bandera..........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Bee..............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Blanco...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Brazoria.........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Brazoria.........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Brown............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Burnet...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Caldwell.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Calhoun..........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Callahan.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Cameron..........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Coleman..........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Comal............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  DeWitt...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Dimmit...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Duval............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Eastland.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Fort Bend........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Frio.............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Frio.............  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Galveston........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Gillespie........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Goliad...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Gonzales.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Guadalupe........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Hardin...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Harris...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Hays.............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Jasper...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Jefferson........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Jim Wells........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Jim Wells........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Jim Wells........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Karnes...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Kendall..........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Kerr.............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Kleberg..........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  La Salle.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  La Salle.........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Liberty..........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Live Oak.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Live Oak.........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Matagorda........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  McMullen.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Medina...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Montgomery.......  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Nueces...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Nueces...........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Nueces...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Orange...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Real.............  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  San Jacinto......  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  San Patricio.....  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  San Patricio.....  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  San Patricio.....  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Taylor...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Travis...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Uvalde...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Victoria.........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Walker...........  11/05/02........  FEMA-1439-DR........  severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Webb.............  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Wharton..........  9/26/02.........  FEMA-1434-DR........  Tropical Storm Fay
2002..........................  Texas............  Wilson...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Texas............  Zavala...........  7/04/02.........  FEMA-1425-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Vermont..........  Caledonia........  7/12/02.........  FEMA-1428-DR........  Severe storms and flooding
2002..........................  Vermont..........  Franklin.........  7/12/02.........  FEMA-1428-DR........  Severe storms and flooding
2002..........................  Vermont..........  Lamoille.........  7/12/02.........  FEMA-1428-DR........  Severe storms and flooding
2002..........................  Vermont..........  Orleans..........  7/12/02.........  FEMA-1428-DR........  Severe storms and flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Buchanan.........  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1411-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornado
2002..........................  Virginia.........  city of Norton...  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Dickenson........  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Lee..............  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Russell..........  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Scott............  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Smyth............  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Tazewell.........  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Tazewell.........  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1411-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornado
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Washington.......  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  Virginia.........  Wise.............  4/02/02.........  FEMA-1406-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2002..........................  West Virginia....  McDowell.........  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1410-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2002..........................  West Virginia....  Mercer...........  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1410-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2002..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1410-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2002..........................  West Virginia....  Wyoming..........  5/05/02.........  FEMA-1410-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Barron...........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Burnett..........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Chippewa.........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Clark............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Dunn.............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Langlade.........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Lincoln..........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Marathon.........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Polk.............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Portage..........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Price............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Rusk.............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Sawyer...........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Shawano..........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  St. Croix........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Taylor...........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Washburn.........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Waupaca..........  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2002..........................  Wisconsin........  Wood.............  9/10/02.........  FEMA-1432-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Baldwin..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Bibb.............  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Blount...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Calhoun..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Clarke...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Colbert..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Cullman..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  DeKalb...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Escambia.........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Etowah...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Jackson..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Jefferson........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Madison..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Marshall.........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Mobile...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Monroe...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Morgan...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Shelby...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  St.Clair.........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Talladega........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Tuscaloosa.......  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Walker...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alabama..........  Washington.......  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1466-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Alaska...........  Kenai Peninsula    4/26/03.........  FEMA-1461-DR........  Severe winter storm, including high winds
                                                    Borough.                                                   and freezing temperatures
2003..........................  Alaska...........  Matanuska-Susitna  4/26/03.........  FEMA-1461-DR........  Severe winter storm, including high winds
                                                    Borough.                                                   and freezing temperatures
2003..........................  Alaska...........  Municipality of    4/26/03.........  FEMA-1461-DR........  Severe winter storm, including high winds
                                                    Anchorage.                                                 and freezing temperatures
2003..........................  American Samoa...  The Island of      6/06/03.........  FEMA-1473-DR........  Heavy Rainfall, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                    Tutuila.                                                   Mudslides
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Benton...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Chicot...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Cleburne.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Columbia.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Conway...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Craighead........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Crittenden.......  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Cross............  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Faulkner.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Fulton...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Jackson..........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Lonoke...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Nevada...........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Perry............  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Phillips.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Poinsett.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  St. Francis......  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  White............  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Arkansas.........  Woodruff.........  6/06/03.........  FEMA-1472-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  California.......  Los Angeles......  10/27/03........  FEMA-1498-DR........  Wildfires
2003..........................  California.......  Riverside........  10/27/03........  FEMA-1498-DR........  Wildfires
2003..........................  California.......  San Bernardino...  10/27/03........  FEMA-1498-DR........  Wildfires
2003..........................  California.......  San Diego........  10/27/03........  FEMA-1498-DR........  Wildfires
2003..........................  California.......  Ventura..........  10/27/03........  FEMA-1498-DR........  Wildfires
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Aibonito.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Arroyo...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Cabo Rojo........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Can?vanas........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Fajardo..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Gunica...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Guayama..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Juana Diaz.......  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Lajas............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Loiza............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Luquillo.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Maunabo..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Naguabo..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Naranjito........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Patillas.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Ro Grande........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Salinas..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Santa Isabel.....  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Toa Baja.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Yabucoa..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Commonwealth of    Yauco............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1501-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                 Puerto Rico.                                                                  Landslides
2003..........................  Delaware.........  New Castle.......  9/23/03.........  FEMA-1495-DR........  Tropical Storm Henri
2003..........................  Delware..........  Kent.............  9/20/03.........  FEMA-1494-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Delware..........  New Castle.......  9/20/03.........  FEMA-1494-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Delware..........  Sussex...........  9/20/03.........  FEMA-1494-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  District of        District of        9/20/03.........  FEMA-1493-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                 Columbia.          Columbia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Island of          12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.     Eauripik.
2003..........................  Federated States   Island of Elato..  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Island of Fais...  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Island of          12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.     Faraulap.
2003..........................  Federated States   Island of Ifalik.  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Lamotrek.........  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Namonuito Atoll..  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Satawal..........  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   the Hall Islands.  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Ulithi...........  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.
2003..........................  Federated States   Western Islands    12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.     within Chuuk
                                                    State.
2003..........................  Federated States   Woleai within Yap  12/19/03........  FEMA-1504-DR........  Typhoon Lupit
                                 of Micronesia.     State.
2003..........................  Florida..........  Miami-Dade County  4/25/03.........  FEMA-1460-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Adams............  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Alexander........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Brown............  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Fulton...........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Hancock..........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Mason............  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Massac...........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Pope.............  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Pulaski..........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Schuyler.........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Tazewell.........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Union............  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Illinois.........  Woodford.........  5/15/03.........  FEMA-1469-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Adams............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Allen............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Benton...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Blackford........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Blackford........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Boone............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Boone............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Carroll..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Cass.............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Clay.............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Clay.............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Clinton..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Delaware.........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Delaware.........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Fountain.........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Fulton...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Grant............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Grant............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Greene...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Hancock..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Hancock..........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Hendricks........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Henry............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Henry............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Howard...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Huntington.......  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Jasper...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Jay..............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Jay..............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Johnson..........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Kosciusko........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Lake.............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Madison..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Madison..........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Miami............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Monroe...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Montgomery.......  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Montgomery.......  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Morgan...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Morgan...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Newton...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Noble............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Owen.............  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Parke............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Porter...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Pulaski..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Putnam...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Randolph.........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Randolph.........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Shelby...........  9/05/03.........  FEMA-1487-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Tippecanoe.......  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Tipton...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburgh......  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Vigo.............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Wabash...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Warren...........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Wayne............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Wells............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  White............  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Indiana..........  Whitley..........  7/11/03.........  FEMA-1476-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Allen............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Cherokee.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Crawford.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Haskell..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Labette..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Leavenworth......  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Meade............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Miami............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Neosho...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Seward...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kansas...........  Wyandotte........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1462-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Anderson.........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyd.............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyd.............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyle............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Breathitt........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Breathitt........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Breckenridge.....  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Bullitt..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Caldwell.........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Carter...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Carter...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Carter...........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Clarke...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Clay.............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Crittenden.......  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Elliott..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Elliott..........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Estill...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Fayette..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Fleming..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Floyd............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Floyd............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Garrard..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Graves...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Grayson..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Greenup..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Greenup..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Greenup..........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Hardin...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Harlan...........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Hart.............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Henderson........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Hopkins..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Jefferson........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Jessamine........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Johnson..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Johnson..........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Knott............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Knott............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Knox.............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Knox.............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Larue............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Lawrence.........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Lawrence.........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Leslie...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Leslie...........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Letcher..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Letcher..........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Lewis............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Lewis............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Lewis............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Madison..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Magoffin.........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Martin...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Martin...........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Mason............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  McLean...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Meade............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Mercer...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Nelson...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Owsley...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Owsley...........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Owsley...........  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Perry............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Perry............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Perry............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Pike.............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1454-DR........  Severe winter ice and snow storms, heavy
                                                                                                               rain, flooding, tornadoes, and mud and
                                                                                                               rock slides
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Pike.............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Rowan............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Rowan............  7/02/03.........  FEMA-1475-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock
                                                                                                               Slides, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Union............  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Washington.......  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Webster..........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Kentucky.........  Woodford.........  6/03/03.........  FEMA-1471-DR........  Severe storms, flooding, mud and rock
                                                                                                               slides, and tornadoes
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Allegany.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Anne.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Anne's...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Arundel..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Baltimore........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Calvert..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Caroline.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Carroll..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Cecil............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Charles..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  City of Baltimore  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Dorchester.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Frederick........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Garrett..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  George's.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Harford..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Howard...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Kent.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Mary's...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Montgomery.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Prince...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Queen............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Somerset.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  St...............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Talbot...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Washington.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Wicomico.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Maryland.........  Worcester........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1492-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Amite............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Attala...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Calhoun..........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Chickasaw........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Claiborne........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Clarke...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Clay.............  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Copiah...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Davis............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Franklin.........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Hinds............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Holmes...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Issaquena........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Itawamba.........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Jasper...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Jefferson........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Jefferson........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Kemper...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Lauderdale.......  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Lawrence.........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Leake............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Lee..............  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Lincoln..........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Lowndes..........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Madison..........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Marion...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Monroe...........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Neshoba..........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Newton...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Pearl............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Pike.............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Pontotoc.........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Rankin...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  River............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Scott............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Simpson..........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Smith............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Walthall.........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Warren...........  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Wayne............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Webster..........  5/23/03.........  FEMA-1470-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes and High Winds
2003..........................  Mississippi......  Yazoo............  4/23/03.........  FEMA-1459-DR........  Severe Storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Barry............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Barton...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Bates............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Benton...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Bollinger........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Buchanan.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Camden...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Cape.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Cass.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Cedar............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Christian........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Clair............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Clay.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Clinton..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Cooper...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Crawford.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Dade.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Dallas...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Dent.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Douglas..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Francois.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Franklin.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Gasconade........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Genevieve........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Girardeau........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Greene...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Henry............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Hickory..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Iron.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Jackson..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Jasper...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Jefferson........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Johnson..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Knox.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Laclede..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Lafayette........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Lawrence.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Louis............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Marion...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  McDonald.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Miller...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Monroe...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Morgan...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Newton...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Osage............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Perry............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Pettis...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Phelps...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Platte...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Polk.............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Pulaski..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Ray..............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Saint............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Saint............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Sainte...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Saline...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Scott............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  St...............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Stoddard.........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Stone............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Taney............  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Vernon...........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Washington.......  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Missouri.........  Webster..........  5/06/03.........  FEMA-1463-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  New York.........  Allegany.........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Cattaraugus......  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Cayuga...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Chemung..........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Columbia.........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Delaware.........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Fulton...........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Greene...........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Livingston.......  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Monroe...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Montgomery.......  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Oneida...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Onondaga.........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Ontario..........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Ontario..........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Oswego...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Rensselaer.......  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Schuyler.........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Seneca...........  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Steuben..........  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  New York.........  Wayne............  5/12/03.........  FEMA-1467-DR........  Ice Storm
2003..........................  New York.........  Yates............  8/29/03.........  FEMA-1486-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Beaufort.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Bertie...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Bladen...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Brunswick........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Camden...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Carteret.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Chowan...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Columbus.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Craven...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Cumberland.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Currituck........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Dare.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Davidson.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Duplin...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Durham...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Edgecombe........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Franklin.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Gates............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Granville........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Greene...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Halifax..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Hanover..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Harnett..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Hertford.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Hyde.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Johnston.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Jones............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Lenoir...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Martin...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Nash.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  New..............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Northampton......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Onslow...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Pamlico..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Pasquotank.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Pender...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Perquimans.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Person...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Pitt.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Robeson..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Sampson..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Tyrrell..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Vance............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Wake.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Warren...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Washington.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Wayne............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  North Carolina...  Wilson...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1490-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Adams............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1453-DR........  Severe Winter Storm
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Auglaize.........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Carroll..........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Columbiana.......  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Columbiana.......  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Crawford.........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Cuyahoga.........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Darke............  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Franklin.........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Jackson..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1453-DR........  Severe Winter Storm
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Jefferson........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Lawrence.........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1453-DR........  Severe Winter Storm
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Logan............  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Mahoning.........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Mahoning.........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Medina...........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Mercer...........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Pike.............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1453-DR........  Severe Winter Storm
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Pike.............  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Portage..........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Richland.........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Scioto...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1453-DR........  Severe Winter Storm
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Shelby...........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Stark............  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Summit...........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Trumbull.........  8/01/03.........  FEMA-1484-DR........  Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and
                                                                                                               High Winds
2003..........................  Ohio.............  Van Wert.........  7/15/03.........  FEMA-1478-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Canadian.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Carter...........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Cherokee.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Cleveland........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Creek............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Delaware.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Garvin...........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Grady............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Kay..............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Kingfisher.......  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Lincoln..........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Logan............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  McClain..........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Mills............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Muskogee.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Nowata...........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Okfuskee.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Oklahoma.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Okmulgee.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Osage............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Pontotoc.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Pottawatomie.....  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Roger............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Seminole.........  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Texas............  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Oklahoma.........  Washington.......  5/10/03.........  FEMA-1465-DR........  Severe storms and tornadoes
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Blair............  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Chester..........  9/26/03.........  FEMA-1497-DR........  Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel, and
                                                                                                               related severe storms and flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Crawford.........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lackawanna.......  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lawrence.........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  McKean...........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Mercer...........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Potter...........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Tioga............  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Venango..........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Warren...........  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wayne............  8/23/03.........  FEMA-1485-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Anderson.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Bedford..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Benton...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Bledsoe..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Blount...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Bradley..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Cannon...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Carroll..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Cheatham.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Chester..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Cocke............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Coffee...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Crockett.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Cumberland.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Davidson.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Decatur..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  DeKalb...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Dickson..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Dyer.............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Fayette..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Fayette..........  7/29/03.........  FEMA-1482-DR........  Severe storms, high winds, and heavy rain
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Gibson...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Giles............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Hamilton.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Hardeman.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Hardin...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Haywood..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Henderson........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Henry............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Hickman..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Houston..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Humphreys........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Jefferson........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Knox.............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Lake.............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Lauderdale.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Lawrence.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Lewis............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Lincoln..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Loudon...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Macon............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Madison..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Marion...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Marshall.........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Maury............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  McMinn...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Meigs............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Monroe...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Montgomery.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Obion............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Perry............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Polk.............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Rhea.............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Roane............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Robertson........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Rutherford.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Sequatchie.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Sevier...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Shelby...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Shelby...........  7/29/03.........  FEMA-1482-DR........  Severe storms, high winds, and heavy rain
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Smith............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Stewart..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Tipton...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Trousdale........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Warren...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Wayne............  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Weakley..........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Williamson.......  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Tennessee........  Wilson...........  5/08/03.........  FEMA-1464-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2003..........................  Texas............  Aransas..........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Atascosa.........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Bee..............  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Brazoria.........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Calhoun..........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  DeWitt...........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Frio.............  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Galveston........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Goliad...........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Jackson..........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Karnes...........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Live Oak.........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Matagorda........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  McMullen.........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Refugio..........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  San Patricio.....  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Victoria.........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Texas............  Zavala...........  7/17/03.........  FEMA-1479-DR........  Hurricane Claudette
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Accomack.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Albemarle........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Amelia...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Amherst..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Appomattox.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Arlington........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Augusta..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Bedford..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Bland............  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Brunswick........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Buchanan.........  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Buchanan.........  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Buckingham.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Campbell.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Caroline.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Charles City.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Charlotte........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Chesterfield.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Alexandria.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Bedford..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Buena....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Charlottesville.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Chesapeake.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Colonial   9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Heights.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Danville.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Emporia..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Fairfax..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Falls      9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Church.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Franklin.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Fredericksburg.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Galax....  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Hampton..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Harrisonburg.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Hopewell.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Lynchburg  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Manassas.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Manassas   9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Park.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Newport..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of News.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Norfolk..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Norton...  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Petersburg.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Poquoson.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Portsmouth.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Richmond.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Roanoke..  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Salem....  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Staunton.  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Suffolk..  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Virginia   9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Beach.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of Vista....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Waynesboro.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Williamsburg.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  City of            9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
                                                    Winchester.
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Clarke...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Culpeper.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Cumberland.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Dickenson........  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Dinwiddie........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Essex............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Fairfax..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Fauquier.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Fluvanna.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Frederick........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Giles............  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Gloucester.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Goochland........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Greene...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Greensville......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Halifax..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Hanover..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Henrico..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Isle of Wight....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  James City.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  King and Queen...  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  King George......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  King William.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Lancaster........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Loudoun..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Louisa...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Lunenburg........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Madison..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Mathews..........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Mecklenburg......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Middlesex........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Montgomery.......  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Nelson...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  New Kent.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Northampton......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Northumberland...  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Nottoway.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Orange...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Page.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Pittsylvania.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Powhatan.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Prince Edward....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Prince George....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Prince William...  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Rappahannock.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Richmond.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Rockbridge.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Rockingham.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Russell..........  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Shenandoah.......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Smyth............  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Southampton......  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Spotsylvania.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Stafford.........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Surry............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Sussex...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Tazewell.........  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Tazewell.........  12/09/03........  FEMA-1502-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Warren...........  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Westmoreland.....  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Virginia.........  Wise.............  3/27/03.........  FEMA-1458-DR........  Severe winter storm, record/near-record
                                                                                                               snowfall, heavy rain, flooding, and
                                                                                                               mudslides
2003..........................  Virginia.........  York.............  9/18/03.........  FEMA-1491-DR........  Hurricane Isabel
2003..........................  Washington.......  Chelan...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Clallam..........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Grays............  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Harbor...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Island...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Jefferson........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Juan.............  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  King.............  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Kitsap...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Mason............  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Okanogan.........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Pierce...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  San..............  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Skagit...........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Snohomish........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Thurston.........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  Washington.......  Whatcom..........  11/07/03........  FEMA-1499-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Berkeley.........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Boone............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Boone............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Braxton..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Cabel............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Cabell...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Cabell...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Calhoun..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Calhoun..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Clay.............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Doddridge........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Fayette..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Fayette..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Gilmer...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Greenbrier.......  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Greenbrier.......  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Harrison.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Jackson..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Kanawha..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Kanawha..........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Kanawha..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Lewis............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Logan............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Logan............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Marion...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mason............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mason............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  McDowell.........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  McDowell.........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  McDowell.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mercer...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mercer...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Monongalia.......  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Monroe...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Nicholas.........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Nicholas.........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Nicholas.........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Preston..........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Putman...........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Putnam...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Raleigh..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Raleigh..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Roane............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Summers..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Taylor...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Upshur...........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wayne............  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wayne............  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wayne............  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Webster..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Webster..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wetzel...........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wyoming..........  3/14/03.........  FEMA-1455-DR........  Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record
                                                                                                               Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wyoming..........  6/21/03.........  FEMA-1474-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003..........................  West Virginia....  Wyoming..........  11/21/03........  FEMA-1500-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Autauga..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Baldwin..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Barbour..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Bibb.............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Blount...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Bullock..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Butler...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Calhoun..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Chambers.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Chilton..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Choctaw..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Clarke...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Clay.............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Coffee...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Colbert..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Coosa............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Conecuh..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Covington........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Crenshaw.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Cullman..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Dale.............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Dallas...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  DeKalb...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Elmore...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Escambia.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Etowah...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Fayette..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Franklin.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Geneva...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Greene...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Hale.............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Henry............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Houston..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Jackson..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Jefferson........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Lamar............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Lauderdale.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Lawrence.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Lee..............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Limestone........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Lowndes..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Macon............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Madison..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Marengo..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Marshall.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Marion...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Mobile...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Monroe...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Montgomery.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Morgan...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Perry............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Pickens..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Pike.............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Randolph.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Russell..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Shelby...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  St. Clair........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Sumter...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Talladega........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Tallapoosa.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Tuscaloosa.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Walker...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Washington.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Wilcox...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Alabama..........  Winston..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1549-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  American Samoa...  Island of Tutuila  1/13/04.........  FEMA-1506-DR........  High Winds, High Surf and Heavy Rainfall
                                                                                                               Associated With Tropical Cyclone Heta
2004..........................  American Samoa...  The Manu'a         1/13/04.........  FEMA-1506-DR........  High Winds, High Surf and Heavy Rainfall
                                                    Islands.                                                   Associated With Tropical Cyclone Heta
2004..........................  California.......  San Luis Obispo..  1/13/04.........  FEMA-1505-DR........  Earthquake
2004..........................  Florida..........  Alachua..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Baker............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Bradford.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Brevard..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Charlotte........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Citrus...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Clay.............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Columbia.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  DeSoto...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Dixie............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Duval............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Flagler..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Gilchrist........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Glades...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hamilton.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hardee...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hendry...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hernando.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Highlands........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hillsborough.....  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Indian River.....  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Jefferson........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lafayette........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lake.............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Levy.............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Madison..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Manatee..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Marion...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Martin...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Nassau...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Okeechobee.......  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Orange...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Osceola..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Palm Beach.......  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pasco............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pinellas.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Polk.............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Putnam...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Johns........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Lucie........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Sarasota.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Seminole.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Sumter...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Suwannee.........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Taylor...........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Union............  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Volusia..........  9/26/04.........  FEMA-1561-DR........  Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Florida..........  Bay..............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Brevard..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Calhoun..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Clay.............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Citrus...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Duval............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Escambia.........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Flagler..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Franklin.........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Gadsden..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Gulf.............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Highlands........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Holmes...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Indian River.....  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Jackson..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lake.............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lee..............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Leon.............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Liberty..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Manatee..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Marion...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Martin...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Okaloosa.........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Okeechobee.......  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Osceola..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Orange...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Palm Beach.......  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pasco............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Polk.............  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Santa Rosa.......  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Seminole.........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Johns........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Lucie........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Taylor...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Volusia..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Wakulla..........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Walton...........  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Washington.......  9/16/04.........  FEMA-1551-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Florida..........  Alachua..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Baker............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Bradford.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Brevard..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Broward..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Charlotte........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Citrus...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Clay.............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Columbia.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  DeSoto...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Dixie............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Duval............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Flagler..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Gilchrist........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Glades...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hardee...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hendry...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hernando.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Highlands........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hillsborough.....  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Indian River.....  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lake.............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lee..............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Levy.............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Manatee..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Marion...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Martin...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Miami-Dade.......  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Nassau...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Okeechobee.......  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Orange...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Osceola..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Palm Beach.......  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pasco............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pinellas.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Polk.............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Putnam...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Sarasota.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Seminole.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Johns........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Lucie........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Sumter...........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Suwannee.........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Union............  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Volusia..........  9/04/04.........  FEMA-1545-DR........  Hurricane Frances
2004..........................  Florida..........  Brevard..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Charlotte........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Collier..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  DeSoto...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Dixie............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Duval............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Flagler..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Glades...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hardee...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Hendry...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Highlands........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Indian River.....  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lake.............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Lee..............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Levy.............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Manatee..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Monroe...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Okeechobee.......  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Orange...........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Osceola..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Pasco............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Polk.............  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  St. Johns........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Sarasota.........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Seminole.........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Florida..........  Volusia..........  8/13/04.........  FEMA-1539-DR........  Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane
                                                                                                               Charley
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Carroll..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Cherokee.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Clayton..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Cobb.............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Dade.............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Dawson...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  DeKalb...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Early............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Forsyth..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Franklin.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Fulton...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Gilmer...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Heard............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Madison..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Miller...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Pickens..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Rabun............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Towns............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Union............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  White............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Georgia..........  Wilkes...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1554-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Illinois.........  Kankakee.........  4/23/04.........  FEMA-1513-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2004..........................  Illinois.........  LaSalle..........  4/23/04.........  FEMA-1513-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2004..........................  Illinois.........  Putnam...........  4/23/04.........  FEMA-1513-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2004..........................  Illinois.........  Will.............  4/23/04.........  FEMA-1513-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Adams............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Allen............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Benton...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Boone............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Brown............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Carroll..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Cass.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Clark............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Clay.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Clinton..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Crawford.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Dearborn.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Decatur..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  DeKalb...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Delaware.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Dubois...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Floyd............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Fountain.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Franklin.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Fulton...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Gibson...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Grant............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Greene...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Hancock..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Harrison.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Hendricks........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Henry............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Howard...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Huntington.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Jackson..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Jasper...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Jefferson........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Jennings.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Johnson..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Kosciusko........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Lake.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Lawrence.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Madison..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Martin...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Miami............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Monroe...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Montgomery.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Morgan...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Newton...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Noble............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Ohio.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Orange...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Owen.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Perry............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Pike.............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Putnam...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Ripley...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Scott............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Shelby...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Spencer..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Switzerland......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Tippecanoe.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Tipton...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburgh......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Wabash...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Warren...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Warrick..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Washington.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Wells............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  White............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Indiana..........  Whitley..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1520-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Adair............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Adams............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Allamakee........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Appanoose........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Audubon..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Benton...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Black Hawk.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Boone............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Bremer...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Buchanan.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Buena Vista......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Butler...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Calhoun..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Cass.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Cedar............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Cerro Gordo......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Chickasaw........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Clay.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Clayton..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Clinton..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Dallas...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Davis............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Delaware.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Des Moines.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Dubuque..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Fayette..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Floyd............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Franklin.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Greene...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Grundy...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Guthrie..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Hamilton.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Hancock..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Henry............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Hardin...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Howard...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Humboldt.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Iowa.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Jackson..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Jasper...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Jones............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Johnson..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Kossuth..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Linn.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Louisa...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Lucas............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Madison..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Marshall.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Mitchell.........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Monroe...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Montgomery.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Muscatine........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Palo Alto........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Pocahontas.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Polk.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Pottawattamie....  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Poweshiek........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Sac..............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Scott............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Shelby...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Story............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Tama.............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Wapello..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Warren...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Washington.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Wayne............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Webster..........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Winnebago........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Winneshiek.......  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Worth............  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Iowa.............  Wright...........  5/25/04.........  FEMA-1518-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Bell.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Bourbon..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyd.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Boyle............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Breathitt........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Breckinridge.....  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Bullitt..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Butler...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Caldwell.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Carroll..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Carter...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Casey............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Christian........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Clark............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Clay.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Crittenden.......  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Edmonson.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Elliott..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Estill...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Fayette..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Floyd............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Franklin.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Garrard..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Grayson..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Greenup..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Hardin...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Harlan...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Hart.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Henderson........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Henry............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Hopkins..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Jackson..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Jefferson........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Jessamine........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Johnson..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Knott............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Knox.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Laurel...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Lawrence.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Lee..............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Leslie...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Letcher..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Lincoln..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Madison..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Magoffin.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Martin...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  McLean...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Menifee..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Montgomery.......  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Morgan...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Muhlenberg.......  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Ohio.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Oldham...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Owen.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Owsley...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Perry............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Pike.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Powell...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Pulaski..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Rockcastle.......  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Rowan............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Scott............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Shelby...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Spencer..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Trimble..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Union............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Webster..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Whitely..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Wolfe............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Kentucky.........  Woodford.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1523-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Lafourche........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Orleans..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Plaquemines......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  St. Bernard......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  St. Charles......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  St. Tammany......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Terrebonne.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1548-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Acadia...........  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Iberville........  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson Davis..  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Lafayette........  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Livingston.......  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  Pointe Coupee....  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  St. Landry.......  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  St. Martin.......  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Louisiana........  West Baton Rouge.  6/08/04.........  FEMA-1521-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Massachusetts....  Essex............  4/21/04.........  FEMA-1512-DR........  Severe Winter Storms
2004..........................  Massachusetts....  Middlesex........  4/21/04.........  FEMA-1512-DR........  Severe Winter Storms
2004..........................  Massachusetts....  Norfolk..........  4/21/04.........  FEMA-1512-DR........  Severe Winter Storms
2004..........................  Massachusetts....  Suffolk..........  4/21/04.........  FEMA-1512-DR........  Severe Winter Storms
2004..........................  Massachusetts....  Worcester........  4/21/04.........  FEMA-1512-DR........  Severe Winter Storms
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Barry............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Berrien..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Cass.............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Eaton............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Genesee..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Gladwin..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Ingham...........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Ionia............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Jackson..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Kent.............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Livingston.......  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Macomb...........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Mecosta..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Muskegon.........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Oakland..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Ottawa...........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Saginaw..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Sanilac..........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Shiawassee.......  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  St. Clair........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  St. Joseph.......  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Washtenaw........  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Michigan.........  Wayne............  6/30/04.........  FEMA-1527-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Dodge............  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Faribault........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Freeborn.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Martin...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Mower............  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Olmsted..........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Minnesota........  Steele...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1569-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Clarke...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  George...........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Hancock..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Harrison.........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Jackson..........  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Lauderdale.......  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Perry............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Stone............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Mississippi......  Wayne............  9/15/04.........  FEMA-1550-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Adair............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Andrew...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Bates............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Benton...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Buchanan.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Caldwell.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Carroll..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Cass.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Cedar............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Chariton.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Clay.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Clinton..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Daviess..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  DeKalb...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Gentry...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Grundy...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Harrison.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Henry............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Hickory..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Jackson..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Johnson..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Knox.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Linn.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Livingston.......  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Macon............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Mercer...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Monroe...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Nodaway..........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Platte...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Polk.............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Randolph.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Ray..............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Shelby...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  St.-Clair........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Sullivan.........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Vernon...........  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Missouri.........  Worth............  6/10/04.........  FEMA-1524-DR........  Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Adams............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Buffalo..........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Butler...........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Cass.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Clay.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Dodge............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Douglas..........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Fillmore.........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Franklin.........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Gage.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Hall.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Hamilton.........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Jefferson........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Johnson..........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Kearney..........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Lancaster........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Nuckolls.........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Otoe.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Pawnee...........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Saline...........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Sarpy............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Saunders.........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Seward...........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Thayer...........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Washington.......  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  Webster..........  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Nebraska.........  York.............  5/23/04.........  FEMA-1517-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Hunterdon........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1563-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Mercer...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1563-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Sussex...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1563-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Warren...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1563-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Burlington.......  7/16/04.........  FEMA-1530-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New Jersey.......  Camden...........  7/16/04.........  FEMA-1530-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Broome...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Chenango.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Delaware.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Orange...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Sullivan.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Ulster...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1565-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  New York.........  Allegany.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Broome...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Cattaraugus......  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Madison..........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Monroe...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Niagara..........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Oneida...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Onondaga.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Orange...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Orleans..........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Steuben..........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Sullivan.........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Ulster...........  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  New York.........  Wayne............  10/01/04........  FEMA-1564-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Alamance.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Alleghany........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Ashe.............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Avery............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Buncombe.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Burke............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Caldwell.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Caswell..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Davidson.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Forsyth..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Graham...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Guilford.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Haywood..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Henderson........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Jackson..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Macon............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Madison..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  McDowell.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Mitchell.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Polk.............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Randolph.........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Rockingham.......  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Rutherford.......  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Stokes...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Swain............  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Transylvania.....  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Watauga..........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Wilkes...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Yancey...........  9/18/04.........  FEMA-1553-DR........  Hurricane Ivan
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Alleghany........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Alexander........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Ashe.............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Avery............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Bladen...........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Buncombe.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Burke............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Cabarrus.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Caldwell.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Catawba..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Cleveland........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Columbus.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Cumberland.......  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Gaston...........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Haywood..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Henderson........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Jackson..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Hoke.............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Iredell..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Lincoln..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Madison..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  McDowell.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Mecklenburg......  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Mitchell.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Polk.............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Robeson..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Rutherford.......  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Scotland.........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Transylvania.....  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Union............  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Watauga..........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Wilkes...........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  North Carolina...  Yancey...........  9/10/04.........  FEMA-1546-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Rota.............  8/26/04.........  FEMA-1541-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, Storm Surge, and High
                                 Islands.                                                                      Winds as a result of Super Typhoon Chaba
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Saipan...........  8/26/04.........  FEMA-1541-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, Storm Surge, and High
                                 Islands.                                                                      Winds as a result of Super Typhoon Chaba
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Tinian...........  8/26/04.........  FEMA-1541-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, Storm Surge, and High
                                 Islands.                                                                      Winds as a result of Super Typhoon Chaba
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Rota.............  7/29/04.........  FEMA-1532-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, High Winds, and Wind-
                                 Islands.                                                                      DRiven Rain associated with Typhoon
                                                                                                               Tingting
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Saipan...........  7/29/04.........  FEMA-1532-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, High Winds, and Wind-
                                 Islands.                                                                      DRiven Rain associated with Typhoon
                                                                                                               Tingting
2004..........................  Northern Mariana   Tinian...........  7/29/04.........  FEMA-1532-DR........  Flooding, High Surf, High Winds, and Wind-
                                 Islands.                                                                      DRiven Rain associated with Typhoon
                                                                                                               Tingting
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Athens...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Belmont..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Carroll..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Columbiana.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Gallia...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Guernsey.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Harrison.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Jefferson........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Lawrence.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Mahoning.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Meigs............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Monroe...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Morgan...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Muskingum........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Noble............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Perry............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Stark............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Trumbull.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Tuscarawas.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Vinton...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Washington.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1556-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Athens...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Carroll..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Columbiana.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Crawford.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Cuyahoga.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Delaware.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Geauga...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Guernsey.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Harrison.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Hocking..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Holmes...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Licking..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Logan............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Lorain...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Mahoning.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Medina...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Noble............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Perry............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Portage..........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Richland.........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Stark............  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Summit...........  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Tuscarawas.......  6/03/04.........  FEMA-1519-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Belmont..........  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Franklin.........  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Jefferson........  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Licking..........  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Morgan...........  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Ross.............  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Tuscarawas.......  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Ohio.............  Washington.......  1/26/04.........  FEMA-1507-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Allegheny........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Armstrong........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Beaver...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bedford..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Blair............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bradford.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bucks............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Butler...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Cameron..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Carbon...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Centre...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Chester..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Clarion..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Clearfield.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Clinton..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Columbia.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Crawford.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Cumberland.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Dauphin..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Delaware.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Elk..............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Franklin.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Fulton...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Green............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Huntingdon.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Indiana..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Jefferson........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Juniata..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lackawanna.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lawrence.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lebanon..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lehigh...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Luzerne..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lycoming.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Mifflin..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Monroe...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Montgomery.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Montour..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Northampton......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Northumberland...  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Perry............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Philadelphia.....  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Pike.............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Potter...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Schuylkill.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Snyder...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Somerset.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Sullivan.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Susquehanna......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Tioga............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Union............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Washington.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wayne............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Westmoreland.....  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wyoming..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  York.............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1557-DR........  Tropical Depression Ivan
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Beaver...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bedford..........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Blair............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Butler...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Crawford.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Erie.............  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Huntingdon.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lawrence.........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Warren...........  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Washington.......  9/19/04.........  FEMA-1555-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding associated with
                                                                                                               Tropical Depression Frances
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Delaware.........  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1538-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Montgomery.......  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1538-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Philadelphia.....  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1538-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Aguada...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Aguadilla........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Aguas............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Buenas...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Aibonito.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Aoasco...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Arecibo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Arroyo...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Barceloneta......  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Barranquitas.....  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Bayamon..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Caguas...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Camuy............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Canovanas........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Carolina.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Cataoo...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Cayey............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Ceiba............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Ciales...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Cidra............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Coamo............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Comeroo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Corozal..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Dorado...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Fajardo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Florida..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Guayama..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Gurabo...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Hatillo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Humacao..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Isabela..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Juana Doaz.......  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Juncos...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Lares............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Las Piedras......  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Looza............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Manato...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Maunabo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Moca.............  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Morovis..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Naguabo..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Naranjito........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Orocovis.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Patillas.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Quebradillas.....  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Rincon...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Roo Grande.......  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Salinas..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  San Lorenzo......  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  San Sebastian....  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Santa Isabel.....  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Toa Alta.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Toa Baja.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Utuado...........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Vega Alta........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Vega Baja........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Villalba.........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Vieques..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  Puerto Rico......  Yabucoa..........  9/17/04.........  FEMA-1552-DR........  Tropical Storm Jeanne and resulting
                                                                                                               landslides and mudslides
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Berkeley.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Calhoun..........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Charleston.......  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Cherokee.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Chester..........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Chesterfield.....  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Clarendon........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Darlington.......  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Dillon...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Fairfield........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Florence.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Georgetown.......  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Greenville.......  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Horry............  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Kershaw..........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Lancaster........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Lee..............  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Lexington........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Marion...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Marlboro.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Newberry.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Oconee...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Pickens..........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Richland.........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Spartanburg......  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Sumter...........  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  Williamsburg.....  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  South Carolina...  York.............  10/07/04........  FEMA-1566-DR........  Tropical Storm Frances
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Alleghany........  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Botetourt........  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Craig............  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Floyd............  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Giles............  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Montgomery.......  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Patrick..........  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Roanoke..........  10/18/04........  FEMA-1570-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding from the
                                                                                                               remnants of Hurricane Jeanne
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Chesterfield.....  9/03/04.........  FEMA-1544-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
                                                                                                               associated with Tropical Depression
                                                                                                               Gaston
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Dinwiddie........  9/03/04.........  FEMA-1544-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
                                                                                                               associated with Tropical Depression
                                                                                                               Gaston
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Hanover..........  9/03/04.........  FEMA-1544-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
                                                                                                               associated with Tropical Depression
                                                                                                               Gaston
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Henrico..........  9/03/04.........  FEMA-1544-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
                                                                                                               associated with Tropical Depression
                                                                                                               Gaston
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Prince George....  9/03/04.........  FEMA-1544-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
                                                                                                               associated with Tropical Depression
                                                                                                               Gaston
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Buchanan.........  6/15/04.........  FEMA-1525-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Lee..............  6/15/04.........  FEMA-1525-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Russell..........  6/15/04.........  FEMA-1525-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  Virginia.........  Tazewell.........  6/15/04.........  FEMA-1525-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Berkeley.........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Brooke...........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Cabell...........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Hancock..........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Jackson..........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Kanawha..........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Logan............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Marshall.........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mason............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Morgan...........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Ohio.............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Pleasants........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Tyler............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wayne............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wetzel...........  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wirt.............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wood.............  9/20/04.........  FEMA-1558-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Fayette..........  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1536-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1536-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Logan............  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1536-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  8/06/04.........  FEMA-1536-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Boone............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Braxton..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Cabell...........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Calhoun..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Clay.............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Fayette..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Gilmer...........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Jackson..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Kanawha..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Lewis............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Lincoln..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Logan............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mason............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  McDowell.........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mercer...........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Mingo............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Nicholas.........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Putnam...........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Raleigh..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Roane............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wayne............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Webster..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wirt.............  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  West Virginia....  Wyoming..........  6/07/04.........  FEMA-1522-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Clark............  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Columbia.........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Crawford.........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Dodge............  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Fond du Lac......  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Grant............  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Green Lake.......  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Jefferson........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Kenosha..........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Ozaukee..........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Vernon...........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2004..........................  Wisconsin........  Winnebago........  6/19/04.........  FEMA-1526-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Baldwin..........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1593-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Baldwin..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Escambia.........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1593-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Greene...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Hale.............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Marengo..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Mobile...........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1593-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Mobile...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Pickens..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Tuscaloosa.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Alabama..........  Washington.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1605-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  California.......  Kern.............  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  Los Angeles......  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  Orange...........  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  Riverside........  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  San Bernardino...  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  San Diego,.......  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  Santa Barbara....  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  California.......  Ventura..........  2/04/05.........  FEMA-1577...........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Florida..........  Bay..............  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Brevard..........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Broward..........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Collier..........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Dixie............  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Escambia.........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Franklin.........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Glades...........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Gulf.............  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Hendry...........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Indian River.....  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Lee..............  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Martin...........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Miami-Dade.......  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Monroe...........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Okaloosa.........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Okeechobee.......  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Palm Beach.......  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Santa Rosa.......  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  St. Lucie........  10/24/05........  FEMA-1609-DR........  Hurricane Wilma
2005..........................  Florida..........  Taylor...........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Wakulla..........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Florida..........  Walton...........  7/10/05.........  FEMA-1595-DR........  Hurricane Dennis
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Adams............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Allen............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Bartholomew......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Benton...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Blackford........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Boone............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Brown............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Carroll..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Cass.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Clark............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Clay.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Clinton..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Crawford.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Daviess..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Dearborn.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Decatur..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  DeKalb...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Delaware.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Dubois...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Elkhart..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Fayette..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Floyd............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Fountain.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Franklin.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Fulton...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Gibson...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Grant............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Greene...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Hamilton.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Hancock..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Harrison.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Hendricks........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Henry............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Howard...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Huntington.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Jackson..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Jasper...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Jay..............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Jennings.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Johnson..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Knox.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Kosciusko........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Lake.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Laporte..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Lawrence.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Madison..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Marion...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Marshall.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Martin...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Miami............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Monroe...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Montgomery.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Morgan...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Newton...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Noble............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Orange...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Owen.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Parke............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Pike.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Porter...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Posey............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Pulaski..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Putnam...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Randolph.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Ripley...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Rush.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Scott............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Shelby...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  St. Joseph.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Starke...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Sullivan.........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Tippecanoe.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Tipton...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Union............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburgh......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburgh......  11/08/05........  FEMA-1612-DR........  Tornado and Severe Storms
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Vermillion.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Vigo.............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Wabash...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Warren...........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Warrick..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Warrick..........  11/08/05........  FEMA-1612-DR........  Tornado and Severe Storms
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Washington.......  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Wayne............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Wells............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  White............  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Indiana..........  Whitley..........  1/21/05.........  FEMA-1573...........  Severe Winter Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Kentucky.........  Hopkins..........  12/01/05........  FEMA-1617-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2005..........................  Kentucky.........  Marshall.........  12/01/05........  FEMA-1617-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Acadia...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Acadia...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Allen............  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Ascension........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Ascension........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Assumption.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Beauregard.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Calcasieu........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Calcasieu........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Cameron..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Cameron..........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  East Baton Rouge.  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  East Feliciana...  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Evangeline.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Iberia...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Iberia...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Iberville........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson Davies.  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson Davis..  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Lafayette........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Lafayette........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Lafourche........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Lafourche........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Livingston.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Livingston.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Orleans..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Plaquemines......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Plaquemines......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Pointe Coupee....  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Sabine...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Bernard......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Charles......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Helena.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. James........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. John.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Landry.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Martin.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Martin.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Mary.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Mary.........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  St. Tammany......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Tangipahoa,        8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
                                                    Terrebonne,
                                                    Vermilion,
                                                    Washington, West
                                                    Baton Rouge, and
                                                    West Feliciana.
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Terrebonne.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Terrebonne.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Vermilion........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Vermilion........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Vernon...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  Washington.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  West Baton Rouge.  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Louisiana........  West Baton Rouge.  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1607-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Louisiana........  West Feliciana...  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1603-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Berkshire........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Bristol..........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Franklin.........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Hampden..........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Hampshire........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Middlesex........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Norfolk..........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Plymouth.........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Massachusetts....  Worcester........  11/10/05........  FEMA-1614-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Adams............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Amite............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Attala...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Choctaw..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Claiborne........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Clarke...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Copiah...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Covington........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Forrest..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Franklin.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  George...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Greene...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Hancock..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Harrison.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Hinds............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Holmes...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Humphreys........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Jackson..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Jasper...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Jefferson........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Jefferson Davis..  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Jones............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Kemper...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Lamar............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Lauderdale.......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Lawrence.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Leake............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Lincoln..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Lowndes..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Madison..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Marion...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Neshoba..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Newton...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Noxubee..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Oktibbeha........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Pearl River......  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Perry............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Pike.............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Rankin...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Scott............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Simpson..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Smith............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Stone............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Walthall.........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Warren...........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Wayne............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Wilkinson........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Winston..........  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  Mississippi......  Yazoo............  8/29/05.........  FEMA-1604-DR........  Hurricane Katrina
2005..........................  New Hampshire....  Cheshire.........  10/26/05........  FEMA-1610-DR........  Severe Storms and Floodign
2005..........................  New Hampshire....  Grafton..........  10/26/05........  FEMA-1610-DR........  Severe Storms and Floodign
2005..........................  New Hampshire....  Hillsborough.....  10/26/05........  FEMA-1610-DR........  Severe Storms and Floodign
2005..........................  New Hampshire....  Merrimack........  10/26/05........  FEMA-1610-DR........  Severe Storms and Floodign
2005..........................  New Hampshire....  Sullivan.........  10/26/05........  FEMA-1610-DR........  Severe Storms and Floodign
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Bergen...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Essex............  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Gloucester.......  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Hunterdon........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Mercer...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Morris...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Passaic..........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Sussex...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New Jersey.......  Warren...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1588-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Broome...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Chenango.........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Cortland.........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Delaware.........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Orange...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Rensselaer.......  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Schenectady......  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Schoharie........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Sullivan.........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Tioga............  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  New York.........  Ulster...........  4/19/05.........  FEMA-1589-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Ashland..........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Athens...........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Auglaize.........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Belmont..........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Clark............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Coshocton........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Crawford.........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Delaware.........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Franklin.........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Henry............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Huron............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Jefferson........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Logan............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Miami............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Morgan...........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Muskingum........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Pickaway.........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Pike.............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Ross.............  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Scioto...........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Warren...........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Washington.......  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Ohio.............  Wyandot..........  2/15/05.........  FEMA-1580...........  Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bradford.........  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bucks............  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Columbia.........  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Luzerne..........  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Monroe...........  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Northampton......  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Pike.............  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wayne............  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wyoming..........  4/14/05.........  FEMA-1587-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2005..........................  Texas............  Angelina.........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Brazoria.........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Chambers.........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Fort Bend........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Galveston........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Hardin...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Harris...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Jasper...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Jefferson........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Liberty..........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Montgomery.......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Nacogdoches......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Newton...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Orange...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Polk.............  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Sabine...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  San Augustine....  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  San Jacinto......  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Shelby...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Trinity..........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Tyler............  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Texas............  Walker...........  9/24/05.........  FEMA-1606-DR........  Hurricane Rita
2005..........................  Wyoming..........  Campbell.........  8/12/05.........  FEMA-1599-DR........  Tornado
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Conway...........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Cross............  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Fulton...........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Greene...........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Lawrence.........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  Randolph.........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Arkansas.........  White............  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1636-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  California.......  Contra Costa.....  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Del Norte........  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Lake.............  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Marin............  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Mendocino........  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Napa.............  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Sacramento.......  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Siskiyou.........  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Solano...........  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  California.......  Sonoma...........  2/03/06.........  FEMA-1628-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and
                                                                                                               Landslides
2006..........................  Hawaii...........  Hawaii...........  10/17/06........  FEMA-1664-DR........  Earthquake
2006..........................  Hawaii...........  Honolulu.........  5/02/06.........  FEMA-1640-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Hawaii...........  Kauai............  5/02/06.........  FEMA-1640-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Illinois.........  Sangamon.........  3/28/06.........  FEMA-1633-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Indiana..........  Lake.............  10/06/06........  FEMA-1662-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Indiana..........  Vanderburgh......  10/06/06........  FEMA-1662-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Indiana..........  Warrick..........  10/06/06........  FEMA-1662-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Allen............  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Beauregard.......  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Calcasieu........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Caldwell.........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Franklin.........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Grant............  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Jefferson Davis..  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  LaSalle..........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Madison..........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Morehouse........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Natchitoches.....  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Richland.........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Sabine...........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  St. Helena.......  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  St. Landry.......  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Vernon...........  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Louisiana........  Winn.............  11/02/06........  FEMA-1668-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Maine............  York.............  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1644-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Massachusetts....  Essex............  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1642-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Massachusetts....  Middlesex........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1642-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Massachusetts....  Suffolk..........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1642-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Andrew...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Benton...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Boone............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Butler...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Carroll..........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Cass.............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Cedar............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Christian........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Cooper...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Dunklin..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Greene...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Henry............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Hickory..........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Iron.............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Johnson..........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Lawrence.........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Lincoln..........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Mississippi......  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Monroe...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Morgan...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  New Madrid.......  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Newton...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Pemiscot.........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Perry............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Pettis...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Pettis...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Phelps...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Putnam...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Randolph.........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Saline...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Scott............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  St. Clair........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  St. Francois.....  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Ste. Genevieve...  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Stoddard.........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1635-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Taney............  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Vernon...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Webster..........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  Missouri.........  Wright...........  3/16/06.........  FEMA-1631-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Belknap..........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Carroll..........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Hillsborough.....  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Merrimack........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Rockingham.......  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Hampshire....  Strafford........  5/25/06.........  FEMA-1643-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Jersey.......  Hunterdon........  7/07/06.........  FEMA-1653-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Jersey.......  Mercer...........  7/07/06.........  FEMA-1653-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Jersey.......  Warren...........  7/07/06.........  FEMA-1653-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Mexico.......  Dona Ana.........  8/30/06.........  FEMA-1659-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New Mexico.......  Otero............  8/30/06.........  FEMA-1659-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Broome...........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Chenango.........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Delaware.........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Erie.............  10/24/06........  FEMA-1665-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Genesee..........  10/24/06........  FEMA-1665-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Herkimer.........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Montgomery.......  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Niagara..........  10/24/06........  FEMA-1665-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Oneida...........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Orange...........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Orleans..........  10/24/06........  FEMA-1665-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Otsego...........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Schoharie........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Sullivan.........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Tioga............  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  New York.........  Ulster...........  7/01/06.........  FEMA-1650-DR........  Severe Storms and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Ashtabula........  8/01/06.........  FEMA-1656-DR........  Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Cuyahoga.........  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Erie.............  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Geauga...........  8/01/06.........  FEMA-1656-DR........  Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Huron............  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Lake.............  8/01/06.........  FEMA-1656-DR........  Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and
                                                                                                               Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Lucas............  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Sandusky.........  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Ohio.............  Stark............  7/02/06.........  FEMA-1651-DR........  Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line
                                                                                                               Winds, and Flooding
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Canadian.........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Cotton...........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Delaware.........  4/13/06.........  FEMA-1637-DR........  Severe Storms and Tornadoes
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Garvin...........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Hughes...........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Lincoln..........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Logan............  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Mayes............  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Okfuskee.........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Oklahoma.........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Pottawatomie.....  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Seminole.........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Oklahoma.........  Stephens.........  1/10/06.........  FEMA-1623-DR........  Severe Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Berks............  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Bradford.........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Carbon...........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Chester..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Dauphin..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Franklin.........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lackawanna.......  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lancaster........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Lebanon..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Luzerne..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Monroe...........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Montgomery.......  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Montour..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Pike.............  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Schuylkill.......  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Susquehanna......  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wayne............  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Pennsylvania.....  Wyoming..........  6/30/06.........  FEMA-1649-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Benton...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Cannon...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Carroll..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Cheatham.........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Cumberland.......  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Davidson.........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Dickson..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Dyer.............  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Fayette..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Gibson...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Haywood..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Maury............  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Sumner...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Warren...........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Tennessee........  Weakley..........  4/05/06.........  FEMA-1634-DR........  Tornadoes and Severe Storms
2006..........................  Texas............  Callahan.........  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Cooke............  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Eastland.........  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Erath............  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Hood.............  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Kerr.............  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Montague.........  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Palo Pinto.......  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Potter...........  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Tarrant..........  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  Wise.............  1/11/06.........  FEMA-1624-DR........  Extreme Wildfire Threat
2006..........................  Texas............  El Paso..........  8/15/06.........  FEMA-1658-DR........  Flooding
2006..........................  Washington.......  Clark............  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Cowlitz..........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Grays Harbor.....  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  King.............  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Lewis............  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Pierce...........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Skagit...........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Skamania.........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Snohomish........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Thurston.........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
2006..........................  Washington.......  Wahkiakum........  12/12/06........  FEMA-1671-DR........  Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and
                                                                                                               Mudslides
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                  EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH (EPPB) DISASTER DESIGNATION REQUESTS: SECRETARIAL
                                                               [Fiscal Year 2002--Secretarial Designations for Production Losses]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Beginning date    Ending date of    Approved by      Termination     Designation
             State               Counties requested     of disaster        disaster        secretary           date           number           Description of disaster       Primary  Contiguous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY.............................  Albany, Columbia,   4-15-2001.......  6-20-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1564........  Albany: Hail, excessive rain;             6        12
                                  Dutchess,                                                                                               Columbia: Hail, high winds;
                                  Niagara, Orange,                                                                                        Dutchess: Hail; Niagara:
                                  Ulster.                                                                                                 Flooding, hail; Orange: Drought;
                                                                                                                                          Ulster: Hail; Ulster: Hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
CT.............................  ..................  6-03-2001.......  6-03-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1564........  Hail..............................  .......         2
MA.............................  ..................  5-28-2001.......  6-20-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1564........  Hail, high winds..................  .......         1
OR.............................  Jackson...........  9-01-2000.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  12-18-2001.....  S1565........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
OR.............................  Josephine.........  9-01-2000.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  2-14-2002......  S1565........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
OR.............................  Union.............  9-01-2000.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1565........  Drought...........................        1         4
TN.............................  Anderson,           1-01-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, excessive heat, insect          13        28
                                  Campbell,                                                                                               infestation, hail, excessive
                                  Carroll, Carter,                                                                                        rain, freezing conditions.
                                  Crockett, Dyer,
                                  Giles, Greene,
                                  Hancock, Johnson,
                                  Maury, Obion,
                                  Weakley.
AL.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         2
AR.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         1
KY.............................  ..................  3-15-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, insect infestation,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          excessive heat.
MO.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         1
NC.............................  ..................  3-15-2001.......  6-15-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         4
VA.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-16-2002......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1566........  Drought, excessive heat, hail,      .......         5
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain.
WA.............................  Chelan............  6-26-2001.......  6-27-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1567........  Severe storms with damaging wind,         1         3
                                                                                                                                          rain, hail.
WA.............................  Douglas,            6-26-2001.......  6-27-2001......  10-16-2001.....  4-23-2002......  S1567........  Severe storms with damaging wind,         3  ..........
                                  Klickitat, Walla                                                                                        rain, hail.
                                  Walla.
OR.............................  ..................  6-26-2001.......  6-27-2001......  10-16-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1567........  Severe storms with damaging wind,   .......         4
                                                                                                                                          rain, hail.
CA.............................  Madera............  4-04-2001.......  4-20-2001......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1568........  Freezing temperatures, hailstorms.        1         5
CA.............................  Mendocino.........  1-01-2001.......  7-30-2001......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1569........   (1) Freezing temperatures;.......        1         4
                                                                                                                                         (2) severe heat;..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Unseasonable rainfall;........
                                                                                                                                         (4) Drought.......................
CO.............................  Eagle,Garfield,     7-09-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1570........  Drought...........................        3         8
                                  Pitkin.
UT.............................  ..................  7-09-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1570........  Drought...........................  .......         2
KS.............................  Atchison, Greeley,  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1571........  Drought, excessive rains, flash          13        28
                                  Hamilton,                                                                                               flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                  Jefferson,                                                                                              repeated excessive winds.
                                  Jewell, Kearny,
                                  Kingman, Lane,
                                  Leavenworth,
                                  Logan, Morton,
                                  Scott, Wichita.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1571........  Drought, excessive rains, flash     .......         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeated excessive winds.
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1571........  Drought, excessive rains, flash     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeated excessive winds.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1571........  Drought, excessive rains, flash     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeated excessive winds.
NE.............................  Holt..............  7-03-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1572........  Storms, hail......................        1         8
OK.............................  All counties        6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................       75         2
                                  except Choctaw,
                                  McCurtain.
AR.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......         6
CO.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......         1
KS.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......        14
MO.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......         2
NM.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1573........  Drought...........................  .......        18
OR.............................  Baker.............  9-01-2000.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-17-2002......  S1574........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
OR.............................  Gilliam...........  9-01-2000.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1574........  Drought...........................        1         2
ID.............................  ..................  9-01-2000.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1574........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Cottle............  7-23-2001.......  7-23-2001......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1575........  Fire, excessive temperatures......        1         7
UT.............................  Beaver, Box Elder,  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and             23         6
                                  Cache, Carbon,                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;.
                                  Davis, Emery,                                                                                          (2) Freezing temperatures, high
                                  Iron, Juab, Kane,                                                                                       winds.
                                  Millard, Morgan,
                                  Piute, Rich, San
                                  Juan, Sanpete,
                                  Sevier, Summit,
                                  Tooele, Utah,
                                  Wasatch,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Weber.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         4
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freezing temperatures, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;
                                                                                                                                          Freezing temperatures, high winds.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         1
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;
                                                                                                                                          Freezing temperatures, high winds.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         1
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;
                                                                                                                                          Freezing temperatures, high winds.
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;
                                                                                                                                          Freezing temperatures, high winds.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  4-25-2002......  10-25-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1576........  (1) Drought, Grasshopper and        .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Mormon Cricket infestation;.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freezing temperatures, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
OR.............................  Morrow............  9-01-2000.......  4-29-2002......  10-29-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1577........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
WA.............................  ..................  9-01-2000.......  4-29-2002......  10-29-2001.....  6-29-2002......  S1577........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NY.............................  Saratoga..........  4-01-2001.......  5-28-2001......  10-29-2001.....  6-29-2002......  S1578........  Low rainfall (Drought), hail,             1         8
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
WY.............................  Lincoln,            1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......        2         1
                                  Sweetwater.
WY.............................  Big Horn,           1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  1-29-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......        4         2
                                  Campbell, Park,
                                  Sheridan.
WY.............................  Fremont, Hot        1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  7-01-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......        6         4
                                  Springs, Johnson,
                                  Natrona,
                                  Sublette,
                                  Washakie, Wind
                                  River Indian
                                  Reservation.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  7-01-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......  .......         1
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......  .......         1
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  7-01-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......  .......         2
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  1-29-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......  .......         4
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-01-2002......  11-01-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1579........  Drought, wildfire conditions......  .......         3
OH.............................  Brown, Clermont,    5-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2002......  S1580........  Extreme weather conditions with          12        24
                                  Defiance, Fulton,                                                                                       excessive rain, flooding,
                                  Gallia, Hancock,                                                                                        armyworms.
                                  Jackson, Ottawa,
                                  Paulding, Putnam,
                                  Vinton, Wyandot.
IN.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2002......  S1580........  Extreme weather conditions with     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          armyworms.
KY.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2002......  S1580........  Extreme weather conditions with     .......         4
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          armyworms.
WV.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2002......  S1580........  Extreme weather conditions with     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          armyworms.
LA.............................  Acadia, Avoyelles,  8-27-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1581........  Excessive rainfall, high humidity.       32        17
                                  Beauregard,
                                  Bossier, Caddo,
                                  Caldwell,
                                  Cameron,
                                  Catahoula,
                                  Concordia, De
                                  Soto, East
                                  Carroll,
                                  Evangeline,
                                  Franklin, Grant,
                                  Iberville,
                                  Jefferson Davis,
                                  La Salle,
                                  Madison,
                                  Morehouse,
                                  Natchitoches,
                                  Ouachita, Pointe
                                  Coupee, Rapides,
                                  Red River,
                                  Richland, St.
                                  Landry, St.
                                  Martin, Tensas,
                                  Vermilion,
                                  Vernon, West
                                  Baton Rouge, West
                                  Carroll.
AR.............................  ..................  8-27-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1581........  Excessive rainfall, high humidity.  .......         5
MS.............................  ..................  8-27-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1581........  Excessive rainfall, high humidity.  .......         6
TX.............................  ..................  8-27-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1581........  Excessive rainfall, high humidity.  .......         8
TX.............................  Bee, San Patricio.  5-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1582........  Drought...........................        2         7
WA.............................  Chelan............  6-08-2001.......  6-08-2001......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1583........  Hailstorm.........................        1         6
WA.............................  Lincoln...........  5-21-2001.......  5-24-2001......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1583........  Freeze............................        1         7
WA.............................  Asotin, Benton,     1-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1583........  Drought...........................        6        14
                                  Douglas,
                                  Klickitat,
                                  Lincoln, Stevens.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1583........  Drought...........................  .......         1
OR.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-02-2002......  11-02-2001.....  7-02-2001......  S1583........  Drought...........................  .......         7
MI.............................  Jackson, Lake,      5-15-2001.......  5-17-2001......  11-09-2001.....  7-09-2002......  S1584........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           4        13
                                  Mason, Oceana.                                                                                          hail.
MI.............................  Allegan, Berrien,   5-12-2001.......  5-31-2001......  11-09-2001.....  7-09-2002......  S1584........  Frost, freezing temperatures,             5         6
                                  Cass, Kalamazoo,                                                                                        cooler than normal temperatures.
                                  Van Buren.
IN.............................  ..................  5-12-2001.......  5-31-2001......  11-09-2001.....  7-09-2002......  S1584........  Frost, freezing temperatures,       .......         3
                                                                                                                                          cooler than normal temperatures.
TX.............................  Borden, Brown,      1-01-2001.......  5-26-2002......  11-26-2001.....  7-26-2002......  S1585........  Drought...........................       10        40
                                  Concho, Dimmit,
                                  Duval, Gaines,
                                  Mitchell,
                                  Runnels, Tom
                                  Green, Wilbarger.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-26-2002......  11-26-2001.....  7-26-2002......  S1585........  Drought...........................  .......         1
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  5-26-2002......  11-26-2001.....  7-26-2002......  S1585........  Drought...........................  .......         2
CA.............................  Lassen............  1-01-2001.......  5-29-2002......  11-29-2001.....  7-29-2002......  S1586........  Drought, excessive temperatures...        1         1
MI.............................  Alcona, Alger,      6-12-2001.......  8-17-2001......  11-29-2001.....  7-29-2002......  S1587........  Drought...........................       72        10
                                  Alpena, Antrim,
                                  Arenac, Bay,
                                  Benzie, Berrien,
                                  Cass, Charlevoix,
                                  Cheboygan,
                                  Chippewa, Clare,
                                  Clinton, Delta,
                                  Dickinson, Emmet,
                                  Genesee, Gladwin,
                                  Grand Traverse,
                                  Gratiot,
                                  Hillsdale, Huron,
                                  Ingham, Ionia,
                                  Iosco, Iron,
                                  Isabella,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Kalamazoo,
                                  Kalkaska, Kent,
                                  Lake, Lapeer,
                                  Leelanau,
                                  Lenawee,
                                  Livingston, Luce,
                                  Mackinac, Macomb,
                                  Manistee,
                                  Marquette, Mason,
                                  Mecosta,
                                  Menominee,
                                  Midland,
                                  Missaukee,
                                  Monroe, Montcalm,
                                  Montmorency,
                                  Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Oakland,
                                  Oceana, Ogemaw,
                                  Osceola, Oscoda,
                                  Otsego, Ottawa,
                                  Presque Isle,
                                  Roscommon,
                                  Saginaw, Sanilac,
                                  Schoolcraft,
                                  Shiawassee, St.
                                  Clair, St.
                                  Joseph, Tuscola,
                                  Van Buren,
                                  Washtenaw, Wayne,
                                  Wexford.
IN.............................  ..................  6-12-2001.......  8-17-2001......  11-29-2001.....  7-29-2002......  S1587........  Drought...........................  .......         5
OH.............................  ..................  6-12-2001.......  8-17-2001......  11-29-2001.....  7-29-2002......  S1587........  Drought...........................  .......         4
WI.............................  ..................  6-12-2001.......  8-17-2001......  11-29-2001.....  7-29-2002......  S1587........  Drought...........................  .......         4
TX.............................  Glasscock, Howard,  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1588........  Drought, excessive temperatures           5        16
                                  Jim Hogg,                                                                                               (heat), high winds, low humidity.
                                  Kleberg, Zapata.
TX.............................  Collingsworth.....  6-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1589........  Drought; Lightning, wildfires.....        1         5
OK.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1589........  Drought; Lightning, wildfires.....  .......         2
TX.............................  Hardeman, Maverick  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  7-26-2002......  S1590........  ..................................        2        10
TX.............................  Childress, Cottle,  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1590........  Drought, excessive heat...........        5        15
                                  Hidalgo, Kent,
                                  Starr.
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1590........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         2
PA.............................  Adams, Allegheny,   1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................       44        14
                                  Armstrong,
                                  Beaver, Bedford,
                                  Berks, Blair,
                                  Butler, Cambria,
                                  Centre, Clinton,
                                  Chester, Clarion,
                                  Clearfield,
                                  Columbia,
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Dauphin, Elk,
                                  Erie, Forest,
                                  Franklin, Fulton,
                                  Huntingdon,
                                  Indiana,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Juniata,
                                  Lancaster,
                                  Lawrence,
                                  Lebanon,
                                  Lycoming, Mercer,
                                  Mifflin, Montour,
                                  Northumberland,
                                  Perry,
                                  Schuylkill,
                                  Snyder, Somerset,
                                  Union, Venango,
                                  Warren,
                                  Washington,
                                  Westmoreland,
                                  York.
DE.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................  .......         1
MD.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................  .......         8
NY.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................  .......         2
OH.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................  .......         4
WV.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  6-05-2002......  12-05-2001.....  8-05-2002......  S1591........  Drought...........................  .......         4
TX.............................  Austin, Burleson,   8-20-2001.......  9-19-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1592........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash           9        21
                                  Chambers,                                                                                               flooding.
                                  Colorado, Fort
                                  Bend, Goliad,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Matagorda,
                                  Wharton.
LA.............................  ..................  8-20-2001.......  9-19-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1592........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          flooding.
TX.............................  Cottle............  9-20-2001.......  9-20-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1593........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds.
TX.............................  Floyd.............  6-01-2001.......  6-05-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1594........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornado.
TX.............................  Uvalde............  5-24-2001.......  5-24-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1595........  High wind, hail...................        1         8
TX.............................  Wilson............  5-20-2001.......  5-20-2001......  12-13-2001.....  8-13-2002......  S1596........  Extreme amount of hail, high winds        1         5
ID.............................  Franklin, Oneida..  1-01-2001.......  6-18-2002......  12-18-2001.....  6-25-2002......  S1597........  Drought, heat.....................        2  ..........
ID.............................  Camas, Power......  1-01-2001.......  6-18-2002......  12-18-2001.....  8-19-2002......  S1597........  Drought, heat.....................        2         6
ME.............................  Androscoggin,       6-01-2001.......  9-10-2001......  12-20-2001.....  8-20-2002......  S1598........  Armyworm infestation..............       12         4
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Kennebec,
                                  Lincoln, Oxford,
                                  Penobscot,
                                  Piscataquis,
                                  Sagadahoc,
                                  Somerset, Waldo,
                                  Washington, York.
NH.............................  ..................  6-01-2001.......  9-10-2001......  12-20-2001.....  8-20-2002......  S1598........  Armyworm infestation..............  .......         4
PA.............................  Erie..............  7-04-2001.......  7-03-2002......  1-03-2002......  9-03-2002......  S1599........  Storms with high winds, excessive         1         2
                                                                                                                                          hail.
NY.............................  ..................  7-04-2001.......  7-03-2002......  1-03-2002......  9-03-2002......  S1599........  Storms with high winds, excessive   .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail.
OH.............................  ..................  7-04-2001.......  7-03-2002......  1-03-2002......  9-03-2002......  S1599........  Storms with high winds, excessive   .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail.
NM.............................  Chaves, Eddy,       1-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1600........  Drought...........................        3         5
                                  Otero.
TX.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1600........  Drought...........................  .......         5
AR.............................  Ashley, Chicot,     8-31-2001.......  9-07-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1601........  Excessive rain....................        6        10
                                  Columbia, Desha,
                                  Drew, Lafayette.
LA.............................  ..................  8-31-2001.......  9-07-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1601........  Excessive rain....................  .......         8
MS.............................  ..................  8-31-2001.......  9-07-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1601........  Excessive rain....................  .......         4
TN.............................  Cocke.............  6-26-2001.......  6-26-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1602........  Hail, wind, flash flooding........        1         4
TN.............................  Rutherford........  4-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1602........  Drought, insect infestation.......        1         5
TN.............................  Morgan, Scott.....  3-15-2001.......  6-15-2001......  1-08-2002......  6-17-2002......  S1602........  Drought, excessive heat...........        2  ..........
TN.............................  ..................  3-15-2001.......  6-15-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1602........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         3
KY.............................  ..................  3-15-2001.......  6-15-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1602........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         1
NC.............................  ..................  6-26-2001.......  6-26-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1602........  Hail, wind, flash flooding........  .......         2
MN.............................  Cass, Crow Wing...  11-15-2000......  6-28-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1603........  Heavier than normal precip,               2         8
                                                                                                                                          followed by severe cold.
NE.............................  Buffalo, Butler,    5-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1604........  Drought, severe heat..............       10        26
                                  Cass, Dundy,
                                  Nance, Platte,
                                  Polk, Saunders,
                                  Seward, Sherman.
CO.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1604........  Drought, severe heat..............  .......         1
IA.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1604........  Drought, severe heat..............  .......         2
KS.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1604........  Drought, severe heat..............  .......         2
NY.............................  Broome, Columbia,   4-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1605........  Columbia: Drought; Dutchess: Hail,       11        22
                                  Dutchess, Greene,                                                                                       High Winds; Greene: Drought+
                                  Jefferson, Lewis,                                                                                       Hail, High Winds, Rain;
                                  Livingston,                                                                                             Jefferson: Drought; Lewis: Flash
                                  Onondaga,                                                                                               Flooding, Excessive rain &
                                  Sullivan, Ulster,                                                                                       Drought; Livingston: Drought;
                                  Wyoming.                                                                                                Onondaga: Hail; Sullivan: Army
                                                                                                                                          Cut Worms; Ulster: Hail High
                                                                                                                                          Winds; Wyoming: Drought.
CT.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  7-01-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1605........  Hail, hign winds..................  .......         2
MA.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1605........  Hail, high winds: 07/01/01;         .......         1
                                                                                                                                          Drought: 04/01/01--continuing.
PA.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  7-09-2002......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1605........  Drought: 04/01/01-05/31/01;         .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Armyworm infestation: 07/01/01--
                                                                                                                                          continuing.
NV.............................  Washoe............  5-01-2001.......  9-30-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1606........  Drought, extreme fires............        1         6
CA.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  9-30-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1606........  Drought, extreme fires............  .......         5
OR.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  9-30-2001......  1-08-2002......  9-09-2002......  S1606........  Drought, extreme fires............  .......         2
NY.............................  Allegany,           4-01-2001.......  7-22-2002......  1-22-2002......  9-23-2002......  S1607........  Drought, army cut worms, hail.....       12        13
                                  Cattaraugus,
                                  Chautauqua,
                                  Clinton, Essex,
                                  Niagara, Orleans,
                                  Putnam, Schuyler,
                                  Seneca, Wayne,
                                  Westchester.
NY.............................  Dutchess, Erie,     4-01-2001.......  7-22-2002......  1-22-2002......  9-23-2002......  S1607........  Drought, army cut worms, hail.....        4  ..........
                                  Genesee, Ulster.
PA.............................  ..................  5-01-2001.......  7-22-2002......  1-22-2002......  9-23-2002......  S1607........  Drought...........................  .......         2
VT.............................  ..................  7-09-2001.......  7-22-2002......  1-22-2002......  9-23-2002......  S1607........  Drought, Army Cut worms, hail.....  .......         3
IN.............................  Lagrange, Perry...  6-15-2001.......  9-09-2001......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1608........  Drought...........................        2         5
IN.............................  Benton, Clay,       10-24-2001......  10-25-2001.....  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1608........  Severe storms, high winds,                4        16
                                  Elkhart, St.                                                                                            tornadoes, hail, excessive rain.
                                  Joseph.
IL.............................  ..................  10-24-2001......  10-25-2001.....  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1608........  Severe storms, high winds,          .......         2
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes, hail, excessive rain.
KY.............................  ..................  6-15-2001.......  9-09-2001......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1608........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MI.............................  ..................  10-24-2001......  10-25-2001.....  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1608........  Severe storms, high winds,          .......         3
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes, hail, excessive rain.
OH.............................  Ashland,            5-01-2002.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1609........  Severe drought, high temperatures.       22        26
                                  Ashtabula, Brown,
                                  Carroll,
                                  Columbiana,
                                  Cuyahoga, Fulton,
                                  Geauga, Hancock,
                                  Holmes, Knox,
                                  Lake, Lucas,
                                  Mahoning, Medina,
                                  Sandusky, Seneca,
                                  Stark,
                                  Tuscarawas,
                                  Wayne, Wood,
                                  Wyandot.
KY.............................  ..................  5-01-2002.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1609........  Severe drought, high temperatures.  .......         2
MI.............................  ..................  5-01-2002.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1609........  Severe drought, high temperatures.  .......         3
PA.............................  ..................  5-01-2002.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1609........  Severe drought, high temperatures.  .......         5
WV.............................  ..................  5-01-2002.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1609........  Severe drought, high temperatures.  .......         1
GA.............................  Banks, Butts,       1-01-2001.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1610........  Drought...........................       19        50
                                  Candler, Clayton,
                                  Elbert, Emanuel,
                                  Fayette,
                                  Glascock, Henry,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Laurens,
                                  Madison,
                                  Oglethorpe,
                                  Tattnall, Taylor,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wilkinson.
SC.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  8-07-2002......  2-07-2002......  10-07-2002.....  S1610........  Drought...........................  .......         3
KS.............................  Chautauqua, Elk,    1-01-2001.......  8-19-2002......  2-19-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1611........  Drought, excessive rains, flash           5        14
                                  Montgomery,                                                                                             flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                  Sumner, Reno.                                                                                           repeatedly excessive winds.
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  8-19-2002......  2-19-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1611........  Drought, excessive rains, flash     .......         5
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeatedly excessive winds.
ND.............................  Barnes, Benson,     3-01-2001.......  8-21-2002......  2-21-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1612........  Flooding, ground saturation,             32        18
                                  Bottineau,                                                                                              subsidence, storms, wind
                                  Bowman, Burke,                                                                                          tornadoes, drought, high
                                  Cass, Cavalier,                                                                                         humidity, severe temperatures
                                  Divide, Eddy,                                                                                           during the growing season.
                                  Emmons, Foster,
                                  Grand Forks,
                                  Kidder, Logan,
                                  Mountrail,
                                  Nelson, Pembina,
                                  Pierce, Ramsey,
                                  Ransom, Renville,
                                  Richland,
                                  Rolette, Sargent,
                                  Slope, Stutsman,
                                  Towner, Traill,
                                  Walsh, Ward,
                                  Wells, Williams.
MN.............................  ..................  3-01-2001.......  8-21-2002......  2-21-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1612........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         7
                                                                                                                                          subsidence, storms, wind
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, severe temperatures
                                                                                                                                          during the growing season.
MT.............................  ..................  3-01-2001.......  8-21-2002......  2-21-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1612........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         4
                                                                                                                                          subsidence, storms, wind
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, severe temperatures
                                                                                                                                          during the growing season.
SD.............................  ..................  3-01-2001.......  8-21-2002......  2-21-2002......  10-21-2002.....  S1612........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         6
                                                                                                                                          subsidence, storms, wind
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, severe temperatures
                                                                                                                                          during the growing season.
ID.............................  Butte, Custer,      1-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1613........  Drought, heat, low snow pack              3         5
                                  Lemhi.                                                                                                  conditions.
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1613........  Drought, heat, low snow pack        .......         2
                                                                                                                                          conditions.
CA.............................  Tehama............  4-08-2001.......  4-08-2001......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1614........  Freezing temperatures.............        1         3
NY.............................  Chemung, Tioga....  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1615........  Drought...........................        2         4
PA.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1615........  Drought...........................  .......         3
NY.............................  Seneca............  10-21-2001......  10-21-2001.....  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1615........  Hail, high winds..................        1         6
SC.............................  Entire State......  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1616........  Drought...........................       46  ..........
GA.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1616........  Drought...........................  .......        13
NC.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1616........  Drought...........................  .......        16
TN.............................  Claiborne, Union..  7-01-2001.......  9-30-2001......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1617........  Excessive rain....................        2         5
KY.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  9-30-2001......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1617........  Excessive rain....................  .......         2
TN.............................  Hamblen...........  8-05-2001.......  8-05-2001......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1617........  Flooding..........................        1         5
TN.............................  Jefferson.........  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1617........  Drought...........................        1         5
VA.............................  Goochland.........  10-01-2000......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1618........  Drought, excessive heat...........        1         7
WY.............................  Albany............  1-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1619........  Drought, late frosts, untime rain,        1         2
                                                                                                                                          hail.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1619........  Drought, late frosts, untime rain,  .......         2
                                                                                                                                          hail.
VT.............................  Addison,            4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1620........  Drought...........................        8         6
                                  Bennington,
                                  Caledonia,
                                  Chittenden,
                                  Orange, Orleans,
                                  Rutland,
                                  Washington.
MA.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1620........  Drought...........................  .......         2
NH.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1620........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NY.............................  ..................  4-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1620........  Drought...........................  .......         4
WA.............................  Yakima............  1-01-2001.......  9-01-2002......  3-01-2002......  11-01-2002.....  S1621........  Drought...........................        1         3
ME.............................  Androscoggin,       6-01-2002.......  9-11-2002......  3-11-2002......  11-11-2002.....  S1622........  Drought...........................       15         1
                                  Aroostook,
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Hancock,
                                  Kennebec, Knox,
                                  Lincoln, Oxford,
                                  Penobscot,
                                  Piscataquis,
                                  Sagadahoc,
                                  Somerset, Waldo,
                                  Washington, York.
NH.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  9-11-2002......  3-11-2002......  11-11-2002.....  S1622........  Drought...........................  .......         4
MA.............................  Franklin, Hampden,  5-01-2000.......  9-22-2002......  3-22-2002......  11-22-2002.....  S1623........  Excessive rainfall, limited               4         3
                                  Hampshire,                                                                                              sunshine, below-average
                                  Worcester.                                                                                              temperatures.
CT.............................  ..................  5-01-2000.......  9-22-2002......  3-22-2002......  11-22-2002.....  S1623........  Excessive rainfall, limited         .......         4
                                                                                                                                          sunshine, below-average
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
NH.............................  ..................  5-01-2000.......  9-22-2002......  3-22-2002......  11-22-2002.....  S1623........  Excessive rainfall, limited         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          sunshine, below-average
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
RI.............................  ..................  5-01-2000.......  9-22-2002......  3-22-2002......  11-22-2002.....  S1623........  Excessive rainfall, limited         .......         1
                                                                                                                                          sunshine, below-average
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
VT.............................  ..................  5-01-2000.......  9-22-2002......  3-22-2002......  11-22-2002.....  S1623........  Excessive rainfall, limited         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          sunshine, below-average
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
MT.............................  Entire State......  1-01-2002.......  9-27-2002......  3-27-2002......  11-27-2002.....  S1624........  Drought...........................       56  ..........
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  9-27-2002......  3-27-2002......  11-27-2002.....  S1624........  Drought...........................  .......         8
ND.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  9-27-2002......  3-27-2002......  11-27-2002.....  S1624........  Drought...........................  .......         6
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  9-27-2002......  3-27-2002......  11-27-2002.....  S1624........  Drought...........................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  9-27-2002......  3-27-2002......  11-27-2002.....  S1624........  Drought...........................  .......         6
KS.............................  Cowley............  6-01-2001.......  10-04-2002.....  4-04-2002......  6-25-2002......  S1625........  Drought, excessive rains, flash           1  ..........
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeatedly excessive winds.
KS.............................  Edwards, Ford.....  6-01-2001.......  10-04-2002.....  4-04-2002......  12-04-2002.....  S1625........  Drought, excessive rains, flash           2         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding, tornadoes, hail,
                                                                                                                                          repeatedly excessive winds.
VA.............................  Prince Edward.....  8-01-2001.......  12-10-2001.....  4-04-2002......  12-04-2002.....  S1626........  Drought...........................        1         7
MA.............................  Barnstable,         3-01-2001.......  10-04-2002.....  4-04-2002......  12-04-2002.....  S1627........  Erratic weather pattern: Record           3         4
                                  Bristol, Plymouth.                                                                                      high temp. early spring-low rain;
                                                                                                                                          high temp.--June w/above ave.
                                                                                                                                          rain; Below normal temp.--Jul,
                                                                                                                                          Aug. w/normal rain; Normal temp.--
                                                                                                                                          Sep. w/below norm. rain.
RI.............................  ..................  3-01-2001.......  10-04-2002.....  4-04-2002......  12-04-2002.....  S1627........  Erratic weather pattern: Record     .......         3
                                                                                                                                          high temp. early spring-low rain;
                                                                                                                                          high temp.--June w/above ave.
                                                                                                                                          rain; Below normal temp.-Jul,
                                                                                                                                          Aug. w/normal rain; Normal temp.--
                                                                                                                                          Sep. w/below norm. rain.
GA.............................  Dooly.............  1-01-2001.......  10-05-2002.....  4-05-2002......  12-05-2002.....  S1628........  Drought...........................        1         5
SD.............................  Haakon, Meade,      6-01-2001.......  10-05-2002.....  4-05-2002......  12-05-2002.....  S1629........  Drought, extreme heat.............        3        10
                                  Pennington.
CA.............................  Calaveras.........  8-19-2001.......  9-05-2001......  4-05-2002......  12-05-2002.....  S1630........  High winds, drought, two separate         1         5
                                                                                                                                          fires.
ID.............................  Cassia............  10-01-2001......  12-31-2001.....  4-19-2002......  6-25-2002......  S1631........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
ID.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  12-31-2001.....  4-19-2002......  12-19-2002.....  S1631........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MS.............................  Bolivar, Calhoun,   8-15-2001.......  9-30-2001......  4-19-2002......  12-19-2002.....  S1632........  Excessive moisture, high humidity.       19        31
                                  Carroll,
                                  Chickasaw, Hinds,
                                  Holmes, Itawamba,
                                  Jefferson Davis,
                                  Lee, Leflore,
                                  Marshall, Monroe,
                                  Noxubee, Panola,
                                  Pontotoc,
                                  Sunflower,
                                  Tallahatchie,
                                  Union, Washington.
MS.............................  Claiborne, Warren.  8-15-2001.......  9-30-2001......  4-19-2002......  7-02-2002......  S1632........  Excessive moisture, high humidity.        2  ..........
AL.............................  ..................  8-15-2001.......  9-30-2001......  4-19-2002......  12-19-2002.....  S1632........  Excessive moisture, high humidity.  .......         5
AR.............................  ..................  8-15-2001.......  9-30-2001......  4-19-2002......  12-19-2002.....  S1632........  Excessive moisture, high humidity.  .......         2
TN.............................  ..................  8-15-2001.......  9-30-2001......  4-19-2002......  12-19-2002.....  S1632........  Excessive moisture, high humidity.  .......         2
IA.............................  Lucas.............  10-22-2001......  11-01-2001.....  4-23-2002......  12-23-2002.....  S1633........  High winds, heavy rains, flooding.        1         7
IA.............................  Guthrie...........  6-01-2001.......  10-23-2002.....  4-23-2002......  12-23-2002.....  S1634........  Drought...........................        1         6
CO.............................  Kit Carson,         9-01-2000.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1635........  Drought...........................        2         5
                                  Phillips.
KS.............................  ..................  9-01-2000.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1635........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NE.............................  ..................  9-01-2000.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1635........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Schleicher,         1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1636........  Drought, excessive heat...........        3         5
                                  Sutton, Zavala.
TX.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1636........  Excessive heat....................  .......         6
TX.............................  Garza, Lubbock,     1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1637........  Drought...........................        5         9
                                  Menard, Nolan,
                                  Terry.
TX.............................  Brooks, Callahan,   1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1638........  Drought, high winds, high                 7        20
                                  Eastland, Jim                                                                                           temperatures.
                                  Wells, Presidio,
                                  Stephens, Webb.
TX.............................  Loving, Pecos,      1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1639........  Drought, high winds...............        3         8
                                  Reeves.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  11-02-2002.....  5-02-2002......  1-02-2003......  S1639........  Drought, high winds...............  .......         2
ID.............................  Elmore............  10-01-2000......  11-10-2002.....  5-10-2002......  1-10-2003......  S1640........  Drought, insect losses (Mormon            1         8
                                                                                                                                          Crickets).
ID.............................  Twin Falls........  11-01-2000......  9-30-2001......  5-10-2002......  1-10-2003......  S1640........  Drought, excessive heat...........        1         2
NV.............................  ..................  11-01-2000......  9-30-2001......  5-10-2002......  1-10-2003......  S1640........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         1
AZ.............................  All counties,       1-01-2001.......  11-17-2002.....  5-17-2002......  1-17-2003......  S1641........  Drought...........................       14         1
                                  except Yuma.
CA.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  11-17-2002.....  5-17-2002......  1-17-2003......  S1641........  Drought...........................  .......         3
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  11-17-2002.....  5-17-2002......  1-17-2003......  S1641........  Drought...........................  .......         2
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  11-17-2002.....  5-17-2002......  1-17-2003......  S1641........  Drought...........................  .......         5
TX.............................  Comanche..........  5-01-2001.......  11-24-2002.....  5-24-2002......  1-24-2003......  S1642........  Drought, heat, insects............        1         5
CO.............................  Adams, Alamosa,     5-15-2001.......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1643........  Drought...........................       44        16
                                  Archuleta, Baca,
                                  Bent, Boulder,
                                  Chaffee, Conejos,
                                  Costilla,
                                  Crowley, Custer,
                                  Dolores, Douglas,
                                  Eagle, El Paso,
                                  Elbert, Fremont,
                                  Garfield, Grand,
                                  Hinsdale,
                                  Huerfano,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson, Kiowa,
                                  La Plata, Lake,
                                  Larimer, Las
                                  Animas, Logan,
                                  Mesa, Mineral,
                                  Montezuma,
                                  Morgan, Otero,
                                  Pitkin, Prowers,
                                  Pueblo, Rio
                                  Grande, Routt,
                                  Saguache, San
                                  Miguel, Sedgwick,
                                  Summit,
                                  Washington.
KS.............................  ..................  5-15-2001.......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1643........  Drought...........................  .......         4
NE.............................  ..................  5-15-2001.......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1643........  Drought...........................  .......         5
NM.............................  ..................  5-15-2001.......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1643........  Drought...........................  .......         4
OK.............................  ..................  5-15-2001.......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1643........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NE.............................  Banner, Chase,      10-01-2001......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1644........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring        16        17
                                  Cheyenne, Custer,                                                                                       temperatures, high winds, frost.
                                  Dawson, Deuel,
                                  Dundy, Frontier,
                                  Hayes, Hitchcock,
                                  Keith, Kimball,
                                  Perkins, Red
                                  Willow, Scotts
                                  Bluff, Sioux.
CO.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1644........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring   .......         5
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds, frost.
KS.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1644........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring   .......         3
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds, frost.
SD.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1644........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring   .......         1
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds, frost.
WY.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  11-30-2002.....  5-30-2002......  1-30-2003......  S1644........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring   .......         3
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds, frost.
WY.............................  Albany, Big Horn,   1-01-2002.......  12-01-2002.....  5-31-2002......  1-31-2003......  S1645........  Drought...........................       13         7
                                  Campbell, Carbon,
                                  Crook, Fremont,
                                  Hot Springs,
                                  Johnson, Laramie,
                                  Natrona, Park,
                                  Sheridan,
                                  Washakie.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  12-01-2002.....  5-31-2002......  1-31-2003......  S1645........  Drought...........................  .......         5
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  12-01-2002.....  5-31-2002......  1-31-2003......  S1645........  Drought...........................  .......         6
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  12-01-2002.....  5-31-2002......  1-31-2003......  S1645........  Drought...........................  .......         2
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  12-01-2002.....  5-31-2002......  1-31-2003......  S1645........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Haskell...........  1-01-2002.......  12-04-2002.....  6-04-2002......  2-04-2003......  S1646........  Drought, high winds, excessive            1         7
                                                                                                                                          heat (temperatures).
GA.............................  Evans, Montgomery,  2-28-2002.......  2-28-2002......  6-17-2002......  2-18-2003......  S1647........  Freezing weather..................        4        11
                                  Tattnall, Toombs.
NM.............................  Bernalillo,         1-01-2002.......  12-18-2002.....  6-17-2002......  2-18-2003......  S1648........  Drought...........................       29         4
                                  Catron, Cibola,
                                  Colfax, Curry, De
                                  Baca, Dona Ana,
                                  Grant, Guadalupe,
                                  Harding, Hidalgo,
                                  Lea, Lincoln,
                                  Luna, McKinley,
                                  Mora, Quay, Rio
                                  Arriba,
                                  Roosevelt, San
                                  Juan, San Miguel,
                                  Sandoval, Santa
                                  Fe, Sierra,
                                  Socorro, Taos,
                                  Torrance, Union,
                                  Valencia.
WY.............................  Campbell..........  1-01-2001.......  12-18-2002.....  6-17-2002......  2-18-2003......  S1649........  Drought...........................        1         5
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2001.......  12-18-2002.....  6-17-2002......  2-18-2003......  S1649........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NE.............................  Arthur, Box Butte,  10-01-2001......  12-20-2003.....  6-20-2002......  2-20-2003......  S1650........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring        10        22
                                  Franklin, Garden,                                                                                       temperatures, high winds, frost.
                                  Harlan, Kearney,
                                  Lincoln, Logan,
                                  McPherson,
                                  Morrill.
KS.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  12-20-2003.....  6-20-2002......  2-20-2003......  S1650........  Drought, unseasonably cold spring   .......         3
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds, frost.
UT.............................  Entire State......  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,                29  ..........
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         4
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         8
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         4
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         1
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         3
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1651........  Drought, Mormon crickets,           .......         3
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, frost, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
AZ.............................  Tohono O'Odham      1-01-2001.......  1-12-2003......  7-12-2002......  3-12-2003......  S1652........  Drought...........................        3  ..........
                                  Nation (located
                                  in 3 southern AZ
                                  counties).
VA.............................  Brunswick,          4-15-2001.......  1-13-2003......  7-12-2002......  3-12-2003......  S1653........  Drought...........................        5        15
                                  Buckingham,
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Fluvanna, Louisa.
NC.............................  ..................  4-15-2001.......  1-13-2003......  7-12-2002......  3-12-2003......  S1653........  Drought...........................  .......         2
CA.............................  San Diego.........  1-30-2002.......  3-04-2002......  7-12-2002......  3-12-2003......  S1654........  Fire, wind, drought, freezing             1         3
                                                                                                                                          conditions.
TX.............................  Willacy...........  1-01-2002.......  1-12-2003......  7-12-2002......  3-12-2003......  S1655........  Drought, high winds, heat.........        1         3
MI.............................  Allegan, Antrim,    4-21-2002.......  5-31-2002......  7-15-2002......  3-17-2003......  S1656........  (1) Frost, freezing temperatures,        26        24
                                  Benzie, Berrien,                                                                                        wind.
                                  Cass, Genesee,                                                                                         (2) Cold temperatures, hail, wet
                                  Grand Traverse,                                                                                         weather.
                                  Ingham, Ionia,                                                                                         (3) Frost, freezing temperatures..
                                  Jackson,
                                  Kalamazoo, Kent,
                                  Lapeer, Leelanau,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Macomb, Manistee,
                                  Mason, Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Oakland,
                                  Oceana, Ottawa,
                                  St. Clair,
                                  Shiawassee, Van
                                  Buren.
IN.............................  ..................  4-21-2002.......  5-31-2002......  7-15-2002......  3-17-2003......  S1656........  (1) Frost, freezing temperatures,   .......         3
                                                                                                                                          wind.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Cold temperatures, hail, wet
                                                                                                                                          weather.
                                                                                                                                         (3) Frost, freezing temperatures..
CA.............................  Glenn.............  3-08-2002.......  3-24-2002......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1657........  Freeze followed by hail...........        1         5
AZ.............................  Navajo Nation       1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-02-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1658........  Drought...........................        3  ..........
                                  (located in
                                  several NE AZ, NW
                                  NM, and SE UT
                                  counties.
NM.............................  Navajo Nation       1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-02-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1658........  Drought...........................        6  ..........
                                  (located in
                                  several NE AZ, NW
                                  NM, and SE UT
                                  counties.
UT.............................  Navajo Nation       1-01-2002.......  1-02-2003......  7-02-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1658........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
                                  (located in
                                  several NE AZ, NW
                                  NM, and SE UT
                                  counties.
CA.............................  Colusa............  3-08-2002.......  3-08-2002......  7-01-2002......  3-03-2003......  S1659........  Freeze, frost.....................        1         5
NC.............................  Alleghany, Ashe,    5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1660........  Abnormally low temperatures;              6         7
                                  Avery, Mitchell,                                                                                        freezes.
                                  Watauga, Yancey.
TN.............................  ..................  5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1660........  Abnormally low temperatures;        .......         3
                                                                                                                                          freezes.
VA.............................  ..................  5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1660........  Abnormally low temperatures;        .......         1
                                                                                                                                          freezes.
NC.............................  Alamance,           1-01-2002.......  1-23-2003......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1661........  Drought...........................       54        18
                                  Alexander,
                                  Alleghany, Anson,
                                  Ashe, Burke,
                                  Cabarrus,
                                  Caldwell,
                                  Caswell, Catawba,
                                  Chatham,
                                  Cleveland,
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Davidson, Davie,
                                  Durham, Forsyth,
                                  Franklin, Gaston,
                                  Granville,
                                  Guilford,
                                  Halifax, Harnett,
                                  Hoke, Iredell,
                                  Johnston, Lee,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  McDowell,
                                  Mecklenburg,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Moore, Nash,
                                  Northampton,
                                  Orange, Person,
                                  Randolph,
                                  Richmond,
                                  Robeson,
                                  Rockingham,
                                  Rowan,
                                  Rutherford,
                                  Scotland, Stanly,
                                  Stokes, Surry,
                                  Union, Vance,
                                  Wake, Warren,
                                  Wayne, Wilkes,
                                  Wilson, Yadkin.
SC.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-23-2003......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1661........  Drought...........................  .......         8
TN.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-23-2003......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1661........  Drought...........................  .......         1
VA.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  1-23-2003......  7-23-2002......  3-24-2003......  S1661........  Drought...........................  .......        11
GA.............................  Mitchell..........  4-03-2002.......  4-03-2002......  8-02-2002......  4-02-2003......  S1662........  Hailstorm.........................        1         7
PA.............................  Erie..............  5-20-2002.......  5-22-2002......  8-07-2002......  4-07-2003......  S1663........  Severe frost, freezing conditions.        1         2
NY.............................  ..................  5-20-2002.......  5-22-2002......  8-07-2002......  4-07-2003......  S1663........  Severe frost, freezing conditions.  .......         1
OH.............................  ..................  5-20-2002.......  5-22-2002......  8-07-2002......  4-07-2003......  S1663........  Severe frost, freezing conditions.  .......         1
MN.............................  Beltrami, Kittson,  6-28-2002.......  2-07-2003......  8-07-2002......  4-07-2003......  S1664........  Excessive rainfall, flash                13        11
                                  Koochiching, Lake                                                                                       flooding, hail.
                                  of the Woods,
                                  Mahnomen,
                                  Marshall, Norman,
                                  Pennington, Polk,
                                  Red Lake, Roseau.
ND.............................  ..................  6-28-2002.......  2-07-2003......  8-07-2002......  4-07-2003......  S1664........  Excessive rainfall, flash           .......         5
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail.
VA.............................  Bedford, Orange,    1-01-2001.......  2-08-2003......  8-08-2002......  4-08-2003......  S1665........  Drought, excessive heat...........        3        20
                                  Rockbridge.
SD.............................  Aurora, Brule,      7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,         52        12
                                  Buffalo, Butte,                                                                                         drought, fire.
                                  Campbell, Dewey,
                                  Edmunds, Faulk,
                                  Hand, Hughes,
                                  Hyde, Lyman,
                                  Pennington,
                                  Perkins, Potter,
                                  Stanley, Sully,
                                  Ziebach, Beadle.
                                  Bennett, Brown,
                                  Charles Mix,
                                  Davison, Day,
                                  Deuel, Fall
                                  River, Gregory,
                                  Hamlin, Hanson,
                                  Hutchinson,
                                  Jerauld, Jones,
                                  Marshall,
                                  Mellette,
                                  Shannon, Spink,
                                  Todd, Tripp,
                                  Yankton, Bon
                                  Homme, Clark,
                                  Corson, Douglas,
                                  Lake, McPherson,
                                  Miner, Sanborn,
                                  Walworth,
                                  Harding,
                                  Kingsbury,
                                  McCook, Meade.
MN.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,    .......         3
                                                                                                                                          drought, fire.
MT.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          drought, fire.
NE.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,    .......         8
                                                                                                                                          drought, fire.
ND.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,    .......         8
                                                                                                                                          drought, fire.
WY.............................  ..................  7-01-2001.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1666........  Extreme heat, wind, late frosts,    .......         3
                                                                                                                                          drought, fire.
KS.............................  Barber, Cheyenne,   1-01-2002.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1667........  Drought, frost, excessive winds...       40        18
                                  Comanche,
                                  Decatur, Edwards,
                                  Ellsworth,
                                  Finney, Ford,
                                  Gove, Graham,
                                  Grant, Gray,
                                  Greeley,
                                  Hamilton,
                                  Hodgeman, Jewell,
                                  Kearny, Lane,
                                  Lincoln, Logan,
                                  Meade, Morton,
                                  Norton, Osborne,
                                  Pawnee, Phillips,
                                  Rawlins, Rooks,
                                  Russell, Scott,
                                  Seward, Sheridan,
                                  Sherman, Smith,
                                  Stanton, Stevens,
                                  Thomas, Trego,
                                  Wallace, Wichita.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1667........  Drought, frost, excessive winds...  .......         3
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1667........  Drought, frost, excessive winds...  .......         5
NE.............................  Blaine, Buffalo,    10-01-2001......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1668........  Unseasonably cold spring                 11        21
                                  Cherry, Dawes,                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                  Furnas, Gosper,                                                                                         winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                  Grant, Hooker,                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
                                  Phelps, Sheridan,
                                  Thomas.
KS.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1668........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         3
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
SD.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-14-2003......  8-14-2002......  4-14-2003......  S1668........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         5
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
CA.............................  Riverside.........  2-01-2002.......  2-28-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1669........  Freezing conditions, followed by          1         4
                                                                                                                                          Santa Ana winds.
AZ.............................  La Paz............  2-01-2002.......  2-28-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1669........  Freezing conditions, followed by    .......         1
                                                                                                                                          Santa Ana winds.
CA.............................  Solano............  3-06-2002.......  3-10-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1670........  Hail, extreme freezing conditions.        1         6
CO.............................  Arapahoe,           5-15-2001.......  2-16-2003......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1643,         Drought...........................       13  ..........
                                  Cheyenne, Delta,                                                                         Amendment 1.
                                  Gunnison,
                                  Lincoln, Moffat,
                                  Montrose, Ouray,
                                  Park, Rio Blanco,
                                  Teller, Weld,
                                  Yuma.
KS.............................  Wallace...........  5-15-2001.......  2-16-2003......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1643,         Drought...........................  .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
NE.............................  Dundy.............  5-15-2001.......  2-16-2003......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1643,         Drought...........................  .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
NY.............................  Chautauqua,         4-06-2002.......  5-27-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1671........  Various disasters for each county        14        24
                                  Columbia,                                                                                               including: Excessive rain,
                                  Dutchess, Essex,                                                                                        freeze, frost, hail, high winds,
                                  Greene, Orange,                                                                                         snow, wet weather.
                                  Rensselaer,
                                  Saratoga,
                                  Schenectady,
                                  Schoharie,
                                  Steuben, Ulster,
                                  Wayne, Yates.
CT.............................  Fairfield.........  4-06-2002.......  5-27-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1671........  Excessive rain, freeze, frost,      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, snow, wet
                                                                                                                                          weather.
MA.............................  Litchfield........  4-06-2002.......  5-27-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1671........  Excessive rain, freeze, frost,      .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, snow, wet
                                                                                                                                          weather.
PA.............................  Erie, Potter,       4-06-2002.......  5-27-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1671........  Excessive rain, freeze, frost,      .......         5
                                  Pike, Tioga,                                                                                            hail, high winds, snow, wet
                                  Warren.                                                                                                 weather.
VT.............................  Addison,            4-06-2002.......  5-27-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1671........  Excessive rain, freeze, frost,      .......         3
                                  Bennington,                                                                                             hail, high winds, snow, wet
                                  Chittenden.                                                                                             weather.
TX.............................  Duval, Live Oak...  12-01-2001......  2-16-2003......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1672........  Drought, high winds...............        2        10
TX.............................  Jim Wells, Kleberg  12-11-2001......  2-16-2003......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1673........  Drought, high winds, excessive            2         6
                                                                                                                                          heat (temperatures).
VA.............................  Grayson, Smyth,     5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1674........  Freeze............................        3         8
                                  Washington.
NC.............................  Alleghany, Ashe,    5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1674........  Freeze............................  .......         3
                                  Surry.
TN.............................  Johnson, Sullivan.  5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  8-16-2002......  4-16-2003......  S1674........  Freeze............................  .......         2
TX.............................  Gillespie, Karnes.  1-01-2002.......  2-21-2003......  8-20-2002......  4-21-2003......  S1675........  Drought...........................        2        13
IA.............................  Clayton, Clinton,   6-03-2002.......  6-07-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1676........  Severe storms, heavy rains,               6         8
                                  Delaware,                                                                                               flooding, flash flooding.
                                  Jackson, Jones,
                                  Scott.
IL.............................  ..................  6-03-2002.......  6-07-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1676........  Severe storms, heavy rains,         .......         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding, flash flooding.
WI.............................  ..................  6-03-2002.......  6-07-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1676........  Severe storms, heavy rains,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, flash flooding.
ND.............................  Adams, Barnes,      4-01-2002.......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1677........  Drought, fire, insects, above and        51         2
                                  Benson, Billings,                                                                                       below normal temperatures, frost,
                                  Bottineau,                                                                                              severe storms, hail, flooding,
                                  Bowman, Burke,                                                                                          wind, crop disease.
                                  Burleigh, Cass,
                                  Cavalier, Dickey,
                                  Divide, Dunn,
                                  Eddy, Emmons,
                                  Foster, Golden
                                  Valley, Grand
                                  Forks, Grant,
                                  Griggs,
                                  Hettinger,
                                  Kidder, La Moure,
                                  Logan, McHenry,
                                  McIntosh,
                                  McKenzie, McLean,
                                  Mercer, Morton,
                                  Nelson, Oliver,
                                  Pembina, Pierce,
                                  Ramsey, Ransom,
                                  Renville,
                                  Richland,
                                  Rolette, Sargent,
                                  Sheridan, Sioux,
                                  Slope, Stark,
                                  Steele, Stutsman,
                                  Towner, Traill,
                                  Walsh, Ward,
                                  Wells.
MN.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1677........  Drought, fire, insects, above and   .......         7
                                                                                                                                          below normal temperatures, frost,
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          wind, crop disease.
MT.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1677........  Drought, fire, insects, above and   .......         5
                                                                                                                                          below normal temperatures, frost,
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          wind, crop disease.
SD.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1677........  Drought, fire, insects, above and   .......         8
                                                                                                                                          below normal temperatures, frost,
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          wind, crop disease.
NE.............................  Adams, Antelope,    10-01-2001......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1678........  Unseasonably cold spring                 56         6
                                  Boone, Boyd,                                                                                            temperatures, high winds, frost,
                                  Brown, Burt,                                                                                            extreme heat, hail, grasshopper
                                  Butler, Cass,                                                                                           infestation, drought.
                                  Cedar, Clay,
                                  Colfax, Cuming,
                                  Dakota, Dixon,
                                  Dodge, Douglas,
                                  Fillmore, Gage,
                                  Garfield,
                                  Greeley, Hall,
                                  Hamilton, Holt,
                                  Howard,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Keya
                                  Paha, Knox,
                                  Lancaster, Loup,
                                  Madison, Merrick,
                                  Nance, Nemaha,
                                  Nuckolls, Otoe,
                                  Pawnee, Pierce,
                                  Platte, Polk,
                                  Richardson, Rock,
                                  Saline, Sarpy,
                                  Saunders, Seward,
                                  Sherman, Stanton,
                                  Thayer, Thurston,
                                  Valley,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Webster,
                                  Wheeler, York.
IA.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1678........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         6
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
KS.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1678........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         8
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
MO.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1678........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         2
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
SD.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  2-22-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1678........  Unseasonably cold spring            .......         8
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds, frost, extreme heat, hail,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
OK.............................  Alfalfa, Beaver,    8-01-2001.......  2-23-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1679........  Drought...........................       30         9
                                  Beckham, Blaine,
                                  Caddo, Canadian,
                                  Cimarron,
                                  Comanche, Cotton,
                                  Custer, Dewey,
                                  Ellis, Garfield,
                                  Grady, Grant,
                                  Greer, Harmon,
                                  Harper, Jackson,
                                  Jefferson, Kiowa,
                                  Kingfisher,
                                  Major, Roger
                                  Mills, Stephens,
                                  Texas, Tillman,
                                  Washita, Woods,
                                  Woodward.
KS.............................  ..................  8-01-2001.......  2-23-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1679........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  ..................  8-01-2001.......  2-23-2003......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1679........  Drought...........................  .......        13
KS.............................  Crawford, Ford,     5-07-2002.......  5-26-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1680........  Severe storms including, hail,            6        22
                                  Jewell, Kiowa,                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes, excessive
                                  Neosho, Pratt.                                                                                          rain, flash flooding, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
MO.............................  ..................  5-07-2002.......  5-26-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1680........  Severe storms including, hail,      .......         3
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes, excessive
                                                                                                                                          rain, flash flooding, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
NE.............................  ..................  5-07-2002.......  5-26-2002......  8-22-2002......  4-22-2003......  S1680........  Severe storms including, hail,      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes, excessive
                                                                                                                                          rain, flash flooding, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
WY.............................  Lincoln, Uinta....  1-01-2002.......  3-11-2003......  9-11-2002......  5-12-2003......  S1681........  Drought...........................        2         2
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2002.......  3-11-2003......  9-11-2002......  5-12-2003......  S1681........  Drought...........................  .......         2
MO.............................  Adair,              3-01-2002.......  3-20-2003......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1682........  Hail, tornadoes, high winds,             14        41
                                  Bollinger,Cape                                                                                          flooding, unseasonably cool
                                  Girardeau,                                                                                              temperatures.
                                  Charlton, Howard,
                                  Knox, Laclede,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Lincoln, Macon,
                                  Madison,
                                  Moniteau, Scott,
                                  Wayne.
IL.............................  ..................  3-01-2002.......  3-20-2003......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1682........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         3
OH.............................  Auglaize,           3-01-2002.......  5-31-2002......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1683........  Frost, freeze, hail, tornado......        9        35
                                  Fairfield,
                                  Morgan,
                                  Muskingum, Perry,
                                  Portage, Ross,
                                  Summit, Wood.
VA.............................  Carroll...........  5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1684........  Freeze, frost conditions..........        1         6
NC.............................  ..................  5-19-2002.......  5-23-2002......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1684........  Freeze, frost conditions..........  .......         1
WA.............................  Chelan, Douglas,    4-23-2002.......  5-07-2002......  9-20-2002......  5-20-2003......  S1685........  Freezing temperatures.............        3         8
                                  Okanogan.
KS.............................  Clark, Clay,        1-01-2002.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1686........  Drought...........................        8         9
                                  Geary, Mitchell,
                                  Pottawatomie,
                                  Riley, Rush,
                                  Saline.
OR.............................  Wasco.............  9-01-2001.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1687........  Drought...........................        1         7
WA.............................  ..................  9-01-2001.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1687........  Drought...........................        1         1
NY.............................  Albany, Clinton,    4-15-2002.......  5-22-2002......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1688........  Albany: Freeze, frost, excessive          3         9
                                  Erie.                                                                                                   rain; Clinton: freeze; Erie:
                                                                                                                                          Freeze, frost.
VT.............................  Albany, Clinton,    4-15-2002.......  5-22-2002......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1688........  Albany: Freeze, frost, excessive          3         2
                                  Erie.                                                                                                   rain; Clinton: freeze; Erie:
                                                                                                                                          Freeze, frost.
TN.............................  Carter, Johnson,    4-01-2002.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1689........  Flooding, frost, freeze, cold             6        14
                                  Lauderdale,                                                                                             wind, low temperatures, drought,
                                  Morgan, Scott,                                                                                          high temperatures.
                                  Shelby.
AR.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1689........  Flooding, frost, freeze, cold       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          wind, low temperatures, drought,
                                                                                                                                          high temperatures.
KY.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1689........  Flooding, frost, freeze, cold       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          wind, low temperatures, drought,
                                                                                                                                          high temperatures.
MS.............................  ..................  4-01-2002.......  3-18-2003......  9-18-2002......  5-19-2003......  S1689........  Flooding, frost, freeze, cold       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          wind, low temperatures, drought,
                                                                                                                                          high temperatures.
TX.............................  Matagorda.........  2-01-2002.......  6-20-2002......  9-26-2002......  5-26-2003......  S1690........  Drought...........................        1         4
TX.............................  Jim Hogg..........  1-01-2002.......  3-26-2003......  9-26-2002......  5-26-2003......  S1691........  Drought, high temperatures, high          1         5
                                                                                                                                          winds.
TX.............................  Edwards...........  1-01-2002.......  3-26-2003......  9-26-2002......  5-26-2003......  S1692........  Drought, excessive temperatures...        1         7
                                                                                                                                                                            --------------------
      TOTAL ACTIVE.............  ..................  ................  ...............  ...............  ...............  .............  ..................................     1363      1995
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                            EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH (EPPB) DISASTER DESIGNATION REQUESTS: FINAL TOTAL--SECRETARIAL
                                                               [Fiscal Year 2003--Secretarial Designations for Production Losses]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Beginning Date   Ending Date of    Approved by      Termination     Designation
              State                Counties requested    of disaster        disaster        Secretary          Date           Number           Description of disaster       Primary  Contiguous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VT..............................  Essex, Franklin,     4-01-2001......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1620,          Drought..........................        6         6
                                   Grand Isle,                                                                             Amendment 1.
                                   Lamoille, Windham,
                                   Windsor.
TN..............................  Dyer...............  5-10-2002......  5-25-2002......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1689,          Flooding.........................        1         3
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
MO..............................  ...................  5-10-2002......  5-25-2002......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1689,          .................................  .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
OH..............................  ENTIRE STATE.......  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................       88  ..........
IN..............................  ...................  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
KY..............................  ...................  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
MI..............................  ...................  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
PA..............................  ...................  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
WV..............................  ...................  3-01-2002......  4-09-2003......  10-09-2002.....  6-09-2003.....  S1693.........  Drought..........................  .......        12
PA..............................  Adams, Allegheny,    1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................       54        11
                                   Armstrong, Beaver,
                                   Bedford, Berks,
                                   Blair, Bradford,
                                   Bucks, Butler,
                                   Cambria, Cameron,
                                   Carbon, Centre,
                                   Chester,
                                   Clearfield,
                                   Clinton, Columbia,
                                   Cumberland,
                                   Dauphin, Elk,
                                   Forest, Franklin,
                                   Fulton,
                                   Huntingdon,
                                   Indiana, Juniata,
                                   Lackawanna,
                                   Lancaster,
                                   Lawrence, Lebanon,
                                   Lehigh, Luzerne,
                                   Lycoming, McKean,
                                   Mifflin, Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Montour,
                                   Northampton,
                                   Northumberland,
                                   Perry, Pike,
                                   Potter,
                                   Schuylkill,
                                   Snyder, Somerset,
                                   Sullivan,
                                   Susquehanna,
                                   Union, Venango,
                                   Wayne, Wyoming,
                                   York.
DE..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
MD..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
NJ..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
NY..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
OH..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
WV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1694.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
GA..............................  Entire State except  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................      147        10
                                   for Bibb, Camden,
                                   Crawford, Early,
                                   Evans, Glynn,
                                   Liberty, Long,
                                   McIntosh, Peach,
                                   Tattnall, Wayne
                                   counties.
AL..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
FL..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
NC..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
SC..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-11-2003......  10-11-2002.....  6-11-2003.....  S1695.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
GA..............................  Bibb, Crawford,      1-01-2002......  4/31/03........  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1695,          Drought..........................        4  ..........
                                   Early, Peach.                                                                           Amendment 1.
GA..............................  Evans..............  1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1695,          Drought..........................        1  ..........
                                                                                                                           Amendment 2.
OR..............................  Gilliam, Morrow....  9-01-2000......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1696.........  Drought..........................        2         2
WA..............................  ...................  9-01-2000......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1696.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
AR..............................  Arkansas, Clay,      3-18-2002......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1697.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail...       17        18
                                   Craighead,
                                   Crittenden, Cross,
                                   Greene,
                                   Independence,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Lawrence, Lee,
                                   Mississippi,
                                   Monroe, Poinsett,
                                   Randolph, St.
                                   Francis,
                                   Sebastian,
                                   Woodruff.
MO..............................  ...................  3-18-2002......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1697.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail...  .......         4
MS..............................  ...................  3-18-2002......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1697.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail...  .......         2
OK..............................  ...................  3-18-2002......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1697.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail...  .......         2
TN..............................  ...................  3-18-2002......  4-16-2003......  10-16-2002.....  6-16-2003.....  S1697.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail...  .......         4
NJ..............................  Atlantic, Bergen,    3-04-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1698.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..       19         2
                                   Burlington,
                                   Camden, Cape May,
                                   Cumberland, Essex,
                                   Gloucester,
                                   Hunterdon, Mercer,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Monmouth, Morris,
                                   Ocean, Passaic,
                                   Salem, Somerset,
                                   Sussex, Warren.
DE..............................  ...................  3-04-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1698.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..  .......         3
NY..............................  ...................  3-04-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1698.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..  .......         6
DE..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1699.........  Drought, high temperatures.......        3  ..........
NJ..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1699.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         4
PA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1699.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
IL..............................  Alexander, Bond,     1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1700.........  Drought..........................       58        22
                                   Boone, Calhoun,
                                   Clark, Clay,
                                   Clinton, Coles,
                                   Cook, Crawford,
                                   Cumberland,
                                   DeKalb, Dupage,
                                   Edgar, Edwards,
                                   Effingham,
                                   Fayette, Franklin,
                                   Gallatin, Greene,
                                   Grundy, Hamilton,
                                   Hardin, Jackson,
                                   Jasper, Jefferson,
                                   Jersey, Johnson,
                                   Kane, Kendall,
                                   Lake, LaSalle,
                                   Lawrence, Lee,
                                   Madison, Marion,
                                   Massac, McHenry,
                                   Monroe,
                                   Montgomery, Ogle,
                                   Perry, Piatt,
                                   Pope, Pulaski,
                                   Randolph,
                                   Richland, Saline,
                                   Scott, Shelby, St.
                                   Clair, Union,
                                   Wabash, Washington
                                   , Wayne, White,
                                   Will, Williamson.
IN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1700.........  Drought..........................  .......         7
KY..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1700.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1700.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
WI..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1700.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
MD..............................  Anne Arundel,        1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1701.........  Drought, excessive heat..........       21         2
                                   Baltimore,
                                   Calvert, Caroline,
                                   Carroll, Cecil,
                                   Charles,
                                   Dorchester,
                                   Frederick,
                                   Harford, Howard,
                                   Kent, Montgomery,
                                   Prince George's,
                                   Queen Anne's, St.
                                   Mary's, Somerset,
                                   Talbot,
                                   Washington,
                                   Wicomico,
                                   Worchester.
DE..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1701.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         3
PA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1701.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         5
VA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1701.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......        10
WV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-17-2003......  10-17-2002.....  6-17-2003.....  S1701.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         3
IN..............................  Adams, Allen,        6-01-2002......  8-25-2002......  10-18-2002.....  6-18-2003.....  S1702.........  Drought..........................       74        13
                                   Bartholomew,
                                   Blackford, Brown,
                                   Clark, Clay,
                                   Crawford, Daviess,
                                   Dearborn, Decatur,
                                   DeKalb, Delaware,
                                   Dubois, Elkhart,
                                   Fayette, Floyd,
                                   Franklin, Fulton,
                                   Gibson, Grant,
                                   Greene, Hamilton,
                                   Hancock, Harrison,
                                   Henry, Huntington,
                                   Jackson, Jay,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Jennings, Johnson,
                                   Knox, Kosciusko,
                                   Lagrange, Lake,
                                   LaPorte, Lawrence,
                                   Madison, Marion,
                                   Marshall, Martin,
                                   Monroe, Morgan,
                                   Noble, Ohio,
                                   Orange, Owen,
                                   Perry, Pike,
                                   Porter, Posey,
                                   Randolph, Ripley,
                                   Rush, Scott,
                                   Shelby, Spencer,
                                   St. Joseph,
                                   Starke, Steuben,
                                   Sullivan ,
                                   Switzerland,
                                   Tipton, Union,
                                   Vanderburg,
                                   Vermillion, Vigo,
                                   Wabash, Warrick,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Wells, Whitley.
IL..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-25-2002......  10-18-2002.....  6-18-2003.....  S1702.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
KY..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-25-2002......  10-18-2002.....  6-18-2003.....  S1702.........  Drought..........................  .......        12
MI..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-25-2002......  10-18-2002.....  6-18-2003.....  S1702.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
AL..............................  All counties         1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1703.........  Drought..........................       59         7
                                   except, Baldwin,
                                   Clarke, Escambia,
                                   Lamar, Marion,
                                   Mobile,
                                   Washington,
                                   Winston.
FL..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1703.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
MS..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1703.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1703.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
AL..............................  Baldwin, Clarke,     1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1703,          Drought..........................        8  ..........
                                   Escambia, Lamar,                                                                        Amendment 1.
                                   Marion, Mobile,
                                   Washington,
                                   Winston.
LA..............................  Ascension,           4-02-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1704.........  Drought..........................       43        18
                                   Avoyelles,
                                   Beauregard,
                                   Bienville,
                                   Bossier, Caddo,
                                   Caldwell,
                                   Catahoula,
                                   Claiborne,
                                   Concordia, DeSoto,
                                   East Baton Rouge,
                                   East Feliciana,
                                   Franklin, Grant,
                                   Iberville,
                                   Jackson,
                                   Lafourche,
                                   LaSalle, Lincoln,
                                   Livingston,
                                   Natchitoches,
                                   Ouachita, Pointe
                                   Coupee, Rapides,
                                   Red River,
                                   Richland, Sabine,
                                   St. Helena, St.
                                   James, St. Landry,
                                   St. Tammany,
                                   Tangipahoa,
                                   Tensas,
                                   Terrebonne, Union,
                                   Vernon,
                                   Washington,
                                   Webster, West
                                   Baton Rouge, West
                                   Carroll, West
                                   Feliciana, Winn.
AR..............................  ...................  4-02-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1704.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
MS..............................  ...................  4-02-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1704.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
TX..............................  ...................  4-02-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1704.........  Drought..........................  .......         7
IA..............................  Adams, Audubon,      9-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1705.........  Drought, high winds, cold spring        18        19
                                   Cass, Clay,                                                                                             temperatures, grasshopper
                                   Decatur,                                                                                                infestation, extreme heat, hail.
                                   Dickinson,
                                   Fremont, Harrison,
                                   Lyon, Mills,
                                   Monona,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   O'Brien, Page,
                                   Palo Alto,
                                   Pottawattamie,
                                   Shelby, Taylor.
MN..............................  ...................  9-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1705.........  .................................  .......         3
MO..............................  ...................  9-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1705.........  .................................  .......         4
SD..............................  ...................  9-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1705.........  .................................  .......         2
TX..............................  Andrews, Aransas,    1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1706.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..      122        58
                                   Archer, Armstrong,
                                   Atascosa, Bailey,
                                   Bandera, Baylor,
                                   Bee, Bexar.
                                   Blanco, Bosque,
                                   Brewster, Briscoe,
                                   Burnet, Cameron,
                                   Carson, Castro,
                                   Clay, Cochran,
                                   Coke, Coleman,
                                   Comal, Coryell,
                                   Cottle, Crane,
                                   Crockett, Crosby,
                                   Culberson, Dallam,
                                   Dawson, Deaf
                                   Smith, DeWitt,
                                   Dickens, Dimmit,
                                   Donley, Ector, El
                                   Paso, Erath,
                                   Fisher, Floyd,
                                   Frio, Gaines,
                                   Goliad, Gonzales,
                                   Gray, Guadalupe,
                                   Hale, Hall,
                                   Hamilton,
                                   Hansford, Hartley,
                                   Hays, Hemphill,
                                   Hockley, Hood,
                                   Hudspeth,
                                   Hutchinson, Irion,
                                   Jack, Jeff Davis,
                                   Johnson, Jones,
                                   Kendall, Kenedy,
                                   Kent, Kerr,
                                   Kimble, King,
                                   Kinney, Knox, La
                                   Salle, Lamb,
                                   Lampasas,
                                   Lipscomb, Llano,
                                   Lynn, Mason,
                                   McCulloch,
                                   McMullen, Medina,
                                   Midland, Mills,
                                   Montague, Moore,
                                   Motley, Nueces,
                                   Ochiltree, Oldham,
                                   Palo Pinto,
                                   Parker, Parmer,
                                   Potter, Randall,
                                   Reagan, Real,
                                   Refugio, Roberts,
                                   San Patricio, San
                                   Saba, Scurry,
                                   Shackelford,
                                   Sherman,
                                   Somervell,
                                   Sterling,
                                   Stonewall,
                                   Swisher, Tarrant,
                                   Taylor, Terrell,
                                   Throckmorton,
                                   Travis, Upton,
                                   Uvalde, Val Verde,
                                   Ward, Wichita,
                                   Wilson, Winkler,
                                   Wise, Yoakum,
                                   Young.
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1706.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..  .......         8
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1706.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..  .......         9
VA..............................  Appomattox,          1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1707.........  Drought, excessive heat..........       39        41
                                   Augusta, Bedford,
                                   Bland, Botetourt,
                                   Buckingham,
                                   Campbell,
                                   Caroline, Craig,
                                   Cumberland, Floyd,
                                   Franklin,
                                   Goochland, Greene,
                                   Hanover, Henry,
                                   King And Queen,
                                   King George, King
                                   William,
                                   Lunenburg,
                                   Madison,
                                   Mecklenburg,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Nelson, New Kent,
                                   Nottoway, Page,
                                   Pittsylvania,
                                   Powhatan, Prince
                                   William, Richmond,
                                   Rockingham,
                                   Spotsylvania,
                                   Stafford, Suffolk
                                   city, Surry,
                                   Westmoreland,
                                   Wythe.
MD..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1707.........  .................................  .......         2
NC..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1707.........  .................................  .......         8
WV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1707.........  .................................  .......         4
KS..............................  Clark, Finney,       6-09-2002......  7-05-2002......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1708.........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,             7        21
                                   Norton, Phillips,                                                                                       excessive rain, flash flooding,
                                   Reno, Rice, Rooks.                                                                                      flooding, lightning.
NE..............................  ...................  6-09-2002......  7-05-2002......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1708.........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           excessive rain, flash flooding,
                                                                                                                                           flooding, lightning.
OK..............................  ...................  6-09-2002......  7-05-2002......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1708.........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           excessive rain, flash flooding,
                                                                                                                                           flooding, lightning.
NH..............................  Entire State.......  6-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1709.........  Drought..........................       10  ..........
MA..............................  ...................  6-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1709.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
ME..............................  ...................  6-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1709.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
VT..............................  ...................  6-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1709.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
RI..............................  Entire State.......  10-01-2001.....  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1710.........  Drought..........................        5  ..........
CT..............................  ...................  10-01-2001.....  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1710.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
MA..............................  ...................  10-01-2001.....  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1710.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
KY..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......  ..........
IL..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
IN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......        13
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......        14
VA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
WV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-24-2003......  10-24-2002.....  6-24-2003.....  S1711.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
SD..............................  Custer, Jackson,     7-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1712.........  Drought, extreme heat, winds,            3  ..........
                                   Lawrence.                                                                                               late frosts, fire.
NV..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1713.........  Drought, Mormon crickets,               17  ..........
                                                                                                                                           grasshoppers.
CA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1713.........  Drought, Mormon crickets,          .......        10
                                                                                                                                           grasshoppers.
ID..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1713.........  Drought, Mormon crickets,          .......         2
                                                                                                                                           grasshoppers.
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1713.........  Drought, Mormon crickets,          .......         3
                                                                                                                                           grasshoppers.
NV..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2001......  4-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1713,          Severe Insect infestations.......       17  ..........
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
ID..............................  Adams, Bannock,      1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1714.........  Drought..........................       13        12
                                   Blaine, Boise,
                                   Bonneville,
                                   Caribou, Clark,
                                   Fremont, Gem,
                                   Lincoln, Owyhee,
                                   Valley, Washington.
MT..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1714.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1714.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-21-2003......  10-21-2002.....  6-23-2003.....  S1714.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
ID..............................  Bingham, Jefferson,  1-01-2002......  6-04-2003......  12-04-2002.....  8-04-2003.....  S1714,          Drought..........................        3  ..........
                                   Madison.                                                                                Amendment 1.
KS..............................  Allen, Anderson,     1-01-2002......  4-25-2003......  10-25-2002.....  6-25-2002.....  S1715.........  Drought..........................       54         3
                                   Atchison, Barton,
                                   Bourbon, Brown,
                                   Butler, Chase,
                                   Cherokee, Cloud,
                                   Coffey, Cowley,
                                   Crawford,
                                   Dickinson,
                                   Doniphan, Douglas,
                                   Ells, Ellis,
                                   Franklin,
                                   Greenwood, Harper,
                                   Harvey, Haskell,
                                   Jackson,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Johnson, Kingman,
                                   Kiowa, Labette,
                                   Leavenworth, Line,
                                   Lyon, Marion,
                                   Marshall,
                                   McPherson, Miami,
                                   Morris, Nemaha,
                                   Neosho, Ness,
                                   Osage, Ottawa,
                                   Pratt, Reno,
                                   Republic, Rice,
                                   Sedgwick, Shawnee,
                                   Stafford,
                                   Wabaunsee,
                                   Washington,
                                   Wilson, Woodson,
                                   Wyandotte.
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-25-2003......  10-25-2002.....  6-25-2002.....  S1715.........  Drought..........................  .......        12
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-25-2003......  10-25-2002.....  6-25-2002.....  S1715.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
WY..............................  Converse, Goshen,    1-01-2002......  4-28-2003......  10-28-2002.....  6-30-2003.....  S1716.........  Drought..........................        7         5
                                   Niobrara, Platte,
                                   Sublette,
                                   Sweetwater, Weston.
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-28-2003......  10-28-2002.....  6-30-2003.....  S1716.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-28-2003......  10-28-2002.....  6-30-2003.....  S1716.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-28-2003......  10-28-2002.....  6-30-2003.....  S1716.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  4-28-2003......  10-28-2002.....  6-30-2003.....  S1716.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
WI..............................  Door...............  5-15-2002......  5-20-2002......  11-08-2002.....  7-08-2003.....  S1717.........  Frost, freezing temperatures.....        1         1
MN..............................  Benton, Crow Wing,   4-01-2002......  7-10-2002......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1718.........  Crow Wing, Jackson, Nobles, Rock:        6        12
                                   Jackson, Mille                                                                                          Drought Benton, Mille Lacs:
                                   Lacs, Nobles, Rock.                                                                                     Heavy rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                           severe thunderstorms.
IA..............................  ...................  4-01-2002......  7-10-2002......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1718.........  Crow Wing, Jackson, Nobles, Rock:  .......         4
                                                                                                                                           Drought Benton, Mille Lacs:
                                                                                                                                           Heavy rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                           severe thunderstorms.
SD..............................  ...................  4-01-2002......  7-10-2002......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1718.........  Crow Wing, Jackson, Nobles, Rock:  .......         2
                                                                                                                                           Drought Benton, Mille Lacs:
                                                                                                                                           Heavy rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                           severe thunderstorms.
NY..............................  Albany, Allegany,    6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................       41        15
                                   Broome,
                                   Cattaraugus,
                                   Cayuga,
                                   Chautauqua,
                                   Chenango, Clinton,
                                   Cortland,
                                   Delaware, Erie,
                                   Essex, Franklin,
                                   Fulton, Genesee,
                                   Herkimer,
                                   Jefferson, Lewis,
                                   Livingston,
                                   Madison, Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Niagara, Oneida,
                                   Onondaga, Ontario,
                                   Orleans, Oswego,
                                   Otsego,
                                   Rensselaer,
                                   Rockland, St.
                                   Lawrence,
                                   Saratoga, Steuben,
                                   Suffolk, Sullivan,
                                   Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Wyoming, Yates.
CT..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
MA..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NJ..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
PA..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
VT..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  5-15-2003......  11-15-2002.....  7-15-2003.....  S1719.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
CA..............................  Butte, Colusa,       1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1720.........  Drought..........................       29        24
                                   Fresno, Glenn,
                                   Kern, Kings, Los
                                   Angeles, Merced,
                                   Monterey, Napa,
                                   Orange, Plumas,
                                   Riverside, San
                                   Benito, San
                                   Bernardino, San
                                   Joaquin, San Luis
                                   Obispo, Santa
                                   Barbara, Santa
                                   Clara, Shasta,
                                   Sierra, Solano,
                                   Sonoma,
                                   Stanislaus,
                                   Tehama, Tulare,
                                   Tuolumne, Ventura,
                                   Yolo.
AZ..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1720.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
NC..............................  Avery, Bladen,       1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721.........  Drought..........................       31        27
                                   Brunswick,
                                   Buncombe,
                                   Cherokee, Clay,
                                   Columbus, Craven,
                                   Duplin, Edgecombe,
                                   Gates, Graham,
                                   Greene, Haywood,
                                   Henderson,
                                   Jackson, Jones,
                                   Lenoir, Macon,
                                   Madison, Martin,
                                   Mitchell, Pender,
                                   Pitt, Polk,
                                   Sampson, Swain,
                                   Transylvania,
                                   Washington,
                                   Watauga, Yancey.
GA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
SC..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
VA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
NC..............................  Bertie, Chowan,      1-01-2002......  5-18-2003......  11-18-2002.....  7-18-2003.....  S1721,          Drought..........................        4         1
                                   Hertford,                                                                               Amendment 1.
                                   Perquimans.
SD..............................  Codington, Turner..  7-01-2001......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1722.........  Drought..........................        2         1
WA..............................  Adams..............  5-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1723.........  Drought..........................        1         4
NY..............................  Orleans............  4-14-2002......  6-16-2002......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Excessive rain, freeze...........        1         3
NY..............................  Chemung, Columbia,   5-15-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Drought..........................       14        17
                                   Dutchess, Greene,
                                   Orange, Orleans,
                                   Putnam,
                                   Schenectady,
                                   Schoharie,
                                   Schuyler, Seneca,
                                   Tioga, Tompkins,
                                   Ulster,
                                   Westchester.
CT..............................  ...................  5-15-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
MA..............................  ...................  5-15-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NJ..............................  ...................  5-15-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
PA..............................  ...................  5-15-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1724.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
MA..............................  Barnstable,          10-01-2001.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1725.........  Drought..........................       12         2
                                   Berkshire,
                                   Bristol, Dukes,
                                   Essex, Franklin,
                                   Hampden,
                                   Hampshire,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Norfolk, Plymouth,
                                   Worcester.
CT..............................  ...................  10-01-2001.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1725.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NY..............................  ...................  10-01-2001.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1725.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
VT..............................  ...................  10-01-2001.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1725.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OR..............................  Baker, Jefferson,    10-01-2000.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1726.........  Drought, colder than normal              3        11
                                   Umatilla.                                                                                               weather, frosts.
WA..............................  ...................  10-01-2000.....  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1726.........  Drought, colder than normal        .......         5
                                                                                                                                           weather, frosts.
TN..............................  Anderson, Bedford,   1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1727.........  Drought, high temperatures, high        72        23
                                   Benton, Bledsoe,                                                                                        wind, hail.
                                   Blount, Bradley,
                                   Campbell, Cannon,
                                   Carroll, Carter,
                                   Chester,
                                   Claiborne, Clay,
                                   Coffee, Crockett,
                                   Cumberland, De
                                   Kalb, Dyer,
                                   Fentress,
                                   Franklin, Giles,
                                   Greene, Grundy,
                                   Hamilton, Hancock,
                                   Hardeman, Hardin,
                                   Hawkins, Haywood,
                                   Houston, Jackson,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Johnson, Knox,
                                   Lake, Lauderdale,
                                   Lawrence, Lincoln,
                                   Loudon, McMinn,
                                   McNairy, Macon,
                                   Madison, Marshall,
                                   Maury, Meigs,
                                   Monroe, Moore,
                                   Obion, Overton,
                                   Pickett, Polk,
                                   Putnam, Rhea,
                                   Roane, Rutherford,
                                   Sevier, Shelby,
                                   Smith, Stewart,
                                   Sullivan, Sumner,
                                   Tipton, Trousdale,
                                   Unicoi, Union,
                                   Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Weakley,
                                   Williamson, Wilson.
AL..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1727.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         4
                                                                                                                                           wind, hail.
AR..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1727.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         2
                                                                                                                                           wind, hail.
GA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1727.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         6
                                                                                                                                           wind, hail.
KY..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  5-21-2003......  11-21-2002.....  7-21-2003.....  S1727.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......        15
                                                                                                                                           wind, hail.
TN..............................  Cocke..............  1-01-2002......  10-18-2002.....  12-13-2002.....  8-13-2002.....  S1727,          Drought, high temperatures, high         1  ..........
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.    wind, hail, spring flooding,
                                                                                                                                           late freezes.
WA..............................  Franklin...........  9-01-2001......  5-27-2003......  11-27-2002.....  7-28-2003.....  S1728.........  (1) Drought, High winds,                 1         6
                                                                                                                                           excessive rainfall, hailstorms.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Freezing weather, high winds.
SD..............................  Kingsbury..........  7-28-2002......  7-28-2002......  12-13-2002.....  8-13-2002.....  S1729.........  Hailstorm........................        1         7
CT..............................  Entire State (8      10-01-2001.....  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1730.........  Drought..........................        8  ..........
                                   counties).
ID..............................  Bear Lake, Butte,    1-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1731.........  Drought..........................        8         2
                                   Custer, Franklin,
                                   Lemhi, Oneida,
                                   Payette, Power.
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1731.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
KS..............................  Meade, Rice........  8-12-2002......  8-13-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1732.........  Hail, high winds, excessive rain,        2        10
                                                                                                                                           flash flooding, flooding.
OK..............................  ...................  8-12-2002......  8-13-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1732.........  Hail, high winds, excessive rain,  .......         1
                                                                                                                                           flash flooding, flooding.
NY..............................  Allegany, Broome,    4-01-2002......  6-30-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive            25        29
                                   Cattaraugus,                                                                                            Rain, Flash Flooding, Flooding,
                                   Cayuga, Clinton,                                                                                        Freeze, Frost , Hail, High
                                   Dutchess,                                                                                               Winds, Lightning, Tornado.
                                   Franklin,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Madison, Niagara,
                                   Ontario, Orange,
                                   Otsego, Putnam,
                                   Rensselaer,
                                   Schuyler, Seneca,
                                   Steuben, Tioga,
                                   Tompkins, Ulster,
                                   Wayne,
                                   Westchester,
                                   Wyoming, Yates.
CT..............................  ...................  4-24-2002......  5-31-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           Rain, Freeze, Frost , Hail, High
                                                                                                                                           Winds.
MA..............................  ...................  6-05-2002......  6-05-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive       .......         1
                                                                                                                                           Rain, High Winds, Lightning.
NJ..............................  ...................  4-24-2002......  5-20-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           RainFreeze, Frost.
PA..............................  ...................  4-01-2002......  6-30-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive       .......         8
                                                                                                                                           Rain, Flash Flooding, Frost,
                                                                                                                                           Tornado.
VT..............................  ...................  5-23-2002......  6-28-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1733.........  Various disasters: Excessive       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           Rain, Flash Flooding, High
                                                                                                                                           Winds, Lightning.
OK..............................  Choctaw, Creek,      5-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1734.........  Drought..........................       16        14
                                   Haskell, Hughes,
                                   Latimer, LeFlore,
                                   McCurtain,
                                   McIntosh,
                                   Okfuskee,
                                   Okmulgee, Ottawa,
                                   Pittsburg,
                                   Pottawatomie,
                                   Pushmataha,
                                   Rogers, Tulsa.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1734.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
MO..............................  ...................  5-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1734.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  ...................  5-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1734.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Runnels............  1-01-2002......  6-30-2003......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1735.........  Drought..........................        1  ..........
WA..............................  Spokane............  4-23-2002......  6-08-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1736.........  Freezing weather.................        1         4
ID..............................  ...................  4-23-2002......  6-08-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1736.........  Freezing weather.................  .......         3
WA..............................  Whitman............  4-24-2002......  6-08-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1737.........  Frost damage.....................        1         7
ID..............................  ...................  4-24-2002......  6-08-2002......  12-30-2002.....  9-01-2003.....  S1737.........  Frost damage.....................  .......         3
LA..............................  Beauregard,          9-16-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1738.........  Excessive rainfall...............       20        19
                                   Calcasieu,
                                   Cameron,
                                   Catahoula,
                                   Concordia, DeSoto,
                                   East Carroll,
                                   Franklin, Grant,
                                   LaSalle, Madison,
                                   Morehouse,
                                   Natchitoches,
                                   Pointe Coupee, Red
                                   River, Richland,
                                   Tensas, Vernon,
                                   West Carroll, Winn.
AR..............................  ...................  9-16-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1738.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         3
MS..............................  ...................  9-16-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1738.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         6
TX..............................  ...................  9-16-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1738.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         5
IA..............................  Clay, O'Brien,       9-30-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1739.........  Severe storms, including, hail           3         9
                                   Sioux.                                                                                                  and high winds.
SD..............................  Clay, O'Brien,       9-30-2002......  7-15-2003......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1739.........  Severe storms, including, hail     .......         2
                                   Sioux.                                                                                                  and high winds.
MT..............................  BLACKFEET NATION--   6-07-2002......  6-12-2002......  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1740.........  Heavy snow, wind, rain, blizzard         2  ..........
                                   (Glacier, Pondera                                                                                       conditions, flooding,
                                   Counties).                                                                                              unseasonably cold weather.
SC..............................  Entire State.......  4-01-2002......  11-30-2002.....  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1741.........  Drought..........................       46  ..........
NC..............................  Entire State.......  4-01-2002......  11-30-2002.....  1-15-2003......  9-15-2003.....  S1741.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
VA..............................  Albemarle, Amelia,   1-01-2002......  7-31-2003......  1-31-2003......  10-01-2003....  S1742.........  Drought, excessive heat..........       18        12
                                   Amherst, Campbell,
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Chesterfield,
                                   Culpeper,
                                   Dinwiddie, Essex,
                                   Fauquier, Halifax,
                                   Henrico, Isle of
                                   Wight, Louisa,
                                   Prince George,
                                   Pulaski, Scott,
                                   Warren.
VA..............................  Accomack,            1-01-2002......  7-31-2003......  1-31-2003......  10-01-2003....  S1743.........  Drought, excessive heat..........       28         9
                                   Alleghany, Bath,
                                   Buchanan, Carroll,
                                   Charles City,
                                   Clarke, Dickenson,
                                   Giles, Gloucester,
                                   Grayson,
                                   Greensville, James
                                   City, Lancaster,
                                   Lee, Mathews,
                                   Northampton,
                                   Northumberland,
                                   Orange, Patrick,
                                   Rappahannock,
                                   Roanoke, Russell,
                                   Shenandoah, Smyth,
                                   Southampton,
                                   Tazewell, Wise.
NC..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  7-31-2003......  1-31-2003......  10-01-2003....  S1743.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         3
WV..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  7-31-2003......  1-31-2003......  10-01-2003....  S1743.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         4
TN..............................  Cheatham, Decatur,   8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, drought, excessive            9        42
                                   Gibson, Grainger,                                                                                       heat, excessive rain, moisture,
                                   Hamblen,                                                                                                flooding.
                                   Henderson,
                                   Montgomery, Van
                                   Buren, White.
TN..............................  Bradley, Chester,    5-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,              13  ..........
                                   Haywood,                                                                                                moisture, flooding.
                                   Lauderdale,
                                   Madison, Marshall,
                                   Maury, McNairy,
                                   Obion, Polk,
                                   Shelby, Tipton,
                                   Weakley.
AR..............................  ...................  8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                           moisture, flooding.
GA..............................  ...................  8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,         .......         4
                                                                                                                                           moisture, flooding.
KY..............................  ...................  8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,         .......         4
                                                                                                                                           moisture, flooding.
KY..............................  ...................  5-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, drought, excessive      .......         1
                                                                                                                                           heat, excessive rain, moisture,
                                                                                                                                           flooding.
MS..............................  ...................  8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,         .......         3
                                                                                                                                           moisture, flooding.
NC..............................  ...................  8-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1744.........  Armyworms, excessive rain,         .......         1
                                                                                                                                           moisture, flooding.
MO..............................  Andrew, Atchison,    6-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1745.........  Drought..........................       29        13
                                   Bates, Buchanan,
                                   Caldwell, Carroll,
                                   Cass, Cedar,
                                   Clinton, Daviess,
                                   DeKalb, Gentry,
                                   Grundy, Harrison,
                                   Henry, Holt,
                                   Jackson, Johnson,
                                   Linn, Livingston,
                                   Mercer, Nodaway,
                                   Platte, Putnam,
                                   Ray, Schuyler,
                                   Sullivan, Vernon,
                                   Worth.
IA..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1745.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
KS..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1745.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
NE..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-07-2003......  2-07-2003......  10-07-2003....  S1745.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
PA..............................  Delaware, Fayette,   6-01-2002......  8-11-2003......  2-11-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1746.........  Drought..........................        5  ..........
                                   Greene, Tioga,
                                   Washington.
NJ..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-11-2003......  2-11-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1746.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
WV..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  8-11-2003......  2-11-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1746.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
WV..............................  Berkeley, Boone,     1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1747.........  Drought..........................       41        12
                                   Braxton, Brooke,
                                   Cabell, Calhoun,
                                   Clay, Doddridge,
                                   Gilmer, Grant,
                                   Greenbrier,
                                   Hampshire,
                                   Hancock, Harrison,
                                   Jackson, Kanawha,
                                   Lewis, Lincoln,
                                   Logan, Marshall,
                                   Mason, Mercer,
                                   Mineral, Mingo,
                                   Monroe, Morgan,
                                   Nicholas, Ohio,
                                   Pendleton,
                                   Pleasants,
                                   Pocahontas,
                                   Ritchie, Roane,
                                   Taylor, Tyler,
                                   Upshur, Wayne,
                                   Webster, Wetzel,
                                   Wirt, Wood.
KY..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1747.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
OH..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1747.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
PA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1747.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
VA..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1747.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
MS..............................  Adams, Alcorn,       9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1748.........  Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane       71        11
                                   Amite, Benton,                                                                                          Lili.
                                   Bolivar, Calhoun,
                                   Carroll,
                                   Chickasaw,
                                   Choctaw,
                                   Claiborne, Clay,
                                   Coahoma,
                                   Covington, De
                                   Soto, Forrest,
                                   Franklin, George,
                                   Greene, Grenada,
                                   Hancock, Harrison,
                                   Hinds, Holmes,
                                   Humphreys,
                                   Issaquena,
                                   Itawamba, Jackson,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Jefferson Davis,
                                   Jones, Lafayette,
                                   Lawrence, Lee,
                                   Leflore, Lincoln,
                                   Lowndes, Madison,
                                   Marion, Marshall,
                                   Monroe, Newton,
                                   Noxubee,
                                   Oktibbeha, Panola,
                                   Pearl River,
                                   Perry, Pike,
                                   Pontotoc,
                                   Prentiss, Quitman,
                                   Rankin, Scott,
                                   Sharkey, Simpson,
                                   Stone, Sunflower,
                                   Tallahatchie,
                                   Tate, Tippah,
                                   Tishomingo,
                                   Tunica, Union,
                                   Walthall, Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Webster,
                                   Wilkinson,
                                   Winston,
                                   Yalobusha, Yazoo.
AL..............................  ...................  9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1748.........  Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane  .......        10
                                                                                                                                           Lili.
AR..............................  ...................  9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1748.........  Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane  .......         6
                                                                                                                                           Lili.
LA..............................  ...................  9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1748.........  Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane  .......        10
                                                                                                                                           Lili.
TN..............................  ...................  9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1748.........  Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane  .......         5
                                                                                                                                           Lili.
MS..............................  Attala, Clarke,      9-26-2003......  8-13-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1748,          Tropical Storm Isidore; Hurricane       11  ..........
                                   Copiah, Jasper,                                                                         Amendment 1.    Lili.
                                   Kemper, Lamar,
                                   Lauderdale, Leake,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Neshoba.
CA..............................  Inyo, Mono.........  12-01-2001.....  11-25-2002.....  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1749.........  Drought, fires...................        2  ..........
MI..............................  (1) Alger, Baraga,   4-01-2002......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1750.........  Excessive rainfall...............       14         3
                                   Chippewa, Delta,
                                   Dickinson,
                                   Gogebic, Houghton,
                                   Iron, Keweenaw,
                                   Luce, Mackinaw,
                                   Marquette,
                                   Ontonagon,
                                   Houghton,
                                   Schoolcraft;.
MI..............................  (2) Barry, Berrien,  6-15-2002......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1750.........  Drought..........................       19        10
                                   Branch, Calhoun,
                                   Cass, Eaton,
                                   Genesee,
                                   Hillsdale, Ingham,
                                   Jackson,
                                   Kalamazoo,
                                   Lenawee,
                                   Livingston,
                                   Monroe,
                                   Shiawassee, St.
                                   Joseph, Van Buren,
                                   Washtenaw, Wayne.
WI..............................  ...................  6-15-2002......  8-13-2003......  2-13-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1750.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         5
CA..............................  Humboldt...........  1-01-2002......  8-14-2003......  2-14-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1751.........  Drought..........................        1         4
OR..............................  Coos, Crook, Curry,  9-01-2000......  8-14-2003......  2-14-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1752.........  Drought..........................        6         1
                                   Grant, Union,
                                   Wheeler.
CA..............................  ...................  9-01-2000......  8-14-2003......  2-14-2003......  10-14-2003....  S1752.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
CA..............................  Lassen.............  1-01-2002......  8-24-2003......  2-24-2003......  10-24-2003....  S1753.........  Drought..........................        1  ..........
OR..............................  Harney.............  10-01-2001.....  9-07-2003......  3-07-2003......  11-07-2003....  S1754.........  Drought..........................        1  ..........
WA..............................  Benton.............  1-01-2002......  7-08-2002......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1755.........  (1) Drought, freezing                    1         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, high winds.
                                                                                                                                          (2) High winds, excessive
                                                                                                                                           rainfall, hailstorms.
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  7-08-2002......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1755.........  (1) Drought, freezing              .......         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, high winds.
                                                                                                                                          (2) High winds, excessive
                                                                                                                                           rainfall, hailstorms.
TX..............................  Uvalde.............  2-26-2002......  3-04-2002......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1756.........  Freeze, high winds...............        1         8
TX..............................  Lubbock............  6-04-2002......  6-04-2002......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1757.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,..        1         8
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds.......
ME..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2002......  9-12-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1758.........  Drought..........................       16  ..........
GA..............................  Bacon, Banks,        9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall            118        40
                                   Barrow, Bartow,                                                                                         weather.
                                   Ben Hill, Bibb,
                                   Bleckley,
                                   Brantley, Bryan,
                                   Bulloch, Burke,
                                   Butts, Calhoun,
                                   Candler, Carroll,
                                   Catoosa,
                                   Chattooga, Clarke,
                                   Clay, Clayton,
                                   Colquitt, Cook,
                                   Coweta, Crawford,
                                   Crisp, Dade,
                                   Dawson, De Kalb,
                                   Decatur, Dodge,
                                   Dooly, Dougherty,
                                   Douglas, Early,
                                   Echols, Effingham,
                                   Elbert, Emanuel,
                                   Evans, Fayette,
                                   Floyd, Forsyth,
                                   Franklin, Fulton,
                                   Glascock, Gordon,
                                   Gwinnett,
                                   Habersham, Hall,
                                   Haralson, Hart,
                                   Henry, Houston,
                                   Jackson, Jeff
                                   Davis, Jefferson,
                                   Jenkins, Johnson,
                                   Lamar, Laurens,
                                   Liberty, Long,
                                   Lowndes, Lumpkin,
                                   Macon, Madison,
                                   Marion, McDuffie,
                                   Miller, Mitchell,
                                   Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Morgan, Murray,
                                   Oconee,
                                   Oglethorpe,
                                   Paulding, Peach,
                                   Pierce, Pike,
                                   Polk, Pulaski,
                                   Quitman, Rabun,
                                   Randolph,
                                   Rockdale, Schley,
                                   Screven, Seminole,
                                   Spalding,
                                   Stephens, Stewart,
                                   Sumter, Tattnall,
                                   Taylor, Telfair,
                                   Terrell, Thomas,
                                   Tift, Towns,
                                   Treutlen, Troup,
                                   Turner, Twiggs,
                                   Upson, Walker,
                                   Walton, Ware,
                                   Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Webster, Wheeler,
                                   White, Whitfield,
                                   Wilcox, Wilkinson,
                                   Worth.
AL..............................  ...................  9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall        .......        10
                                                                                                                                           weather.
FL..............................  ...................  9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall        .......         8
                                                                                                                                           weather.
NC..............................  ...................  9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall        .......         3
                                                                                                                                           weather.
SC..............................  ...................  9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall        .......         9
                                                                                                                                           weather.
TN..............................  ...................  9-01-2002......  1-14-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1759.........  Wet, unseasonably cool fall        .......         4
                                                                                                                                           weather.
TN..............................  Giles, Hardeman,     7-01-2002......  2-05-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1760.........  (1) Drought......................        6        18
                                   Lawrence, Marion,                                                                                      (2) Excessive rain...............
                                   Sequatchie, Wayne.
AL..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  2-05-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1760.........  Excessive rain...................  .......         2
MS..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  2-05-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1760.........  Excessive rain...................  .......         3
AZ..............................  Yuma...............  1-01-2001......  9-12-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1761.........  Drought..........................        1         3
CA..............................  ...................  1-01-2001......  9-12-2003......  3-12-2003......  11-12-2003....  S1761.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OR..............................  Lake, Malheur......  9-01-2001......  9-21-2003......  3-21-2003......  11-21-2003....  S1762.........  Drought..........................        2         2
SD..............................  Brookings, Clay....  5-01-2002......  12-31-2002.....  3-21-2003......  11-21-2003....  S1763.........  Drought..........................        2         6
CA..............................  Del Norte, Marin...  1-01-2001......  9-21-2003......  3-21-2003......  11-21-2003....  S1764.........  Drought..........................        2  ..........
VA..............................  Highland,            1-01-2002......  9-26-2003......  3-26-2003......  11-26-2003....  S1765.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        2  ..........
                                   Chesapeake city
                                   (i).
AR..............................  (1) Baxter, Benton,  7-01-2002......  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  (1) Drought......................       75  ..........
                                   Boone, Calhoun,                                                                                        (2) Excessive rain...............
                                   Carroll, Clark,
                                   Clay, Cleburne,
                                   Cleveland,
                                   Columbia, Conway,
                                   Crawford, Dallas,
                                   Faulkner,
                                   Franklin, Fulton,
                                   Garland, Grant,
                                   Hempstead, Hot
                                   Spring, Howard,
                                   Izard, Johnson,
                                   Lafayette, Little
                                   River, Logan,
                                   Madison, Marion,
                                   Miller,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Nevada, Newton,
                                   Perry, Pike, Polk,
                                   Pope, Pulaski,
                                   Saline, Scott,
                                   Searcy, Sebastian,
                                   Sevier, Sharp,
                                   Stone, Union, Van
                                   Buren, Washington,
                                   Yell.
                                  (2) Arkansas,
                                   Ashley, Bradley,
                                   Chicot, Craighead,
                                   Crittenden, Cross,
                                   Desha, Drew,
                                   Greene,
                                   Independence,
                                   Jackson,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Lawrence, Lee,
                                   Lincoln, Lonoke,
                                   Mississippi,
                                   Monroe, Ouachita,
                                   Phillips,
                                   Poinsett, Prairie,
                                   Randolph, St.
                                   Francis, White,
                                   Woodruff.
LA..............................  ...................  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003.....  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  Excessive rain...................  .......         4
MO..............................  ...................  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003.....  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
MS..............................  ...................  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003.....  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  Excessive rain...................  .......         4
OK..............................  ...................  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003.....  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  ...................  12-31-2002.....  4-03-2003......  12-03-2003.....  12-03-2003....  S1766.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
IL..............................  Cass, De Witt,       6-01-2002......  10-09-2003.....  4-09-2003......  12-09-2003....  S1767.........  Drought..........................        7        23
                                   Mason, Moultrie,
                                   Pike, Stephenson,
                                   Winnebago.
MO..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  10-09-2003.....  4-09-2003......  12-09-2003....  S1767.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
WI..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  10-09-2003.....  4-09-2003......  12-09-2003....  S1767.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Bastrop, Brazos,     1-01-2002......  10-24-2003.....  4-24-2003......  12-26-2003....  S1768.........  Drought, excessive rain, heat....       21        49
                                   Camp, Collin,
                                   Dallas, Denton,
                                   Ellis, Falls,
                                   Fayette,
                                   Freestone, Hill,
                                   Jackson, Kaufman,
                                   Lavaca, Lee,
                                   Limestone, Milam,
                                   Navarro, Rockwall,
                                   Washington,
                                   Williamson.
CA..............................  Alpine, Amador,      1-01-2001......  12-31-2002.....  4-28-2003......  12-29-2003....  S1769.........  Drought..........................        4  ..........
                                   Sacramento, Yuba.
CA..............................  Lake...............  3-15-2002......  12-31-2002.....  4-28-2003......  12-29-2003....  S1770.........  Drought..........................        1  ..........
CA..............................  Tehama.............  12-13-2002.....  12-27-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1771.........  Saturated ground, high wind......        1         6
CA..............................  Sutter.............  12-13-2002.....  12-16-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1772.........  Rain, wind.......................        1         6
CA..............................  El Dorado, Placer..  1-01-2002......  12-31-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1773.........  Drought..........................        2  ..........
FL..............................  Bay, Calhoun,        10-14-2002.....  10-29-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1774.........  Exceptionally heavy rainfall from       12         3
                                   Escambia, Gadsden,                                                                                      three frontal systems.
                                   Gulf, Holmes,
                                   Jackson, Liberty,
                                   Okaloosa, Santa
                                   Rosa, Walton,
                                   Washington.
AL..............................  ...................  10-14-2002.....  10-29-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1774.........  Exceptionally heavy rainfall from  .......         5
                                                                                                                                           three frontal systems.
GA..............................  ...................  10-14-2002.....  10-29-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1774.........  Exceptionally heavy rainfall from  .......         3
                                                                                                                                           three frontal systems.
TN..............................  Fayette, Henry,      7-02-2002......  2-14-2003......  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1775.........  Drought, flooding, excessive rain        6        15
                                   Humphreys,
                                   Hickman, Lewis,
                                   Perry.
KY..............................  ...................  7-02-2002......  2-14-2003......  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1775.........  Drought, flooding, excessive rain  .......         2
MS..............................  ...................  7-02-2002......  2-14-2003......  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1775.........  Drought, flooding, excessive rain  .......         2
WA..............................  Okanogan...........  5-01-2002......  10-30-2003.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1776.........  Drought..........................        1         7
WA..............................  Grant, Yakima......  10-01-2001.....  10-30-2002.....  4-30-2003......  12-30-2003....  S1777.........  Adverse weather conditions,              2        12
                                                                                                                                           resulting in Western Yellow
                                                                                                                                           Blight.
CA..............................  Alameda, Contra      1-01-2002......  12-31-2002.....  5-01-2003......  1-02-2004.....  S1778.........  Drought..........................        3  ..........
                                   Costa, Sutter.
WV..............................  Barbour, Fayette,    1-01-2002......  11-19-2002.....  5-09-2003......  1-09-2004.....  S1779.........  Drought..........................       10  ..........
                                   Hardy, Jefferson,
                                   Marion,
                                   Monongalia,
                                   Putnam, Raleigh,
                                   Summers, Wyoming.
NE..............................  Adams, Arthur,       7-01-2002......  11-14-2003.....  5-14-2003......  1-14-2004.....  S1780.........  Drought, extreme heat,                  53         9
                                   Banner, Blaine,                                                                                         grasshopper infestation, high
                                   Box Butte, Boyd,                                                                                        winds.
                                   Brown, Buffalo,
                                   Chase, Cherry,
                                   Cheyenne, Custer,
                                   Dawes, Dawson,
                                   Deuel, Dundy,
                                   Franklin,
                                   Frontier, Furnas,
                                   Garden, Garfield,
                                   Gosper, Grant,
                                   Greeley, Hall,
                                   Harlan, Hayes,
                                   Hitchcock, Holt,
                                   Hooker, Howard,
                                   Kearney, Keith,
                                   Keya Paha,
                                   Kimball, Lincoln,
                                   Logan, Loup,
                                   McPherson,
                                   Morrill, Nuckolls,
                                   Perkins, Phelps,
                                   Red Willow, Rock,
                                   Scotts Bluff,
                                   Sheridan, Sherman,
                                   Sioux, Thomas,
                                   Valley, Webster,
                                   Wheeler.
CO..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  11-14-2003.....  5-14-2003......  1-14-2004.....  S1780.........  Drought, extreme heat,             .......         5
                                                                                                                                           grasshopper infestation, high
                                                                                                                                           winds.
KS..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  11-14-2003.....  5-14-2003......  1-14-2004.....  S1780.........  Drought, extreme heat,             .......         8
                                                                                                                                           grasshopper infestation, high
                                                                                                                                           winds.
SD..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  11-14-2003.....  5-14-2003......  1-14-2004.....  S1780.........  Drought, extreme heat,             .......         7
                                                                                                                                           grasshopper infestation, high
                                                                                                                                           winds.
WY..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  11-14-2003.....  5-14-2003......  1-14-2004.....  S1780.........  Drought, extreme heat,             .......         3
                                                                                                                                           grasshopper infestation, high
                                                                                                                                           winds.
TX..............................  Robertson, Van       1-01-2001......  2-12-2003......  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1781.........  Flooding, excessive temperatures.        2         3
                                   Zandt.
WA..............................  Asotin, Chelan,      1-01-2002......  11-22-2003.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1782.........  Drought..........................       14        17
                                   Columbia, Douglas,
                                   Garfield, Grant,
                                   Klickitat, Lewis,
                                   Lincoln, Pend
                                   Oreille, Spokane,
                                   Stevens, Walla
                                   Walla, Whitman.
ID..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-22-2003.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1782.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  11-22-2003.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1782.........  Drought..........................  .......         7
WA..............................  (1) Benton,          1-01-2002......  11-22-2003.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1783.........  (1) Severe cold temperatures;....        8        17
                                   Columbia,                                                                                              (2) Drought......................
                                   Franklin, Spokane,
                                   Walla Walla,
                                   Whatcom, Yakima;.
                                  (2) Ferry, Yakima..
ID..............................  ...................  10-12-2002.....  11-06-2002.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1783.........  Severe cold......................  .......         3
OR..............................  ...................  10-12-2002.....  11-06-2002.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1783.........  Severe cold......................  .......         3
WI..............................  Door, Kewaunee.....  4-01-2002......  11-22-2003.....  5-22-2003......  1-22-2004.....  S1784.........  Exceptionally cold, wet                  2         2
                                                                                                                                           conditions in spring, followed
                                                                                                                                           by warmer and dryer conditions
                                                                                                                                           through the growing season.
CA..............................  Trinity............  1-01-2002......  11-30-2002.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1785.........  Drought..........................        1         2
NC..............................  Beaufort, Camden,    4-01-2002......  12-03-2003.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1786.........  (1) Excessive rainfall...........        9        15
                                   Cartaret,                                                                                              (2) Drought (New Hanover, Onslow
                                   Currituck, Hyde,                                                                                        Only).
                                   New Hanover,
                                   Onslow, Pamlico,
                                   Pasquotank.
VA..............................  ...................  4-01-2002......  12-03-2003.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1786.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         3
WI..............................  Kenosha, Racine,     6-01-2002......  12-03-2003.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1787.........  Drought..........................        4         5
                                   Rock, Walworth.
IL..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  12-03-2003.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1787.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
HI..............................  Hawaii.............  1-01-2001......  12-31-2002.....  6-03-2003......  2-03-2004.....  S1788.........  Drought..........................        1  ..........
WA..............................  Clark, Cowlitz,      6-01-2002......  11-30-2002.....  6-23-2003......  2-23-2004.....  S1789.........  Cool, wet weather, followed by           4         4
                                   Skamania,                                                                                               hot, dry weather.
                                   Wahkiakum.
OR..............................  ...................  6-01-2002......  11-30-2002.....  6-23-2003......  2-23-2004.....  S1789.........  Cool, wet weather, followed by     .......         4
                                                                                                                                           hot, dry weather.
AR..............................  Stone..............  3-25-2003......  3-25-2003......  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1790.........  Hail.............................        1         6
UT..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack             29  ..........
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
AZ..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         4
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         8
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
ID..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         4
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         1
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
NV..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         3
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1791.........  Drought: Very low snow pack        .......         3
                                                                                                                                           combined with low soil moisture.
TX..............................  Waller.............  10-01-2002.....  11-30-2002.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1792.........  Excessive rain...................        1         6
TX..............................  San Saba...........  3-29-2003......  3-29-2003......  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1793.........  Freeze...........................        1         7
TX..............................  Calhoun,             1-01-2002......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1794.........  Drought, low humidity............       11        35
                                   Collingsworth,
                                   Concho, Glasscock,
                                   Hardeman, Howard,
                                   Jackson, Mitchell,
                                   Tom Green,
                                   Victoria,
                                   Wilbarger.
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-2002......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1794.........  Drought, low humidity............  .......         4
TX..............................  Martin.............  1-01-2002......  12-27-2003.....  6-27-2003......  2-27-2004.....  S1795.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         7
CA..............................  San Diego..........  11-25-2002.....  1-08-2003......  7-01-2003......  3-01-2004.....  S1796.........  Damaging Santa Ana Winds.........        1         3
CO..............................  Baca, Bent, Elbert,  9-01-2000......  1-15-2004......  7-15-2003......  3-15-2004.....  S1797.........  Drought..........................        6        10
                                   Kiowa, Lincoln,
                                   Prowers.
KS..............................  ...................  9-01-2000......  1-15-2004......  7-15-2003......  3-15-2004.....  S1797.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
NM..............................  ...................  9-01-2000......  1-15-2004......  7-15-2003......  3-15-2004.....  S1797.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OK..............................  ...................  9-01-2000......  1-15-2004......  7-15-2003......  3-15-2004.....  S1797.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Williamson.........  7-01-2002......  12-31-2002.....  7-15-2003......  3-15-2004.....  S1798.........  Excessive rain, flooding.........        1         6
CA..............................  Glenn..............  12-13-2002.....  12-27-2002.....  8-01-2003......  4-01-2004.....  S1799.........  Rain, saturated soil, high winds.        1         3
CA..............................  Contra Costa.......  3-16-2003......  5-15-2003......  8-06-2003......  4-06-2004.....  S1800.........  (1) Hailstorm....................        1
                                                                                                                                          (2) Rain.........................
VA..............................  Amelia.............  5-09-2003......  5-09-2003......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1801.........  Tornado, excessive rain, large           1         6
                                                                                                                                           hail.
OH..............................  Adams, Allen,        5-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1802.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,         70        14
                                   Ashland,                                                                                                high wind, tornado damage.
                                   Ashtabula, Athens,
                                   Auglaize, Brown,
                                   Butler, Carroll,
                                   Clark, Clermont,
                                   Clinton,
                                   Columbiana,
                                   Coshocton,
                                   Crawford,
                                   Cuyahoga, Darke,
                                   Delaware, Erie,
                                   Fairfield,
                                   Fayette, Franklin,
                                   Gallia, Geauga,
                                   Greene, Hamilton,
                                   Hancock, Hardin,
                                   Highland, Hocking,
                                   Holmes, Huron,
                                   Jackson, Knox,
                                   Lake, Lawrence,
                                   Licking, Logan,
                                   Lorain, Mahoning,
                                   Marion, Medina,
                                   Meigs, Mercer,
                                   Miami, Montgomery,
                                   Morgan, Morrow,
                                   Muskingum,
                                   Paulding, Perry,
                                   Pickaway, Pike,
                                   Portage, Preble,
                                   Putnam, Richland,
                                   Ross, Sandusky,
                                   Scioto, Shelby,
                                   Summit, Trumbull,
                                   Tuscarawas, Union,
                                   Van Wert, Vinton,
                                   Warren,
                                   Washington,
                                   Wyandot.
IN..............................  ...................  5-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1802.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,    .......         8
                                                                                                                                           high wind, tornado damage.
KY..............................  ...................  5-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1802.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,    .......         9
                                                                                                                                           high wind, tornado damage.
PA..............................  ...................  5-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1802.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,    .......         5
                                                                                                                                           high wind, tornado damage.
WV..............................  ...................  5-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1802.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,    .......         8
                                                                                                                                           high wind, tornado damage.
AZ..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................       15  ..........
CA..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
NV..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-2003......  2-29-2004......  8-29-2003......  4-29-2004.....  S1803.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
CA..............................  Merced.............  4-21-2003......  4-21-2003......  9-11-2003......  5-11-2004.....  S1804.........  Hail.............................        1         7
VA..............................  Campbell,            1-01-2003......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1805.........  Excessive rainfall...............        8        24
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Culpeper, Halifax,
                                   Page,
                                   Rappahannock,
                                   Russell,
                                   Shenandoah.
NC..............................  Campbell,            1-01-2003......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1805.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         3
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Culpeper, Halifax,
                                   Page,
                                   Rappahannock,
                                   Russell,
                                   Shenandoah.
WV..............................  Campbell,            1-01-2003......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1805.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         1
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Culpeper, Halifax,
                                   Page,
                                   Rappahannock,
                                   Russell,
                                   Shenandoah.
WI..............................  Barron, Brown,       7-01-2002......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1806.........  Exceptionally cold temperatures,        34        16
                                   Buffalo, Burnett,                                                                                       lack of snow, very deep frost,
                                   Chippewa, Clark,                                                                                        drought.
                                   Dunn, Eau Claire,
                                   Forest, Florence,
                                   Jackson, Langlade,
                                   Lincoln, Marathon,
                                   Marinette,
                                   Marquette,
                                   Menominee, Oconto,
                                   Oneida, Outagamie,
                                   Pepin, Pierce,
                                   Polk, Portage,
                                   Price, Rusk, St.
                                   Croix, Sawyer,
                                   Shawano, Taylor,
                                   Vilas, Washburn,
                                   Waupaca, Wood.
MI..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1806.........  Exceptionally cold temperatures,   .......         4
                                                                                                                                           lack of snow, very deep frost,
                                                                                                                                           drought.
MN..............................  ...................  7-01-2002......  3-22-2004......  9-22-2003......  5-24-2004.....  S1806.........  Exceptionally cold temperatures,   .......         7
                                                                                                                                           lack of snow, very deep frost,
                                                                                                                                           drought.
VA..............................  Appomattox,          2-01-2003......  3-29-2004......  9-29-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1807.........  Excessive rainfall...............        7        21
                                   Augusta,
                                   Buckingham,
                                   Nottoway, Patrick,
                                   Pittsylvania,
                                   Prince Edward.
NC..............................  ...................  2-01-2003......  3-29-2004......  9-29-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1807.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         4
WV..............................  ...................  2-01-2003......  3-29-2004......  9-29-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1807.........  Excessive rainfall...............  .......         1
VA..............................  Virginia Beach (I),  7-01-2002......  3-01-2003......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1808.........  Drought..........................        2         7
                                   Washington.
NC..............................  Virginia Beach (I),  7-01-2002......  3-01-2003......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1808.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
                                   Washington.
TN..............................  Virginia Beach (I),  7-01-2002......  3-01-2003......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1808.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
                                   Washington.
OK..............................  Alfalfa, Atoka,      7-01-2003......  3-30-2004......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1809.........  Drought..........................       59        10
                                   Beaver, Beckham,
                                   Blaine, Bryan,
                                   Caddo, Canadian,
                                   Carter, Cimarron,
                                   Cleveland, Coal.,
                                   Comanche, Cotton,
                                   Creek, Custer,
                                   Dewey, Ellis,
                                   Garfield, Garvin,
                                   Grady, Grant,
                                   Greer, Harmon,
                                   Harper, Hughes,
                                   Jackson, Johnston,
                                   Kay, Kingfisher,
                                   Kiowa, L.
CO..............................  ...................  7-01-2003......  3-30-2004......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1809.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
KS..............................  ...................  7-01-2003......  3-30-2004......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1809.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
NM..............................  ...................  7-01-2003......  3-30-2004......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1809.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  ...................  7-01-2003......  3-30-2004......  9-30-2003......  6-01-2004.....  S1809.........  Drought..........................  .......        18
                                                                                                                                                                            --------------------
      TOTAL ACTIVE..............  ...................  ...............  ...............  ...............  ..............  ..............  .................................     2309      2029
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                                            EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH (EPPB) DISASTER DESIGNATION REQUESTS: FINAL TOTALS SECRETARIAL
                                                               [Fiscal Year 2004--Secretarial Designations for Production Losses]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Beginning Date    Ending Date of    Approved by      Termination     Designation
             State               Counties requested     of disaster        disaster        Secretary           Date           Number           Description of disaster       Primary  Contiguous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AR.............................  Arkansas, Ashley,   5-01-2003.......  5-01-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,          36        27
                                  Clay, Cleburne,                                                                                         hail, tornadoes.
                                  Conway,
                                  Craighead,
                                  Crittenden,
                                  Cross, Faulkner,
                                  Greene,
                                  Hempstead,
                                  Independence,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Lawrence, Lee,
                                  Little River,
                                  Lonoke,
                                  Mississippi,
                                  Monroe, Nevada,
                                  Perry, Phillips,
                                  Poinsett, Polk,
                                  Pope, Prairie,
                                  Pulaski,
                                  Randolph, Sevier,
                                  Sharp, St.
                                  Francis, Stone,
                                  White, Woodruff.
LA.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         5
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
MS.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         4
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
MO.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         5
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
OK.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
TN.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         4
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
TX.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-10-2003.....  6-10-2004......  S1810........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail, tornadoes.
KS.............................  (1) Dickinson,      1-01-2003.......  4-20-2004......  10-20-2003.....  6-21-2004......  S1811........  (1) Tornado, hail, high winds,            3        14
                                  Jewell, Republic.                                                                                       lightning, excessive rain, flash
                                 (2) Morton........                                                                                       flooding, flooding.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive heat, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-20-2004......  10-20-2003.....  6-21-2004......  S1811........  (1) Tornado, hail, high winds,      .......         1
                                                                                                                                          lightning, excessive rain, flash
                                                                                                                                          flooding, flooding.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive heat, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-20-2004......  10-20-2003.....  6-21-2004......  S1811........  (1) Tornado, hail, high winds,      .......         4
                                                                                                                                          lightning, excessive rain, flash
                                                                                                                                          flooding, flooding.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive heat, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-20-2004......  10-20-2003.....  6-21-2004......  S1811........  (1) Tornado, hail, high winds,      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          lightning, excessive rain, flash
                                                                                                                                          flooding, flooding.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive heat, drought, high
                                                                                                                                          winds.
CA.............................  Alameda, Contra     1-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1812........  Excessive rain, wheat stripe rust.       10        30
                                  Costa, Fresno,
                                  Glenn, Kern,
                                  Madera,
                                  Sacramento, San
                                  Joaquin, Tulare,
                                  Yuba.
NV.............................  Entire State (17    1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......       17  ..........
                                  counties).
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         1
CA.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......        10
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         3
OR.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         3
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1813........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         7
IA.............................  Adair, Adams,       7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  ..................................       68        31
                                  Allamakee,
                                  Audubon, Benton,
                                  Black Hawk,
                                  Bremer, Buchanan,
                                  Buena Vista,
                                  Calhoun, Carroll,
                                  Cass, Cherokee,
                                  Chickasaw,
                                  Clarke, Clay,
                                  Clayton, Clinton,
                                  Crawford, Dallas,
                                  Davis, Decatur,
                                  Dickinson,
                                  Dubuque, Floyd,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Fremont, Grundy,
                                  Guthrie,
                                  Harrison, Henry,
                                  Howard, Humboldt,
                                  Ida, Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Jones,
                                  Keokuk, Lee,
                                  Linn, Louisa,
                                  Lucas, Lyon,
                                  Madison, Marion,
                                  Mitchell, Monona,
                                  Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  O'Brien, Page,
                                  Pocahontas, Polk,
                                  Pottawattamie,
                                  Ringgold, Sac,
                                  Shelby, Story,
                                  Taylor, Union,
                                  Van Buren,
                                  Wapello, Warren,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Winnebago,
                                  Winneshiek, Worth.
IL.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         7
MN.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         8
MO.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         9
NE.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         7
SD.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         2
WI.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1814........  Drought, related impacts..........  .......         3
MN.............................  Aitkin, Anoka,      7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1815........  Drought...........................       62        21
                                  Becker, Beltrami,
                                  Benton, Big
                                  Stone, Carlton,
                                  Cass, Chippewa,
                                  Chisago,
                                  Clearwater, Cook,
                                  Crow Wing,
                                  Dakota, Dodge,
                                  Douglas,
                                  Faribault,
                                  Fillmore,
                                  Freeborn,
                                  Goodhue,
                                  Hennepin,
                                  Houston, Hubbard,
                                  Isanti, Itasca,
                                  Kanabec,
                                  Kandiyohi,
                                  Kittson, Lac Qui
                                  Parle, Lake,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  Mahnomen, Meeker,
                                  Mille Lacs,
                                  Morrison, Mower,
                                  Nicollet,
                                  Olmsted, Otter
                                  Tail, Pine,
                                  Pipestone, Pope,
                                  Ramsey, Red Lake,
                                  Renville, Rice,
                                  St. Louis, Scott,
                                  Sherburne,
                                  Sibley, Stearns,
                                  Steele, Swift,
                                  Todd, Traverse,
                                  Wabasha, Wadena,
                                  Waseca,
                                  Washington,
                                  Winona, Wright,
                                  Yellow Medicine.
IA.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1815........  Drought...........................  .......         7
ND.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1815........  Drought...........................  .......         3
SD.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1815........  Drought...........................  .......         6
WI.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1815........  Drought...........................  .......        10
WY.............................  Lincoln, Sublette,  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1816........  Drought...........................        3         4
                                  Sweetwater.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1816........  Drought...........................  .......         4
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1816........  Drought...........................  .......         3
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  4-23-2004......  10-23-2003.....  6-23-2004......  S1816........  Drought...........................  .......         3
CA.............................  El Dorado.........  4-01-2003.......  5-15-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Excessive rain, hail, freezing            1         3
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
CA.............................  Nevada............  3-01-2003.......  5-15-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Rain, hail, freezing temperatures.        1         3
CA.............................  Sutter............  4-04-2003.......  5-09-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Hail..............................        1         2
CA.............................  Yolo..............  4-01-2003.......  5-15-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Freezing temperatures.............        1         3
NV.............................  ..................  3-01-2003.......  5-15-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Rain, hail, freezing temperatures.  .......         1
NV.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  5-15-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1817........  Excessive rain, hail, freezing      .......         1
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
CA.............................  Butte.............  3-01-2003.......  5-14-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1818........  Spring rains, wheat stripe rust...        1         6
CA.............................  Merced............  4-01-2003.......  5-14-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1818........  Spring rains, cool temperatures,          1         7
                                                                                                                                          wheat stripe rust.
CA.............................  Solano............  4-01-2003.......  5-31-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1818........  Spring rains, wheat stripe rust...        1         5
CA.............................  Stanislaus........  4-01-2003.......  5-14-2003......  10-30-2003.....  6-30-2004......  S1818........  Rains, wheat stripe rust..........        1         3
IN.............................  Union.............  6-11-2003.......  6-16-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1819........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         3
OH.............................  ..................  6-11-2003.......  6-16-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1819........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
VA.............................  Bedford,            1-01-2003.......  5-04-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1820........  Excessive rainfall................        4        20
                                  Mecklenburg,
                                  Rockingham, Scott.
NC.............................  Bedford,            1-01-2003.......  5-04-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1820........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         3
                                  Mecklenburg,
                                  Rockingham, Scott.
TN.............................  Bedford,            1-01-2003.......  5-04-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1820........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         3
                                  Mecklenburg,
                                  Rockingham, Scott.
WV.............................  Bedford,            1-01-2003.......  5-04-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1820........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         2
                                  Mecklenburg,
                                  Rockingham, Scott.
TX.............................  Lamb..............  6-05-2003.......  6-20-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1821........  (1) Excessive rain, hail, high            1         7
                                                                                                                                          winds, sand, static electricity;.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive rain, hail, high
                                                                                                                                          wind, tornado;.
TX.............................  Calhoun, Coke,      1-01-2003.......  5-06-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1822........  Drought...........................        9        36
                                  Foard, Gillespie,
                                  Karnes,
                                  Matagorda,
                                  Runnels,
                                  Sterling, Wharton.
TX.............................  Bailey............  6-03-2003.......  6-20-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1823........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
NM.............................  ..................  6-03-2003.......  6-20-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1823........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Hale..............  5-20-2003.......  6-25-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1824........  Flooding, hail, high winds........        1         7
TX.............................  Hall..............  6-22-2003.......  6-22-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1825........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         6
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
NM.............................  Entire State        1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........       32         1
                                  (except Los
                                  Alamos County).
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         3
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         7
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         1
TX.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......        16
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1826........  Drought, excessive heat...........  .......         1
LA.............................  Acadia,             6-01-2003.......  7-31-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1827........  Excessive rain....................        9        13
                                  Beauregard,
                                  Calcasieu,
                                  Cameron,
                                  Evangeline,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Rapides, St.
                                  Landry, St.
                                  Martin.
TX.............................  ..................  6-01-2003.......  7-31-2003......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1827........  Excessive rain....................  .......         2
OR.............................  Baker, Gilliam....  10-01-2001......  5-06-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1828........  Drought...........................        2         8
ID.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  5-06-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1828........  Drought...........................  .......         2
WA.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  5-06-2004......  11-04-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1828........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Hockley, Lubbock..  6-01-2003.......  6-30-2003......  11-05-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1829........  Excessive rain, hail, high wind...        2        10
TX.............................  Bexar.............  3-01-2003.......  5-27-2003......  11-05-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1830........  Drought, high temperatures........        1         7
TX.............................  Crosby............  6-04-2003.......  6-20-2003......  11-05-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1831........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Briscoe...........  6-01-2003.......  5-06-2004......  11-06-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1832........  Drought, high winds, static               1         6
                                                                                                                                          electricity, heat.
TX.............................  Parmer............  5-01-2003.......  6-30-2003......  11-06-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1833........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         4
                                                                                                                                          cool weather.
NM.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  6-30-2003......  11-06-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1833........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,   .......         1
                                                                                                                                          cool weather.
TX.............................  Deaf Smith........  6-01-2003.......  6-30-2003......  11-06-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1834........  Hail, tornado.....................        1         5
NM.............................  ..................  6-01-2003.......  6-30-2003......  11-06-2003.....  7-06-2004......  S1834........  Hail, tornado.....................  .......         2
NY.............................  Seneca............  4-03-2003.......  4-04-2003......  11-10-2003.....  7-12-2004......  S1835........  Excessive rain, ice, high winds...        1         6
NY.............................  Wayne.............  4-04-2003.......  4-04-2003......  11-10-2003.....  7-12-2004......  S1835........  Ice Storm.........................        1         1
IN.............................  Bartholomew,        4-01-2003.......  7-15-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1836........  Excessive rainfall, cool                 29        15
                                  Brown, Clark,                                                                                           temperatures.
                                  Daviess,
                                  Dearborn,
                                  Decatur, Dubois,
                                  Franklin, Gibson,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Jennings, Knox,
                                  Martin, Monroe,
                                  Morgan, Ohio,
                                  Orange, Owen,
                                  Perry, Pike,
                                  Posey, Ripley,
                                  Scott, Spencer,
                                  Switzerland,
                                  Vanderburgh,
                                  Warrick,
                                  Washington.
IL.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  7-15-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1836........  Excessive rainfall, cool            .......         5
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
KY.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  7-15-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1836........  Excessive rainfall, cool            .......        12
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
OH.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  7-15-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1836........  Excessive rainfall, cool            .......         2
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
MO.............................  Andrew, Atchison,   1-01-2003.......  5-13-2004......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1837........  Drought...........................       39        13
                                  Barton, Bates,
                                  Benton, Buchanan,
                                  Caldwell,
                                  Carroll, Cass,
                                  Cedar, Chariton,
                                  Clay, Clinton,
                                  Cooper, Daviess ,
                                  DeKalb, Gentry,
                                  Grundy, Harrison,
                                  Henry, Hickory,
                                  Holt, Jackson,
                                  Johnson,
                                  Lafayette, Linn,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Mercer, Morgan,
                                  Nodaway, Pettis,
                                  Platte, Putnam,
                                  Ray, Saline, St.
                                  Clair, Sullivan,
                                  Vernon, Worth.
IA.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-13-2004......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1837........  Drought...........................  .......         7
KS.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-13-2004......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1837........  Drought...........................  .......         9
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  5-13-2004......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1837........  Drought...........................  .......         3
TX.............................  Cochran...........  6-03-2003.......  6-23-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1838........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         5
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornado.
NM.............................  ..................  6-03-2003.......  6-23-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1838........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,   .......         2
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornado.
TX.............................  Motley............  6-22-2003.......  6-22-2003......  11-13-2003.....  7-13-2004......  S1839........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         7
                                                                                                                                          static electricity.
AR.............................  Lawrence..........  9-01-2003.......  9-08-2003......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1840........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         5
CA.............................  Kings.............  4-01-2003.......  5-14-2003......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1841........  Excessive rain, wheat stripe rust.        1         5
CA.............................  Tehama............  4-01-2003.......  5-09-2003......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1842........  (1) Storms........................        1         6
                                                                                                                                         (2) Storms with hail, extended wet
                                                                                                                                          periods, below average
                                                                                                                                          temperatures-causing wheat stripe
                                                                                                                                          rust.
CO.............................  Alamosa,            1-31-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1843........  Drought, insect infestation.......       26        17
                                  Archuletta,
                                  Chaffee, Conejos,
                                  Costilla,
                                  Crowley, Custer,
                                  Dolores, Fremont,
                                  Garfield,
                                  Hinsdale,
                                  Huerfano, Lake,
                                  La Plata, Las
                                  Animas Mesa,
                                  Mineral, Moffat,
                                  Montezuma, Otero,
                                  Pueblo, Rio
                                  Blanco, Rio
                                  Grande, Routt,
                                  Saguache, San
                                  Miguel.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-31-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1843........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         1
NM.............................  ..................  1-31-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1843........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         5
UT.............................  ..................  1-31-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1843........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         4
WY.............................  ..................  1-31-2003.......  5-21-2004......  11-21-2003.....  7-21-2004......  S1843........  Drought, insect infestation.......  .......         2
SD.............................  Beadle, Bennett,    1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe         33        22
                                  Bon Homme, Brule,                                                                                       storms, significantly below
                                  Buffalo, Butte,                                                                                         normal precipitation (drought)
                                  Campbell, Charles                                                                                       resulting in numerous prairie and
                                  Mix, Corson,                                                                                            forest fires.
                                  Deuel, Dewey,
                                  Grant, Gregory,
                                  Haakon, Hamlin,
                                  Hand, Harding,
                                  Hughes, Hyde,
                                  Jackson, Jones,
                                  Meade, Mellette,
                                  Perkins, Potter,
                                  Shannon, Spink,
                                  Stanley, Sully,
                                  Todd, Tripp,
                                  Walworth, Ziebach.
MN.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         4
                                                                                                                                          storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
ND.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         5
                                                                                                                                          storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         6
                                                                                                                                          storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1844........  Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         1
                                                                                                                                          storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
SD.............................  Brookings,          1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-11-2003.....  8-11-2004......  S1844,         Extreme heat, high winds, severe          8         2
                                  Codington,                                                                               Amendment 1.   storms, significantly below
                                  Custer, Fall                                                                                            normal precipitation (drought)
                                  River, Faulk,                                                                                           resulting in numerous prairie and
                                  Jerauld, Lyman,                                                                                         forest fires.
                                  Pennington.
MN.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-11-2003.....  8-11-2004......  S1844,         Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.   storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-11-2003.....  8-11-2004......  S1844,         Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.   storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-11-2003.....  8-11-2004......  S1844,         Extreme heat, high winds, severe    .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.   storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
SD.............................  Aurora, Clark.....  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1844,         Extreme heat, high winds, severe          2         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 2.   storms, significantly below
                                                                                                                                          normal precipitation (drought)
                                                                                                                                          resulting in numerous prairie and
                                                                                                                                          forest fires.
NE.............................  (1) Antelope,       7-01-2002.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1845........  Drought, high temperatures,              11         3
                                  Cedar, Cuming,                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
                                  Dixon, Madison,                                                                                        (2) Drought, high temperatures....
                                  Stanton, Wayne.                                                                                        (3)(a) Drought; (b) Continuing
                                 (2) Burt, Knox....                                                                                       rain.
                                 (3) Dakota........                                                                                      (4)(a) Drought, high temperatures,
                                 (4) Pierce........                                                                                       grasshopper infestation; (b) High
                                                                                                                                          winds.
IA.............................  ..................  7-01-2002.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1845........  Drought, high temperatures,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Drought, high temperatures....
                                                                                                                                         (3)(a) Drought; (b) Continuing
                                                                                                                                          rain.
                                                                                                                                         (4)(a) Drought, high temperatures,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation; (b) High
                                                                                                                                          winds.
OR.............................  ..................  7-01-2002.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1845........  Drought, high temperatures,         .......         5
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Drought, high temperatures....
                                                                                                                                         (3)(a) Drought; (b) Continuing
                                                                                                                                          rain.
                                                                                                                                         (4)(a) Drought, high temperatures,
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation; (b) High
                                                                                                                                          winds.
ID.............................  Bannock, Bear       1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................       30        13
                                  Lake, Benewah,                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                  Bingham, Blaine,                                                                                       (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                  Bonneville,                                                                                             growing season.
                                  Butte, Camas,                                                                                          (4) Excessive heat................
                                  Caribou, Cassia,                                                                                       (5) Insect infestation............
                                  Clark,                                                                                                 (6) Hail..........................
                                  Clearwater,
                                  Custer, Elmore,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Fremont, Idaho,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Kootenai, Lemhi,
                                  Lewis, Lincoln,
                                  Madison, Nez
                                  Perce, Oneida,
                                  Owyhee, Payette,
                                  Power, Teton,
                                  Twin Falls.
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         6
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         2
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
OR.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         2
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         3
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
WA.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         3
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1846........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         2
                                                                                                                                         (2) Frost/Freeze..................
                                                                                                                                         (3) Inadequate moisture during
                                                                                                                                          growing season.
                                                                                                                                         (4) Excessive heat................
                                                                                                                                         (5) Insect infestation............
                                                                                                                                         (6) Hail..........................
MO.............................  Dunklin, New        5-04-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1847........  Excessive spring rainfall.........        4         6
                                  Madrid, Pemiscot,
                                  Stoddard.
AR.............................  ..................  5-04-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1847........  Excessive spring rainfall.........  .......         4
KY.............................  ..................  5-04-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1847........  Excessive spring rainfall.........  .......         1
TN.............................  ..................  5-04-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1847........  Excessive spring rainfall.........  .......         2
VA.............................  Amherst,            4-01-2003.......  8-31-2003......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1848........  Excessive rain....................        2        11
                                  Washington.
TN.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  8-31-2003......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1848........  Excessive rain....................  .......         2
MT.............................  Beaverhead, Big     1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1849........  Drought...........................       35        21
                                  Horn, Blaine,
                                  Broadwater,
                                  Carbon, Carter,
                                  Cascade, Daniels,
                                  Dawson, Fallon,
                                  Fergus, Flathead,
                                  Gallatin,
                                  Glacier, Golden
                                  Valley, Hill,
                                  Jefferson, Judith
                                  Basin, Lake,
                                  Lewis and Clark,
                                  Liberty, Madison,
                                  Meagher,
                                  Musselshell,
                                  Park, Phillips,
                                  Rosebud, Sanders,
                                  Sheridan,
                                  Stillwater,
                                  Sweetgrass,
                                  Teton, Toole,
                                  Wheatland,
                                  Yellowstone..
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1849........  Drought...........................  .......         5
ND.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1849........  Drought...........................  .......         5
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1849........  Drought...........................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1849........  Drought...........................  .......         5
ND.............................  Adams, Barnes,      4-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1850........  Flooding, ground saturation,             47         6
                                  Billings,                                                                                               storms, winds, tornadoes, high
                                  Bottineau,                                                                                              humidity, dry conditions, severe
                                  Bowman, Burke,                                                                                          temperatures.
                                  Burleigh, Cass,
                                  Cavalier, Dickey,
                                  Divide, Dunn,
                                  Emmons, Golden
                                  Valley, Grand
                                  Forks, Grant,
                                  Griggs,
                                  Hettinger,
                                  Kidder, La Moure,
                                  Logan, McHenry,
                                  McIntosh,
                                  McKenzie, McLean,
                                  Mercer, Morton,
                                  Mountrail,
                                  Oliver, Pierce,
                                  Ramsey, Ransom,
                                  Renville,
                                  Rolette, Sargent,
                                  Sheridan, Sioux,
                                  Slope, Stark,
                                  Steele, Stutsman,
                                  Towner, Traill,
                                  Walsh, Ward,
                                  Wells, Williams.
MN.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1850........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          storms, winds, tornadoes, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, dry conditions, severe
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
MT.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1850........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          storms, winds, tornadoes, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, dry conditions, severe
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
SD.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1850........  Flooding, ground saturation,        .......         8
                                                                                                                                          storms, winds, tornadoes, high
                                                                                                                                          humidity, dry conditions, severe
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
NE.............................  Boone, Butler,      7-01-2002.......  5-14-2004......  11-14-2003.....  7-14-2004......  S1851........  Drought, extreme heat, flooding,         28        12
                                  Cass, Clay,                                                                                             grasshopper infestation, hail,
                                  Colfax, Dodge,                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes.
                                  Douglas,
                                  Fillmore, Gage,
                                  Hamilton,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson,
                                  Lancaster,
                                  Merrick, Nance,
                                  Nemaha, Otoe,
                                  Pawnee, Platte,
                                  Polk, Richardson,
                                  Saline, Sarpy,
                                  Saunders, Seward,
                                  Thayer,
                                  Washington, York.
IA.............................  ..................  7-01-2002.......  5-14-2004......  11-14-2003.....  7-14-2004......  S1851........  Drought, extreme heat, flooding,    .......         4
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes.
MO.............................  ..................  7-01-2002.......  5-14-2004......  11-14-2003.....  7-14-2004......  S1851........  Drought, extreme heat, flooding,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes.
KS.............................  ..................  7-01-2002.......  5-14-2004......  11-14-2003.....  7-14-2004......  S1851........  Drought, extreme heat, flooding,    .......         6
                                                                                                                                          grasshopper infestation, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes.
SC.............................  Allendale,          3-20-2003.......  11-07-2003.....  12-09-2003.....  8-09-2004......  S1852........  Excessive rainfall................        8        16
                                  Bamberg,
                                  Cherokee,
                                  Edgefield,
                                  Greenville,
                                  Pickens, Saluda,
                                  Spartanburg.
GA.............................  ..................  3-20-2003.......  11-07-2003.....  12-09-2003.....  8-09-2004......  S1852........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         4
NC.............................  ..................  3-20-2003.......  11-07-2003.....  12-09-2003.....  8-09-2004......  S1852........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         5
NJ.............................  Atlantic,           1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  continuing.....  8-02-2004......  S1853........  Excessive precipitation, disease,        16         3
                                  Burlington,                                                                                             insect infestation.
                                  Camden, Cape May,
                                  Cumberland,
                                  Gloucester,
                                  Hunterdon,
                                  Mercer,
                                  Middlesex,
                                  Monmouth, Morris,
                                  Ocean, Salem,
                                  Somerset, Sussex,
                                  Warren.
DE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1853........  Excessive precipitation...........  .......         3
NY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1853........  Excessive precipitation...........  .......         2
PA.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  6-02-2004......  12-02-2003.....  8-02-2004......  S1853........  Excessive precipitation...........  .......         6
TX.............................  Wheeler...........  1-01-2003.......  6-12-2004......  12-12-2003.....  8-12-2004......  S1854........  Drought...........................        1         7
CA.............................  Colusa, Sacramento  7-10-2003.......  8-26-2003......  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1855........   (1) Excessive rainfall...........        2        11
                                                                                                                                         (2) Extreme heat, followed by
                                                                                                                                          unseasonable rainfall.
IL.............................  Boone, Bureau,      1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1856........  Drought...........................       42        28
                                  Carroll, Clay,
                                  Edwards, Fayette,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Gallatin,
                                  Hamilton, Hardin,
                                  Henderson, Henry,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson, Jo
                                  Daviess, Johnson,
                                  Knox, Lake, Lee,
                                  Marion, Marshall,
                                  Massac, McHenry,
                                  Mercer, Ogle,
                                  Perry, Pope,
                                  Putnam, Randolph,
                                  Saline, St.
                                  Clair, Stark,
                                  Stephenson,
                                  Vermilion,
                                  Wabash,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, White,
                                  Whiteside,
                                  Williamson,
                                  Winnebago,
                                  Woodford.
KY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1856........  Drought...........................  .......         4
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1856........  Drought...........................  .......         4
WI.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1856........  Drought...........................  .......         5
MO.............................  Audrain, Boone,     6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................       34        21
                                  Callaway, Cape
                                  Girardeau, Cole,
                                  Crawford, Dade,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Gasconade,
                                  Greene, Howard,
                                  Jasper, Knox,
                                  Laclede,
                                  Lawrence,
                                  Lincoln, Macon,
                                  Maries, Marion,
                                  McDonald, Miller,
                                  Moniteau, Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Osage, Perry,
                                  Phelps, Pike,
                                  Pulaski, Ralls,
                                  Randolph,
                                  Scotland, Shelby,
                                  Warren.
AR.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................  .......         1
IL.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................  .......         7
IA.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................  .......         2
KS.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................  .......         1
OK.............................  ..................  6-01-2002.......  continuing.....  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1857........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Floyd.............  5-31-2003.......  6-11-2003......  12-19-2003.....  8-19-2004......  S1858........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..        1         7
AR.............................  Randolph..........  8-03-2003.......  8-03-2003......  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1859........  Hail..............................        1         4
MO.............................  ..................  8-03-2003.......  8-03-2003......  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1859........  Hail..............................  .......         2
ID.............................  Latah.............  7-01-2003.......  8-02-2003......  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1860........  Drought...........................        1         4
WA.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  8-02-2003......  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1860........  Drought...........................  .......         1
NY.............................  Allegany, Cayuga,   4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1861........  Excessive Rain, flash Flooding,          22        30
                                  Columbia,                                                                                               cool temperatures.
                                  Dutchess, Greene,
                                  Herkimer,
                                  Jefferson, Lewis,
                                  Madison, Niagara,
                                  Onondaga, Orange,
                                  Oswego,
                                  Rensselaer,
                                  Saratoga,
                                  Schuyler, Seneca,
                                  St. Lawrence,
                                  Suffolk,
                                  Tompkins, Ulster,
                                  Wayne.
CT.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1861........  Excessive Rain, flash Flooding,     .......         5
                                                                                                                                          cool temperatures.
MA.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1861........  Excessive Rain, flash Flooding,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          cool temperatures.
PA.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1861........  Excessive Rain, flash Flooding,     .......         3
                                                                                                                                          cool temperatures.
VT.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1861........  Excessive Rain, flash Flooding,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          cool temperatures.
OR.............................  Union, Wheeler....  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1862........  Drought...........................        2         3
VA.............................   (1) Franklin,      1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1863........   (1) Excessive rain...............        3        13
                                  Northampton,                                                                                           (2) Hurricane Isabel..............
                                  Roanoke.
                                 (2) Patrick.......
NC.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-09-2004......  9-09-2004......  S1863........   (1) Excessive rain...............  .......         2
                                                                                                                                         (2) Hurricane Isabel..............
TN.............................  Carter, Hancock,    4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1864........  Excessive rainfall................       11        17
                                  Hawkins,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Macon,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Sullivan,
                                  Trousdale,
                                  Unicoi,
                                  Washington.
KY.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1864........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         4
NC.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1864........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         6
VA.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1864........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         2
MI.............................  Antrim, Calhoun,    8-01-2003.......  9-22-2003......  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1865........  Storms that produced hail, high           9        24
                                  Ingham, Jackson,                                                                                        winds, heavy rains.
                                  Kent, Mason,
                                  Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Ottawa.
MI.............................  Alcona, Alger,      7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1866........  Drought...........................       75         8
                                  Allegan, Alpena,
                                  Antrim, Arenac,
                                  Baraga, Barry,
                                  Bay, Benzie,
                                  Berrien, Calhoun,
                                  Cass, Charlevoix,
                                  Cheboygan,
                                  Chippewa, Clare,
                                  Clinton, Delta,
                                  Dickinson, Eaton,
                                  Emmet, Genesee,
                                  Gladwin, Gogebic,
                                  Grand Traverse,
                                  Gratiot,
                                  Houghton, Huron,
                                  Ingham, Ionia,
                                  Iosco, Iron,
                                  Isabella,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Kalamazoo,
                                  Kalkaska, Kent,
                                  Keweenaw, Lapeer,
                                  Leelanau,
                                  Livingston, Luce,
                                  Mackinac, Macomb,
                                  Manistee,
                                  Marquette, Mason,
                                  Mecosta,
                                  Menominee,
                                  Midland,
                                  Missaukee,
                                  Montcalm,
                                  Montmorency,
                                  Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Oakland,
                                  Oceana, Ogemaw,
                                  Ontonagon,
                                  Osceola, Otsego,
                                  Ottawa, Presque
                                  Isle, Saginaw,
                                  Sanilac,
                                  Schoolcraft,
                                  Shiawassee, St.
                                  Clair, St.
                                  Joseph, Tuscola,
                                  Van Buren,
                                  Washtenaw, Wayne,
                                  Wexford.
IN.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1866........  Drought...........................  .......         4
WI.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1866........  Drought...........................  .......         5
MI.............................  Allegan, Antrim,     (1) 02/28/03...   (1) 07/21/03..  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1867........  (1) Extreme temperature                  32        36
                                  Benzie, Berrien,   (2) 05/07/03....  (2) 07/21/03...                                                    fluctuations; freezing rain;
                                  Cass, Charlevoix,                                                                                       periods of abnormal warm weather
                                  Dickinson, Grand                                                                                        followed by temperatures as low
                                  Traverse,                                                                                               as 24 degrees with significant
                                  Hillsdale, Huron,                                                                                       crop damage..
                                  Ingham, Ionia,                                                                                         (2) Heavy rains, flooding, hail,
                                  Iron, Isabella,                                                                                         high winds.
                                  Kalamazoo, Kent,
                                  Leelanau,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Macomb, Manistee,
                                  Mason, Menominee,
                                  Monroe, Montcalm,
                                  Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Oceana,
                                  Otsego, Ottawa,
                                  St. Clair, Van
                                  Buren, Wexford.
IN.............................  ..................  (1) 02/28/03....  (2) 07/21/03...  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1867........  (1) Extreme temperature             .......         4
                                                     (2) 05/07/03....  (2) 07/21/03...                                                    fluctuations; freezing rain;
                                                                                                                                          periods of abnormal warm weather
                                                                                                                                          followed by temperatures as low
                                                                                                                                          as 24 degrees with significant
                                                                                                                                          crop damage..
                                                                                                                                         (2) Heavy rains, flooding, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
OH.............................  ..................  (1) 02/28/03....  (1) 07/21/03...  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1867........   (1) Extreme temperature            .......         3
                                                     (2)05/07/03.....  (2)07/21/03....                                                    fluctuations; freezing rain;
                                                                                                                                          periods of abnormal warm weather
                                                                                                                                          followed by temperatures as low
                                                                                                                                          as 24 degrees with significant
                                                                                                                                          crop damage..
                                                                                                                                         (2) Heavy rains, flooding, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
WI.............................  ..................   (1) 02/28/03...   (1) 07/21/03..  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1867........  (1) Extreme temperature             .......         4
                                                     (2) 05/07/03....  (2) 07/21/03...                                                    fluctuations; freezing rain;
                                                                                                                                          periods of abnormal warm weather
                                                                                                                                          followed by temperatures as low
                                                                                                                                          as 24 degrees with significant
                                                                                                                                          crop damage..
                                                                                                                                         (2) Heavy rains, flooding, hail,
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
KS.............................  Allen, Anderson,    1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1868........  Drought, excessive wind, insect          81        24
                                  Atchison, Barber,                                                                                       damage.
                                  Barton, Bourbon,
                                  Chautauqua,
                                  Cheyenne, Clay,
                                  Cloud, Coffey,
                                  Crawford,
                                  Decatur,
                                  Dickinson,
                                  Doniphan, Elk,
                                  Ellsworth,
                                  Finney, Ford,
                                  Geary, Graham,
                                  Grant, Gray,
                                  Hamilton, Harper,
                                  Haskell,
                                  Hodgeman,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Jewell, Johnson,
                                  Kearny, Kingman,
                                  Kiowa, Lane,
                                  Leavenworth,
                                  Lincoln, Linn,
                                  Logan, McPherson,
                                  Marshall, Meade,
                                  Miami, Mitchell,
                                  Nemaha, Neosho,
                                  Ness, Norton,
                                  Osage, Osborne,
                                  Ottawa, Phillips,
                                  Pottawatomie,
                                  Rawlins, Reno,
                                  Republic, Rice,
                                  Riley, Rooks,
                                  Rush, Russell,
                                  Saline, Scott,
                                  Sheridan,
                                  Sherman, Smith,
                                  Stafford,
                                  Stanton, Thomas,
                                  Trego, Wabaunsee,
                                  Wallace,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wyandotte;
                                  Douglas, Edwards,
                                  Franklin, Gove,
                                  Lyon, Morris,
                                  Pawnee, Pratt.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1868........  Drought, excessive wind, insect     .......         4
                                                                                                                                          damage.
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1868........  Drought, excessive wind, insect     .......        11
                                                                                                                                          damage.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1868........  Drought, excessive wind, insect     .......        13
                                                                                                                                          damage.
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1868........  Drought, excessive wind, insect     .......         6
                                                                                                                                          damage.
OR.............................  Sherman, Wallowa..  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1869........  Drought...........................        2         5
ID.............................  Sherman, Wallowa..  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1869........  Drought...........................  .......         3
WA.............................  Sherman, Wallowa..  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  1-23-2004......  9-23-2004......  S1869........  Drought...........................  .......         4
TX.............................  Brooks............  10-10-2003......  10-13-2003.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1870........  Flash flooding....................        1         7
TX.............................  Lavaca............  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1871........  Excessive rain....................        1         6
TX.............................  Wilbarger.........  10-10-2003......  10-13-2003.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1872........  Flash flooding....................        1         5
OK.............................  Jackson, Tillman..  10-10-2003......  10-13-2003.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1872........  Flash flooding....................  .......         2
TX.............................  Knox..............  1-01-2003.......  12-08-2003.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1873........  Drought, high wind, excessive heat        1         6
TX.............................  Young.............  4-05-2003.......  4-05-2003......  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1874........  Hail, tornado, excessive high             1         6
                                                                                                                                          winds.
TX.............................  Stephens..........  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1875........  Drought, high winds...............        1         5
TX.............................  Baylor............  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1876........  Drought...........................        1         8
TX.............................  Cottle, King......  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1877........  Drought, excessive temperatures           1        10
                                                                                                                                          (heat).
TX.............................  Stonewall.........  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  2-10-2004......  10-12-2004.....  S1878........  Drought, excessive temperatures           1         7
                                                                                                                                          (heat).
PA.............................  Erie..............  1-01-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1879........  Excessive rainfall, early frost...        1         2
NY.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1879........  Excessive rainfall, early frost...  .......         1
OH.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1879........  Excessive rainfall, early frost...  .......         1
OR.............................  Harney, Klamath,    10-01-2001......  continuing.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1880........  Drought...........................        3         4
                                  Malheur.
CA.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1880........  Drought...........................  .......         1
ID.............................  ..................  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1880........  Drought...........................  .......         1
MI.............................  Berrien,            8-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1881........  Abnormally cool, cloudy weather           6        12
                                  Kalamazoo,                                                                                              resulting in an increase in
                                  Manistee, Mason,                                                                                        aphids, which caused mosaic virus
                                  Ocean, Van Buren.                                                                                       (in vegetable crops.
IN.............................  Berrien,            8-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1881........  ..................................  .......         2
                                  Kalamazoo,
                                  Manistee, Mason,
                                  Ocean, Van Buren.
MI.............................  Berrien, Cass,      3-01-2003.......  10-02-2003.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1882........  Late spring (cool spring weather),        4         5
                                  Kalamazoo, Van                                                                                          combined with early freeze.
                                  Buren.
IN.............................  Berrien, Cass,      3-01-2003.......  10-02-2003.....  2-13-2004......  10-13-2004.....  S1882........  Late spring (cool spring weather),  .......         3
                                  Kalamazoo, Van                                                                                          combined with early freeze.
                                  Buren.
WI.............................  Adams, Ashland,     5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  2-27-2004......  10-27-2004.....  S1883........  Drought...........................       59        11
                                  Barron, Bayfield,
                                  Buffalo, Burnett,
                                  Calumet,
                                  Chippewa, Clark,
                                  Columbia,
                                  Crawford, Dane,
                                  Dodge, Douglas,
                                  Dunn, Eau Claire,
                                  Florence, Fond du
                                  Lac, Forest,
                                  Grant, Green,
                                  Green Lake, Iowa,
                                  Iron, Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Juneau, Kenosha,
                                  LaCrosse,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Langlade,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  Marquette,
                                  Milwaukee,
                                  Monroe, Oneida,
                                  Ozaukee, Pepin,
                                  Pierce, Polk,
                                  Portage, Racine,
                                  Richland, Rock,
                                  Rusk, St. Croix,
                                  Sauk, Sawyer,
                                  Trempealeau,
                                  Vernon, Vilas,
                                  Walworth,
                                  Washburn,
                                  Washington,
                                  Waukesha,
                                  Waupaca,
                                  Waushara,
                                  Winnebago, Wood.
IL.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  2-27-2004......  10-27-2004.....  S1883........  Drought...........................  .......         6
IA.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  2-27-2004......  10-27-2004.....  S1883........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MI.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  2-27-2004......  10-27-2004.....  S1883........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MN.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  2-27-2004......  10-27-2004.....  S1883........  Drought...........................  .......        10
MA.............................  Berkshire,          5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1884........  Wet weather patterns..............        7         4
                                  Bristol,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Hampshire,
                                  Hampden, Norfolk,
                                  Plymouth.
CT.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1884........  Wet weather patterns..............  .......         2
NH.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1884........  Wet weather patterns..............  .......         1
RI.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1884........  Wet weather patterns..............  .......         3
VT.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1884........  Wet weather patterns..............  .......         1
CA.............................  Fresno, Kern,       1-02-2003.......  9-30-2003......  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1885........  Cool weather followed by extended         4        15
                                  Merced, Tulare.                                                                                         period of hot weather.
NY.............................  Albany,             4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1886........  Various disasters for each county        11        12
                                  Cattaraugus,                                                                                            including: Below normal
                                  Chautauqua, Erie,                                                                                       temperatures, excessive rain,
                                  Livingston,                                                                                             flash flooding, hail, high winds.
                                  Oneida, Orleans,
                                  Saratoga, Seneca,
                                  Sullivan,
                                  Tompkins.
PA.............................  ..................  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1886........  Various disasters for each county   .......         3
                                                                                                                                          including: Below normal
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, excessive rain,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, hail, high winds.
NY.............................  Wayne.............  9-23-2003.......  9-23-2003......  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1887........  Hail..............................        1         4
WA.............................   (1) Clark,         5-01-2003.......  9-06-2003......  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1888........   (1) Drought, excessive heat......        7         8
                                  Cowlitz,                                                                                               (2) Drought.......................
                                  Skamania,
                                  Wahkiakum.
                                 (2) Island, San
                                  Juan, Skagit.
OR.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  9-06-2003......  3-09-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1888........   (1) Drought, excessive heat......  .......
                                                                                                                                         (2) Drought.......................
CA.............................  Sutter, Yuba......  8-22-2003.......  9-15-2003......  3-11-2004......  11-09-2004.....  S1889........  Unseasonable late summer rainfall.        2         8
CO.............................  Cheyenne, Logan,    1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1890........  Drought...........................        3         4
                                  Phillips.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1890........  Drought...........................  .......         3
ME.............................  Aroostook,          6-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1891........  Excessive rainfall................        4         9
                                  Franklin, Oxford,
                                  Penobscot.
NH.............................  ..................  6-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1891........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         2
TX.............................  Hansford..........  6-05-2003.......  6-09-2003......  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1892........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         5
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning,
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
OK.............................  ..................  6-05-2003.......  6-09-2003......  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1892........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning,
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
WA.............................  Asotin, Chelan,     1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1893........  Drought...........................       20        13
                                  Columbia,
                                  Douglas, Ferry,
                                  Garfield, Grays
                                  Harbor, King,
                                  Kitsap, Lewis,
                                  Lincoln, Mason,
                                  Pacific, Pend
                                  Oreille, Pierce,
                                  Spokane, Stevens,
                                  Thurston, Walla
                                  Walla, Whitman.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1893........  Drought...........................  .......         6
OR.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-16-2004......  11-16-2004.....  S1893........  Drought...........................  .......         2
CT.............................  Entire State......  5-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1894........  Wet weather pattern; high                 8  ..........
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, insect problems.
MA.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1894........  Wet weather pattern; high           .......         2
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, insect problems.
NY.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1894........  Wet weather pattern; high           .......         4
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, insect problems.
RI.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  9-30-2003......  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1894........  Wet weather pattern; high           .......         3
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, insect problems.
HI.............................  Hawaii, Honolulu,   1-01-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1895........  Drought...........................        4         1
                                  Kauai, Maui.
OR.............................  Wasco, Washington.  10-01-2001......  continuing.....  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1896........  Drought...........................        2         8
TX.............................  Hockley...........  6-30-2003.......  continuing.....  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1897........  Drought...........................        1         8
TX.............................  Fisher............  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  3-22-2004......  11-22-2004.....  S1898........  Drought, excessive temperatures           1         7
                                                                                                                                          (heat).
TX.............................  Lynn..............  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-05-2004......  12-06-2004.....  S1899........   (1) Hail, high winds.............        1         7
                                                                                                                                         (2) Drought.......................
NY.............................  Erie, Livingston,   10-14-2003......  continuing.....  4-09-2004......  12-09-2004.....  S1900........  Excessive rain, high winds........        9        20
                                  Monroe, Onondaga,
                                  Ontario, Orleans,
                                  Oswego, Schuyler,
                                  Tompkins.
KS.............................  Brown.............  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-21-2004......  12-21-2004.....  S1901........  Drought, frost, excessive wind,           1  ..........
                                                                                                                                          insect damage.
OR.............................  Morrow............  9-02-2002.......  continuing.....  4-21-2004......  12-21-2004.....  S1902........  Drought...........................        1  ..........
WA.............................  ..................  9-02-2002.......  continuing.....  4-21-2004......  12-21-2004.....  S1902........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Robertson.........  10-05-2003......  10-09-2003.....  4-21-2004......  12-21-2004.....  S1903........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         7
TX.............................  Martin............  1-01-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1904........  Drought, high winds...............        1         7
TX.............................  Motley............  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1905........  Drought, high winds, static               1         7
                                                                                                                                          electricity.
TX.............................  San Saba..........  10-15-2003......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1906........  Drought...........................        1         7
TX.............................  Mason.............  10-01-2003......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1907........  Drought, high winds...............        1         6
TX.............................  Palo Pinto........  10-01-2003......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1908........  Drought...........................        1         7
TX.............................  Bastrop...........  3-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1909........  Drought...........................        1         6
TX.............................  Dickens...........  8-01-2003.......  12-18-2003.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1910........  Drought, excessive temperatures           1         8
                                                                                                                                          (heat).
TX.............................  Caldwell..........  3-15-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1911........  Drought...........................        1         6
TX.............................  Kent..............  8-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1912........  Drought, excessive temperatures           1         7
                                                                                                                                          (heat).
TX.............................  Montague..........  4-15-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1913........  Drought...........................        1         4
OK.............................  ..................  4-15-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1913........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Crane, Ector,       1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1914........  Drought, high winds, excessive            8        16
                                  Haskell, Loving,                                                                                        heat.
                                  Presidio, Reeves,
                                  Ward, Winkler.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1914........  Drought, high winds, excessive      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          heat.
CA.............................  San Luis Obispo,    4-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1915........  (1) Insufficient winter chill             2         6
                                  Santa Barbara.                                                                                          hours, rainfall, high heat.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Insufficient winter chill
                                                                                                                                          hours, cool/wet weather, extended
                                                                                                                                          hot spell.
MT.............................  Blackfeet Tribe     1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1916........  Drought...........................       11  ..........
                                  (Pondera Co.),
                                  Confederated
                                  Salish Kootenai
                                  Tribe (Missoula
                                  Co.), Ft. Peck
                                  Assisiboine &
                                  Sioux Tribe;
                                  (Valley Co.),
                                  Chouteau,
                                  Garfield,
                                  Granite, Mineral,
                                  Prairie,
                                  Petroleum,
                                  Pondera, Treasure.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1916........  Drought...........................  .......         2
CA.............................  Placer............  8-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1917........  August rain, poor winter chill,           1         5
                                                                                                                                          high heat-Pistachios.
NV.............................  ..................  8-01-2003.......  10-31-2003.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1917........  August rain, poor winter chill,     .......         3
                                                                                                                                          high heat-Pistachios.
TX.............................  Crockett,           1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1918........  Drought...........................        9        32
                                  Glasscock,
                                  Hardeman, Howard,
                                  Irion, Jones,
                                  Reagan, Upton,
                                  Williamson.
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-23-2004......  12-23-2004.....  S1918........  Drought...........................  .......         2
NY.............................  Fulton,             4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-27-2004......  12-27-2004.....  S1919........  Excessive rain, cool temperatures.        4         6
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Ontario, Otsego.
TX.............................  Andrews...........  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1920........  Drought, high winds...............        1         5
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1920........  Drought, high winds...............  .......         1
TX.............................  Donley............  9-15-2003.......  12-31-2003.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1921........  Drought...........................        1         7
TX.............................  Shackelford,        1-01-2003.......  11-25-2003.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1922........  Drought, high winds...............        2         9
                                  Throckmorton.
TX.............................  Childress.........  8-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1923........  Drought, high winds...............        1         4
OK.............................  ..................  8-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1923........  Drought, high winds...............  .......         1
TX.............................  Clay..............  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1924........  Drought...........................        1         4
OK.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1924........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Wise..............  7-15-2003.......  continuing.....  4-28-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1925........  Drought...........................        1         6
NY.............................  Dutchess..........  9-01-2003.......  continuing.....  5-03-2004......  12-28-2004.....  S1926........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         4
CT.............................  ..................  9-01-2003.......  continuing.....  5-03-2004......  1-03-2005......  S1926........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
MA.............................  ..................  9-01-2003.......  continuing.....  5-03-2004......  1-03-2005......  S1926........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         1
CA.............................  Placer, San Luis    5-01-2003.......  11-15-2003.....  5-17-2004......  1-18-2005......  S1927........  (1) Unseasonable rainfall.........        2         9
                                  Obispo.                                                                                                (2) Wheat stripe rust, resulting
                                                                                                                                          from unseasonable rainfall.
NV.............................  ..................  5-01-2003.......  11-15-2003.....  5-17-2004......  1-18-2005......  S1927........  (1) Unseasonable rainfall.........  .......         3
                                                                                                                                         (2) Wheat stripe rust, resulting
                                                                                                                                          from unseasonable rainfall.
TX.............................  Brooks............  4-04-2004.......  4-04-2004......  6-08-2004......  2-08-2004......  S1928........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds.
HI.............................  Hawaii, Honolulu,   12-07-2003......  3-26-2004......  6-21-2004......  2-22-2004......  S1929........  High winds, rain, flooding........        3         1
                                  Maui.
TX.............................  Robertson.........  4-10-2004.......  4-10-2004......  6-21-2004......  2-22-2004......  S1930........  Hail, high winds..................        1         7
NE.............................  Arthur, Banner,     1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  6-21-2004......  2-22-2004......  S1931........  Drought...........................       19        11
                                  Chase, Cheyenne,
                                  Deuel, Dundy,
                                  Frontier, Garden,
                                  Hayes, Hitchcock,
                                  Keith, Kimball,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  McPherson,
                                  Morrill, Perkins,
                                  Red Willow,
                                  Scotts Bluff,
                                  Sioux.
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  6-21-2004......  2-22-2004......  S1931........  Drought...........................  .......         1
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  6-21-2004......  2-22-2004......  S1931........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MA.............................  Essex, Franklin,    1-05-2004.......  2-20-2004......  7-09-2004......  3-09-2004......  S1932........  Winter damage due to abnormally           3         5
                                  Middlesex.                                                                                              cod weather patterns.
NH.............................  ..................  1-05-2004.......  2-20-2004......  7-09-2004......  3-09-2004......  S1932........  Winter damage due to abnormally     .......         3
                                                                                                                                          cod weather patterns.
VT.............................  ..................  1-05-2004.......  2-20-2004......  7-09-2004......  3-09-2004......  S1932........  Winter damage due to abnormally     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          cod weather patterns.
TX.............................  Wilson............  5-13-2004.......  5-13-2004......  7-20-2004......  3-21-2004......  S1933........  Excessive rain, high winds........        1         5
MO.............................  Linn..............  5-24-2004.......  5-24-2004......  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1934........  Severe thunderstorms w/ high              1         6
                                                                                                                                          winds, tornadoes, excessive rain,
                                                                                                                                          flooding, lightning, large hail.
WA.............................  Franklin..........  1-04-2004.......  1-07-2004......  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1935........  Sub-zero freezing temperatures....        1         6
WA.............................  Yakima............  10-29-2003......  1-08-2004......  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1936........  Adverse weather conditions; sub-          1         8
                                                                                                                                          zero freezing temperatures.
NE.............................  Box Butte, Dawes..  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1937........  Drought...........................        2         3
NE.............................  Sheridan..........  5-13-2004.......  5-14-2004......  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1937........  Freeze............................        1         6
SD.............................  Fall River........  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1937........  Drought...........................  .......         1
SD.............................  Bennett, Shannon..  5-13-2004.......  5-14-2004......  7-29-2004......  3-29-2005......  S1937........  Freeze............................  .......         2
CA.............................  Butte, Glenn, Yuba  3-12-2004.......  3-15-2004......  8-02-2004......  4-04-2005......  S1938........  Unseasonably high temperatures,           1         9
                                                                                                                                          low humidity.
CA.............................  Fresno............  3-01-2004.......  3-31-2004......  8-02-2004......  4-04-2005......  S1938........  Unseasonably hot weather during           1         8
                                                                                                                                          fruit bloom.
CA.............................  Merced............  3-25-2004.......  3-25-2004......  8-02-2004......  4-04-2005......  S1938........  Windy conditions, abnormally high         1         6
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
CA.............................  Sutter............  3-09-2004.......  3-22-2004......  8-02-2004......  4-04-2005......  S1938........  Severe high temperatures, low             1         6
                                                                                                                                          humidity.
SD.............................  Bennett, Brule,     1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-06-2004......  4-06-2005......  S1939........  Drought, infestation of army             30         9
                                  Buffalo, Butte,                                                                                         cutworms, weevils, and
                                  Campbell, Corson,                                                                                       grasshoppers.
                                  Custer, Dewey,
                                  Fall River,
                                  Gregory, Haakon,
                                  Hand, Harding,
                                  Hughes, Hyde,
                                  Jackson, Jones,
                                  Lawrence, Lyman,
                                  Meade, Mellette,
                                  Pennington,
                                  Perkins, Shannon,
                                  Stanley, Sully,
                                  Todd, Tripp,
                                  Walworth, Ziebach.
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-06-2004......  4-06-2005......  S1939........  Drought, infestation of army        .......         2
                                                                                                                                          cutworms, weevils, and
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-06-2004......  4-06-2005......  S1939........  Drought, infestation of army        .......         6
                                                                                                                                          cutworms, weevils, and
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers.
ND.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-06-2004......  4-06-2005......  S1939........  Drought, infestation of army        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          cutworms, weevils, and
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-06-2004......  4-06-2005......  S1939........  Drought, infestation of army        .......         3
                                                                                                                                          cutworms, weevils, and
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers.
SD.............................  Charles Mix.......  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-23-2004.....  7-25-2005......  S1939,         Late spring killing frost, extreme        1         3
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.   heat, high winds, hail, severe
                                                                                                                                          storms, drought, insect
                                                                                                                                          infestation.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-23-2004.....  7-25-2005......  S1939,         Late spring killing frost, extreme  .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.   heat, high winds, hail, severe
                                                                                                                                          storms, drought, insect
                                                                                                                                          infestation.
ND.............................  Adams, Billings,    1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-10-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1940........  Drought, late season frost, high         35        18
                                  Bottineau,                                                                                              winds, flooding, ground
                                  Bowman, Burke,                                                                                          saturation, storms, ice, snow,
                                  Burleigh,                                                                                               severe temperatures.
                                  Cavalier, Divide,
                                  Dunn, Eddy,
                                  Emmons, Foster,
                                  Golden Valley,
                                  Grand Forks,
                                  Grant, Hettinger,
                                  McHenry,
                                  McKenzie, Mercer,
                                  Morton,
                                  Mountrail,
                                  Nelson, Oliver,
                                  Pembina, Pierce,
                                  Ramsey, Ransom,
                                  Renville,
                                  Rolette, Sioux,
                                  Slope, Stark,
                                  Towner, Walsh,
                                  Ward.
MN.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-10-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1940........  Drought, late season frost, high    .......         3
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding, ground
                                                                                                                                          saturation, storms, ice, snow,
                                                                                                                                          severe temperatures.
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-10-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1940........  Drought, late season frost, high    .......         5
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding, ground
                                                                                                                                          saturation, storms, ice, snow,
                                                                                                                                          severe temperatures.
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-10-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1940........  Drought, late season frost, high    .......         4
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding, ground
                                                                                                                                          saturation, storms, ice, snow,
                                                                                                                                          severe temperatures.
AR.............................  Crawford,           4-21-2004.......  4-27-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1941........  Excessive rain, flooding..........       13        29
                                  Faulkner, Greene,
                                  Independence,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Lawrence, Perry,
                                  Pope, Prairie,
                                  Pulaski, White,
                                  Woodruff, Yell.
OK.............................  Crawford,           4-21-2004.......  4-27-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2004......  S1941........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
                                  Faulkner, Greene,
                                  Independence,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Lawrence, Perry,
                                  Pope, Prairie,
                                  Pulaski, White,
                                  Woodruff, Yell.
CA.............................  Madera............  10-01-2003......  5-31-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1942........  (1) Drought.......................        1         5
                                                                                                                                         (2)Windy conditions, abnormally
                                                                                                                                          high temperatures.
CA.............................  Colusa............  3-12-2004.......  3-19-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1943........  Unseasonably high temperatures....        1         5
NY.............................  Ontario, Seneca,    12-15-2003......  2-17-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1944........  Excessive cold, significant frost.        5        11
                                  Steuben, Wayne,
                                  Yates.
TX.............................  Lipscomb..........  4-11-2004.......  4-12-2004......  8-11-2004......  4-11-2005......  S1945........  Freeze............................        1         3
CA.............................  Alameda...........  3-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1946........  Drought, high winds, excessive            1         4
                                                                                                                                          [record] temperatures.
CO.............................  Baca, Chaffee,      1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought, hail, freeze.............       20        22
                                  Cheyenne, Custer,
                                  Eagle, Fremont,
                                  Garfield, Grand,
                                  Jackson, Kiowa,
                                  Kit Carson, Lake,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  Phillips, Pitkin,
                                  Prowers, Pueblo,
                                  Routt, Summit,
                                  Yuma.
KS.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought, hail, freeze.............  .......         7
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Freeze, hail......................  .......         4
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought...........................  .......         1
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought...........................  .......         1
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought...........................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-18-2004......  4-18-2005......  S1947........  Drought...........................  .......         2
KS.............................  Barber, Cloud,      4-23-2004.......  5-29-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1948........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,             10        29
                                  Cowley, Decatur,                                                                                        excessive rain, flooding.
                                  Geary, Gove,
                                  Harper, Republic,
                                  Scott, Sumner.
NE.............................  ..................  4-23-2004.......  5-29-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1948........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, flooding.
OK.............................  ..................  4-23-2004.......  5-29-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1948........  Hail, high winds, tornadoes,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, flooding.
KS.............................  Cheyenne, Decatur,  4-07-2004.......  5-15-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1949........  Freezing conditions, drought......       34        13
                                  Ellis, Finney,
                                  Gove, Graham,
                                  Grant, Greeley,
                                  Hamilton,
                                  Haskell, Hodgman,
                                  Jewell, Kearny,
                                  Lane, Logan,
                                  Mitchell, Morton,
                                  Ness, Norton,
                                  Osborne,
                                  Phillips,
                                  Rawlins, Rooks,
                                  Russell, Scott,
                                  Seward, Sheridan,
                                  Sherman, Stanton,
                                  Stevens, Trego,
                                  Thomas, Wallace,
                                  Wichita.
CO.............................  ..................  4-07-2004.......  5-15-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1949........  Freezing conditions, drought......  .......         6
NE.............................  ..................  4-07-2004.......  5-15-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1949........  Freezing conditions, drought......  .......         8
OK.............................  ..................  4-07-2004.......  5-15-2004......  8-20-2004......  4-20-2005......  S1949........  Freezing conditions, drought......  .......         3
OH.............................  Allen, Athens,      5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,              46        69
                                  Carroll,                                                                                                flooding, hail, tornado--
                                  Columbiana,                                                                                             Excessive moisture.
                                  Coshocton,
                                  Crawford,
                                  Cuyahoga,
                                  Fayette, Greene,
                                  Guernsey,
                                  Hancock, Henry,
                                  Hocking, Holmes,
                                  Jackson, Logan,
                                  Mahoning, Medina,
                                  Noble, Perry,
                                  Tuscarawas,
                                  Union, Wayne--
                                  Ashtabula,
                                  Defiance,
                                  Delaware, Erie,
                                  Fairfield,
                                  Geauga, Lake,
                                  Licking, Logan,
                                  Lorain, Lucas,
                                  Marion, Morgan,
                                  Muskingum,
                                  Ottawa, Paulding,
                                  Portage,
                                  Sandusky, Scioto,
                                  Seneca, Summit,
                                  Van Wert, Wood,
                                  Wyandot.
IN.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,         .......         3
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, tornado--
                                                                                                                                          Excessive moisture.
KY.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, tornado--
                                                                                                                                          Excessive moisture.
MI.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, tornado--
                                                                                                                                          Excessive moisture.
PA.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,         .......         5
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, tornado--
                                                                                                                                          Excessive moisture.
WV.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  8-27-2004......  4-27-2005......  S1950........  Excessive rain, high winds,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, tornado--
                                                                                                                                          Excessive moisture.
WY.............................  Big Horn,           1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................       11        10
                                  Campbell,
                                  Converse, Crook,
                                  Goshen, Johnson,
                                  Lincoln,
                                  Niobrara, Platte,
                                  Sheridan, Weston.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................  .......         3
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................  .......         4
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................  .......         3
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................  .......         5
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-07-2004......  5-09-2005......  S1951........  Drought...........................  .......         1
ID.............................  Contra Costa,       3-01-2004.......  4-30-2004......  9/14/04........  5-16-2005......  S1952........  Drought...........................        2        14
                                  Merced.
TX.............................  Brazos, Burleson,   5-13-2004.......  5-13-2004......  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1953........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           3         8
                                  Robertson.                                                                                              flooding, high winds, tornado.
UT.............................  Box Elder, Cache,   1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,               20         9
                                  Carbon, Emery,                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
                                  Garfield, Grand,
                                  Iron, Juab, Kane,
                                  Millard, Piute,
                                  Rich, Salt Lake,
                                  San Juan,
                                  Sanpete, Sevier,
                                  Summit, Tooele,
                                  Washington, Wayne.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         4
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         6
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         4
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         3
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         1
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-14-2004......  5-16-2005......  S1954........  Drought, wind, hail, heat,          .......         3
                                                                                                                                          grasshoppers, Mormon crickets.
TN.............................  Lauderdale........  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1955........  Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms,          1         4
                                                                                                                                          strong winds, excessive rain,
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail.
AR.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1955........  Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms,    .......         1
                                                                                                                                          strong winds, excessive rain,
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail.
LA.............................  Acadia, Allen,      5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1956........  Excessive rainfall................       40        19
                                  Avoyelles,
                                  Beauregard,
                                  Bienville,
                                  Caldwell,
                                  Catahoula,
                                  Claiborne, East
                                  Carroll, East
                                  Feliciana,
                                  Evangeline,
                                  Franklin, Grant,
                                  Iberville,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson Davis,
                                  La Salle,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Lincoln, Madison,
                                  Morehouse,
                                  Natchitoches,
                                  Ouachita,
                                  Plaquemines,
                                  Pointe Coupee,
                                  Rapides,
                                  Richland, Sabine,
                                  St. Bernard, St.
                                  Charles, St.
                                  James, St. John
                                  the Baptist, St.
                                  Landry, Tensas,
                                  Union, Vermilion,
                                  Vernon, Webster,
                                  West Baton Rouge,
                                  West Carroll.
AR.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1956........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         5
MS.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1956........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         7
TX.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1956........  Excessive rainfall................  .......         3
IA.............................  Jefferson, Lyon,    2-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1957........  Winter snow load, excessive               4        18
                                  O'Brien, Taylor.                                                                                        rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes.
MN.............................  ..................  2-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1957........  Winter snow load, excessive         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes.
MO.............................  ..................  2-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1957........  Winter snow load, excessive         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes.
SD.............................  ..................  2-01-2004.......  continuing.....  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1957........  Winter snow load, excessive         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                          tornadoes.
TX.............................  Briscoe...........  6-21-2004.......  6-22-2004......  9-17-2004......  5-17-2005......  S1958........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         6
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornadoes.
AR.............................  Ashley, Bradley,    5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-21-2004......  5-23-2005......  S1959........  Hail, high winds..................        4         7
                                  Calhoun, Drew.
LA.............................  Ashley, Bradley,    5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  9-21-2004......  5-23-2005......  S1959........  Hail, high winds..................  .......         1
                                  Calhoun, Drew.
MN.............................  Lake of the Woods,  5-11-2004.......  continuing.....  9-21-2004......  5-23-2005......  S1960........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        3         5
                                  Marshall, Roseau.
ND.............................  ..................  5-11-2004.......  continuing.....  9-21-2004......  5-23-2005......  S1960........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
GA.............................  Appling, Atkinson,  9-04-2004.......  9-07-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1961........  Hurricane Frances.................       83        33
                                  Bacon, Baker, Ben
                                  Hill, Berrien,
                                  Bibb, Bleckley,
                                  Brantley, Brooks,
                                  Bulloch, Burke,
                                  Butts, Calhoun,
                                  Camden, Charlton,
                                  Chatham,
                                  Chattahoochee,
                                  Clinch, Coffee,
                                  Colquitt,
                                  Crawford,
                                  Decatur, Dodge,
                                  Dooly, Dougherty,
                                  Echols, Emanuel,
                                  Evans, Glascock,
                                  Grady, Greene,
                                  Hancock, Harris,
                                  Henry, Houston,
                                  Jeff Davis,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Jenkins, Johnson,
                                  Lamar, Lanier,
                                  Laurens, Lee,
                                  Long, Lowndes,
                                  Macon, Marion,
                                  Miller, Mitchell,
                                  Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Muscogee, Peach,
                                  Pierce, Pike,
                                  Pulaski, Schley,
                                  Seminole,
                                  Spalding,
                                  Stewart, Sumter,
                                  Talbot,
                                  Taliaferro,
                                  Tattnall, Taylor,
                                  Telfair, Terrell,
                                  Thomas, Tift,
                                  Toombs, Treutlen,
                                  Turner, Twiggs,
                                  Upson, Ware,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Webster,
                                  Wheeler, Wilcox,
                                  Wilkinson, Worth.
AL.............................  ..................  9-04-2004.......  9-07-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1961........  Hurricane Frances.................  .......         5
FL.............................  ..................  9-04-2004.......  9-07-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1961........  Hurricane Frances.................  .......         9
SC.............................  ..................  9-04-2004.......  9-07-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1961........  Hurricane Frances.................  .......         4
GA.............................  Candler, Cook,      9-04-2004.......  9-07-2004......  10-28-2004.....  ...............  S1961,         Hurricane Frances.................        4  ..........
                                  Crisp, Irwin.                                                                            Amendment 1.
NC.............................  Camden, Currituck,  8-14-2004.......  8-14-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1962........  Hurricane Charley.................        6        13
                                  Hertford, New
                                  Hanover, Pender,
                                  Pasquotank.
VA.............................  ..................  8-14-2004.......  8-14-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1962........  Hurricane Charley.................  .......         4
TX.............................  Cameron...........  5-08-2004.......  5-08-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1963........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         2
TX.............................  Bailey............  6-16-2004.......  6-16-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1964........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          hail high winds, lightning.
NM.............................  ..................  6-16-2004.......  6-16-2004......  9-30-2004......  6-01-2005......  S1964........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          hail high winds, lightning.
                                                                                                                                                                            --------------------
      TOTAL ACTIVE.............  ..................  ................  ...............  ...............  ...............  .............  ..................................    1,565      2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                            EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS BRANCH (EPPB) DISASTER DESIGNATION REQUESTS: FINAL TOTALS SECRETARIAL
                                                               [Fiscal Year 2005--Secretarial Designations for Production Losses]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Beginning Date    Ending Date of    Approved by      Termination     Designation
             State               Counties requested     of disaster        disaster        Secretary           Date           Number           Description of disaster       Primary  Contiguous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ND.............................  Barnes, Benson,     1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S1940,         Drought, late season frost, high         14  ..........
                                  Cass, Griggs,                                                                            Amendment 1.   winds, excessive rainfall,
                                  Kidder, LaMoure,                                                                                        flooding, ground saturation,
                                  Logan, McLean,                                                                                          early fall frost (August).
                                  Sheridan, Steele,
                                  Stutsman, Traill,
                                  Wells, Williams.
MN.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S1940,         ..................................  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
TX.............................  Zavala............  4-04-2004.......  5-15-2004......  10-01-2004.....  6-01-2005......  S1966........  Excessive rain, hail..............        1         7
NV.............................  Entire State......  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect                  17  ..........
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect             .......         1
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
CA.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect             .......        10
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect             .......         3
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
OR.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect             .......         3
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1967........  Drought, related insect             .......         7
                                                                                                                                          infestations.
MN.............................  Aitkin, Becker,     8-19-2004.......  8-21-2004......  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1968........  Freezing temperatures.............       29        18
                                  Beltrami,
                                  Carlton, Cass,
                                  Chippewa,
                                  Chisago,
                                  Clearwater, Cook,
                                  Crow Wing,
                                  Douglas, Hubbard,
                                  Isanti, Itasca,
                                  Kanabec, Kittson,
                                  Koochiching,
                                  Mahnomen,
                                  Marshall, Norman,
                                  Pennington, Pine,
                                  Polk, Red Lake,
                                  Roseau, St.
                                  Louis, Swift,
                                  Todd, Wadena.
ND.............................  ..................  8-19-2004.......  8-21-2004......  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1968........  Freezing temperatures.............  .......         5
WI.............................  ..................  8-19-2004.......  8-21-2004......  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1968........  Freezing temperatures.............  .......         3
TX.............................  Swisher...........  4-01-2003.......  continuing.....  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1969........  Drought...........................        1         6
CA.............................  El Dorado, Fresno,  7-01-2003.......  6-30-2004......  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1970........  Drought...........................        3        14
                                  San Luis Obispo.
NV.............................  ..................  7-01-2003.......  6-30-2004......  10-12-2004.....  6-13-2005......  S1970........  Drought...........................  .......         1
KS.............................  Meade.............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1971........  (1) Drought.......................        1         1
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freezing conditions...........
MT.............................  Beaverhead, Big     1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1972........  Drought...........................       34        18
                                  Horn, Broadwater,
                                  Carbon, Carter,
                                  Custer, Dawson,
                                  Fallon, Glacier,
                                  Golden Valley,
                                  Jefferson, Judith
                                  Basin, Lake,
                                  Lewis & Clark ,
                                  Liberty, Madison,
                                  McCone, Meagher,
                                  Mineral,
                                  Musselshell,
                                  Park, Powder
                                  River, Powell,
                                  Prairie, Rosebud,
                                  Sanders, Silver
                                  Bow, Stillwater,
                                  Sweet Grass,
                                  Teton, Treasure,
                                  Wheatland,
                                  Wibaux,
                                  Yellowstone.
ID.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1972........  Drought...........................  .......         6
ND.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1972........  Drought...........................  .......         6
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1972........  Drought...........................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1972........  Drought...........................  .......         5
MT.............................  Garfield..........  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S1972,         Drought...........................        1         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
NJ.............................  Bergen,             6-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1973........  Hail, excessive rain..............        4         7
                                  Burlington,
                                  Camden, Ocean.
NY.............................  ..................  6-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1973........  Hail, excessive rain..............  .......         2
PA.............................  ..................  6-01-2004.......  continuing.....  10-28-2004.....  6-28-2005......  S1973........  Hail, excessive rain..............  .......         2
MT.............................  Carter, Fallon,     5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1974........  Late Spring Frosts; Frost.........        4        10
                                  Liberty, Prairie.
ND.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1974........  Late Spring Frosts; Frost.........  .......         3
SD.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1974........  Late Spring Frosts; Frost.........  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1974........  Late Spring Frosts; Frost.........  .......         1
MT.............................  Carter............  4-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1975........  High Winds........................        1         3
SD.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1975........  High Winds........................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1975........  High Winds........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Wilbarger.........  6-02-2004.......  6-08-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1976........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..        1         5
OK.............................  ..................  6-02-2004.......  6-08-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1976........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..  .......         2
TX.............................  Wise..............  6-06-2004.......  6-11-2004......  11-08-2004.....  7-08-2005......  S1977........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, lightning.
TN.............................  Bradley, Cannon,    9-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1978........  Storm, including remnants of             22        35
                                  Cocke, Giles,                                                                                           Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
                                  Greene, Hamblen,
                                  Hamilton,
                                  Lawrence,
                                  Lincoln, Loudon,
                                  Macon, Marion,
                                  McMinn, Meigs,
                                  Polk, Rhea,
                                  Roane,
                                  Rutherford,
                                  Sequatchie,
                                  Unicoi,
                                  Washington, Wayne.
AL.............................  ..................  9-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1978........  Storm, including remnants of        .......         4
                                                                                                                                          Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
GA.............................  ..................  9-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1978........  Storm, including remnants of        .......         6
                                                                                                                                          Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
KY.............................  ..................  9-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1978........  Storm, including remnants of        .......         2
                                                                                                                                          Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
NC.............................  ..................  9-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1978........  Storm, including remnants of        .......         5
                                                                                                                                          Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
WA.............................  Adams, Benton,      5-07-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1979........  Various disasters, including:             7        13
                                  Franklin, Grant,                                                                                        Excessive rain, hail, high winds,
                                  Spokane, Walla                                                                                          tornado, lightning, flash
                                  Walla, Yakima.                                                                                          flooding,.
ID.............................  ..................  5-07-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1979........  Various disasters, including:       .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Excessive rain, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          tornado, lightning, flash
                                                                                                                                          flooding,.
OR.............................  ..................  5-07-2004.......  6-30-2004......  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1979........  Various disasters, including:       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          Excessive rain, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          tornado, lightning, flash
                                                                                                                                          flooding,.
OK.............................  Grant, Kay........  4-21-2004.......  6-02-2004......  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1980........  Hail, high wind...................        2         4
KS.............................  ..................  4-21-2004.......  6-02-2004......  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1980........  Hail, high wind...................  .......         3
NE.............................  Boyd, Brown, Holt,  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1981........  Drought...........................        5         7
                                  Keya Paha, Rock.
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1981........  Drought...........................  .......         4
NE.............................  Blaine, Cherry,     (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1982........  (1) Drought.......................        1        15
                                  Hayes, Hitchock,   (2) 05/14/04....  (2) 05/22/04...                                                   (2) Frost.........................
                                  Thomas.
KS.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1982........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         1
                                                     (2) 05/14/04....  (2) 05/22/04...                                                   (2) Frost.........................
SD.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  11-17-2004.....  7-18-2005......  S1982........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         4
                                                     (2) 05/14/04....  (2) 05/22/04...                                                   (2) Frost.........................
CA.............................  Solano, Yolo......  3-01-2004.......  4-30-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1983........  Record & severe, high                     1         7
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, high winds.
CA.............................  Tulare............  3-01-2004.......  8-31-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1984........  Excessive heat....................        1         4
MT.............................  Fallon, Liberty,    7-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1985........  Insects...........................        3        13
                                  Sanders.
ID.............................  ..................  7-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1985........  Insects...........................  .......         2
ND.............................  ..................  7-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1985........  Insects...........................  .......         3
SD.............................  ..................  7-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1985........  Insects...........................  .......         1
TN.............................  Chester, McNairy,   5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1986........  Excessive rain, flooding, high            4        10
                                  Van Buren, White.                                                                                       winds, lightning, wet conditions.
MS.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1986........  Excessive rain, flooding, high      .......         1
                                                                                                                                          winds, lightning, wet conditions.
WA.............................  Spokane, Whitman..  8-02-2004.......  8-02-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1987........  Adverse weather: Severe                   2         8
                                                                                                                                          thunderstorm with high winds,
                                                                                                                                          hail, lightning.
ID.............................  ..................  8-02-2004.......  8-02-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1987........  Adverse weather: Severe             .......         5
                                                                                                                                          thunderstorm with high winds,
                                                                                                                                          hail, lightning.
WI.............................  Ashland, Bayfield,  3-01-2004.......  7-03-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1988........  Excessive rain, flooding, below           6        12
                                  Door, Douglas,                                                                                          normal temperatures.
                                  Iron, Oconto.
MI.............................  ..................  3-01-2004.......  7-03-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1988........  Excessive rain, flooding, below     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          normal temperatures.
MN.............................  ..................  3-01-2004.......  7-03-2004......  11-22-2004.....  7-22-2005......  S1988........  Excessive rain, flooding, below     .......         3
                                                                                                                                          normal temperatures.
TX.............................  Hall..............  8-12-2004.......  8-12-2004......  11-23-2004.....  7-25-2005......  S1989........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..        1         6
TX.............................  Tarrant...........  6-01-2004.......  6-09-2004......  11-23-2004.....  7-25-2005......  S1990........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, lightning.
OR.............................  Umatilla..........  5-01-2004.......  6-15-2004......  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1991........  Excessive rainfall, hail..........        1         4
WA.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  6-15-2004......  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1991........  Excessive rainfall, hail..........  .......         3
SD.............................  Brookings,          1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1992........  Drought, cool growing season,             3         7
                                  Codington, Hamlin.                                                                                      early frost.
MN.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1992........  Drought, cool growing season,       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          early frost.
TX.............................  Uvalde............  6-18-2004.......  6-30-2004......  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1993........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail.
TX.............................  Deaf Smith........  8-12-2004.......  9-22-2004......  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1994........  (1) Hail..........................        1         5
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive rain, hail..........
NM.............................  ..................  8-12-2004.......  9-22-2004......  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1994........  (1) Hail..........................  .......         2
                                                                                                                                         (2) Excessive rain, hail..........
TX.............................  Austin, Washington  6-15-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1995........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           2         9
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds, wind
                                                                                                                                          shear.
TX.............................  Culberson.........  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1996........  Drought...........................        1         3
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1996........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Bailey............  10-05-2004......  10-05-2004.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1997........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
NM.............................  ..................  10-05-2004......  10-05-2004.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1997........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
WY.............................  Albany, Hot         1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1998........  Drought...........................        4         1
                                  Springs, Natrona,
                                  Washakie.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-03-2004.....  8-03-2005......  S1998........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Jeff Davis........  1-01-2003.......  continuing.....  12-06-2004.....  8-08-2005......  S1999........  Drought, high winds, excessive            1         6
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
VA.............................  Northampton.......  7/15/04.........  continuing.....  12-15-2004.....  8-15-2005......  S2000........  Excessive Rain....................        1         1
TX.............................  Swisher...........  6-21-2004.......  6-25-2004......  12-15-2004.....  8-15-2005......  S2001........  High winds, tornado...............        1         6
MI.............................  Isabella, Mecosta,  8-19-2004.......  10-08-2004.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2002........  Freeze............................        3        15
                                  Otsego.
MI.............................  Bay, Benzie, Grand  7-01-2004.......  8-17-2004......  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2003........  Drought...........................       15        13
                                  Traverse,
                                  Isabella,
                                  Kalkaska, Lake,
                                  Leelanau,
                                  Manistee, Mason,
                                  Mecosta, Midland,
                                  Missaukee,
                                  Oceana, Osceola,
                                  Wexford.
MI.............................  Alcona, Alger,      4-25-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2004........  Excessive rainfall, hail, high           76         7
                                  Alpena, Antrim,                                                                                         winds, flooding.
                                  Baraga, Bay,
                                  Benzie, Berrien,
                                  Cass, Charlevoix,
                                  Cheboygan,
                                  Chippewa, Clare,
                                  Crawford, Delta,
                                  Dickinson, Emmet,
                                  Genesee, Gladwin,
                                  Gogebic, Grand
                                  Traverse,
                                  Gratiot,
                                  Hillsdale,
                                  Houghton, Huron,
                                  Ingham, Ionia,
                                  Iosco, Iron,
                                  Isabella,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Kalamazoo,
                                  Kalkaska, Kent,
                                  Keweenaw, Lake,
                                  Lapeer, Leelanau,
                                  Lenawee,
                                  Livingston, Luce,
                                  Mackinac, Macomb,
                                  Manistee,
                                  Marquette, Mason,
                                  Mecosta,
                                  Menominee,
                                  Midland,
                                  Missaukee,
                                  Monroe, Montcalm,
                                  Montmorency,
                                  Muskegon,
                                  Newaygo, Oakland,
                                  Oceana, Ogemaw,
                                  Ontonagon,
                                  Osceola, Oscoda,
                                  Otsego, Ottawa,
                                  Presque Isle,
                                  Roscommon,
                                  Saginaw, Sanilac,
                                  Schoolcraft,
                                  Shiawassee, St.
                                  Clair, St.
                                  Joseph, Tuscola,
                                  Van Buren,
                                  Washtenaw, Wayne,
                                  Wexford.
IN.............................  ..................  4-25-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2004........  Excessive rainfall, hail, high      .......         5
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding.
OH.............................  ..................  4-25-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2004........  Excessive rainfall, hail, high      .......         3
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding.
WI.............................  ..................  4-25-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2004........  Excessive rainfall, hail, high      .......         5
                                                                                                                                          winds, flooding.
NE.............................  Adams, Boone,       1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2005........  Drought...........................       24        30
                                  Buffalo, Custer,
                                  Sherman, Dawson,
                                  Fillmore,
                                  Franklin, Furnas,
                                  Garfield, Gosper,
                                  Harlan, Kearney,
                                  Knox, Logan,
                                  Loup, Merrick,
                                  Nance, Nuckolls,
                                  Pawnee, Thayer,
                                  Valley, Webster,
                                  Wheeler.
KS.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2005........  Drought...........................  .......         9
SD.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2005........  Drought...........................  .......         3
TX.............................  Presidio..........  9-22-2004.......  9-22-2004......  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2006........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         3
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
TX.............................  Cochran...........  8-19-2004.......  8-19-2004......  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2007........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..        1         5
NM.............................  ..................  8-19-2004.......  8-19-2004......  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2007........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..  .......         2
CA.............................  Tehama............  3-12-2004.......  3-31-2004......  12-28-2004.....  8-29-2005......  S2008........  Hot, dry, windy, weather..........        1         6
CO.............................  Bent, Moffat......  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2009........  Bent: High winds, heavy rain              2         7
                                                                                                                                          Moffat: Drought, freeze (part).
UT.............................  ..................  ................  ...............  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2009........  Drought, freeze...................  .......         2
WY.............................  ..................  ................  ...............  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2009........  Drought, freeze...................  .......         2
TX.............................  Gonzales..........  11-15-2004......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2010........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         8
MS.............................  Alcorn, Amite,      5-01-2004.......  9-20-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2011........  Excessive rainfall, deg.ooding,          38        39
                                  Bolivar, Calhoun,                                                                                       flash flooding, high winds,
                                  Carroll,                                                                                                tornadoes, hail and lightning
                                  Chickasaw,                                                                                              that occurred from 05/01/04-07/31/
                                  Clarke, Clay,                                                                                           04 AND due to Hurricane Ivan 09/
                                  Coahoma,                                                                                                13/04-09/20/04.
                                  Covington,
                                  George, Grenada,
                                  Hinds, Holmes,
                                  Itawamba,
                                  Jackson,
                                  Jefferson Davis,
                                  Jones, Lamar,
                                  Lauderdale,
                                  Lawrence, Lee,
                                  Marion, Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Oktibbeha, Perry,
                                  Pike, Pontotoc,
                                  Prentiss,
                                  Quitman, Simpson,
                                  Smith, Tunica,
                                  Union, Walthall,
                                  Webster,
                                  Wilkinson.
AL.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  10-10-2004.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2011........  Excessive rainfall, flooding--      .......         6
                                                                                                                                          Hurricane Ivan.
AR.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  10-10-2004.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2011........  Excessive rainfall, flooding--      .......         5
                                                                                                                                          Hurricane Ivan.
LA.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  10-10-2004.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2011........  Excessive rainfall, flooding--      .......         6
                                                                                                                                          Hurricane Ivan.
TN.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  10-10-2004.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2011........  Excessive rainfall, flooding--      .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Hurricane Ivan.
TX.............................  Taylor............  10-03-2004......  11-18-2004.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2012........  Excessive rain....................        1         6
TX.............................  Martin............  8-01-2004.......  8-31-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2013........  Record-breaking cool weather......        1         7
TX.............................  Bosque............  4-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2014........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Terrell...........  7-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2015........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding.
TX.............................  Caldwell..........  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2016........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         6
TX.............................  Castro............  6-01-2004.......  8-31-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2017........  Hailstorms........................        1         6
OR.............................  Coos..............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2018........  Drought...........................        1         2
OH.............................  Athens, Belmont,    9-08-2004.......  9-26-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2019........  Excessive rain, severe flooding,         13        15
                                  Guernsey,                                                                                               due to Hurricane remnants.
                                  Harrison,
                                  Hocking, Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Monroe, Noble,
                                  Perry, Scioto,
                                  Vinton,
                                  Washington.
KY.............................  ..................  9-08-2004.......  9-26-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2019........  Excessive rain, severe flooding,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          due to Hurricane remnants.
WV.............................  ..................  9-08-2004.......  9-26-2004......  1-10-2005......  9-12-2005......  S2019........  Excessive rain, severe flooding,    .......         8
                                                                                                                                          due to Hurricane remnants.
CA.............................  Alpine, Amador,     1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2020........  Drought...........................       24        29
                                  Calaveras, Inyo,
                                  Kings, Lake,
                                  Lassen, Mariposa,
                                  Mendocino, Mono,
                                  Monterey, Napa,
                                  Nevada, Orange,
                                  Plumas, San
                                  Benito, Santa
                                  Barbara, Santa
                                  Clara, Sierra,
                                  Sonoma, Tulare,
                                  Tuolumne, Yolo,
                                  Yuba.
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2020........  Drought...........................  .......         7
ID.............................  Adams, Benewah,     (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2021........  (1) Drought.......................       10        18
                                  Blaine, Camas,     (2) 07/15/04....  (2) 09/01/04...                                                   (2) Excessive Moisture,...........
                                  Clearwater,        (3) 08/01/04....  (3) 09/01/04...                                                   (3) High winds....................
                                  Kootenai, Lewis,
                                  Nez Perce, Twin
                                  Falls, Washington.
MT.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2021........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         2
                                                     (2) 07/15/04....  (2) 09/01/04...                                                   (2) Excessive Moisture,...........
                                                     (3) 08/01/04....  (3) 09/01/04...                                                   (3) High winds....................
NV.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2021........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         1
                                                     (2) 07/15/04....  (2) 09/01/04...                                                   (2) Excessive Moisture,...........
                                                     (3) 08/01/04....  (3) 09/01/04...                                                   (3) High winds....................
OR.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2021........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         3
                                                     (2) 07/15/04....  (2) 09/01/04...                                                   (2) Excessive Moisture,...........
                                                     (3) 08/01/04....  (3) 09/01/04...                                                   (3) High winds....................
WA.............................  ..................  (1) 01/01/04....  (1) continuing.  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2021........  (1) Drought.......................  .......         3
                                                     (2) 07/15/04....  (2) 09/01/04...                                                   (2) Excessive Moisture,...........
                                                     (3) 08/01/04....  (3) 09/01/04...                                                   (3) High winds....................
ID.............................  Lincoln...........  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2021,         Drought...........................        1  ..........
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
TX.............................  Coleman...........  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2022........  Excessive rain, high winds........        1         6
TX.............................  Gaines............  9-25-2004.......  9-30-2004......  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2023........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         5
                                                                                                                                          high winds, lightning.
NM.............................  ..................  9-25-2004.......  9-30-2004......  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2023........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         1
                                                                                                                                          high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Robertson.........  11-23-2004......  11-23-2004.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2024........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
TX.............................  Hays..............  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2025........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         5
TX.............................  Borden............  9-01-2004.......  10-15-2004.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2026........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Nolan.............  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2027........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         7
TX.............................  Erath.............  2-24-2004.......  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2028........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash           1         7
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, hail.
TX.............................  Howard............  10/22/04........  10/22/04.......  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2029........  (1) Hail..........................        1         7
                                                     09/25/04........  continuing.....                                                   (2) Excessive rain................
TX.............................  Dawson............  5/04/04.........  continuing.....  1-19-2005......  9-19-2005......  S2030........  (1) Excessive rain................        1         6
                                                     06/19/04........  08/30/04.......                                                   (2) Hail..........................
CO.............................  Huerfano, Las       1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2031........  Drought...........................        3        11
                                  Animas, Rio
                                  Blanco.
NM.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2031........  Drought...........................  .......         2
UT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2031........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Gray..............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2032........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Hamilton..........  10-13-2004......  10-24-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2033........  Excessive rain....................        1         6
TX.............................  Hardin............  11-23-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2034........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         6
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
TX.............................  Bastrop...........  10-01-2004......  11-24-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2035........  Excessive rain, flooding, tornado.        1         6
TX.............................  Garza.............  10-09-2004......  10-09-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2036........  Hail..............................        1         7
TX.............................  Coryell...........  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2037........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail....        1         5
TX.............................  Jackson...........  11-20-2004......  111/21/04......  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2038........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         6
TX.............................  Gillespie.........  11-01-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2039........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         6
TX.............................  Guadalupe.........  11-22-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2040........  Excessive rain....................        1         6
TX.............................  Wharton...........  11-21-2004......  11-28-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2041........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          flooding.
TX.............................  Newton............  11-23-2004......  11-24-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2042........  Flash flooding, tornadoes.........        1         3
LA.............................  ..................  11-23-2004......  11-24-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2042........  Flash flooding, tornadoes.........  .......         4
TX.............................  Terry.............  6-17-2004.......  10-05-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2043........  Hail..............................        1         7
TX.............................  Wilson............  11-18-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2044........  Excessive rain....................        1         5
TX.............................  Yoakum............  10-05-2004......  10-05-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2045........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          hail.
NM.............................  ..................  10-05-2004......  10-05-2004.....  2-02-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2045........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                          hail.
CA.............................  Placer............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2046........  Drought...........................        3         1
                                 San Joaquin.......
                                 Ventura...........
NV.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2046........  Drought...........................  .......         1
GA.............................  Baker, Banks,       9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,           32        42
                                  Bartow, Calhoun,                                                                                        Jeanne.
                                  Catoosa, Clay,
                                  Coffee, Dade,
                                  Decatur,
                                  Dougherty, Early,
                                  Fannin, Franklin,
                                  Gilmer, Grady,
                                  Lee, Madison,
                                  Miller, Mitchell,
                                  Murray, Oconee,
                                  Randolph, Schley,
                                  Seminole,
                                  Stewart, Sumter,
                                  Terrell, Thomas,
                                  Towns, Union,
                                  Webster,
                                  Whitfield.
AL.............................  ..................  9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,      .......         6
                                                                                                                                          Jeanne.
FL.............................  ..................  9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,      .......         4
                                                                                                                                          Jeanne.
NC.............................  ..................  9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          Jeanne.
SC.............................  ..................  9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,      .......         1
                                                                                                                                          Jeanne.
TN.............................  ..................  9-15-2005.......  9-17-2005......  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2047........  Tropical Storms Frances, Ivan,      .......         4
                                                                                                                                          Jeanne.
NY.............................  Allegany,           11-01-2003......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2048........  (1) Multiple disasters related to        25        29
                                  Cattaraugus,                                                                                            severe storms, including
                                  Chautauqua,                                                                                             excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                  Clinton,                                                                                                flash flooding, high winds.
                                  Columbia, Erie,                                                                                        (2) Freeze........................
                                  Fulton, Genesee,
                                  Greene, Lewis,
                                  Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Nassau, Niagara,
                                  Oneida, Ontario,
                                  Orange, Orleans,
                                  Saratoga,
                                  Schuyler, Seneca,
                                  Tompkins, Ulster,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Wyoming.
MA.............................  ..................  11-01-2003......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2048........  (1) Multiple disasters related to   .......         1
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freeze........................
NJ.............................  ..................  11-01-2003......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2048........  (1) Multiple disasters related to   .......         2
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freeze........................
PA.............................  ..................  11-01-2003......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2048........  (1) Multiple disasters related to   .......         5
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freeze........................
VT.............................  ..................  11-01-2003......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2048........  (1) Multiple disasters related to   .......         5
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds.
                                                                                                                                         (2) Freeze........................
TX.............................  Archer............  3-04-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2049........  Excessive rain, flooding, high            1         7
                                                                                                                                          winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Wichita...........  3-04-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2050........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         4
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, lightning,
                                                                                                                                          insect damage.
OK.............................  ..................  3-04-2004.......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  10-11-2005.....  S2050........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, lightning,
                                                                                                                                          insect damage.
TX.............................  Scurry............  5-01-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  2-09-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2051........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,         1         7
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
TX.............................  Carson............  11-01-2004......  11-29-2004.....  2-09-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2052........  Excessive rain, excessive snow,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding.
TX.............................  Kendall...........  11-01-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-09-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2053........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         6
TX.............................  Bexar.............  11-19-2004......  11-23-2004.....  2-09-2005......  10-03-2005.....  S2054........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         7
TX.............................  Hudspeth..........  10-15-2004......  10-11-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-23-2005......  S2055........  Excessive rain....................        1         4
NM.............................  ..................  10-15-2004......  10-11-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-24-2005......  S2055........  Excessive rain....................  .......         1
TX.............................  Colorado..........  11-21-2004......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  9-25-2005......  S2056........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         5
TX.............................  Comal.............  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  2-09-2005......  9-26-2005......  S2057........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         5
TX.............................  Wilbarger.........  11-13-2004......  11-22-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-27-2005......  S2058........  Excessive rain....................        1         5
OK.............................  ..................  11-13-2004......  11-22-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-28-2005......  S2058........  Excessive rain....................  .......         2
WI.............................  Calumet, Clark,     3-01-2004.......  10-08-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-29-2005......  S2059........  Excessive rain, flooding, fol. By        10        24
                                  Door, Kewaunee,                                                                                         dry spell, early frost.
                                  Manitowoc,
                                  Marinette,
                                  Milwaukee,
                                  Oconto, Waukesha,
                                  Waupaca.
MI.............................  ..................  3-01-2004.......  10-08-2004.....  2-09-2005......  9-30-2005......  S2059........  Excessive rain, flooding, fol. By   .......         2
                                                                                                                                          dry spell, early frost.
CA.............................  Humboldt..........  3-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-24-2005......  10-24-2005.....  S2060........  Drought...........................        1         4
NY.............................  Herkimer, Ontario,  5-01-2004.......  10-10-2004.....  2-24-2005......  10-24-2005.....  S2061........  Excessive rain, flash Flooding,           3        16
                                  Otsego.                                                                                                 flooding.
CA.............................  Solano............  3-01-2004.......  9-23-2004......  2-24-2005......  10-24-2005.....  S2062........  Extremely low precipitation               1         5
                                                                                                                                          (Drought), warm spring
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, dry north winds.
CA.............................  San Luis Obispo...  4-23-2004.......  8-25-2004......  2-24-2005......  10-24-2005.....  S2063........  Extreme prolonged heat; Subsequent        1         4
                                                                                                                                          fruit drop, through 08/25/04.
CA.............................  Marin.............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  2-24-2005......  10-24-2005.....  S2064........  Sporadic rain, high winds,                1         1
                                                                                                                                          excessive heat, unseasonable
                                                                                                                                          summer winds.
NY.............................  Broome, Chemung,    4-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2065........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash          22        20
                                  Chenango,                                                                                               flooding, high winds, hail.
                                  Columbia,
                                  Cortland,
                                  Delaware,
                                  Dutchess,
                                  Genesee, Greene,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Niagara,
                                  Onondaga, Orange,
                                  Orleans, Oswego,
                                  Putnam,
                                  Schenectady,
                                  Schoharie,
                                  Sullivan, Tioga,
                                  Ulster,
                                  Westchester.
NY.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2065........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash     .......         2
                                                                                                                                          flooding, high winds, hail.
NY.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2065........  ..................................  .......         1
NY.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2065........  ..................................  .......         2
NY.............................  ..................  4-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2065........  ..................................  .......         5
TN.............................  Lawrence, Wayne...  10-18-2004......  10-19-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2066........  Storm, with heavy rains,                  2         6
                                                                                                                                          lightning, winds, tornadoes,
                                                                                                                                          flooding.
AL.............................  ..................  10-18-2004......  10-19-2004.....  2-28-2005......  10-28-2005.....  S2066........  ..................................  .......         1
TX.............................  Blanco............  11-01-2004......  11-23-2004.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2067........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          tornado.
TX.............................  Brown.............  11-15-2004......  continuing.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2068........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning.
TX.............................  Sherman...........  11-30-2004......  continuing.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2069........  Excessive rain....................        1         5
OK.............................  ..................  11-30-2004......  continuing.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2069........  Excessive rain....................  .......         2
TX.............................  Harris............  11-20-2004......  11-24-2004.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2070........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          high winds, tornadoes.
WY.............................  Park..............  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2071........  Drought...........................        1         2
MT.............................  ..................  1-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-07-2005......  11-07-2005.....  S2071........  Drought...........................  .......         2
NY.............................  Albany, Cayuga,     5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  11-08-2005.....  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to            15        25
                                  Dutchess,                                                                                               severe storms, including
                                  Genesee,                                                                                                excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                  Livingston,                                                                                             flash flooding, high winds,
                                  Monroe, Oneida,                                                                                         lightning, low temperatures.
                                  Orange, Orleans,
                                  Rensselaer,
                                  Steuben,
                                  Sullivan, Ulster,
                                  Wayne, Yates.
CT.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  11-08-2005.....  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, low temperatures.
MA.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  11-08-2005.....  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to       .......         1
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, low temperatures.
NJ.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  11-08-2005.....  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to       .......         2
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, low temperatures.
PA.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  11-08-2005.....  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to       .......         4
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, low temperatures.
VT.............................  ..................  5-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-08-2005......  ...............  S2072........  Multiple disasters related to       .......         1
                                                                                                                                          severe storms, including
                                                                                                                                          excessive rain, hail, flooding,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, low temperatures.
AR.............................  Arkansas, Ashley,   10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........       40        25
                                  Chicot,
                                  Cleveland,
                                  Columbia, Conway,
                                  Crawford, Dallas,
                                  Desha, Drew,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Garland, Grant,
                                  Hempstead, Hot
                                  Spring, Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson,
                                  Lafayette, Lee,
                                  Lincoln, Little
                                  River, Logan,
                                  Lonoke, Marion,
                                  Miller, Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Nevada, Phillips,
                                  Pope, Prairie,
                                  Pulaski, Saline,
                                  Scott, Sebastian,
                                  Union, White,
                                  Woodruff, Yell.
LA.............................  ..................  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         8
MO.............................  ..................  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
MS.............................  ..................  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         5
OK.............................  ..................  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         4
TX.............................  ..................  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-05........  11-14-2005.....  S2073........  Excessive rain, flooding..........  .......         2
TX.............................  Schleicher........  10-01-2004......  11-30-2004.....  3-11-2005......  11-14-2005.....  S2074........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Hutchinson, Moore.  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  3-15-2005......  11-15-2005.....  S2075........  Excessive rain, excessive snow....        2         9
ME.............................  Aroostook,          1-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  3-15-2005......  11-15-2005.....  S2076........  Excessive rain, wet conditions;           2         6
                                  Somerset.                                                                                               cold spring, summer.
TN.............................  Marion, Sequatchie  12-05-2004......  continuing.....  3-17-2005......  11-17-2005.....  S2077........  Storms, excessive rain, flooding..        2         6
AL.............................  ..................  12-05-2004......  continuing.....  3-17-2005......  11-17-2005.....  S2077........  Storms, excessive rain, flooding..  .......         1
GA.............................  ..................  12-05-2004......  continuing.....  3-17-2005......  11-17-2005.....  S2077........  Storms, excessive rain, flooding..  .......         1
TX.............................  Waller............  5-13-2004.......  continuing.....  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2078........  Excessive rain, flooding..........        1         6
TX.............................  Jack..............  6-01-2004.......  continuing.....  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2079........  Excessive rain, hail..............        1         7
NV.............................  Clark, Lincoln....  1-09-2005.......  1-15-2005......  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2080........  Heavy rain, snow melt, resulting          2         2
                                                                                                                                          in severe flooding.
AZ.............................  ..................  1-09-2005.......  1-15-2005......  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2080........  Heavy rain, snow melt, resulting    .......         1
                                                                                                                                          in severe flooding.
CA.............................  ..................  1-09-2005.......  1-15-2005......  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2080........  Heavy rain, snow melt, resulting    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          in severe flooding.
UT.............................  ..................  1-09-2005.......  1-15-2005......  3-18-2005......  11-18-2005.....  S2080........  Heavy rain, snow melt, resulting    .......         4
                                                                                                                                          in severe flooding.
OR.............................  Klamath...........  10-01-2002......  continuing.....  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2081........  Drought...........................        1         5
CA.............................  ..................  10-01-2002......  continuing.....  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2081........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TX.............................  Williamson........  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2082........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         6
MA.............................  Hampshire, Hampden  7-15-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2083........  Abnormally wet weather conditions.        2         3
CT.............................  ..................  7-15-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2083........  Abnormally wet weather conditions.  .......         3
TX.............................  Brewster..........  7-28-04.........  7-29-04........  3-22-2005......  11-22-2005.....  S2084........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         4
                                                     06-01-04........  continuing.....
TX.............................  Randall...........  9-01-2004.......  12-31-2004.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2085........  Excessive rain, flash flooding....        1         7
TX.............................  Roberts...........  11-01-2004......  continuing.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2086........  Excessive rain, freeze, excessive         1         8
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
OH.............................  Ashland,            12-23-2004......  continuing.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2087........  Extreme weather conditions:              16        36
                                  Ashtabula,                                                                                              Freezing rain, ice, excessive
                                  Clermont,                                                                                               rain, excessive snow, high winds,
                                  Delaware,                                                                                               flash flooding, flooding.
                                  Fairfield,
                                  Geauga, Hancock,
                                  Holmes, Lake,
                                  Licking, Logan,
                                  Marion, Morgan,
                                  Morrow,
                                  Muskingum,
                                  Wyandot.
KY.............................  ..................  12-23-2004......  continuing.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2087........  Extreme weather conditions:         .......         3
                                                                                                                                          Freezing rain, ice, excessive
                                                                                                                                          rain, excessive snow, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, flooding.
PA.............................  ..................  12-23-2004......  continuing.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2087........  Extreme weather conditions:         .......         2
                                                                                                                                          Freezing rain, ice, excessive
                                                                                                                                          rain, excessive snow, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          flash flooding, flooding.
CT.............................  Fairfield,          7-01-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2088........  Abnormally wet weather conditions.        4         4
                                  Hartford,
                                  Litchfield,
                                  Tolland.
MA.............................  ..................  7-01-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2088........  Abnormally wet weather conditions.  .......         3
NY.............................  ..................  7-01-2004.......  10-31-2004.....  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2088........  Abnormally wet weather conditions.  .......         3
UT.............................  Iron, Washington..  1-09-2005.......  1-11-2005......  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2089........  Severe flooding...................        2         3
AZ.............................  ..................  1-09-2005.......  1-11-2005......  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2089........  Severe flooding...................  .......         1
NV.............................  ..................  1-09-2005.......  1-11-2005......  3-25-2005......  11-25-2005.....  S2089........  Severe flooding...................  .......         1
OH.............................  Franklin,           12-23-2004......  1-23-2005......  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2090........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           7        12
                                  Pickaway, Pike,                                                                                         flooding.
                                  Ross, Seneca,
                                  Shelby,
                                  Tuscarawas.
TX.............................  Callahan..........  11-15-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2091........  Excessive rain....................        1         6
TX.............................  Hemphill..........  11-01-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2092........  Excessive rain, excessive                 1         4
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, freeze.
OK.............................  ..................  11-01-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2092........  Excessive rain, excessive           .......         2
                                                                                                                                          temperatures, freeze.
TX.............................  Hunt..............  11-01-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2093........  Excessive rain....................        1         8
TX.............................  Armstrong, Oldham.  11-25-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2094........  Excessive rain....................        2        10
NM.............................  ..................  11-25-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2094........  Excessive rain....................  .......         1
TX.............................  Potter............  11-25-2004......  continuing.....  4-14-2005......  12-14-2005.....  S2095........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Haskell...........  11-01-2004......  continuing.....  4-28-2005......  12-28-2005.....  S2096........  Excessive rain....................        1         7
TX.............................  Crosby............  5-12-2005.......  5-13-2005......  6-21-2005......  2-21-2006......  S2097........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornadoes.
CA.............................  Yuba..............  3-09-2005.......  3-15-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2098........  Unseasonably high temperatures,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          low humidity.
MN.............................  Anoka, Benton,      11-01-2004......  4-30-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2099........  Winterkill; below freezing               19        29
                                  Carver, Chisago,                                                                                        temperatures; cool, wet weather.
                                  Clay, Grant,
                                  Hennepin, Isanti,
                                  Kanabec, Mille
                                  Lacs, McLeod,
                                  Morrison, Pine,
                                  Pope, Sherburne,
                                  Steele, Wabasha,
                                  Wilkin, Wright.
ND.............................  ..................  11-01-2004......  4-30-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2099........  Winterkill; below freezing          .......         2
                                                                                                                                          temperatures; cool, wet weather.
WI.............................  ..................  11-01-2004......  4-30-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2099........  Winterkill; below freezing          .......         5
                                                                                                                                          temperatures; cool, wet weather.
TX.............................  Callahan..........  6-04-2005.......  6-04-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2100........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Knox..............  5-23-2005.......  5-23-2005......  7-18-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2101........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         6
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Floyd.............  6-09-2005.......  6-09-2005......  7-20-2005......  3-20-2006......  S2102........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          high winds, lightning, tornadoes.
CA.............................  Fresno, Kern,       4-28-2005.......  5-09-2005......  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2103........  Rain, hail storms.................        5        14
                                  Madera, Merced,
                                  Tulare.
OK.............................  Alfalfa, Atoka,     1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2104........  Drought...........................       58        17
                                  Beckham, Blaine,
                                  Bryan, Caddo,
                                  Canadian, Carter,
                                  Choctaw,
                                  Cleveland, Coal,
                                  Comanche, Cotton,
                                  Craig, Creek,
                                  Custer, Delaware,
                                  Dewey, Ellis,
                                  Garfield, Garvin,
                                  Grady, Grant,
                                  Haskell, Hughes,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnston,
                                  Kingfisher,
                                  Latimer, Le
                                  Flore, Lincoln,
                                  Logan, Love,
                                  McClain,
                                  McCurtain,
                                  McIntosh, Major,
                                  Marshall, Mayes,
                                  Murray, Muskogee,
                                  Okfuskee,
                                  Oklahoma, Pawnee,
                                  Payne, Pittsburg,
                                  Pontotoc,
                                  Pottawatomie,
                                  Pushmataha, Roger
                                  Mills, Rogers,
                                  Seminole,
                                  Stephens,
                                  Tillman, Tulsa,
                                  Washita, Woods,
                                  Woodward.
AR.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2104........  Drought...........................  .......         6
KS.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2104........  Drought...........................  .......         6
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2104........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2104........  Drought...........................  .......        14
TX.............................  Crosby............  6-09-2005.......  6-10-2005......  7-26-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2105........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          flooding, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                          lightning, tornadoes.
IL.............................  Adams, Boone,       1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................       93         8
                                  Brown, Bureau,
                                  Calhoun, Carroll,
                                  Cass, Champaign,
                                  Clark, Clay,
                                  Clinton, Coles,
                                  Cook, Crawford,
                                  Cumberland, De
                                  Kalb, De Witt,
                                  Douglas, Du Page,
                                  Edgar, Edwards,
                                  Effingham,
                                  Fayette, Ford,
                                  Fulton, Gallatin,
                                  Greene, Grundy,
                                  Hamilton, Hardin,
                                  Henderson, Henry,
                                  Iroquois,
                                  Jackson, Jasper,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Jersey, Jo
                                  Daviess, Johnson,
                                  Kane, Kankakee,
                                  Kendall, Knox, La
                                  Salle, Lake,
                                  Lawrence, Lee,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Logan, Macoupin,
                                  Madison, Marion,
                                  Marshall, Mason,
                                  Massac,
                                  McDonough,
                                  McHenry, McLean,
                                  Menard, Mercer,
                                  Monroe, Morgan,
                                  Moultrie, Ogle,
                                  Peoria, Perry,
                                  Piatt, Pike,
                                  Pope, Putnam,
                                  Randolph,
                                  Richland, Rock
                                  Island, Saline,
                                  Sangamon,
                                  Schuyler, Scott,
                                  Shelby, St.
                                  Clair, Stark,
                                  Stephenson,
                                  Tazewell,
                                  Vermilion,
                                  Wabash, Warren,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, White,
                                  Whiteside, Will,
                                  Williamson,
                                  Winnebago,
                                  Woodford.
IN.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................  .......        10
IA.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................  .......         8
KY.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................  .......         4
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................  .......        11
WI.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-27-2005......  3-27-2006......  S2106........  Drought...........................  .......         6
TX.............................  Duval.............  12-01-2004......  continuing.....  7-29-2005......  3-29-2006......  S2107........  Drought, high winds...............        1         7
TX.............................  Baylor............  5-31-2005.......  5-31-2005......  7-29-2005......  3-29-2006......  S2108........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         8
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Jones.............  5-31-2005.......  5-31-2005......  7-29-2005......  3-29-2006......  S2109........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,           1         7
                                                                                                                                          hail, high winds, lightning.
TX.............................  Brooks, Jim Hogg..  3-01-2005.......  continuing.....  7-29-2005......  3-29-2006......  S2110........  Drought, high winds, excessive            2         8
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
CA.............................  Tehama............  3/01/05.........  05/01/05.......  8-12-2005......  4-12-2006......  S2111........  Hot, dry, windy weather...........        1         6
                                                     03/23/05........  3/15/05........                                                   Severe hailstorm..................
                                                                       03/23/05.......                                                   Rain, wind, unusually cool
                                                                       06/08/05.......                                                    temperatures.
TX.............................  Gillespie.........  6-01-2005.......  6-01-2005......  8-12-2005......  4-12-2006......  S2112........  High winds........................        1         6
                                 Sutter............  3-05-2005.......  3-15-2005......  8-18-2005......  4-18-2006......  S2113........  Severe high temperatures, low             1         6
                                                                                                                                          humidity, strong winds.
CA.............................  Mendocino.........  5-15-2005.......  5-19-2005......  8-22-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2114........  Rain, hail........................        1         6
CA.............................  Stanislaus........  4-30-2005.......  5-01-2005......  8-22-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2115........  Rains.............................        1         7
CA.............................  Butte.............  4-25-2005.......  5-20-2005......  8-22-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2116........  Hail, late rains..................        1         6
CA.............................  Lake..............  5-18-2005.......  6-16-2005......  8-22-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2117........  Unseasonable heavy rainfall.......        1         6
TX.............................  Burleson..........  5-01-2005.......  6-30-2005......  8-22-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2118........  Drought...........................        1         5
MO.............................  Adair, Andrew,      1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................      112         3
                                  Audrain, Barry,
                                  Barton, Bates,
                                  Benton,
                                  Bollinger, Boone,
                                  Buchanan, Butler,
                                  Caldwell,
                                  Callaway, Camden,
                                  Cape Girardeau,
                                  Carroll, Carter,
                                  Cass, Cedar,
                                  Chariton,
                                  Christian, Clark,
                                  Clay, Clinton,
                                  Cole, Cooper,
                                  Crawford, Dade,
                                  Dallas, Daviess,
                                  Dekalb, Dent,
                                  Douglas, Dunklin,
                                  Franklin,
                                  Gasconade,
                                  Gentry, Greene,
                                  Grundy, Harrison,
                                  Henry, Hickory,
                                  Howard, Howell,
                                  Iron, Jackson,
                                  Jasper,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Knox,
                                  Laclede,
                                  Lafayette,
                                  Lawrence, Lewis,
                                  Lincoln, Linn,
                                  Livingston,
                                  Macon, Madison,
                                  Maries, Marion,
                                  McDonald, Mercer,
                                  Miller,
                                  Mississippi,
                                  Moniteau, Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Morgan, New
                                  Madrid, Newton,
                                  Nodaway, Oregon,
                                  Osage, Ozark,
                                  Pemiscot, Perry,
                                  Pettis, Phelps,
                                  Pike, Platte,
                                  Polk, Pulaski,
                                  Putnam, Ralls,
                                  Randolph, Ray,
                                  Reynolds, Ripley,
                                  Saline, Schuyler,
                                  Scotland, Scott,
                                  Shannon, Shelby,
                                  St Charles, St
                                  Clair, St
                                  Francois, St
                                  Louis, Ste
                                  Genevieve,
                                  Stoddard, Stone,
                                  Sullivan, Taney,
                                  Texas, Vernon,
                                  Warren,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wayne, Webster,
                                  Worth, Wright.
AR.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......        12
IL.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......        12
IA.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......         9
KS.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......        10
KY.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......         4
OK.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......         2
TN.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  8-23-2005......  4-24-2006......  S2119........  Drought...........................  .......         2
CA.............................  Sutter............  5-08-2005.......  5-19-2005......  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2120........  Unseasonable rain.................        1         6
KS.............................  Butler, Ford,       6-03-2005.......  6-16-2005......  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2121........  Hail, high winds, lightning,              8        37
                                  Gove, Grant,                                                                                            tornadoes, excessive rain, flash
                                  Meade, Sedgwick,                                                                                        flooding, flooding.
                                  Trego, Wabaunsee.
OK.............................  ..................  6-03-2005.......  6-16-2005......  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2121........  ..................................  .......         1
MN.............................  Aitkin, Beltrami,   5-07-2005.......  continuing.....  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2122........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..       17        28
                                  Benton,
                                  Clearwater,
                                  Dakota, Grant,
                                  Itasca, Kittson,
                                  Koochiching, Lake
                                  of the Woods,
                                  Marshall, Mille
                                  Lacs, Pennington,
                                  Roseau, Traverse,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wilkin.
ND.............................  ..................  5-07-2005.......  continuing.....  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2122........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..  .......         4
SD.............................  ..................  5-07-2005.......  continuing.....  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2122........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..  .......         1
WI.............................  ..................  5-07-2005.......  continuing.....  8-25-2005......  4-25-2006......  S2122........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds..  .......         3
OR.............................  Polk, Yamhill.....  3-24-2005.......  4-30-2005......  8-31-2005......  5-01-2006......  S2123........  Heavy winds, rains................        2         7
TX.............................  Wilbarger.........  3-01-2005.......  7-05-2005......  8-31-2005......  5-01-2006......  S2124........  Drought, high winds, excessive            1         5
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
TX.............................  ..................  3-01-2005.......  7-05-2005......  8-31-2005......  5-01-2006......  S2124........  Drought, high winds, excessive      .......         2
                                                                                                                                          temperatures.
VA.............................  Fauquier..........  4-01-2005.......  6-30-2005......  8-31-2005......  5-01-2006......  S2125........  Drought, high temperatures........        1         7
MS.............................  Adams, Amite,       8-29-2005.......  continuing.....  9-09-2005......  5-09-2006......  S2126........  Hurricane Katrina.................       31         4
                                  Attala, Choctaw,
                                  Claiborne,
                                  Clarke, Copiah,
                                  Covington,
                                  Forrest,
                                  Franklin, George,
                                  Greene, Hancock,
                                  Harrison, Hinds,
                                  Jackson, Jasper,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Jefferson Davis,
                                  Jones, Kemper,
                                  Lamar,
                                  Lauderdale,
                                  Lawrence, Leake,
                                  Lincoln, Lowndes,
                                  Madison, Marion,
                                  Neshoba, Newton,
                                  Noxubee,
                                  Oktibbeha, Pearl
                                  River, Perry,
                                  Pike, Rankin,
                                  Scott, Simpson,
                                  Smith, Stone,
                                  Walthall, Warren,
                                  Wayne, Wilkinson,
                                  Winston, Yazoo.
AL.............................  ..................  8-29-2005.......  continuing.....  9-09-2005......  5-09-2006......  S2126........  Hurricane Katrina.................  .......         3
AR.............................  ..................  8-29-2005.......  continuing.....  9-09-2005......  5-09-2006......  S2126........  Hurricane Katrina.................  .......         6
LA.............................  ..................  8-29-2005.......  continuing.....  9-09-2005......  5-09-2006......  S2126........  Hurricane Katrina.................  .......         2
TN.............................  ..................  8-29-2005.......  continuing.....  9-09-2005......  5-09-2006......  S2126........  Hurricane Katrina.................  .......         3
IA.............................  Cedar, Clinton,     1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2127........  Drought...........................       16        10
                                  Davis, Des
                                  Moines, Henry,
                                  Iowa, Jackson,
                                  Jefferson,
                                  Johnson, Keokuk,
                                  Lee, Louisa,
                                  Muscatine, Scott,
                                  Van Buren,
                                  Washington.
IL.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2127........  Drought...........................  .......         7
MO.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2127........  Drought...........................  .......         3
KS.............................  Ellsworth, Geary,   1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2128........  Freeze, drought, excessive heat,         10        34
                                  Gove, Greeley,                                                                                          high winds.
                                  Jewell, Osage,
                                  Riley, Russell,
                                  Trego, Wabaunsee.
CO.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2128........  Freeze, drought, excessive heat,    .......         3
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
NE.............................  ..................  1-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-13-2005......  5-15-2006......  S2128........  Freeze, drought, excessive heat,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                          high winds.
OH.............................  Ashland,            5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........       72        16
                                  Ashtabula,
                                  Athens, Auglaize,
                                  Belmont, Brown,
                                  Butler, Carroll,
                                  Champaign,
                                  Clermont,
                                  Clinton,
                                  Columbiana,
                                  Coshocton,
                                  Crawford,
                                  Cuyahoga, Darke,
                                  Defiance, Erie,
                                  Fairfield,
                                  Fayette,
                                  Franklin, Fulton,
                                  Gallia, Geauga,
                                  Guernsey,
                                  Hamilton,
                                  Hancock, Hardin,
                                  Henry, Highland,
                                  Hocking, Huron,
                                  Jackson, Knox,
                                  Lake, Lawrence,
                                  Licking, Logan,
                                  Lorain, Lucas,
                                  Madison,
                                  Mahoning, Medina,
                                  Meigs, Mercer,
                                  Miami, Monroe,
                                  Montgomery,
                                  Morgan,
                                  Muskingum, Noble,
                                  Ottawa, Paulding,
                                  Perry, Pickaway,
                                  Pike, Preble,
                                  Putnam, Richland,
                                  Ross, Sandusky,
                                  Scioto, Seneca,
                                  Shelby, Trumbull,
                                  Tuscarawas,
                                  Union, Van Wert,
                                  Vinton, Warren,
                                  Washington,
                                  Wyandot.
IN.............................  ..................  5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........  .......         9
KY.............................  ..................  5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........  .......         9
MI.............................  ..................  5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........  .......         3
PA.............................  ..................  5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........  .......         5
WV.............................  ..................  5-25-2005.......  continuing.....  9-20-2005......  5-22-2006......  S2129........  Extreme weather conditions........  .......        11
TX.............................  Bowie, Hunt, Rains  4-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2130........  Drought...........................        3        11
AR.............................  ..................  4-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2130........  Drought...........................  .......         2
OK.............................  ..................  4-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2130........  Drought...........................  .......         1
TX.............................  Foard.............  3-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2131........  Drought...........................        1         6
TX.............................  Jim Wells.........  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2132........  Drought, high winds...............        1         6
TX.............................  Kleberg...........  10-01-2004......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2133........  Drought, excessive temperatures...        1         4
TX.............................  Red River.........  4-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2134........  Drought, excessive temperatures...        1         7
OK.............................  ..................  4-01-2005.......  continuing.....  9-19-2005......  5-19-2006......  S2134........  Drought, excessive temperatures...  .......         2
                                                                                                                                                                            --------------------
      TOTAL ACTIVE.............  ..................  ................  ...............  ...............  ...............  .............  ..................................    1,126      2048
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                             DISASTER ASSISTANCE BRANCH/EMERGENCIES SECTION (DAB/ES) DISASTER DECLARATIONS: FINAL TOTALS SECRETARIAL
                                                                                       [Fiscal year 2006]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Beginning Date   Ending Date of    Approved by      Termination     Designation
              State                Counties requested    of disaster        disaster        Secretary          Date           Number           Description of disaster       Primary  Contiguous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IL..............................  Alexander,           1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2106,          Drought..........................        5        12
                                   Franklin, Hancock,                                                                      Amendment 1.
                                   Pulaski, Union.
IA..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2106,          Drought..........................  .......         1
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
KY..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2106,          Drought..........................  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2106,          Drought..........................  .......         6
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
MS..............................  Alcorn, Lee,         8-29-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2126,          Hurricane Katrina................        4  ..........
                                   Tippah, Tishomingo.                                                                     Amendment 1.
AL..............................  ...................  8-29-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2126,          Hurricane Katrina................  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
TN..............................  ...................  8-29-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2126,          Hurricane Katrina................  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
CA..............................  Glenn..............  5-01-05........  6-10-05........  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2135.........  Rain, wind, unusually cool               1         5
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
CA..............................  Yuba...............  5-09-05........  5-19-05........  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2136.........  Unseasonably heavy rains.........        1         6
MT..............................  Fergus.............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2137.........  Drought..........................        1         8
TX..............................  Fannin.............  4-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2138.........  Drought..........................        1         5
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2138.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Webb...............  3-01-05........  continuing.....  10-04-05.......  6-05-06.......  S2139.........  Drought, high winds, excessive           1         7
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
SD..............................  Bon Homme, Clay,     1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2140.........  Drought, high winds, spring              4         6
                                   Lincoln, Turner.                                                                                        frosts, excessive heat, flash
                                                                                                                                           flooding, hail, excessive
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
IA..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2140.........  Drought, high winds, spring        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           frosts, excessive heat, flash
                                                                                                                                           flooding, hail, excessive
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2140.........  Drought, high winds, spring        .......         3
                                                                                                                                           frosts, excessive heat, flash
                                                                                                                                           flooding, hail, excessive
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
UT..............................  Washington.........  6-26-05........  8-01-05........  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2141.........  Fires caused by lightning........        1         2
AZ..............................  ...................  6-26-05........  8-01-05........  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2141.........  Fires caused by lightning........  .......         1
NV..............................  ...................  6-26-05........  8-01-05........  10-07-05.......  6-07-06.......  S2141.........  Fires caused by lightning........  .......         1
AR..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high                 75  ..........
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......         8
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......         6
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......        11
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......         5
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......         4
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
AR..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  10-13-05.......  6-13-06.......  S2142.........  Drought, extremely high            .......         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
OR..............................  Lane...............  3-01-05........  5-15-05........  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2143.........  Excessive rains..................        1         6
TX..............................  Comanche...........  8-09-05........  8-10-05........  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2144.........  Flooding.........................        1         5
TX..............................  Haskell............  8-09-05........  8-15-05........  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2145.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding...        1         7
TX..............................  Haskell............  8-09-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2145,          Excessive rain, flash flooding...        1         7
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
TX..............................  Jones, Knox........  8-14-05........  continuing.....  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2146.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding...        2        11
TX..............................  Camp, Franklin,      4-01-05........  continuing.....  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2147.........  Drought..........................        6        10
                                   Hopkins, Lamar,
                                   Morris, Titus.
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  10-18-05.......  6-19-06.......  S2147.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
KY..............................  Adair, Allen,        2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................      109        10
                                   Anderson, Ballard,
                                   Barren, Bath,
                                   Bell, Boone,
                                   Bourbon, Boyd,
                                   Boyle, Bracken,
                                   Breckinridge,
                                   Bullitt, Butler,
                                   Caldwell,
                                   Calloway,
                                   Campbell,
                                   Carlisle, Carroll,
                                   Carter, Casey,
                                   Clark, Clinton,
                                   Crittenden,
                                   Cumberland,
                                   Daviess, Edmonson,
                                   Elliott, Estill,
                                   Fayette, Fleming,
                                   Floyd, Franklin,
                                   Gallatin, Garrard,
                                   Grant, Graves,
                                   Grayson, Green,
                                   Johnson, Kenton,
                                   Knott, Larue,
                                   Lawrence, Lee,
                                   Leslie, Letcher,
                                   Lewis, Lincoln,
                                   Livingston, Logan,
                                   Lyon, Madison,
                                   Magoffin, Marion,
                                   Marshall, Martin,
                                   Mason, McCracken,
                                   McCreary, Meade,
                                   Menifee, Mercer,
                                   Metcalfe, Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Morgan,
                                   Muhlenberg,
                                   Nelson, Nicholas,
                                   Ohio, Oldham,
                                   Owen, Owsley,
                                   Pendleton, Perry,
                                   Pike, Powell,
                                   Pulaski,
                                   Robertson,
                                   Rockcastle, Rowan,
                                   Russell, Scott,
                                   Shelby, Simpson,
                                   Spencer, Taylor,
                                   Todd, Trimble,
                                   Union, Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Webster, Whitley,
                                   Wolfe, Woodford.
IL..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
IN..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......        12
MO..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OH..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
TN..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
VA..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
WV..............................  ...................  2-01-05........  continuing.....  10-25-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2148.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Fisher.............  8-01-05........  8-16-05........  10-20-05.......  6-20-06.......  S2149.........  Flooding.........................        1         7
LA..............................  Acadia, Allen,       4-26-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2150.........  Drought, Hurricane Katrina,             40         6
                                   Avoyelles,                                                                                              Hurricane Rita.
                                   Beauregard,
                                   Bienville,
                                   Bossier, Caddo,
                                   Calcasieu,
                                   Caldwell, Cameron,
                                   Catahoula,
                                   Claiborne,
                                   Concordia, De
                                   Soto, East
                                   Carroll,
                                   Evangeline,
                                   Franklin, Grant,
                                   Jackson, Jefferson
                                   Davis, La Salle,
                                   Lafayette,
                                   Lincoln, Madison,
                                   Morehouse,
                                   Natchitoches,
                                   Ouachita, Rapides,
                                   Red River,
                                   Richland, Sabine,
                                   St. Landry, St.
                                   Martin, Tensas,
                                   Union, Vermilion,
                                   Vernon, Webster,
                                   West Carroll, Winn.
AR..............................  ...................  4-26-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2150.........  Drought, other disasters.........  .......         6
MS..............................  ...................  4-26-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2150.........  Drought, other disasters.........  .......         6
TX..............................  ...................  4-26-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2150.........  Drought, other disasters.........  .......         9
NE..............................  Holt...............  5-24-05........  6-10-05........  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2151.........  Cool, wet weather................        1         8
OR..............................  Linn...............  Early spring...  5-15-05........  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2152.........  Excessive ongoing rains..........        1         6
OR..............................  Wasco..............  3-01-05........  5-31-05........  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2153.........  Severe frosts, rain events.......        1         7
WA..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  5-31-05........  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2153.........  Severe frosts, rain events.......  .......         1
TX..............................  Delta..............  4-01-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2154.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Coryell............  7-15-05........  7-17-05........  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2155.........  High winds.......................        1  ..........
ND..............................  Adams, Benson,       1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2156.........  Freeze, damage, late spring snow        37        16
                                   Bottineau, Bowman,                                                                                      storms, overland flooding,
                                   Burke, Cavalier,                                                                                        torrential, rainfall, standing
                                   Dickey, Divide,                                                                                         water, hail, high winds,
                                   Emmons, Grand                                                                                           tornadoes.
                                   Forks, Grant,
                                   Griggs, Hettinger,
                                   Kidder, LaMoure,
                                   McHenry, McIntosh,
                                   McLean, Mercer,
                                   Mountrail, Nelson,
                                   Oliver, Pembina,
                                   Pierce, Ramsey,
                                   Ransom, Renville,
                                   Richland, Rolette,
                                   Sargent, Sheridan,
                                   Slope, Steele,
                                   Towner, Traill,
                                   Walsh, Ward.
MN..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2156.........  Freeze, damage, late spring snow   .......  ..........
                                                                                                                                           storms, overland flooding,
                                                                                                                                           torrential, rainfall, standing
                                                                                                                                           water, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes.
MT..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2156.........  Freeze, damage, late spring snow   .......  ..........
                                                                                                                                           storms, overland flooding,
                                                                                                                                           torrential, rainfall, standing
                                                                                                                                           water, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes.
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2156.........  Freeze, damage, late spring snow   .......  ..........
                                                                                                                                           storms, overland flooding,
                                                                                                                                           torrential, rainfall, standing
                                                                                                                                           water, hail, high winds,
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes.
WI..............................  Clark, Marinette,    1-01-05........  5-31-05........  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2157.........  Winterkill, due to unusually warm        7        25
                                   Milwaukee,                                                                                              weather; followed by below
                                   Outagamie,                                                                                              freezing temperatures, and ice.
                                   Walworth,
                                   Waukesha, Waushara.
IL..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  5-31-05........  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2157.........  Winterkill, due to unusually warm  .......         2
                                                                                                                                           weather; followed by below
                                                                                                                                           freezing temperatures, and ice.
MI..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  5-31-05........  10-31-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2157.........  Winterkill, due to unusually warm  .......         2
                                                                                                                                           weather; followed by below
                                                                                                                                           freezing temperatures, and ice.
OR..............................  Douglas............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  10-24-05.......  6-26-06.......  S2158.........  Severe weather conditions........        1         6
NE..............................  Chase, Cheyenne,     1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-03-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2159.........  Freeze incidents; hail, disease,        13        13
                                   Deuel, Dundy,                                                                                           ongoing drought.
                                   Furnas, Garden,
                                   Hayes, Hitchcock,
                                   Morrill, Perkins,
                                   Red Willow, Scotts
                                   Bluff, Sheridan,
                                   Sioux.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-03-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2159.........  Freeze incidents; hail, disease,   .......         4
                                                                                                                                           ongoing drought.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-03-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2159.........  Freeze incidents; hail, disease,   .......         5
                                                                                                                                           ongoing drought.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-03-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2159.........  Freeze incidents; hail, disease,   .......         1
                                                                                                                                           ongoing drought.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-03-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2159.........  Freeze incidents; hail, disease,   .......         2
                                                                                                                                           ongoing drought.
CO..............................  Delta, Kit Carson..  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2160.........  (1) Freezing temperatures........        2         7
                                                                                                                                          (2) Drought......................
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2160.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Wood...............  4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2161.........  Drought..........................        1         7
WI..............................  Dane, Vernon.......  8-18-05........  8-18-05........  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2162.........  Tornadoes, severe storms.........        2        12
IA..............................  ...................  8-18-05........  8-18-05........  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2162.........  Tornadoes, severe storms.........  .......         1
MN..............................  ...................  8-18-05........  8-18-05........  11-07-05.......  7-07-06.......  S2162.........  Tornadoes, severe storms.........  .......         1
TX..............................  Collin.............  4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-02-05.......  7-03-06.......  S2163.........  Drought..........................        1         6
MI..............................  Calhoun, Huron,      6-05-05........  7-24-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2164.........  Storms with excessive rain,              9        22
                                   Jackson,                                                                                                localized flooding, high winds,
                                   Kalamazoo,                                                                                              hail.
                                   Mecosta, Sanilac,
                                   St. Joseph,
                                   Tuscola, Van Buren.
IN..............................  ...................  6-05-05........  7-24-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2164.........  Storms with excessive rain,        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           localized flooding, high winds,
                                                                                                                                           hail.
IA..............................  Clay, Dubuque,       1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2165.........  Drought..........................        4        17
                                   Harrison, Monona.
IL..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2165.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2165.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
WI..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2165.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
MI..............................  Alger, Allegan,      4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2166.........  Drought..........................       41        19
                                   Antrim, Baraga,
                                   Berrien, Calhoun,
                                   Cass, Charlevoix,
                                   Cheboygan,
                                   Chippewa, Delta,
                                   Dickinson, Emmet,
                                   Gogebic, Grand
                                   Traverse,
                                   Houghton, Ionia,
                                   Iron, Kalamazoo,
                                   Kalkaska, Kent,
                                   Keweenaw,
                                   Leelanau, Luce,
                                   Mackinac,
                                   Manistee,
                                   Marquette, Mason,
                                   Mecosta,
                                   Menominee,
                                   Missaukee,
                                   Muskegon, Newaygo,
                                   Oceana, Ontonagon,
                                   Osceola, Otsego,
                                   Ottawa, Presque
                                   Isle, Schoolcraft,
                                   Van Buren.
IN..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2166.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
WI..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2166.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
TX..............................  Cameron............  7-19-05........  7-20-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2167.........  Flooding, high winds, hurricane,         1         2
                                                                                                                                           lightning.
CA..............................  El Dorado..........  (1) 05-16-05...  (1) 06-16-05(2)  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2168.........  (1) Unseasonable rains...........        1         4
                                                       (2) 04-15-05...   05-15-05.                                                        (2) Hail, freezing conditions....
NV..............................  ...................  (1) 05-16-05...  (1) 06-16-05...  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2168.........  (1) Unseasonable rains...........  .......         1
                                                       (2) 04-15-05...  (2) 05-15-05...                                                   (2) Hail, freezing conditions....
TX..............................  Hidalgo............  1-01-05........  6-30-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2169.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..        1         5
TX..............................  Kenedy.............  10-01-04.......  continuing.....  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2170.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..        1         4
CA..............................  San Joaquin........  3-01-05........  5-31-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2171.........  Spring rains.....................        1         6
CA..............................  Nevada.............  3-01-05........  6-15-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2172.........  Rains............................        1         3
NV..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  6-15-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2172.........  Rains............................  .......         1
TN..............................  Clay, Fentress,      5-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2173.........  Extreme drought, higher than            19        28
                                   Giles, Greene,                                                                                          normal temperatures.
                                   Hancock, Hawkins,
                                   Jackson, Morgan,
                                   Overton, Pickett,
                                   Scott, Smith,
                                   Sumner, Unicoi,
                                   Van Buren,
                                   Washington, White,
                                   Williamson, Wilson.
AL..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2173.........  Extreme drought, higher than       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           normal temperatures.
KY..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2173.........  Extreme drought, higher than       .......         7
                                                                                                                                           normal temperatures.
NC..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2173.........  Extreme drought, higher than       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           normal temperatures.
VA..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2173.........  Extreme drought, higher than       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           normal temperatures.
TX..............................  Bailey.............  8-27-05........  8-27-05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2174.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,          1         4
                                                                                                                                           hail, high winds, lightning.
NM..............................  ...................  8-27-05........  8-27-05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2174.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                           hail, high winds, lightning.
TX..............................  Coryell............  8-08-05........  8-10-05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2175.........  Excessive rain, flooding, high           1         5
                                                                                                                                           winds.
TX..............................  Garza..............  8-27-05........  8-27-05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2176.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds.        1         7
TX..............................  Lee................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2177.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Nacogdoches........  3-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2178.........  Drought, excessive heat, high            1         5
                                                                                                                                           winds.
TX..............................  Willacy............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2179.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         3
MI..............................  Alger, Allegan,      4-01-05........  5-05-05........  11-21-05.......  7-21-06.......  S2180.........  Above average temperatures,             24        30
                                   Antrim, Berrien,                                                                                        followed by frost, freeze,
                                   Cass, Delta,                                                                                            excessive snow, hail.
                                   Dickinson,
                                   Hillsdale, Ingham,
                                   Iron, Jackson,
                                   Kalamazoo, Kent,
                                   Livingston,
                                   Marquette,
                                   Mecosta,
                                   Menominee,
                                   Muskegon, Newaygo,
                                   Ottawa, St.
                                   Joseph,
                                   Schoolcraft,
                                   Shiawassee, Van
                                   Buren.
IN..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  5-05-05........  11-21-05.......  7-21-06.......  S2180.........  Above average temperatures,        .......         5
                                                                                                                                           followed by frost, freeze,
                                                                                                                                           excessive snow, hail.
OH..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  5-05-05........  11-21-05.......  7-21-06.......  S2180.........  Above average temperatures,        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           followed by frost, freeze,
                                                                                                                                           excessive snow, hail.
WI..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  5-05-05........  11-21-05.......  7-21-06.......  S2180.........  Above average temperatures,        .......         4
                                                                                                                                           followed by frost, freeze,
                                                                                                                                           excessive snow, hail.
TX..............................  Hockley............  8-27-05........  8-28-05........  11-14-05.......  7-14-06.......  S2181.........  Hail.............................        1         8
NY..............................  Chenango, Columbia,  4/01/05........  4/04/05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2182.........  (1) Excessive rain, flooding,            8        22
                                   Dutchess, Ontario,  05/05/05.......  05/17/05.......                                                    flash flooding.
                                   Rensselaer,                                                                                            (2) Extreme and unseasonably cold
                                   Ulster, Wayne,                                                                                          temperatures, frost, freezes.
                                   Westchester.
CT..............................  ...................  4/01/05........  4/04/05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2182.........  (1) Excessive rain, flooding,      .......         2
                                                       05/05/05.......  05/17/05.......                                                    flash flooding.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Extreme and unseasonably cold
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, frost, freezes.
MA..............................  ...................  4/01/05........  4/04/05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2182.........  (1) Excessive rain, flooding,      .......         1
                                                       05/05/05.......  05/17/05.......                                                    flash flooding.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Extreme and unseasonably cold
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, frost, freezes.
NJ..............................  ...................  4/01/0505/05/05  4/04/0505/17/05  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2182.........  (1) Excessive rain, flooding,      .......         1
                                                                                                                                           flash flooding.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Extreme and unseasonably cold
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, frost, freezes.
VT..............................  ...................  4/01/05........  4/04/05........  11-23-05.......  7-24-06.......  S2182.........  (1) Excessive rain, flooding,      .......         1
                                                       05/05/05.......  05/17/05.......                                                    flash flooding.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Extreme and unseasonably cold
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, frost, freezes.
CA..............................  Sutter.............  2-14-05........  2-24-05........  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2183.........  Cold, wet weather................        1         6
OR..............................  Benton, Yamhill....  3-01-05........  6-30-05........  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2184.........  Excessive ongoing rains, cool            2         8
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
OR..............................  Wasco..............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2185.........  Drought..........................        1         7
WA..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2185.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Coryell............  4-01-05........  8-04-05........  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2186.........  Drought..........................        1         5
TX..............................  Lamb...............  9-12-05........  9-12-05........  12-13-05.......  8-14-06.......  S2187.........  Hail.............................        1         7
CO..............................  Crowley, El Paso,    1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2188.........  Various disasters: Drought, wind,       10        20
                                   Lincoln, Otero,                                                                                         hail, heavy rains.
                                   Park, Phillips,
                                   Pueblo, Teller,
                                   Washington, Yuma.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2188.........  Various disasters: Drought, wind,  .......         1
                                                                                                                                           hail, heavy rains.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2188.........  Various disasters: Drought, wind,  .......         3
                                                                                                                                           hail, heavy rains.
NY..............................  Chemung, Dutchess,   4-02-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2189.........  Drought & various disasters......       12        33
                                   Essex, Jefferson,
                                   Oneida, Onondaga,
                                   Oswego, Saratoga,
                                   Schuyler, Seneca,
                                   Tioga, Ulster.
CT..............................  ...................  4-02-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2189.........  Drought & various disasters......  .......         2
MA..............................  ...................  4-02-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2189.........  Drought & various disasters......  .......         1
PA..............................  ...................  4-02-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2189.........  Drought & various disasters......  .......         3
VT..............................  ...................  4-02-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2189.........  Drought & various disasters......  .......         2
TX..............................  Taylor.............  8-03-05........  8-29-05........  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2190.........  Excessive rain...................        1         6
TX..............................  Bosque, Grayson,     4-01-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2191.........  Drought..........................       10        36
                                   Henderson,
                                   Houston, Johnson,
                                   Leon, Navarro,
                                   Tarrant, Van
                                   Zandt, Waller.
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  12-19-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2191.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NY..............................  Livingston, Madison  5-12-05........  6-17-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2192.........  Various disasters : Excessive            2        12
                                                                                                                                           rain, flash flooding, frost.
TX..............................  Calhoun............  4-15-05........  9-30-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2193.........  Drought..........................        1         5
TX..............................  Llano, Mason.......  8-25-05........  continuing.....  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2194.........  Drought..........................        2         7
VA..............................  Amelia, Bland,       6-01-05........  8-31-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2195.........  Drought, high temperatures.......       38        51
                                   Brunswick,
                                   Buckingham,
                                   Campbell,
                                   Charlotte,
                                   Chesterfield,
                                   Cumberland,
                                   Dinwiddie, Essex,
                                   Floyd, Fluvanna,
                                   Franklin,
                                   Frederick, Giles,
                                   Greensville,
                                   Halifax, Isleght,
                                   Kingdeen,
                                   Lee, Louisa,
                                   Lunenburg,
                                   Mecklenburg,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Nelson, Nottoway,
                                   Page, Patrick,
                                   Pittsylvania,
                                   Powhatan, Prince
                                   Edward, Pulaski,
                                   Scott, Shenandoah,
                                   Smyth,
                                   Southampton,
                                   Tazewell, Wythe.
KY..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2195.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
NC..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2195.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......        11
TN..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2195.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         4
WV..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  12-27-05.......  8-28-06.......  S2195.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         9
KS..............................  Cheyenne, Edwards,   6-03-05........  6-13-05........  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2196.........  Severe storms....................        7        29
                                   Harper, Haskell,
                                   Linn, Rush,
                                   Stanton.
CO..............................  ...................  6-03-05........  6-13-05........  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2196.........  Severe storms....................  .......         4
MO..............................  ...................  6-03-05........  6-13-05........  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2196.........  Severe storms....................  .......         2
NE..............................  ...................  6-03-05........  6-13-05........  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2196.........  Severe storms....................  .......         1
OK..............................  ...................  6-03-05........  6-13-05........  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2196.........  Severe storms....................  .......         2
NY..............................  (1) Columbia,        (1) 06-09-05...  (1) 07-27-05...  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2197.........  (1) Excessive rain, hail, flash         11        31
                                   Ontario.            (2) 05-01-05...  (2) continuing.                                                    flooding.
                                  (2) Fulton,                                                                                             (2) Drought, heat, high
                                   Hamilton,                                                                                               temperatures.
                                   Herkimer, Madison,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Ontario, Orange,
                                   Rensselaer,
                                   Suffolk, Sullivan.
CT..............................  ...................  (1) 06-09-05...  (1) 07-27-05...  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2197.........  (1) Excessive rain, hail, flash    .......         1
                                                                                                                                           flooding.
MA..............................  ...................  (1) 06-09-05...  (1) 07-27-05...  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2197.........  (1) Excessive rain, hail, flash    .......         1
                                                       (2) 05-01-05...  (2) continuing.                                                    flooding.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Drought, heat, high
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
NJ..............................  ...................  (2) 05-01-05...  12-21-05.......  8-21-06........  S2197.........  (2) Drought,    .................................        2
                                                       (2) continuing.                                                     heat, high
                                                                                                                           temperatures.
PA..............................  ...................  (2) 05-01-05...  (2) continuing.  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2197.........  (2) Drought, heat, high            .......         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
VT..............................  ...................  (2) 05-01-05...  (2) continuing.  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2197.........  (2) Drought, heat, high            .......         1
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
SD..............................  Aurora, Bon Homme,   1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2198.........  Drought, late spring frosts,            14        22
                                   Butte, Charles                                                                                          extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                   Mix, Douglas,                                                                                           prairie fires.
                                   Harding, Hughes,
                                   Hutchinson, Hyde,
                                   Perkins, Potter,
                                   Stanley, Sully,
                                   Yankton.
MT..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2198.........  Drought, late spring frosts,       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
ND..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2198.........  Drought, late spring frosts,       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2198.........  Drought, late spring frosts,       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2198.........  Drought, late spring frosts,       .......         1
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
TX..............................  Cooke..............  3-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2199.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2199.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..  .......         1
TX..............................  Falls..............  2-01-05........  10-21-05.......  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2200.........  Drought..........................        1         5
TX..............................  McLennan...........  3-01-05........  continuing.....  12-21-05.......  8-21-06.......  S2201.........  Drought..........................        1         6
MS..............................  All MS Counties,     1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2202.........  Hurricane Rita Drought...........       80         2
                                   except Pontotoc &
                                   Union.
AL..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2202.........  Hurricane Rita Drought...........  .......        10
AR..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2202.........  Hurricane Rita Drought...........  .......         5
LA..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2202.........  Hurricane Rita Drought...........  .......        10
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2202.........  Hurricane Rita Drought...........  .......         5
NJ..............................  Atlantic, Bergen,    6-01-05........  10-06-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2203.........  Drought, high humidity, excessive       19         2
                                   Burlington,                                                                                             heat.
                                   Camden, Cape May,
                                   Cumberland, Essex,
                                   Gloucester,
                                   Hunterdon, Mercer,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Monmouth, Morris,
                                   Ocean, Passaic,
                                   Salem, Somerset,
                                   Sussex, Warren.
DE..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-06-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2203.........  Drought, high humidity, excessive  .......         1
                                                                                                                                           heat.
NY..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-06-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2203.........  Drought, high humidity, excessive  .......         6
                                                                                                                                           heat.
PA..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-06-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2203.........  Drought, high humidity, excessive  .......         7
                                                                                                                                           heat.
NY..............................  (1) Allegany,        4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2204.........  (1) Drought; drought related            12        26
                                   Cattaraugus,        10-07-05.......  continuing.....                                                    disasters.
                                   Cayuga, Orleans,                                                                                       (2) Excessive rain, flooding;
                                   Rensselaer,                                                                                             related disasters.
                                   Steuben, Yates.
                                  (2) Dutchess,
                                   Putnam,
                                   Rensselaer,
                                   Suffolk, Ulster,
                                   Westchester.
CT..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2204.........  (1) Drought; drought related       .......         2
                                                       10-07-05.......  continuing.....                                                    disasters.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Excessive rain, flooding;
                                                                                                                                           related disasters.
MA..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2204.........  (1) Drought; drought related       .......         1
                                                       10-07-05.......  continuing.....                                                    disasters.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Excessive rain, flooding;
                                                                                                                                           related disasters.
PA..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2204.........  (1) Drought; drought related       .......         4
                                                       10-07-05.......  continuing.....                                                    disasters.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Excessive rain, flooding;
                                                                                                                                           related disasters.
VT..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2204.........  (1) Drought; drought related       .......         1
                                                       10-07-05.......  continuing.....                                                    disasters.
                                                                                                                                          (2) Excessive rain, flooding;
                                                                                                                                           related disasters.
TX..............................  Duval..............  10-27-05.......  10-27-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2205.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,        1         7
                                                                                                                                           lightning, tornado.
TX..............................  Ellis..............  2-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2206.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Frio...............  5-01-05........  10-24-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2207.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Gregg, Smith,        4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2208.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        3         9
                                   Upshur.
TX..............................  Hill...............  2-01-05........  10-24-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2209.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Jim Wells..........  10-27-05.......  10-27-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2210.........  Excessive rain, flooding, hail,          1         6
                                                                                                                                           high winds, lightning, tornado.
TX..............................  Kimble.............  9-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2211.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Lynn...............  8-28-05........  9-14-05........  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2212.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,        1         7
                                                                                                                                           lightning.
TX..............................  Mills, San Saba....  9-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2213.........  Drought..........................        2         7
TX..............................  Parker, Wharton....  6-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2214.........  Drought..........................        2        12
WA..............................  Benton, Clark,       1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2215.........  Drought..........................       13        13
                                   Columbia, Cowlitz,
                                   Douglas, Franklin,
                                   Kittitas,
                                   Klickitat,
                                   Lincoln, Skamania,
                                   Wahkiakum, Walla
                                   Walla, Yakima.
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2215.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
WA..............................  (1) Garfield,        1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2216.........  (1) Drought......................        3         9
                                   Whitman.            09-09-05.......  09-09-05.......                                                   (2) Hailstorm....................
                                  (2) Pacific........
ID..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2216.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
                                                       09-09-05.......  09-09-05.......
OR..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2216.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
                                                       09-09-05.......  09-09-05.......
CO..............................  Logan..............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2217.........  Drought, crop diseases...........        1         6
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2217.........  Drought, crop diseases...........  .......         2
TX..............................  Wilson.............  3-20-05........  11-14-05.......  1-09-06........  9-11-06.......  S2218.........  Drought..........................        1         5
TX..............................  Denton, Kaufman,     3-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2219.........  Drought..........................        6        24
                                   Robertson,
                                   Rockwall, Shelby,
                                   Wise.
LA..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2219.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Gillespie..........  5-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2220.........  Drought..........................        1         6
IN..............................  Bartholomew, Clark,  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2221.........  Drought..........................       24        25
                                   Crawford,
                                   Dearborn, Elkhart,
                                   Floyd, Harrison,
                                   Jackson, Jasper,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Kosciusko, Lake,
                                   LaPorte, Newton,
                                   Ohio, Orange,
                                   Porter, Posey,
                                   Scott, St. Joseph,
                                   Starke,
                                   Switzerland,
                                   Warrick,
                                   Washington.
IL..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2221.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
KY..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2221.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
MI..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2221.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
OH..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  8-31-05........  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2221.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
SD..............................  Lawrence...........  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2222.........  Drought, late spring frosts,             1         3
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2222.........  Drought, late spring frosts,       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           prairie fires.
TX..............................  Bee, De Witt, Hood,  6-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2223.........  Drought..........................        4        14
                                   Somervell.
TX..............................  Brazos, Dimmit,      4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2224.........  Drought..........................        8        31
                                   Freestone,
                                   Guadalupe, La
                                   Salle, Madison,
                                   Stephens, Zavala.
TX..............................  Edwards, Hamilton..  9-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2225.........  Drought..........................        2        13
TX..............................  Hall...............  10-10-05.......  10-10-05.......  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2226.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds.        1         6
TX..............................  Hardeman...........  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2227.........  Drought..........................        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2227.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Medina.............  4-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2228.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         6
TX..............................  Montague...........  8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2229.........  Drought..........................        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2229.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Runnels............  5-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2230.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..        1         6
TX..............................  Williamson.........  4-15-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2231.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Zapata.............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  1-17-06........  9-18-06.......  S2232.........  Drought..........................        1         3
MT..............................  Hill Co. & Rocky     8-10-05........  8-10-05........  1-27-06........  9-27-06.......  S2233.........  (1) Severe hail, windstorm.......        1         3
                                   Boy Indian          01-01-05.......  continuing.....                                                   (2) Drought......................
                                   Reservation.
TX..............................  Austin, Cass,        8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-23-06........  9-25-06.......  S2234.........  Drought..........................        4        19
                                   Eastland, Palo
                                   Pinto.
AR..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-23-06........  9-25-06.......  S2234.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
LA..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-23-06........  9-25-06.......  S2234.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Caldwell, Comal,     8-01-05........  continuing.....  1-23-06........  9-25-06.......  S2235.........  Drought..........................        3         8
                                   Hays.
TX..............................  Goliad, McMullen...  7-01-05........  continuing.....  1-23-06........  9-25-06.......  S2236.........  Drought..........................        2        11
KS..............................  Cheyenne...........  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2237.........  Drought, excessive heat, high            1         2
                                                                                                                                           winds.
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2237.........  Drought, excessive heat, high      .......         2
                                                                                                                                           winds.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2237.........  Drought, excessive heat, high      .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds.
KS..............................  Sherman, Wallace...  6-19-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2238.........  Severe storms....................        2         6
CO..............................  ...................  6-19-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2238.........  Severe storms....................  .......         2
NY..............................  Cayuga, Ontario,     12-20-04.......  12-20-04.......  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2239.........  Freeze, excessive cold                   4        11
                                   Tompkins, Wayne.                                                                                        temperatures.
TX..............................  Anderson, Dallas...  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2240.........  Drought..........................        2        12
TX..............................  Blanco.............  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2241.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Gonzales...........  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2242.........  Drought..........................        1         8
TX..............................  Haskell............  9-30-05........  9-30-05........  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2243.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds.        1         7
TX..............................  Karnes.............  7-25-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2244.........  Drought, abnormally high                 1         7
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
TX..............................  Kinney.............  3-15-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2245.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         5
TX..............................  Limestone..........  4-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2246.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Live Oak...........  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2247.........  Drought..........................        1         7
TX..............................  Starr..............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-01-06........  10-02-06......  S2248.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         4
AR..............................  Conway.............  11-27-05.......  11-27-05.......  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2249.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,          1         5
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning.
AR..............................  Arkansas, Ashley,    9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,         18        22
                                   Chicot, Conway,                                                                                         tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                   Crittenden, Desha,                                                                                      Tropical Storm Rita.
                                   Drew, Jefferson,
                                   Lee, Lincoln,
                                   Little River,
                                   Lonoke, Monroe,
                                   Phillips, Pope,
                                   Prairie, St.
                                   Francis, Woodruff.
LA..............................  ...................  9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,    .......         4
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                                                                                                                           Tropical Storm Rita.
MS..............................  ...................  9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,    .......         6
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                                                                                                                           Tropical Storm Rita.
OK..............................  ...................  9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,    .......         1
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                                                                                                                           Tropical Storm Rita.
TN..............................  ...................  9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                                                                                                                           Tropical Storm Rita.
TX..............................  ...................  9-24-05........  9-24-05........  2-07-06........  10-09-06......  S2250.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,    .......         1
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning, due to
                                                                                                                                           Tropical Storm Rita.
MA..............................  Bristol, Plymouth..  6-01-05........  9-30-05........  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2251.........  Drought..........................        2         3
RI..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  9-30-05........  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2251.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
OR..............................  Hood River.........  6-01-05........  6-30-05........  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2252.........  Severe Weather events............        1         3
WA..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  6-30-05........  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2252.........  Severe Weather events............  .......         2
TX..............................  Bandera............  8-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2253.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Colorado...........  6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2254.........  Drought, excessive heat, high            1         5
                                                                                                                                           winds.
TX..............................  Jack, Washington...  4-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2255.........  Drought..........................        2        14
TX..............................  Kendall............  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2256.........  Drought..........................        1         6
OR..............................  Sherman............  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2257.........  Drought..........................        1         2
WA..............................  ...................  1-01-05........  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2257.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Wise...............  12-26-05.......  12-27-05.......  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2258.........  Fire, high winds.................        1         6
TX..............................  Callahan...........  12-26-05.......  continuing.....  2-09-06........  10-09-06......  S2259.........  Fire, high winds.................        1         6
CT..............................  Entire State.......  6-01-05........  10-15-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2260.........  Drought..........................        8  ..........
MA..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-15-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2260.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NY..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-15-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2260.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
RI..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  10-15-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2260.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NY..............................  Broome, Delaware...  5-01-05........  9-30-05........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2261.........  Drought, heat....................        2         8
PA..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  9-30-05........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2261.........  Drought, heat....................  .......         2
NY..............................  Clinton............  10-06-05.......  10-06-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2262.........  High winds.......................        1         2
VT..............................  ...................  10-06-05.......  10-06-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2262.........  High winds.......................  .......         2
NY..............................  Clinton, Essex.....  10-25-05.......  10-25-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2263.........  Excessive rain, excessive snow...        2         4
VT..............................  ...................  10-25-05.......  10-25-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2263.........  Excessive rain, excessive snow...  .......         3
NY..............................  Franklin...........  10-07-05.......  10-24-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2264.........  Excessive rain Freeze............        1         4
                                                       10-20-05.......  10-22-05.......
NY..............................  Monroe.............  9-01-05........  10-31-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2265.........  Excessive rain...................        1         5
NY..............................  Ontario............  9-15-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2266.........  Excessive rain...................        1         6
TN..............................  Bradley,             5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2267.........  Drought, high temperatures.......        8        23
                                   Cumberland,
                                   DeKalb, Johnson,
                                   Macon, Polk,
                                   Trousdale, Warren.
GA..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2267.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         4
KY..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2267.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
NC..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2267.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         4
VA..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2267.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
TN..............................  Bradley, Polk......  8-29-05........  9-30-05........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2268.........  Hurricane related wind and storms        2         4
GA..............................  ...................  8-29-05........  9-30-05........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2268.........  Hurricane related wind and storms  .......         4
NC..............................  ...................  8-29-05........  9-30-05........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2268.........  Hurricane related wind and storms  .......         1
TX..............................  Cherokee...........  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2269.........  Drought, frost...................        1         7
TX..............................  Cooke..............  12-27-05.......  12-27-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2270.........  Fire.............................        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  12-27-05.......  12-27-05.......  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2270.........  Fire.............................  .......         1
TX..............................  Fayette............  4-15-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2271.........  Drought..........................        1         8
TX..............................  Lavaca.............  9-13-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2272.........  Drought, excessive temperatures,         1         6
                                                                                                                                           high winds.
TX..............................  Palo Pinto.........  1-01-06........  1-01-06........  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2273.........  High winds, wildfire.............        1         7
TX..............................  Rusk...............  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2274.........  Drought..........................        1         7
WI..............................  Adams, Brown,        3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2275.........  Drought..........................       18        28
                                   Burnett, Calumet,
                                   Dodge, Door, Fond
                                   du Lac, Kenosha,
                                   Kewaunee,
                                   Manitowoc,
                                   Marinette,
                                   Marquette, Oconto,
                                   Racine, Sheboygan,
                                   Walworth,
                                   Washburn, Waupaca.
IL..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2275.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
MI..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2275.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
MN..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  2-13-06........  10-13-06......  S2275.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
PA..............................  Armstrong, Bedford,  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................       23        27
                                   Bradford, Centre,
                                   Clearfield,
                                   Clinton, Elk,
                                   Fayette, Fulton,
                                   Greene, Jefferson,
                                   Lackawanna,
                                   Lehigh, Luzerne,
                                   McKean, Pike,
                                   Potter,
                                   Susquehanna,
                                   Sullivan, Tioga,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Wyoming.
MD..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
NJ..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NY..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
OH..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
WV..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2276.........  Drought..........................  .......         7
TX..............................  Sterling...........  1-01-06........  1-01-06........  2-21-06........  10-23-06......  S2277.........  Fire.............................        1         6
TX..............................  Tom Green..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  2-23-06........  10-23-06......  S2278.........  Grass fires......................        1         8
VA..............................  Bedford, Hanover,    6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-23-06........  10-23-06......  S2195,          Drought, high temperatures.......        4        24
                                   Russell, Wise.                                                                          Amendment 2.
KY..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-23-06........  10-23-06......  S2195,          Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         3
                                                                                                                           Amendment 2.
VA..............................  Culpeper,            6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2195,          Drought, high temperatures.......        6        30
                                   Goochland,                                                                              Amendment 1.
                                   Grayson, King
                                   William, Surry,
                                   Washington.
NC..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2195,          Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         3
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
TN..............................  ...................  6-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2195,          Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.
OK..............................  Entire State.......  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high        77  ..........
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
AR..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         8
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
CO..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
KS..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......        14
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
MO..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         2
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
NM..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
TX..............................  ...................  7-01-05........  continuing.....  2-28-06........  10-30-06......  S2279.........  Drought, high temperatures, high   .......        20
                                                                                                                                           winds, fire.
GA..............................  Appling, Bacon,      8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................      112        39
                                   Banks, Barrow,
                                   Bartow, Ben Hill,
                                   Bibb, Bleckley,
                                   Bryan, Bulloch,
                                   Butts, Carroll,
                                   Catoosa,
                                   Chattooga,
                                   Cherokee, Clarke,
                                   Clayton, Clinch,
                                   Cobb, Columbia,
                                   Coweta, Crawford,
                                   Crisp, Dade,
                                   Dawson, Decatur,
                                   De Kalb, Dodge,
                                   Dooly, Douglas,
                                   Elbert, Emanuel,
                                   Evans, Fannin,
                                   Fayette, Floyd,
                                   Forsyth, Franklin,
                                   Fulton, Gilmer,
                                   Glascock, Gordon,
                                   Grady, Gwinnett,
                                   Habersham, Hall,
                                   Haralson, Harris,
                                   Hart, Heard,
                                   Henry, Houston,
                                   Irwin, Jackson,
                                   Jeff Davis,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Johnson, Lamar,
                                   Lanier, Laurens,
                                   Lincoln, Long,
                                   Lumpkin, McDuffie,
                                   Macon, Madison,
                                   Marion,
                                   Meriwether,
                                   Miller, Mitchell,
                                   Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Murray, Muscogee,
                                   Oconee,
                                   Oglethorpe,
                                   Paulding, Peach,
                                   Pickens, Pike,
                                   Polk, Pulaski,
                                   Rabun, Richmond,
                                   Rockdale, Screven,
                                   Seminole,
                                   Spalding,
                                   Stephens, Sumter,
                                   Talbot, Tattnall,
                                   Taylor, Telfair,
                                   Thomas, Towns,
                                   Treutlen, Troup,
                                   Turner, Twiggs,
                                   Union, Upson,
                                   Walker, Walton,
                                   Warren,
                                   Washington, Wayne,
                                   Wheeler, White,
                                   Whitfield, Wilkes,
                                   Wilkinson.
AL..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................  .......         9
FL..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
NC..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
SC..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
TN..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2280.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
TX..............................  Angelina, Aransas,   4-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2281.........  Drought, above normal                  117        87
                                   Archer, Armstrong,                                                                                      temperatures, wildfires.
                                   Atascosa, Bailey,
                                   Bastrop, Baylor,
                                   Bell, Bexar,
                                   Borden, Briscoe,
                                   Brown, Burnet,
                                   Callahan, Cameron,
                                   Carson, Castro,
                                   Childress, Clay,
                                   Cochran, Coke,
                                   Coleman,
                                   Collingsworth,
                                   Comanche, Concho,
                                   Coryell, Cottle,
                                   Crockett, Crosby,
                                   Dawson, Deaf
                                   Smith, Dickens,
                                   Donley, Erath,
                                   Fisher, Floyd,
                                   Fort Bend, Gaines,
                                   Garza, Glasscock,
                                   Gray, Grimes,
                                   Hale, Hall,
                                   Hansford, Harris,
                                   Harrison, Haskell,
                                   Hemphill, Hockley,
                                   Howard,
                                   Hutchinson, Irion,
                                   Jackson, Jasper,
                                   Jones, Kent, Kerr,
                                   King, Knox, Lamb,
                                   Lampasas,
                                   Lipscomb, Lubbock,
                                   Lynn, Marion,
                                   Maverick,
                                   McCulloch, Menard,
                                   Milam, Mitchell,
                                   Montgomery, Moore,
                                   Motley, Newton,
                                   Nolan, Nueces,
                                   Ochiltree, Oldham,
                                   Panola, Parmer,
                                   Polk, Potter,
                                   Randall, Reagan,
                                   Real, Refugio,
                                   Roberts, Sabine,
                                   San Augustine, San
                                   Jacinto, San
                                   Patricio,
                                   Schleicher,
                                   Scurry,
                                   Shackelford,
                                   Sherman, Sterling,
                                   Stonewall, Sutton,
                                   Swisher, Taylor,
                                   Terry,
                                   Throckmorton, Tom
                                   Green, Travis,
                                   Trinity, Tyler,
                                   Upton, Uvalde, Val
                                   Verde, Victoria,
                                   Walker, Wheeler,
                                   Wichita, Yoakum,
                                   Young.
LA..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2281.........  Drought, above normal              .......         6
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, wildfires.
NM..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2281.........  Drought, above normal              .......         4
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, wildfires.
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-05........  continuing.....  3-07-06........  11-07-06......  S2281.........  Drought, above normal              .......        10
                                                                                                                                           temperatures, wildfires.
NY..............................  Cortland, Tompkins.  10-20-05.......  11-20-05.......  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2282.........  Excessive rain...................        2         9
TN..............................  Anderson, Campbell,  5-01-05........  continuing.....  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2283.........  Drought, higher than normal              6        19
                                   Cannon, Carter,                                                                                         temperatures.
                                   Knox, Sullivan.
KY..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2283.........  Drought, higher than normal        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
NC..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2283.........  Drought, higher than normal        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
VA..............................  ...................  5-01-05........  continuing.....  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2283.........  Drought, higher than normal        .......         3
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
TX..............................  Jack...............  1-12-06........  1-12-06........  3-10-06........  11-10-06......  S2284.........  Wildfire, high winds.............        1         7
TX..............................  Erath..............  1-01-06........  1-01-06........  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2285.........  Wildfire.........................        1         7
WV..............................  Barbour, Berkeley,   3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................       29        12
                                   Boone, Brooke,
                                   Cabell, Grant,
                                   Hampshire,
                                   Hancock, Hardy,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Lincoln, Logan,
                                   Marion, Marshall,
                                   Mason, Mineral,
                                   Mingo, Monongalia,
                                   Morgan, Ohio,
                                   Pendleton,
                                   Preston, Putnam,
                                   Randolph, Taylor,
                                   Tucker, Tyler,
                                   Wayne, Wetzel.
KY..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
MD..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
OH..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
PA..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
VA..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  11-30-05.......  3-29-06........  11-29-06......  S2286.........  Drought..........................  .......         8
CO..............................  Huerfano, Kiowa,     3-01-05........  continuing.....  4-05-06........  12-05-06......  S2287.........  Drought, related disasters.......        4        14
                                   Las Animas,
                                   Sedgwick.
KS..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  4-05-06........  12-05-06......  S2287.........  Drought, related disasters.......  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  4-05-06........  12-05-06......  S2287.........  Drought, related disasters.......  .......         4
NM..............................  ...................  3-01-05........  continuing.....  4-05-06........  12-05-06......  S2287.........  Drought, related disasters.......  .......         2
TX..............................  Frio...............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  4-18-06........  12-18-06......  S2288.........  Drought, high temperatures.......        1         7
TX..............................  Wheeler............  3-12-06........  3-15-06........  4-18-06........  12-18-06......  S2289.........  Fire, high winds.................        1         5
OK..............................  ...................  3-12-06........  3-15-06........  4-18-06........  12-18-06......  S2289.........  Fire, high winds.................  .......         2
TX..............................  Collingsworth......  3-12-06........  continuing.....  4-20-06........  12-20-06......  S2290.........  Fire, high winds.................        1         5
OK..............................  ...................  3-12-06........  continuing.....  4-20-06........  12-20-06......  S2290.........  Fire, high winds.................  .......         2
TX..............................  Gray...............  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  4-20-06........  12-20-06......  S2291.........  Fire, extreme wind...............        1         7
TX..............................  Roberts............  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  4-20-06........  12-20-06......  S2292.........  Fire.............................        1         8
TX..............................  Taylor.............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  4-20-06........  12-20-06......  S2293.........  Drought..........................        1         6
HI..............................  Honolulu, Kauai....  2-20-06........  3-26-06........  4-24-06........  12-27-06......  S2294.........  Rain, flooding...................        2  ..........
TX..............................  Cottle.............  3-12-06........  continuing.....  5-03-06........  1-03-07.......  S2295.........  Fire, high winds.................        1         7
AZ..............................  All counties except  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................       14         1
                                   Laz.
CA..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................  .......         6
NV..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-09-06........  1-09-07.......  S2296.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Armstrong..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-15-06........  1-16-07.......  S2297.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         7
TX..............................  Donley.............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-15-06........  1-15-07.......  S2298.........  Fire, high temperatures..........        1         7
TX..............................  Hutchinson.........  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  5-15-06........  1-15-07.......  S2299.........  Fire.............................        1         7
TX..............................  Runnels............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-15-06........  1-15-07.......  S2300.........  Drought..........................        1         6
NM..............................  All counties except  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............       31         2
                                   Chaves, Los Alamos.
AZ..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         3
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         7
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         1
TX..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......        16
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2301.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         1
TX..............................  Hemphill...........  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2302.........  Fire.............................        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  5-18-06........  1-18-07.......  S2302.........  Fire.............................  .......         2
TX..............................  Coryell............  3-24-06........  3-24-06........  5-22-06........  1-22-07.......  S2303.........  Freeze...........................        1         5
TX..............................  Gillespie..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-22-06........  1-22-07.......  S2304.........  Drought..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Lipscomb...........  4-11-06........  4-11-06........  5-22-06........  1-22-07.......  S2305.........  Wildfires........................        1         3
OK..............................  ...................  4-11-06........  4-11-06........  5-22-06........  1-22-07.......  S2305.........  Wildfires........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Oldham, Potter.....  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-30-06........  1-30-07.......  S2306.........  Drought, high winds..............        2         7
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-30-06........  1-30-07.......  S2306.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         1
TX..............................  Armstrong..........  3-05-06........  3-11-06........  5-31-06........  1-31-07.......  S2307.........  Wildfires........................        1         7
TX..............................  Calhoun, Hamilton..  1-01-06........  continuing.....  5-31-06........  1-31-07.......  S2308.........  Drought..........................        2        11
TX..............................  Cooke..............  4-28-06........  4-28-06........  5-31-06........  1-31-07.......  S2309.........  Flash flooding, hail, high winds.        1         4
OK..............................  ...................  4-28-06........  4-28-06........  5-31-06........  1-31-07.......  S2309.........  Flash flooding, hail, high winds.  .......         1
TX..............................  Gillespie..........  3-24-06........  3-25-06........  5-31-06........  1-31-07.......  S2310.........  Freeze...........................        1         6
TX..............................  Brewster...........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-05-06........  2-05-07.......  S2311.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         4
TX..............................  Oldham.............  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  6-05-06........  2-05-07.......  S2312.........  Wildfires........................        1         5
NM..............................  ...................  3-12-06........  3-12-06........  6-05-06........  2-05-07.......  S2312.........  Wildfires........................  .......         1
AR..............................  Ashley, Bradley....  4-07-06........  4-07-06........  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2313.........  Hail, high winds.................        2         5
LA..............................  ...................  4-07-06........  4-07-06........  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2313.........  Hail, high winds.................  .......         2
KS..............................  Cherokee, Morton...  8-01-05........  continuing.....  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2314.........  Drought, high winds, wildfires,          2         4
                                                                                                                                           above-normal temperatures.
CO..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2314.........  Drought, high winds, wildfires,    .......         2
                                                                                                                                           above-normal temperatures.
MO..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2314.........  Drought, high winds, wildfires,    .......         1
                                                                                                                                           above-normal temperatures.
OK..............................  ...................  8-01-05........  continuing.....  6-12-06........  2-12-07.......  S2314.........  Drought, high winds, wildfires,    .......         4
                                                                                                                                           above-normal temperatures.
CA..............................  Alameda, Amador,     12-17-06.......  4-26-06........  6-15-06........  2-15-07.......  S2315.........  Storms: Excessive rainfall, hail,       29        21
                                   Butte, Calaveras,                                                                                       high winds, Frost, freeze,
                                   Contra Costa, El                                                                                        fluctuating temperatures.
                                   Dorado, Fresno,
                                   Glenn, Humboldt,
                                   Kings, Lake,
                                   Madera, Mendocino,
                                   Merced, Nevada,
                                   Plumas,
                                   Sacramento, San
                                   Joaquin, San
                                   Mateo, Shasta,
                                   Sierra, Solano,
                                   Sonoma,
                                   Stanislaus,
                                   Sutter, Tehama,
                                   Tulare, Yolo, Yuba.
NV..............................  ...................  12-17-06.......  4-26-06........  6-15-06........  2-15-07.......  S2315.........  Storms: Excessive rainfall, hail,  .......         2
                                                                                                                                           high winds, Frost, freeze,
                                                                                                                                           fluctuating temperatures.
TX..............................  Bosque, Johnson,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-15-06........  2-15-07.......  S2316.........  Drought..........................        3        12
                                   McLennan.
TX..............................  Terrell............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-15-06........  2-15-07.......  S2317.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         4
TX..............................  Collin.............  5-09-06........  5-09-06........  6-19-06........  2-19-07.......  S2318.........  Tornado..........................        1         6
TX..............................  Kleberg............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-19-06........  2-19-07.......  S2319.........  Drought, excessive temperatures,         1         4
                                                                                                                                           high winds.
TX..............................  McLennan...........  5-06-06........  5-06-06........  6-19-06........  2-19-07.......  S2320.........  Excessive rain, hail, high winds,        1         6
                                                                                                                                           tornado.
VT..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-06........  continuing.....  6-23-06........  2-23-07.......  S2321.........  Severe weather; excessive               14  ..........
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
MA..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  6-23-06........  2-23-07.......  S2321.........  Severe weather; excessive          .......         2
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
NH..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  6-23-06........  2-23-07.......  S2321.........  Severe weather; excessive          .......         4
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
NY..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  6-23-06........  2-23-07.......  S2321.........  Severe weather; excessive          .......         4
                                                                                                                                           rainfall.
CA..............................  Placer.............  3-01-06........  4-30-06........  6-26-06........  2-26-07.......  S2322.........  Excessive rainfall, hail.........        1         5
NV..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  4-30-06........  6-26-06........  2-26-07.......  S2322.........  Excessive rainfall, hail.........  .......         3
CA..............................  Placer.............  3-01-06........  4-30-06........  6-26-06........  2-26-07.......  S2322.........  Excess rainfall [sic], hail......        1  ..........
TX..............................  McLennan...........  3-24-06........  3-25-06........  6-29-06........  3-01-07.......  S2323.........  Freeze...........................        1         6
TX..............................  Mitchell...........  5-02-06........  5-02-06........  6-29-06........  3-01-07.......  S2324.........  Flash flooding, hail, tornado....        1         7
AL..............................  Baldwin, Coffee,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-30-06........  3-02-07.......  S2325.........  Drought, high temperatures.......       48        18
                                   Barbour, Bibb,
                                   Bullock, Butler,
                                   Chambers,
                                   Cherokee, Choctaw,
                                   Clarke, Clay,
                                   Etowah, Colbert,
                                   Conecuh, Coosa,
                                   Covington,
                                   Crenshaw, Cullman,
                                   Dale, Elmore,
                                   Escambia, Lee,
                                   Franklin, Geneva,
                                   Greene, Hale,
                                   Henry, Houston,
                                   Jackson,
                                   Lauderdale,
                                   Lawrence,
                                   Randolph, Macon,
                                   Madison, Marengo,
                                   Mobile, Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Morgan, Perry,
                                   Pike, Russell, St.
                                   Clair, Sumter,
                                   Tallapoosa,
                                   Tuscaloosa,
                                   Washington, Wilcox.
MS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-30-06........  3-02-07.......  S2325.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         6
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-30-06........  3-02-07.......  S2325.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......        15
AL..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-30-06........  3-02-07.......  S2325.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......        10
AL..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  6-30-06........  3-02-07.......  S2325.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         7
CA..............................  Lassen.............  1-01-06........  4-30-06........  7-05-06........  3-05-07.......  S2326.........  Excessive rainfall, flooding,            1         4
                                                                                                                                           cooler than normal temperatures.
NV..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  4-30-06........  7-05-06........  3-05-07.......  S2326.........  Excessive rainfall, flooding,      .......         1
                                                                                                                                           cooler than normal temperatures.
CO..............................  Adams, Alamosa,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................       28        24
                                   Broomfield, Baca,
                                   Chaffee, Cheyenne,
                                   Conejos, Costilla,
                                   Custer, Denver,
                                   Dolores, Douglas,
                                   Elbert, Fremont,
                                   Hinsdale,
                                   Huerfano, Kit
                                   Carson, Lake, Las
                                   Animas, Mineral,
                                   Montezuma, Morgan,
                                   Prowers, Pueblo,
                                   Rio Grande,
                                   Saguache, San
                                   Miguel, Weld.
AZ..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         7
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2327.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
NY..............................  Cattaraugus,         4-25-06........  4-27-06........  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2328.........  Frost............................        3         4
                                   Chautauqua, Erie.
PA..............................  ...................  4-25-06........  4-27-06........  7-10-06........  3-12-07.......  S2328.........  Frost............................  .......         3
CO..............................  Arapahoe,            1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-11-06........  3-12-07.......  S2329.........  Drought..........................       17        37
                                   Archuleta, Bent,
                                   Boulder, Crowley,
                                   Delta, El Paso,
                                   Gunnison,
                                   Jefferson, Kiowa,
                                   La Plata,
                                   Montrose, Ouray,
                                   Park, Phillips,
                                   Teller, Washington.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-11-06........  3-12-07.......  S2329.........  Drought..........................  .......        11
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-11-06........  3-12-07.......  S2329.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-11-06........  3-12-07.......  S2329.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-11-06........  3-12-07.......  S2329.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
CO..............................  Dolores, Montezuma,  5-09-06........  5-30-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2330.........  Freeze...........................        3         4
                                   San Miguel.
AZ..............................  ...................  5-09-06........  5-30-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2330.........  Freeze...........................  .......         1
NM..............................  ...................  5-09-06........  5-30-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2330.........  Freeze...........................  .......         1
UT..............................  ...................  5-09-06........  5-30-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2330.........  Freeze...........................  .......         1
NE..............................  Boyd, Brown,         1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2331.........  High winds, excessive heat,a late       13        18
                                   Buffalo, Garfield,                                                                                      freeze, drought.
                                   Howard, Kearney,
                                   Keya Paha, Loup,
                                   Rock, Sherman,
                                   Valley, Webster,
                                   Wheeler.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2331.........  High winds, excessive heat,a late  .......         2
                                                                                                                                           freeze, drought.
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2331.........  High winds, excessive heat,a late  .......         4
                                                                                                                                           freeze, drought.
NE..............................  Arthur, Banner,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2332.........  High winds, excessive heat [high        36        15
                                   Blaine, Box Butte,                                                                                      temperatures], drought.
                                   Chase, Cherry,
                                   Cheyenne, Custer,
                                   Dawes, Dawson,
                                   Deuel, Dundy,
                                   Franklin,
                                   Frontier, Furnas,
                                   Garden, Gosper,
                                   Grant, Harlan,
                                   Hayes, Hitchcock,
                                   Holt, Hooker,
                                   Keith, Kimball,
                                   Lincoln, Logan,
                                   McPherson,
                                   Morrill, Perkins,
                                   Phelps, Red
                                   Willow, Scotts
                                   Bluff, Sheridan,
                                   Sioux, Thomas.
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2332.........  High winds, excessive heat [high   .......         5
                                                                                                                                           temperatures], drought.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2332.........  High winds, excessive heat [high   .......         6
                                                                                                                                           temperatures], drought.
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2332.........  High winds, excessive heat [high   .......         5
                                                                                                                                           temperatures], drought.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2332.........  High winds, excessive heat [high   .......         3
                                                                                                                                           temperatures], drought.
OR..............................  Malheur............  3-29-06........  5-10-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2333.........  Flooding, cooler temperatures,           1         3
                                                                                                                                           abnormally high precipitation.
ID..............................  ...................  3-29-06........  5-10-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2333.........  Flooding, cooler temperatures,     .......         4
                                                                                                                                           abnormally high precipitation.
NV..............................  ...................  3-29-06........  5-10-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2333.........  Flooding, cooler temperatures,     .......         1
                                                                                                                                           abnormally high precipitation.
AR..............................  Jefferson..........  5-10-06........  5-10-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2334.........  Excessive rainfall, high winds,          1         6
                                                                                                                                           tornadoes, lightning.
AR..............................  Little River.......  5-04-06........  5-04-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2335.........  Excessive thunderstorms,                 1         4
                                                                                                                                           rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           lightning.
OK..............................  ...................  5-04-06........  5-04-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2335.........  Excessive thunderstorms,           .......         1
                                                                                                                                           rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           lightning.
TX..............................  ...................  5-04-06........  5-04-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2335.........  Excessive thunderstorms,           .......         1
                                                                                                                                           rainfall, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           lightning.
TX..............................  Lee................  4-20-06........  4-20-06........  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2336.........  High winds.......................        1         6
TX..............................  Kenedy.............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-13-06........  3-13-07.......  S2337.........  Drought, excessive temperatures,         1         4
                                                                                                                                           high winds.
TX..............................  Colorado, Pecos....  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-20-06........  3-20-07.......  S2338.........  Drought..........................        2        12
TX..............................  Dimmit.............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-20-06........  3-20-07.......  S2339.........  Drought..........................        1         5
TX..............................  Duval..............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-20-06........  3-20-07.......  S2340.........  Drought, high winds, high                1         7
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
TX..............................  Mason..............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-20-06........  3-20-07.......  S2341.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         6
TX..............................  Nolan..............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-20-06........  3-20-07.......  S2342.........  Drought, fire, high winds........        1         7
OK..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high             77  ..........
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
AR..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......         8
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
CO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......        14
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
TX..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2343.........  Drought, extreme heat, high        .......        20
                                                                                                                                           winds, stressful moisture
                                                                                                                                           conditions.
SD..............................  Brule, Buffalo,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2344.........  Spring killing frost, extreme           23        18
                                   Campbell, Corson,                                                                                       heat, high winds, hail, insect
                                   Custer, Dewey,                                                                                          damage, drought.
                                   Edmunds, Fall
                                   River, Faulk,
                                   Hughes, Hyde,
                                   Jackson, Jerauld,
                                   Jones, Lyman,
                                   Meade, Pennington,
                                   Perkins, Potter,
                                   Stanley, Sully,
                                   Walworth, Ziebach.
ND..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2344.........  Spring killing frost, extreme      .......         4
                                                                                                                                           heat, high winds, hail, insect
                                                                                                                                           damage, drought.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2344.........  Spring killing frost, extreme      .......         2
                                                                                                                                           heat, high winds, hail, insect
                                                                                                                                           damage, drought.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2344.........  Spring killing frost, extreme      .......         2
                                                                                                                                           heat, high winds, hail, insect
                                                                                                                                           damage, drought.
SD..............................  Brule, Buffalo,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2344,          ADDS: prairie fires caused by dry       23        18
                                   Campbell, Corson,                                                                       Amendment 1.    lightning to disasters for 23
                                   Custer, Dewey,                                                                                          counties.
                                   Edmunds, Fall
                                   River, Faulk,
                                   Hughes, Hyde,
                                   Jackson, Jerauld,
                                   Jones, Lyman,
                                   Meade, Pennington,
                                   Perkins, Potter,
                                   Stanley, Sully,
                                   Walworth, Ziebach.
ND..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2344,          ADDS: prairie fires caused by dry  .......         4
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.    lightning to disasters for 23
                                                                                                                                           counties.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2344,          ADDS: prairie fires caused by dry  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.    lightning to disasters for 23
                                                                                                                                           counties.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2344,          ADDS: prairie fires caused by dry  .......         2
                                                                                                                           Amendment 1.    lightning to disasters for 23
                                                                                                                                           counties.
SD..............................  Turner.............  6-16-06........  6-16-06........  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2345.........  High winds, heavy rain, hail.....        1         6
TN..............................  Rutherford.........  5-11-06........  5-25-06........  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2346.........  Hail, excessive rain.............        1         7
TX..............................  Live Oak, McMullen.  1-01-06........  continuing.....  7-27-06........  3-27-07.......  S2347.........  Drought..........................        2         9
TX..............................  Calhoun............  6-20-06........  6-20-06........  7-31-06........  4-02-07.......  S2348.........  Excessive rain, flash flooding,          1         5
                                                                                                                                           flooding.
TX..............................  Hartley, La Salle,   1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-02-06........  4-02-07.......  S2349.........  Drought..........................        3        14
                                   Presidio.
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-02-06........  4-02-07.......  S2349.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Robertson..........  4-18-06........  4-20-06........  8-07-06........  4-09-07.......  S2350.........  Hail, high winds.................        1         7
CO..............................  Eagle, Fremont,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2351.........  Drought, heat, high winds........        8        21
                                   Garfield, Larimer,
                                   Logan, Otero,
                                   Pitkin, Rio
                                   Blanco, Yuma.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2351.........  Drought, heat, high winds........  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2351.........  Drought, heat, high winds........  .......         4
UT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2351.........  Drought, heat, high winds........  .......         2
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2351.........  Drought, heat, high winds........  .......         2
CO..............................  Fremont............  7-05-06........  7-05-06........  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2352.........  Flooding.........................        1         7
CO..............................  Yuma...............  4-28-06........  6-10-06........  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2353.........  Hail.............................        1         4
KS..............................  ...................  4-28-06........  6-10-06........  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2353.........  Hail.............................  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  4-28-06........  6-10-06........  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2353.........  Hail.............................  .......         2
TX..............................  Llano..............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2354.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         5
TX..............................  Lubbock............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2355.........  Drought, high winds, extreme             1         8
                                                                                                                                           temperatures.
TX..............................  Victoria...........  1-01-06........  6-01-06........  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2356.........  Drought..........................        1         6
SD..............................  Aurora, Beadle,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2357.........  Late spring killing frost,              18        35
                                   Bennett, Butte,                                                                                         extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                   Clark, Codington,                                                                                       insect damage, insufficient
                                   Douglas, Haakon,                                                                                        subsoil moisture, prairie fires
                                   Hand, Harding,                                                                                          caused by dry lightning, ongoing
                                   Hutchinson,                                                                                             drought.
                                   Mellette,
                                   McPherson,
                                   Sanborn, Shannon,
                                   Spink, Todd, Tripp.
MT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2357.........  Late spring killing frost,         .......         2
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           insect damage, insufficient
                                                                                                                                           subsoil moisture, prairie fires
                                                                                                                                           caused by dry lightning, ongoing
                                                                                                                                           drought.
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2357.........  Late spring killing frost,         .......         4
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           insect damage, insufficient
                                                                                                                                           subsoil moisture, prairie fires
                                                                                                                                           caused by dry lightning, ongoing
                                                                                                                                           drought.
ND..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2357.........  Late spring killing frost,         .......         4
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           insect damage, insufficient
                                                                                                                                           subsoil moisture, prairie fires
                                                                                                                                           caused by dry lightning, ongoing
                                                                                                                                           drought.
WY..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-08-06........  4-09-07.......  S2357.........  Late spring killing frost,         .......         1
                                                                                                                                           extreme heat, high winds, hail,
                                                                                                                                           insect damage, insufficient
                                                                                                                                           subsoil moisture, prairie fires
                                                                                                                                           caused by dry lightning, ongoing
                                                                                                                                           drought.
CT..............................  Entire State.......  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2358.........  Cool spring, excessively wet             8  ..........
                                                                                                                                           weather pattern.
MA..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2358.........  Cool spring, excessively wet       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           weather pattern.
NY..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2358.........  Cool spring, excessively wet       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           weather pattern.
RI..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2358.........  Cool spring, excessively wet       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           weather pattern.
NJ..............................  Atlantic, Bergen,    6-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2359.........  Excessive precipitation, high           17         4
                                   Burlington,                                                                                             winds, hail, high humidity.
                                   Camden, Cape May,
                                   Cumberland,
                                   Gloucester,
                                   Hunterdon, Mercer,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Monmouth, Morris,
                                   Ocean, Salem,
                                   Somerset, Sussex,
                                   Warren.
DE..............................  ...................  6-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2359.........  Excessive precipitation, high      .......         1
                                                                                                                                           winds, hail, high humidity.
NY..............................  ...................  6-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2359.........  Excessive precipitation, high      .......         3
                                                                                                                                           winds, hail, high humidity.
PA..............................  ...................  6-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2359.........  Excessive precipitation, high      .......         6
                                                                                                                                           winds, hail, high humidity.
RI..............................  Entire State.......  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2360.........  unusually cool spring,                   5  ..........
                                                                                                                                           excessively wet weather pattern
                                                                                                                                           (excessive rainfall).
CT..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2360.........  unusually cool spring,             .......         2
                                                                                                                                           excessively wet weather pattern
                                                                                                                                           (excessive rainfall).
MA..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2360.........  unusually cool spring,             .......         3
                                                                                                                                           excessively wet weather pattern
                                                                                                                                           (excessive rainfall).
TX..............................  Dallam, Hardeman,    1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2361.........  Drought..........................        7        28
                                   Jim Wells, Kinney,
                                   San Patricio,
                                   Wilson, Zavala.
NM..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2361.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2361.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Foard, Stephens,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2362.........  Drought, high winds..............        3        12
                                   Wilbarger.
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-15-06........  4-16-07.......  S2362.........  Drought, high winds..............  .......         2
CA..............................  Tulare.............  5-01-06........  5-15-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2363.........  Unseasonable heat spell..........        1         4
GA..............................  All counties except  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........      155         4
                                   Fannin, Gilmer,
                                   Towns, Union.
AL..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......        11
FL..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         9
NC..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         3
SC..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......        10
TN..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2364.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         4
NH..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2365.........  Flooding, excessive rain.........       10  ..........
ME..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2365.........  Flooding, excessive rain.........  .......         2
MA..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2365.........  Flooding, excessive rain.........  .......         4
VT..............................  Entire State.......  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2365.........  Flooding, excessive rain.........  .......         5
NY..............................  Albany, Schoharie..  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2366.........  Excessive rain, cold temperatures        2         8
NY..............................  Columbia, Greene...  4-01-06........  5-31-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2367.........  Freeze, frost, hail, excessive           2         6
                                                                                                                                           rain.
CT..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  5-31-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2367.........  Freeze, frost, hail, excessive     .......         1
                                                                                                                                           rain.
MA..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  5-31-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2367.........  Freeze, frost, hail, excessive     .......         1
                                                                                                                                           rain.
NY..............................  Cortland,            4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2368.........  Tree tent caterpillar infestation        3        14
                                   Jefferson,                                                                                              due to unusually mild winter
                                   Washington.                                                                                             weather.
VT..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2368.........  Tree tent caterpillar infestation  .......         3
                                                                                                                                           due to unusually mild winter
                                                                                                                                           weather.
NY..............................  Dutchess, Ulster...  6-24-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2369.........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash          2         6
                                                                                                                                           flooding, high winds.
CT..............................  ...................  6-24-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2369.........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash    .......         2
                                                                                                                                           flooding, high winds.
MA..............................  ...................  6-24-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2369.........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash    .......         1
                                                                                                                                           flooding, high winds.
NY..............................  Wayne..............  5-11-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2370.........  Hail, high winds, excessive rain.        1         4
TX..............................  Fannin, Hopkins,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2371.........  Drought..........................        5        24
                                   Hunt, Jeff Davis,
                                   Lavaca.
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2371.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Knox...............  7-11-06........  7-11-06........  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2372.........  Hail.............................        1         6
TX..............................  Red River..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2373.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        1         7
OK..............................  Red River..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2373.........  Drought, excessive heat..........  .......         2
TX..............................  Willacy............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-21-06........  4-23-07.......  S2374.........  Drought, high temperatures, high         1         3
                                                                                                                                           winds.
WI..............................  Adams, Ashland,      4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-25-06........  4-25-07.......  S2375.........  Drought..........................       19        20
                                   Barron, Bayfield,
                                   Burnett, Douglas,
                                   Dunn, Iron,
                                   Langlade, Lincoln,
                                   Marquette, Polk,
                                   Price, Rusk, St.
                                   Croix, Sawyer,
                                   Taylor, Washburn,
                                   Waushara.
MI..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-25-06........  4-25-07.......  S2375.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
MN..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  8-25-06........  4-25-07.......  S2375.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
VA..............................  Pittsylvania,        3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-28-06........  4-30-07.......  S2376.........  Drought, high temperatures.......        2        11
                                   Rappahannock.
NC..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  8-28-06........  4-30-07.......  S2376.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
TX..............................  Glasscock..........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-28-06........  4-30-07.......  S2377.........  Drought, heat, high winds, low           1         6
                                                                                                                                           humidity.
MN..............................  Aitkin, Anoka,       5-10-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2378.........  Drought..........................       36        15
                                   Beltrami, Benton,
                                   Carlton, Cass,
                                   Chisago,
                                   Clearwater, Cook,
                                   Crow Wing,
                                   Hennepin, Hubbard,
                                   Isanti, Itasca,
                                   Kanabec, Kittson,
                                   Koochiching, Lake,
                                   Lake of the Woods,
                                   Mahnomen,
                                   Marshall, Mille
                                   Lacs, Morrison,
                                   Norman,
                                   Pennington, Pine,
                                   Polk, Pope, Red
                                   Lake, Roseau, St.
                                   Louis, Sherburne,
                                   Stearns, Todd,
                                   Wadena, Wright.
ND..............................  ...................  5-10-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2378.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
WI..............................  ...................  5-10-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2378.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
TX..............................  Karnes.............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2379.........  Drought..........................        1         7
WA..............................  Adams, Benton,       5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2380.........  Adverse weather conditions:             12        15
                                   Chelan, Douglas,                                                                                        Excessive rain, excessive heat,
                                   Grant, Lincoln,                                                                                         hail, high winds, severe
                                   Okanogan, Spokane,                                                                                      thunderstorms, lightning, flash
                                   Franklin, Walla                                                                                         flooding, freezing weather.
                                   Walla, Whitman,
                                   Yakima.
ID..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2380.........  Adverse weather conditions:        .......         5
                                                                                                                                           Excessive rain, excessive heat,
                                                                                                                                           hail, high winds, severe
                                                                                                                                           thunderstorms, lightning, flash
                                                                                                                                           flooding, freezing weather.
OR..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2380.........  Adverse weather conditions:        .......         2
                                                                                                                                           Excessive rain, excessive heat,
                                                                                                                                           hail, high winds, severe
                                                                                                                                           thunderstorms, lightning, flash
                                                                                                                                           flooding, freezing weather.
AL..............................  Autauga, Blount,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2381.........  Drought, high temperatures.......       19        24
                                   Calhoun, Chilton,
                                   Cleburne, Dallas,
                                   De Kalb, Fayette,
                                   Jefferson, Lamar,
                                   Limestone,
                                   Lowndes, Marion,
                                   Marshall, Pickens,
                                   Shelby, Talladega,
                                   Walker, Winston.
GA..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2381.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         6
MS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2381.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         4
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2381.........  Drought, high temperatures.......  .......         2
CO..............................  Jackson, Lincoln,    1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2382.........  Drought..........................        4        18
                                   Mesa, Moffat.
MS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2382.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
TN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2382.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
IA..............................  Cerro Gordo,         1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........       20        44
                                   Cherokee, Clay,
                                   Crawford, Des
                                   Moines, Dickinson,
                                   Harrison,
                                   Humboldt, Ida,
                                   Lee, Lucas,
                                   Madison, Monona,
                                   Monroe,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Plymouth, Sac,
                                   Sioux, Woodbury,
                                   Worth.
IL..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........  .......         3
MN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........  .......         3
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........  .......         1
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........  .......         4
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2383.........  Drought, severe weather..........  .......         2
MA..............................  Barnstable,          5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive            11         2
                                   Berkshire,                                                                                              rain, floods.
                                   Bristol, Essex,
                                   Franklin, Hampden,
                                   Hampshire,
                                   Middlesex,
                                   Norfolk, Plymouth,
                                   Worcester.
CT..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive       .......         4
                                                                                                                                           rain, floods.
NH..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           rain, floods.
NY..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           rain, floods.
RI..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           rain, floods.
VT..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  6-30-06........  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2384.........  Cool temperatures, excessive       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           rain, floods.
TN..............................  Fentress, Franklin,  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2385.........  Drought, extreme heat............        6        18
                                   McMinn, Meigs,
                                   Morgan, Scott.
TN..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2385.........  Drought, extreme heat............  .......         2
TN..............................  ...................  5-01-06........  continuing.....  8-31-06........  5-01-07.......  S2385.........  Drought, extreme heat............  .......         2
CA..............................  Butte, Calaveras,    7-15-06........  7-31-06........  9-07-06........  5-07-07.......  S2386.........  Record setting HEAT WAVE.........       16        31
                                   Fresno, Glenn,
                                   Imperial, Kern,
                                   Kings, Madera,
                                   Merced, San
                                   Bernardino,
                                   Solano, Sonoma,
                                   Stanislaus,
                                   Sutter, Tehama,
                                   Tulare.
AZ..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2386.........  Record setting HEAT WAVE.........  .......         3
NV..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2386.........  # N/A............................  .......         1
NY..............................  Cayuga, Chenango,    4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2387.........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash         21        20
                                   Clinton, Columbia,                                                                                      flooding.
                                   Cortland, Essex,
                                   Franklin, Fulton,
                                   Greene, Herkimer,
                                   Jefferson, Lewis,
                                   Montgomery,
                                   Orange, Otsego,
                                   Rensselaer, St.
                                   Lawrence,
                                   Saratoga, Suffolk,
                                   Sullivan,
                                   Washington.
CT..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2387.........  # N/A............................  .......         1
MA..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2387.........  # N/A............................  .......         1
NJ..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2387.........  # N/A............................  .......         2
PA..............................  ...................  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A..........  # N/A.........  S2387.........  # N/A............................  .......         2
VT..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2387.........  Excessive rain, flooding, flash    .......         5
                                                                                                                                           flooding.
ND..............................  Entire State.......  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2388.........  Drought, drought-related                53  ..........
                                                                                                                                           disasters.
MN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2388.........  Drought, drought-related           .......         7
                                                                                                                                           disasters.
MT..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2388.........  Drought, drought-related           .......         5
                                                                                                                                           disasters.
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2388.........  Drought, drought-related           .......         8
                                                                                                                                           disasters.
TX..............................  Camp, Franklin,      4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2389.........  Drought..........................        7        15
                                   Grayson, Morris,
                                   Rains, Titus, Wood.
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2389.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
MS..............................  Entire State.......  3-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2390.........  Drought..........................       82  ..........
AL..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2390.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
AR..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2390.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
LA..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2390.........  Drought..........................  .......        10
TN..............................  ...................  3-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2390.........  Drought..........................  .......         5
MT..............................  Stillwater.........  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2391.........  Drought..........................        1         5
SD..............................  Brown, Brookings,    1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2392.........  Drought..........................       10        22
                                   Charles Mix,
                                   Davison, Grant,
                                   Gregory, Hamlin,
                                   Hanson, Kingsbury,
                                   Miner.
MN..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2392.........  Drought..........................  .......         4
NE..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2392.........  Drought..........................  .......         3
ND..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2392.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
VA..............................  Campbell...........  6-01-06........  continuing.....  9-12-06........  5-14-07.......  S2393.........  Drought, high temperatures.......        1         7
TX..............................  Collin.............  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-25-06........  5-25-07.......  S2394.........  Drought, excessive temperatures..        1         6
NE..............................  Adams, Antelope,     1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2395.........  Drought, high winds, extreme            34        20
                                   Boone, Burt,                                                                                            heat, hail, tornadoes.
                                   Butler, Cedar,
                                   Clay, Colfax,
                                   Dakota, Dixon,
                                   Dodge, Fillmore,
                                   Greeley, Hall,
                                   Hamilton,
                                   Jefferson,
                                   Johnson, Knox,
                                   Lancaster,
                                   Madison, Merrick,
                                   Nemaha, Nuckolls,
                                   Pawnee, Pierce,
                                   Richardson,
                                   Saline, Saunders,
                                   Seward, Stanton,
                                   Thayer, Thurston,
                                   Wayne, York.
IA..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2395.........  Drought, high winds, extreme       .......         3
                                                                                                                                           heat, hail, tornadoes.
KS..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2395.........  Drought, high winds, extreme       .......         7
                                                                                                                                           heat, hail, tornadoes.
MO..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2395.........  Drought, high winds, extreme       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           heat, hail, tornadoes.
SD..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2395.........  Drought, high winds, extreme       .......         5
                                                                                                                                           heat, hail, tornadoes.
NE..............................  Sheridan...........  6-20-06........  6-20-06........  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2396.........  Storm with high winds, hail,             1         6
                                                                                                                                           excessive rain, lightning,
                                                                                                                                           tornado.
SD..............................  ...................  6-20-06........  6-20-06........  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2396.........  Storm with high winds, hail,       .......         2
                                                                                                                                           excessive rain, lightning,
                                                                                                                                           tornado.
TX..............................  Bee, Blanco, Clay,   1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2397.........  Drought..........................       11        46
                                   Delta, DeWitt,
                                   Hood, Jack,
                                   Navarro, Palo
                                   Pinto, Somervell,
                                   Tom Green.
OK..............................  ...................  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2397.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
TX..............................  Bowie..............  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2398.........  Drought..........................        1         3
AR..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2398.........  Drought..........................  .......         2
OK..............................  ...................  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2398.........  Drought..........................  .......         1
TX..............................  Brooks, Jim Hogg...  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2399.........  Drought, excessive temperatures,         2         8
                                                                                                                                           high winds.
TX..............................  Gregg, Upshur......  4-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2400.........  Drought, excessive heat..........        2         7
TX..............................  Haskell, Jones,      1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2401.........  Drought, high winds, excessive           3        10
                                   Knox.                                                                                                   heat.
TX..............................  Lynn...............  1-01-06........  continuing.....  9-27-06........  5-28-07.......  S2402.........  Drought, high winds..............        1         7
                                                                                                                                                                            --------------------
      TOTAL ACTIVE..............  ...................  ...............  ...............  ...............  ..............  ..............  .................................    2,301     3,861
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   agricultural credit insurance fund
    Question. For each of the years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, please 
document in detail for the record exactly how the funds provided 
through the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund account were actually 
obligated and used by the Agency.
    Answer. The information on obligation of ACIF funds by loan 
category for fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2006 will be provided 
for the record.
    [The information follows:]

                          AGRICULTURAL CREDIT INSURANCE FUND OBLIGATIONS BY FISCAL YEAR
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Fiscal year     Fiscal year     Fiscal year     Fiscal year
                                                       2003            2004            2005            2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Loans:
    Ownership...................................         168,575         142,404         271,929         274,604
    Operating...................................         689,849         609,565         556,008         640,742
    Emergency...................................          95,698          29,789          23,570          51,525
    Indian Land Acquisition.....................             110           1,586  ..............             360
    Boll Weevil.................................          99,000          97,695          83,070          22,000
Guaranteed Loans:
    Ownership...................................       1,231,167       1,099,052       1,027,016         949,122
    Operating Unsubsidized......................       1,012,926         951,314         884,523         937,655
    Operating Subsidized........................         418,379         271,217         283,423         271,589
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Also please provide a detailed accounting of any S&E 
funds, such as the IT budget or others, that were obligated and used in 
support of Farm Loans. In each year, what was the percentage of the 
total FSA S&E appropriation actually obligated and used to support Farm 
Loans in the Field, in the State Offices, at the IT or Finance Office 
level, and at the National Office level?
    Answer. As generally required by the Federal Credit Reform Act 
(FCRA) and by OMB Circular A-11, administrative expenses in support of 
the ACIF loan programs are appropriated to the ACIF program account. 
These funds are then transferred to Farm Service Agency (FSA) Salaries 
and Expenses (S&E) account. Per the A-11, ``administrative expenses 
means all costs that are directly related to credit program operations, 
including payments to contractors. The FCRA generally requires that 
administrative expenses for both pre-1992 and post-1991 direct loans 
and loan guarantees be included in program accounts.''
    Therefore, there is relative transparency in the amount of funding 
in the FSA S&E account that is used in support of ACIF, since these 
funds are originally budgeted in and appropriated to ACIF. The table 
below provides the amounts of ACIF administrative funds that are 
transferred to the FSA S&E account, and the relative percentage of ACIF 
administrative expenses to total S&E funding.
    [The information follows:]

               AGRICULTURAL CREDIT INSURANCE FUND OBLIGATIONS AS A PERCENT OF FSA S&E OBLIGATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Fiscal year     Fiscal year     Fiscal year     Fiscal year
                                                       2003            2004            2005            2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACIF Administrative Expenses....................        $277,361        $281,350        $291,414        $301,545
Total Salaries and Expenses.....................      $1,249,900      $1,267,428      $1,318,733      $1,309,028
ACIF Admin as percent of Total S&E..............           22.19           22.20           22.10           23.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       FARM LOAN PROGRAM STAFFING

    Question. FSA has a formal training and testing procedure in place 
for Farm Loan Officers and Farm Loan Officer Trainees. It is module 
type training--complete a module and take a test. This training takes 
about a year to complete and covers loan making and loan servicing. 
Then before an FLO is granted loan approval authority they must submit 
5 loan dockets they have prepared and the loans pass a review. In 
addition to the formal training, senior management officials state that 
it requires at least another year or two of on the job training for a 
FLO to attain the experience needed to fully and independently perform 
the loan officer duties. For a FLO to attain the knowledge skills and 
ability to become a Farm Loan Manager, Farm Loan Specialist or advance 
to a Farm Loan Chief position will require additional years of 
experience.
    According to a Strategic Human Capital Management study, many Farm 
Loan employees will be retiring very soon. The Farm Loan employees are 
in the GS-1165 series. On average, 1,165 employees are retiring within 
3 months of their retirement eligibility date. 50 percent of 
supervisory 1,165 employees are eligible to retire between now and 
2008. Twenty-eight percent of all FSA 1,165 employees are eligible to 
retire between now and 2008.
    What is FSA's plan to replace these experienced Farm Loan 
employees, and how much will Congress need to invest to make sure there 
is no crisis in the ability of FSA to deliver the Farm Loan programs?
    Answer. FSA Farm Loan Officers functions are critical to the 
effective delivery and service of Agency Farm Loan Programs (FLP). 
Because the GS-1165 series within FLP requires specialized training, it 
is essential that resources to support the Farm Loan Officer Training 
program be allocated prior to announced retirements.
    FSA plans to fund additional loan officer trainee positions from 
within existing resources. In fiscal year 2006, FSA funded 30 loan 
officer trainee positions and plans on an additional 15 positions 
available for fiscal year 2007. The fiscal year 2008 budget assumes 45 
trainee positions. Analysis of available Human Resources data indicates 
that from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2009, 26 percent of 
currently employed loan officers will be eligible to retire.
                                 ______
                                 

              Questions Submitted by Senator Sam Brownback

                NATIONAL VETERINARY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT

    Question. In the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations hearings, you 
stated that the implementation of the full National Veterinary Medical 
Service Act would take 18 months. One year later, we are informed that 
you have not yet submitted for public comments a proposed rule and we 
are concerned that the National Veterinary Medical Service Act may not 
be implemented within the timeframe you initially provided.
    What steps do you have planned that will assure implementation of 
the NVMSA by October 2007 (18 months from the testimony in which you 
estimated 18 months would be necessary to complete the rules)?
    Answer. Although there are additional administrative steps that 
must be completed prior to the distribution of funds, a framework for 
the program has been proposed by CSREES. This proposal has recently 
been reviewed by the appropriate legal and regulatory entities. On 
March 12, 2007, the Final Rule was approved. The Final Rule was 
published in the Federal Register on March 19, 2007, and permits CSREES 
to implement a NVMSA program. The Department recognizes the importance 
of this Act to both the veterinary community as well as the supporters 
of the Act. You can be assured that we have communicated with agency 
personnel responsible for moving this program forward to ensure that it 
is implemented appropriately and as quickly as possible.
    Question. Section 2 of NVMSA, Public Law 108-161, reads ``The 
National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1415 
the following new section:'' Given that 3101 of the 7 U.S.C. is 
entitled ``Purposes of agricultural research, extension, and 
education'' and that the money appropriated for NVMSA has been 
allocated to CSREES's Research and Education Activities, why has the 
USDA not formally designated CSREES as the administering agency for 
NVMSA?
    Answer. A Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register on 
March 19, 2007 delegating NVMSA to CSREES.
    Question. A study of Food Supply Veterinary Medicine released in 
June 2006 quantified existing and projected shortages of veterinary 
practitioners in various practice areas. How has this study helped the 
NVMSA implementation process?
    Answer. CSREES has utilized the 2006 Kansas State University study 
on Food Supply Veterinary Medicine to identify an area of critical need 
in veterinary medicine. Results of this study indicate that among the 
highest forecasted future shortages in veterinary practice between 2004 
and 2016 will be the Federal-animal health career and Federal-food 
safety and security sectors. The finding of the study correlates with 
the large number of difficult-to-fill vacancies for veterinarians in 
FSIS.
    Question. I do not consider the short-term pilot FSIS program, 
currently being developed by CSREES, to be an acceptable substitute for 
progress on the intended NVMSA program, especially the parts of NVMSA 
that would address rural practice and emergency response shortages. 
Furthermore, I do not approve of CSREES's intention to reprogram the 
NVMSA funds into a different loan repayment program within FSIS. Is 
your work on the FSIS pilot program diverting resources that could 
otherwise be used to implement the rural and emergency response 
portions of NVMSA?
    Answer. CSREES has entered into a reimbursable agreement to 
implement the loan repayment provisions of the Act. The FSIS-oriented 
implementation strategy represents an approach that enables the 
initiation of the use of NVMSA funds as loan repayments to eligible 
veterinarians in the shortest possible time frame. Funding is not 
sufficient to implement the emergency portion of the Act.
    Question. Your colleague, former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, was 
quoted to have said, ``I, for the life of me, cannot understand why 
terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to 
do.'' Given that the risks of bioterrorism are high, that the Federal 
Government has been criticized for its preparedness for and response to 
recent disasters, and that you have in the form of NVMSA a program 
within the USDA that would create a ``Veterinary National Guard'' 
available for immediate mobilization in the event of a zoonotic or 
major food animal disease outbreak and improve disease surveillance in 
the form of escalated geographic veterinary coverage, why are you not 
expediting the implementation of NVMSA?
    Answer. Implementation of the loan repayment sections of NVMSA are 
being expedited through the use of a reimbursable agreement with FSIS, 
which was developed in order to take advantage of current student loan 
regulations. Funding is not sufficient to implement the emergency 
portion of the Act. Moreover, eligibility for service to the Federal 
Government in emergency situations is dependent on first establishing 
eligibility for the loan repayment program. The current strategy, 
therefore, helps to establish a population of veterinarians eligible to 
serve as emergency responders.

                DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

                      Food and Drug Administration

STATEMENT OF HON. ANDREW VON ESCHENBACH, COMMISSIONER, 
            FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
ACCOMPANIED BY:
        JOHN DYER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR OPERATIONS, FOOD AND DRUG 
            ADMINISTRATION
        RICHARD TURMAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR BUDGET, 
            DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
    Senator Kohl. Our next panel will include the FDA 
Commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach; Mr. John Dyer, who is 
the FDA Chief Operating Officer; and also Mr. Richard Turman of 
the Department of Health and Human Services Budget Office.
    Dr. von Eschenbach, whenever you are ready, we'll take your 
testimony.

                 STATEMENT OF DR. ANDREW VON ESCHENBACH

    Dr. von Eschenbach. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I am very 
honored to present to you and the members of the subcommittee 
the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for the Food 
and Drug Administration. I am joined this morning by Mr. John 
Dyer, the FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Operations, and Mr. 
Richard Turman, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget at 
the Department of Health and Human Services.
    Mr. Chairman, at the outset may I emphasize our 
extraordinary gratitude for your support and the support of the 
committee that was provided by Congress in fiscal year 2007. 
Soon after the President proposed our budget on February 5, 
Congress enacted a revised continuing resolution for fiscal 
year 2007, and we are in the midst of developing the operating 
plan for fiscal year 2007 that we will be forwarding to you 
within the very near future, in the 30-day time commitment.
    But, taken together, the fiscal year 2007 and the fiscal 
year 2008 budgets are components of an ongoing investment 
strategy needed to create a modern Food and Drug Administration 
capable of addressing the challenges and the opportunities of 
the 21st century. We recognize how precious these assets are to 
the administration and the Congress, and we will be good 
stewards of the funds you provide.
    For fiscal year 2008, the President's budget represents a 
5.3 percent increase above the fiscal year 2007 President's 
budget, and the requested $2.08 billion consists of $1.64 
billion in budget authority, $428 million in current law user 
fees, and $42.7 million for three new user fees. The additional 
dollars that are requested in fiscal year 2008 are principally 
directed to support the work force of the FDA and to enhance 
our programs of food safety, enhanced drug and medical product 
safety, and to accelerate the approval of generic drugs.
    At its core, FDA is a scientific data analysis, information 
management, and decision-making organization, and as such we 
are critically dependent upon the expertise of a strong, 
diverse work force that is using modern information 
technologies and state-of-the-art scientific equipment. Eighty 
percent of the FDA budget funds payroll and related personnel 
costs, and these costs have been increasing yearly. For fiscal 
year 2008 we request $64.7 million to cover nondiscretionary 
increased costs for pay raises, rent, utilities, and security, 
and our relocating to our White Oak, Maryland campus.
    Food safety is an important cornerstone of the FDA mission. 
During recent years there have been changes in our food supply 
that create new challenges to the FDA to enhance food safety.
    Consumption of fresh produce, particularly ready-to-eat 
products that include raw and fresh foods, has increased 
dramatically. Products are harvested from the vine, stem, and 
from the soil, and then are delivered rapidly to our tables, 
with an increasing proportion coming from outside our domestic 
borders.
    We propose a $10.7 million increase for a food safety 
initiative that's focused on fresh produce. FDA is taking a 
multitiered risk management approach to the product life cycle 
of food that will build enhanced quality into the food chain 
from farm to fork. This will include development and 
dissemination of new and refined Good Agricultural Practices 
for prevention, the deployment of scientific tools for the 
detection of intentional and unintentional contamination, and 
accelerated processes to detect, trace, and more rapidly 
contain outbreaks.
    A few examples of how we would use FDA resources include 
conducting research to develop new methods to detect foodborne 
pathogens; conducting advanced training for our partners in 
State and local agencies that we will work with to prevent 
outbreaks; and employing new microbiological techniques to 
identify ways to improve the safety of produce. We will also 
enhance our traceback teams and mechanisms, and deploy IT 
decision systems to detect high risk food imports.
    In addition to food, we will focus on drug and device 
safety. Last month FDA released its commitment to drug safety 
which outlined 41 initiatives that will cover the life cycle of 
a drug from its development to its delivery. The $11.2 million 
increase for modernizing drug safety supports FDA's response to 
the report by the Institute of Medicine on drug safety.
    With these resources, FDA will strengthen the science and 
tools we use to ensure drug safety. We will improve 
communication and information flow among all stakeholders 
involved in the safe use of drugs. And we will restructure our 
operations and management systems to ensure optimum review, 
analysis, consultation, and communication to achieve a stronger 
drug safety system.
    With regard to medical devices, we will build on the 
programs already in place by directing an additional $7.2 
million to enhance active surveillance of devices in the post-
market area that employs modern information technology for data 
mining and analysis.
    In addition to safer and more effective medical products, 
the public also needs more cost-effective choices, and to that 
end the President's budget for fiscal year 2008 requests $5.6 
million in budget authority and $15.7 million in user fees that 
are dedicated to enhancing the approval of generic drugs. We 
expect to be able to, with the $5.6 million increase in BA, to 
approve an additional 50 applications during fiscal year 2008.
    The proposed user fee program ensures that FDA can 
measurably improve generic drug review performance over the 
next 4 to 8 years, and this investment will return many 
billions in savings to consumers and government-sponsored 
health plans.

                           PREPARED STATEMENT

    We recognize that all these dollars we are requesting are 
in fact precious assets of the American taxpayer, and yet the 
programs they will make possible are essential to protecting 
and promoting the health of all Americans. There are critical 
challenges to be addressed, but there are enormous 
opportunities, such as accelerating the development and 
delivery of lifesaving interventions. Meeting these challenges 
and seizing these opportunities are only made possible by your 
support, for which we are very incredibly grateful.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you very much, Dr. von Eschenbach.
    [The statement follows:]

          Prepared Statement of Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.

    Introduction
    Chairman Kohl and members of the Subcommittee, this year as a 
confirmed Commissioner I am honored to present for your consideration 
and approval the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request for FDA. I 
am joined by Mr. John Dyer, my recently appointed Deputy Commissioner 
and Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Richard Turman, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Budget at the Department of Health and Human Services. I 
also have members of FDA's senior leadership with me, who at your 
discretion can respond to any specific questions you may have.
    We live in an era of rapid science, technology, and individualized 
medicine that is changing the products FDA regulates and the 
environment for FDA regulation. Congress and the Administration 
recognize the challenges we face and have responded with the resources 
in fiscal year 2007 that will allow FDA to begin addressing these 
challenges.
    As you consider our fiscal year 2008 request, please do so mindful 
of the extraordinary gratitude of the FDA for your support in fiscal 
year 2007. The budgets for these two fiscal years represent important 
steps in an ongoing effort to create a modern FDA capable of responding 
to the challenges and opportunities to protect and promote public 
health in the 21st century. We will be good stewards of the funds you 
provide and we will search for efficient and effective solutions to the 
problems we are working to solve.
    The resources requested in the President's budget for fiscal year 
2008 will allow FDA to respond to emerging challenges, advance the gold 
standard for regulating food and drugs, and strengthen America's 
confidence in the work of our important agency.
    Our achievements during the past year reflect our service to the 
American public and our dedication to their health and safety. These 
achievements also justify the trust you placed in us with your support 
in fiscal year 2007. Using funds that you appropriated, FDA:
  --approved a new test to diagnose avian influenza virus in humans
  --issued guidelines to expedite seasonal and pandemic flu vaccine 
        development
  --approved new vaccines for shingles and to prevent HPV infections
  --approved new treatments for cancer, HIV, diabetes, Parkinson's, 
        schizophrenia, and macular degeneration
  --issued more than 510 generic drug approvals or tentative approvals
  --approved the first totally implanted artificial heart
  --embraced many of the Institute of Medicine findings on The Future 
        of Drug Safety
  --launched a program to achieve the optimum safety system for drugs 
        and other medical products
  --developed proposals to renew prescription drug and medical device 
        user fee programs
  --conducted drug reviews and issued approvals under the President's 
        Emergency Plan for Aids Relief
  --conducted enforcement actions to protect consumers against 
        unapproved drugs and devices, to safeguard the blood supply, 
        and to protect consumers from dietary supplements containing 
        ephedrine alkaloids
  --worked with Federal, State, and local partners to respond to 
        Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and other foodborne threats
  --issued a final rule on health claims for barley products and issued 
        guidance on whole grain content in food
  --protected consumers with food allergies by publishing guidance 
        documents for industry on food allergen labeling and soy 
        derived products
  --conducted a CARVER + vulnerability assessment in eight food 
        products to distinguish between real and perceived food 
        vulnerabilities.
FDA's 2008 President's Budget Request
    For fiscal year 2008, the President's budget request builds on 
success of fiscal year 2007 to maintain the trajectory, by proposing a 
5.3 percent increase above the fiscal year 2007 President's budget. 
This will provide FDA with $2.085 billion, which consists of $1.641 
billion in discretionary budget authority and $428 million in current 
law user fees. Our budget also includes $42.7 million for three 
proposed user fees related to reviewing generic drugs, reinspecting 
facilities, and issuing export certificates for food and animal feed.
Strengthening Food Safety
    FDA is committed to ensuring that America's food supply continues 
to be among the safest in the world, but we face challenges. For 
example, consumption of produce, particularly ready-to-eat products, 
has increased dramatically during the past decade. Americans often 
consume these products in their raw state, harvested from the vine, 
stem, or soil without processing to reduce or eliminate pathogens that 
may be present. Consequently, the manner in which these products are 
grown, harvested, packed, processed, and distributed is crucial to 
ensuring that microbial contamination is minimized, thereby reducing 
the risk of illness to consumers. Even if a small amount of what is 
harvested is contaminated, it can result in severe illness. FDA is 
taking a ``farm-to-fork'' systematic risk management approach to food 
safety to reduce the risk of food illness at all points in the food 
chain.
    FDA's ability to prevent and respond to outbreaks of foodborne 
illness needs to be strengthened. For fiscal year 2008, we propose a 
$10.7 million increase for a food safety initiative focused on fresh 
produce. FDA will develop methods to prevent food outbreaks from 
occurring by rapidly detecting contamination that leads to illness, 
more quickly tracking contamination to its source, and more effectively 
conducting root cause analysis of contamination. We will also provide 
training to our State and local partners and develop a geographic 
information mapping system for faster emergency response. Finally, we 
will develop a decision-making system to detect high-risk imports 
before they enter U.S. commerce, so they can be evaluated by FDA.
Access to Safe and Effective Medical Products
    On January 30, 2007, FDA released a report, The Future of Drug 
Safety--Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public, that 
presents our comprehensive commitment to the safety of drugs and other 
medical products throughout their lifecycle. The report addresses 
issues referred to FDA by the 2006 Institute of Medicine report. The 
report details initiatives FDA will take to achieve the best possible 
safety systems for medical products, and ensures that FDA processes and 
scientific methods keep pace with, and harness the benefits of, the 
rapid evolution of science, technology, and health care.
    At FDA, we use a systems approach to ensure drug quality and 
maintain the right balance between the benefits and risks of the drugs 
we approve. An $11.2 million increase for modernizing drug safety 
allows FDA to advance a lifecycle approach to regulating drugs and 
managing drug risks. Using the fiscal year 2008 increase and base 
resources in the drug program, FDA will revolutionize our ability to 
identify safety issues and rapidly and effectively communicate safety 
concerns to health professionals, patients, and the public. These 
efforts will improve drug safety both before FDA grants approval and 
after drugs reach the market. We will also strengthen our 
organizational culture to further foster an environment dedicated to 
the safety of drugs and biologics.
    As the complexity and utility of medical devices increases by 
virtue of advances in electronics and engineering, FDA maintains the 
same commitment to the safety of medical devices. Our budget contains a 
$7.2 million increase to strengthen medical device safety and improve 
FDA's ability to identify, analyze, and act on postmarket safety 
information and use this information to improve the quality of new 
devices coming to market.
    Generic drugs are an important part of our health care system. The 
Congressional Budget Office estimates that generic drug use results in 
savings of $10 billion per year. During the next few years, $60 to $70 
billion in brand name drugs will lose their patent protection, and FDA 
must be poised to respond to the growing number of generic drug 
applications. To help ensure that consumers enjoy a wide selection of 
lower-cost generic drugs, FDA requests an additional $5.6 million in 
budget authority and $15.7 million in new user fees to accelerate the 
review and approval of generic drugs. With the $5.6 million budget 
authority increase, FDA expects to approve an additional 50 
applications during fiscal year 2008. The new user fee program ensures 
that FDA can measurably improve generic drug review performance over 
the next 4 to 8 years. With this new program in place, by 2014 FDA 
expects to approve 90 percent of generic drug applications within 180 
days. These investments will return many billions of dollars in savings 
to consumers and government-sponsored health plans.
    Our budget includes long-standing user fee programs. These programs 
provide supplemental resources that not only allow FDA to provide 
services in response to manufacturers' product applications but also 
ensure that Americans have access to safe and effective medical 
products. Two of these programs, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act 
(PDUFA) and the Medical Device User Fee Modernization Act (MDUFMA) 
expire on September 30, 2007. We have engaged with stakeholders to 
develop proposals to extend these programs for an additional 5 years. 
In the case of PDUFA, FDA published a draft proposal for PDUFA IV in 
the Federal Register and conducted a public meeting with stakeholders 
on February 16, 2007. In the case of MDUFMA, FDA is nearing the end of 
discussions on the reauthorization of MDUFMA. FDA will notify Congress 
of our results when we complete this process.
Ensure a Strong FDA
    To successfully perform its broad mission, FDA must hire and retain 
a world-class workforce that can respond to complex and escalating 
public health challenges. Our workforce is FDA's most important asset, 
and securing the resources to support our workforce is a top priority 
in our fiscal year 2008 budget. We have nearly 10,000 employees, 
consisting of medical officers, consumer safety officers, food and drug 
safety experts, medical product reviewers, and other scientists and 
professionals with specialized education, training, and experience to 
address complex public health challenges. Eighty percent of the FDA 
budget funds payroll or costs related to personnel, such as rent, 
utilities, and security. These are operational costs, and the amount we 
pay rises each year. For fiscal year 2008, we propose a $64.7 million 
initiative to ensure that increased costs for the pay raise, 
infrastructure costs, and the cost of relocating to our new White Oak, 
Maryland campus do not erode core FDA programs.
Closing
    FDA's request of $2.085 billion is essential to the success of our 
mission--established by Congress--to protect and promote the health and 
safety of the American public. These resources are an essential step in 
building a 21st century FDA that responds to the new opportunities and 
new challenges of science and technology. Our budget allows FDA to 
strengthen the tools we use to ensure the safety of foods, evaluate new 
products, and better predict--earlier and more accurately--the safety 
and efficacy of drugs, biologics and medical devices. With these 
resources, we will work to ensure that Americans enjoy the benefits of 
personalized medicine, a safe and wholesome food supply, and the 
promise of a better, healthier future. Our goal is to enable all 
Americans to go to bed each night confident that the food they ate is 
safe, the medical devices they used are reliable, and the drugs that 
they gave to their children and grandchildren are safe and effective.
    Thank you.

    Senator Kohl. I'd like to start by asking you to comment on 
the generic situation, generic drug situation at FDA, and the 
recent funding resolution. We provided an increase of $5 
million for generic drug review. The increase provided in this 
resolution should allow for 10 additional approvals or 
tentative approvals per month, which would be a 25 percent 
increase above the current average of 40 approvals per month. 
If we can do that, it would be very beneficial in bringing more 
generic drugs to market.
    You stated in the requested increase in fiscal year 2008 
that it would allow FDA to approve just 50 additional 
applications per year. Now, that would average about $112,000 
per application, which seems very high, and it doesn't come 
close, the 50 doesn't come close to what we estimated would be 
an additional 10 per month, which would be more than double the 
50 that you are talking about. How do you explain this 
discrepancy?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, Mr. Chairman, first of all let me 
point out that in addition to hiring the additional reviewers, 
which is an important part of the allocation to then be able to 
increase capacity, we also intend to increase capacity by the 
efficiencies that we're building into the review process.
    One particular example is to be able to do cluster 
analysis, where we can take groups of generic drugs that are of 
a similar nature and be able to deal with them in a cluster 
type of analysis, so that we can increase the number of outputs 
per the number of people and reviewers that we have. So it's 
not just a matter of the 50 that is allocated to the increased 
reviewers; it's also what we can do by virtue of how we 
increase the systems we're using for generic drug review.
    Senator Kohl. So the number that we thought we heard from 
your department, 50 additional applications to be approved for 
this year with the increased budget allocation that we gave 
you, that number of 50 is really not what we should be focusing 
on?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, again I apologize for not 
explaining to you clearly. What I indicated was, we would go in 
an incremental way to increasing the total output. And so what 
we're expecting is, as we bring reviewers on, as we train them 
up, there will be a gap and then we will pick up on the outputs 
as we go forward over time by virtue of, one, the fact that 
we're bringing the reviewers on, training them up, getting 
outputs from them and, two, adjusting our systems. So I think 
what we're indicating is what is initial and then there will be 
a ramp-up beyond that.
    Senator Kohl. Okay. I just point out that the increase in 
generic drug applications submitted to FDA has increased from 
307 applications in 2002 to almost 800 in 2006, and as you 
know, we are all very intent on bringing more and more generics 
to market in an effort to reduce the cost of drugs to our 
population, particularly our senior population. Generic is key 
to that, as you know. My understanding is that you are most 
sympathetic to that attempt, want to do everything you can to 
facilitate it and to increase the number of approvals that we 
annually can give through the FDA to the generic market. Is 
that a fair statement?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Yes, sir, that is a fair statement and 
I think, as we have spoken before, we're doing this not only in 
terms of increasing numbers but trying to do this strategically 
as well. So we're looking at opportunities to make sure that we 
have a broad portfolio of options across that portfolio, and so 
we're expediting, if you will, the process to get first 
generics out.
    We're educating the industry to get better applications in 
the first place. So as the application numbers increase, if 
they're better applications, that will enhance the review 
process and the likelihood of success. So we're taking a 
multipronged approach to being able to accomplish the goal that 
you have felt so strongly about and have proposed to us.
    Senator Kohl. That's good. As you know, we're planning a 
hearing in Madison, Wisconsin, on I believe it's March 12, and 
I'm looking forward to that hearing on food safety. And I don't 
want to get into too much detail about that because we'll deal 
with it at that time, but there is a report that you may want 
to comment on, that between 2003 and 2006 FDA food safety 
inspections have dropped by 47 percent. This was reported 
yesterday by the Associated Press.
    Now, clearly with all the concern about food safety in our 
country, dropping the number of inspections by nearly half, 
according to that report, is I am sure something that concerns 
you greatly, to the extent that it is accurate. And what we are 
allocating in your budget for strengthening food safety is an 
increase of less than 3 percent for food safety, to include 
food inspections.
    Now we have all these ongoing recalls. Just this morning I 
was informed, as this hearing unfolded, there is a recall on 
cantaloupes. I don't know any details on it, but it's out 
there. Perhaps you've heard about it, maybe you haven't heard 
about it, but it came over the press this morning.
    But people are going to be very concerned when they read in 
the paper that the number of food safety inspections has 
declined by 47 percent over a 3-year period. Do you wish to say 
something to them and to us at this time?

                        FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS

    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, Mr. Chairman, let me first of all 
address the issue with regard to the magnitude of the decline. 
The data that I have available indicates that the number of 
inspections in 2004 was 21,876, and in 2006 it was 17,730. Now, 
that's a reduction of about 23 percent.
    The issue there is the realization that we have been 
implementing a risk management approach to inspections, and so 
rather than a blanket inspection, we are targeting particular 
facilities that propose a particular high risk or probable high 
risk. That makes the inspection much more intense, and so the 
inspection itself is increasing in its magnitude and scale and 
scope.
    Now, the numbers have gone down but the intensity and the 
targeting of the inspections have actually increased, and we're 
doing that because we recognize that there are differences 
among these various facilities, depending upon what they're 
producing, as to how likely they might result in a food 
outbreak. For example, facilities that are producing bread have 
very low probabilities of problems, whereas those that are 
processing seafood have a much higher risk. So we want to 
target the inspections to those areas, rather than just simply 
look across at the numbers.
    As far as expanding our capability and our capacity to do 
this, that's an important part of what has been an ongoing 
effort to look at our field operations and to make strategic 
decisions as to what type of field investigators we need going 
forward and how we can most effectively utilize our resources.
    So as we have recognized that we have less need for 
laboratory investigators, and more need for field 
investigators, who have the tools of modern science available 
to them to be deployed and dispersed at the site of inspection, 
we're shifting our work force over the next few years to that 
goal, and that will in itself bring another 75 to 100 
investigators into that work force to enhance our inspection 
capability. But it is a systems approach to the problem, rather 
than just simply a matter of counting facilities that we 
inspect.
    Senator Kohl. According to this same report that I'm 
holding, which I got from Senator Harkin, who could not remain 
but wanted to have these issues raised with you this morning, 
safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 
percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to 
your agency's own stats, which are being used on this report 
that I got from Senator Harkin this morning. It's from cnn.com/
Associated Press.
    Now, I think those numbers, at least on their face, would 
be of great concern to you, certainly of great concern to the 
American public. Do you have any comment on that?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, as I indicated, what we are 
attempting to do is really maximize our ability to have impact 
with regard to these inspections. In some degree that is a 
matter of increasing the kind of--the number of investigators 
and their unique skill sets, and that is a process that we have 
engaged in and are committed to.
    In addition to that, I think the real opportunity is to 
realize that there are 60,700 food firms that are out there 
that we must inspect, and where we have the opportunity to 
really make major inroads is to place the inspection process on 
a sound foundation of risk management. And so by targeting 
those facilities that we think are at the highest risk and 
maximizing our efforts there, it really gives us an opportunity 
to protect the public health, I think in a more effective way. 
So it's not just a matter of numbers, it's a matter of how we 
are doing the inspections and how we're deploying our work 
force, and I think both of those are important.

                              PANDEMIC FLU

    Senator Kohl. All right. I'd like to turn to Mr. Turman now 
and ask you this question. In Dr. von Eschenbach's opening 
statement he talked about some of the FDA accomplishments over 
the past year. The first two of those had to do with pandemic 
flu.
    Could you talk about efforts at the department level on 
pandemic flu? We had discussed this earlier with Secretary 
Johanns. How are the various agencies at HHS, where you occupy 
a very high ranking position, working together and with the 
USDA in order to make sure that we have a streamlined and 
coordinated plan for dealing with any potential outbreaks of 
avian flu, Mr. Turman?
    Mr. Turman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I can affirm that 
indeed Secretary Leavitt is working very closely with his 
Cabinet colleagues such as Secretary Johanns, as part of the 
President's plan which the Congress funded last year at $5.6 
billion through supplemental funding for avian flu and being 
prepared for it. And within the Department of Health and Human 
Services, we work very closely together with the FDA, with the 
CDC, with the NIH, with our other partners in the Office of the 
Secretary, we work very closely together to make sure that we 
can be protected as best we can for that which we see and 
foresee coming.
    And the areas where the funding has gone, they have been 
primarily to work both on purchasing those antivirals which we 
can get and stockpile, and also developing vaccines which would 
be of use against some of the strains that could be coming in 
terms of avian influenza. And in that regard FDA has a very key 
role and has been playing an important role on helping us try 
and speed the development of those vaccines.
    That is a key position that FDA has relative to their 
expertise, and their counsel and their efforts have been well 
integrated with the department's plans, and they have been 
making a key contribution in that regard. And so they used the 
funding provided from the Congress in the initial supplemental, 
and indeed our 2008 budget request has additional funds over 
current investments to not only help deepen those efforts but 
also work on engaging in some tools which would help detect 
foodborne transmission potentially of any of these virus items.
    So it's an area where Dr. von Eschenbach may want to 
amplify in terms of FDA's piece, but they are an integral 
partner of the department's plans.

                             WOMEN'S HEALTH

    Senator Kohl. All right. Dr. von Eschenbach, fiscal year 
2007 House and Senate bills included $4 million for the Office 
of Women's Health. In fiscal year 2008 the President's budget 
request includes a decrease of $350,000 for that office. 
According to FDA, this funding will be transferred to the 
National Center for Toxicological Research, for research 
pertaining to women's health that is ongoing. However, this is 
the first time that women's health funding has been decreased 
in the budget.
    I was disappointed to see the decrease in that budget of 
$350,000 for women's health, and in today's Washington Post 
there was a report that FDA is intending to cut the fiscal year 
2007 level down to $2.8 million from the $4 million requested 
by the President and provided by Congress. Now, I know that 
your spending plan has not yet been finalized, but this 
information must have come from somewhere. Can you assure us 
that the budget for fiscal year 2007 is going to be $4 million 
and not something less?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, Mr. Chairman, at the outset let 
me assure you and other members of the committee that I 
personally, and the FDA is absolutely committed to enhancing 
the issues of women's health within the agency. We are, as you 
pointed out, in the process of developing our plan for 2007, 
and will be bringing that to you within the next few weeks.
    With regard to the issue of the 2008 budget, I think it's 
important to put this entire issue into context. When I say 
that we are committed to women's health, this is a 
comprehensive effort.
    One of the most important aspects of it is the critically 
important research that's going on in the National Center for 
Toxicologic Research, that is helping us identify genetic and 
molecular differences that are related to gender and how we can 
begin to really address many of the challenges that have been 
presented by the Women's Health Initiative. Actually, Women's 
Health has been using dollars to fund that research in NCTR all 
along, and what this is essentially is a transfer of that 
$350,000, to get them integrated into the NCTR's research base 
so that we can really amplify that portfolio.
    So it's not in any stretch of the imagination a diminishing 
of our commitment to women's health. It's actually enhancing 
our ability to create a research base that will address 
critically important scientific issues in women's health, as 
well as provide that foundation for other similar questions, 
including the kind of challenges we're seeing in personalized 
medicine that not only recognize gender differences but even 
potentially differences that come about beyond gender, 
including racial differences.
    Senator Kohl. That toxicological research is for 2008, but 
in today's paper it was reported that the FDA is intending to 
cut the fiscal year 2007 budget for Women's Health down from $4 
million to $2.8 million. Now, I would like you to say that 
that's an inaccurate report, it's not operable, that for fiscal 
year 2007, which is not fiscal year 2008 and targeting this 
$350,000, but for fiscal year 2007 the number of $4 million 
remains intact and is not going to be reduced.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, Mr. Chairman, the answer to your 
question is, we haven't made that decision yet as to what the 
2007 final plan would be. I'm looking at the entire portfolio, 
so that we're responsive across the entire budget, and have not 
at this point made any final decision about any particular 
component of that budget.
    Senator Kohl. Are you, just let me ask the question, are 
you familiar with any consideration for a reduction in fiscal 
year 2007 of the Office of Women's Health to something below 
the $4 million?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, we have been looking across the 
entire Office of the Commissioner, of which the Office of 
Women's Health is a component, and we're looking to bring that 
entire office into fiscal balance, if you will, with regard to 
our overall budget. Now, with regard to the specific details of 
what's happening with each of those compartments within the 
Office of the Commissioner, I can't speak to, but I'll be happy 
to get back to you on that for the record. But the fact of the 
matter is, we haven't made a final decision, so I can't commit 
to any particular number at this point, until that is done.
    Senator Kohl. All right. We'll continue to work on that 
number and get some report, as you have indicated, as soon as 
you can. I thank you.
    [The information follows:]
                             Women's Health
    We are currently working on our fiscal year 2007 operating plan, as 
required under section 113 of Public Law 110-5, the Revised Continuing 
Resolution for fiscal year 2007. We expect to fund the Office of 
Woman's Health at not less than last year's level. FDA is committed to 
activities sounding women's health. The concerns of women are a 
priority at FDA, and the Office of Women's Health serves as a champion 
for women's health issues.

    Senator Kohl. At this time I would like to turn to Senator 
Reed.

                          SUNSCREEN MONOGRAPH

    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you, doctor. Just a point, not a question. But since 
1997 the agency has been struggling to get a UVA/UVB labeling 
protocol, monograph, together. I'm going to follow up with a 
written question and ask you, bottom line, when it might 
happen.

                                TOBACCO

    Turning to another topic of interest, I just left the HELP 
hearing on the regulation of tobacco, and it raises serious 
questions. You have extensive experience as a former director 
of the National Cancer Institute. I believe personally that 
authority for FDA is long overdue, to have some role in the 
regulation of tobacco, and I'm hopeful we can get the 
legislation through. What are your views with respect to FDA's 
role in potentially the regulation of tobacco products?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, Senator, as you point out, from 
my perspective and my career at the National Cancer Institute, 
like you and everyone, I recognize the serious public health 
threat that occurs as a result of smoking and tobacco.
    From the perspective of the Food and Drug Administration, 
as Commissioner, one of the things I think is extremely 
important is to realize the complexity of this issue and the 
complexity of the kind of issues that it presents, on one hand 
looking at it from the perspective of what has emerged with 
regard to the science and our understanding of addiction as 
it's related to nicotine, all the other way to the other end of 
the continuum, where we're looking at a cigarette which is a 
complex product. It has tobacco that has additives of one type 
or another, wrapped in paper and set on fire, and someone 
breathes in smoke.
    And from that perspective, with all that complexity, I 
think it's extremely important that we engage in a careful 
assessment of how we might address that complexity as a way of 
then beginning to address what role FDA should or should not 
have in that process.
    Senator Reed. But the complexity itself is not such that 
you would be incapable as an agency of dealing with the issue. 
The question would be what you could do effectively. I think 
that would be the first question.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, as I look at it and the question, 
framing it within the mission of the FDA to protect and promote 
the public health, I think it's an issue of being able to 
determine how we could regulate whether a product was in fact 
safe under any circumstances or in any possible way, and what 
potential benefit or value it might have to health in any 
possible circumstance or any possible way.
    So that is what I believe is at the core and the base of a 
regulatory decision, the complexity of a regulatory process as 
it relates to tobacco. And I think those are discussions and 
issues that need to occur and are going on.
    Senator Reed. At a threshold level you certainly could 
identify the ingredients and publicize those, of a cigarette.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. I think that's one of the questions 
that we have to address.
    Senator Reed. That you could or could not do that?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Correct.
    Senator Reed. How difficult is it to identify the 
ingredients of a cigarette?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. If you're talking about the ingredients 
in the inhaled smoke, that, which is what in fact would have 
the public health impact, not what's in the product prior to it 
being smoked, that is the kind of scientific challenge and 
question that I think underscores the complexity of the 
problem.
    Senator Reed. Do you think that the companies themselves 
have that information or do that research?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. I honestly don't know the answer to 
that question, Senator.

                               USER FEES

    Senator Reed. Turning to another issue, and that is the 
issue of user fees, so many of your programs have user fees 
attached to them, which raises a question of what percentage of 
your total budget is covered by annual appropriations, what 
percentage is paid for through user fees.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. As far as the absolute percentage, I'm 
going to turn to my right to ask Mr. Dyer to quickly calculate 
that for you. But while he's doing that, let me state 
specifically that I view the user fees as exactly that. They 
are a fee for service, so that they do not impact upon the 
overarching mission of the agency, but allow us to provide a 
service that is of value or benefit to the industry in terms of 
their ability to move applications more efficiently and more 
rapidly through the system, by having the resources with which 
to do that.
    And so I know that issues have been raised about whether 
the fact that we have user fees is in some way creating 
problems with regard to the mission and focus of the agency, 
and let me assure you, Senator, that is not the case and will 
not be the case.
    Having said that, I think that they provide for us the 
opportunity to enhance resources, infrastructure, personnel to 
address issues like our ability to accelerate drug approvals, 
our ability to bring new products, whether they be devices or 
drugs or biologics, to patients as rapidly as possible, while 
we still at the same time assure the safety and the efficacy of 
those products.
    Senator Reed. Mr. Dyer.
    Mr. Dyer. Sir, the budget proposes $444 million in fiscal 
year 2008 for user fees in total, out of a total program level 
of about $2.1 billion, which makes about 20 percent.
    Senator Reed. Twenty percent? And how has that number 
changed, that percentage changed, over the last 5 years? Has it 
increased, decreased, remained stable?
    Mr. Dyer. I don't have the exact numbers. We'll provide 
them for the record. But it has been increasing.
    [The information follows:]
                               User Fees
    From fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2006, the percent of FDA user 
fees compared to the total FDA budget increased from 12 to 20 percent. 
During this time, FDA established two new user fees for Medical Devices 
and Animal Drugs. FDA began to collect fees under these two user fee 
programs in fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2004, respectively. These 
new user fees account for nearly one fifth of the total fee increase 
from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2006.

    Senator Reed. Has been increasing. And as you project 
forward, do you project an increase in the fees, this 20 
percent getting bigger and bigger?
    Mr. Dyer. The amount of fees will go up, but again it 
depends on what percentage of the overall budget, depending on 
how much budget authority this committee gives us.
    Senator Reed. And, doctor, you have assured us that these 
fees in no way distort your approach to your duties, i.e., 
because you're being paid but with fees you have to do certain 
things, where other appropriated functions are not tended to. 
That's your statement.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. What I was speaking to, Senator, was 
where the concerns that have been raised about user fees in the 
press and et cetera allow me the opportunity to assure you that 
as far as the regulatory process is concerned, the integrity of 
that process is not in any way impacted or adulterated by the 
fact that user fees make up a portion of our resource base. 
They are strictly, as I have indicated, a fee for service.
    With regard to our ability to manage our portfolio of 
resources, I think it's an issue that we are addressing, to 
make certain that we are able to deploy resources as 
efficiently and as effectively across that entire continuum. 
And so I am committed to putting all components of the agency 
on that sound foundation, whether they have user fees or not.
    Senator Reed. Are there new user fees in this budget, 
proposed budget?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Yes, sir. There are three particular 
user fees that are proposed in the fiscal year 2008 budget. One 
of them has to do with generic drugs, and the other ones are 
user fees that have previously been presented, having to do 
with reinspection fees and export certificate fees.
    Senator Reed. And will we receive a formal proposal to 
enact these fees?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Yes, sir. That, as far as the proposal 
for authorization of these fees, the two that I mentioned, the 
reinspection fees and the export certificates, they have 
previously been introduced and we will reintroduce them again. 
The generic drug user fee is a new fee, and we are in the 
process of developing that proposal for authorization.
    Senator Reed. It seems, the impression, at least, that 
because of constraints on your appropriated budget there is a 
strong tendency to ask for user fees. Is that what seems to be 
happening here?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. I think they present an option with 
regard to continuing to increase our ability to provide 
services. And in addition to the appropriations, we have looked 
for a variety of ways to be able to do that, including our 
ability to collaborate and cooperate in relationships, for 
example, with the NIH.
    So the approach I'm taking, Senator, is to build a resource 
base and a business plan that supports our overall mission, 
recognizing that there is a critically important part of that 
that is the appropriation; there are user fees that can 
contribute to that; and then there may be other opportunities 
as well. And the point of all of that is to enhance our ability 
to serve the American people by bringing safe and effective 
products and food to them as rapidly and as efficiently as 
possible, while still assuring the safety and the efficacy of 
those products.

                DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

    Senator Reed. A final question, doctor. It's my 
understanding that other agencies like the National Science 
Foundation don't have to go through all of the hoops and the 
hurdles that you do through HHS and OMB, that they have much 
more direct engagement with Congress on their budget. Would a 
more direct engagement help you?
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Well, I have found that the process 
that I have at this point, since I've been in this position, 
has really worked quite well, Senator. I think as we looked at 
the 2007 budget and the 2008 budget, the collaboration and 
cooperation within the department, within the administration, 
and with Congress is working quite well at this point.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Kohl. Thank you, Senator Reed. And we would like to 
thank you. Dr. von Eschenbach, as well as Mr. Dyer and Mr. 
Turman, for helping us to conduct an informative hearing, and 
we look forward to continuing to work with you.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    We want to thank all of our witnesses, yourself and the 
Secretary of Agriculture, for being here. Members should 
provide us with questions for the record by Tuesday, March 6. 
And we look forward to continuing our dialogue and our 
collaboration together on behalf of the American people. Thank 
you so much.
    Dr. von Eschenbach. Thank you.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]

                Questions Submitted by Senator Herb Kohl

                            OVERALL FUNDING

    Question. Please provide a crosswalk table, in the same format as 
was provided on page 68 of FDA's fiscal year 2008 Budget Summary, that 
shows how FDA will allocate requested increases from the fiscal year 
2007 spending plan level to the fiscal year 2008 President's budget 
request. If possible, please do not include any ``redeployments''.
    Answer. FDA is in the process of finalizing the fiscal year 2007 
spending plan and developing the bridge between the spending plan and 
the fiscal year 2008 President's budget.
    Question. Please provide updated performance data based on this 
information.
    Answer. The performance data submitted in the President's budget 
may change. The fiscal year 2008 President's Budget uses the fiscal 
year 2007 President's Budget as a baseline, which is different from the 
fiscal year 2007 enacted appropriation. We appreciate that the fiscal 
year 2007 enacted appropriations fully funded our pay and 
infrastructure needs, allowing FDA to keep more staff on board to 
maintain our current performance levels throughout the Agency.
    Question. If the Committee provided FDA with all increases 
requested in the President's budget, totaling $95,439,000, would the 
performance data submitted by FDA still be accurate, even though these 
increases would be based on a number that is higher than the original 
level FDA budgeted from?
    Answer. The performance data submitted in the President's budget 
may change. The fiscal year 2008 President's Budget uses the fiscal 
year 2007 President's Budget as a baseline, which is different from the 
fiscal year 2007 enacted appropriation. We appreciate that the fiscal 
year 2007 enacted appropriations fully funded our pay and 
infrastructure needs, allowing FDA to keep more staff on board to 
maintain our current performance levels throughout the Agency.

                              FOOD SAFETY

    Question. Please provide information on how additional funding 
provided for food safety activities at FDA above the President's 
request would be allocated. Please provide this information in $5 
million increments up to $50 million.
    Answer. FDA is committed to ensuring that America's food supply 
continues to be among the safest in the world, but we face challenges. 
For example, consumption of produce, particularly ``ready-to-eat'' 
products, has increased dramatically during the past decade. Americans 
usually co nsume these products in their raw state, harvested from the 
vine, stem, or soil without processing to reduce or eliminate pathogens 
that may be present. Consequently, the manner in which these products 
are grown, harvested, packed, processed, and distributed is crucial to 
ensuring that microbial contamination is minimized, thereby reducing 
the risk of illness to consumers. Even if a small percentage of what is 
harvested is contaminated, it can result in severe illness. FDA is 
taking a ``farm-to-fork'' systematic risk management approach to food 
safety to reduce the risk of food illness at all points in the food 
chain.
    For fiscal year 2008, we propose a $10.644 million increase for a 
food safety initiative focused on fresh produce. FDA will develop 
methods to prevent food outbreaks from occurring by rapidly detecting 
contamination that leads to illness, more quickly tracking 
contamination to its source, and more effectively conducting root cause 
analysis of the contamination. We will also provide training to our 
State and local partners and develop a geographic information mapping 
system for faster emergency response. Finally, we will develop a 
decision-making system to detect high-risk imports before they enter 
U.S. commerce, so they can be evaluated by FDA.
    Due to the increased consumption of fresh produce and the current 
outbreaks of contamination, FDA would allocate additional funding for 
specific areas where we could expand the food safety program in order 
to promote and improve the public health. FDA has identified the 
following five critical areas as targets for future growth:
  --preventing contamination and produce safety research
  --preventing outbreaks and mitigating outbreak impact
  --monitoring antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance in bacteria 
        from farm-raised aquatic animals and their environments
  --developing efficient techniques for identifying foodborne pathogens 
        that cause outbreaks
  --providing additional field support for the Foods and Animal Drugs 
        and Feed Programs.
    Question. Please provide information on how the rapid response 
teams in the Strengthening Food Safety initiative would be set up and 
what activities they would undertake. Please provide an estimate of how 
much it will cost to create and support each rapid response team.
    Answer. The $3.5 million requested in the fiscal year 2008 
Congressional Justification, Strengthening Food Safety Initiative, will 
support FDA costs for 12 staff members, and provide equipment and 
training for each team member. The Office of Regulatory Affairs, or 
ORA, will be able to develop teams trained in traceback technologies 
and incident command. ORA will strategically position these teams in 
areas with large produce-growing regions. In addition, ORA will provide 
training, equipment, and other assistance to States so that they can be 
full partners with FDA in responding to and preventing produce-related 
outbreaks. After the first year, ORA will have 12 fully equipped and 
trained FTEs with traceback equipment, such as handheld GPS devices 
that can be used with geographic information systems to facilitate 
investigations of outbreaks.
    These teams will be modeled on the California Food Emergency 
Response Team, or CalFERT, which investigated the recent E. coli 
outbreak in spinach. CalFERT is a joint FDA and California Department 
of Health Services' Food and Drug Branch, or FDB, Rapid Response Team 
trained and ready to respond within hours of the verification of a food 
borne outbreak. That team, consisting of ORA Investigators and 
Microbiologists and State of California FDB personnel, demonstrated the 
importance of FDA collaboration with State regulatory partners. Team 
members can immediately start the outbreak investigation because they 
have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, a previously 
identified chain of command and a known procedure to keep other 
involved parties informed, such as the Incident Command Center of FDA's 
Office of Crisis Management. These teams will benefit the entire food 
program, not just produce safety.
    Question. Does CFSAN have an overall ``produce safety'' plan? If 
so, please provide this to the Committee, including all cost estimates 
to implement this plan, even if they were not include in the 
President's budget request.
    Answer. In October 2004, FDA issued a Produce Safety Action 
Plan(the PSAP) designed to target microbial and other food safety 
hazards, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites, in or on produce 
consumed in the United States, whether produced in the United States or 
abroad. The PSAP extends to all parts of the food chain from farm 
through retail or consumer preparation and consumption and has four 
general objectives: 1--to prevent contamination of fresh produce with 
pathogens; 2--to minimize the public health impact when contamination 
of fresh produce occurs; 3--to improve communication with producers, 
preparers, State and local government entities, and consumers about 
fresh produce; and 4--to facilitate and support research relevant to 
fresh produce. For each objective, the PSAP identifies steps that could 
contribute to the achievement of the objective.
    The fiscal year 2008 President's Budget Request contributed to 
these objectives.

                             GENERIC DRUGS

    Question. As you know, in the JR, we also provided an increase of 
$5 million for generic drug review at FDA. It is my understanding that 
the increase provided in the JR will allow for ten additional approvals 
or tentative approvals per month, which is a 25 percent increase above 
the current average of 40 approvals per month. What is the current 
backlog of generic drugs? Do you expect it to increase this year, even 
with the additional funds provided, because of an increase in 
applications submitted?
    Answer. The current backlog is around 1,300 abbreviated new drug 
applications (ANDAs) as of the end of February 2007. However, not all 
ANDAs are available to be approved currently due to patent protection 
and exclusivities. There are currently about 600 abbreviated new drug 
applications that do not have patent or exclusivity protection. Because 
we are still not at a point where we can process (approve or 
tentatively approve) the number of applications that we receive, the 
backlog will continue to increase. The rate of increase, however, will 
not be as steep with the provision of additional funds. Our goal is to 
use the FTEs obtained with the $5 million to address certain review 
areas to increase the number of approvals and tentative approvals. 
Through additional efficiency initiatives, we will still endeavor to 
approach the projected percent increase in approvals.
    Question. What will the $5.5 million increase requested in the 
budget buy? How many additional approvals will you get with this money?
    Answer. It is expected that an additional $5.5 million will provide 
13 FTEs. Although it is difficult to predict the number of additional 
approvals due to the increasing scientific and legal complexity of the 
applications being received, the escalating workload involved with 
responding to Citizen Petitions received, and the growing number of 
requests for information received by the office, the Office of Generic 
Drugs or OGD, will strive to increase the yearly number of approvals 
and tentative approvals by 50. It is important to note that each 
Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, represents a product 
intended to be marketed in this country and contains a full scientific 
data package that must be carefully evaluated. The increasing 
complexity of many of the applications received is increasing the 
review time needed to fully and comprehensively review these 
applications.
    Question. Please provide information on how many additional 
approvals could be provided with increases of up to $20 million, in $5 
million increments.
    Answer. We estimate that we would be able to increase the number of 
approvals in fiscal year 2009 (from 60 to 135) more than fiscal year 
2008 (from 50 to 125), taking into account that 10-15 percent of the 
increase used for IT investment and time to hire all the reviewers and 
train them to conduct reviews could affect the projected number of 
approvals:
    [The information follows:]

                         NUMBER OF APPROVALS \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Fiscal year     Fiscal year
                Increment                      2008            2009
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$5 million..............................              50              60
$10 million.............................              80              90
$15 million.............................             110             120
$20 million.............................             125             135
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Note we assume that the full $20 million is received in fiscal year
  2008 and fiscal year 2009.

    Question. Please provide a breakdown of the pending generic drug 
applications by the four paragraphs of the Hatch Waxman Act.
    Answer. The current breakdown is as follows:
    Paragraph I: patent information has not been filed--418
    Paragraph II: patent has already expired;--186
    Paragraph III: date on which the patent will expire (generic drug 
will not seek final approval until that date passes);--344
    Paragraph IV: patent is challenged as invalid or not infringed.--
347
    Question. How many pending applications would be ``first'' 
generics? Of those, how many could immediately be marketed if approved?
    Answer. It is difficult to determine what you intend to include in 
the term ``first'' generic. There may be a number of pending 
applications for the same product that does not currently have generic 
competition. They could not all be counted as the ``first'' generic and 
we will not know which will be the ``first'' generic until we issue an 
approval. For this reason, applications are not classified as ``first'' 
generics upon receipt in the office, making the tracking of ``first'' 
generics in the list of pending applications difficult.
    Regarding the pending applications in OGD, 344 applications have 
been submitted with paragraph 3 patent certifications (will wait until 
a patent in force expires) and 347 applications have been submitted 
with paragraph 4 certifications (are challenging a listed patent as 
invalid or not infringed). Since products to which these applications 
refer still have patents in force which may have prevented previous 
generic approvals, many of these 691 applications have the potential to 
be ``first'' generic applications. The majority, of course, will be 
approved subsequent to the first generic approval, and, until the time 
of approval, we will not be able to determine which product will be THE 
first generic for a particular reference listed drug.
    Of the remaining applications, 445 were submitted with paragraph 1 
certifications (no listed patents) and 187 were submitted with 
paragraph 2 certifications (patents have expired). Because many of the 
products referenced in these applications already have generic 
competition, only a few of these are likely to be ``first'' generics 
when approved. To address the products in this category for which no 
generic has been previously approved, the Office of Generic Drugs, or 
OGD, instituted a revision in its first-in, first-reviewed policy last 
October (10/06). Instead of reviewing these products in the order of 
receipt, OGD will now expedite any application for a ``first'' generic 
product for which there are no listed patents on the reference product 
at the time of the generic application's submission. We believe that 
this will allow critically needed ``first'' generics of products 
without patent protection to reach the market place faster.
    Question. Please provide specific productivity outputs should the 
proposed generic drug user fee program be authorized.
    Answer. Following the first full implementation year, during which 
time additional staff will be hired and trained, the Generic Drug User 
Fee will result in a 50 percent increase in approvals/tentative 
approvals compared to the current average of 40 approvals/tentative 
approvals per month. During the next 5 years, the goal is to meet the 
statutory requirement for generic drug review by acting on 90 percent 
of original Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, and amendments 
to unapproved applications within 180 days.

                           IMPORT INSPECTION

    Question. How many import lines did FDA review from 2002-2007, by 
year? How many import lines does FDA anticipate reviewing in 2008?
    Answer. I will be happy to provide that information for the record
    [The information follows:]

                                     IMPORT LINES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002-2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Fiscal year
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       2002            2003            2004            2005            2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS..........................       7,838,956       9,336,735      11,616,348      13,819,402      14,977,795
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


             ESTIMATED IMPORT LINES BY FISCAL YEAR 2007-2008

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Fiscal year
                                         -------------------------------
                                           Estimate 2007   Estimate 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS..................................      16,323,947      17,893,795
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. What percentage of imports were physically inspected by 
FDA in 2006? What percentage does FDA anticipate inspecting in fiscal 
year 2007 and 2008?
    Answer. Approximately .89 percent of all imports were physically 
inspected by FDA in fiscal year 2006. FDA estimates it will physically 
inspect .73 percent in fiscal year 2007 and .66 percent in fiscal year 
2008.
    It is important to note that FDA electronically screens imports 
through the Operational and Administrative System for Import Support, 
or OASIS. OASIS is an automated system for processing and making 
admissibility determinations for FDA regulated products that are 
offered for import. FDA also performs laboratory analysis on products 
offered for import into the United States; conducts foreign inspections 
to evaluate manufacturing conditions of products before they are 
offered for import; and, performs periodic filer evaluations to ensure 
that the import data being provided to FDA is accurate.
    The Prior Notice Center, or PNC, is another important part of FDA's 
import strategy. The mission of FDA's PNC is to identify imported food 
and feed products that may be intentionally contaminated with 
biological, chemical or radiological agents, or which may pose 
significant health risks to the American public, and intercept them 
before they enter the United States. FDA will continue to focus 
resources on Intensive Prior Notice Import Security Reviews of products 
that pose the highest potential bioterrorism risks. By using a risk 
based approach, the PNC can intercept potentially hazardous products 
before they enter the United States.
    The benefit of these reviews comes from the quality and targeting 
of review activities; not from the volume of imports inspected. Thus 
the quality of import screening is a better measure of FDA's import 
strategy rather than simply focusing on the items physically examined.
    I will be happy to provide information on the percentage of imports 
physically inspected in table form for the record.
    [The information follows:]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Percent
                                                                   Import Lines    Physical Exam    Physically
                                                                                     Subtotal        Examined
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year 2006................................................      14,977,795         132,594            0.89
Fiscal year 2007 estimates......................................      16,323,947         118,400            0.73
Fiscal year 2008 estimates......................................      17,893,795         118,370            0.66
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Please provide information regarding total field staff 
working on import inspections? How has this number changed in the last 
5 years?
    Answer. FDA estimates that 611 FTE will perform import 
investigative work in fiscal year 2008 and 643 FTE in fiscal year 2007. 
This number compares to 674 FTE in fiscal year 2006; 666 FTE in fiscal 
year 2005; 653 FTE in fiscal year 2004; and, 807 FTE in fiscal year 
2003. These resources include FTE who perform import laboratory 
analyses.
    I am happy to provide the information in table form for the record.
    [The information follows:]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Import
                                                           Investigative
                                                           FTE (includes
                       Fiscal year                          import lab
                                                             analyses
                                                            resources)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 estimate...........................................             611
2007 actual.............................................             643
2006 actual.............................................             674
2005 actual.............................................             666
2004 actual.............................................             653
2003 actual.............................................             807
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. What percentage of fresh produce was physically inspected 
in fiscal year 2006? What percentage does FDA anticipate inspecting in 
fiscal year 2007 and 2008?
    Answer. Approximately .82 percent of fresh produce was physically 
inspected by FDA in fiscal year 2006. FDA estimates it will physically 
inspect .69 percent in fiscal year 2007 and .67 percent in fiscal year 
2008. An FDA physical inspection of an import line is defined as either 
having had a field exam conducted or a sample of the import line 
collected and analyzed in the laboratory. A field examination is simply 
an on-the-spot examination or field test performed on a product to 
support a specific decision. A physical inspection does not include 
import lines that were detained at entry without a physical exam, or 
DWPE, based upon an Import Alert.
    I will be happy to provide that information in table form for the 
record. The information follows. The following tables reflect the 
estimated percentage of fresh produce imports that were physically 
inspected in fiscal year 2006, and the estimated percentage of fresh 
produce that will be physically inspected in fiscal year 2007 and 
fiscal year 2008.
    [The information follows:]


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Percent
                                                                   Fresh Produce   Physical Exam    Physically
                                                                   Import Lines      Subtotal        Examined
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year 2006................................................       1,553,401          12,668            0.82
Fiscal year 2007 estimates......................................       1,591,345          10,980            0.69
Fiscal year 2008 estimates......................................       1,630,216          10,922            0.67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Is the FDA's Prior Notice Center fully staffed and 
operational? Please provide a breakdown of staff makeup, including 
permanent staff, temporary staff, detailees, etc.
    Answer. The Prior Notice Center is opened and operating on a 24/7 
basis. The current composition of the permanent PNC staff includes one 
Director, one Deputy Director; eight Watch Commanders; and, 22 
Reviewers. In addition, the PNC presently has one Watch Commander and 
three Reviewers on detail to the PNC.
    FDA is currently advertising a vacancy announcement for 2 
additional reviewers. Ideally, the PNC would like to hire 1 additional 
Watch Commander, 3 additional reviewers, one support staff person, and 
1 statistician. This would bring the total staff at the PNC to 1 
Director, 1 Deputy Director, 9 Watch Commanders, 27 reviewers, 1 
support staff person and 1 statistician.

                                AERS II

    Question. Please provide a copy of the November 2006 report of the 
Breckinridge Institute on AERS II.
    Answer. I would be happy to provide that for the record. Please 
note that although the reports has a confidential heading FDA has 
cleared the document for public disclosure
    [The information follows:]

    
    
    
    Question. Please provide a breakdown of all expenditures on AERS II 
since inception.
    Answer. Approximately $1,405,000 has been spent on the Adverse 
Events Reporting System II, or AERS II, project since its inception and 
the breakdown of expenditures is: development of high level 
requirements, $140,000; system requirements specification, $315,542; 
contract support, $54,558; development contract support, $578, 000; and 
program management support, $219,996; Organizational Design and 
Planning work, $10,000; and Independent Verification and Validation 
work, $97,340.
    Question. Please discuss any and all actions FDA is taking in 
response to this report.
    Answer. The Breckenridge report made three recommendations. The 
first two recommendations allude to problems with organizational 
culture which are being addressed on a higher, more inclusive level 
than the cultural problems related to this particular report. FDA and 
CDER recognize the need to improve our culture, and we are addressing 
the issues raised on that topic by the Institute of Medicine, or IOM, 
Drug Safety Report. I refer you to the FDA response to the IOM Drug 
Safety report at http://www.fda.gov/oc/reports/iom013007.html for more 
details.
    The third recommendation suggests FDA begin the process of 
acquiring a replacement for Adverse Events Reporting System I, or AERS 
I, immediately. Despite allegations in the Breckenridge report that we 
differ with, AERS II development has continued to move ahead, and a 
timeline has been developed with initial operations projected for 
fiscal year 2008. Materials such as the requirements mapping associated 
with the Breckenridge report are being used in developing AERS II, in 
addition to other requirements documents that are already available.

                               USER FEES

    Question. Please provide us with a brief update on the 
reauthorization of both the Prescription Drug and Medical Device User 
Fee Acts. What is status of MDUFMA negotiations?
    Answer. On March 23, 2007, the Secretary transmitted to key House 
and Senate authorizing committees the HHS/FDA recommendations for 
changes to the statute and to the performance commitment letter for the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Act IV, or PDUFA IV. These recommendations 
reflected the results of FDA's discussions with the pharmaceutical and 
biotechnology industry, which concluded in November 2006, and further 
revisions to the commitment letter based on public input received in 
response to the January 16, 2007 Federal Register R notice publishing 
FDA's proposed recommendations, and received at the PDUFA IV public 
meeting FDA held on February 16, 2007. FDA's recommended changes to the 
statute and commitment letter are currently being reviewed by the 
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee staff 
and House Energy and Commerce Committee staff.
    FDA and the medical device industry have been discussing 
legislative recommendations for the Medical Devices User Fee and 
Modernization Act, or MDUFMA, reauthorization since the fall of 2005. 
Almost all issues of interest to FDA and to industry have been 
resolved. We are working to resolve the outstanding issues very 
quickly.
    Question. How will you work to ensure that any ``triggers'' 
included in these pieces of legislation are continually, and fully, 
funded in your budget request?
    Answer. We will work to ensure that the Agency's annual budget 
enables FDA to meet the performance goals it has committed to under 
PDUFA IV and MDUFMA II.

                           PROPOSED USER FEES

    Question. The budget includes new proposed mandatory user fees for 
reinspection costs and for export certification, which if enacted, 
would bring in an additional $27 million to FDA. Please explain the 
need for these user fees.
    Answer. FDA is re-proposing from fiscal year 2007 two user fees 
that would fund activities currently supported by budget authority 
dollars. The proposed user fees for Reinspections and Food and Animal 
Feed Export Certification are mandatory user fees. These fees will 
replace budget authority in FDA's budget. In fiscal year 2008, if 
Congress enacts these user fees, any fees collected for these two 
proposed user fees will result in an equal transfer of budget authority 
back to the U.S. treasury. In fiscal year 2009 FDA will not need any 
budget authority resources for these activities if Congress enacts the 
user fees.
    When a company fails an FDA inspection, we are asking Congress to 
impose the cost of conducting follow-up inspections on the company. 
When we find a violation, FDA typically conducts a follow-up inspection 
to ensure that the problem is corrected. Currently, if companies fail 
to comply with FDA standards, then FDA must shift resources from other 
public health activities to reinspect the company and confirm they have 
corrected the problem. What we recommend is that the company pays the 
cost of follow-up inspections when FDA finds health or safety 
violations. It is important for companies to ensure the safety of 
products before the products reach consumers and this user fee provides 
an additional incentive for companies to meet FDA safety standards.
    In the case of food export certificates, we are asking Congress to 
impose the cost of preparing export certificates, required by foreign 
governments, on the companies that export products. Currently, FDA 
charges exporters for certificates in all other FDA product areas 
except foods for this service. As with the reinspection user fee 
proposal, we recommend that the company benefiting from this service 
pay for this service.
    Question. If these user fees were enacted, would there be a 
subsequent decrease in discretionary budget authority needs?
    Answer. Yes, there would be a subsequent decrease in discretionary 
budget authority needs if the user fees are enacted. However, the 
current proposals are structured in such a way that budget authority of 
$27 million is initially requested by FDA at the beginning of fiscal 
year 2008 to continue these activities in case the user fee proposals 
are not enacted in a timely fashion. If the user fee proposals are 
enacted and become fully operational in fiscal year 2008, the 
collection of these user fees will result in decreases of equal amounts 
in discretionary budget authority that will be returned to the 
Treasury. If enacted, no budget authority resources will be needed for 
these activities in fiscal year 2009, as they will be fully funded by 
user fees.
    Question. How would the additional revenue be used at FDA? Is this 
reflected in the budget?
    Answer. Revenue will not be used to fund new activities at FDA. The 
purpose of the user fee proposals is to charge industry FDA's current 
costs for reinspections and issuance of food export certificates. In 
FDA's budget request, $27 million is initially requested at the 
beginning of fiscal year 2008 to continue these activities in case the 
user fee proposals are not enacted in a timely fashion. If the user fee 
proposals are enacted and become fully operational in fiscal year 2008, 
the collection of these user fees will result in decreases of equal 
amounts in discretionary budget authority that will be returned to the 
Treasury. If enacted, no budget authority resources will be needed for 
these activities in fiscal year 2009, as they will be fully funded by 
user fees.

                               PAY COSTS

    Question. Will the funding requested for pay costs meet the actual 
need for pay and benefit increases at FDA in fiscal year 2008? Part of 
the reason there was such a hole that had to be filled in the Joint 
Resolution was because for several years, FDA has had to cut into 
program funding to fully fund their pay and rent costs. We would like 
to prevent finding ourselves in a similar situation 5 years from now.
    Answer. The funding requested for the pay costs in fiscal year 2008 
cover the mandatory government-wide annualized pay raise of 2.8 
percent.

                                  RENT

    Question. The President's budget includes an increase of nearly $30 
million for Rent and Rent-related costs. It is a breathtaking amount, 
and it is interesting to note that the increase requested for rent 
alone is more than the requested increases for drug safety, food safety 
and medical device safety combined. Further, if the rent costs aren't 
accurate in the budget, as has happened in the past, increased rental 
needs have to come out of FDA program activities. How does the FDA rent 
costs compare to other Federal agencies of the same size? What actions 
have you taken to try to decrease these costs?
    Answer. The President's budget includes a substantial increase for 
Rent-related costs due to the new White Oak facility and higher costs 
for essential services, such as utilities, security and service 
contracts to operate and maintain FDA's facilities. FDA is not privy to 
other Federal agencies' rent costs. GSA sets rental rates for all of 
its Federal tenant agencies as a pass-through of the underlying GSA 
lease contract rent for their leased facilities, and by appraisal based 
on comparable properties for GSA-owned facilities. Rent is charged per 
square foot occupied. Aside from the White Oak consolidation of 
headquarters locations, FDA has made considerable efforts in the past 
several years to consolidate, reduce space, or close existing offices. 
For example, the Office of Criminal Investigations recently co-located 
its Metropolitan Washington Field Office in Laurel, MD, and its Special 
Prosecution Task Force in Beltsville, MD, saving over $50,000 in annual 
rent costs. Additionally, the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) closed 
seven resident posts in fiscal year 2006, saving the Agency $150,000 
annually in GSA rent. We have notified GSA that we will be closing five 
additional offices in the coming months. Finally, ORA has developed a 
comprehensive proposal to centralize laboratory management. ORA plans 
to consolidate staff, equipment, and other resources from ORA's 13 
laboratories into six existing laboratories located across the country. 
Seven lab facilities will be closed and returned to GSA. If approved as 
currently planned, these closures will save the Agency almost $5 
million in annual GSA rent.
    Question. When can we expect to see decreases in these rent costs, 
as White Oak continues to be occupied?
    Answer. Consolidation of the FDA in the field and at headquarters 
will result in operational efficiencies and improved quality of the 
work environment. For the headquarters consolidation, the total number 
of locations will be significantly reduced. However, the headquarters 
consolidation does not result in a reduction of space for the Agency's 
current occupancy. This is partially due to staffing increases provided 
by FDA's prior appropriations and industry funding of additional staff 
through user fees. Further, because the White Oak space is often 
replacing outdated facilities with leases that are from 15 to 20 years 
old, rents in the consolidated facilities exceed the rents that were 
paid for the outdated facilities. The White Oak consolidation does 
effect a savings when compared to replacing the FDA headquarters 
inventory through new leases acquired on an incremental basis as older 
building leases expire. Additionally, when consolidating to Government-
owned space controlled by the GSA, there is typically a savings because 
GSA bills only the fair market value of space, with no administrative 
or overhead fees that would be added for a private-sector lease.

                               WHITE OAK

    Question. The budget includes an increase of $13.2 million for 
continued White Oak Consolidation. This will prepare the facility for 
1,300 employees to move in during fiscal year 2009. Could you please 
speak to this increase and provide an update on White Oak. When do you 
expect everyone to be there?
    Answer. The budget increase of $13.2 million will make it possible 
for FDA to prepare Office Building 66 for the occupancy of 
approximately 1,300 staff from the Center for Devices and Radiological 
Health and support personnel from the Office of the Commissioner. The 
funding will enable FDA to provide furniture and furnishings for staff 
offices, support areas, and conference rooms; security system cabling 
and equipment; and IT and telecom equipment, cabling and services. 
There are five completed and occupied buildings at White Oak: Life 
Sciences I Laboratory; Office Buildings 21 and 22; Central Shared Use 
Building and the Engineering and Physics Laboratory which was just 
occupied in March 2007. Under construction are Office Building 51 
scheduled to be complete in early 2008 and Office Building 66 scheduled 
to be complete spring 2009. Historic Building I and Office Buildings 31 
and 32 are currently in design and construction completion is expected 
in November 2008 and November 2009, respectively. FDA plans to have 
everyone at White Oak in fiscal year 2013, depending upon funding 
included in the General Services Administration's and FDA's future 
appropriations.

                           RESEARCH REDUCTION

    Question. The budget includes a requested decrease in funding of 
nearly $4 million for outreach, coordination and research. Even more 
than that, I was surprised to read that part of that reduction was to 
come from the FDA Animal Drugs and Feeds program--including, and I 
quote from your budget, ``research on prohibited materials in animal 
feed, research on microbiology of animal feed and feed commodities, and 
research on drug residues. In addition, the program will reduce Field 
activities supporting enforcement, investigations and compliance.'' 
Canada very recently found a new BSE case. Please explain these 
proposed reductions. Have we really done all of the research necessary 
on animal feeds, and is it prudent to decrease enforcement and 
compliance activities?
    Answer. The Center for Veterinary Medicine, or CVM, completed 
development of a real-time Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, based 
method. Once field validation of the real-time method is completed, the 
field has a necessary tool to support enforcement of the feed ban. 
Companies are not marketing new rapid test kits for detecting 
prohibited proteins in animal feeds; therefore, CVM does not have 
additional test kits to evaluate.
    The Office of Regulatory Affairs, ORA, intends to absorb the 
reduction of $593K in the Animal Drugs and Feeds Program by reducing 
both personnel and operating funds for coordination activities in 
either the ORA Office of Enforcement; ORA Headquarters; or Compliance 
Officers and Public Affairs Specialists located in the Region and 
District Offices. Operating fund reductions will be taken in travel, 
training and meetings with State or industry officials to perform 
outreach activities in support of the Field Animal Drugs and Feed 
Program. Management and coordination functions will continue by using 
electronic media/technology and realigning and consolidating 
coordination responsibilities to improve efficiencies.
    The research reduction allows CVM and ORA to fund the full cost of 
fiscal year 2008 priority initiatives.

                        OFFICE OF WOMEN'S HEALTH

    Question. Please provide a list of all research activities funded 
by the Office of Women's Health in 2006 and 2007, including all 
recipients of the funds.
    Answer. I would be happy to provide that for the record.
    [The information follows:]


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Fiscal Year     Fiscal Year
                   Recipient                            Research Funding               2006            2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IAG/NIH-ORWH..................................  Specialized Centers of Research         $100,000        $100,000
                                                 on Sex and Gender Factors
                                                 Affecting Women's Health
                                                 (SCOR)..
CDER..........................................  Prevlence study of all drugs              35,000  ..............
                                                 used in pregnancy'?.
IAG/WHO&CFSAN.................................  Develop and evaluate an                  152,000  ..............
                                                 effective COMBI program on
                                                 sanitation and personal hygiene
                                                 practices.
CDER..........................................  The MATT Consortium (Molecular            25,000  ..............
                                                 Assays & Targeted Therapies)
                                                 within the OBQI (Oncology
                                                 Biomarker Qualification
                                                 Initiative) specifically for a
                                                 project on lung cancer.
GNSI..........................................  Development of the Clinical              100,065  ..............
                                                 Review Template.
CDER..........................................  Gender Differences & Impact of            16,000           6,500
                                                 Pharmocogenomics in Rheumatoid
                                                 Arthritis.
CDER..........................................  Women in Clinical Trials and              13,000  ..............
                                                 Gender Analysis of Data in New
                                                 Molecular Entities (NME)
                                                 approved 2000-2002.
CDER..........................................  Impact of gender and                      16,000           7,500
                                                 pharmocogenomics on clinical
                                                 efficacy, safety and
                                                 pharmocokinetics of drugs used
                                                 for treatement of alsheimer's
                                                 disease.
CDRH..........................................  Evaluation of equality and                32,900  ..............
                                                 availability of information on
                                                 females included in mechanical
                                                 circulatory support device
                                                 trials.
CDER..........................................  Women in HIV Trials: A                     9,500           9,000
                                                 Comprehensive Review and Meta-
                                                 Analysis.
CFSAN.........................................  Modulating effects on estrogens           33,000  ..............
                                                 on food allergens induced lung
                                                 inflammation in a highly
                                                 sensitive rat model for
                                                 postmenopausal asthma.
NCTR..........................................  Molecular mechanisms underlying           93,800          87,000
                                                 gender-associated differences
                                                 in the adverse reactions to the
                                                 anti-retroviral agent,
                                                 zidovudine (AZT): role of
                                                 mitochondria) toxicity.
NCTR..........................................  Sex Differences in                       110,100          88,000
                                                 chemotherapeutic toxicity:
                                                 profiling of transporter genes
                                                 in humans.
CDRH..........................................  Assessment of the accuracy of             30,000  ..............
                                                 the Tropinin Assay in the
                                                 Diagnosis of Myocardial
                                                 Infarction by Gender and How
                                                 Gender Influences Treatment.
NCTR..........................................  Protective effect of vaginal              42,500
                                                 Lactobacillus species against
                                                 Staphylococcus aureus-mediated
                                                 toxic shock syndrome.
CBER..........................................  HIV-SELECTEST: A novel assay for         135,000          38,000
                                                 diagnosis of HIV infections in
                                                 the presence of antibodies
                                                 induced by candidate HIVE
                                                 vaccines: Evaluation of gender
                                                 bias in sensitivity and
                                                 specificity.
UN of Arizona.................................  University of Arizona: Dr.                71,600  ..............
                                                 Marlene Freeman: PK/PD
                                                 Sertraline in Pregnancy.
OC/OPPL.......................................  K.Morgan--Evaluation of How Best          55,000  ..............
                                                 to Communicate to Heatlh Care
                                                 Providers about the Risks.
UN of Boston..................................  ................................  ..............          50,000
UN of Wisconsin...............................  University of Wisconsin: Dr.              32,900  ..............
                                                 Gloria Sarto--PK/PD of selected
                                                 atibiotics during pregnancy.
CDER..........................................  Quantitative Tumor Size--                 52,000  ..............
                                                 Survival Relationship in
                                                 Oncology Clinical Trials.
CDER..........................................  Statistical analyses of gender-           11,300  ..............
                                                 specific data from New Drug
                                                 Application (NDA) submissions.
CBER..........................................  Gender Dimorphism in HIV                  16,200  ..............
                                                 Infection in Primary
                                                 Macrophages and T-Lymphocytes:
                                                 Kinetics of.
AHRQ..........................................  JAG with AHRQ: Research on the            25,000  ..............
                                                 Effects of Drug Exposures in
                                                 Pregnancy.
CDER..........................................  Cardiac safety, and specifically          50,000  ..............
                                                 to build on on-going activities
                                                 re: the ECG Warehouse and the.
CDER..........................................  Development of an HL 7 standard           50,000  ..............
                                                 for the exchange of protocols,
                                                 protocol summaries, and study.
UN of Wisconsin...............................  PK/PD of selected atibiotics              16,300  ..............
                                                 dining pregnancy.
CDER/OTCOM....................................  Pregnancy Seminar: Pathways to    ..............           3,400
                                                 Drug Development--A focus on
                                                 Women's Health..
                                                                                 -------------------------------
      Total...................................  ................................       1,384,165         339,400
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Please explain the process by which OWH determines how to 
fund research activities.
    Answer. The FDA Office of Women's Health, or OWH, determines 
research funding priorities by coordinating with other FDA and HHS 
activities around women's health issues to leverage existing funds and 
target projects to meet Agency and Departmental priorities. OWH created 
a Women's Health Advisory Council with numerous Agency representatives 
to help identify areas of highest priority with respect to women's 
health and a better understanding of sex/gender differences. By 
participating with the HHS OWH, FDA OWH is able to identify cross 
cutting activities. The Office sends an announcement out to all Centers 
in the FDA announcing the availability of intramural funding for 
research projects aimed at protecting and improving women's health. The 
announcement specifies the research focus for the fiscal year (e.g. sex 
related differences in safety or efficacy of FDA regulated products) 
and the application due dates. Research Proposals, called Concept 
Papers, are drawn up within individual Centers and go though an initial 
screening by the respective Center's Women's Health Coordinator to 
evaluate the proposal's eligibility for context and institutional 
involvement. The Concept Papers are sent to OWH and to the Center 
Coordinators who independently rank the proposals based on the need and 
priority for women's health issues in the respective Centers. After a 
thorough assessment of the proposals, selected investigators are asked 
to further expand their proposals and submit to OWH for evaluation and 
funding. OWH identifies panels of experts to perform an independent 
review of the expanded proposals rating specific criteria such as 
Research Question, Study Design, Feasibility, Relevance, Performance 
History, Investigator Qualifications, and Budget. Final decisions on 
funding are based on scientific reviews (Center Scientists, external 
experts and OWH Scientists) and available funds.
    Question. For fiscal year 2008, why are you proposing reducing the 
research funds of OWH?
    Answer. To be clear, research funds for women's health activities 
are not reduced in our fiscal year 2008 budget request. Our budget 
proposes to transfer $350,000 from the Office of Women's Health, which 
is located within the Office of the Commissioner, to the National 
Center for Toxicologic Research, or NCTR. This transfer has been 
proposed to augment ongoing women's health research within NCTR. In 
particular, NCTR research has focused on our ability to understand 
unique risks that women face when exposed to drugs, particularly on the 
risks to women's cardiac health. This transfer should not, by any 
means, be interpreted as a reduction of FDA's commitment to women's 
health. This transfer represents an amplification of an existing 
research portfolio to examine pharmacological effects on women's 
susceptibility to heart damage. It is not a diminishing of the Women's 
Health Initiative.
    Question. The office was created in part because the Centers were 
not placing a priority on women's health. What research will NCTR fund 
on women's health?
    Answer. NCTR research will continue to focus on our ability to 
understand unique risks that women face when exposed to drugs, 
particularly the risk to women's cardiac health. This transfer of 
research resources to NCTR will augment an already-robust portfolio of 
toxicology research focused on examining a wide variety of health-
related topics.
    Question. Why is it necessary to pull the funds from OWH if it is 
simply being transferred to NCTR, as opposed to letting OWH make the 
decision?
    Answer. As stated earlier, this transfer has been proposed because 
the National Center for Toxicological Research, or NCTR, is where we 
have been using those funds to do research in women's health. The 
Office of Women's Health, or OWH, serves as a champion for women's 
health both within and outside the agency. To achieve its goal, the OWH 
undertakes the following five activities:
  --ensures that FDA regulatory and oversight functions remain gender 
        sensitive and responsive
  --works to correct any identified gender disparities in drug, device 
        and biologics testing, and/or regulation policy
  --monitors progress of priority women's health initiatives within FDA
  --promotes an integrative and interactive approach regarding women's 
        health issues across all the organizational components of the 
        FDA
  --forms partnerships with government and non-government entities, 
        including consumer groups, health advocates, professional 
        organizations, and industry, to promote FDA's women's health 
        objectives.
    I can assure this subcommittee that the proposed transfer of funds 
to NCTR, specifically for women's health research, will not in any way 
diminish the ability of the OWH to achieve its goal. Specifically, the 
OWH will have full input as an equal partner with regards to women's 
health research activities at NCTR.

                     DIRECT TO CONSUMER ADVERTISING

    Question. What is the current funding level of DDMAC? Please 
provide a breakdown of staff.
    Answer. The current funding level for the Division of Drug 
Marketing, Advertising, and Communications, or DDMAC, is $4,991,000. 
DDMAC consists of 44 FTE. There are nine people within the immediate 
office of the director, which includes the director, deputy director, 
associate director, program specialist, 3 policy and enforcement team 
members, one labeling specialist, and one information-technology 
specialist. In addition there are four professional review groups 
totaling 20 reviewers and two technical information assistants; two 
direct-to-consumer review groups with seven reviewers and two 
researchers, and 2 vacancies; and one training and support group 
consisting of one person on board and a vacancy. The staff breakdown 
represents all full-time and part-time onboard staff and the current 
vacancies. The funding level does not include full payroll expenditures 
for all positions listed above.
    Question. What percentage of DTC television advertisements are 
currently being reviewed?
    Answer. In 2006, the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and 
Communications, or DDMAC, reviewed and provided advisory comments on 27 
percent of television ads before they were publicly aired.
    Question. If the FDA's proposed user fee for DTC advertisements is 
not enacted, what additional funding amount would be required for FDA 
to double the productivity of the office? What would a doubling of 
DDMAC allow FDA to accomplish?
    Answer. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act IV, or PDUFA IV, 
currently includes provisions for $6.25 million a year for the advisory 
review of DTC television ads. If we do not receive the $6.25 million a 
year as proposed in user fees, we would not be able to increase our 
productivity in the advisory review of direct-to-consumer, or DTC, 
television ads. With a doubling of the Division of Drug Marketing, 
Advertising, and Communications, or DDMAC, we estimate that we could 
cut our review time for these television ads nearly in half and review 
about two-thirds more of these materials than was possible in 2006.
    Question. A recent GAO report stated that DDMAC should stop using 
informal criteria when prioritizing material for review, and should 
develop and publish criteria for prioritization and review. Please 
provide a cost and time estimate for FDA to develop and formalize this 
process?
    Answer. FDA, like other regulatory agencies, exercises enforcement 
discretion in order to focus its resources on enforcement actions that 
would most impact public health. Although the Division of Drug 
Marketing, Advertising, and Communications, or DDMAC, does not document 
the criteria it uses to prioritize each direct-to-consumer, or DTC, 
piece received for review, DDMAC has identified criteria that are 
systematically applied to identify workload priorities for review of 
both draft and final DTC materials that have the greatest impact on 
public health. The DDMAC management team, and in particular the DTC 
group leaders, works with all the DTC reviewers to ensure consistent 
application. DDMAC exercises judgment in continually reevaluating its 
workload in light of these priorities, contingent on emerging 
scientific and regulatory events. The suggestion that each piece be 
reviewed under specified criteria, and that all reviews be documented, 
would require vastly increased staff to essentially review every piece 
in detail. What now happens is that experienced reviewers scan pieces 
for problems, recognizing our priorities, and choose the ones to 
pursue. We are currently evaluating this process to determine what, if 
any, changes are needed.

                          PROBIOTICS IN YOGURT

    Question. Why does FDA require an IND when studying probiotics in 
food that is readily available on grocery shelves? Is this appropriate?
    Answer. The determining factor as to whether an investigational new 
drug application, or IND, is required for a probiotic product is the 
intended use to be studied. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act, or FD&C Act, if a probiotic product is intended to be used as a 
drug, it is regulated as a drug, and an IND would be required. The FD&C 
Act defines a drug as, among other things, an article intended for use 
in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of 
disease, as well as an article (other than food) intended to affect the 
structure or any function of the body. The Public Health Service Act 
definition of a biological product includes products containing 
microorganisms applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of 
disease or condition of human beings, and to which the FD&C Act 
applies.
    On the other hand, where a food, including a dietary supplement, is 
studied to determine its effect on the structure or function of the 
body, without reference to any effects on disease, an IND would not be 
required.
    Any clinical investigator or probiotic manufacturer interested in 
evaluating a probiotic product for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, 
treatment, or prevention of a disease is encouraged to request a pre-
IND meeting with FDA prior to submitting an IND.
    Question. Since this research would not require the use of a drug 
manufacturing ability, because the product is already on the shelves, 
how can a researcher secure an IND?
    Answer. The Investigational New Drug, or IND, regulations are 
provided in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 312. The 
FDA internet site provides many informational resources concerning how 
to submit an IND and how to conduct a clinical trial under IND. Also, 
the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research's Office of 
Communication, Training, and Manufacturer's Assistance may be contacted 
directly at 301-827-1800 for assistance in the process.
    Question. Is there a way to allow for this research to move forward 
without requiring an IND that still provides the safety and assurance 
expected by the FDA from the public when conducting research?
    Answer. If a probiotic product is to be studied for use in the 
diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, it 
needs to be evaluated under an Investigational New Drug, or IND.

                            CARBON MONOXIDE

    Question. In FDA's March 2007 fresh fruit and vegetable guidance, 
FDA states that the use of low oxygen Modified Atmosphere Packaging 
(MAP) systems for perishable foods can promote the growth of spoilage 
organisms and pathogens that may be present. In light of this 
publication, and since MAP systems are also being used in fresh meat 
products, does FDA anticipate withdrawing its acceptance of the GRAS 
notifications that have been submitted to the agency regarding the use 
of carbon monoxide in fresh meat?
    Answer. FDA is currently evaluating a pending citizen petition 
which requests that the agency withdraw its response letters to the 
``generally recognized as safe'' notifications regarding the use of 
carbon monoxide in fresh meat. While our review of that petition is 
ongoing, we cannot comment on whether we anticipate withdrawing the 
response letters.
    Question. Please provide a status on FDA's response to a citizen 
petition filed on November 15, 2005 (Docket No. 2005P-0459) regarding 
carbon monoxide in fresh meat? Please provide a date by which this 
citizen petition will receive a response?
    Answer. On November 15, 2005, FDA opened a docket on a citizen's 
petition submitted by Kalsec, Inc. In their petition, Kalsec requests 
that FDA rescind the acceptance of a number of ``generally recognized 
as safe'' notices related to the notifiers' determinations that carbon 
monoxide (CO) is ``generally recognized as safe'' under specific 
conditions of use as a component in Modified Atmosphere Packaging 
systems (MAPs) used in fresh meat. FDA has received and continues to 
receive numerous submissions commenting on the Kalsec petition. We are 
evaluating the petition and place a high priority on preparing a timely 
response. However, due to other priorities and the ongoing review of 
the submissions commenting on the petition, FDA does not have a 
specific date when it will complete its review of the citizen's 
petition submitted by Kalsec, Inc.

                       OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER

    Question. Do contractors and consultants report to the Commissioner 
or Chief of Staff? If so, what are their roles? Could these functions 
be done by existing permanent staff? If so, why are these individuals 
hired as consultants rather than as Federal employees?
    Answer. There is one contractor who reports to the Commissioner. 
The contactor's role is to provide professional services in executive 
leadership development for all of the senior FDA leadership within the 
Office of the Commissioner and the Centers. Specific tasks include 
strengthening executive leadership, enhancing cross-agency integration, 
improving communication, mentoring and developing staff. These 
functions could not be performed by existing staff as the existing 
staff does not possess the breadth of knowledge and level of expertise 
as the contractor in the areas of executive development, coaching and 
organizational culture.
    There is one contractor who reports to the Chief of Staff. This 
contractor has an extensive background in media and strategic 
communications and a thorough understanding of how outside 
organizations perceive critical FDA policies and initiatives. This 
outside perspective cannot be provided by existing permanent staff.
    Question. Does the Office of the Commissioner have sufficient funds 
to pay for all of these staff with payroll dollars? Is there a 
``payroll deficit'' for the Office of the Commissioner?
    Answer. Yes, the Office of the Commissioner, or OC, has sufficient 
funding for approved staffing. In fiscal year 2007, OC does not have a 
``payroll deficit''.

                     OFFICE OF COSMETICS AND COLORS

    Question. What is the proposed fiscal year 2008 budget for the FDA 
Office of Cosmetics and Colors (OCAC) within the Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and the proposed number of FTE positions? 
How does this compare with fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007?
    Answer. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) 
estimates that its appropriated fiscal year 2008 budget for the Office 
of Cosmetics and Colors (OCAC) will support 13 full time equivalent 
(FTE) positions and provide $2.0 million for the cosmetics activities 
conducted by OCAC. Additionally, the non-appropriated Color 
Certification Program within OCAC will support 32 FTE positions with a 
budget of $7.568 million in fiscal year 2008.
    By comparison, in fiscal year 2006, the Agency's Cosmetics program 
was staffed at 30 FTEs with a budget of $3.2 million which included 
staff in OCAC (not including the color certification program). In 
fiscal year 2007, all compliance and research components that were in 
individual program offices within CFSAN, including those in OCAC, were 
realigned to the Office of Compliance or the Office of Regulatory 
Science to concentrate these similar activities. Other FTEs within the 
Cosmetics Program left the Agency for various reasons, including 
retirement and buyouts. As a result, the estimated fiscal year 2007 
budget for cosmetic activities conducted by OCAC is 13 FTEs/$1.825 
million.
    Question. Is CFSAN planning to change the size or organizational 
structure of OCAC, and if so, what is the new organizational plan and 
how would OCAC be structured within CFSAN?
    Answer. In February 2007, as part of CFSAN's proposed 
reorganization, CFSAN changed the size and organizational structure of 
OCAC. In fiscal year 2006, the entire cosmetics program was located in 
the Division of Cosmetics and Compliance. In fiscal year 2007, 
compliance and research components that were in individual program 
offices within CFSAN, including those in OCAC, were realigned to the 
Office of Compliance and to the Office of Regulatory Science to 
concentrate staff in offices with a particular focus. As a result, 
there was a significant reduction in personnel within OCAC.
    Question. The size of the personal care products industry is $60 
billion, with over 11 billion products sold annually, and with over 
2,500 facilities in the United States. In the last 25 years there has 
been a vast expansion of personal care products. However, the number of 
FTEs in the OCAC has decreased dramatically during this same timeframe. 
Does FDA believe that there will be a sufficient number of FTEs in the 
Office of Cosmetics and Colors enough to regulate this industry and 
insure the safety of these consumer products?
    Answer. Thus far, FDA has been able to keep pace with developments, 
averting any serious or widespread public health problems. While it is 
difficult to predict, precisely, what the future will bring, there are 
several areas that loom large for cosmetic safety. Key examples include 
the safe use of nanotechnology in cosmetics; a need for more scientific 
information to ensure the safe use of tattoos, which has greatly 
expanded over a wider segment of the population than formerly; and the 
increasingly global nature of the industry with a corresponding need 
for FDA engagement in the development of international safety 
standards.

                            PSEUDOEPHEDRINE

    Question. The Senate and House Appropriations Committee Report on 
the fiscal year 2007 FDA Appropriations Bill included language 
regarding ``Expedited Filing''. In the context of this Appropriations 
provision, and in light of the initiatives undertaken by FDA following 
enactment of the Combat Meth Act, would you please outline the steps 
that the Agency has taken to enhance access to new prescription 
combinations of safe and effective marketed drugs that could provide 
alternative therapies to replace pseudoephedrine-containing products 
and thereby address the major public health and safety concerns arising 
from meth production?
    Answer. The Office of Non-Prescription Products, or ONP, is 
interacting with manufacturers to help them interpret the Combat Meth 
Act provisions regarding reformulation of both New Drug Applications, 
or NDA, and over-the-counter, or OTC, monograph products. Products that 
require NDA or a supplement to an NDA, or sNDA, may qualify for a 
priority review. We are willing to meet with applicants to determine if 
such applications qualify to be considered under priority review. We 
interact with such applicants to ensure that only essential testing is 
required to demonstrate that the reformulations will be safe and 
effective. For instance, clinical trials are not required in any 
instance in which a demonstration of bioequivalence in humans can be 
appropriately applied. This may help shorten the time necessary to 
provide data for the NDA or sNDA. We also respond to submissions and 
meeting requests quickly so that access is not delayed based upon the 
ability of a company to get feedback or to interact with the Agency. If 
applications do not qualify for priority review, they are reviewed 
under the specific timelines and procedures associated with the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, and other pertinent 
regulations.
    OTC products that are marketed under the OTC Drug Review may be 
reformulated following the stipulations for active ingredients, 
manufacturing, and labeling that are set out in the regulations 
associated with the OTC monographs. These reformulations do not require 
approval by the FDA prior to marketing. For example, an immediate 
release tablet containing pseudoephedrine as a decongestant in 
combination with an antihistamine could be reformulated under the 
monograph to contain an alternative decongestant phenylephrine, in 
combination with the same antihistamine. This reformulation does not 
require preapproval, supporting a rapid transition from products 
containing pseudoephrine to products using other antihistamines. In 
addition, a new salt of phenylephrine was recently added to the 
monograph to allow manufacturers more flexibility in formulating 
products.

                        COLOR CERTIFICATION FEES

    Question. What is the anticipated balance that will remain in the 
Color Certification Fund at the end of fiscal year 2007?
    Answer. The anticipated balance that will remain in the Color 
Certification Fund at the end of fiscal year 2007 is $1,410,134.
    Question. What are the anticipated revenues to this fund in fiscal 
year 2008?
    Answer. The anticipated revenues to this fund in fiscal year 2008 
are $7,000,000.
    Question. Please provide a list of all anticipated expenses for 
this program in fiscal year 2008?
    Answer. The following is a list of anticipated expenses for the 
Color Certification Program in fiscal year 2008:
    Operating Expenses:$3,309,740 (Funds the day to day operations of 
the Color Certification program including equipment purchases, 
supplies, travel, contracts and rent and rent related costs)
    Payroll Expenses: $4,258,384 (Funds the salaries and benefits of 
Color Certification employees)
                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Tom Harkin

             ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING ON DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

    Question. The Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer 
Protection Act require manufacturers and distributors of dietary 
supplements and OTC drugs to report all serious adverse events to the 
FDA. The legislation requires the FDA to issue guidance by September 
18, 2007 on the minimum data elements that should be included in a 
serious adverse event report.
    Has the FDA begun that process?
    Answer. Yes, FDA has begun work on the guidance required by the new 
law. Before issuing final guidance, the agency intends to publish draft 
guidance describing in detail the minimum data elements that should be 
included in a serious adverse event report for both dietary supplements 
and OTC drugs, using the current FDA 3500A MedWatch form for mandatory 
reporting.
    Question. Will the FDA be issuing a proposed guidance to solicit 
comment from stakeholders?
    Answer. Yes. In accordance with the agency's good guidance practice 
regulations, FDA will announce the availability of the draft guidance 
in the Federal Register and invite comment on the guidance from 
interested parties.
    The Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection 
Act supersedes the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition's (CFSAN's) 
Adverse Event Reporting System, or ``CAERS'', which allows voluntary 
reporting of dietary supplement adverse events.
    Question. Since the legislation requires manufacturers and 
distributors to report serious adverse events, does FDA expect to use 
more resources to process Adverse Event Reports?
    Answer. Yes, the FDA expects to use more resources to process 
significant adverse event reports (AERs) which are submitted in 
response to this law.
    With respect to resources for Public Law 109-462, no funding for 
implementation was provided in the fiscal year 2007 appropriation and 
no funding was requested in the President's fiscal year 2008 budget.
    Currently the agency has been performing tasks that will contribute 
to the full implementation of the new law. For example, FDA performed a 
gap analysis between the FDA3500A MedWatch form and the capabilities of 
the current CFSAN Adverse Events Reporting System (CAERS). This 
analysis shows that CAERS needs software modifications to receive 
fields on the 3500A MedWatch form.
    In addition, the agency is planning the additional work activities 
needed to fully implement the law. These work activities will include 
developing several business processes, making significant Information 
Technology (IT) improvements to CAERS, and modifying contracts 
providing records management and IT support. To accommodate the 
increased numbers of significant AERs expected to result from mandatory 
reporting, CFSAN plans to modify CAERS to accept AERs electronically 
via the MedWatch Plus initiative, which will include modifications to 
accommodate dietary supplements.
    CFSAN already has processes in place to consolidate duplicate AERs 
and new medical information on existing AERs so that all information 
about a given adverse event appears in a single report, as required by 
the new law.
    The Administration has proposed only $4 million above last year's 
enacted level for CFSAN. This funding is directed to increases in food 
safety programs generally, not the CAERS system or a revised version of 
it.
    Question. What additional resources will FDA require for fiscal 
year 2008 to prepare for the full implementation of the Act?
    Answer. No funding for implementation was provided in the fiscal 
year 2007 appropriation and no funding was requested in the President's 
fiscal year 2008 budget.

          GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

    Question. It has been over 12 years after the enactment of Dietary 
Supplement Health and Education Act and the FDA has yet to finalize the 
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations authorized by the 1994 
law. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Report 
that accompanied The Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug 
Consumer Protection Act encouraged the FDA to act quickly to finalize a 
GMP regulation for supplements. The Committee also noted that FDA has 
taken action against products that arguably could not have been sold in 
the first place if strong GMPs had been promulgated.
    What date will GMP regulations be issued?
    Answer. FDA is committed to publishing this final rule. I can 
assure you that there has been significant work done on the final rule 
since the comment period for the proposed rule ended in August 2003. 
The Administration is currently reviewing the final rule.
    We have worked extremely hard to draft the final rule in such a way 
that would assure quality products for the consumer while balancing 
societal costs and benefits. I can assure you that full attention is 
being given to the completion of the rule as soon as possible.

                        FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS

    Question. Between 2003 and 2006, FDA food safety inspections have 
dropped by 47 percent as reported last month by the Associated Press.
    Will an increase of just $10 million increase the number of food 
safety inspections for products regulated by FDA?
    Answer. The number of domestic food inspections used to calculate 
the 47 percent decrease in inspections since 2003 (from 7,218 in 2003 
to 3,833 in 2006) represents only a subset of total domestic food 
inspections. This subset does not include such high risk areas as 
Seafood HACCP inspections; Juice HACCP inspections; Cheese inspections; 
Low Acid Canned Foods; and, Acidified Food inspections. When ALL 
domestic food inspections are included, the reduction in inspections 
between 2003 and 2006 is 19 percent.
    In addition, the decreases quoted are for FDA inspections only and 
do not recognize FDA leveraging with States to conduct contract/grant 
and partnership inspections. For instance, in fiscal year 2006 the 
States performed 8,566 food inspections for FDA which is an increase 
from 8,390 conducted by the States in fiscal year 2003.
    The $5.5 million that the Office of Regulatory, or ORA, requested 
as part of the Strengthening Food Safety Initiative in the fiscal year 
2008 President's Budget request will not result in an increased number 
of food safety inspections. Funding will be used to enhance ORA's 
ability to more rapidly trace back foodborne disease outbreaks and to 
work proactively to encourage growers and processors to implement good 
agricultural practices and other interventions designed to prevent 
contamination of food. ORA will develop, train, and equip teams to work 
with State partners in large produce-growing regions. Funding will also 
be used to accelerate development of an import decision-making IT 
system capable of detecting high-risk food shipments before they enter 
U.S. commerce. While FDA already has systems that are used to identify 
and target certain high-risk import shipments the new system will 
increase current capabilities by providing for automated review and 
trending of the results of field examinations and analyses of samples, 
identifying candidates for detention without physical examination; it 
will score each entry line on the basis of risk factors and 
surveillance requirements, for an automated, real-time decision on 
action to be taken; and, it will incorporate exogenous data with 
available FDA operational data to create a broader picture for each 
shipment.
    The $4.0 million and 16 FTEs that the Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition, or CFSAN, requested in the fiscal year 2008 
President's Budget request will be used to improve its Food Safety 
program particularly focused on produce safety. CFSAN plans to utilize 
the fiscal year 2008 funds for resources to support four core critical 
functional areas of the FDA Food Safety Program: (1) methods 
development to detect and attribute foodborne illness outbreaks related 
to fresh produce, (2) expand traceback capabilities by hiring 
environmental epidemiologists to work with FDA and State and local 
agencies and facilitate on-farm investigations, (3) development of 
cost-effective regulations and/or guidance, and (4) obtain additional 
expertise in the production and processing of fresh produce.
    The National Center for Toxicological Research, or NCTR, will 
direct $165,000 to provide additional staff and $335,000 for supplies 
and services to improve methods for rapid screening and complete 
identification of foodborne pathogens. NCTR will also develop a genomic 
database to identify and assess the biological threat of foodborne 
pathogens. The total cost is $500,000.
    Also included is $644,000 for FDA's Office of Crisis Management, or 
OCM, to enhance FDA's ability to help industry mitigate the risks of 
foodborne outbreaks.
    Question. What will be the number of inspections as compared to 
fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007?
    Answer. The Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA, currently 
estimates it will perform 19,212 food inspections, including 
inspections performed by the States for FDA under State contracts and 
partnerships in fiscal year 2008. This represents a slight increase 
over the fiscal year 2007 estimate of 19,137 food inspections. In 
fiscal year 2006, FDA and the States performed 17,730 food inspections.
    Question. Is $10 million enough money to ensure public safety?
    Answer. Ensuring the safety of the food supply is a top priority 
for FDA and the Administration and we will continue to strive to reduce 
the incidence of foodborne illness, and the associated impact of public 
health to the lowest level possible.
    The $5.5 million that the Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA, 
requested as part of the Strengthening Food Safety Initiative in the 
fiscal year 2008 President's Budget request will be used to enhance 
ORA's ability to more rapidly trace back foodborne disease outbreaks 
and to perform on farm investigations. Once the outbreak and food 
involved has been identified, the ability to deploy rapid response 
teams trained in outbreak response and traceback procedures will 
prevent additional exposure of consumers to contaminated produce and 
reduce the number of illnesses by more quickly identifying implicated 
shipments and removing them from the market. In addition, the 
development of these teams enhances FDA's ability to perform on farm 
and at processor investigations and thereby help prevent future 
outbreaks. Funding will also be used to accelerate development of an 
import decision-making IT system capable of detecting high-risk 
shipments before they enter U.S. commerce which will improve ORA's 
ability to intercept contaminated products at the border and before 
they enter U.S. commerce. While FDA already has systems that are used 
to identify and target certain high-risk import shipments. the new 
system will increase current capabilities by providing for automated 
review and trending of the results of field examinations and analyses 
of samples, identifying candidates for detention without physical 
examination; it will score each entry line on the basis of risk factors 
and surveillance requirements, for an automated, real-time decision on 
action to be taken; and, it will incorporate exogenous data with 
available FDA operational data to create a broader picture for each 
shipment.
    The $4.0 million and 16 FTEs that the Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition or CFSAN, requested in the fiscal year 2008 
President's Budget request will be used to improve its Food Safety 
program particularly focused on produce safety. In a continued 
commitment to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply, FDA is taking 
action to prevent or reduce foodborne outbreaks and the number of 
illnesses and deaths due to consumption of contaminated food, 
bolstering public confidence in the safety of fresh produce, the 
consumption of which the U.S. Government has been encouraging as part 
of a healthful diet, and encouraging the States and industry to respond 
to new information on potential food contamination.
    The National Center for Toxicological Research, or NCTR, will 
direct $165,000 to provide additional staff and $335,000 for supplies 
and services to improve methods for rapid screening and complete 
identification of foodborne pathogens. NCTR will also develop a genomic 
database to identify and assess the biological threat of foodborne 
pathogens. The total cost is $500,000.
    Also included is $644,000 for FDA's Office of Crisis Management, or 
OCM, to enhance FDA's ability to help industry mitigate the risks of 
foodborne outbreaks.
    Since September of last year, there have been multiple large-scale 
outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. Press reports 
suggest the reason for the recent outbreak of foodborne illness is 
FDA's lack of resources in the area of food safety. The President's 
fiscal year 2008 budget calls for an increase of $10.6 million for food 
safety at FDA.
    Question. What changes will FDA make with this money to ensure 
future outbreaks of foodborne illness are prevented?
    Answer. The fiscal year 2008 budget requests funds for food safety 
improvements in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, or 
CFSAN ($4 million), the Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA ($5.5 
million), the National Center for Toxicological Research, or NCTR 
($500,000) and the Office of Crisis Management, or OCM ($644,000).
    CFSAN expects to utilize the fiscal year 2008 increase for 
resources to support four core functional areas of the FDA Foods 
Program:
  --Methods Development ($1 million).--Funds will develop better 
        methods to detect and attribute foodborne illness outbreaks 
        related to produce and allow for quicker intervention to reduce 
        the illnesses and deaths from contaminated food and quicker 
        resumption of marketing of uncontaminated food.
  --Surveillance ($1 million).--Funds will increase sampling and 
        traceback capabilities, including conducting produce sampling 
        surveys of imported and domestic produce to examine pathogens 
        along the distribution chain to establish a baseline.
  --Regulations and Guidance ($1 million).--Funds will help develop 
        cost-effective regulations and/or guidance to prevent and 
        reduce outbreaks, thus reducing the instance of illness and 
        death.
  --Produce Experts ($1 million).--Funds will obtain additional 
        expertise in the production and processing of fresh produce, 
        with emphasis on microbiological safety issues.
    Also included is $644,000 for FDA's Office of Crisis Management, or 
OCM, to enhance FDA's ability to help industry mitigate the risks of 
increased foodborne outbreaks.
    The National Center for Toxicological Research, or NCTR, will 
direct $165,000 to provide additional staff and $335,000 for supplies 
and services to improve methods for rapid screening and complete 
identification of foodborne pathogens. NCTR will also develop a genomic 
database to identify and assess the biological threat of foodborne 
pathogens.
    The Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA, plans to allocate $3.5 
million to develop the capacity for more rapid traceback of produce-
related outbreaks and the capacity to determine the root cause of an 
outbreak. ORA will develop teams trained in traceback technologies, 
incident command, and root cause analysis. These teams will be 
strategically positioned in areas with large produce-growing regions. 
In addition, ORA will provide training, equipment, and other assistance 
to States so that they can be full partners with FDA in responding to 
and preventing produce-related outbreaks. After the first year, ORA 
will have 12 fully equipped and trained FTEs with traceback equipment.
    ORA also plans to allocate $2 million towards developing an import 
decision-making system capable of detecting high risk shipments of FDA-
regulated products before they are admitted or released into U.S. 
commerce. While FDA already has systems that are used to identify and 
target certain high-risk import shipments the new system will increase 
current capabilities by providing for automated review and trending of 
the results of field examinations and analyses of samples, identifying 
candidates for detention without physical examination; it will score 
each entry line on the basis of risk factors and surveillance 
requirements, for an automated, real-time decision on action to be 
taken; and, it will incorporate exogenous data with available FDA 
operational data to create a broader picture for each shipment.
    From what I can see, the FDA needs a far greater investment in food 
safety in order to effect real improvements in actual practice.
    Question. If given more than $10 million for food safety, which 
programs would benefit most from additional money to increase the 
safety of our food supply, especially in fresh produce?
    Answer. FDA is committed to ensuring that America's food supply 
continues to be among the safest in the world, but we face challenges. 
For example, consumption of produce, particularly ``ready-to-eat'' 
products, has increased dramatically during the past decade. Americans 
usually consume these products in their raw state, harvested from the 
vine, stem, or soil without processing to reduce or eliminate pathogens 
that may be present. Consequently, the manner in which these products 
are grown, harvested, packed, processed, and distributed is crucial to 
ensuring that microbial contamination is minimized, thereby reducing 
the risk of illness to consumers. Even if a small percentage of what is 
harvested is contaminated, it can result in severe illness. FDA is 
taking a ``farm-to-fork'' systematic risk management approach to food 
safety to reduce the risk of food illness at all points in the food 
chain.
    For fiscal year 2008, we propose a $10.644 million increase for a 
food safety initiative focused on fresh produce. FDA will develop 
methods to prevent food outbreaks from occurring by rapidly detecting 
contamination that leads to illness, more quickly tracking 
contamination to its source, and more effectively conducting root cause 
analysis of the contamination. We will also provide training to our 
State and local partners and develop a geographic information mapping 
system for faster emergency response. Finally, we will develop a 
decision-making system to detect high-risk imports before they enter 
U.S. commerce, so they can be evaluated by FDA.
    Due to the increased consumption of fresh produce and the current 
outbreaks of contamination, FDA would allocate additional funding for 
specific areas where we could expand the food safety program in order 
to promote and improve the public health. FDA has identified the 
following five critical areas as targets for future growth:
  --preventing contamination and produce safety research
  --preventing outbreaks and mitigating outbreak impact
  --monitoring antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance in bacteria 
        from farm-raised aquatic animals and their environments
  --developing efficient techniques for identifying foodborne pathogens 
        that cause outbreaks
  --providing additional field support for the Foods and Animal Drugs 
        and Feed Programs.

                                  SALT

    Question. In 1979, the Federation of American Societies for 
Experimental Biology submitted a final report to FDA, Evaluation of the 
Health Aspects of Sodium Chloride and Potassium Chloride as Food 
Ingredients. This report reviewed the adverse biological effects of 
dietary sodium and concluded that these effects might be harmful to the 
health of a significant proportion of the public. It further concluded 
that ``it is the prevalent judgment of the scientific community that 
the consumption of sodium chloride in the aggregate should be lowered 
in the United States.''
    Since that time, additional studies have demonstrated with much 
greater certainty that diets high in sodium promote high blood 
pressure. In 2003, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's high 
blood pressure committee called for a 50-percent reduction in sodium in 
processed and restaurant foods over the next 10 years, or 5 percentage 
points a year for 10 years. In a January 2004 commentary in the 
American Journal of Public Health, the director of the National Heart, 
Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and two colleagues estimated that 
halving sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods would save 
150,000 lives a year in the United States.
    In the early 1980s, likely based in part on the 1979 FASEB report, 
FDA agreed that a reduction in the consumption of salt would be 
beneficial, and it initiated a modest campaign of public education and 
expanded labeling provisions to encourage consumers and food 
manufacturers to use less salt. Around that time, FDA also rejected 
calls to revisit the GRAS status of salt. However, in 1984, a Federal 
district court ordered FDA to reconsider the GRAS status of salt if 
voluntary measures did not succeed in reducing salt intake.
    Per the instructions of the Federal district court in 1984, has FDA 
taken steps to reconsider the GRAS status of salt?
    Answer. In response to a 1979 review on salt by the Select 
Committee on GRAS Substances (SCOGS) of the Federation of American 
Societies for Experimental Biology, and concern about the health 
effects of salt in the U.S. diet, FDA reviewed the regulatory status of 
salt and issued Federal Register (FR) publications discussing salt's 
status in a 1982 notice (47 FR 26580; June 18, 1982) and a 1984 final 
rule (49 FR 15510; April 18, 1984). In these documents, FDA outlines 
its voluntary review of salt and the decision not to alter salt's 
status as a GRAS ingredient.
    The question references the ``instructions of the Federal district 
court in 1984.'' These instructions were contained in a court ruling 
\1\ that granted summary judgment to FDA in response to a suit filed by 
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeking the court's 
review of FDA's denial of the CSPI citizen petition to reclassify salt 
as a food additive. The cited ``instructions'' were non-binding 
instructions for FDA to make a decision on the GRAS status of salt 
after it had completed its review of the effectiveness of several FDA 
initiatives for salt. FDA had concurrently completed a voluntary review 
of salt and subsequently opted not to alter its regulatory status. The 
conclusions of FDA's review that are the basis of our decision are 
documented in the 1982 and 1984 FR documents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Center for Science in the Public Interest v. Novitch, Food, 
Drug, and Cosm. L. Rep. (CCH) 38,275 (D.D.C. June 11, 1984)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Question. If so, what is the result of those deliberations? If not, 
why has FDA not done so?
    Answer. The results of those deliberations in the early 1980s 
regarding the GRAS status of salt ultimately led to a decision not to 
alter GRAS status (47 FR 26580, June 18, 1982; 49 FR 15510, April 18, 
1984). FDA opted instead to pursue a consumer information-based 
approach where declarations of the salt (listed on the food label as 
the sodium ion) content of foods would encourage individuals to control 
their own salt intake as well as encourage food manufacturers to limit 
the salt content of their products. FDA explained in the 1982 FR notice 
its rationale for choosing this approach. FDA cited several legal and 
regulatory issues that confounded the regulation of salt as a food 
additive. These legal and regulatory issues include the complexity of 
determining limitations of salt in foods and the complexity of the diet 
in general (i.e., changing the salt content of a particular food or 
foods may not impact a person's total intake of salt). Furthermore, 
``prior sanctions''--sanctions or approvals of a use of a food 
ingredient that were granted by either FDA or the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture before the Food Additives Amendment to the FFDCA was 
enacted in 1958--exist for uses of salt; revocation of prior sanctions 
presents further complications.
    Question. What resources does FDA currently devote, both budget 
resources and FTSs, to sodium and sodium reduction?
    Answer. Unfortunately, the Agency's financial system does not track 
programmatic resources to this level of detail.
    Question. What would the FDA do, if it had increased resources, to 
lower sodium levels in processed and restaurant foods?
    Answer. Food label education remains a key priority for FDA. In 
2006, FDA released a web-based program, ``Make Your Calories Count,'' 
to assist consumers understand and use the food label to help manage 
their calorie and nutrient intake. Sodium is one of the nutrients 
featured on the program.
    Additionally, in 2005 FDA amended its regulations concerning the 
maximum sodium levels permitted for foods that bear the implied 
nutrient content claim ``healthy.'' In this rule the agency retained 
sodium levels of 480 mg or less for all food categories, including 
individual foods, and 600 mg or less for meals and main dishes. Most of 
the comments from industry suggested that it was difficult to make 
certain products, particularly soups, which would be both palatable and 
marketable at lower levels. Many consumer groups, including Center for 
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), supported this decision. The 
agency had concluded that going to more restrictive sodium levels could 
result in the substantial elimination of meal and main dish products 
bearing the claim ``healthy'' from the marketplace and that the 
proposed sodium levels would help consumers achieve a total diet that 
would be consistent with dietary recommendations.
    Moreover, the fiscal year 2006 CFSAN Program Priorities include 
publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit 
comments on updating daily values in nutrition labeling. All nutrients, 
including sodium, will be taken into consideration as part of the 
development of the ANPRM. We will be encouraging comments on this ANPRM 
from a broad range of stakeholders.
    The FDA is currently preparing for a public hearing to discuss 
issues related to FDA's regulation of salt. As part of this hearing, 
FDA will invite comment on the effectiveness of current measures and 
discuss potential initiatives aimed at reducing salt intake in the 
United States. Additional resources might be used to further any of the 
FDA efforts related to reducing sodium levels identified above.

                               TRANS FAT

    Question. The FDA considers partially hydrogenated oil, with its 
trans fat, to be ``generally recognized as safe,'' even though the 
agency's own evaluations indicate that the ingredient is causing 
thousands of premature deaths and significant economic costs each year.
    Is there any reason that the FDA should not seek to eliminate trans 
fat, other than naturally occurring trans fat, from the food supply?
    Answer. FDA is currently evaluating this issue in its review of a 
citizen petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest 
(CSPI), requesting that FDA revoke the ``generally recognized as safe'' 
status of trans fat. In response to this petition, we have received 
comments from industry that show that revoking the ``generally 
recognized as safe'' status of trans fat is a complex issue.
    We note that when FDA affirmed partially hydrogenated oils as 
``generally recognized as safe,'' the data on trans fats were very 
limited. Since then, additional research has shown that some trans fats 
are unhealthful. Research in this area is ongoing to determine the 
identity, levels, safety and other variables of trans fats in food.
    We are considering all options to address concerns regarding trans 
fat in foods, including those raised in the citizen petition currently 
under review. For example, one approach we have already taken is to 
give consumers the information they need to make healthier food choices 
and provide industry with an incentive to produce healthier foods. Due 
in part to FDA's trans fat labeling regulation that went into effect in 
January 2006, and FDA's education and outreach efforts, there has been 
an increase in consumer demand for trans fat-free products. Therefore, 
these activities are having a positive effect on reducing trans fat 
intake.
    Question. What steps is the FDA taking to reduce or eliminate trans 
fat in the food supply?
    Answer. The level of trans fatty acids in the diet affects risk of 
coronary heart disease. To assist consumers in choosing foods with 
lower amounts of trans fat, the FDA issued a final rule in 2003 (68 FR 
41434, July 11, 2003) that requires the amount of trans fat to be 
declared on the Nutrition Facts panel directly below the saturated fat 
line. This rule became effective January 1, 2006, for all food under 
the jurisdiction of FDA.
    Americans face a plethora of food choices in grocery stores and at 
restaurants. Our responsibility is to empower consumers to make 
informed decisions about their food selections and to encourage them to 
make changes in their diets for better health. The Nutrition Facts 
panel, along with other education campaigns, provides invaluable 
information to the consumer. At the same time, FDA's public health 
mission is to foster the development of healthier food products for 
American consumers. The requirement to declare trans fat on product 
labeling is changing consumer demand and prompting reformulation, which 
was anticipated by FDA. FDA is monitoring industry progress in 
developing and using alternative ingredients and processing techniques 
for reducing trans fat.
    At the same time that the final rule published, FDA issued an 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) (68 FR 41507; July 11, 
2003) to request comment on establishing trans fat nutrient content 
claims, disqualifying/disclosure levels, and a possible footnote about 
cholesterol raising lipids to help consumers make heart healthy food 
choices.
    FDA is currently reviewing a citizen petition from the Center for 
Science in the Public Interest requesting FDA to revoke the ``generally 
recognized as safe'' status of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils 
(see Docket No. 2004P-0236).
    Question. Does the FDA plan to reconsider the GRAS status of 
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil given that it contains trans fat?
    Answer. FDA is currently evaluating this issue in the review of a 
citizen petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 
requesting that FDA revoke the GRAS status of trans fats.
    Question. If so, what is the result of those deliberations? If not, 
why has FDA not done so?
    Answer. There is no change in the conclusion made in the trans fat 
labeling regulation that trans fat represents a health concern. The 
trans fat information provided on food labels will enable consumers to 
make healthier food choices. As part of our ongoing review of the 
citizen petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 
requesting that FDA revoke the GRAS status of trans fats, we are 
considering all available options to address concerns regarding 
consumption of trans fat. FDA plans to monitor the effect of the trans 
fat labeling regulation on consumer behavior and industry practices to 
help determine what, if any, additional action should be taken.
                                 ______
                                 

             Questions Submitted by Senator Byron L. Dorgan

                     DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING

    Question. The United States is one of only two nations that allow 
DTC advertising. The other is New Zealand. The amount of money spent on 
DTC ads has increased by 20 percent per year since 1997. In 2005, drug 
companies spent $4.2 billion on DTC ads.
    I think we have to take a hard look at whether these ads have value 
to consumers. I have seen some ads that don't even mention what the 
product does. I remember an ad for Levitra--an erectile dysfunction 
drug--that showed a man trying to throw a football through a tire 
swing. He had no luck until the word Levitra flashed on the screen. In 
the next scene, the man is being embraced by a woman.
    Do you believe this type of ad is beneficial to consumers? Should 
pharmaceutical companies be required to clearly state what the product 
is for in addition to listing the risks and benefits associated with 
the product?
    Answer. FDA believes consumer-directed advertisements can play an 
important role in advancing the public health. There are a number of 
serious medical conditions that are undertreated in the United States. 
Conditions such as diabetes, depression, hyperlipidemia, and 
hypertension, left untreated, can have devastating effects in patients. 
We believe the public health is benefited when consumer-directed 
promotion provides information that encourages patients to speak with 
their doctors and get their serious medical conditions treated. The 
benefit depends critically on the participation of the physician, who 
must devise a treatment plan, consider alternative treatments, and 
monitor the patient's response to treatment. But we believe the role of 
DTC advertising in initiating contacts is important for these serious 
conditions. The advertisement you described, which is a so-called 
``reminder ad,'' however, contains little useful information.
    There are 2 types of product promotion for prescription drugs. The 
first type is full product promotion, which must clearly state the 
indication (approved use) of the advertised drug and must provide 
balancing risk information about the drug. In addition, any claims that 
are presented in the advertisement must be substantiated. These ads can 
remind patients to see physicians about serious illness. The second 
type is reminder promotion. Reminder advertisements are advertisements 
that call attention to the name of the drug product but do not include 
indications or dosage recommendations for use of the product, or any 
other representations or suggestions about the product. Reminder 
advertisements contain the proprietary name of the drug and the 
established name of each active ingredient. They may also contain 
additional limited information, such as the name of the company, price, 
or dosage form. These advertisements are exempt from the FDA 
regulations that require that the indication and risks of the product 
be presented. However, if a supposed reminder advertisement includes 
more information than is allowed, it is considered to be a full product 
advertisement and must include the indication and risk information or 
it is in violation of FDA regulations.
    Although reminder advertisements are legal, PhRMA has encouraged 
companies not to run reminder television advertisements to consumers 
but rather to run only full product ads. Principle #10 of PhRMA Guiding 
Principles--Direct to Consumer Advertisements About Prescription 
Medicines states ``DTC television advertising that identifies a product 
by name should clearly state the health conditions for which the 
medicine is approved and the major risks associated with the medicine 
being advertised.'' Note that these are voluntary guidelines and only 
apply to television advertisements. Below is the link to PhRMA Guiding 
Principles. http://www.phrma.org/files/DTCGuidingprinciples.pdf. The 
Agency encourages companies to follow these guidelines so that 
consumer-directed television ads provide the public with both 
indication and risk information for advertised drugs.
    Question. In fiscal year 2006, the FDA spent slightly more than $1 
million to monitor DTC ad content. A total of 8 full time staff are 
responsible for reviewing all DTC ads. Do you believe that the FDA has 
adequate resources to review DTC ad content?
    Answer. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research devotes 13 full 
time equivalents (representing some full-time staff and portions of 
time spent by other staff). With these resources, we cannot review 
every one of the nearly 11,000 DTC promotional pieces disseminated by 
companies annually. We are proposing to recommend a program (separate 
from, but related to PDUFA IV) assessing user fees for advisory reviews 
of DTC television advertisements. These new fees would provide 
sufficient resources for FDA to hire additional staff to review 
television advisory submissions in a predictable, timely manner. FDA 
anticipates collecting $6.25 million in annual fees during the first 
year of the program to support 27 additional staff.
    Question. According to a recent GAO report, from 2004 to 2005, by 
the time the FDA acted to stop misleading ad campaigns, more than half 
of the ad campaigns had already ended. Should the FDA be required to 
approve DTC ads before they are broadcast?
    Answer. FDA does not have the legal authority to require that 
broadcast ads be approved before they are publicly used. In the event 
that FDA was given the authority to pre-approve certain ads, as noted 
in Question 3 above, it would require an increase in staff resources to 
perform this review and approval in a timely manner.

                            DRUG IMPORTATION

    Question. Do you believe that prescription drugs sold in brick and 
mortar pharmacies in Canada are safe?
    Answer. Prescription drugs sold in brick and mortar pharmacies in 
Canada are regulated by Health Canada, the Canadian Federal department 
responsible for their approval. For this reason, the Administration can 
only comment on those products that fall under FDA regulatory 
authority. FDA can only assure the safety and efficacy of products that 
have been approved for marketing in the United States.
    Question. Under current law, drug companies are free to manufacture 
prescription drugs in other countries and import them for sale in the 
United States. About one-quarter of the drugs sold in the United States 
today are made in other countries and imported to the United States for 
sale by pharmaceutical manufacturers. If importation can be deemed safe 
for manufacturers, why can't it be made safe for consumers?
    Answer. Drug companies can manufacture prescription drugs in other 
countries and import them for sale in the United States only if they 
fulfill FDA's regulatory requirements. Foreign drug establishments must 
be registered with FDA and comply with all regulations that apply to 
domestic drug establishments. This includes submission of all 
qualifying information with each drug product and being subject to 
inspections to insure the integrity of the product and the manufacture, 
process, handling, and storage of the product. It is only under these 
conditions that FDA can confirm the integrity of the product and allow 
importation of these products.
    Unapproved products pose a public safety concern since they are 
produced outside of this closed regulatory system. Unapproved products 
may include counterfeit drug products that may be making their way into 
the United States distribution system through consumers purchasing drug 
products from unregulated sources, such as the internet. Patients are 
at risk when they purchase these products from rogue websites, as it is 
uncertain whether the product they receive is genuine or counterfeit, 
contains inert or harmful ingredients, or contains sub-potent or super-
potent amounts of the active ingredient. FDA does not have the 
resources to expand inspection capabilities to all possible sites from 
which a consumer may obtain unapproved drug products.
    The HHS Drug Importation Task Force Report issued in December 2004 
outlined the measures that would be needed to implement an importation 
program that provides adequate safeguards and resources to ensure that 
the imported drugs are safe and effective. A program that does not take 
these measures into consideration, regulated or not, would perpetuate 
the ``buyer beware'' situation that is currently occurring and 
consumers would continue to put themselves at risk for harm by 
importing unapproved drugs into the United States for personal use.
    The Task Force found that under such a system, importing drug 
products would yield minimal cost savings. Based on observations during 
a recent survey of packages intercepted at an international mail 
facility, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations suggests that cost 
savings for imported drugs is already questionable. Of over 400 drug 
products assessed, approximately 50 percent were available as United 
States approved generic drug products. Further examination revealed 
that more than 40 percent of the generic drug products were available 
through national retail pharmacy chain programs that offer generic 
prescriptions for $4 each--which is likely less than the cost of 
shipping.
    Question. Wouldn't a regulated system be safer than what is 
occurring today?
    Answer. The current system is regulated; the Food Drug and Cosmetic 
Act, or FD&C Act, gives the Secretary of HHS the authority to regulate 
drug products in the United States through FDA. Currently FDA does not 
have the resources or a regulatory mechanism to assess the safety and 
effectiveness of drug products imported into the United States outside 
of the existing closed distribution system. To effectively assess the 
safety and efficacy of these imported drug products, a new mechanism 
for the review and approval of these products would need to be created. 
This could entail creating a program similar to the generic drug 
program, which determines therapeutic equivalence of generic drug 
products. This is achieved by a thorough scientific review of 
chemistry, manufacturing and controls, clinical bioequivalence studies 
comparing the innovator product to the generic product, and labeling. 
Clinical, analytical, and manufacturing sites are subject to inspection 
by the agency. Creation of this program is impractical since it would 
require additional resources well beyond those currently available and 
allow for the approval of foreign generic products without regard to 
intellectual property protections of the innovator drug product.
    Consumers are likely to continue to purchase drug products from 
foreign or rogue websites. It is important to recognize that many who 
attempt to purchase medications from foreign sources are not doing so 
as a cost-savings measure, but are seeking to circumvent the need for a 
legitimate doctor's prescription. As a public health agency, FDA 
understands the importance of protecting the public health not only 
through regulation and enforcement, but also through education and 
collaboration. FDA's website is replete with consumer information about 
drug importation, buying drugs online, counterfeit drugs, enforcement 
activities, potential public health threats, as well as resources to 
report problems with FDA regulated products or websites that could be 
selling counterfeit or harmful products.

                     PENDING APPROVAL OF CEFQUINOME

    Question. The Washington Post recently reported that the FDA is on 
the verge of approving cefquinome for use in animals, despite a warning 
from the FDA's Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee that approving 
cefquinome for use in animals may erode the effectiveness of a related 
drug that is used to treat human infections. I understand that that FDA 
will likely approve cefquinome because of a guidance document (Guidance 
#152) that was issued in 2003. The guidance makes it hard for the FDA 
to reject any drug unless it is clear that the use of the drug in 
animals will reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics that are used to 
treat food-borne illnesses in humans. Why is the threat assessment in 
Guidance #152 limited to food-borne illnesses?
    Answer. First, we would like to clarify that Guidance 152 is 
``guidance'' and, therefore, provides nonbinding recommendations on an 
approach for evaluating antimicrobial drugs as part of the new animal 
drug approval process. In developing this guidance, FDA obtained broad 
stakeholder input through public meetings and through publication of a 
draft document. The guidance document was first published as a draft 
for public comment in September 2002, consistent with the Agency's Good 
Guidance Practices Regulations.
    After considering public comment on the draft document, FDA issued 
a final guidance in October 2003. The guidance outlines an approach for 
conducting a qualitative risk assessment to evaluate the likelihood 
that an antimicrobial drug used to treat an animal may cause an 
antimicrobial resistance problem in humans consuming food from that 
animal. The guidance focuses on food-borne pathogens because FDA 
believes that human consumption of animal-derived foods represents the 
most significant pathway for human exposure to antimicrobial resistant 
bacteria that have emerged or been selected as a consequence of 
antimicrobial drug use in animals. Nonetheless, as stated in the 
guidance, although FDA's primary focus will be food-borne pathogens, 
other bacteria may be considered when deemed necessary. The risk 
assessment approach recommended in the guidance includes three key 
elements that are collectively considered in determining an 
antimicrobial drug's potential risk to humans if used to treat food-
producing animals. The first is the ``release assessment,'' which 
estimates the probability that resistant bacteria will be present in 
animals as a result of the proposed use of the new antimicrobial drug. 
The second is the ``exposure assessment,'' which gauges the likelihood 
that humans would ingest the resistant bacteria from the relevant food 
product. The third is the ``consequence assessment,'' which assesses 
the probability that human exposure to the resistant bacteria would 
result in adverse human health consequences.
    The input for the ``consequence assessment'' component is based on 
a system, developed as part of the guidance, for ranking the importance 
of antimicrobial drugs in human medicine. The ranking system, included 
as Appendix A of the guidance, results in a drug being ranked as 
Important, Highly Important, or Critically Important to human medicine. 
This ranking system was developed in collaboration with physicians at 
FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), CDER's Anti-
Infective Drugs Advisory Committee, and the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC). The criteria for ranking human importance 
considers factors including whether the antimicrobial (1) is used to 
treat food-borne infection; (2) is a sole therapy or one of limited 
therapies to treat serious human disease, or is an essential component 
among many antimicrobials in the treatment of human disease; (3) is 
used to treat enteric pathogens in non-food-borne disease; and (4) is a 
drug for which cross-resistance or co-resistance to other drugs is a 
concern. Therefore, the human importance ranking process and, hence the 
consequence assessment component, considers a number of relevant 
factors in addition to whether the drug is important for treating food-
borne disease.
    Based on a consideration of the release, exposure, and consequence 
components of the assessment, the guidance outlines an approach by 
which the animal drug in question is placed into one of three risk 
categories. The guidance outlines examples of risk management steps 
that FDA may apply to an antimicrobial drug based on the risk category 
such as the level of concern to human health. These range from denying 
the approval if the drug is not shown to be safe to approving the 
application with certain restrictions on its use.
    We reiterate that the final decision regarding the safety of an 
antimicrobial drug is not driven solely by Guidance 152. Pursuant to 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA's decision regarding 
whether to approve a new animal drug application is driven by factors 
that include (1) whether such application included adequate tests to 
determine whether or not the drug is safe, (2) whether the results of 
such tests show the drug is unsafe or do not show the drug to be safe, 
or (3) whether, based on information either in the application or 
otherwise available to FDA, there is sufficient information to 
determine that the drug is safe.
    In regard to the drug cefquinome, FDA has not made a final decision 
regarding its approval. FDA is currently reviewing the comments from 
its Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee, carefully reviewing the 
drug's assessment under Guidance 152, and considering any and all other 
information relevant to the safety of the drug.
    Question. I understand that the World Health Organization 
recommends that animal drugs should only be approved if the use of the 
drug would not result in resistance to any antibiotic that is important 
to fighting human disease. Why is the scope of the FDA standard much 
narrower?
    Answer. FDA recognizes that food-borne human exposure to 
antimicrobial resistant bacteria is complex and often involves 
contributions from other sources of exposure, for example, direct 
contact between animals and humans, introduction of resistant bacteria, 
and resistance determinants into the environment. However, FDA believes 
that evaluating antimicrobial new animal drug safety relative to the 
most significant exposure pathway, such as the food-borne pathway, is 
the best way to qualitatively assess the risk of antimicrobial drug use 
in food-producing animals. Nonetheless, as stated in Guidance 152, non-
food-borne bacteria may be considered when deemed necessary; for 
example, uncertainties regarding the contribution of other exposure 
pathways may be considered during the development of appropriate risk 
management strategies.
    In developing criteria for ranking antimicrobial drugs with regard 
to their importance in human medicine, FDA considered broad issues 
associated with the efficacy of drugs in human medicine and factors 
influencing the development of antimicrobial resistance. Specific 
factors include the usefulness of the drug in food-borne infections, 
the types of infections treated, the availability of alternative 
therapies, the uniqueness of the mechanism of action, and the ease with 
which resistance develops and is transferred between organisms.
    The World Health Organization (WHO) has also developed a system for 
ranking antimicrobial drugs with regard to their importance to human 
medicine. However, the WHO approach differs somewhat than the approach 
adopted by FDA. WHO determines the critical nature of an antimicrobial 
drug based on its use as the sole therapy or one of few alternatives to 
treat serious human disease, and on its use to treat diseases caused by 
organisms that may be transmitted via non-human sources or diseases 
caused by organisms that may acquire resistance genes from non-human 
sources. WHO is looking broadly at diseases worldwide that may not be 
present in the United States.
    As mentioned previously, FDA believes that human consumption of 
animal-derived foods represents the most significant pathway for human 
exposure to antimicrobial resistant bacteria that have emerged or been 
selected as a consequence of antimicrobial drug use in animals.
    Question. Should the burden be on the drug companies to prove that 
using a drug to treat animals poses no risks to human health?
    Answer. Drug companies are required to submit as part of a new 
animal drug application (NADA) full reports of adequate tests by all 
methods reasonably applicable to show whether or not the new animal 
drug is safe and effective. For animal drugs intended for use in food-
producing species, this requirement includes safety with regard to 
human health.
    FDA does not normally do the actual testing, but rather evaluates 
the results of testing that is submitted as a component of an NADA. In 
the case of NADAs for antimicrobial drugs intended for food-producing 
animals, FDA's Guidance 152 provides recommendations to industry on an 
approach for evaluating safety concerns related to antimicrobial 
resistance. FDA considers an antimicrobial new animal drug to be 
``safe'' with regard to human health if it concludes that there is 
reasonable certainty of no harm to human health from the proposed use 
of the drug in food-producing animals.
                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Richard J. Durbin

                          DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

    Question. Late last year, Congress enacted a law that requires 
manufacturers of dietary supplements to report serious adverse events 
that result from the use of their products. The supplement ephedra 
caused seizures and strokes and the loss of over 150 lives before it 
was finally taken off the market. The new law will provide an important 
early warning system and is a first step in addressing safety concerns 
with supplements. Have you developed a timeline for developing 
regulations? What resources will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
need to implement the law?
    Answer. The Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer 
Protection Act requires by December 22, 2007, that the labels of 
dietary supplements include a domestic address or phone number which 
persons can use to submit adverse event reports (AERs) to the 
manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the product, and declares 
dietary supplements misbranded if they are labeled on or after this 
date without this information. In addition, the firm whose name and 
address appears on the supplement label must submit to FDA any serious 
adverse event reports associated with the use of the supplement within 
15 business days of receiving the report. Any new medical information 
received within a year of the initial report must also be submitted to 
the Secretary within 15 days of receipt. The reporting and labeling 
requirements for industry are self-implementing.
    The new law directs FDA to issue guidance by September 18, 2007, on 
the minimum data elements that should be included in a serious adverse 
event report for a dietary supplement, and to develop systems to 
consolidate duplicate reports of, and new medical information related 
to, a serious adverse event into a single AER. Before issuing final 
guidance on the minimum data elements that should be included in a 
serious adverse event report for a dietary supplement, CFSAN intends to 
publish draft guidance and solicit comments from the public, in 
accordance with FDA's good guidance practice regulations. CFSAN already 
has processes in place to consolidate duplicate AERs and new medical 
information on existing AERs so that all information about a given 
adverse event appears in a single report, as required by the new law.
    With respect to resources for Public Law 109-462, no funding for 
implementation was provided in the fiscal year 2007 appropriation and 
no funding was requested in the President's fiscal year 2008 budget.
    Currently, the agency has been performing tasks that will 
contribute to the full implementation of the new law. For example, FDA 
performed a gap analysis between the FDA 3500A MedWatch form and the 
capabilities of the current CFSAN Adverse Events Reporting System 
(CAERS). This analysis shows that CAERS needs software modifications to 
receive fields on the 3500A MedWatch form.
    In addition, the agency is planning the additional work activities 
needed to fully implement the law. These work activities will include 
developing several business processes, making significant Information 
Technology (IT) improvements to the existing CAERS, and modifying 
contracts providing records management and IT support. To accommodate 
the significant adverse event reports expected to result from mandatory 
reporting, CFSAN plans to modify CAERS to accept AERs electronically 
via the MedWatch Plus initiative, which will include modifications to 
accommodate dietary supplements.

                          ADVISORY COMMITTEES

    Question. The credibility of FDA's decisions is seriously 
undermined when its advisory committee members have financial ties to 
the industries whose products they are reviewing. I think the FDA has 
too readily granted waivers to existing conflict of interest laws. In 
July, FDA announced a plan to strengthen the advisory committee 
process. And in January, as part of its response to drug safety 
recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, FDA said it would issue 
three guidances on advisory committees in 2007. Can you tell me what 
issues FDA is looking at and when we can expect to see those guidances?
    Answer. FDA has been engaged in a high level review of our advisory 
committee processes. We are committed to making the FDA advisory 
committee process even stronger and better understood so that the 
public has confidence in the integrity of advisory committee 
recommendations. Our goals are to increase the consistency, 
predictability, and transparency of the process. As part of our efforts 
to improve advisory committee processes, we announced that we would 
develop three new guidance documents in furtherance of these goals. One 
of these guidances has already gone on display at the Federal Register, 
and we plan to issue the other two in the near future. The first 
guidance will help ensure that briefing materials prepared for advisory 
committee members are made available to the public and will assist 
sponsors and others in preparing and submitting such briefing materials 
to FDA. The second draft guidance will provide guidelines for reviewing 
conflicts of interest and determining who may participate in FDA 
advisory committee meetings. This draft guidance will also simplify the 
process for determining who may participate in advisory committee 
meetings and will recommend a consistent and predictable decision-
making process for all FDA advisory committees. FDA's third draft 
guidance document on disclosure of conflicts of interest and waivers 
for advisory committee members will bring increased transparency to 
FDA's waiver process by making additional information about waivers and 
members' conflicts of interest available on FDA's website.

                              FOOD SAFETY

    Question. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently 
designated food safety as one of the high risk Federal Government 
programs. In addition to the GAO's report, the spinach and Taco Bell E. 
coli outbreaks last year and the recent outbreak of salmonella in 
peanut butter underscore the need for increased food inspections.
    Although FDA's overall funding has been steadily increasing since 
2001, the budget for FDA's core functions, including the Center for 
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has been slowly eroding since 2002. 
FDA regulates 80 percent of the food supply. According to FDA, staffing 
is the main barometer of FDA resources. The total staff is not 
increasing even though the workload continues to increase. What is FDA 
doing to ensure that the incidence of food-borne illnesses decreases? 
Does FDA have any plans to increase the number of food inspectors on 
its staff?
    Answer. FDA uses a risk-based approach to allocate available 
resources. When outbreaks occur FDA moves resources to address the 
immediate need to protect public health. Since 1998, FDA has increased 
efforts toward minimizing food safety hazards associated with fresh 
produce. For example, we have been and are working with industry as it 
develops commodity-specific safety guidelines for a number of fresh 
produce products, including lettuce and leafy greens, melons, and 
tomatoes; food safety guidelines for green onions and herbs are being 
drafted. We also recently issued the draft final guidance for fresh-cut 
produce. We are holding public meetings to allow us to gather comments, 
data, and other useful scientific information about current 
agricultural and manufacturing practices, risk factors for 
contamination of fresh produce, and possible steps we can take to 
enhance the safety of fresh produce. In addition, FDA launched a multi-
year Leafy Greens Safety Initiative with assessment, research and 
communication components. This Initiative is a collaboration between 
FDA, the California Department of Health Services and the California 
Department of Food and Agriculture, intended to reduce public health 
risks by proactively focusing on the product, agents, and areas of 
greatest concern in advance of an outbreak. We are looking at using 
this Initiative as a model for other commodities, such as tomatoes.
    For fiscal year 2008 we have requested a total of $10.6 million for 
additional food safety activities. We consider this amount as an 
initial deposit on the many activities that are necessary to continue 
our campaign for improved food safety. Funds will be used to begin to 
address the lifecycle of produce production; to develop better methods 
to detect and attribute foodborne illness outbreaks, to increase 
sampling and traceback capabilities; to develop and update guidance to 
prevent and reduce outbreaks; to obtain additional expertise in the 
production and processing of fresh produce; and to enhance our response 
to foodborne outbreaks.
    The $5.5 million that the Office of Regulatory (ORA) requested as 
part of the Strengthening Food Safety Initiative in the fiscal year 
2008 President's Budget request will not result in an increased number 
of food safety inspections. Funding will be used to enhance ORA's 
ability to more rapidly trace back foodborne disease outbreaks and to 
work proactively to encourage growers and processors to implement good 
agricultural practices and other interventions designed to prevent 
contamination of food. ORA will develop, train, and equip teams to work 
with State partners in large produce-growing regions. Funding will also 
be used to accelerate development of an import decision-making IT 
system capable of detecting high-risk food shipments before they enter 
U.S. commerce. While FDA already has systems that are used to identify 
and target certain high-risk import shipments, the new system will 
increase current capabilities by providing for automated review and 
trending of the results of field examinations and analyses of samples, 
identifying candidates for detention without physical examination; it 
will score each entry line on the basis of risk factors and 
surveillance requirements, for an automated, real-time decision on 
action to be taken; and, it will incorporate exogenous data with 
available FDA operational data to create a broader picture for each 
shipment.
                                 ______
                                 

                Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed

                          SUNSCREEN MONOGRAPHS

    Question. The FDA Reform Act of 1997 directed your agency to 
complete a sunscreen monograph, which will guide UVA and UVB labeling 
information for over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen products. The fiscal 
year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations conference report again included 
language directing the FDA to complete the sunscreen monograph, within 
6 months of passage of the agriculture appropriations bill. That bill 
was signed into law on November 10, 2005. The FDA began drafting this 
monograph for sunscreen products in 1978 and has yet to complete it. 
Meanwhile, another summer season is approaching and millions of 
consumers will again use sunscreen products that provide half the 
protection. As you know, around 60,000 people worldwide die each year 
from skin cancer caused by too much sun exposure.
    Why is the FDA unable to complete this monograph despite repeated 
requests from Congress, the public health community, and health care 
providers?
    Answer. Revisions to the stayed final sunscreen monograph that 
address the issue of measuring protection against UVA rays, including 
UVA and UVB labeling requirements, involve the resolution of complex 
scientific and legal issues, both of which have contributed to this 
lengthy process.
    Question. What is the status of the monograph and how much longer 
can we expect to wait before a final monograph will be available?
    Answer. On May 12, 1993, FDA published a tentative final monograph 
(TFM) that included UVB testing and labeling requirements. On May 21, 
1999, FDA published a final monograph (FM) for OTC sunscreen drug 
products. The FM included UVB testing and labeling requirements, but 
deferred UVA testing and labeling requirements to a future publication. 
On December 31, 2001, FDA stayed the December 31, 2002, effective date 
of the FM to develop a comprehensive monograph that addresses 
formulation, labeling and testing requirements for both UVB and UVA 
radiation protection. The proposed rule that addresses formulation, 
labeling and testing requirements for both UVB and UVA radiation 
protection has been written and is in final FDA clearance.
    Question. Once the final monograph is completed, how much longer 
will it take for skin screen manufacturers and makers of skin care 
products that include sunscreen to adopt necessary changes to their 
products?
    Answer. FDA cannot provide an exact time estimate, but the agency 
is aware there are many factors involved for manufacturers to implement 
necessary changes to their products, such as the seasonal nature of the 
sunscreen industry, time required for product testing and relabeling 
and economic impact considerations for the industry and consumers. All 
of these factors affect the speed with which changes can be made to 
products and how quickly the products reach the market.
    Question. As the former Director of the National Cancer Institute, 
could you talk about the potential health impact of excess exposure to 
UVA rays?
    Answer. Ultraviolet (UV) rays are a part of sunlight that is an 
invisible form of radiation. UV rays can penetrate and change the 
structure of skin cells. UVA is the most abundant source of solar 
radiation at the earth's surface and penetrates beyond the top layer of 
human skin. Scientists believe that UVA radiation can cause damage to 
connective tissue and increase a person's risk for developing skin 
cancer. UV exposure appears to be the most important environmental 
factor in the development of skin cancer. A person's risk of skin 
cancer is related to lifetime exposure to UV radiation. Most skin 
cancer appears after age 50, but the sun damages the skin from an early 
age.
    Skin cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in the United 
States. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most 
common forms of skin cancer, but are easier to cure than melanoma. The 
number of new cases of skin cancer appears to be increasing each year.
    It is important to decrease UV exposure by limiting time in the 
sun, wearing protective clothing, and using a sunscreen.
                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Robert F. Bennett

                           COUNTERFEIT DRUGS

    Question. Dr. von Eschenbach, earlier this month, FDA notified 
consumers that a number of Americans who had placed orders over the 
internet for common prescription drugs instead received a product that 
contained a very powerful anti-psychotic drug. As a result of taking 
these fake products, consumers had to seek emergency medical treatment 
for symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, muscle spasms and muscle 
stiffness. FDA warned consumers not to purchase prescription drugs off 
the internet unless they were certain that the internet sites were 
legitimate pharmacy sites.
    In your opinion, how prevalent are counterfeit drugs in the United 
States?
    Answer. We believe that in the United States, counterfeit drugs are 
quite rare. By all accounts, the overwhelming majority of prescription 
drugs sold in the United States are genuine, FDA-approved drug 
products. While we have no direct quantitative evidence about the 
prevalence of counterfeit drugs, we believe that counterfeit drugs 
represent significantly less than 1 percent of the total U.S. drug 
supply.
    Question. Please explain the steps FDA is taking to find and 
prosecute counterfeit drug manufacturers.
    Answer. The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, OCI, actively 
elicits and receives information from many entities to identify 
counterfeit drug sources, including industry, the public and other 
domestic law enforcement agencies. OCI also coordinates counterfeit 
drug investigations with several foreign counterparts, especially those 
in China, Israel, the Netherlands, and Canada, to enhance criminal 
investigations. These efforts continue to produce positive outcomes for 
both OCI and its foreign counterparts. OCI will continue to 
aggressively pursue counterfeit drug investigations with law 
enforcement partners in foreign countries as well as with Federal, 
State, and local law enforcement here in the United States.
    As an example, in September 2006, an individual from China was 
arrested by officers of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department 
based on a Federal arrest warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for 
the District of Colorado. The defendant was arrested in Hong Kong after 
meeting with an undercover OCI agent who posed as a buyer of over 
400,000 counterfeit Cialis and Viagra tablets. This investigation 
also involved the sale of several thousand counterfeit Tamiflu 
capsules that were manufactured in China and shipped to the United 
States. Information developed by OCI and Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, or ICE, was shared with Chinese authorities had already 
led to the August 2006 arrests of four individuals in China. In 
addition to the arrest in Hong Kong, three other defendants in the 
United States have pled guilty to counterfeit drug charges. 
Furthermore, information developed during this joint OCI, ICE 
counterfeit drug investigation was the basis for another counterfeit 
Percocet investigation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which resulted in 
a sentence of 32 months incarceration for the defendant.
    Question. Since many counterfeit products come from other 
countries, does FDA receive adequate assistance from foreign 
governments to find and prosecute drug counterfeiters?
    Answer. The adequacy of assistance the Office of Criminal 
Investigations, or OCI, receives from foreign governments depends on 
the respective governments involved. OCI has had success with foreign 
governments regarding counterfeit drug investigations, but increased 
cooperation, collaboration, and strengthening of relationships with 
foreign governments would lead to enhanced identification and 
prosecution of counterfeit drug operations. Our success is limited 
because OCI does not have a foreign presence in countries such as China 
and therefore, OCI must leverage its resources with other agencies such 
as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE and the Drug 
Enforcement Administration or DEA, which do have a presence in other 
countries.
    In another example of assistance OCI receives from foreign 
governments, an individual from the State of Washington was indicted 
and arrested in September 2005 for his involvement in the importation 
from China and subsequent distribution of counterfeit drugs, including 
Viagra, Cialis and Lipitor. The defendant pled guilty to 
distributing counterfeit drugs and was sentenced in October 2006 to 10 
months of incarceration. In this joint OCI and ICE investigation, 
cooperation was sought and received from the Chinese government. As a 
result of this cooperation, the Chinese authorities arrested eleven 
individuals in China and recovered significant amounts of counterfeit 
drugs and counterfeit drug packaging.

                             FDA PAY COSTS

    Question. During user fee negotiations this year, FDA and industry 
agreed that annual inflation for pay and benefit costs is approximately 
5.8 percent. This calculation was based on a moving 5-year average. 
However, the budget request includes only a 3.0 percent increase for 
pay costs.
    Why does the budget request not include the total amount for pay?
    Answer. In the fiscal year 2008 President's Budget FDA requested an 
increase of $21.77 million for the 3 percent mandated cost-of-living 
increase for employees, which is in concurrence with the 
Administration's policy. Funding the annual pay increase enables FDA to 
perform its public health mission.
    Question. What is the rationale for shortchanging basic 
inflationary costs in the budget?
    Answer. In the fiscal year 2008 President's Budget FDA requested an 
increase of $21.77 million for the 3 percent mandated cost-of-living 
increase for employees, which is in concurrence with the 
Administration's policy. Funding the annual pay increase enables FDA to 
perform its public health mission.
    Question. How do pay shortfalls affect the ability of FDA to 
utilize initiative increases, such as food safety or drug safety, to 
the fullest extent?
    Answer. In the fiscal year 2008 President's Budget FDA requested an 
increase of $21.77 million for the 3 percent mandated cost-of-living 
increase for employees, which is in concurrence with the 
Administration's policy.
    Funding the annual pay increase enables FDA to perform its public 
health mission. Without these funds, FDA must reduce the number of 
inspectors, medical and consumer safety officers, food safety 
technologists, medical product reviewers, postmarket safety experts, 
and other public health experts to meet higher payroll obligations. 
These workforce reductions would limit FDA's ability to safeguard the 
American public.
    Question. How does under-budgeting for pay affect FDA staffing and 
future budget requests?
    Answer. In the fiscal year 2008 President's Budget FDA requested an 
increase of $21.77 million for the 3 percent mandated cost-of-living 
increase for employees, which is in concurrence with the 
Administration's policy.
    Funding the annual pay increase enables FDA to perform its public 
health mission. Without these funds, FDA must reduce the number of 
inspectors, medical and consumer safety officers, food safety 
technologists, medical product reviewers, postmarket safety experts, 
and other public health experts to meet higher payroll obligations. 
These workforce reductions would limit FDA's ability to safeguard the 
American public.

                GENERIC DRUG REVIEW FISCAL 2007 FUNDING

    Question. The fiscal 2007 joint resolution provided an increase of 
$5 million for the Office of Generic Drugs.
    How does FDA plan to use this funding and how will generic drug 
review performance be enhanced as a result of the additional funding?
    Answer. The $5 million increase to the office of generic drugs in 
fiscal year 2007 will allow FDA to help make up for lost performance, 
due to the loss of 10 FTE under the continuing resolution. The Center 
for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER, currently is recruiting to 
backfill these lost positions. In fiscal year 2008 this $5 million 
increase is expected to yield an additional 10 approvals a month, once 
all of the reviewers have been hired and trained to conduct reviews. 
FDA expects that it will take at least 1 year to recruit and train 
staff for the Office of Generic Drugs.
    Question. What is the current backlog for generic drug 
applications?
    Answer. There is currently a backlog of about 1,300 original 
generic applications as of the end of February 2007.

                  FDA ALLIANCE REQUEST FOR FDA FUNDING

    Question. Dr. von Eschenbach, a couple groups, the FDA Alliance and 
the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, have been lobbying for more money for 
FDA. They estimate that Congress needs to add $250 million in non-user 
fee funding this year to effectively fund FDA's needs. This estimate is 
obviously well above the budget request for FDA.
    Are you aware of their analysis of FDA funding needs?
    Answer. We have read accounts of their analysis that has been 
reported in the press.
    Question. What do you think about their suggestion that FDA needs 
an increase of $250 million this year?
    Answer. This is an amount that greatly exceeds the President's 
budget request.

                     PROPOSED GENERIC DRUG USER FEE

    Question. The budget request includes a proposal to implement a 
generic drug user fee in fiscal 2008. According to FDA's calculations, 
the fee will generate $15.7 million in the first year.
    Has industry been receptive to this fee proposal?
    Answer. We are currently exploring with industry the possibility of 
user fees for generic drugs.

                    PROPOSED RE-INSPECTION USER FEE

    Question. For the second year, FDA is proposing a re-inspection 
user fee, which will require manufacturers to pay for the full cost of 
follow-up inspections when FDA must revisit facilities because of 
initial bad inspection reports. FDA plans to collect $23.2 million in 
fiscal 2008 as a result of this fee.
    Please explain for what services these fees are intended to be 
collected.
    Answer. When FDA finds that a firm fails to comply with applicable 
FDA law, then FDA may take various regulatory actions to ensure the 
firm's compliance. Often, the firm's voluntary corrective action can 
address these compliance failures and thus preclude the need for FDA 
initiating any regulatory action. In other cases, agency regulatory 
action will mean that the firm can no longer market some or all of its 
products. For example, in some cases FDA will not grant export 
certificates, approve product applications, or award government 
contracts because of the firm's compliance status. If a firm undertakes 
corrective action to achieve compliance, FDA will verify the 
appropriateness and completeness of the corrective action. For the firm 
to satisfy FDA's concerns and, if regulatory action was taken, to 
resume its full ability to market products, FDA must reinspect the firm 
to confirm compliance.
    When a firm believes it has corrected its noncompliance and 
addressed FDA's concerns, the timely reinspection by FDA to evaluate 
such compliance benefits the firm by allowing a quicker resolution of 
these compliance questions and, where applicable, allowing the firm to 
resume its full ability to market products.
    These user fees will permit FDA to act in a timely manner to ensure 
that noncompliant firms have taken appropriate corrective action and to 
facilitate the return of compliant firms to full marketing. Some of the 
activities that FDA performs in conducting reinspections include the 
scheduling and preparatory reinspection work by the FDA investigator, 
the reinspection itself, collecting and analyzing samples, preparing 
reports on the inspection, review and analysis by compliance officers, 
consulting with experts, and travel and administrative time.
    Question. How does FDA determine the costs that each facility must 
pay for re-inspection?
    Answer. The Office of Regulatory Affairs determined the costs that 
each facility must pay for re-inspections based on the number of 
violative inspections in fiscal year 2006; the average length of time 
performing those inspections; and, the average cost of each Office of 
Regulatory Affairs FTE.
    Question. Would FDA charge small or start-up companies differently 
than larger, more established companies?
    Answer. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will establish 
reinspection fees to be collected based on the Secretary's estimate of 
the cost to conduct reinspections for a particular year. The 
legislation submitted to the Congress in fiscal year 2007 for this 
proposal allows the Secretary to provide for waivers, reductions, or 
other adjustment of fees based on financial hardship or other 
circumstances as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
    Question. Has industry been receptive to this fee proposal?
    Answer. We are currently exploring with industry the possibility of 
user fees for resinspections.

                        USER FEE REAUTHORIZATION

    Question. FDA is currently in the process of renegotiating the user 
fee agreements for prescription drugs and medical devices. These two 
user fee programs are crucial to maintaining FDA review times and bring 
in almost $400 million in revenue annually.
    Please provide us with an update on the progress FDA and industry 
are making toward reauthorizing these programs.
    Answer. On March 23, 2007, the Secretary transmitted to key House 
and Senate authorizing committees the HHS/FDA recommendations for 
changes to the statute and to the performance commitment letter for the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Act IV, or PDUFA IV. These recommendations 
reflected the results of FDA's discussions with the pharmaceutical and 
biotechnology industry, which concluded in November 2006, and further 
revisions to the commitment letter based on public input received in 
response to the January 16, 2007 Federal Register notice publishing 
FDA's proposed recommendations, and received at the PDUFA IV public 
meeting FDA held on February 16, 2007. FDA's recommended changes to the 
statute and commitment letter are currently being reviewed by the 
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee staff 
and House Energy and Commerce Committee staff.
    FDA and the medical device industry have been discussing 
legislative recommendations for the Medical Devices User Fee and 
Modernization Act, or MDUFMA, reauthorization since the fall of 2005. 
Almost all issues of interest to FDA and to industry have been 
resolved. We are working to resolve the outstanding issues very 
quickly.

                          PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

    Question. In the fiscal 2006 supplemental, we provided $20 million 
for pandemic influenza preparedness. This funding was continued in the 
fiscal 2007 joint resolution.
    What has FDA accomplished with this funding?
    Answer. FDA reports the following 12 activities have been 
accomplished with the funding:
  --engaged in efforts to build and enhance our infrastructure to 
        support new vaccine development and licensure for pandemic 
        influenza, hired 75 employees with expertise in essential 
        clinical, product safety, and manufacturing areas; initiated 
        contracts to ensure facilities have needed surge capacity and 
        being prepared to handle viruses at the Biosafety Level 3, 
        which include laboratories critical for vaccine testing
  --approved another influenza vaccine under the new accelerated 
        approval pathway, giving consumers five FDA-licensed influenza 
        vaccines
  --approved 35 influenza vaccine BLA supplements, which contribute to 
        capacity building for seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines
  --involved in activities to determine the potency of vaccines against 
        a pandemic strain, develop tests and assays to ensure safety of 
        cell cultures used to manufacture vaccines, and explore 
        requirements to prepare libraries of pandemic influenza viral 
        strains, so the strains are available for manufacturing 
        vaccines
  --published two draft guidance documents outlining approaches that 
        influenza vaccine developers can follow to ensure the safety 
        and effectiveness of new vaccines
  --developed a Lot Release Information Technology System to support 
        testing and release of vaccines to ensure safety and 
        effectiveness
  --hosted a meeting with foreign regulatory authorities to discuss 
        harmonizing regulatory pathways for pandemic influenza vaccines
  --participated in meetings on issues such as existing and ``next 
        generation'' vaccine production technologies, current Good 
        Manufacturing Practices and research needs, and participated in 
        a public-private working group to develop guidelines to assure 
        the public of the safety of the food supply during an outbreak 
        in animals
  --provided technical assistance to support HHS decision making on the 
        mix of antiviral medications to include in the Strategic 
        National Stockpile
  --served as technical advisor to HHS and others on FDA regulation of 
        masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) and 
        workplace guidance on the use of PPE during an influenza 
        pandemic
  --conducted investigations and covert surveillance operations to 
        detect counterfeit, impure, contaminated, sub-potent, or super-
        potent products that claim to prevent or treat seasonal or 
        pandemic influenza
  --issued 41 warning letters to internet sellers of unproven bird flu 
        cures and preventatives.
    Question. How many pandemic influenza products have been approved?
    Answer. With the funding associated with the $20 million 
supplemental funding CBER has approved one influenza vaccine biologics 
license application, or BLA, Flulaval, which was a priority review, and 
35 influenza vaccine BLA supplements, which contribute to capacity 
building for seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines. In this same 
time frame, CBER held 28 meetings with influenza vaccine manufacturers 
and received and reviewed 21 investigational new drug applications, or 
INDs, for influenza vaccines.
    In October 2006, CBER received the first U.S. BLA for a vaccine 
against H5N1 influenza virus. FDA also designated this application as a 
priority review, which means that FDA will take an action on the 
application within 6 months of receiving it. In February 2007, CBER 
presented this application to the Vaccines and Related Biological 
Products Advisory Committee to obtain the Committee's input regarding 
the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. The action due date for 
this H5N1 vaccine is April 17, 2007. If approved, this will be the 
first vaccine approved for H5N1, a potential pandemic influenza strain.
    FDA has also approved other pandemic influenza products with base 
funding used in both CDER and CDRH. There are four antiviral drugs 
currently approved by CDER at FDA to treat acute, uncomplicated 
influenza. Two related drugs, amantadine (approved 1966; Trade Name 
Symmetrel, also available as generic Amantadine Hydrochloride) and 
rimantadine (approved 1993; Trade Name Flumadine, also available as 
generic Rimantadine Hydrochloride), are approved for treatment and 
prevention of influenza A; however, many recent influenza viruses are 
resistant to these drugs, seriously limiting their usefulness. Two 
newer drugs, zanamivir (approved 1999; Trade Name Relenza; no approved 
generics) and oseltamivir phosphate (approved 1999; Trade Name Tamiflu; 
no approved generics), are approved for treatment of acute 
uncomplicated illness due to influenza A and B. Both zanamivir and 
oseltamivir are approved for preventive use.
    CDRH approved a diagnostic device for the detection of novel 
influenza (H5N1) which is directly related the Pandemic Influenza. This 
product is called the Influenza A/H5 (Asian lineage) Virus Real-time 
RT-PCR Primer and Probe Set. The test provides preliminary results on 
suspected H5 influenza samples within four hours once a sample arrives 
at the lab and testing begins. Previous testing technology would 
require at least 2 to 3 days to render results. If the presence of the 
H5 strain is identified, then further testing is conducted to identify 
the specific H5 subtype (e.g., H5N1).
    There are a number of devices regulated by FDA that would be in 
increased demand in a pandemic. Examples include devices such as 
ventilators, bacterial filters for breathing circuits, resuscitators, 
infusion pumps, IV administration sets, vaccination needles, surgical 
masks, surgical respirators, gloves and gowns. None of these is 
specifically cleared for use in a pandemic, but carry more general 
labeling claims. CDRH assessed types, number and the increase in 
submissions for cleared products in increased demand during a pandemic. 
CDRH observed an increase in the number of clearances from an average 
of 0.5 respirators per year prior to October 1 2005 to an average of 
5.6 respirators per year between October 1, 2005 and February 27, 
2007--for a total of 8 respirators cleared in the latter time period.

                       RESEARCH REDUCTIONS TO BSE

    Question. Dr. von Eschenbach, the budget request includes a 
proposal to reduce research by $3.8 million. According to the budget 
request, one area where FDA plans to reduce research is on prohibited 
materials in animal feed.
     Why is FDA reducing funding for this research, especially when it 
is so critical to FDA's role in reducing the risk that cattle will 
contract mad cow disease?
    Answer. The Center for Veterinary Medicine, or CVM, completed 
development of a real-time Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, based 
method. Once field validation of the real-time method is completed, the 
field has a necessary tool to support enforcement of the feed ban. 
Companies are not marketing new rapid test kits for detecting 
prohibited proteins in animal feeds; therefore, CVM does not have 
additional test kits to evaluate.
    The Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA, intends to absorb the 
reduction of $593,000 in the Animal Drugs and Feeds Program by reducing 
both personnel and operating funds for coordination activities in 
either the ORA Office of Enforcement; ORA Headquarters; or Compliance 
Officers and Public Affairs Specialists located in the Region and 
District Offices. Operating fund reductions will be taken in travel, 
training and meetings with State or industry officials to perform 
outreach activities in support of the Field Animal Drugs and Feed 
Program. Management and coordination functions will continue by using 
electronic media/technology and realigning and consolidating 
coordination responsibilities to improve efficiencies.
    The research reduction allows CVM and ORA to fund the full cost of 
fiscal year 2008 priority initiatives.
         medical device user fee and modernization act (mdufma)
    Question. I have paid close attention to the Medical Device User 
Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA) review program, and this 
subcommittee has provided substantial appropriated dollars for the 
review of medical devices.
    How is FDA doing in regards to meeting the performance goals 
associated with the user fee program with the user fee and appropriated 
funding it has received to date?
    Answer. FDA has made excellent progress towards meeting the Medical 
Device User Fee and Modernization Act's, or MDUFMA, complex and 
demanding performance goals, and particularly so for the decision goals 
that both FDA and industry regard as the key indicators of performance. 
We review our performance at the end of each quarter, and I am 
providing a table for the record that summarizes total FDA progress on 
each goal through December 31, 2006. As soon as we have prepared 
similar information for the quarter that ends March 31, 2007, I will 
send you an updated table.
    Let me cite just three examples of our progress in meeting MDUFMA's 
performance goals from fiscal year 2003 through the end of 2006. For 
premarket approval applications and panel-track PMA supplements, we 
made 169 ``FDA decisions'' during that period, and we made 94.7 percent 
of those decisions within our target of 320 days. For 180-day PMA 
supplements, we made 532 ``FDA decisions'' and we made 95.7 percent of 
those decisions within 180 days. And for 510(k) premarket 
notifications, we made 13,670 decisions, and we made 86.1 percent of 
these decisions within 90 days.
    I believe the performance we have achieved to date clearly 
demonstrates FDA's strong commitment to pursuing and meeting MDUFMA's 
performance goals. The proposals FDA and industry have developed to 
reauthorize medical device user fees for fiscal years 2008 through 2012 
build on the progress we have made, and include a refined set of 
performance goals that provide a clear pathway to further improvements 
in our review of medical devices.
    [The information follows:]

                                         QUARTERLY REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING MDUFMA PERFORMANCE GOALS
                                                                     Summary Tables
                                                    [Actions through December 31, 2006--Data for FDA]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Performance Goals and Actual Performance to Date
                                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Fiscal Year 2003  Fiscal Year 2004  Fiscal Year 2005  Fiscal Year 2006  Fiscal Year 2007    Overall,
             Activity                Review Time  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fiscal Year
                                        Goal                                                                                                   2003 to
                                                     Goal    Actual    Goal    Actual    Goal    Actual    Goal    Actual    Goal    Actual      Date
                                                   Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent  Percent    (Actual)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIAs, Panel-Track: Supplements,
 Premarket Reports:
    FDA decision (approval,              320 days  .......     91.7  .......     91.7  .......     97.9       80      100       90  .......         94.7
     approvable,
     approvablepending GMP
     inspection, not approvable,
     denial).....................
    First action--major                  150 days  .......     84.6  .......     82.1       75     91.9       80     92.9       90      100         87.5
     deficiency letter...........
    First action-all other first         180 days  .......     95.8  .......       95       75       90       80     90.5       90  .......         92.9
     actions
     (approval,approvable,
     approvable pending GMP
     inspection,not approvable,
     or denial)..................
    Second or later action--major        120 days  .......      100  .......      100       75     70.6       80      100       90  .......         81.5
     deficiency letter...........
    Action on an amendment               180 days  .......      92.  .......     88.9       75     90.2       80       90       90  .......         90.3
     containing a
     completeresponse to a major
     deficiency or not approvable
     letter......................
    Action on an amendment                30 days       90     33.3       90  .......       90       70       90  .......       90  .......         44.4
     containing a complete
     response to an approvable
     letter......................
Expedited PMAs:
    FDA decision (approval,              300 days  .......      100  .......     92.3       70       50       80  .......       90  .......           85
     approvable, approvable
     pending GMP inspection, not
     approvable, denial).........
    First action major deficiency        120 days  .......      100  .......       80       70       80       80  .......       90  .......         82.4
     letter......................
    First action--all other first        170 days  .......      100  .......     25.0       70      100       80      100       90  .......         57.1
     actions (approval,
     approvable, approvable
     pending GMP inspection, not
     approvable, or denial)......
    Second or later action--major        100 days  .......  .......  .......  .......       70      100       80  .......       90  .......           50
     deficiency letter...........
    Action on an amendment               170 days  .......      100  .......     62.5       70      100       80  .......       90  .......           80
     containing a
     completeresponse to a major
     deficiency or not approvable
     letter......................
    Action on an amendment                30 days       90      100       90       50       90  .......       90  .......       90  .......         66.7
     containing a complete
     response to an approvable
     letter......................
180-day PMA Supplements:
    FDA decision (approval,              180 days  .......     94.1  .......     96.2       80       95       80     98.3       90      100         95.7
     approvable, approvable
     pending GMP inspection, not
     approvable, denial).........
    First action--not approvable         120 days  .......     18.8  .......     83.7       80       90       85     81.1       90  .......         71.1
     letter......................
    First action--all other first        180 days  .......     95.3  .......     96.8       80     98.4       85     98.9       90      100         96.9
     actions (approval,
     approvable, approvable
     pending GMP inspection, not
     approvable, or denial)......
    Action on an amendment               160 days  .......       96  .......     97.6       80     86.1       85     92.3       90  .......         93.1
     containing a complete
     response to a not approvable
     letter......................
510(k)s:
    FDA decision (SE/NSE)........         90 days  .......     76.1  .......     83.9       75     91.3       75     95.3       80      100         86.1
    First action--additional              75 days  .......     58.6  .......     78.6       70     93.8       80     92.8       90     98.1         81.9
     information letter..........
    Second or later action.......         60 days  .......     50.9  .......     81.9       70     91.5       80       96       90      100         80.7
Biologics Licensing Applications
 BLAs:
    Review and act on standard          10 months  .......  .......  .......      100  .......      100       75      100       90      100          100
     original BLAs (issue
     complete action letter).....
    Review and act on priority           6 months  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......       75  .......       90  .......  ...........
     original BLA submissions
     (issue complete action
     letter).....................
BLA Supplements:
    Review and act on standard          10 months  .......      100  .......  .......  .......  .......       75  .......       90  .......          100
     BLA efficacy supplements
     (issue complete-action
     letter).....................
    Review and act on priority           6 months  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......       75  .......       90  .......  ...........
     BLA efficacy supplements
     (issue complete action
     letter).....................
    Review and act on BLA                4 months  .......     98.6  .......      100  .......       96       75      100       90      100         98.9
     manufacturing supplements
     that require prior approval
     (issue complete action
     letter).....................
BLA Resubmissions,Supplement
 Resubmissions:
    Review and act on a Class 1          2 months  .......  .......  .......  .......       75      100       80  .......       90  .......          100
     resubmission to an original
     BLA or BLA efficacy
     supplement (issue complete
     action letter)..............
    Review and act on a Class 2          6 months  .......      100  .......       80       75      100       80      100       90  .......           95
     resubmission to an original
     BLA or BLA efficacy
     supplement (issue complete
     action letter)..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. Would you be willing to adopt a method to determine 
incremental direct and indirect costs associated premarket application 
(PMA) and 510(k) device approvals?
    Answer. FDA is committed to providing a full accounting of our use 
of those resources entrusted to us. To that end, we have established 
cost accounting systems that meet or exceed generally-accepted 
government accounting practices. As required by the Chief Financial 
Officers Act of 1990, as amended, our records are subject to periodic 
independent audits by the Office of Inspector General, or OIG. The OIG 
issued unqualified audit opinions on FDA's financial statements for 
fiscal years 1998 through 2004. This is the most favorable category of 
audit opinion. Auditors did not render an opinion on FDA's financial 
statements for fiscal year 2005, primarily due to the mid-year 
conversion to the new HHS Unified Financial Management System. In 
fiscal year 2006, HHS incorporated the FDA financial audit as part of 
the HHS financial statement audit. We are pleased to report that HHS 
received an unqualified opinion on its financial statements. Our 
implementation of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 
2002, or MDUFMA, has been addressed by three reports by the U.S. 
Government Accountability Office, which made no adverse findings and 
provided no recommendations for change. We have also provided a MDUFMA 
financial report to Congress each year since the program was enacted.
    FDA and industry discussed whether additional information was 
required for adequate oversight of our MDUFMA initiatives. Our joint 
recommendations for reauthorization 6 months to discuss issues relating 
to performance and medical device user fees includes an agreement to 
meet informally every expenditures, including an FDA update on how 
funding is being used for the device review process, including 
investments in information technology and training.
    I believe these systems, safeguards, audits, oversight, reports, 
and commitments provide the necessary transparency concerning our costs 
and our use of resources.
    Question. What criteria does the agency use to determine the 
allocation and priority for the distribution of staff and funding 
increases across FDA components, including offices, divisions, or 
branches resulting from the medical device user fees and related 
appropriated funding?
    Answer. I would describe our general approach as combining a risk-
based assessment of our needs, and a focus on accomplishing our public 
health missions through the most efficient and effective means 
possible. FDA allocates medical device user fees and other medical 
device appropriations to best achieve FDA's public health objectives, 
performance goals and other expectations established under the Medical 
Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002 and its amendments. The 
user fees and additional appropriations provided to FDA under MDUFMA 
have been allocated to reflect the workload balance between the Center 
for Devices and Radiological Health, or CDRH, and the Center for 
Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER. Soon after Congress enacted 
MDUFMA, FDA estimated the percent of the device review workload that 
was performed in CDRH and the percent that was performed in CBER. FDA 
allocated its MDUFMA resources to CDRH and CBER using those 
percentages.
    Field resources are allocated among districts by the Office of 
Regulatory Affairs according to each district's projected workload, 
such as Quality Systems Regulation and preapproval inspections of 
medical device establishments.
    Each Center and ORA is responsible for apportioning its overall 
resource allocation to its offices, divisions, and branches. The 
general approach is to prioritize additional needs and to allocate 
additional resources accordingly.
    Question. Are third party review and third party inspection 
programs useful? Is there anything that can be done to improve these 
programs?
    Answer. I believe that both the third-party inspection program and 
third-party reviews of 510(k) premarket notifications have the 
potential to be useful adjuncts to the corresponding FDA processes, 
helping us conserve and focus FDA's resources.
    In implementing the third-party inspection program, FDA met all of 
the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act's, or MDUFMA, 
statutory requirements and deadlines. We accredited 17 well-qualified 
organizations to conduct third-party inspections. We trained third-
party inspectors so they would fully understand FDA's inspectional 
requirements. We prepared guidance to facilitate the understanding of 
the statutory requirements and the processes FDA would use to 
administer the program. We wrote to device establishments to make them 
aware of the program. Despite these efforts, establishments have been 
reluctant to participate because of perceived procedural burdens. So 
far, only two establishments have requested and received a third-party 
inspection.
    FDA is currently working on changes to this program as part of the 
MDUFMA reauthorization negotiations. I look forward to communicating 
these recommendations to you and working with you to see that these 
changes are made.
    Although the third party 510(k) review program has grown 
significantly since it was established, the program has not yet saved 
FDA the resources that we had hoped we could reallocate to other 510(k) 
reviews. This is because all third party submissions undergo FDA 
quality review and because the training and continuing education of 
third parties remains resource intensive.
    Nonetheless, more than 1,300 510(k)s have undergone third-party 
review since the inception of the program, and the number of 
submissions has been rising steadily. During fiscal year 2006, the 
third-party program was responsible for 287 submissions, compared with 
just 107 5 years earlier, and accounted for about 7 percent of all 
510(k)s. For some types of devices, third-party submissions account for 
a much larger share of our overall workload. For example, during the 
past 3 years, over 80 percent of radiology devices have been reviewed 
through the third-party program.
    We have worked hard to ensure that third-party reviews meet our 
expectations for quality and completeness. When we observed some 
unevenness in the quality of third-party submissions, we provided 
additional guidance to FDA staff and third-party reviewers. We also 
believe that quarterly teleconferences with third-party reviewers and 
continuous quality feedback from FDA review divisions will contribute 
to further quality improvement over time. We believe the program may 
further improve as third parties gain further review experience and 
proficiency that can be applied to subsequent reviews, and as FDA 
develops guidance documents for more devices.

                 BIOLOGIC LICENSE APPLICATION APPROVALS

    Question. According to a recent news article, the Center for 
Biologics Evaluation & Research's average time to approval of biologic 
license applications (BLAs) was 18.9 months in 2006, almost doubling 
the previous year's average of 9.3 months. This is a troubling 
statistic.
    What has caused the increase in review times and what steps is FDA 
taking to make improvements?
    Answer. The approval number quoted in the Pink Sheet article does 
not reflect a doubling of Agency review time from 2005 to 2006. Time to 
approval is the time from initial submission to final approval, 
including all the time that elapses while a company revises its 
application to correct deficiencies in its initial application. In 
fiscal year 2005, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or 
CBER, had eight biologics license application, or BLA, approvals, with 
all eight approved during the first review cycle. The review cycle is 
the time between application receipt and issuance of an action letter. 
Sometimes an application contains deficiencies that prevent CBER from 
approving the license application in the first review cycle. In this 
event, CBER issues what is known as a complete response letter. A 
complete response letter describes the deficiencies in the application, 
stops the review clock, and gives the company an opportunity to correct 
the deficiencies and resubmit its application. Sometimes companies can 
correct the deficiencies quickly by explaining or clarifying existing 
data or methods; other times companies must submit more data or even 
conduct completely new clinical trials before the application can be 
approved. In 2005, because CBER was able to approve all BLAs in the 
first review cycle, total approval times were considerably shorter than 
if a complete response letter had been issued.
    In fiscal year 2006, CBER had five approvals: three during the 
first review cycle; one in the second review cycle; and one in the 
third review cycle. The approval that went through three review cycles 
took almost 53 months. Thirty-two of those months did not involve FDA 
review time. They were time between review cycles that the applicant 
used to address CBER's complete response letters. With only five total 
approvals in fiscal year 2006, that one application--along with the 
other application that required more than one review cycle--skewed the 
average approval time significantly. The difference between the median 
approval time, which was 13 months, and the average approval time, 
which was 19.4 months--the Pink Sheet's figure differs because it 
includes Center for Drug Evaluation and Research-approved licenses, 
reflects the effect of the two applications that could not be approved 
in the first review cycle.
    In contrast, the CBER approvals in fiscal year 2005 were completed 
in extremely short times with no second review cycles required. The 
average CBER approval time was 9.1 months, and the median CBER approval 
time was 9.9 months. CBER reviewers completed those reviews 
expeditiously through intense review effort but also were aided 
considerably by the quality of the submissions. While CBER reviewers 
made similar intense review efforts in 2006, and continue those efforts 
today, we also continue to explore ways to improve the quality of 
submissions and shorten review times further.
                                 ______
                                 

              Questions Submitted by Senator Arlen Specter

                          FOLLOW-ON BIOLOGICS

    Question. There is concern among biologic drug companies that the 
FDA does not have the resources to handle the regulatory procedures 
necessary to ensure safe and effective follow-on or generic biologics. 
In your opinion does the FDA have the regulatory ability to ensure the 
safety and efficacy of follow-on biologics?
    Answer. FDA has the scientific expertise to determine the safety 
and effectiveness of follow-on biologics. This is demonstrated by FDA's 
approval of certain follow-on protein products under section 505(b)(2) 
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the agency's 
substantial expertise and experience in approving biologics license 
applications under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act, or PHS 
Act. FDA will address the scientific challenges related to follow-on 
protein products in a manner consistent with its approach in other 
scientific arenas: on a case-by-case basis as issues arise, in 
accordance with FDA's statutory authority and its mission to both 
advance and protect the public health. If a new regulatory pathway is 
enacted by statute for the approval of follow-on biologics under 
section 351 of the PHS Act, it will be necessary to consider the 
adequacy of agency resources needed to efficiently and effectively 
implement such a program.

                           ORA CONSOLIDATION

    Question. It is my understanding that FDA plans on consolidating 
the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs laboratories. I appreciate your 
response to a joint letter to you sent on January 29, 2007. Could you 
elaborate in more detail on the proposal to include which labs are 
planned on being closed and the number of employees that would be 
affected. Further, what does the agency plan on offering those 
employees that work at labs that are proposed to be closed? Finally, 
will the consolidation plan negatively impact our Nation's safety of 
food, medical equipment, and cosmetics?
    Answer. FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA, plans to 
enhance its laboratory capabilities by strengthening six of ORA's 
regulatory labs, moving to these six labs the personnel, equipment and 
other resources from seven other existing labs. The seven labs are 
older facilities in need of costly renovations, cannot expand to 
accommodate merging with another lab, have expiring leases, and meet a 
range of other criteria which have led FDA to consolidation in these 
areas. This transformation will allow ORA scientists to work more 
closely together and improve collaboration and synergy. This will allow 
us to invest in state-of-the-art equipment and processes in the 
remaining laboratories and to increase investment in other critical 
areas. Because the ORA restructuring is still early in its planning 
phase, the number of employees impacted has not yet been determined.
    Strengthening these six labs will help FDA better meet its mission 
to protect and promote the public health. Currently, FDA must pay the 
costs associated with approximately 40 percent more laboratory space 
than is needed to conduct the laboratory work to support all of FDA's 
field programs and activities. These six labs will accommodate and 
exceed the capacity of testing conducted in the existing 13 labs. 
Although overnight delivery services diminish the need for laboratories 
to be in close proximity to sample collection sites, the consolidated 
laboratories will be dispersed geographically. In addition, the six 
labs will continue to provide supporting layers of expertise with 
appropriate redundancies to protect against unforeseen operational 
problems, and surge capacity to deal with emergencies.
    This proposed restructuring of ORA would begin in fiscal year 2008. 
Costs for the restructuring in fiscal year 2008 are covered within the 
fiscal year 2008 budget level. All analysts from closing labs will be 
offered jobs in the labs to which their work is transferred. We realize 
that some employees will not relocate and in order to retain as many of 
these valued employees as possible, we will seek to place them in other 
jobs in their current location. ORA needs to invest intellectual and 
financial capital in new approaches to emerging challenges such as the 
increasing complexity of the products and processes we regulate. ORA 
transformation provides an opportunity to staff teams of national 
experts in a variety of disciplines. Towards this end, the 
transformation plan provides for Centers for Excellence in those 
geographic regions of the country where labs will be closed.
    The seven closing laboratories include Denver District Laboratory 
(Denver, Colorado); Detroit District Laboratory (Detroit, Michigan); 
Kansas City District Laboratory (Lenexa, Kansas); Philadelphia District 
Laboratory (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); San Francisco District 
Laboratory (San Francisco, California); San Juan District Laboratory 
(San Juan, Puerto Rico); and, the Winchester Engineering and Analytical 
Center (Winchester, Massachusetts).
    In the seven areas where there have been laboratories, FDA is 
planning to utilize the significant expertise that already exists and 
focus on the 21st Century challenges unique to each region. The ORA 
transformation provides the opportunity to address the specific 
challenges that ORA is facing in each of these regions, and to respond 
to the rapidly changing profile of the products it regulates. These 
regions, and the capability of the FDA employees who are stationed 
there, will continue to play a critical role in ensuring the safety of 
our Nation's food and drugs.

                         CONCLUSION OF HEARING

    Senator Kohl. This hearing is recessed.
    [Whereupon, at 12:18 p.m., Tuesday, February 27, the 
hearing was concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to 
reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]

 
   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
          RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008

                              ----------                              

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.

                       NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES

    [The following testimonies were received by the 
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies for inclusion in the 
record. The submitted materials relate to the fiscal year 2008 
budget request for programs within the subcommittee's 
jurisdiction.]

               Prepared Statement of the Ad Hoc Coalition

    Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, this statement is 
respectfully submitted on behalf of the ad hoc coalition \1\ composed 
of the organizations listed below. The coalition supports sustained 
funding for our Nation's food aid programs, including Titles I and II 
of Public Law 480, and therefore strongly opposes the administration's 
twice-rejected proposal to convert Public Law 480 food aid funding into 
cash donations for commodities purchases in overseas markets.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The ad hoc coalition is composed of the American Maritime 
Congress, American Maritime Officers, American Maritime Officers' 
Service, American Soybean Association, International Food Additives 
Council, International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, Liberty 
Maritime Corporation, Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, 
Maritime Institute for Research and Industrial Development, National 
Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, 
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Oilseed Processors 
Association, North American Millers' Association, Seafarer's 
International Union, Sealift, Inc., TECO Ocean Shipping, Inc., Tosi 
Maritime Consultants, LLC, Transportation Institute, U.S. Dry Bean 
Council, USA Rice Federation, and U.S. Wheat Associates, Inc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AID POLICY

    The coalition recognizes that American food assistance policy is 
well-established and founded on certain guiding principles, including 
the following:
  --Meeting America's humanitarian obligation to sustain food 
        assistance programs, with U.S. participation in such programs 
        constituting more than 50 percent of all food aid worldwide.
  --Employing food assistance programs as stepping stones for economic 
        growth and development.
  --Employing food assistance programs to promote respect worldwide for 
        American values and our economic system, thereby enhancing 
        goodwill toward America among disadvantaged populations that 
        may be breeding grounds for terrorism.

          THE SHARP DECLINE IN OVERALL FOOD AID PROGRAM LEVELS

    The programs needed to implement these principles have enjoyed 
broad, bipartisan support for many decades. The strength of our 
commitment has made the United States the world's leading food aid 
supplier. In the process, American agriculture is bolstered as food aid 
recipients strengthen and stabilize their economies.
    In recent years, however, food aid shipments have declined sharply. 
The United States shipped 5.9 million tons of commodities in fiscal 
year 2002, 4.2 million tons in fiscal year 2005, and 3.7 million tons 
in fiscal year 2006. For fiscal year 2008, the administration's 
proposal would support only 2.975 million tons of commodities.
    We respectfully request that this steady erosion of food aid be 
reversed, and that funding be restored to sustainable levels to assure 
the continued effectiveness and stability of these important and 
historically successful programs.

            THE ADMINISTRATION'S BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008

    The administration proposes to continue last year's total 
elimination of funding for Title I.
    Over the last several years, as funding for Title I has 
disappeared, the vast majority of food aid donations have been provided 
through the Food for Peace Title II program, which the administration 
proposes to further reduce by $413 million from fiscal year 2006 
levels, supporting the shipment of only 2.5 million tons of commodities 
in fiscal year 2008. Moreover, under the President's budget, Title II 
food aid would be reduced by up to $305 million and converted to 
overseas purchases of food aid at the discretion of the Administrator 
for the U.S. Agency for International Development (``USAID'').
    Our coalition strongly opposes the administration's proposal to 
convert essential American food assistance to a program under which 
USAID would use appropriated funds to procure food supplies overseas. 
It has provided no sound basis for doing so, and there are many reasons 
why this proposal should be rejected again, just as it was rejected by 
the Congress in 2005 and 2006.
    Under authority provided by Section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act 
of 1949, the administration states that no surplus commodities will be 
made available for donation in 2008. This represents another year of 
diminished reliance on the 416(b) program, which is funded through the 
Commodity Credit Corporation (``CCC'').
    In its fiscal year 2008 Budget Summary, the Department of 
Agriculture (``USDA'') estimates that CCC-funded Food for Progress 
(``FFP'') shipments will be 385,000 metric tons of grain equivalent. 
Unfortunately, this falls short of the 400,000 ton level established 
for CCC-funded FFP shipments in the 2002 Farm Bill.
    Finally, the administration has requested $100 million for the 
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition 
Program (``IFEP''), representing approximately 90,000 tons of 
commodities. This increase of only 3 percent from fiscal year 2006 is 
far overshadowed by the decreases in other programs.
    The administration's recommendations, taken together, would lead to 
further reductions in food aid. Of even more significance, the 
administration's recommendation to reduce Title II funding in favor of 
USAID cash assistance undermines the foundation upon which U.S. food 
aid policy has been built in the post-World War II era. For the reasons 
set forth below, the coalition urges this subcommittee to sustain Title 
II funding, reinvigorate the Title I program, and reject, for a third 
time, the administration's unwise and unnecessary proposal to siphon 
off a quarter of Title II appropriations into a discretionary account 
for USAID.

         RESTORATION OF OVERALL FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM LEVELS

    The coalition recommends that food aid be restored over time to 
sustainable levels in the range of 5.0 million to 6.0 million metric 
tons of grain equivalent in each fiscal year. In fiscal year 2008, this 
would require restoration of Title I funding, incremental increase in 
the Title II funding to $1.6 billion, and greater use of existing 
authorities of the CCC.
    USDA's Budget Summary justifies the elimination of Title I as 
necessary because recipient countries have been more interested in 
direct grants than concessional sales. Of course, the demand for 
donated food will always exceed the supply and the coalition recognizes 
that recipient countries would prefer grants over concessional sales--
even sales at extremely favorable terms.
    In order to ensure that the most desperate countries have 
sufficient donated food aid, the coalition recommends that USDA offer 
the Title I concessional sales program to countries that can afford the 
terms. Among the countries receiving Title II-funded grants in recent 
years, there are surely some who reasonably could afford to make the 
transition from grant assistance to concessional sales, using the 
direct loan authority of Title I. And to the extent that the Title I 
funding truly cannot be used for concessional sales, it may be 
converted to donations on full grant terms through FFP.

           ELIMINATION OF TITLE II FUNDING FOR LOCAL PURCHASE

    The coalition is strongly opposed to the administration's attempts 
to eliminate up to 25 percent ($305 million) of Public Law 480 Title II 
funding in favor of an experimental program whereby the USAID 
Administrator will be granted unchecked discretion to divert U.S. tax 
dollars to foreign producers. Congress has wisely rejected this 
proposal in each of the last two budget cycles, and there is no 
authority for this program.
    The administration intimated that its cash-based proposal was 
prompted by concerns regarding the timeliness of shipments from the 
United States in times of crisis. However, USAID already has adequate 
options for overcoming time constraints in appropriate circumstances, 
including:
  --using the existing authority in the International Disaster and 
        Famine Assistance Program (``IDFA'');
  --borrowing commodities from a nearby available source and later 
        replacing them with Title II commodities once shipped into the 
        region;
  --transferring commodities between approved Title II programs before 
        they are distributed;
  --expanding the existing prepositioning program by developing forward 
        deployed food stocks closer to areas of need; and
  --diverting commodities already in transit to areas in extreme need, 
        as was done when a shipload of aid was diverted to the tsunami-
        damaged areas of Asia in 2005.
    Surely some combination of these solutions could be developed to 
address any timeliness concerns, obviating the justification for 
raiding our Nation's longest-running and most successful food aid 
program.
    Little study has been conducted regarding the dangers of purchasing 
aid locally, near areas of food insecurity. USAID has admitted that 
local purchases threaten to destabilize local food markets. 
Additionally, discretionary expenditures of large sums for aid in third 
world countries raise the specter of corruption and abuse, including 
theft, kick-backs, and market manipulation by local traders. Local 
markets lack adequate seasonal storage capacity in many instances, 
putting relief efforts at the mercy of the very market fluctuations 
they are designed to alleviate, and cannot be counted upon to provide 
the high-quality, fortified blend products that are most essential to 
saving lives in severe food crises.
    Moreover, the administration's proposal to eliminate up to a 
quarter of in-kind aid under Title II would undermine our position in 
the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') where the United States has 
spent the last several years defending our current food assistance 
programs as a necessity if the world is committed to reducing hunger.
    Lastly, the proposal to buy commodities overseas, instead of from 
American farmers and processors, threatens to undermine the broad-based 
political and support framework that has made Title II a success over 
the last half century. Indeed, Europe's conversion to cash-based aid 
resulted in a dramatic drop in aid levels.

                    CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Mr. Chairman, the coalition is committed to maintaining U.S. food 
assistance programs at responsible levels in order to meet humanitarian 
needs and enhance the potential for economic growth in recipient 
countries. Our recommendation is to increase, over time, annual food 
assistance at combined program levels of between 4.0 million and 6.0 
million metric tons of grain equivalent. This can be accomplished, as 
in the past, with a blend of programs supported by direct 
appropriations and CCC program authorities.
    The coalition respectfully recommends the following:
  --Title I program levels should be restored, and responsibly 
        increased again in succeeding years, so that the unique 
        advantages of the program are not lost.
  --The Title II program should be restored to its fiscal year 2006 
        level of $1.632 billion, and funding should not be diverted to 
        programs relying primarily on the purchase of foreign 
        commodities for food assistance. These actions will also help 
        ensure that the United States fulfills its moral obligation to 
        provide not less than one-half of the world's donated food aid.
  --In committee report language, the House Appropriations Committee 
        should reiterate its directive to the FAS in the fiscal year 
        2003 cycle to make greater use of existing CCC authorities to 
        expand food aid to regions in critical need, and explicitly 
        reject the administration's proposal to convert American food 
        aid to so-called ``local purchase'' initiatives.
    The in-kind food programs of Public Law 480 have been a bulwark of 
American food aid policy since the days of the Marshall Plan, and they 
deserve the strong support of your subcommittee, the Congress, and the 
entire Nation.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
                                 ______
                                 

   Prepared Statement of the Advanced Medical Technology Association

    AdvaMed is pleased to provide this testimony on behalf of our 
member companies and the patients and health care systems we serve 
around the world. AdvaMed is the largest medical technology trade 
association in the world, representing more than 1,300 medical device, 
diagnostic products and health information systems manufacturers of all 
sizes. AdvaMed's members manufacture nearly 90 percent of the $86 
billion of health care technology products purchased annually in the 
United States, and more than 50 percent of the $220 billion purchased 
annually around the world. AdvaMed members range from the largest to 
the smallest medical technology innovators and companies and directly 
employ about 350,000 workers in the United States. More than 75 percent 
of our members have $30 million or less in domestic sales annually.
    AdvaMed supports the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request of 
$240,122,000 for the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Center for 
Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). This inflationary increase 
amount maintains the annual inflationary increases for the agency that 
have helped meet the requirements of the Medical Device User Fee and 
Modernization Act (MDUFMA--Public Law 107-250) and the Medical Device 
User Fee and Stabilization Act (MDUFSA--Public Law 109-43) to date, and 
is crucial to ensure patients have timely access to lifesaving and 
life-enhancing products.
Medical Device User Fees
    We are pleased that the President's budget proposal includes a 5 
percent increase in FDA funding over 2007, which will help maintain a 
reasonable balance between user fees and appropriated funds in the 
device center and expand other resources to address key public health 
needs.
    The increasing number and complexity of medical device submissions 
have overwhelmed CDRH over the last decade. When MDUFMA was crafted, 
review times for breakthrough products often exceeded over 400 days, 
despite a statutory ceiling of 180 days. To address these chronic 
delays, Congress passed MDUFMA in October of 2002 to supplement FDA's 
resources and expertise and reduce review times for medical 
technologies. MDUFMA creates a predictable and adequate funding base 
for CDRH through a combination of industry-paid user fees and an 
increase in Congressional funding for the agency. Congress passed 
MDUFSA in 2002 to ensure the continuance of this critical program, and 
we are hopeful that MDUFMA will be reauthorized this summer to continue 
the program for another 5 years.
    Medical technology companies will have added over $150 million to 
CDRH resources during the first 5 years of the historic MDUFMA 
agreement. Although the additional appropriations did not materialize 
in the first 2 budget years of the MDUFMA agreement, Congress provided 
nearly $26 million in fiscal year 2005 and inflationary required 
amounts for fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007. The fiscal year 2008 
requested amount shows the strong support by the Administration to 
maintain the MUDFMA program.
    CDRH must be funded adequately to ensure the goals of MDUFMA are 
met, maintain the United States' position in the rapidly advancing 
field of medical technology, and ensure patients' timely access to 
needed medical breakthroughs. AdvaMed requests that the fiscal year 
2008 Agriculture Appropriations bill fully fund CDRH at $240,122,000 to 
accomplish these important goals.
Additional Fees and Issues
    AdvaMed notes with interest that the President's budget calls for 
collecting over $23 million for re-inspection fees. We are interested 
to learn more about the nature of these fees and to which services 
currently provided by the FDA they will apply. As noted above, we are 
in the process of reauthorizing the MDUFMA program this year. This 
reauthorization will include significant increases in the current user 
fees the industry pays already for the review process. Given the 
significant number of small companies within our industry, we have 
strong concerns about additional fees being applied, especially before 
any substantial dialogue between the industry and the Agency over the 
level and intended use of the fees. Any additional fees must be 
additive to the baseline and must be associated with clearly identified 
performance goals above and beyond current levels.
    Additionally, AdvaMed is concerned that, as in years past, attempts 
will be made in the fiscal year 2008 appropriations process to alter 
FDA policy and procedures related to the regulation of new and existing 
devices, including the advisory panel process. AdvaMed generally 
opposes such attempts to alter fundamental FDA regulatory policy for 
medical devices on appropriations bills. We stand ready to offer our 
expertise on such matters should the need arise in the coming months.
Background on the Medical Device User Fee Program
    America is on the cusp of an unprecedented revolution in medical 
technology driven by major private and public investments in scientific 
research and computer technology. Congress has also made a multi-
billion dollar commitment to double medical research at NIH and unravel 
the human genome. Medical technology companies also doubled research 
and development spending in the decade of the 90's.
    The vibrant medical technology sector has driven employment gains 
and a strong balance of trade much to the benefit of the American 
patient and economy over the last several years. At the same time, the 
growing number and complexity of new medical devices throughout the 
last decade, coupled with a drop in the absolute number of reviewers at 
CDRH has resulted in severe budget strain and increasing delays in 
approval of new medical technologies for patients.
    Prior to passage of MDUFMA, CDRH faced increasing challenges as a 
result of dwindling resources and accelerating innovation. Staff levels 
had dropped by eight percent between 1995 and 2001. By 2001, the 
average total review time for premarket approval applications had risen 
to 411 days, more than twice the statutory review time. An FDA science 
panel warned at the time that increasingly rapid advances in technology 
``threaten to overwhelm'' CDRH's limited resources.
    On October 26, 2002, President Bush signed MDUFMA, which was 
unanimously passed by Congress, into law to give CDRH additional 
resources and expertise to help provide timely patient access to new 
medical technologies. It established an industry-funded user fee 
program to provide up to $35 million each year to help the agency meet 
rigorous new performance goals.
    Key regulatory reforms in MDUFMA are designed to:
  --Eliminate bureaucratic delays in review of combination products by 
        establishing a new office to oversee these technologies
  --Authorize FDA to accredit third-party inspectors to audit medical 
        technology companies with a good track record of compliance;
  --Encourage timely, thorough premarket reviews by codifying the PMA 
        ``modular review'' program and extending the third-party review 
        program for 510(k)s;
  --Permit paperless device labeling and electronic facility 
        registration.
  --Strengthen FDA regulation of reprocessed disposable devices.
    From bioengineered organs and implantable artificial hearts to 
gene-based diagnostic tests and molecular imaging systems, America's 
medical technology companies are developing thousands of promising new 
tests and treatments. AdvaMed believes full implementation of MDUFMA 
will help ensure these advances reach the millions of patients who need 
them.
    The user fee provisions in the law set fees for premarket approval 
applications, supplements and 510(k) submissions. Under the original 
law, these fees, combined with funds from increased appropriations, 
will provide FDA's device program with more than $225 million in 
additional resources over the 5 years of the program. A letter 
agreement accompanying the bill sets review performance goals for the 
agency.
    To assure that these user fees would have an additive effect on the 
CDRH budget, MDUFMA required that CDRH receive a $15 million 
appropriations increase in each of the first 3 years of the program 
(fiscal year 2003, fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2005) for a total 
of $45 million by the end of fiscal year 2005, or the user-fee program 
would have terminated in fiscal year 2006. These funds were designed to 
allow CDRH to upgrade information technology and other infrastructure 
necessary to carry-out a user-fee program and to meet the performance 
goals.
    MDUFMA passed both houses of Congress on the last day of the 
regular session in October 2002. Owing to the extremely late timing of 
MDUFMA passage and a very tight budget climate, MDUFMA funding targets 
were not met in either of the first 2 years of the MDUFMA agreement. 
MDUFSA was passed last year to allow the program to continue despite 
the funding shortages in the early years of the program. MDUFSA also 
addressed the significant rate of increases in fees paid by industry. 
As Congress has struggled to provide its funding, industry paid user 
fees (per submission) that far exceed what was expected by MDUFMA. 
Increases of 35 percent, 15.7 percent and a projected 20 percent for 
fiscal year 2006 for individual PMA submissions were troubling to 
industry, and we appreciate the steps Congress took to limit the rates 
of increase until the program can be reauthorized by September 30, 
2007.
    To maintain the MDUFMA program and protect investments made by the 
Agency, American consumers and a leading source of job growth in our 
economy, we ask Congress to again meet the President's fiscal year 2008 
budget request for CDRH.
Conclusion
    AdvaMed appreciates the Subcommittee's efforts last year and urges 
them to continue on this path to fully fund MDUFMA and ready FDA for 
the coming era of biomedical innovation and patients that await timely 
access to the coming dramatic breakthroughs in medicine. AdvaMed 
requests that the fiscal year 2007 Agriculture Appropriations, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies bill 
fully fund CDRH at $240,122,000 to accomplish these important goals. We 
have concerns about the inclusion of new fees for the FDA to carry out 
core mission activities and urge the committee to refrain from altering 
FDA policy and procedures related to the regulation of new and existing 
devices in the fiscal year 2008 appropriations process.
    AdvaMed thanks the committee for this opportunity to present our 
views and we look forward to working with you to help prepare FDA for 
the coming revolution in medical technology.
                                 ______
                                 

     Prepared Statement of the American Forest & Paper Association

    The American Forest & Paper Association \1\ (AF&PA) supports the 
sustainable management of our Nation's forests and encourages increased 
funding to advance forestry research, combat invasive species, and 
enhance food packaging innovations. The following recommendations 
concern fiscal year 2008 appropriations for the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ AF&PA is the national trade association of the forest, paper 
and wood products industry. AF&PA represents more than 200 companies 
and related associations that engage in or represent the manufacture of 
pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products. The U.S. forest products 
industry accounts for approximately 6 percent of the total U.S. 
manufacturing output, employs more than a million people, and ranks 
among the top 10 manufacturing employers in 42 States with an estimated 
payroll exceeding $50 billion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
    There is a critical need to focus resources on research and 
outreach that addresses forest productivity, wood utilization, 
inventory, and conversion of wood to produce bioenergy/bioproducts. 
This practical research and outreach will advance our capacity to 
produce and measure healthier, faster-growing forests. CSREES and its 
partnering universities play a key role on-the-ground in meeting this 
need.
  --McIntire-Stennis (Cooperative Forestry Research) Program.--AF&PA 
        recommends an increase over the President's fiscal year 2008 
        request of $20.5 million. This program is the foundation of 
        forest resources research and scientist education efforts at 
        universities. It supports cutting-edge research on forest 
        productivity, wood utilization, and development of new 
        technologies. AF&PA opposes the President's proposal to divert 
        63 percent of existing funds to competitive funding, as it 
        would undermine valuable forestry research being conducted by 
        our Nation's universities. Instead, we encourage a phased 
        approach to building in a competitive grants component to the 
        program.
  --National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program.--
        AF&PA supports the President's request of $256 million, but 
        with increased focus on forestry research. These grants are a 
        significant source of funding for basic and applied research on 
        forest resources, including their management and utilization. 
        In recent years, however, less than 6 percent of available 
        funding has been allocated for forestry-related research. Given 
        the considerable potential of the program to contribute to the 
        Nation's sustainable forestry research needs, that percentage 
        should be increased, with specific focus on grants that support 
        Agenda 2020 research, such as the Pine Genome Initiative.
  --Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA) Program.--AF&PA recommends 
        an increase over the President's request of $4 million. RREA 
        provides the foundation for extension and outreach efforts 
        delivered to private landowners through universities. Cutting-
        edge forestry research is of limited benefit unless it can be 
        effectively delivered to the Nation's forest landowners.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
    Emerging Plant Pests Program.--AF&PA encourages increased funding 
to ensure adequate research, eradication, and control efforts targeting 
the Sirex woodwasp, emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, and 
sudden oak death pathogen. All four introduced organisms have already 
done significant damage and threaten further damage to trees in our 
forests and communities. For example, the Sirex woodwasp is now found 
across much of New York State and parts of Pennsylvania, and threatens 
valuable pine timber resources, especially those of the Southeast. 
Without sufficient funding to prevent movement of these insects and 
diseases through infested wood, nursery stock, and other materials, the 
economic cost could escalate to hundreds of billions of dollars.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    Food Contact Notification (FCN) Program.--AF&PA urges restoration 
of funding at $6 million for this program, which is proposed for 
elimination in the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request. This 
highly successful program provides efficient review and timely approval 
of new food packaging materials and additives. New food-contact 
materials have enhanced the safety and security of the U.S. food supply 
while increasing the availability of environmentally friendly products. 
The elimination of the FCN program would be an enormous detriment to 
manufacturers seeking clearances for new food-contact materials to be 
introduced in the U.S. marketplace. The FCN program is essential for 
continued paper and paperboard food packaging innovation, and for 
ensuring the most effective protection of packaged foods during 
transportation, storage and ultimate use by the consumer.
Conclusion
    AF&PA appreciates the opportunity to provide the Subcommittee with 
testimony regarding the fiscal year 2008 budget for the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture. If implemented, increased funding for the programs 
listed above will help promote the sustainable management of our 
Nation's public and private lands and the products that are produced 
from these lands.
                                 ______
                                 

  Prepared Statement of the American Honey Producers Association, Inc.

    Chairman Kohl and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Mark 
Brady from Waxahachie, Texas, and I currently serve as President of the 
American Honey Producers Association (``AHPA''). I am pleased today to 
submit the following statement on behalf of the AHPA, a national 
organization of commercial beekeepers actively engaged in honey 
production throughout the country. The purpose of this statement is 
bring to your attention both new and continuing serious threats to the 
domestic bee industry and to request your continued assistance in 
supporting Agricultural Research Service (``ARS'') research to address 
the many challenges that face the domestic beekeeping industry.
    First, we wish to thank again the Subcommittee for the strong 
support you have provided in past fiscal years for agricultural 
research activities on behalf of the beekeeping industry. As you know, 
in the fiscal year 2003 cycle, the Subcommittee rejected a proposal 
that would have resulted in the elimination of three ARS laboratories 
that are indispensable to the survival of our industry. In the years 
since then, the Subcommittee has worked to restore proposed cuts in 
honey bee research. Such support has enabled the ARS to address the 
critical research needs of the industry.
    For fiscal year 2008, the Administration's budget again proposes to 
eliminate certain funding for ARS that it did not request but that the 
Congress provided in the appropriations process. To continue the 
research that is critical to honey bees, however, the AHPA requests 
that Congress maintain the funding for the ARS Honey Bee Research 
Laboratories at Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Weslaco, Texas; Tucson, 
Arizona; Beltsville, Maryland; and the ARS Wild Bee Research Laboratory 
at Logan, Utah. We also support increased funding for honey bee genome 
research at the ARS laboratory in Baton Rouge, as proposed before by 
the Administration.
    In addition to the maintenance of these ongoing efforts, we 
strongly urge the Subcommittee to provide at least $1 million in new 
funding through the ARS laboratories at Beltsville and Tucson, and 
possibly in conjunction with researchers at the University of 
California in Davis, to address a new threat to domestic honey bees: 
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). CCD is currently ravaging bee colonies 
across the United States. The causes of CCD are unknown and appear to 
be complicated mix of factors, including the stresses caused by 
continuing infestations of mites and pests and by the high demands of 
pollination today. I provide a more detailed description of CCD in this 
statement.
The President's Budget Proposal
    Our understanding is that while OMB has not yet agreed to the ARS 
funding levels under the fiscal year 2007 Continuing Resolution, the 
most likely outcome will be a continuation of honey bee research at the 
fiscal year 2006 levels. As the Subcommittee reviews the proposed 
fiscal year 2008 budget and the fiscal year 2007 baseline, we urge you 
also to consider that in its fiscal year 2007 bill, the House 
originally provided (H. Rep. 109-463) additional fiscal year 2007 
research funding as follows: ``Bee Research, Weslaco, TX, $244,077'' 
and ``Honey Bee Research (Varroa Mites), Baton Rouge, LA, $390,101.'' 
The fiscal year 2007 Senate bill (S. Rep. 109-266) provided continued 
funding for ``Bee Research (Chalk Brood)), Logan, Utah,'' and 
separately recommended an increase of $100,000 for Logan, Utah for non-
Apis research.
    The AHPA is concerned that the President's fiscal year 2008 budget 
proposal to eliminate ongoing spending set by Congress would reduce 
funding for critical research at two key ARS Honey Bee Research 
Laboratories at Baton Rouge and at Weslaco. Such cuts to these ARS 
Honey Bee Research Laboratories would have a severe effect on the honey 
industry as well as on all pollination-dependent agriculture and many 
native plants. This budget recommendation seems particularly 
inappropriate considering the substantial benefits that flow from these 
research efforts, which help assure the vitality of the American honey 
bee industry and is integral to many aspects of U.S. agriculture.
    The four ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories provide the first line 
of defense against exotic parasite mites, Africanized bees, and brood 
diseases. Equally, the laboratories are prepared to respond to new 
pests, pathogens and other conditions as they arise, such as CCD, that 
pose very serious and growing threats to the viability and productivity 
of honey bees and the plants they pollinate. If continued funding is 
not provided, scientists at the Baton Rouge and Weslaco laboratories 
will be overburdened and forced to discontinue essential research, 
thereby jeopardizing the U.S. honey bee industry and the production of 
agricultural crops that require pollination by honey bees.
The Importance of Honey Bees to U.S. Agriculture
    Honey bees are a critical element in the production of more than 90 
food, fiber, and seed crops, valued at more than $20 billion a year in 
the United States, according to the Department of Agriculture. The role 
of pollination is even more important given today's dietary importance 
of fruit, vegetables and nuts, most of which are dependent on 
pollination. Honey bees are necessary for the production of such 
diverse crops as almonds, apples, oranges, melons, broccoli, 
tangerines, cranberries, strawberries, vegetables, alfalfa, soybeans, 
sunflower, and cotton, among others. In fact, honey bees pollinate 
about one-third of the human diet.
    The importance of this pollination to contemporary agriculture 
cannot be understated--the value of such pollination is 143 times 
greater than the total value of honey and wax produced by honey bees. 
More than 140 billion honey bees representing 2 million colonies are 
transported by U.S. beekeepers across the country every year to 
pollinate crops.
    The importance of honey bees--and the U.S. honey industry which 
supplies the honey bees for pollination--is illustrated by the 
pollination of California's almond crop, which is that State's largest 
agricultural export. California grows 100 percent of the Nation's 
almond crop and supplies 80 percent of the world's almonds. Honey bees 
are transported from all over the Nation to pollinate California 
almonds, which is the largest single crop requiring honey bees for 
pollination. More than one million honey bee hives are needed to 
pollinate the 600,000 acres of almond groves that line California's 
Central Valley. That means nearly half of the managed honey-producing 
colonies in the United States are involved in pollinating almonds in 
California during February and early March. As with other agricultural 
products, having enough bees to pollinate the almond crop can mean the 
difference between a good crop and disaster. Moreover, almond producers 
estimate that California may need as many as 2 million hives for 
pollination by 2012 to pollinate the expected 800,000 acres of almonds 
that will be in production then. As OnEarth magazine noted recently, 
the fate of California's almond crop rests ``on the slender back of the 
embattled honey bee.''
    Many other U.S. agriculture producers rely on extensive honey bee 
pollination. A Maine blueberry grower recently put it quite 
succinctly--``without bees in May, there are no blueberries in 
August.'' Additionally, avocados--a $363 million crop in California--
receive more than 90 percent of their pollination from the honey bee. 
Studies on the effect of pollination of cotton by honey bees show an 
increase of 17 to 19 percent in the yield of seed cotton, as compared 
to a cotton crop that is not pollinated by honey bees. The cattle and 
farm-raised catfish industries also benefit from honey bee pollination, 
as pollination is important for growing alfalfa, which is fodder for 
cattle and farm-raised fish.
    Unfortunately, due to bee losses caused by pests and mites and 
other recent problems plaguing the U.S. honey industry, U.S. farmers 
were forced to import honey bees from other countries (New Zealand and 
Australia) last year for pollination. This marked the first time since 
1922 that honey bees were imported into the United States for 
pollination services, underscoring the fragile State of the U.S. honey 
industry and highlighting the critical need for research.
    Yet, the health of the beekeeping industry is dependent upon the 
production of honey and beeswax. Honey bees are responsible for the 
production of an average of 200 million pounds of honey annually in the 
United States, the sales of which help sustain this nation's 
beekeepers.

                       THREATS TO THE HONEY BEES

    Since 1984, the survival of the honey bee has been threatened by 
continuing infestations of mites and pests for which appropriate 
controls must continually be developed by scientists at the four ARS 
laboratories. Within the past year, however, CCD has emerged as an 
additional and grave new threat with unknown causes but destructive 
force.

                     COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (CCD)

    As chronicled in several recent news accounts, including the 
attached articles from the New York Times, CNN, ABC News and AP, 
reports of the sudden death of bees in colonies has been reported in 22 
States. Often, most of the adult bees in a colony mysteriously 
disappear, and soon the colony is completely empty. The news outlets 
quote various Federal and State researchers who have not been able to 
determine the cause of the collapse of the colonies. There are also 
increasing reports that otherwise healthy bee colonies are not 
reproducing at anywhere near historic levels.
    This severe and baffling destruction of domestic honey bee 
populations will require additional resources for the ARS laboratories 
as soon as possible to determine the causes of CCD and to develop 
effective treatment strategies. CCD remains a mystery to both 
beekeepers and scientists. There are a wide range of factors that--
either alone or in combination--may be possible causes of this serious 
condition. Areas to explore include the stress from the movement of 
bees to different parts of the country for extensive commercial 
pollination, the additional stress of pollinating crops, such as 
almonds, that provide little honey to the bees, and the impact of 
certain crop pesticides and genetic plants with altered pollination 
characteristics. Additionally, continuing infestations of the highly 
destructive Varroa mite, combined with other pests and mites, are also 
thought to compromise the immune systems of bees and may leave them 
more vulnerable to CCD. At the same time, researchers will need to 
focus on the many reported instances in which otherwise healthy, pest-
free, stationary bee colonies are also suffering collapse or problems 
with reproduction.
    In many ways, CCD is the latest is a series of threats faced by the 
modern U.S. honey bee industry as it continues to evolve to both 
produce honey and meet the ever-increasing demands of crop producers 
for vital pollination. Unfortunately, CCD will not be the last 
challenge faced by the industry. But at this time, it is clearly the 
most critical threat to our industry. As every week goes by, additional 
members of AHPA report that CCD is affecting their bees.
    The AHPA respectfully requests that additional funding of at least 
$1 million be provided in a dedicated manner to respond to CCD. Such 
funding could be allocated to the ARS laboratories at Beltsville, 
Maryland, and Tucson, Arizona. We would also recommend that funding be 
considered for the University of California at Davis, because it has 
particular expertise in honey bee research and is in close proximity to 
the almond groves of the California Central Valley. Such a joint effort 
could better analyze the relationship between CCD, pollination and 
other stress factors. The joint effort would also take advantage of the 
fact that, in February of each year, almost the entire honey bee 
industry has its bees in California for pollination purposes.

                            ONGOING RESEARCH

    The research being done at the ARS laboratories is critical in a 
number of areas. For example, the pinhead-sized Varroa mite is 
systematically destroying bee colonies and has been considered by many 
in recent years to be the most serious threat to honey bees. Tracheal 
mites are another contributing factor to the loss of honey bees. 
Tracheal mites infest the breathing tubes of adult honey bees and also 
feed on the bees' blood. The mites essentially clog the bees' breathing 
tubes, blocking the flow of oxygen and eventually killing the infested 
bees. The industry is also plagued by a honey bee bacterial disease 
that has become resistant to antibiotics designed to control it, and a 
honey bee fungal disease that has no known medication to control it. 
These pests and diseases, especially Varroa mites and the bacterium 
causing American foulbrood, are now resistant to chemical controls in 
many regions of the country. Further, we have seen that these pests are 
building resistance to newly-developed chemicals more quickly than in 
the past, thereby limiting the longevity of chemical controls.
    Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to these problems, and 
the honey bee industry is too small to support the cost of the needed 
research, particularly given the depressed state of honey prices. 
Further, there are no funds, facilities, or personnel elsewhere 
available in the private sector for this purpose. Accordingly, the 
beekeeping industry is dependent on research from public sources for 
the scientific answers to these threats. Since the honey bee industry 
is completely comprised of small family-owned businesses, it relies 
heavily on the ARS for needed research and development. The key to the 
survival of the honey industry lies with the honey bee research 
programs conducted by ARS.
    The sequencing of the honey bee genome at Baylor University has 
opened the door to creating highly effective solutions to these 
problems via marker-assisted breeding. Marker-assisted breeding would 
permit the rapid screening of potential breeders for specific DNA 
sequences that underlie specific desirable honey bee traits. The 
sequenced honey bee genome is the necessary key that will allow 
scientists to discover the important DNA sequences. Because of the 
sequenced honey bee genome, it is now possible to apply molecular 
biological studies to the development of marker-assisted breeding of 
honey bees. Marker-facilitated selection offers the first real 
opportunity to transform the beekeeping industry from one that has been 
dependent upon a growing number of expensive pesticides and antibiotics 
into an industry that is free of chemical inputs and that is 
economically viable in today's competitive global marketplace.
    Furthermore, research on honey bees, one of five animals chosen by 
the National Institutes of Health for genome sequencing, may provide 
important insight into other areas of science. The honey bee is the 
first agricultural species to be sequenced, and such work may provide 
breakthrough advances in many areas of science. In fact, honey bees are 
being studied by the U.S. Department of Defense as sentinel species 
that could detect and locate agents of harm, such as chemical or 
biological threats. According to one researcher, it appears that honey 
bees' olfactory capabilities are at least on par with those of a dog, 
if not more sensitive. Thus, the scientific advances achieved by ARS 
will provide an array of benefits across many disciplines.
The Work of the ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories
    The ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories work together to provide 
research solutions to problems facing businesses dependent on the 
health and vitality of honey bees. The findings of these laboratories 
are used by honey producers to protect their producing colonies and by 
farmers and agribusinesses to ensure the efficient pollination of 
crops. Each of the four ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories (which are 
different in function from the ARS Wild Bee Research Laboratory at 
Logan, Utah) focuses on different problems facing the U.S. honey 
industry and undertakes research that is vital to sustaining honey 
production and assuring essential pollination services in this country. 
Furthermore, each of the four ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories has 
unique strengths and each is situated and equipped to support 
independent research programs which would be difficult, and in many 
cases impossible, to conduct elsewhere.
            Research at the ARS Weslaco Laboratory
    Because the AHPA recommends that the appropriation for the Weslaco 
laboratory be approved at not less than current levels, we respectfully 
request that Congress again restore an additional $244,100 in funding 
for the ARS Honey Bee Laboratory at Weslaco, Texas. This funding would 
be eliminated under the administration's budget. Retaining the current 
level of funding for the Weslaco laboratory will enable this facility 
to continue its work in finding a chemical solution to parasitic mites 
that are causing a crisis for the U.S. beekeeping and pollination 
industries. Varroa mites are causing the loss of hundreds of thousands 
of domestic honey bee colonies annually as well as devastating wild bee 
colonies. As noted in a February 2005 USA Today article, the Varroa 
mite has destroyed as much as 60 percent of the hives in some areas.
    For example, in Florida, the number of commercial bee colonies has 
fallen from approximately 360,000 hives in 1990 to just 160,000 in 
2005--in large part as a result of the Varroa mite. These tiny 
parasites--also known as the ``vampire mite''--attach themselves to the 
backs of adult bees and literally suck out their insides. When these 
mites were first discovered in the United States in the 1980s, 
beekeepers were able to fight them with strips of the chemical 
fluvalinate. However, the Varroa mites have evolved into a parasite 
seemingly immune to current pesticides. The ARS laboratory at Weslaco 
has been developing alternative chemicals to control the Varroa mite. 
Presently, there are no other chemicals available for controlling the 
Varroa mite, and the laboratory is working frantically to develop other 
means of control. The laboratory also is working with a potent fungus, 
which may kill the mites without impeding colony development or 
population size.
    Furthermore, the laboratory at Weslaco is researching methods that 
may control the small hive beetle. Since its discovery in Florida in 
1998, this pest has caused severe bee colony losses in California, 
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
and Minnesota. Estimates put these losses in just one season at over 
30,000 colonies. The beetles are now spreading all across the United 
States. The ARS honey bee research scientists at the Weslaco laboratory 
have been working diligently to find chemicals, techniques, pheromones, 
or other methods of controlling the beetle. Time is of the essence and 
a control must be found immediately, because all the bee colonies in 
the Western Hemisphere are at risk.
    This facility also focuses its research efforts on developing 
technologies to manage honey bees in the presence of Africanized honey 
bees, parasitic mites, and other pests. In order to ensure that further 
pests are not introduced into the United States, scientists at the 
Weslaco facility provide technical assistance to agriculture 
departments in foreign countries on the control of parasitic mites. The 
laboratory has worked with officials in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, 
and South Africa to protect the U.S. honey bee population from further 
devastation by infestation of foreign parasites, diseases, and other 
pests. This inter-governmental cooperation is necessary to ensure the 
continued viability of the U.S. honey bee industry.
            Research at the ARS Baton Rouge Laboratory
    We were pleased with past Administration budgets that requested 
increased funding in the amount of $500,000 for honey bee genome 
research at the Baton Rouge Laboratory and applaud the Subcommittee's 
efforts in fiscal year 2006 to provide $375,000 of the $500,000 
requested. In light of the importance of genome research, we encourage 
the Committee to provide additional funds to move this area of research 
forward. An increase in funding will allow the vital genome research to 
achieve the breakthrough successes that are closer than ever to 
realization.
    It is also important that Congress fully restore the $390,101 in 
``add-on'' funding for the Baton Rouge facility that it has provided in 
previous years. This Baton Rouge facility is the only laboratory in the 
United States and, we believe, in the world, developing long-term, 
genetic-based solutions to the Varroa mite. Existing stocks of U.S. 
honey bees are being tested to find stocks that exhibit resistance to 
the parasitic mites. Research scientists with the laboratory have also 
been to the far corners of the world looking for mite-resistant bees. 
For example, in eastern Russia, they found bees that have co-existed 
for decades with the mites and survived. Using these bees, the 
laboratory develops stocks of honey bees resistant to the parasites. 
Before these new stocks are distributed to American beekeepers, the 
laboratory ensures that the resistance holds up under a wide range of 
environmental and beekeeping conditions, testing attributes such as 
vigor, pollination, and honey production. We believe recent scientific 
breakthroughs with this genomic research will allow scientists in the 
near future to breed honey bees that are resistant to the Varroa mite 
and other parasites.
    The Baton Rouge facility also operates the only honey bee 
quarantine and mating station approved by the Animal and Plant 
Inspection Service. These stations are necessary to ensure that new 
lines of bees brought into the United States for research and 
development are free of diseases unknown in the United States. In 
addition, Baton Rouge research scientists are focused on the 
applications of new technologies of genomics. This work has the 
potential to enhance the proven value of honey bee breeding for 
producing solutions to the multiple biological problems that diminish 
the profitability of beekeeping.
            Research at the ARS Tucson Laboratory
    The American Honey Producers Association appreciates past 
Administration support for maintaining funding at the ARS Honey Bee 
Research Laboratory in Tucson at current levels. At the same time, 
consideration should be given to possibly increased funding at this 
facility to address the emerging CCD issue, and also to supporting two 
new research positions at the laboratory. The addition of an insect 
behaviorist position and a pollination biologist position at the Tucson 
Honey Bee Research Laboratory will strengthen the research programs 
conducted at the laboratory, including research related to preventing 
the spread of Africanized honey bees, which are jeopardizing the queen 
breeding and packaged bee industry.
    This research center is the only ARS honey bee laboratory serving 
the needs of beekeepers and farmers in the western United States. It 
also serves as the primary facility developing methods to prevent the 
spread of Africanized honey bees in our country. The facility works to 
improve crop pollination and honey bee colony productivity through 
quantitative ecological studies of honey bee behavior, physiology, pest 
and diseases, and feral honey bee bionomics. Currently, the Tucson 
laboratory is working to finalize the development of a pheromone that 
kills the Varroa mite.
    Because more than one million colonies are transported from across 
the country for pollination into crops grown in the western United 
States (primarily California), the Tucson research center addresses 
problems that arise from transporting and introducing colonies for 
pollination of crops such as almonds, plums, apricots, apples, 
cherries, citrus, alfalfa, vegetable seed, melons, and berries. The 
importance of this work is illustrated by the pollination of 
California's almond crop discussed earlier in this statement. More than 
one million honey bee hives are needed to pollinate the half a million 
acres of almond groves that line California's Central Valley. That 
means nearly half of the managed colonies in the United States are 
involved in pollinating almonds in California during February and early 
March.
    The work of the ARS Tucson Honey Bee Research Laboratory is 
indispensable in ensuring the successful pollination of crops in 
California and other areas of the western United States. This research 
center has been instrumental in disseminating information on technical 
issues associated with the transport of bee colonies across State 
lines. Additionally, in order to ensure that transported colony 
populations remain stable during transport and also during periods 
before the crop to be pollinated comes into bloom, scientists at the 
laboratory have developed an artificial diet that stimulates brood 
production in colonies. A large bee population is necessary to ensure 
that efficient pollination occurs, creating superior quality crops.
            Research at the ARS Beltsville Laboratory
    AHPA strongly supports an increase in funding for the Beltsville 
Laboratory to help address CCD and other threats to our domestic 
beekeeping industry. This facility, the oldest of the Federal bee 
research centers, conducts research on the biology and control of honey 
bee parasites, diseases, and pests to ensure an adequate supply of bees 
for pollination and honey production. Using biological, molecular, 
chemical, and non-chemical approaches, scientists in Beltsville are 
developing new, cost-effective strategies for controlling parasitic 
mites, bacterial diseases, and emergent pests that threaten honey bees 
and the production of honey.
    The laboratory also develops preservation techniques for honey bee 
germplasm in order to maintain genetic diversity and superior honey bee 
stock. Scientists at the facility also provide authoritative 
identification of Africanized honey bees and diagnosis of bee diseases 
and pests for Federal and State regulatory agencies and beekeepers on a 
worldwide basis. In operating this bee disease diagnosis service, the 
Beltsville facility receives over 2,000 samples annually from across 
the United States.
Conclusion
    In conclusion, we wish to thank you again for your strong support 
of honey bee research in the past and for your Subcommittee's 
understanding of the critical importance of these ARS laboratories.
    By way of summary, the American Honey Producers Association 
strongly encourages at least $1 million in additional new funding for 
the ARS laboratories at Beltsville, Maryland, and Tucson, Arizona, as 
well as possibly for the University of California at Davis, to address 
the new CCD threat that is suddenly devastating bee colonies across the 
country. AHPA also appreciates your continued support by (1) restoring 
the $390,101 in funding for the ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratory in 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that had previously been added by the Congress 
but is proposed for elimination in the Administration's budget 
proposal; (2) continuing the increased funding of $375,000 for genome 
research at the ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratory in Baton Rouge, as 
proposed by the administration and approved by the Congress in fiscal 
year 2006; (3) increasing the level of funding for the ARS Honey Bee 
Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, by at least $500,000 in 
new funding for CCD research; (4) restoring $244,100 for the Weslaco, 
Texas, facility as previously provided by the Congress but not 
contained in the President's budget submission; (5) maintaining at 
least the current level of funding for the ARS Honey Bee Research 
Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, but also considering additional funding 
of $500,000 for CDC research; and (6) maintaining the current level of 
funding for the ARS Wild Bee Research Laboratory at Logan, Utah.
    Only through research can we have a viable U.S. beekeeping industry 
and continue to provide stable and affordable supplies of bee-
pollinated crops, which make up fully one-third of the U.S. diet.
    Furthermore, we urge you to reject any effort to cut the operating 
budgets of these vitally important research laboratories by 
consolidating their functions. Any proposed cuts and their resulting 
budget and staff reductions would significantly diminish the quality of 
research conducted by these laboratories, harming bee keepers as well 
as farmers who harvest pollination-dependent agriculture. Congress 
cannot allow these cuts to occur and must continue to provide 
sufficient funding for the ARS Honey Bee Research Laboratories to 
perform their vital role.
    I would be pleased to respond to provide answers to any questions 
that you or your colleagues may have.
                                 ______
                                 

     Prepared Statement of the American Sheep Industry Association

    The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) is a federation of 
State member associations representing over 68,000 sheep producers in 
the United States. The sheep industry views numerous agencies and 
programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture as important to lamb and 
wool production. Sheep industry priorities include expanding the United 
States sheep inventory which has grown two of the past 3 years. We 
believe strengthening the infrastructure of the industry primarily 
through the programs of USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services and Wildlife 
Services is critical. The industry and the benefits to rural 
communities will be strengthened by fully funding critical predator 
control activities, national animal health efforts, and expanding 
research capabilities.
    We appreciate this opportunity to comment on the USDA fiscal year 
2008 budget.
           animal and plant health inspection service (aphis)
Scrapie
    The American Sheep Industry Association supports the appropriations 
approved in fiscal year 2006 of $18.4 million and urges the 
Subcommittee increase funding to this level in fiscal year 2008.
    Through concerted effort, USDA/APHIS, along with industry and State 
regulatory efforts, is in the position to eradicate scrapie from the 
United States with a multi-year attack on this animal health issue. As 
the collective and aggressive efforts of Federal and State eradication 
efforts have expanded into slaughter-surveillance and other methods and 
systems, the costs are, as expected, escalating.
    Scrapie is one of the families of transmissible spongiform 
encephalopathies (TSEs), all of which are the subject of great 
importance and interest around the globe. USDA/APHIS, along with the 
support and assistance of the livestock and allied industries, began an 
aggressive program to eradicate scrapie in sheep and goats four years 
ago. The plan USDA/APHIS is implementing is designed to eradicate 
scrapie by 2010. Through a subsequent monitoring and surveillance 
program, the United States could be declared scrapie-free by 2017. 
Becoming scrapie-free will have significant positive economic impact to 
the livestock, meat and feed industries and, of course, rid our flocks 
and herds of this fatal animal disease.
    Essential to the eradication effort being accomplished in a timely 
manner is adequate appropriated funds. The program cannot function 
properly without sufficient emphasis on diagnostic support and 
surveillance activities that are dedicated to scrapie eradication as an 
animal health priority. We believe adequate funding will help provide 
for an achievable scrapie eradication program and the eventual scrapie-
free status for the United States. As with the other successful animal 
disease eradication programs conducted by USDA/APHIS in the past, 
strong programs at the State level are key. We therefore urge the 
Subcommittee to send a clear message to USDA/APHIS to (A) make scrapie 
eradication a top disease eradication priority within USDA and the 
APHIS field staff with a focus on ID compliance and enforcement; and 
(B) increase the slaughter-surveillance numbers so that the disease can 
be found and dealt with where it resides.
Wildlife Services
    With well over one-quarter million sheep and lambs lost to 
predators each year, the Wildlife Services (WS) program of USDA-APHIS 
is vital to the economic survival of the sheep industry. The value of 
sheep and lambs lost to predators and predator control expenses are 
second only to feed costs for sheep production. Costs associated with 
depredation currently exceed our industry's veterinary, labor and 
transportation costs.
    Wildlife Service's cooperative nature has made it the most cost 
effective and efficient program within the Federal Government in the 
areas of wildlife management and public health and safety. Wildlife 
Services has more than 2,000 cooperative agreements with agriculture, 
forestry groups, private industry, State game and fish departments, 
departments of health, schools, county and local governments to 
mitigate the damage and danger that the public's wildlife can inflict 
on private property and public health and safety.
    ASI strongly supports the fiscal year 2006 appropriations for 
Wildlife Services operations and methods development programs, 
particularly as related to livestock protection. We ask the 
Subcommittee to fund the livestock industry request for the western 
region of Wildlife Services operations of livestock protection at $19 
million.
    The line item of the fiscal year 2006 appropriations for the 
livestock protection program in the western region of WS was funded at 
$10.7 million, an increase of $700,000 which is very important to our 
industry and the agency operations. Fuel costs alone for aerial 
operations and ground vehicles have increased dramatically which 
burdens the operations budgets.
    The additional $8.3 million increase requested will increase the 
effectiveness of the livestock protection program. Federal funding 
available for livestock predation management by the Western Region 
program has remained relatively constant for approximately 16 years. WS 
program cooperators have been forced to fund more and more of the costs 
of the program. WS Western Region base funding has increased only 5.6 
percent in the past 10 years while cooperative funding has increased 
110 percent. This increase has primarily come from individual livestock 
producers, associations, counties, and States.
    Additionally, new Federal mandates and program investments such as 
narrow-banding of radios, computer record keeping and compliance with 
the Endangered Species Act are requiring a larger portion of the 
already stretched budget and negatively impacting the amount of 
livestock predation management work that WS can conduct.
    We encourage and support continued recognition in the 
appropriations process for fiscal year 2007 of the importance of aerial 
hunting as one of Wildlife Service's most efficient and cost-effective 
core programs. It is used not only to protect livestock, wildlife and 
endangered species, but is a crucial component of the Wildlife Services 
rabies control program.
    Similar to the increasing needs in the aerial hunting program, we 
encourage continued emphasis in the programs to assist with management 
of wolf depredation in the States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Mexico and Arizona. Additionally, 
program expenses are expected in the States surrounding the Montana, 
Idaho and Wyoming wolf populations. It is strongly supported that 
appropriations be provided for $586,000 for additional wolf costs 
anticipated in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and North 
Dakota.
Economics of Predation Management
    The WS Western Region predation management program is one of the 
few government sponsored programs that is cost-shared, and this 
provides a significant benefit to both the producers and the 
government. Predation management, as conducted by the WS program, is 
cost effective and returns more money to the U.S. treasury than it 
costs. An analysis of 1998 data shows that for every dollar spent for 
predation management, $3 worth of livestock was saved. In that same 
year the total investment in just the predation management program was 
$20 million ($9 million Federal and $11 million cooperative funds); 
therefore, the full impact of this investment was a $250 million net 
increase in economic activity. Using today's values for livestock, 
every Federal dollar spent on predation management results in $10.84 in 
livestock saved, conservatively, $97.5 million in livestock saved 
($52.5 million in calves, $34 million in sheep and lambs, $11 million 
in goats). When cooperative funding is included with federal funds, the 
benefit cost ratio is $4.87:1.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Total value of
                        Type of Livestock                          No protected    No saved from     livestock
                                                                                     predators         saved
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calves..........................................................       2,500,000          70,000     $52,500,000
Adult Sheep.....................................................       2,000,000          82,000       8,200,000
Lambs...........................................................       1,850,000         214,600      25,752,000
Goats...........................................................         292,000         110,960      11,096,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The value of livestock saved is much greater in rural economies 
than any other type of economic development. Livestock dollars, that 
would have been lost without adequate predation management, generate an 
additional three fold increase in non-agricultural economic activity in 
rural America. The total economic activity (both agriculture and non-
agricultural sectors) generated by predation management is $390.2 
million.
Emerging Issues
    Additional issues are emerging in the West that will challenge the 
Federal WS program.
  --Wolves.--Recently a Federal judge struck down the threatened 
        species status for wolves in the Western Distinct Population 
        area eliminating the ability of private land ranchers to deal 
        with wolves, thus requiring additional government intervention.
  --Wildlife.--The declines in predation management that have already 
        occurred, and that will continue to occur without additional 
        Federal funding, have resulted in negative impacts on many 
        native wildlife populations. Several western States currently 
        need to fund predation management to prevent the listing of 
        sage grouse as an endangered species or to recover mule deer 
        herds.
    Without additional Federal funding to support existing western 
livestock protection programs, predation management expertise will be 
lost and livestock grazing in some areas will be jeopardized. Rural 
economies need this support and the return for the investment exceeds 
the requested assistance.
    ASI urges the Subcommittee to provide USDA, APHIS, WS, Western 
Region an additional $8.3 million of Federal funds for livestock 
protection. At a nominal 16 percent tax rate on the economic activity 
generated by the investment would result in over $62 million to the 
Treasury.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Livestock Protected...............................       6,642,000
Total Value of Livestock Saved (Using $10.84:1 Ratio)...     $97,548,000
Value incl. Multiplier..................................    $390,192,000
16 percent Nominal Tax rate.............................     $62,430,720
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                          
                                                          

 Chart 1.--Ten Year Comparison--WR Federal Base and Cooperative Funds 
                    (Including Livestock Protection)

                 FARM AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
    The sheep industry participates in FAS programs such as the Market 
Access Program (MAP), Quality Samples Program (QSP) and the Foreign 
Market Development Program (FMD). ASI strongly supports appropriations 
at the full authorized level for these critical Foreign Agricultural 
Service programs. ASI is the cooperator for American wool and sheep 
pelts and has achieved solid success in increasing exports of domestic 
product. Exports of American wool have increased dramatically with 
approximately 60 percent of U.S. production now competing overseas.
Risk Management Agency (RMA)
    Through ASI, the U.S. sheep industry is working with RMA on the 
development of ``Livestock Risk Protection'' for lamb (LRP-Lamb), a 
model-based, price-risk insurance product to help sheep producers 
manage the primary factor in their operation's financial exposure. The 
sheep industry is very anxious to participate in a 27 State pilot 
project with LRP-Lamb as approved in September of 2006. The goal is a 
market-based, user-friendly risk management tool that effectively and 
efficiently protects against unexpected price downswings that provides 
producers and their lenders with a critically needed financial 
management option.
    ASI urges the Subcommittee to support the agency's research and 
developmental costs to design creative new programs for the livestock 
sector as well as in the ``Administrative and Operating Expenses'' 
category to enable RMA to deliver these products, including appropriate 
maintenance expenses.

             NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS)

    ASI urges increased appropriations for the range programs of the 
Soil Conservation Service to benefit the private range and pasture 
lands of the United States with conservation assistance. We support the 
budget item and recommend an increased level for the Grazing Lands 
Conservation Initiative, which ASI has worked with, along with other 
livestock and range management organizations to address this important 
effort for rangelands in the United States.

                   RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND ECONOMICS

    Our industry is striving to be profitable and sustainable as a user 
of and contributor to our natural resource base. Research, both basic 
and applied, and modern educational programming is essential if we are 
to succeed. We have been disappointed in the decline in resources USDA 
has been targeting toward sheep research and outreach programs. In 
order for the sheep industry to continue to be more globally 
competitive, we must invest in the discovery and adoption of new 
technologies for producing, processing and marketing lamb and wool. We 
urge the Subcommittee to send a strong message to USDA supporting sheep 
research and educational funding increases.
Agricultural Research Service
    We continue to vigorously support the administration's funding of 
research concerning emerging and exotic diseases. Emerging and exotic 
diseases continue to have significant impact on our industry due to 
animal health and trade issues. The animal disease portion should be 
substantial and is urgently needed to protect the U.S. livestock 
industry. We note the President's request for fiscal year 2007 includes 
$9.5 million for BSE and CWD research. We agree that BSE has been an 
extremely important disease issue; however it is well established that 
BSE is being controlled globally and research has shown that since BSE 
is not transmitted by casual contact, actual disease concerns regarding 
BSE in the United States should be minimal. With this in mind, we 
respectfully remind the Subcommittee that scrapie along with CWD are 
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies that are endemic in the 
United States and unlike BSE are transmitted by casual contact. We 
recommend that any additional funds for BSE and CWD research also 
address scrapie with emphasis toward scrapie eradication needs 
(detection and control methods). We also respectively remind the 
Subcommittee that scientists in the Animal Disease Research Unit 
(ADRU), ARS, Pullman Washington, have made significant progress in the 
early diagnosis of TSEs, in understanding genetic resistance to TSEs 
and in understanding mechanisms of TSE transmission, which are 
important in eradication of all TSEs. The programs of these scientists 
at ADRU should be enhanced and expanded to include, for instance, the 
development of further improvements in rapid and accurate TSE detection 
methods and to provide an understanding of the role of other small 
ruminants as environmental sources of the TSE agent in the transmission 
of TSEs within the United States and world and to further understand 
the basis of genetic resistance and susceptibility to these devastating 
diseases.
    We note and strongly support the ARS 2008 priority initiative (3.8 
million) entitled ``Functional Genomics to Improve Nutrient Utilization 
in Beef Cattle''. Due to the extreme importance of this approach to 
enhancing the economics of sheep production and the recent progress in 
acquiring the sheep genome, we respectively request that this 
initiative be expanded to include sheep genomics. Since 2001, Congress 
has had the foresight to appropriate $756,553 each year to this unit 
for ``Microbial Genomics.'' Microbial genomics is the cornerstone 
project for their genomic research infrastructure and has resulted in 
very important genomics based research advancements for infectious 
diseases of livestock such as Ovine Progressive Pneumonia virus (OPPV), 
caseous lymphadenitis and foot rot. OPPV, caseous lymphadenitis and 
foot rot cause infections and environmental contaminations that 
continue to have significant economic impact for U.S. sheep producers. 
Also, pneumonia of big horn sheep continues to be a major concern for 
the domestic sheep industry. Regulatory impact on the use of public 
lands by domestic sheep producers due to the perceived possibility of 
disease transmission events between big horn and domestic sheep 
continues to be significant. Most recently genomics based research has 
yielded advancements in the understanding of the pneumonia complex 
affecting big horn sheep. This research is consistent with the ARS 2008 
priority initiative (4.9 million) entitled ``Livestock Immunology and 
Microbial Genomics to Improve Animal Health''. Very promising on-going 
genomic research efforts are directed at early determination of which 
sheep are susceptible to disease and responsible for economic losses. 
High throughput genomics has ushered in a new era of integrated 
research regarding the ability to link control of chronic, economically 
important diseases such as OPPV and important production traits. There 
are a number of infectious diseases across domestic and wild animals 
that will benefit from this research focus. It is becoming clear that 
not all infected animals transmit diseases with equal efficiency; in 
fact it appears that the ``super shedders'' are a small proportion of 
an infected population. In addition to aiding in the control of chronic 
infectious diseases such as OPPV, caseous lymphadenitis and foot rot, 
control of Big Horn Sheep pneumonia and internal parasitism may well be 
aided by this genomics approach. Early detection of susceptibility and 
resistance will lead to practical intervention strategies. We 
respectively request the Subcommittee to recommend the restoration and 
enhancement of microbial genomics to ADRU for the fiscal year 2008 
budget. With this in mind, we respectively request the subcommittee to 
recommend restoration of the $764,195 and enhancement of the microbial 
genomics budget of ADRU by $900,000 to a total of $1,664,195 to use in 
collaboration with the University of Idaho, Washington State University 
and the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois and other collaborators 
to expand research concerning causation and transmission of the 
pneumonia complex of big horn sheep and link predictive genomics based 
tests with the genetics of production.
    We also urge the Subcommittee to recommend the restoration of 
$484,292 for Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF) at the ARS/ADRU in Pullman 
for the fiscal year 2007 budget. MCF is a viral disease of ruminants 
that is of great concern to our livestock industries. The exotic 
variant of MCF is considered a high priority select agent. This funding 
is provided for collaborative research with the U.S. Sheep Experiment 
Station, Dubois ID and the University of Idaho, for vaccine development 
directed at preventing transmission and economic losses caused by MCF.
    Research into Johne's disease has received additional funding 
through ARS over the past several years with a focus on cattle. Johne's 
disease is also endemic in the U.S. sheep population and is not well 
understood as a sheep disease. The same food safety concerns exist in 
both sheep and cattle; other countries are also very concerned about 
Johne's in sheep. We urge the Subcommittee to send a strong message to 
ARS that Johne's disease in sheep should receive more attention with an 
emphasis on diagnostics.
    We appreciate and support USDA's strategic goals and note that 
strategic goal (3) ``Enhance Domestic Rural and Farm Economies States 
in part as follows: ``Work to expand production and market 
opportunities for bioenergy and biobased products''. In response to 
this strategic goal of the USDA we request that the Subcommittee 
recommend $350,000 as a targeted increase for ARS/ERRC research at 
Wyndmoor, PA to be directed toward research on wool at the molecular 
level focusing on anti-microbial properties, flame retardation and 
enhancement of fiber properties through enzyme treatments targeting 
high priority military needs and other niche market applications for 
consumers.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
    The Minor Use Animal Drug Program is funded through a ``Special 
Research Grant'' that has had great benefit to the U.S. sheep industry. 
The research under this category is administered as a national program 
``NRSP-7'' cooperatively with FDA/CVM to provide research information 
for the approval process on therapeutic drugs that are needed. Without 
this program, American sheep producers would not have effective 
products to keep their sheep healthy. We appreciate the fiscal year-
2006 funding level of $582,000 for this program, and we urge the 
Subcommittee to recommend that it be funded at least at this level in 
fiscal year 2008 to help meet the needs of our rapidly changing 
industry and increasing costs for research necessary to meet the 
requirements for approving additional therapeutics for sheep.
    On-going funding for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank 
(FARAD) program is critically important for the livestock industry in 
general and especially for ``minor species'' industries such as sheep 
where extra-label use of therapeutic products is more the norm rather 
than the exception. We urge the Subcommittee to recommend that it be 
funded at least at the fiscal year 2006 level of $806,000 in 2008 to 
help meet the needs of the animal industries. FARAD provides 
veterinarians the ability to accurately prescribe products with 
appropriate withdrawal times protecting both animal and human health.
    On-going research to improve value quantification and marketing of 
wool is critically important to the sheep and wool industry. ASI urges 
the Subcommittee's support to restore and continue the CSREES special 
grants program for wool research at least to the fiscal year 2006 level 
of $298,000 for fiscal year 2008.
    Research for the Montana Sheep Institute is important to the sheep 
and wool industry. Sheep grazing is being used as an important tool for 
natural resource management to improve the competitiveness of lamb and 
wool in the marketplace and reduce the impacts of invasive plant 
species. ASI encourages the Subcommittee's support to continue funding 
at the fiscal year 2006 level of $591,000 for 2008.
    The Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) is a unique and 
very effective cooperative effort. This is not a State specific effort; 
it operates as a national virtual ``Center of Excellence'' for 
Extension education, research, and public policy. Members of the LMIC 
represent 26 Land Grant Universities, 6 USDA agencies, and a variety of 
associate institutions. In conjunction with the USDA's Economic 
Research Service (ERS), this cooperative effort started in the mid-
1950's. This effort is an integral part of U.S. livestock marketing and 
outlook programs for cattle, hogs, sheep, dairy and poultry. Demands on 
the LMIC staff continue to increase from other USDA agencies, Land 
Grant Universities, State governments, commodity associations and 
directly from producers. We strongly support funding be continued at 
least at the previously funded level of $194,000 for the Livestock 
Marketing Information Center (LMIC) in fiscal year 2008. The 
coordinating office for this national Land Grant University directed 
effort is located in Lakewood, Colorado. As in the past, line-item 
funding will be directed through the USDA CSREES.
    The Joe Skeen Institute for Rangeland Restoration is an on-going 
collaborative research program with Texas A&M University, New Mexico 
State University and Montana State University. Federal support is 
sought to help correct critical degradation of public lands, especially 
desertification of rangelands through research and education.
    The rangelands of the United States have been degraded for decades 
impacting water runoff and production of amenities enjoyed by the 
general public. Innovative methods for control of invasive plants 
though goats and sheep are providing biological solutions while 
improving the environment. We urge the Subcommittee to support the 
Institute at $2 million for fiscal year 2008.
Grants to Train Farm Workers in Technologies and Specialized Skills 
        Necessary for Higher Value Crops
    The shortage of skilled sheep shearers has increasingly become a 
problem for U.S. sheep producers and strong interest has been expressed 
in utilizing this grant program through USDA as authorized in section 
6025 of the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act. Grant funds 
are authorized; however appropriations would be necessary for the 
program to allow the U.S. sheep industry the opportunity to apply for 
funds to train U.S. workers as sheep shearers.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the American Society for Microbiology

    The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is pleased to submit 
the following testimony on the fiscal year 2008 appropriation for the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research and education programs. 
The ASM is the largest single life science organization with more than 
42,000 members. The ASM mission is to enhance the science of 
microbiology, to gain a better understanding of life processes, and to 
promote the application of this knowledge for improved health and for 
economic and environmental well-being.
    The ASM is concerned with the fiscal year 2008 proposed budget of 
approximately $2 billion for agricultural research and development, a 
$245 million decrease from fiscal year 2007, and a $428 million cut 
from fiscal year 2006. The steady decline in Federal funding for 
agricultural research will have detrimental effects on both public 
health and the Nation's economy. Agricultural research is critical to 
USDA's role in oversight of domestic and imported food production to 
ensure a safe food supply and to the Nation's stake in domestic and 
global markets. In 2006, U.S. agricultural exports reached a record $71 
billion, an $8 billion increase over 2005. There are strong 
correlations between food safety, food markets, and the U.S. economy. 
The estimated costs of five foodborne bacterial diseases alone total 
nearly $7 billion per year, with more than $71 million just for E. coli 
O157 in contaminated ground beef. Recent outbreaks of disease linked to 
spinach and peanut butter and subsequent product recalls illustrate the 
effects of contaminated food on private sector markets.
    The ASM asks Congress to increase support for the USDA Agricultural 
Research Service (ARS), the lead scientific agency that conducts 
intramural research, and the USDA National Research Initiative (NRI), 
the competitive, peer-reviewed grants program that supports extramural 
research. USDA research efforts in food safety, climate change, crop 
production, alternative fuels, the environment and other strategic 
areas are producing tangible returns on past federal investments. U.S. 
agricultural output has more than doubled in the last 50 years, 
attributed by economists almost entirely to increased productivity by 
U.S. producers who benefit from the Nation's investment in research and 
technology. Genetic improvements, for example, have accounted for half 
the yield gains in major cereal crops since the 1930s. The net gain 
from crop genetics research is estimated to be about $385 million per 
year in the United States and more than $600 million globally. The 
world's population likely will reach 9 billion by about 2050 but 
agricultural experts foresee shortfalls in cropland expansion for food 
production, thus the increased food supply will need to come from 
enhanced yields based on basic and applied research.
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget request would reduce 
funding for the ARS by 11 percent from fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 
2006. The ASM urges Congress to provide at least $1.15 billion for the 
ARS in fiscal year 2008, the same level as fiscal year 2007 and fiscal 
year 2006. The President proposes funding the NRI at $257 million in 
fiscal year 2008, an increase of $67 million over fiscal year 2007; 
however, $61 million of the increase will be allocated to the 
integrated programs transferred into the NRI and biofuel research, 
providing the NRI with an actual increase of only $6 million for its 
base programs.
Food Safety
    Strong support for the NRI and ARS is needed to provide the 
fundamental research essential to creating efficient and accurate 
technologies for the protection of human health and agricultural 
quality. This research is critical considering there are approximately 
76 million foodborne illness cases in the United States per year. The 
United States has recently suffered from several bacterial foodborne 
illness outbreaks, including a widespread E. coli outbreak in spinach 
last summer that sickened more than 200 people and killed three. 
Several other outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli also occurred last 
year. The most recent problem resulted in a large recall of all Peter 
Pan and certain Great Value peanut butter contaminated with salmonella.
    Recently, USDA supported scientists identified a safe and effective 
new sanitizer (acidified sodium chlorite, or SANOVA) that achieved a 5-
log reduction of E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and 
Salmonella on produce even in the presence of large organic loads. The 
researchers optimized sanitation treatment procedures to ensure good 
quality of shredded carrot and fresh-cut lettuce while maintaining the 
effective killing power of the sanitizer.
    Because livestock and poultry are often the original source of 
pathogens (even in the case of produce-borne outbreaks), additional 
research is needed to strengthen production safeguards that can protect 
animal and human health. Other ARS research groups have been developing 
interventions using bacteriocins (natural antimicrobial agents) and 
bacteriophage (bacteria-killing agents) that upon commercialization 
will contribute to a reduction in campylobacter on chicken, leading to 
greater food safety.
    Additionally, there is concern that some food borne bacterial 
pathogens may become resistant to certain antimicrobial agents. It is 
necessary to have continued support for antimicrobial resistance 
monitoring programs, such as the National Antimicrobial Resistance 
Monitoring System (NARMS) the Collaboration on Animal Health Food 
Safety Epidemiology (CAHFSE) program to generate data that will guide 
appropriate interventions in the food production chain to minimize and 
contain antimicrobial resistant bacterial pathogens in the food supply.
    Through the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the USDA is 
ensuring the Nation's food quality, providing safety interventions, and 
contributing to pathogen reduction. The ASM supports the President's 
fiscal year 2008 requested increases above fiscal year 2007 of 4.8 
percent and 35.4 percent for FSIS and APHIS respectively.
    In 2002, the import share of total U.S. food consumption was 13 
percent and continues to grow today. As agricultural imports increase, 
it is important to develop better systems to screen produce and other 
food imports at the borders. Federal support of research is needed to 
develop better methods for rapid detection, sampling, and intervention 
to protect the public from food borne pathogens.
Bioeconomy Based Systems
    Agricultural research is a critical component of discovering 
biobased products such as polymers, lubricants, solvents, composites, 
and energy. The USDA research programs expand science-based knowledge 
and technologies to support the efficient, economical and 
environmentally friendly conversion of biomass, more specifically 
agricultural and municipal residuals into value-added industrial 
products and biofuels. Microbial research is essential to understanding 
and thus creating efficient conversion and production methods of 
biomass.
    As research in the area of biofuels and bioenergy expands, it also 
affects other aspects of food production such as the fact that corn 
prices for livestock will increase as more is diverted to biofuel 
production potentially affecting the food supply, exports, and 
agricultural practices overall. The ASM urges the USDA to expand 
further the research programs on alternative bioenergy production to 
explore new resources and methods that would not compete with the food 
system, such as cellulose-based fermentation.
    The ASM notes that more research is needed to understand the impact 
that removing biomass for energy and other products has on the 
sustainability of soils and water. Since soil sustainability is 
intrinsically linked to the microbial health of the soil, and the 
health of soil can directly affect its ability to filter and clean 
water, a greater understanding of soil microbiology is essential to 
ensuring sustainability.
    Greater support for the NRI and ARS is essential to address the 
challenges of the emerging biobased industry with programs that support 
research, development and demonstration.
Climate Change
    One of the most pressing issues faced by plant and animal producers 
is adapting to the impact of global change and climate on crop or 
animal production. Changing climate may alter bacterial and fungal 
pathogen pressures on plant and animal production and nutrient cycling 
and availability. Agriculture can contribute to a reduction in 
greenhouse gases that are microbial driven. The agricultural community 
needs scientific information for planning and decision making, to 
ensure economic viability. Scientific information on global change and 
climate and its impacts on soils, water, air, microbial biology, as 
well as plant and animal biology, and the general environment will 
produce robust simulation models to provide guidance on the relative 
benefits associated with agronomic decisions.
    Current NRI-funded weather and climate projects focus on 
determining the effects of global change and climate on land-based 
systems and the global carbon cycle and on identifying agricultural and 
forestry activities that can help reduce greenhouse gas concentrations. 
Research can help identify, describe, and quantify processes involved 
in the cycling of organic and inorganic carbon in soil. Strong support 
of NRI is needed to develop new tools for accurately measuring 
greenhouse gases, methods for measuring and estimating carbon in 
ecosystems at different scales, and effective ways to sustain 
productivity in a changing environment. Information from this research 
can be used to achieve national goals on carbon dioxide and methane 
emissions reductions.
Genomics
    The Microbial Genome Sequencing Program has been supported jointly 
by the NRI and the National Science Foundation (NSF) since fiscal year 
2001. The program supports high-throughput sequencing of the genomes of 
a broad range of microorganisms and the development and implementation 
of strategies, tools, and technologies to make currently available 
genome sequences more valuable to the user community. Over 100 
microbial genomes have been sequenced to date because of this program. 
The broad availability of these sequences has led to important insights 
into how the structure and content of microbial genomes affect the 
ability of microorganisms to function and adapt to the environments in 
which they live. The USDA/CSREES and NSF Microbial Genome Sequencing 
Program will lead to improved breeding strategies, increased disease 
resistance, and enhanced yield and nutritive value of agriculturally 
important plants and animals. The ASM urges Congress to provide strong 
support for the USDA genomics initiative.
Soil Processes
    Microbial research is essential in protecting the Nation's natural 
resources, soil and water, and the subsequent impact on the supply and 
quality of food. The NRI is currently supporting research that will 
potentially lead to an effective treatment to entrap, remove, or 
inactivate cryptosporidia oocysts, which persist in soil and water. 
Cryptosporidia are a potentially fatal protozoan that infects humans, 
livestock, and wildlife. When an effective control mechanism is 
developed, it may prove to be effective in dealing with all pathogens, 
including Salmonella, enteric bacteria, and viruses. The ASM urges 
Congress to increase support for the NRI to continue and expand on 
opportunities in soil processes research that is critical for the 
health and well-being of the Nation.
Workforce Development and Training
    Studies project that over the period 2005-2010, employment 
opportunities for U.S. college graduates with expertise in the food, 
agricultural, and natural resources systems are expected to average 
over 52,000 openings per year, with some 49,300 qualified graduates 
available each year for these positions; with approximately 32,300 new 
graduates available from the U.S. colleges of agriculture and life 
sciences, forestry, and veterinary medicine and 17,000 qualified 
graduates from allied higher education programs such as biological 
sciences, engineering, business, health sciences, communication, and 
applied technologies will be available. It is essential to foster 
programs that assess what the future workforce demands will be in 
agricultural research and contribute to workforce development and 
training to meet these demands.
    The ASM urges Congress to increase support for the NRI. As grant 
applications have increased, and funding has remained flat essentially 
for the last 4 years, young scientists are discouraged by the low 
funding rate of just 16 percent. Increasing funding for the NRI will 
increase the funding rate, providing greater opportunity for young 
scientists.
Conclusion
    The ASM urges Congress to increase research funding for the USDA. 
The 2002 Farm Bill stated the sense of Congress to double funding for 
agriculture research over the next 5 years. The ASM is concerned that 
we are losing ground in the important field of agricultural research, 
just as the challenges the Nation faces in competitiveness, food 
safety, energy, and climate change, places more emphasis on the need 
for greater research to answer these demands.
    The ASM appreciates the opportunity to provide written testimony 
and would be pleased to assist the Subcommittee as it considers the 
fiscal year 2008 appropriation for the USDA.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the American Society for Microbiology

    The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) appreciates the 
opportunity to comment on the fiscal year 2008 budget submission for 
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The ASM is the largest single 
life science Society with over 42,000 members, who work in academic, 
clinical, government and industry laboratories and are involved in 
research and diagnostic testing. The Society has a special interest in 
the activities of the FDA which are critical to safeguarding the health 
and welfare of the public. The ASM supports an increase in funding for 
FDA activities, which are expanding because of scientific innovations, 
rapid globalization and new and reemerging diseases. The ASM urges that 
the FDA budget be increased and specifically recommends a significant 
increase for FDA Food Safety activities. An increase in the FDA budget 
will better equip the agency to address new public health issues and 
additional funding for food safety programs will help to protect the 
safety and quality of food consumed in the United States.
    The FDA has enormous responsibilities that affect the public every 
day. About 20 percent of consumer spending in the United States buys 
FDA regulated products, an annual expenditure of nearly $1.5 trillion. 
The FDA plays a critical role in overseeing and evaluating new products 
with significant potential to greatly improve public health and reduce 
costs to society. Annual spending on health care in the United States 
reached nearly $2 trillion in 2005. Last year, FDA approved an array of 
new cost containing medical advances, including vaccines to fight 
cervical cancer, shingles, and gastroenteritis. FDA scientific and 
support staff must be prepared to respond to disease outbreaks, like 
those recently linked to contaminated salad greens and peanut butter. 
It is essential that FDA receive the federal funding which it needs to 
meet its changing and expanding regulatory responsibilities.
    The proposed fiscal year 2008 budget for FDA includes $1.64 billion 
in budget authority and nearly $444 million to be collected as industry 
user fees, an overall 6.8 percent increase above the fiscal year 2007 
request. The fiscal year 2008 budget authority includes a net increase 
of $95.3 million to subsidize high priority initiatives identified as 
crucial by the FDA and external reviewers. The ASM agrees that this is 
a justifiable and wise investment in these priority initiatives, which 
include strengthening food safety, modernizing FDA drug safety 
programs, and assuring FDA expertise and infrastructure upgrades.
Strengthening Food Safety
    Foodborne disease continues to be a problem in the United States. 
In 2006, FDA investigators helped pinpoint the sources of pathogens in 
familiar products sold at grocery stores and restaurants, by testing 
contaminated spinach and lettuce, oysters, and peanut butter. More than 
250 foodborne illnesses are recognized by the FDA's Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Federal officials estimate that 
each year about 76 million become sick, more than 300,000 are 
hospitalized, and 5,000 die from foodborne illnesses. The high priority 
initiative to enhance food safety includes much needed improvements 
like hiring experts in fresh produce microbiology, enhancing geographic 
information systems (GIS/GPS) to better map disease outbreaks, and 
expanding genomic databases used in screening imported foods.
    The FDA's food program regulates $417 billion worth of U.S. 
produced foods, $49 billion in imported foods, and $59 billion in 
cosmetics, from point of entry or production to point of sale. Global 
marketing, the threat of bioterrorist agents added to foods, changing 
American diets, and the rapidly growing diet supplement industry 
converge to further complicate FDA efforts toward a safe food supply. 
CFSAN personnel oversee consumer products as diverse as tattoo inks and 
infant formula. In fiscal year 2006, they inspected lettuce farming and 
processing operations in California, completed construction of a high 
level containment laboratory to develop methods for identifying 
biothreat agents, established a repository of pathogenic Escherichia 
coli O157:H7, and augmented advanced research tools for pinpointing 
sources of contamination by specific bacterial strains.
    The fiscal year 2008 budget request includes $10.6 million to 
strengthen the FDA's food safety activities, as part of the overall 
$467 million allocated to the agency's Foods Program (a 4 percent 
increase over fiscal year 2007). The proposed increase in FDA's food 
safety activities is not sufficient to provide the resources needed to 
ensure adequate protection and programs based on the best science. The 
FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of 75 percent of 
the food consumed in the United States. Despite the fact that 
additional funding was provided to FDA in the 2007 Joint Resolution, no 
increase was provided for food safety. The food safety program must, 
therefore, absorb infrastructure and payroll costs at the expense of 
funding critical program needs. When the fiscal year 2008 CFSAN food 
safety request is compared to funding for food safety in the 2007 Joint 
Resolution, the net increase in fiscal year 2008 is only $1 million. 
The proposed increase for food safety activities at CFSAN would be at 
the expense of current CFSAN programs.
    FDA food safety activities are not able to keep pace with the 
demands to protect food in this country. The two primary centers within 
FDA that address food safety are CFSAN and the Office of Regulatory 
Affairs (ORA). In fiscal year 2004, CFSAN was authorized 901 FTEs, with 
a major focus on addressing food safety issues. Since then, several 
additional responsibilities have been delegated to the Center for 
regulatory oversight, including nutritional claims, food allergens, 
nanotechnology, and food security, and major reductions in appropriated 
personnel positions have occurred. In fiscal year 2008, only 756 FTEs 
have been proposed for CFSAN. In addition, in fiscal year 2004 2,086 
FTEs were appropriated for ORA, the inspection program of FDA. About 30 
percent of the ORA is allotted to food inspection, which equates to 626 
inspectors. In fiscal year 2008, 1,946 FTEs have been proposed for ORA, 
which equates to 584 for food inspectors. Currently, the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS) has approximately 7,600 inspectors for approximately 6,500 meat 
and poultry processing facilities. FDA has about 600 food inspectors 
for over 50,000 food processing facilities which the agency oversees. 
The FDA would need at least 58,500 inspectors to be on par with the 
USDA-FSIS meat and poultry inspection program. Both FDA's CFSAN and the 
foods program within ORA are woefully under funded to adequately 
accomplish the tasks required to verify the safety of the U.S. food 
supply. Addressing gaps in inspection and compliance, enhancing 
scientific risk assessment, management and analysis, and science based 
food standards are examples of areas in need of new resources to 
provide adequate public health protection to the nation's food supply. 
The ASM recommends the FDA Food Safety programs be appropriated an 
additional $75 million to strengthen CFSAN and ORA Food Safety 
activities.
    The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulates animal 
drugs and feeds used to care for a momentous number of animals: 9 
billion chickens, 266 million turkeys, 97 million cattle, 61 million 
pigs, 11 million sheep and goats, 130 million dogs and cats, and 5 
million horses. The current recall of 60 million containers of pet food 
by a major Canadian manufacturer, following reports of kidney failure 
in dogs and cats, is the most recent example of CVM's rapid response to 
consumer complaints. The FDA quickly alerted the public and the media 
of the potential threat to pet health, while CVM personnel are onsite 
at the company's U.S. plants to search for any connection between the 
reported cases and product processing. The fiscal year 2008 budget 
requests $106 million to support FDA's supervision of animal drugs and 
feeds, roughly a 7 percent increase. CVM programs slated to receive a 
funding increase include an interagency effort against the rising 
incidence of drug resistant microorganisms. In September 2006, the FDA 
released its third annual retail meat report, based on laboratory 
testing for resistance among meat associated microorganisms, part of 
the interagency National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System. 
The FDA also issued an order last year that prohibits the extra label 
use in poultry of two classes of human anti influenza drugs, to avoid 
emergence of resistant strains of type A influenza that include the 
avian H5N1 virus. Other fiscal year 2008 funding targets are vigilance 
against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and evaluation 
of genetically modified animals as human food sources. Emerging 
infectious diseases and cutting edge science force regulators to adapt, 
to acquire new scientific methods and evaluate previously unknown food 
safety issues. Last December, the FDA issued three draft documents on 
the safety of animal cloning, concluding that meat and milk from clones 
and their offspring are safe as food, but asking producers to refrain 
from selling such products until final documents are released following 
public comment. The three documents illustrate the breadth and 
complexity of FDA oversight of specific food sources: a draft risk 
assessment, a proposed risk management plan, and a draft guidance for 
industry.
Modernizing Drug Safety
    In 2006, two reports released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 
warned health officials about high numbers of prescription drug 
dispensing errors and about problems with drug safety oversight. The 
first report estimated that at least 1.5 million preventable adverse 
drug events (ADEs) occur each year in the United States. The report 
also concluded that preventable ADEs in hospitals alone could be 
costing the U.S. economy about $3.5 billion annually in treatment 
expenses, adding that the extra cost of drug error related illness and 
death in the ambulatory setting had already reached an estimated $177.4 
billion by 2000. In response to these crises in prescription errors, 
the proposed fiscal year 2008 budget specifically requests nearly $9 
million to modernize FDA's drug safety programs. The FDA expects the 
fiscal year 2008 initiative to revolutionize the agency's ability to 
identify drug safety issues, by collecting surveillance numbers from 
more databases, acquiring the latest scientific tools to evaluate drugs 
and patient reactions, hiring specialist investigators to detect and 
resolve problems, and improving communication on safety to all 
stakeholders.
    The proposed fiscal year 2008 budget sets aside nearly $571 million 
for the FDA's ongoing oversight of human drugs, a 10 percent increase 
over fiscal year 2007. Without adequate funding, the quality of drug 
oversight will deteriorate at the same time as regulatory demands are 
expanding steadily. Each year, the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and 
Research (CDER) evaluates growing numbers of new and on-market drug 
products, routinely investigating adverse medical events and clarifying 
consumer information included in packaging. In 2006, the FDA approved 
several significant new drugs after extensive research and review, 
including the first inhaled insulin for self treatment by adult 
patients, the first drug patch for depression, the first drug treatment 
for a rare glycogen storage disease (Pompe disease, designated an FDA 
orphan drug), and the first drug for dementia of Parkinson's disease. 
Throughout the year, the agency announced a number of drug labeling 
changes based on adverse event reports. The FDA also contributed to 
ongoing counterbioterrorism initiatives, approving a nerve agent 
treatment for use by civilian emergency personnel and generic versions 
of a drug already FDA approved for inhalational anthrax.
Improving Generic Drug Review
    The budget requests $5.6 million to improve the evaluation of new 
generic drugs and $15.7 million in new generic drug user fees to be 
collected from drug manufacturers to underwrite the rapidly expanding 
generic drug industry. In 2005, prescription drug sales accounted for 
roughly 10 percent of the $2 trillion in total health care spending 
(about $200.7 billion), making medications the third largest spending 
category. During the past six years, generic drug applications to the 
FDA's Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) increased by 158 percent (793 in 
fiscal year 2006), and the OGD estimates that 857 applications will be 
filed in fiscal year 2008. The fiscal year 2008 request to fund the 
FDA's generic drug initiative recognizes this expanding demand on FDA 
oversight. The agency already has implemented steps to improve program 
efficiency, to shorten turn around time for applications. It estimates 
that funding for the fiscal year 2008 initiative will permit approval 
of as many as 550 generic drugs annually, reducing U.S. prescription 
drug costs and making more treatments available to more patients. In 
fiscal year 2006, the FDA approved or tentatively approved a record 510 
new generic drug applications. Among those approved were 13 HIV/AIDS 
drugs and medications for hyperlipidemia, depression, osteoarthritis, 
and high cholesterol.
Modernizing Biologics Safety
    The initiative to modernize drug safety, which is allocated $11.2 
million in the fiscal year 2008 budget, includes more than $2.2 million 
to enhance safety assessments of biologics, blood and blood products, 
human tissue, cell and gene therapies, vaccines, and allergenic 
products. Statistics from 2006 reveal the extent of products regulated 
by the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER): more 
than 14 million units of blood and blood products transfused, over 235 
million vaccinations administered, and more than one million human 
tissues transplanted. Funding would expand postmarket surveillance, 
strengthen adverse event assessment, and improve communication with the 
medical community and other partners. The overall fiscal year 2008 
budget for the Biologics Program would be $216 million, a 10.8 percent 
increase over fiscal year 2007 that properly recognizes safe biologic 
products save lives and economic resources. CBER scientists must be 
able to evaluate cutting edge product development, including their 
involvement in the nearly 250 new gene therapy studies presently 
overseen by the Center. CBER oversight has been highly effective; for 
example, the risk of HIV and hepatitis C transmission through blood 
transfusion has been reduced from 1 in 100 units in the 1980s to less 
than 1 in a million units today. Cost effective vaccines in particular 
are credited with saving thousands of lives and millions of dollars in 
health care costs. In 2006, CBER approved new vaccines against three 
pathogenic viruses that cause significant death and disability: human 
papillomavirus (cervical cancer, sexually transmitted disease), herpes 
zoster virus (shingles), and rotavirus (gastroenteritis in infants and 
children).
Improving Medical Device Safety
    A high priority initiative proposed in the fiscal year 2008 budget 
would help the FDA better evaluate the safety of a wide range of 
medical devices marketed in the United States. Of the $285 million 
allocated to the Medical Devices Program, about $7.2 million will fund 
specific advances in safety analysis and consumer information provided 
by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). As elsewhere 
in the FDA, demands on CDRH staff are being intensified by global 
market forces, rapidly advancing technologies, and shifting population 
demographics. In fiscal year 2006, CDRH received over 150,000 adverse 
event reports requiring review and in some cases follow up actions to 
protect the public health. Last year, FDA personnel continued 
collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission and eBay to make 
certain that unapproved medical devices were not being sold on the 
website. The CDRH also approved innovative devices with significant 
health enhancing potential, including the first easy to use portable 
lead poisoning test system, a device that will reduce brain damage in 
some hospitalized infants by keeping the head cool, a rapid diagnostic 
test for avian influenza viruses based on polymerase chain reaction 
(PCR) technology, and a sensor that wirelessly transmits blood glucose 
readings in real time for use by diabetics at home. The CDRH recently 
provided the scientific support for a large clinical trial of digital 
mammography, showing that the new technology was significantly more 
accurate than standard film mammography among patients with dense 
breasts, under age 50, or pre and perimenopausal. In fiscal year 2008, 
CDRH expects to certify new mammography facilities after evaluation of 
their technological expertise, plus examine and recertify one third of 
the more than 8,900 existing mammography facilities in the United 
States.
ASM Supports the Proposed FDA Budget for Fiscal Year 2008
    The ASM supports an increase of $75 million in the proposed budget 
for food safety and asks the Congress to appropriate the funding 
necessary to strengthen FDA regulation of foods, drugs, medical devices 
and other products that affect the public health. The ASM reminds the 
Congress that without its highly skilled staff of scientists and 
professionals, the FDA will not succeed in fully protecting U.S. public 
health with activities that are based on the best science available. If 
the agency does not receive adequate funding, it will be forced to 
reduce the number of safety officers, onsite inspectors, product 
reviewers, and laboratory researchers so necessary to effective and 
efficient oversight of FDA regulated products.
                                 ______
                                 

           Prepared Statement of the Animal Health Institute

    Dear Mr. Chairman: I write today to request that you include 
funding for priorities important to the animal health industry in the 
fiscal year 2008 Agriculture Appropriations Bill.
    The Animal Health Institute strongly endorses the Administrations 
fiscal year 2008 budget request of $19.867 million for the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Center for Veterinary Biologics, an 
increase of about $4.4 million over its fiscal year 2007 funding level. 
For the past three fiscal years, CVB's funding has not included cost of 
living increases, so no progress has been made in filling vacant 
positions for reviewers, inspectors, and laboratory personnel. The CVB 
Inspection and Compliance division is currently at about 65 percent of 
its authorized personnel level, and the Policy, Evaluation, and 
Licensing division (including the laboratory) is below 50 percent. 
CVB's leadership anticipates that another year of level funding would 
force staff cutbacks in order to absorb the new activities relating to 
beginning operations in the new laboratories and added security 
responsibilities.
    Every year, U.S. animal health companies produce 83 billion doses 
of animal vaccines. These vaccines are critical to protecting the 
health of America's flocks, herds, and pets from domestic and foreign 
animal diseases. Animal health companies, for instance, are developing 
new and innovative biologic to greatly reduce the presence of food-
borne pathogens in animals just prior to slaughter, resulting in less 
pressure on pathogen reduction programs during processing. These new 
products represent a step forward in on-farm contributions to food 
safety. The lack of funding at CVB is dire, and threatens the 
innovation and availability of these products.
    Additionally, Congress has authorized the Animal Drug User Fee Act, 
implementing a system of performance standards and user fees to improve 
the new animal drug review process at FDA's Center for Veterinary 
Medicine. Now in the fourth year of ADUFA implementation, CVM continues 
to make steady progress toward its performance goals. Animal producers 
will benefit from a supply of new and innovative products being brought 
to market more efficiently. The Committee has generously funded the 
fees in the previous four appropriations cycles. The President's budget 
proposal includes $13.696 million that needs to be appropriated for 
fiscal year 2008, the last year of ADUFA authorization. The fiscal year 
2008 user fee request includes the first quarter of fees for fiscal 
year 2009, funds which would be needed to ramp down the program if it 
were not reauthorized. The industry and Administration have not yet 
begun to negotiate a re-authorization agreement, but we are confident 
that ADUFA will be reauthorized. We ask for the user fees to be 
included in this year's appropriations bill. Similar to appropriations 
for the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, this appropriation is entirely 
budget neutral as the money will be provided by animal health 
companies.
    The Animal Health Institute also endorses the President's budget 
request of $94.809 million for FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine 
(CVM). This amount includes the additional budget authority that is 
needed to make sure that user fee triggers are met. The additional 
funding will ensure that CVM is able to continue essential post market 
safety programs that would otherwise be adversely affected in order to 
meet ADUFA trigger fee requirements.
    Finally, the Animal Health Institute strongly urges the Committee 
to fund the Administration's request of $1.8 million for the 
Collaboration for Animal Health and Food Safety Epidemiology (CAHFSE), 
a joint effort of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the 
Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Agricultural Research 
Service. CAHFSE will enable USDA to identify and track emerging 
diseases and identify and implement mitigation strategies in a timely 
manner thereby averting economic, animal health, and public health 
consequences. Further, it will provide comprehensive, science based 
answers regarding animal health and public health and will serve as a 
model for future surveillance efforts on a national level. Finally, it 
is the only pre-harvest food safety request included in the President's 
budget request.
    Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact 
me if you have any questions or need additional information.
                                 ______
                                 

           Prepared Statement of the Animal Welfare Institute

    Dear Mr. Chairman: We are writing in support of an fiscal year 2008 
appropriation of $1.8 million for the Animal Welfare Information Center 
(AWIC) at the National Agricultural Library. The AWIC was established 
in 1986 in response to a mandate in the Improved Standards for 
Laboratory Animals amendment to the Animal Welfare Act. The Center 
serves as a clearinghouse, training center, and education resource for 
those involved in the use of animals for research, testing and 
teaching, and the need and demand for its services continue to outstrip 
its ability to respond. The AWIC's subject areas include husbandry, 
handling, and care of animals; personnel training; animal behavior; 
alternatives; improved methodologies; environmental enrichment of non-
human primates, and pain control via anesthesia and analgesia. Further 
information on the Center is on the web at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/
awic.
    The AWIC staff also compiles and distributes information resources 
from the scientific literature on zoonotic diseases such as avian 
influenza, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, tuberculosis, 
etc.
    An appropriation of $1.8 million would be used as follows:
  --$1,273,000--Staff salary and benefits, including 2 critical new 
        positions to support and enhance the use and usability of 
        AWIC's most essential tool, its database. A Technical 
        Information Specialist is needed to meet growing demand for 
        complex AWIC database searches; to train the research community 
        to meet the AWA's information requirements; and to produce 
        large topical information resources. A new Information 
        Technology Specialist would build, manage, and improve use of 
        the AWIC database.
  --$61,400--Present exhibitions at conferences, including 3 regional 
        AALAS conference in underserved areas of the country
  --$36,000--Present workshops in cooperation with Animal Care to 
        assist licensees/registrants frequently cited for AWA 
        violations
  --$28,000--Prepare and conduct informational workshops at research 
        institutions across the country
  --$4,100--Prepare and conduct local workshops
  --$38,000--Acquisition of and electronic access to data
  --$29,200--Printing and reproduction (paper and electronic)
  --$26,000--Office supplies (software, hardware, etc.)
  --$20,400--Internet services
  --$13,900--NAL staff training
  --$270,000 overhead to ARS and NAL
    AWIC's services are vitally important to the nation's biomedical 
research enterprise because they facilitate compliance with specific 
requirements of the Federal animal welfare regulations and policies 
governing animal-related research. In addition, the AWIC provides 
extensive research services for us, thereby greatly benefiting our work 
on animal research issues. We appreciate and look forward to a 
continued working relationship with the Animal Welfare Information 
Center and hope you will support our modest request for appropriations.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of the California Industry and Government Central 
                    California Ozone Study Coalition

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of the 
California Industry and Government Central California Ozone Study 
(CCOS) Coalition, we are pleased to submit this statement for the 
record in support of our fiscal year 2008 funding request of $400,000 
from the Department of Agriculture for CCOS. These funds are necessary 
for the State of California to address the very significant challenges 
it faces to comply with new national ambient air quality standards for 
ozone and fine particulate matter. The study design incorporates 
technical recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 
on how to most effectively comply with Federal Clean Air Act 
requirements.
    First, we want to thank you for your past assistance in obtaining 
Federal funding for the Central California Ozone Study (CCOS) and 
California Regional PM10/PM2.5 Air Quality Study 
(CRPAQS). Your support of these studies has been instrumental in 
improving the scientific understanding of the nature and cause of ozone 
and particulate matter air pollution in Central California and the 
Nation. Information gained from these two studies is forming the basis 
for the 8-hour ozone, PM2.5, and regional haze State 
Implementation Plans (SIPs) that are due in 2007 (ozone) and 2008 
(particulate matter/haze). As with California's previous and current 
SIPs, all future SIPs will continue to be updated and refined due to 
the scientific complexity of our air pollution problem. Our request 
this year would fund the completion of CCOS to address important 
questions that won't be answered with results from previously funded 
research projects.
    To date, our understanding of air pollution and the technical basis 
for SIPs has largely been founded on pollutant-specific studies, like 
CCOS. These studies are conducted over a single season or single year 
and have relied on modeling and analysis of selected days with high 
concentrations. SIPs are now more complex than they were in the past. 
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) now recommends a weight-of-
evidence approach that will involve utilizing more broad-based, 
integrated methods, such as data analysis in combination with seasonal 
and annual photochemical modeling, to assess compliance with Federal 
Clean Air Act requirements. This will involve the analysis of a larger 
number of days and possibly an entire season. In addition, because 
ozone and particulate matter are formed from some of the same emissions 
precursors, there is a need to address both pollutants in combination, 
which CCOS will do.
    Consistent with the NAS recommendations, the CCOS study includes 
corroborative analyses with the extensive data provided by past 
studies, advances the state-of-science in air quality modeling, and 
addresses the integration of ozone and particulate pollution studies. 
In addition, the study will incorporate further refinements to emission 
inventories, address the development of observation-based analyses with 
sound theoretical bases, and includes the following four general 
components:
  --Performing SIP modeling analyses--2005-2011
  --Conducting weight-of-evidence data analyses--2006-2008
  --Making emission inventory improvements--2006-2010
  --Performing seasonal and annual modeling--2008-2011
    CCOS is directed by Policy and Technical Committees consisting of 
representatives from Federal, State, and local governments, as well as 
private industry. These committees, which managed the San Joaquin 
Valley Ozone Study and are currently managing the California Regional 
Particulate Air Quality Study, are landmark examples of collaborative 
environmental management. The proven methods and established teamwork 
provide a solid foundation for CCOS.
    For fiscal year 2008, our Coalition is seeking funding of $400,000 
from the Department of Agriculture/CSREES in support of CCOS. Domestic 
agriculture is facing increasing international competition. Costs of 
production and processing are becoming increasingly more critical. With 
the recent SJV PM10 SIP and the upcoming ozone and 
PM2.5 SIPs, the agricultural industry within the study area 
is facing many new requirements to manage and reduce their air quality 
impacts. The identification of scientifically validated, cost-effective 
options for reducing the environmental impacts of on-field and 
livestock related air emissions will contribute significantly to the 
long-term health and economic stability of local agriculture. Funding 
will support livestock and crop-related research that will help 
maintain a vital agricultural industry within the state. Research will 
be focused to measure baseline emissions, and to study the most 
economical and effective approaches for reducing the impacts of 
agriculture on air quality. These studies also have nationwide 
benefits.
    The funding request is for: (1) Study of agricultural volatile 
organic compound (VOC) emissions from pesticide application that will 
help answer questions relevant to farmers and regulators throughout the 
Nation, (2) Evaluation of baseline livestock emissions (VOCs, 
PM10, ammonia) and effective methods to reduce these 
emissions, (3) Development of livestock facility emissions models as 
recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and (4) Improvement of 
emissions estimates for agricultural related diesel engines, both on-
road and off-road. This includes emission factors, activity data, fleet 
characteristics, seasonality of emissions, and benefits of incentive 
programs to accelerate the introduction of cleaner engines.
    Thank you very much for your consideration of our request.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of the Coalition on Funding Agricultural Research 
                                Missions

    The Coalition on Funding Agricultural Research Missions (CoFARM) 
appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony on the fiscal year 2008 
appropriation for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
CoFARM is a coalition of 24 professional scientific organizations with 
over 200,000 members dedicated to advancing and sustaining a balanced 
investment in our nation's research portfolio.
    The USDA sponsors research and education programs which contribute 
to solving agricultural problems of high national priority and ensuring 
food availability, nutrition, quality and safety, as well as a 
competitive agricultural economy. Agriculture faces new challenges, 
including threats from emerging infectious diseases in plants and 
animals, climate change, and public concern about food safety and 
security. It is critical to increase the visibility and investment in 
agriculture research to respond to these challenges, and we appreciate 
the efforts of Congress to fund the National Research Initiative (NRI) 
at $190 million in fiscal year 2007. We urge the Subcommittee to 
support the Administration's fiscal year 2008 request of $257 million 
for this program.
USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program
    The National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRI) 
was established in 1991 in response to recommendations outlined in the 
report, Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the 
Agricultural, Food and Environmental System, by the National Research 
Council's (NRC) Board of Agriculture. This report called for increased 
funding by USDA of high priority research through a competitive peer-
review process directed at:
  --Increasing the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.
  --Improving human health and well-being through an abundant, safe, 
        and high-quality food supply.
  --Sustaining the quality and productivity of the natural resources 
        and the environment upon which agriculture depends.
    Stakeholders of the research community continue their interest in 
and support of the NRI, which is reflected in two subsequent NRC 
reports, Investing in the National Research Initiative: An Update of 
the Competitive Grants Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
published in 1994, and National Research Initiative: A Vital 
Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural Resources 
Research, published in 2000.
    Today, the NRI, housed within USDA's Cooperative State Research, 
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), supports research on key 
problems of national and regional importance in biological, 
environmental, nutritional, physical, and social sciences relevant to 
agriculture, food, health and the environment on a peer-reviewed, 
competitive basis. Additionally, NRI enables USDA to develop new 
partnerships with other Federal agencies that advance agricultural 
science like its current collaborations between NRI and DOE and NSF.
    CoFARM urges Congress to support the Administration's requested 
increase for NRI in fiscal year 2008. NRI's proposed increase comes 
from the shifting of CSREES Integrated Activities, such as food safety, 
pest management, and water quality, making up $42 million of the 
proposed increase, providing a net increase of $25 million for NRI. The 
Administration also requests $19 million of the NRI budget be used for 
bioenergy research. CoFARM supports the Administration's effort to 
increase competitively awarded funding mechanisms.
    By increasing the funding for this program, the United States is 
investing in our nation's future. Failure to make this investment will 
imperil the future of agriculture in the United States by reducing 
competitiveness and decreasing productivity. With limited dollars our 
scientists already produce an annual rate of return of at least 40 
percent.\1\ This high rate of return suggests that an increase in funds 
to agricultural research would be beneficial to the U.S. economy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ ``Agricultural Research and Productivity: Questions and 
Answers,'' USDA Economic Research Service, December 2005. http://
www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/AgResearch/Questions/APRDQA6.HTM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Because of Federal investment, we have made since 1991, we have 
gained valuable new knowledge in areas such as:
Food Safety and Nutrition
    USDA funded competitive research has supported studies to 
understand incentives for firms to adopt food safety controls and 
industry response to losses when products are recalled for food safety 
violations.
    USDA supported scientists identified a safe and effective new 
sanitizer (SANOVA) that achieved a 5-log reduction of E. coli, 
Listeria, and Salmonella on produce even in the presence of large 
organic loads. The researchers optimized sanitation treatment 
procedures to ensure good quality of shredded carrot and fresh-cut 
lettuce while maintaining the effective killing power of the sanitizer. 
This research is critical considering there are approximately 76 
million foodborne illness cases in the U.S. per year and the findings 
from this research is especially useful to the fresh produce industry 
as they provide practical information in selecting a suitable sanitizer 
to maintain microbial safety and quality of fruits and vegetables.
    Iowa State University researchers have studied fatty acid 
composition in beef and dairy cattle through a NRI funded grant. They 
have discovered a single nucleotide polymorphism that is correlated to 
content of C14-O (myristic acid, the most atherogenic of saturated 
fatty acids) of beef. Thus, the marker in the throesterase domain in 
fatty acid synthase gene can be used to select for healthier beef.
    University of Illinois scientists are involved with the assessment 
of general risk posed from transgenic animals, which is important to 
their future contributions to society. Identification of potentially 
harmful properties of transgenic livestock is the initial step in a 
risk assessment. Direct and indirect impacts of potential harmful 
properties of transgenic livestock are being evaluated at three levels: 
(1) characterization of how the transgene, the transgene product, and 
the transgenic livestock behave in their immediate environment, that 
is, in their barn or pen, (2) determination of possible impacts of 
large scale release of transgenic livestock, that is, if they were to 
be integrated into the larger population of food animal livestock, and 
(3) determination of the more complex environmental and safety 
consequences of their release into the livestock population. This study 
will determine whether a mammary specific transgene, bovine a-
lactalbumin (Ba-LA) is expressed in tissues other than the mammary 
gland and whether the transgene (Tg) itself, the transgenic RNA or the 
transgenic protein cross over into non-transgenic (C) animals under 
various physiological and physical conditions.
Renewable Energy and Fuels
    In a time of volatile gasoline prices, USDA dollars have helped 
provide economic and policy analyses for specific renewable energy 
technologies and will estimate national impacts of certain renewable 
energy policy alternatives.
    An April 2005 joint study of the U.S. Departments of Energy and 
Agriculture found that with continued advances in research there will 
be enough renewable biomass grown in the United States. to meet more 
than one-third of the current demand for transportation fuels in the 
nation, without diverting from food crop production.\2\ With advances 
in plant and microbial research, land in every state in the nation 
could be used to grow plants that produce clean-burning cellulosic 
ethanol resulting in decreased dependence on foreign oil, reduction of 
the trade deficit, reduced emissions of stored greenhouse gases, 
revitalized rural economies and strengthened national security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ ``Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts 
Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply, 
April 2005'' http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/
final_billionton_vision_report2.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant and Animal Health and Well-Being
    Pennsylvania researchers are developing rapid diagnostic tests to 
curb avian influenza, a disease that could cripple the state's $700 
million poultry industry.
    Entomologists and Nematologists developed a vaccine for the 
protection of cattle from the horn fly, a major insect pest in many 
parts of the world costing the North American cattle industry alone 
more than $1 billion annually.
    Iowa State University researchers studied fatty liver syndrome in 
dairy cattle. They found that daily injections of glucagon can be used 
to prevent and treat fatty liver in transition dairy cows. A patent has 
been issued for this technology.
Waste Remediation
    Researchers in Florida have tested a common fern's ability to soak 
up arsenic, a cancer-causing heavy metal, from contaminated soils. The 
market for plant-based remediation of wastes is estimated to be $370 
million in 2005.
    With the support of Congress, increased funding for research will 
continue to boost the American agricultural enterprise and improve our 
economy by increasing food safety, boosting production, protecting the 
environment, finding new uses for renewable resources, and enhancing 
food itself so that food and agricultural systems contribute to a 
stronger and more healthful society. Research programs in nutrition and 
food science help to ensure high-quality, safe, and affordable food for 
consumers, and contribute to the success of a food and agricultural 
system that creates jobs and income in the United States.
    CoFARM appreciates the opportunity to provide written testimony and 
would be pleased to assist the Subcommittee as the Department of 
Agriculture bill is considered throughout the appropriations process.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum

    The Congress concluded that the Colorado River Basin Salinity 
Control Program (Program) should be implemented in the most cost-
effective way. Realizing that agricultural on-farm strategies were some 
of the most cost-effective strategies, the Congress authorized a 
program for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through 
amendment of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act in 1984. 
With the enactment of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 
Act of 1996 (FAIRA), the Congress directed that the Program should 
continue to be implemented as one of the components of the 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Since the enactment of 
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) in 2002, there have 
been, for the first time in a number of years, opportunities to 
adequately fund the Program within the EQIP.
    The Program, as set forth in the Colorado River Basin Salinity 
Control Act, is to benefit Lower Basin water users hundreds of miles 
downstream from salt sources in the Upper Basin as the salinity of 
Colorado River water increases as the water flows downstream. There are 
very significant economic damages caused by high salt levels in this 
water source. Agriculturalists in the Upper Basin where the salt must 
be controlled, however, don't first look to downstream water quality 
standards but look for local benefits. These local benefits are in the 
form of enhanced beneficial use and improved crop yields. They submit 
cost-effective proposals to the State Conservationists in Utah, Wyoming 
and Colorado and offer to cost share in the acquisition of new 
irrigation equipment. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act 
provides that the seven Colorado River Basin States will also cost 
share with the Federal funds for this effort. This has brought together 
a remarkable partnership.
    After longstanding urgings from the States and directives from the 
Congress, the USDA has concluded that this program is different than 
small watershed enhancement efforts common to the EQIP. In this case, 
the watershed to be considered stretches more than 1,200 miles from the 
river's headwater in the Rocky Mountains to the river's terminus in the 
Gulf of California in Mexico and receives water from numerous 
tributaries. The USDA has determined that this effort should receive a 
special funding designation and has appointed a coordinator for this 
multi-state effort.
    In recent fiscal years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service 
(NRCS) has directed that over $19 million be used for the Program. The 
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) appreciates the 
efforts of the NRCS leadership and the support of this subcommittee. 
The plan for water quality control of the Colorado River was prepared 
by the Forum, adopted by the States, and approved by the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Colorado River Basin 
Salinity Control Advisory Council has taken the position that the 
funding for the salinity control program should not be below $20 
million per year. Over the last three fiscal years, for the first time, 
funding almost reached the needed level. State and local cost-sharing 
is triggered by the Federal appropriation. In fiscal year 2007, it is 
anticipated that the States will cost share with about $8.3 million and 
local agriculture producers will add another $7.5 million. Hence, it is 
anticipated that in fiscal year 2007 the State and local contributions 
will be 45 percent of the total program cost.
    Over the past few years, the NRCS has designated that about 2.5 
percent of the EQIP funds be allocated to the Colorado River salinity 
control program. The Forum believes this is the appropriate future 
level of funding as long as the total EQIP funding nationwide is around 
$1 billion. Funding above this level assists in offsetting pre-fiscal 
year 2003 funding below this level. The Basin States have cost sharing 
dollars available to participate in funding on-farm salinity control 
efforts. The agricultural producers in the Upper Basin are waiting for 
their applications to be considered so that they might improve their 
irrigation equipment and also cost share in the Program.
Overview
    The Program was authorized by the Congress in 1974. The Title I 
portion of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act responded to 
commitments that the United States made, through a Minute of the 
International Boundary and Water Commission, to Mexico specific to the 
quality of water being delivered to Mexico below Imperial Dam. Title II 
of the Act established a program to respond to salinity control needs 
of Colorado River water users in the United States and to comply with 
the mandates of the then newly-enacted Clean Water Act. This testimony 
is in support of funding for the Title II program.
    After a decade of investigative and implementation efforts, the 
Basin States concluded that the Salinity Control Act needed to be 
amended. The Congress agreed and revised the Act in 1984. That 
revision, while keeping the Department of the Interior as lead 
coordinator for Colorado River Basin salinity control efforts, also 
gave new salinity control responsibilities to the USDA. The Congress 
has charged the Administration with implementing the most cost-
effective program practicable (measured in dollars per ton of salt 
controlled). It has been determined that the agricultural efforts are 
some of the most cost-effective opportunities.
    Since Congressional mandates of three decades ago, much has been 
learned about the impact of salts in the Colorado River system. The 
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has conducted studies on the 
economic impact of these salts. Reclamation recognizes that the damages 
to United States' water users alone are hundreds of millions of dollars 
per year.
    The Forum is composed of gubernatorial appointees from Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Forum 
has become the seven-state coordinating body for interfacing with 
Federal agencies and the Congress in support of the implementation of 
the Salinity Control Program. In close cooperation with the EPA and 
pursuant to requirements of the Clean Water Act, every 3 years the 
Forum prepares a formal report evaluating the salinity of the Colorado 
River, its anticipated future salinity, and the program elements 
necessary to keep the salinity concentrations (measured in Total 
Dissolved Solids--TDS) at or below the levels measured in the river 
system in 1972 at Imperial Dam, and below Parker and Hoover Dams.
    In setting water quality standards for the Colorado River system, 
the salinity concentrations at these three locations in 1972 have been 
identified as the numeric criteria. The plan necessary for controlling 
salinity and reducing downstream damages has been captioned the ``Plan 
of Implementation.'' The 2005 Review of water quality standards 
includes an updated Plan of Implementation. In order to eliminate the 
shortfall in salinity control resulting from inadequate Federal funding 
for a number of years from the USDA, the Forum has determined that 
implementation of the Program needs to be accelerated. The level of 
appropriation requested in this testimony is in keeping with the agreed 
upon plan. If adequate funds are not appropriated, significant damages 
from the higher salt concentrations in the water will be more 
widespread in the United States and Mexico.
    Concentrations of salts in the river cause $330 million in 
quantified damages and significantly more in unquantified damages in 
the United States and result in poorer quality water being delivered by 
the United States to Mexico. Damages occur from:
  --a reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased 
        water use for leaching in the agricultural sector,
  --a reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems, 
        water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and 
        dishwashers, and increased use of bottled water and water 
        softeners in the household sector,
  --an increase in the use of water for cooling, and the cost of water 
        softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the 
        commercial sector,
  --an increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment, 
        and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector,
  --a decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the 
        utility sector,
  --difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply 
        with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit 
        terms and conditions, and an increase in desalination and brine 
        disposal costs due to accumulation of salts in groundwater 
        basins, and
  --increased use of imported water for leaching and cost of 
        desalination and brine disposal for recycled water.
    For every 30 mg/L increase in salinity concentrations, there is $75 
million in additional damages in the United States. The Forum, 
therefore, believes implementation of the USDA program needs to be 
funded at 2.5 percent of the total EQIP funding.
    Although the Program thus far has been able to implement salinity 
control measures that comply with the approved plan, recent drought 
years have caused salinity levels to rise in the river. Predictions are 
that this will be the trend for the next several years. This places an 
added urgency for acceleration of the implementation of the Program.
State Cost-Sharing and Technical Assistance
    The authorized cost sharing by the Basin States, as provided by 
FAIRA, was at first difficult to implement as attorneys for the USDA 
concluded that the Basin States were authorized to cost share in the 
effort, but the Congress had not given the USDA authority to receive 
the Basin States' funds. After almost a year of exploring every 
possible solution as to how the cost sharing was to occur, the States, 
in agreement with Reclamation, State officials in Utah, Colorado and 
Wyoming and with NRCS State Conservationists in Utah, Colorado and 
Wyoming, agreed upon a program parallel to the salinity control 
activities provided by the EQIP wherein the States' cost sharing funds 
are being contributed and used. We are now several years into that 
program and, at this moment in time, this solution to how cost sharing 
can be implemented appears to be satisfactory.
    With respect to the Basin States' cost sharing funds, the Basin 
States felt that it was most essential that a portion of the Program be 
associated with technical assistance and education activities in the 
field. Without this necessary support, there is no advanced planning, 
proposals are not well prepared, assertions in the proposals cannot be 
verified, implementation of contracts cannot be observed, and valuable 
partnering and education efforts cannot occur. Recognizing these 
values, the ``parallel'' State cost sharing program expends 40 percent 
of the funds available on these needed support activities made possible 
by contracts with the NRCS. Initially, it was acknowledged that the 
Federal portion of the Program funded through EQIP was starved with 
respect to needed technical assistance and education support. The Forum 
is encouraged with a recent Administration acknowledgment that 
technical assistance must be better funded.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Board of California

    This testimony is in support of funding for the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) with respect to its on-farm Colorado River Basin 
Salinity Control Program for fiscal year 2008. This program has been 
carried out through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act 
(Public Law 93-320), since it was enacted by Congress in 1974. With the 
enactment of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act 
(FAIRA) in 1996 (Public Law 104-127), specific funding for salinity 
control projects in the Colorado River Basin were eliminated from the 
federal budget and aggregated into the Department of Agriculture's 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) as one of its program 
components. With that action, Congress concluded that the salinity 
control program could be more effectively implemented as one of the 
components of the EQIP.
    The Program, as set forth in the Act, benefits both the Upper Basin 
water users through more efficient water management and the Lower Basin 
water users, hundreds of miles downstream from salt sources in the 
Upper Basin, through reduced salinity concentration of Colorado River 
water. California's Colorado River water users are presently suffering 
economic damages in the hundreds of million of dollars per year due to 
the River's salinity.
    The Colorado River Board of California (Colorado River Board) is 
the state agency charged with protecting California's interests and 
rights in the water and power resources of the Colorado River system. 
In this capacity, California along with the other six Colorado River 
Basin states through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum 
(Forum), the interstate organization responsible for coordinating the 
Basin States' salinity control efforts, established numeric criteria in 
June 1975 for salinity concentrations in the River. These criteria were 
established to lessen the future damages in the Lower Basin states of 
Arizona, California, and Nevada, as well as assist the United States in 
delivering water of adequate quality to Mexico in accordance with 
Minute 242 of the International Boundary and Water Commission.
    The goal of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program is to 
offset the effects of water resources development in the Colorado River 
Basin after 1972 as each state develops its Colorado River Compact 
apportionments. In close cooperation with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and pursuant to requirements of the Clean Water 
Act (Public Law 92-500), every 3 years the Forum prepares a formal 
report analyzing the salinity of the Colorado River, anticipated future 
salinity, and the program elements necessary to keep the salinity 
concentrations (measured in Total Dissolved Solids--TDS) at or below 
the levels measured in the Colorado River system in 1972 at Imperial 
Dam, and below Parker and Hoover Dams. The latest report was prepared 
in 2005 titled: 2005 Review, Water Quality Standards for Salinity, 
Colorado River System (2005 Review). The plan necessary for controlling 
salinity and reducing downstream damages has been captioned the ``Plan 
of Implementation.'' The 2005 Review includes an updated Plan of 
Implementation.
    Concentrations of salts in the River annually cause about $330 
million in quantified damage in the United States (there are 
significant unquantified damages as well). For example, damages occur 
from:
  --A reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased 
        water use for leaching in the agricultural sector;
  --A reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems, 
        water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and 
        dishwashers, and increased use of bottled water and water 
        softeners in the household sector;
  --An increase in the use of water for cooling, and the cost of water 
        softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the 
        commercial sector;
  --An increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment, 
        and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector;
  --A decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the 
        utility sector;
  --Difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply 
        with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit 
        terms and conditions, and an increase in desalination and brine 
        disposal costs due to accumulation of salts in groundwater 
        basins, and fewer opportunities for recycling due to 
        groundwater quality deterioration; and
  --Increased use of imported water for leaching and the cost of 
        desalination and brine disposal for recycled water.
    For every 30 milligram per liter increase in salinity 
concentrations, there are $75 million in additional damages in the 
United States. Although the Program, thus far, has been able to 
implement salinity control measures that comply with the approved plan, 
recent drought years have caused salinity levels to rise in the River. 
Predictions are that this will be the trend for the next several years. 
This places an added urgency for acceleration of the implementation of 
the Program.
    Enactment of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 
provided an opportunity to adequately fund the Salinity Program within 
EQIP. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council has 
taken the position that the USDA portion of the effort be funded at 2.5 
percent of the EQIP funding but at least $20.0 million annually. Over 
the past few years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 
has designated 2.5 percent of EQIP funds be allocated to the Colorado 
River Salinity Control program. The Forum suggests that this is an 
appropriate level of funding as long as it does not drop below $20.0 
million. Funding above this level assists in offsetting pre-fiscal year 
2003 funding below this level. The Colorado River Board supports the 
recommendation of the Forum and urges this Subcommittee to support 
funding for the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program for 2008 
at this level.
    These Federal dollars will be augmented by the State cost sharing 
of 30 percent with an additional 25 percent provided by the 
agricultural producers with whom USDA contracts for implementation of 
salinity control measures. Over the past years, the Colorado River 
Basin Salinity Control program has proven to be a very cost effective 
approach to help mitigate the impacts of increased salinity in the 
Colorado River. Continued Federal funding of this important Basin-wide 
program is essential.
    In addition, the Colorado River Board recognizes that the federal 
government has made significant commitments to the Republic of Mexico 
and to the seven Colorado River Basin States with regard to the 
delivery of quality water to Mexico. In order for those commitments to 
continue to be honored, it is essential that in fiscal year 2008, and 
in future fiscal years, that Congress continues to provide funds to 
USDA to allow it to provide needed technical support to agricultural 
producers for addressing salinity control in the Basin.
    The Colorado River is, and will continue to be, a major and vital 
water resource to the 18 million residents of southern California as 
well as throughout the Colorado River Basin. As stated earlier, 
preservation and improvement of the Colorado River water quality 
through an effective salinity control program will avoid the additional 
economic damages to users of Colorado River water in California, 
Arizona, and Nevada.
                                 ______
                                 

             Prepared Statement of Florida State University

Summary of Request
    Florida State University is requesting $4,500,000 from the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; Cooperative State Research, Education and 
Extension Service/Research and Education Activities/Federal Admin. 
Account for the Risk Reduction for Agricultural Crops project for 
fiscal year 2008.
    Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and the Members of the 
Subcommittee for this opportunity to present testimony before this 
Committee. I would like to take a moment to briefly acquaint you with 
Florida State University.
    Located in Tallahassee, Florida's capitol, FSU is a comprehensive 
Research I university with a rapidly growing research base. The 
University serves as a center for advanced graduate and professional 
studies, exemplary research, and top-quality undergraduate programs. 
Faculty members at FSU maintain a strong commitment to quality in 
teaching, to performance of research and creative activities, and have 
a strong commitment to public service. Among the current or former 
faculty are numerous recipients of national and international honors 
including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and several members 
of the National Academy of Sciences. Our scientists and engineers do 
excellent research, have strong interdisciplinary interests, and often 
work closely with industrial partners in the commercialization of the 
results of their research. Florida State University had over $190 
million this past year in research awards.
    Florida State University attracts students from every State in the 
nation and more than 100 foreign countries. The University is committed 
to high admission standards that ensure quality in its student body, 
which currently includes National Merit and National Achievement 
Scholars, as well as students with superior creative talent.
    At Florida State University, we are very proud of our successes as 
well as our emerging reputation as one of the Nation's top public 
research universities.
    Mr. Chairman, let me summarize our primary interest today. The 
Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC), which consists of Florida State 
University, the University of Florida, the University of Miami, the 
University of Georgia, Auburn University, and University of Alabama at 
Huntsville, has been at the forefront of research and extension for the 
applications of climate predictions to risk reduction for agriculture. 
With support from NOAA and USDA, the SECC has developed new methods to 
predict the consequences of climate variability for agricultural crops, 
forests, and water resources in the southeast United States. In recent 
real-life tests, these methods have been applied to the problems that 
farmers raising specialty crops face arising from variable rainfall, 
temperature, and wild fires.
    In the SECC, Florida State University will provide the climate 
forecasts and risk reduction methodology. The University of Florida and 
University of Georgia will translate this climate information into 
risks associated environmental impacts on agriculture and, with Auburn 
University, will work with Extension Services to provide information to 
the agricultural community. The University of Miami will provide 
economic modeling of agricultural systems. Together UM, UF, and the 
University of Alabama-Huntsville are developing new tools to help 
minimize climate risks to water quality and quantity, especially for 
agriculture. FSU, on behalf of the SECC, seeks $5.0 million in fiscal 
year 2008 for this activity. Utilization of these tools and their 
application to agricultural problems has the strong support of 
extension managers.
    Mr. Chairman, FSU is seeking $4,500,000 in fiscal year 2008 to 
continue our important work. The new tasks for fiscal year 2008 include 
the development flood forecasting methods to help farmers and producers 
plan for reducing risks of economic losses and environmental damage; 
developing partnerships and methods for incorporating climate forecasts 
and other climate information into agricultural and water policy 
decisions, and beginning development of a prototype decision support 
system for the application of climate forecasts to water resource 
management, especially for agricultural water use. We are also working 
with the committees on agriculture on the upcoming farm bill, seeking 
to secure authorization for this program.
    Mr. Chairman, we believe this research is vitally important to our 
country and would appreciate your support.
                                 ______
                                 

                Prepared Statement of Food & Water Watch

    My name is Wenonah Hauter. I am the Executive Director of Food & 
Water Watch, a non-profit consumer organization. We welcome this 
opportunity to present our views on the fiscal year 2008 Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Bill.
USDA--Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
            Risk-Based Inspection
    We have the following concerns about this proposal:
    We believe that the agency lacks the statutory authority to execute 
a risk-based inspection scheme, especially one that contemplates food 
processing plants receiving less than daily inspection. According to 
both the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 603) and the Poultry 
Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 455), the United States Department 
of Agriculture is required to provide continuous inspection in all 
establishments that produce meat and poultry products that enter the 
food supply.
    FSIS' own glossary defines continuous inspection as:
  --USDA's meat and poultry inspection system is often called 
        ``continuous'' because no animal destined for human food may be 
        slaughtered or dressed unless an inspector is present to 
        examine it before slaughter (antemortem inspection), and its 
        carcass and parts after slaughter (postmortem inspection). In 
        processing plants, as opposed to slaughter plants, inspectors 
        need not be present at all times, but they do visit at least 
        once daily. Processing inspection is also considered 
        continuous.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Help/glossary-C/index.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Under Secretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond has been quoted in 
the press advocating ``virtual inspections,'' whereby food 
establishments would merely transmit daily production records to FSIS 
inspectors either via facsimile or electronically without a physical 
inspection visit.\2\ This is not what the meat and poultry inspection 
statutes establish, and we believe that the agency is treading on 
dangerous legal ground as it proceeds with this proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Morton, Joseph. ``USDA Looks at `Virtual' Inspections,'' Omaha 
World Herald, October 23, 2006.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Furthermore, we believe that this new system could spark legal 
challenges by food establishments that believe they are being singled 
out for more intense inspections. Without a statutory basis for 
instituting changes to the inspection process, the agency might be 
hard-pressed to implement this new program in light of such legal 
challenges.
    Risk-based inspection needs a reliable database upon which to make 
judgments about which meat and poultry plants meet or exceed 
performance standards. At the present time, there are problems with the 
data collected by FSIS. The USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG), in 
a November 2004 audit report, said the following about the agency's 
Performance Based Inspection System (PBIS) database:
    Due to the lack of controls noted during our audit, FSIS cannot be 
assured that PBIS data is complete, accurate, and reliable. As a 
result, FSIS management may not have the information it needs to 
effectively manage its inspection activities. Without effective 
controls over data integrity, the PBIS system may be an unreliable 
repository that gives FSIS management a false sense that inspection 
activities are adequately carried out and sanitation of plant 
operations is accurately reported.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ See http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24501-01-FM.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In September 2006, the OIG released an audit of the agency's 
Pathogen Reduction Enforcement Program (PREP). PREP is used to collect 
information from the FSIS salmonella testing program. The OIG found the 
following:
  --We found a significant number of establishments that were excluded 
        from the Salmonella sampling database because of ineffective 
        controls to identify eligible establishments and also because 
        district office personnel did not fully understand the process 
        for including the establishments in the database. At the 
        district we visited, 28 percent of the establishments that 
        should have been subject to Salmonella testing were excluded 
        from the sampling database. This problem was particularly 
        apparent at establishments inspected under Federal-State 
        Cooperative Programs (Talmadge-Aiken establishments) in the one 
        State we visited. The State supervisors responsible for program 
        oversight at these establishments were not provided with the 
        eligibility reports that could have allowed them to identify 
        establishments that needed to be included in the sampling 
        database.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ See http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24601-07-CH.pdf, p. i.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The agency is also lacking one critical piece of information that 
we consider vital before it can move forward with any proposal to 
change its inspection system--attribution data that links specific 
foods under the agency's jurisdiction to food borne illness outbreaks. 
Congress has repeatedly asked the agency about this issue, and the 
agency has repeatedly responded that it is working on it.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\  Hearings before the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations for fiscal year 2007, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, Part 1, March 8, 2006, pp. 215-216.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We have long suspected that the real reason the agency is pressing 
to implement risk-based inspection is that it would serve to mask 
shortages in inspection staffing that has plagued the agency for years. 
We have heard of chronic shortages in the number of processing 
inspectors. For example, just last year, we heard of one inspector in 
the Albany District of FSIS being assigned to 19 food plants that 
stretched from New York City to Connecticut; in the Philadelphia 
District, one inspector was assigned 26 plants to cover. These sorts of 
assignments fly in the face of testimony provided by the agency during 
last year's appropriations hearings in which it asserted that FSIS 
inspectors spend an average of 2 hours and 40 minutes per processing 
plant each day.\6\ Just this week, Under Secretary Raymond testified 
before the House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee that at least 
250 establishments have not been receiving daily--or even weekly--
inspection for the last 30 years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\  Ibid, p. 296.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) inspection 
system still has serious problems. The authority of inspectors to 
prevent adulterated products from entering the food supply has been 
severely hampered. Company HACCP plans do not require pre-approval from 
FSIS before they are implemented. Under HACCP, inspectors have been 
relegated to verifying whether company-written HACCP plans are being 
followed. Even when FSIS issues directives to companies to reassess 
their HACCP plans to take into account new food safety policies (e.g., 
the 2002 directive requiring companies to deal with E. coli 0157:H7 as 
an adulterant likely to occur in beef processing), companies often take 
a long time to implement the new policy.
    In its fiscal year 2008 budget submission, the agency states that 
it would like to begin implementing risk-based inspection in slaughter 
facilities. We assume that its proposal means expansion of the HACCP-
Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) in poultry slaughter. HIMP still 
has fewer than two-dozen plants participating in the program. The 
Government Accountability Office issued the last comprehensive analysis 
of this project in December 2001 and pointed out a number of serious 
problems.\7\ Inspectors assigned to these plants report that they are 
not able to perform food safety functions because they are assigned to 
stationary positions on the slaughter lines (e.g., they are not able to 
look inside the cavity of poultry carcasses where there may be 
contamination). Furthermore, defects that are considered to be ``other 
consumer protection,'' such as blemishes, scabs, tumors, feathers, and 
bruises, and would not pass muster in poultry slaughter plants using 
conventional inspection techniques are being permitted to enter 
commerce under the HIMP system. In a recent national public opinion 
survey conducted for Food & Water Watch by Lake Research Partners, 
nearly two-thirds of American consumers favor having Federal government 
inspectors evaluate meat and poultry products for wholesomeness as well 
as food safety issues.\8\ We do not believe that they Agency is 
prepared to extend this inspection model to the entire poultry industry 
at this time. There should be a thorough examination of HIMP project 
before it is expanded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\  See http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0259.pdf.
    \8\  See http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/about/press/meat-
inspection-poll.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Because there has not been a full evaluation of HIMP recently, we 
filed a Freedom of Information Act request on December 14, 2005 
requesting certain documents so that we could conduct our own study. 
FSIS initially responded that they wanted us to pay more than $10,000 
for the information. The agency has since relented on the fee, but we 
still have not received all of the information we requested. We believe 
that Congress should request full disclosure of this information so 
that it can make an informed judgment on the agency's readiness to 
expand this program.
    In January 2006, the USDA Inspector General released an audit 
report entitled, ``Food Safety and Inspection Service Assessment of the 
Equivalence of the Canadian Inspection System'' (Report No. 24601-05-
Hy). The report indicates that Canada was continually exporting meat 
and poultry products to the United States that had been subject to less 
than daily inspection--in violation of U.S. standards. While those 
responsible for enforcing our equivalency agreements at FSIS 
recommended taking disciplinary action against Canada for their 
repeated violations, in 2004 the Secretary overruled them. We find this 
most troubling. FSIS has repeatedly testified before Congress that 
countries that wish to export their meat and poultry products to the 
United States must maintain inspection standards that are identical to 
those for domestic producers. Yet, in this instance, USDA has chosen to 
look the other way.
    While Canada has agreed to institute daily inspection in those 
establishments that export to the United States, Canada is in the 
process of conducting a study to justify less-than-daily inspections 
for processed food exports to the United States that would serve as the 
basis for a request for an equivalency determination by FSIS. We 
believe that granting Canada equivalency for less-than-daily inspection 
would establish a dangerous precedent and mark a radical departure from 
current U.S. policy.
    We have also learned that Australia is in the process of 
considering a ``trial'' of its controversial Meat Safety Enhancement 
Program (MSEP) for a beef processor that would like to export its 
products to the United States. MSEP is a privatized inspection system 
for beef for which there is no comparable system here in the United 
States. MSEP trials were last conducted in 1999, but were stopped since 
the inspection system raised consumer concerns both here in the United 
States and in Europe. We can only surmise that someone at USDA has 
signaled to Australia that we would accept beef products produced under 
a privatized inspection system.
    We view both the Canadian pilot project and the Australian MSEP 
trial as vehicles by the current USDA policymakers to institute 
backdoor changes to our inspection system through our international 
trading partners. Last year, Congress was compelled to warn USDA on 
changing the programs authorized under the 2002 Farm Security and Rural 
Development Act through the Doha round of WTO negotiations. We suspect 
that USDA may be attempting to do the same with food safety policy.
    For all of these reasons, we do not believe that the Agency is 
prepared to make radical changes to the current inspection system, no 
matter what terms they use to describe it. The concept of 
``continuous'' government inspection has been the core of our meat 
inspection system for 100 years, and the Agency should not be permitted 
to abandon this principle.
Expansion of processed poultry imports from the People's Republic of 
        China (PRC)
    In January 2007, we learned that FSIS was in the process of 
developing a proposed rule that would expand the import of processed 
poultry products from PRC to include poultry that was raised in the 
PRC.
    We have several concerns about any imports of poultry products from 
the PRC:
  --The April 24, 2006 regulation that permitted the import of poultry 
        products from the PRC that were processed from slaughtered 
        poultry of United States or Canadian origin was approved under 
        suspicious circumstances and Congress should conduct an 
        investigation into this matter. The fact that the Office of 
        Management and Budget approved this regulation in record time--
        within 24 hours of its receipt of the rule from USDA--and the 
        day before the arrival of PRC President Hu Jintao in Washington 
        on April 20, 2006 clearly indicated that its approval was 
        orchestrated.
  --There is no track record to show that the April 24, 2006 regulation 
        has been working. In a recent Global Agriculture Information 
        Network (GAIN) report issued by USDA's Foreign Agriculture 
        Service, the PRP has complained that the rule has been a non-
        starter because it is economically burdensome.\9\ We consider 
        that to be a weak argument to justify the expansion of the 
        current trade situation for several reasons. First, we have 
        concerns about the sanitation practices in the slaughter and 
        processing facilities in the PRC. The audit reports filed by 
        FSIS inspectors describe unsanitary conditions in some of the 
        facilities in the PRC that might be eligible to export product 
        to the United States.\10\ Second, the PRC still has an avian 
        flu problem.\11\ Third, by USDA's own admission, much of the 
        smuggled poultry that is intercepted coming to the United 
        States originates from the PRC.\12\ Why should we reward 
        illegal activity by expanding trade?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ See http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200703/146280447.pdf, p. 
6.
    \10\ See http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/FAR/China/China2005.pdf and 
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/FAR/China/China2004.pdf
    \11\ See http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/
avianflu/news/feb2807avian.html
    \12\ See http://www.usda.gov and search for Release 0065.07.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service
    Large seafood companies and trade associations have complained 
about the costs of implementing country of origin labeling for fish, 
while fishermen, environmental and consumer groups contend that the 
costs of compliance are fair and worthwhile. AMS recognized that most 
fishermen already keep sufficient records to document country of origin 
and wild-caught versus farm-raised claims, making a $241 per year 
estimation ``within reason.''
    All sellers, not only supermarkets, should be included in the 
program. Exempting processed seafood from the program does not 
accurately reflect the law, given that processed foods count for up to 
50 percent of the finished product. The USDA should ensure that all 
seafood sold at all retailers is labeled with the proper country and 
means of origin.
Food and Drug Administration
    We recommend increased funding for the Food and Drug 
Administration's seafood inspection program. Eighty percent of the 
seafood consumed by Americans now originates in foreign countries, yet 
according to a January 30, 2004 Government Accountability Office report 
entitled ``FDA's Imported Seafood Safety Programs Shows Some Progress, 
but Further Improvements Are Needed,'' only 1.2 percent of imported 
seafood shipments are tested at ports of entry. Recent import 
inspection data from the FDA indicates that inspection rates are 
woefully low to ensure that consumers are protected from unsafe drugs 
and chemicals used in fish farming in other countries, as well as 
decomposed and filthy seafood--the number one inspection violation 
since 2003. We recommend that the FDA improve testing of seafood 
products, implement new regulatory programs, tighten its standards, 
provide incentives for producers to reduce drug and chemical use, and 
give consumers enough information to make informed decisions.
                                 ______
                                 

   Prepared Statement of Friends of Agricultural Research--Beltsville

    Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this 
opportunity to present our statement regarding funding for the 
Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and 
especially for the Agency's flagship research facility, the Henry A. 
Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), in Maryland. 
Our organization--Friends of Agricultural Research--Beltsville--
promotes the Center's current and long-term agricultural research, 
outreach, and educational missions.
    Our testimony will emphasize two main themes: First, we begin by 
adding our strongest endorsement for high-value ``new'' research items 
proposed in the President's fiscal year 2008 budget. We provide 
additional support for each new research item in Part I.
    Second, we recommend and urge continuing full support for on-going 
research that the Congress has previously mandated to be carried out at 
BARC. Support for these items is essential to sustaining irreplaceable 
research momentum now and fundamental to the success of American 
agriculture in the future. We will elaborate on the basis for our 
recommendations in Part II.
   part i. new research items proposed in the fiscal year 2008 budget
    Obesity Prevention Research, $1,150,000.--Obesity is a growing 
health menace in the United States. Today, an estimated 64 percent of 
all Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity has been linked to heart 
disease, stroke and cancer, and thus to spiraling health problems and 
rapidly rising health care costs. These funds would provide critical 
support for BARC and its collaborators to pursue vital clinical and 
translational research on the efficacy of the Dietary Guidelines and to 
develop improved strategies for preventing unhealthy weight gain in the 
diverse American population. We urge support for this research.
    Food Safety, $708,000.--Maintaining consumer confidence in the 
safety of the U.S. food supply is a primary goal for producers and 
marketing managers. Recent isolated food safety incidents highlight the 
need for research to identify points in the food chain where food can 
become contaminated by chemical residues, pathogenic bacteria or toxins 
that are capable of causing severe illness, even death in worst case 
situations. These funds provide the resources to examine production 
systems and pre-harvest crop management practices thoroughly, 
especially for leafy vegetables and organic produce. We endorse full 
funding for this work.
    Research to Support the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 
APHIS, Citrus Canker and Ralstonia, $850,000.--APHIS needs effective 
diagnostic tools to identify emerging citrus and tree fruits diseases, 
to confirm infections in epidemiological studies, and to carry out 
regulatory programs. This research also strengthens the National Citrus 
Pathogen Collection, which is essential for effective citrus disease 
research. Some of this research may be directed to Ralstonia, a 
bacterial pathogen not known to occur in the United States. Ralstonia 
causes wilt in potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and other crop 
plants. APHIS and ARS need to design survey protocols to detect and 
track plant disease agents and to identify crop pathogen threats. 
Research on diseases of citrus, tree fruits, and other crops is 
extremely under funded. We strongly urge support for strengthening 
plant disease research and for supporting the action mission of the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
    Emerging Diseases and Animal Health, $1,165,000.--Globalization of 
trade and the growing movement of people and goods around the world 
steadily raise the threat of disease outbreaks in the United States. 
Diseases such as avian influenza, bovine diarrhea, transmissible 
spongiform encephalopathies, and porcine reproductive and respiratory 
disease are among many such disease threats. Effective control 
strategies require a more complete understanding of not only the basic 
biology of pathogens and their mode of transmission but also of the 
animal's immune system for resisting infections. BARC has one of the 
country's premiere groups of scientists engaged in livestock immunology 
research. This funding would strengthen their research effort to more 
fully unravel the complexity of the animal's immune system and protect 
the health of U.S. livestock. This research is vital to advancing our 
understanding of livestock immunology, and for protecting and improving 
animal health. We support full funding for these studies.
    Emerging Diseases of Livestock, $195,000.--This research is vital 
to further understanding genetics and genomics methods to improve 
disease resistance in livestock. We recommend full funding.
    Emerging Diseases in Crops, $500,000.--We confirm and support the 
proposal to develop diagnostics for rapid, practical, and specific 
identification of pathogens. This is an under funded research area, and 
we recommend full support.
    Soybean and Wheat Stem Rust, $300,000.--This goal here is to 
identify and incorporate diverse sources of genetic resistance into new 
grain and soybean varieties and germplasm. We fully support this 
research.
    Plant Introduction Stations and the National Plant Germplasm 
System, $500,000.--These funds are necessary for making germplasm and 
associated information more readily available to research programs and 
user stakeholders. These funds are needed to support the activities of 
the Germplasm Resources Information Network, or GRIN, which provides 
germplasm information about plants, animals, microbes and 
invertebrates. We recommend full funding.
    Specialty Crops Genetic Resources, $250,000.--These funds will 
provide floral and nursery plant research to support the research 
mission of the U.S. National Arboretum. Full funding is recommended.
    Part II. Now we turn to the urgent need to continue support for 
specific research areas that the Congress has mandated at BARC in 
previous fiscal years. These mandates address research that has 
enormous national impact. We list them here with brief descriptions and 
our recommendations for continued funding.
    Dairy Genetics.--For over 75 years, the Animal Improvement Programs 
Laboratory has created statistical genetic predictions to aid the dairy 
industry in identifying the best bulls for dairy breeding. Genetic 
improvement in dairy cattle has steadily increased milk yield per cow 
and feed efficiency (milk produced per pound of feed) over many years. 
The result is lower milk prices for consumers and less animal waste to 
contaminate the environment because fewer cows are needed to produce 
the Nation's milk supply. We confirm that this mission critical 
research should continue.
    Barley Health Food Genefits.--Barley contains soluble fiber 
compounds, called beta-glucans, that are beneficial for health. Beta-
glucans can lower cholesterol and improve control of insulin and blood 
sugar. These funds support human-volunteer studies designed to help us 
better understand how barley could be used in a healthful diet to 
reduce the incidence of chronic disease. We recommend continued 
support.
    Biomineral Soil Amendments for Control of Nematodes.--Plant 
nematodes are microscopic worms that feed on the roots of plants. 
Nematodes can cause substantial losses in crop yields. This research 
focuses on using such industrial byproducts as environmentally benign 
soil additives for controlling nematodes. We recommend funding for 
these promising approaches.
    Foundry Sand Byproducts Utilization.--Waste sands from the metal-
casting industry currently are dumped in landfills. This project is 
working with industry on guidelines for beneficial uses of these sands. 
We recommend continuation.
    Poultry Disease (Avian Coccidiosis).--Coccidiosis, a parasitic 
poultry disease, costs the industry $2-3 billion per year. This 
research focuses on understanding the genetics of both the parasite and 
the host chicken to identify targets that will allow better disease 
control. We recommend this funding.
    Biomedical materials in plants: Plants can be used as factories to 
manufacture vaccines and other pharmaceuticals for both animals and 
humans. This research focuses on development of tobacco as a crop with 
this beneficial use. This research should continue.
    National Germplasm Resources Program.--Sources of germplasm for all 
agricultural crops are maintained either as seed or live plant material 
at several locations across the country. Much of this germplasm is the 
result of plant exploration around the world. This group maintains the 
computer database that indexes all crop germplasm in our repositories 
with critical information as to where it was obtained, the specific 
scientific identification, and information on useful traits for plant 
breeding. We strongly support continued funding for this mission-
critical program.
    Bovine Genetics.--This research focuses on bovine functional 
genomics, especially for dairy cattle. Scientists are identifying 
specific genes for quality traits such as easier calving, higher milk 
production, and resistance to mastitis. We recommend this funding.
    Minor-use Pesticides (IR-4).--``Minor-use'' pesticides are those 
that are used on crops such as fruits and vegetables that are not one 
of the ``big four'' crops like corn, wheat, and soybeans, and cotton. 
Because markets are much smaller than for major crops, chemical 
manufacturers have little incentive to obtain all the safety data 
needed to obtain EPA registration for pesticides used on minor crops. 
Nevertheless, producers of minor crops find certain agrochemicals to be 
essential. This project produces the data needed for EPA registration 
of minor-use pesticides. We recommend continued funding.
    National Nutrition Monitoring System.--Scientists at BARC have the 
unique responsibility of carrying out the national surveys of food 
consumption by individuals. This is now done in collaboration with 
HHS's health surveys. BARC scientists also maintain the National 
Nutrient Database, which includes information on 126 nutrients in 
thousands of foods. This work supports the school lunch program, WIC, 
Food Stamps, senior nutrition programs, food labeling, dietetic 
practices, and even the EPA. We urge continuation of this funding.
    Coffee and Cocoa.--Producers of chocolate candy are the single 
largest users of fluid milk, sugar, peanuts, and almonds in the United 
States. U.S. specialty coffee shop chains also are one of the major 
markets for fluid milk. Events that limit the availability of cocoa or 
coffee can have significant impacts on major U.S. commodity markets. 
Candy producers need a stable supply of cocoa, but smallholders in 
developing countries produce most cocoa. Several devastating diseases 
and insects threaten cocoa. This research is aimed at developing 
environmentally friendly ways to control pests and diseases. Some 
insects that threaten coffee are very similar to those that attack 
cacao, thus work on the two crops benefits from being together. We 
recommend continuation of this funding.
    Johne's Disease.--Johne's disease is a contagious bacterial disease 
of the intestinal tract of ruminants. It occurs most often in dairy 
cattle, causing weight loss and diarrhea. Nearly one-fourth of dairy 
herds are infected. Producers lose $54 million annually from reduced 
milk production. The disease is spread in manure. This research focuses 
on disease control. We recommend continuation of this funding
    Food Safety--Listeria, E.Coli, and Salmonella.--Food-borne illness 
annually costs $3 billion in health-care costs, and annually costs the 
economy up to $40 billion in lost productivity. This research focuses 
on diagnostics for food-borne pathogens, and on ways to control 
pathogens in fruits and vegetables. We recommend continuation of this 
funding
    Weed Management Research.--All farmers must contend with weeds. For 
organic farmers, weeds are the single biggest challenge to crop 
production. This research, in collaboration with the Rodale Institute 
and Pennsylvania State University, focuses on developing systems for 
controlling weeds in organic production systems. Organic crop 
production was valued at $400 million per year in the 2002 Census of 
Agriculture. These research funds will improve non-chemical weed 
control.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes our statement. We again thank you for 
the opportunity to present our testimony and for your generous support.
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of the Hardwood Federation, National Association of 
    State Departments of Agriculture, National Association of State 
  Foresters, The Nature Conservancy, and Society of American Foresters

    Dear Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, the Hardwood Federation, 
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National 
Association of State Foresters, The Nature Conservancy, and Society of 
American Foresters urge the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies to 
increase funding substantially for the USDA Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) Emerging Plant Pests program. A sharp 
increase in funding is necessary in order to ensure adequate funding 
for eradication and control efforts targeting the emerald ash borer, 
Asian longhorned beetle, sudden oak death pathogen, and Sirex woodwasp. 
All four foreign and invasive species threaten trees in our forests and 
communities and related economic values worth hundreds of billions of 
dollars.
    This coalition represents a widely diverse group of stakeholders 
that are unified in support of the following program areas. This 
statement of common goals supplements individual letters to the 
Subcommittee submitted by several of these organizations. Some of these 
individual letters address additional issues.
    We seek an appropriation of $45 million for fiscal year 2008 to 
contain the emerald ash borer. The emerald ash borer threatens twelve 
species of ash across the continent, especially in the upper Midwest 
and Southeast. At risk are the $25 billion ash timber industry in the 
Northeast, street trees across the Nation valued at $20 to $60 billion, 
and myriad trees found in our neighborhoods and parks. The emerald ash 
borer outbreak is large, but the core of the infestation remains in the 
lower peninsula of Michigan and neighboring portions of Indiana and 
Ohio. It is absolutely crucial that APHIS and its partners carry 
forward detection surveys and regulatory and educational programs aimed 
at preventing movement of infested firewood, nursery stock, and other 
materials that spread the insect. APHIS and its State partners need 
additional funding in fiscal year 2008 to enable affected States to 
eradicate limited and isolated outbreaks found in Illinois, Maryland, 
Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Education, effective 
quarantine, and elimination of isolated infestations are necessary to 
create the potential to contain the core outbreak in and around 
Michigan.
    We seek an appropriation of $30 million for fiscal year 2008 to 
carry forward eradication of the few remaining populations of the Asian 
longhorned beetle. The Asian longhorned beetle poses an alarming threat 
to hardwood forests reaching from New England into Minnesota and in the 
West, and to the hardwood timber, maple syrup, and autumn foliage 
tourism industries dependent on these forests. Also at risk are street 
trees across the Nation valued at more than $600 billion. Eradication 
has been successful in Chicago, proving the efficacy of this approach. 
Beetle populations in New Jersey are well on track for eradication. 
Only the populations in New York persist--and that is because funding 
for the New York effort has been reduced in past years to focus the 
inadequate overall resources on Illinois and New Jersey. It is 
essential to provide sufficient funding now and in coming years to 
complete eradication in New Jersey and New York. The identification of 
another population on an island near Staten Island just this past week 
is an indication of the risk placed on the environment due to chronic 
under-funding of these programs.
    We support a request for $10 million in appropriations for fiscal 
year 2008 to contain a third damaging forest pest, the sudden oak death 
pathogen (also called the phytophthora leaf and stem blight pathogen). 
This disease is a major threat to the nation's nursery industry as it 
readily attacks species such as rhododendron, camellias and a long list 
of other common ornamentals. In addition, if sudden oak death does 
escape confinement, it threatens oaks in forests in Oregon and 
Washington as well as throughout the Appalachians, Ozarks, and even 
into southern New England. Many wildlife species are dependent upon 
oaks for forage--the potential for devastating impacts on forests and 
wildlife is very real.
    The Sirex woodwasp is now found across much of New York State and 
two counties in Pennsylvania, as well as in Ontario, Canada. The 
woodwasp threatens valuable pine timber resources, especially those of 
the Southeast. It is essential that APHIS receive $3.6 million in 
fiscal year 2008 to implement a program including regulatory and 
educational programs aimed at preventing movement of infested wood, 
nursery stock, and other materials that spread the insect.
    In addition to the appropriations needed to support these line 
items in APHIS's Emerging Plant Pest program, the Hardwood Federation, 
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National 
Association of State Foresters, The Nature Conservancy, and Society of 
American Foresters also strongly support the Congress' numerous 
statements urging the Administration to release emergency funds from 
the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) sufficient to enable full 
implementation of these management plans. The combination of the 
appropriations and the release of CCC funds is necessary to accomplish 
the needed tasks.
    Action now at the funding level requested would help ensure that 
these forest pests do not reach populations so large as to threaten 
trees in our forests and communities, garden nursery stock, and related 
economic activities worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
                                 ______
                                 

             Prepared Statement of the Heart Rhythm Society

    Dear Mr. Chairman, The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) thanks the 
Subcommittee for considering our comments regarding the need for 
increased funding of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in 
particular the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). The 
Heart Rhythm Society recommends that the FDA receive an additional $20 
million in appropriations for medical device oversight, as recommend by 
the Coalition for a Stronger FDA. These dollars would in part go to 
reform and update the current post-market surveillance system, which is 
currently ill-equipped to handle the complex challenges of responding 
to product safety issues and providing timely information to 
physicians, patients and the public.
    The Heart Rhythm Society, founded in 1979, is the international 
leader in science, education and advocacy for cardiac arrhythmia 
professionals and patients, and the primary information resource on 
heart rhythm disorders. Our mission is to improve the care of patients 
by promoting research, education and optimal health care policies and 
standards. We are the preeminent professional group, representing more 
than 4,400 specialists in cardiac pacing and electrophysiology. The 
Heart Rhythm Society serves as an advocate for millions of American 
citizens from all 50 States, since arrhythmias are the leading cause of 
heart-disease related deaths, with Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) taking 
325,000 lives annually. Other, less lethal forms of arrhythmias are 
even more prevalent and account for 14 percent of all hospitalizations 
of Medicare beneficiaries.
Background
    Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD's) are 99 percent 
effective in stopping life-threatening arrhythmias and are the most 
successful therapy to treat ventricular fibrillation, the major cause 
of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). However, less than 2 years ago, there 
was a crisis in the patient and physician community regarding the 
ability of the current post-market surveillance system to react to 
information on implanted cardiac devices and to communicate the 
essential data to physicians and patients in a timely manner. In 2005, 
recalls and advisories issued by the three largest pacemaker 
defibrillator manufacturers and the untimely death of a patient with a 
device malfunction, led the Heart Rhythm Society to focus attention on 
the post-market system and the critical need for reform. It quickly 
became apparent to the Heart Rhythm Society, that leadership was 
necessary to convene members of our community, industry and patients to 
discuss the inherent issues with the current post-market surveillance 
system and work together to make recommendations for improvement. In 
September 2005, HRS convened a policy conference, co-sponsored with the 
FDA, of 300 experts in industry, the law, FDA, physician community, 
risk communication and patients to explore improvements for post market 
surveillance of pacemakers and ICDs. As a result of that meeting, the 
Society assembled a 15-member task force of leading cardiac care 
providers and experts charged with the development of recommendations 
to address concerns raised at the conference. In September, 2006, the 
Heart Rhythm Society published the Device Performance Recommendations 
to improve the post-market surveillance system for implanted devices. 
The guidelines have been officially endorsed by the American College of 
Cardiology Foundation, American Heart Association and the International 
Coalition of Pacing and Electrophysiology Organizations (COPE).
Current Limitations of Post Market Surveillance for Implanted Devices
    As described in the Recommendations, changes to the current post-
market surveillance system are required to improve the timely 
identification of cardiac rhythm management devices that do not perform 
according to design and that may pose a danger to patients. The current 
Manufacturer and User Device Experience (MAUDE) system assists with 
adverse event reporting and information dissemination for medical 
devices of all types. It contains hundreds of thousands of adverse 
event reports. Selected information is publicly searchable via the 
internet. However, because submitted adverse event reports are often 
cryptic or incomplete, it is often difficult to determine if a true 
device malfunction or patient injury has occurred. Poor organization 
and retrieval tools within MAUDE frustrate the users' ability to 
retrieve useful information. It is particularly difficult to 
distinguish multiple reports about the same adverse event from several 
sources (from the manufacturer, physician and patient) and recognize 
updated information. It has been noted by many that MAUDE has other 
inherent problems including the issue of under reporting, out of date 
information, and having inadequate resources to meet the current needs 
for medical device surveillance. Registries have been created by 
physician groups to begin to meet gaps in FDA efforts in medical device 
surveillance. The current MAUDE system also utilizes a one-size-fits-
all form for all medical devices, making it difficult to collect 
meaningful information.
Needed Changes
    The Heart Rhythm Society recommends that the FDA design and 
implement a more robust reporting system for observed device 
malfunctions that could overcome many of the MAUDE shortcomings and 
strengthen the voluntary reporting system by:
  --Utilizing a specialized form for cardiac rhythm management devices 
        to permit better and more precise reporting of adverse events.
  --Facilitating the reporting of all unexpected device malfunctions 
        through the adoption of remote monitoring technologies.
  --Tracking devices that are returned to manufacturers for analysis 
        and updating publicly available adverse event reports with root 
        cause analyses. The system should allow individuals to track 
        devices through the manufacturers' analysis online, analogous 
        to tracking an overnight package.
  --Including in the database the adjudication of root cause analysis 
        once that has been determined.
  --Facilitating links to data from international sources which may 
        permit earlier detection of device malfunction.
  --Employing an internet based reporting system with a user friendly 
        format to encourage submission of reports by health care 
        providers.
  --Including standardized data elements and definitions for each 
        device malfunction such as manufacturer model and serial 
        numbers, dates of implant and failure, signs of failure and 
        clinical consequences.
  --Including a search engine available for public use.
    Additionally, the FDA should establish standing post-market 
advisory committees that meet on a regular basis to analyze data 
regarding cardiac rhythm management device performance and to advise 
when and what action should be taken to address device malfunctions 
that are identified. The Heart Rhythm Society supports a centralized, 
rather than the current regional, system for communication of device 
advisory notifications to promote a broader and more inclusive 
interpretation of the advisory issues. In addition, the unique and 
specialized nature of cardiac rhythm management device advisories 
requires a centralized, rather than regional, intake mechanism to 
enable accurate interpretation of data on an ongoing basis by key 
knowledgeable FDA staff and by the other parties such as a post-market 
physician advisory panel. The Heart Rhythm Society believes that a 
centralized system will facilitate timely FDA classifications and urges 
the FDA to classify all advisory notifications and include these data 
on the Physician Device Advisory Notification form within 30 days.
Budget Justification
    To implement the above suggested changes, the FDA will need 
additional resources. The FDA's resources in recent years have 
diminished while Congress has mandated increases in FDA's oversight 
responsibilities. The number of regulated products, imports and adverse 
event reports has grown rapidly in the past 6 years and FDA is asked do 
more with less. Furthermore, public confidence in the agency's 
effectiveness has taken an unfortunate hit. We urge Congress to 
recognize that post-market surveillance, analysis, and reporting of ICD 
and pacemaker performance is a high priority for ensuring patient 
safety. Additionally, we urge you to recognize and address the issue 
that the FDA does not currently have adequate resources to perform this 
function. The enhancements to the surveillance system that HRS 
recommends, particularly those to the Manufacturer and User Facility 
Device Experience (MAUDE) database, will require additional resources. 
By providing such resources, Congress will enable the FDA to achieve 
its mission, enhance the lives of the rapidly growing number of 
Americans with these devices and their families, and may decrease costs 
associated with delayed identification of device malfunction.
    It is for this reason that we are asking for your support to 
increase the FDA's medical device budget by $20 million for fiscal year 
2008 budget. We believe that these additional funds will assist the FDA 
in addressing concerns that have been raised about the safety and 
effectiveness of pacemakers and ICDs and the post-market surveillance 
of these life saving devices. We believe patient and physician 
knowledge, confidence and trust can be enhanced and strengthened 
through greater transparency in post-market surveillance, analysis, 
reporting and communication of this information. Thank you very much 
for your consideration of our request.
    If you have any questions or need additional information, please 
contact Nevena Minor, Coordinator, Health Policy at the Heart Rhythm 
Society ([email protected] or 202-464-3431) or Amy Melnick, Vice 
President, Health Policy ([email protected] or 202-464-3434).
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of the Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center 
                               Committee

    My name is John R. Kershaw, President of the Imperial Valley 
Conservation Research Center Committee (IVCRCC). This is a group of 
Imperial Valley agricultural producers who volunteer to provide support 
to the ARS Brawley Research Station in Imperial County, California. 
These farmers provide financial assistance and provide necessary 
equipment to augment the station's annual operating budget. We are a 
501(c)(5) nonprofit organization. This is a unique industry-government 
partnership that has been successfully operating since 1951 when the 
station was founded.
    The many achievements of this research facility rank it with the 
more successful ARS/USDA stations in the United States. For example, it 
is one of the lowest-cost field stations in the entire USDA network of 
agriculture research sites. This is true even though it is situated in 
one of the most challenging areas for farming and ranching due to the 
intense heat and dry conditions. Producers in our area farm land high 
in salinity content that is irrigated by water containing large amounts 
of salt.
    The region where the Brawley station is situated has an incredible 
variety of vectors for insect and crop disease pests. The agriculture 
industry could not exist without strategic research programs dealing 
with soil, water, pest and disease problems that habitually confront 
producers. These programs, which are and have been addressed in 
Brawley, range from salt tolerance studies on food crops to new crop 
management studies using high salinity water, whitefly pest densities, 
virus transmission and ecological genetics of pest populations, 
biological control programs and IPM programs using parasites and 
predators in conjunction with microbial pesticides.
    With the help of crucial federal funding, the Brawley station is 
pioneering projects beneficial not only to agriculture, but, perhaps 
more importantly, to urban interests as well. It is participating with 
the New River Congressional Task Force addressing the quality of the 
New and Alamo Rivers. The focus of the this study is to demonstrate the 
effectiveness of using constructed wetlands to improve water quality in 
the Imperial Valley and inflows to the Salton Sea, whose water 
elevation is maintained by agricultural drainage from the tributaries 
of the Alamo River, New River and Whitewater Rivers.
    Expanding its traditional research in order to assist USDA in its 
desire to establish greater focus on forage research in the West, the 
Brawley Research Station has been conducting tests on a low-cost, high 
yield forage plant with multiple potential uses, including 
phytoremediation. This forage plant's characteristics allow it to be 
used to improve agricultural runoff and tailwater. The plant is called 
Elephant Grass, also known as Napier Grass (Pennisetum Sp) and has a 
trademark name of Promor A. It was discovered in Brazil and brought to 
the United States through the USDA Beltsville Quarantine Station in 
1991. Experimental investigations in the San Joaquin Valley indicated 
that the plant, when irrigated exclusively with dairy lagoon water, 
exhibited significant phytoremediation with respect to high absorption 
of nitrates and phosphates. This unique variety is also regarded as a 
real candidate for biomass, including a specific capability for ethanol 
production.
    A large group of pregnant beef cattle cows and their calves grazed 
the leaves of the grass to the ground in an experiment demonstrating 
its palatability and lack of toxicity. An additional large-field 
phytoremediation trial for irrigation was conducted at a raisin packing 
facility using processed wash water with significant nitrate levels. 
The grass used in this experiment was harvested after 60 days. Forage 
samples and weight measurements indicated a nitrate uptake of almost 55 
pounds per acre per day. The harvested green chop forage was fed to 
dairy calves with no ill effects.
    Additional research at the Brawley station, including a cooperative 
project with the University of California at Meloland, show the 
palatability and acceptability of this grass as use in finishing diets 
for feedlot cattle. Further research being conducted at the Brawley 
station utilizing elephant grass fed to lactating cows under the 
direction of the University of California were also very positive.
    These experiments utilizing Pennisetum SP elephant grass have drawn 
the interest and financial support of the California State Quality 
Control Board. This Board regards the grass as a serious candidate for 
a barrier crop designation to improve water quality. Ongoing research 
with the City of Fresno on its waste water support the finding that 
this grass may have major benefits for city water supplies. Urban use 
of the grass may result as additional cities work to clean up their 
water.
    All of the above projects fall directly under the mandate for 
research designated by the National Program 201 Water Quality 
administered by ARS. This research is part of ARS current policy and 
future focus. To terminate the project prematurely due to lack of 
funding would severely limit the conclusions and potential benefits.
    This research facility is continuing the ongoing research on its 
popular Rhyzomania resistant sugar beet seeds. This research is 
conducted under the supervision and direction of ARS scientist Dr. 
Llewellen from Salinas. The resultant sugar beet seed has doubled sugar 
beet production yields. This research is benefiting sugar beet 
producers nationwide.
    The research station additionally serves as a work site and 
regional office for APHIS/USDA and the California Department of Food & 
Agriculture.
    The research facilities are also utilized by several local 
agricultural entities including cotton committees and the California 
Farm Bureau. We continue as a support laboratory for the unique 
Salinity Assessment Vehicle and also serve as a weather station 
reporting location.
    In addition to the station's diversified agricultural research 
agenda, it is strategically located to provide quick response support 
to biosecurity and agroterrism detection work. It is situated less than 
90 miles from six Mexican border crossings; one of which is only 16 
miles from Brawley, and is the busiest crossing anywhere. The constant 
supply of international traffic puts Imperial Valley on the front line 
of protection of the American food supply from the introduction of 
disease, insects and many invasive species. The station currently 
headquarters research facilities and personnel from USDA and the 
California Department of Food & Agriculture which can quickly implement 
control and eradication programs in coordination with local 
authorities, thereby making use of the best capabilities of local, 
State and Federal agencies.
    As for its research agenda, the station performs many trials 
associated with the arid saline conditions of the region. Specific 
experiments may be conducted on, but not limited to, water management, 
irrigation techniques, soil salinity, crop production, plant breeding, 
agricultural systems, control of aquatic weeds and integrated pest 
management.
    Our salinity trials are conducted in conjunction with the U.S. 
Salinity Lab based in Riverside, California. The salinity work done at 
the Brawley station could not effectively be performed at Riverside 
because smog there negates scientific validity of the findings. The 
Brawley Research Station is geared to be a contributor, if asked, to 
the National Salt Cedar Demonstration Project. The station has been 
monitoring native species that could be used in the revegetation of 
Salt Cedar that will be removed or mitigated.
    There is a date palm repository at the Imperial Valley Research 
Center. This is the largest repository of date palms in the world. It 
contains every known variety of date palm. This repository is used for 
research. Additionally, this repository is used to provide varieties of 
date palms to various countries where the United States is encouraging 
farmers to grow dates.
    The Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center Committee 
specifically requests that $334,514 be appropriated to fund the Water 
Management Research Laboratory in Brawley, CA.
    The funds for this ARS/USDA research facility were deleted from the 
President's proposed budget. As you know, the President's budget 
deleted over $200 million for ARS research facilities nationwide. Loss 
of these research facilities would be a blow to U.S. agriculture 
nationwide. Specifically it would be a blow to California agriculture 
and especially to agriculture in the Imperial Valley.
    The ARS research station in Brawley is in very good condition and 
has been well managed. The research provided by this facility far 
exceeds the value of the funds requested. The farmers in the Imperial 
Valley continue to support this facility with matching funds amounting 
to approximately $100,000.
    We urge you, Mr. Chairman, to support the continued funding for 
this important ARS research station in the fiscal year 2008 
agricultural appropriations bill.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the Multi-Crop Aflatoxin Working Group

    As members of the Multi-Crop Aflatoxin Working Group, the 
undersigned associations appreciate the opportunity to share with you 
our agricultural research priorities for fiscal year 2008.
    As you know, corn, cotton, peanuts and tree nuts are all affected 
by aflatoxin, a toxin caused by the Aspergillus flavus fungus. 
Aflatoxin is the costliest, most pressing mycotoxin problem affecting 
each of these crops. Widespread drought conditions in 2005 resulted in 
aflatoxin contamination levels in excess of earlier levels, and more 
troubling in areas of the country that are not usually prone to the 
problem.
    Aflatoxin also dramatically decreases U.S. global competitiveness 
and farm income. Most of our export customers have more stringent 
aflatoxin tolerances than the U.S., resulting in closed markets. 
Likewise, an aflatoxin level in excess of FDA guidelines significantly 
limits the marketability of the product.
    Despite the dire consequences aflatoxin has on agricultural 
marketing and human safety, Federal research budgets in this area have 
been declining for the past decade. Given recent events and the spread 
of the disease, the Multi-Crop Aflatoxin Working Group recommends $1.25 
million for aflatoxin research through the Pre-Harvest Control of 
Aflatoxin research program. Specifically, this is an increase of 
$500,000 over fiscal year 2007 funding levels. These funds will be 
administered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and dispersed 
on a competitive basis for aflatoxin research. These grants are awarded 
on both crop specific and aflatoxin-wide research. Some examples of 
current research are conventional crop breeding, use of atoxigenic 
strains, host and fungal genomics, genetic blocks of toxin production 
and transgenic resistances. Although each of these projects have 
different approaches, they all share one common goal, the elimination 
of aflatoxin from the worlds food supply. Following this statement, we 
have provided the Committee with an example of previous work funded by 
ARS.
    Thank you for the support and assistance you have provided to 
agricultural research over the years. Please contact Lisa Kelley with 
the National Corn Growers Association at 202-628-7001 or Howard 
Valentine with the Peanut Foundation at 706-579-1755 if you need any 
additional information.

                                APPENDIX

    Previous Work Funded By ARS:
    In Dr. Felicia Wu's previous work funded by ARS, ``Total Economic 
Impact of Aflatoxin: Models of Economic Loss and Industry Learning,'' 
she developed the conceptual basis for the aflatoxin economic model 
shown in Figure 1 of the Research Approach. She implemented the 
following equations under ``Noncompliance Adjustment Costs'' and 
``Livestock Health Effects'' for corn, by considering two classes of 
impact: market losses and animal health losses.
    High quality corn can be sold as human-food-grade corn at the 
highest market price. Corn contaminated with aflatoxin levels between 
the highest-permitted levels of food and feed can be sold for animal 
feed at a lower price, and corn with high levels of aflatoxin is either 
sold for non-food-non-feed uses at an even lower price or rejected 
outright. The proportions of the total crop that are rejected at each 
of these levels depend on the national or international standards for 
mycotoxins in food and feed. Thus:
    LossMarket = Mcrop*[dPfoodQfoodRfood+dPfeedQfeedRfeed],
    where
    Mcrop = proportion of total corn production sold
    dPfood = price difference between food-grade and feed-grade corn
    dPfeed = price difference between feed grade and lowest-grade corn
    Qfood, Qfeed, = quantities intended for food and feed, respectively
    Rfood, Rfeed = proportions of corn found to be above aflatoxin 
guidelines for feed and feed
    Animal health as a function of aflatoxin contamination is dependent 
on three factors: the number of animals experiencing mortality or 
morbidity as a result of aflatoxin consumption, the cost of treatment 
for sick animals, and the market value of each animal.
    LossAnimal =<3-ln-grk-S>a [(Amort,a*[Vanimal,a+ Treata] + Amorb,a 
Treata],
    where
    Amort, Amorb = number of animals experiencing mortality or 
morbidity
    Vanimal = market value per animal
    Treata = medical treatment cost per animal
    The subscript a indicates the affected species of animals a = 
(cattle, swine, poultry)
    Data for each of these parameters were gathered from the USDA 
National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) and elevant literature 
on aflatoxin's animal effects (Lubulwa and Davis 1994, Keyl 1978, Wyatt 
1991). Annual aflatoxin-related market losses in U.S. corn were 
estimated to be $163 million ($73-332 million; 95 percent CI): $31 
million in food-grade rejections and $132 million in feed-grade 
rejections. Annual livestock losses were estimated at $4 million ($1-9 
million). Sampling and testing costs vary by year, with an average $25 
million cost annually to growers ($10-250 million; the large confidence 
interval reflects the high variability in this area). In addition, the 
following currently ``intangible'' costs were considered: losses 
related to ethanol production (and the resulting concentration of 
aflatoxin in the distillation byproducts), grower disposal of highly 
contaminated corn, sampling errors, and losses on a geographical basis. 
The total annual loss to U.S. corn of measurable aflatoxin-related 
losses was roughly $200 million ($192 million, with uncertainty 
bounds); however, the intangible costs could increase this loss 
significantly.
    Dr. Wu's first year of work with ARS provided her an excellent 
opportunity to meet key representatives from the major commodities that 
are affected by aflatoxin contamination. She is grateful to the 
following commodity experts, who, among others, provided her with 
useful information regarding aflatoxin's specific impacts on each 
commodity: Larry Antilla, Scott Averhoff, Peter Cotty, David Gibson, 
Mike Hurley, Merle Jacobs, Dave Kendra, Bob Klein, Marshall Lamb, Dewey 
Lee, Howard Valentine, and Phillip Wakelyn. The insights and data she 
has gained through these collaborations will provide a basis for her 
economic research in this proposal.
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural 
                                Research

    Dear Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bennett and Members of the 
Subcommittee: On behalf of the National Coalition for Food and 
Agricultural Research \1\ (National C-FAR), we are pleased to submit 
comments in strong support of enhanced public investment in food and 
agricultural research, extension and education as a critical component 
of Federal appropriations for fiscal year 2008 and beyond. National C-
FAR serves as a forum and a unified voice in support of sustaining and 
increasing public investment at the national level in food and 
agricultural research, extension and education. National C-FAR is a 
nonprofit, nonpartisan, consensus-based and customer-led coalition 
established in 2001 that brings food, agriculture, nutrition, 
conservation and natural resource organizations together with the food 
and agriculture research and extension community.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ As part of its mission, National C-FAR seeks to increase 
awareness about the value of food and agricultural research, extension 
and education. For example, National C-FAR is hosting an educational 
series of ``LunchNLearn'' seminars on the hill, featuring leading-
edge researchers on timely topics to help demonstrate the value of 
public investment in food and agricultural research, extension and 
education. More information about National C-FAR and its programs is 
available at http://www.ncfar.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 FUNDING FOR FOOD & AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, 
                         EXTENSION & EDUCATION

    CSREES.--National C-FAR urges the Subcommittee and Committee to 
support the Administration's fiscal year 2008 request for USDA's 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) 
of $1.036 billion, augmented at a minimum by restoring the funding 
equivalent of ``earmark'' funding incorporated into the fiscal year 
2007 CR--and other increases to the extent practicable. The 
Administration's proposal represents a 10 percent decrease as compared 
with fiscal year 2007 funding levels, and National C-FAR believes a 
significant increase is fully warranted.
    The Administration's fiscal year 2008 request does not include 
about $190 million in funding that Congress in the past has invested in 
so-called ``earmarks'' in the CSREES account. In the fiscal year 2007 
CR Congress opted to eliminate the earmarks but included the funding 
equivalent in the CSREES account. National C-FAR strongly urges the 
Subcommittee and Committee to restore this funding to the fiscal year 
2008 budget for CSREES, whether designated for specific projects or for 
distribution by CSREES.
    National C-FAR supports funding the National Research Initiative 
(NRI) at the authorized level of $500 million. The Administration's 
$256.5 million fiscal year 2008 request represents a significant 
increase over the fiscal year 2007 Congressional funding level of $190 
million. However, a portion of the proposed increase ($42 million) 
results from a shift of CSREES Integrated Activities, such as food 
safety, pest management, and water quality, providing a net increase of 
$25 million for NRI.
    The NRI supports research on key problems of national and regional 
importance in biological, environmental, physical, and social sciences 
relevant to agriculture, food, and the environment on a peer-reviewed, 
competitive basis. Additionally, the NRI enables USDA to leverage a 
portion of its funds for food and agricultural research, extension and 
education by fostering the development of new partnerships with other 
federal agencies that advance agricultural science. Examples of 
successful collaborations include USDA's involvement in the Microbial 
Genome Sequencing Program, the Maize Genome Program, the Microbial 
Observatories program, the Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy 
program, the Metabolic Engineering program, and the Climate Change 
Science Plan.
    ARS.--National C-FAR urges the Subcommittee and Committee to 
support the Administration's fiscal year 2008 request for USDA's 
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of $1.056 billion, augmented at a 
minimum by restoring the funding equivalent of ``earmark'' funding 
incorporated into the fiscal year 2007 CR--and other increases to the 
extent practicable. National C-FAR is concerned that ARS funding has 
been cut each of the past several years and urges the Subcommittee and 
Committee to sustain and enhance ARS funding. Research conducted by ARS 
helps to ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural 
products, assess the nutritional needs of Americans, sustain a 
competitive agricultural economy and enhance the natural resource base 
and the environment. The steady erosion in ARS funding could jeopardize 
the ability of the agency to carry out its important mission.
    According to the Administration, its fiscal year 2008 request of 
$1.129 billion for ARS does not include about $280 million in so-called 
``earmark'' funding [divided about equally between research projects 
and facilities] that Congress in the past has invested in. In the 
fiscal year 2007 CR Congress opted to eliminate the earmarks but 
included the funding equivalent in the ARS account. National C-FAR 
strongly urges the Subcommittee and Committee to restore this funding 
to the fiscal year 2008 budget for ARS, whether designated for specific 
projects or for distribution by ARS.
    ERS.--National C-FAR urges the Subcommittee and Committee to 
support the Administration's fiscal year 2008 request of $83 million 
for the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), which represents a 
modest increase over the fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007 
appropriated levels and provides additional funding to strengthen the 
market analysis and outlook capabilities and bioenergy economic 
analysis. Many of the research outcomes generated through ERS efforts 
provide value in both policy and business application terms far in 
excess of what the modest size of the ERS budget might suggest.
    FS.--National C-FAR urges the Committee to support the 
Administration's fiscal year 2008 funding request of $263 million for 
forest and rangeland research. National C-FAR is concerned that this 
represents a decrease in funding compared with fiscal year 2007. While 
the Administration may be justified in dropping lower priority 
projects, stagnant and declining funding is inappropriate in light of 
major challenges in forest, range and ecosystem management and 
utilization.
    National C-FAR urges that funding for food and agricultural 
research, extension and education be augmented to the maximum extent 
practicable, as an important next step toward building the funding 
levels needed to meet identified food and agricultural research, 
extension and education needs.
    A Sense of the Congress resolution endorsed by National C-FAR to 
double funding in food and agricultural research, extension and 
education within five years was incorporated into the 2002 Farm Bill 
that was enacted into law. However, the major commitment to expanded 
research has not yet materialized. At the five-year mark, the larger 
reality is the threat of funding cuts. National C-FAR is urging the 
Congress to reaffirm a commitment to doubling funding in food and 
agricultural research, extension and education in the 2007 farm bill.
    As a coalition representing stakeholders in both the research, 
extension and education community and the ``customers'' who need and 
depend upon their outcomes, National C-FAR urges expanded public 
participation in the Administration's research priority setting and 
funding decision process and stands ready to work with the 
Administration and other interested stakeholders toward that end.

  ENHANCED INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH, EXTENSION & EDUCATION ESSENTIAL TO 
                                SUCCESS

    The research, extension & education title of the Farm Bill 
represents the nation's signature Federal investment in the future of 
the food and agricultural sector. Other Farm Bill titles depend heavily 
upon the Research Title for tools to help achieve their stated 
objectives. Public investment in food and agricultural research, 
extension and education today and in the future must simultaneously 
satisfy needs for food quality and quantity, resource preservation, 
producer profitability and social acceptability.
    Tools provided through research, extension & education are needed 
to help achieve safer, more nutritious, convenient and affordable foods 
delivered to sustain a well nourished, healthy population; more 
efficient and environmentally friendly food, fiber and forest 
production; improved water quality, land conservation, wildlife and 
other environmental conditions; less dependence on non-renewable 
sources of energy; expanded global markets and improved balance of 
trade; and more jobs and sustainable rural economic development. 
Societal demands and expectations placed upon the food and agricultural 
system are ever-changing and growing. Examples of current and future 
needs include--strengthened bio-security; food-linked health costs; 
environment and conservation; farm income and rural revitalization; 
biofuels and climate change; the world demand for food and natural 
fiber and improved diets; and biotechnology and genetic resources 
research and public oversight.

          DEMONSTRATED VALUE OF PUBLIC INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH

    Publicly financed research, extension and education are necessary 
complements to private sector research, focusing in areas where the 
private sector does not have an incentive to invest, when (1) the pay-
off is over a long term; (2) the potential market is more speculative; 
(3) the effort is during the pre-technology stage; and (4) where the 
benefits are widely diffused. Public research, extension and education 
help provide oversight and measure long-term progress. Public research, 
extension and education also act as a means to detect and resolve 
problems in an early stage, thus saving American taxpayer dollars in 
remedial and corrective actions.
    Public investment in research is a wise investment. An analysis by 
the International Food Policy Research Institute of 292 studies of the 
impacts of ag research and extension published since 1953 (Julian M. 
Austin, et al, A Meta-Analysis of Rates of Return to Agricultural 
Research, 2000) showed an average 81 Percent annual rate of return on 
public investments in ag research & extension!
    Food and agricultural research, extension and education to date 
have helped provide the United States with a food and agricultural 
system that consistently produces high quality, affordable food, 
natural fiber and other products, while at the same time:
  --Creating Jobs and Income.--The food and agricultural sector and 
        related industries provide over 20 million jobs, about 17 
        percent of U.S. jobs, and account for nearly $1 trillion or 13 
        percent of GDP.
  --Helping Reduce the Trade Deficit.--Agricultural exports average 
        more than $50 billion annually compared to $38 billion of 
        imports, contributing some $12 billion to reducing the $350 
        billion trade deficit in the nonagricultural sector.
  --Sustaining Important Strategic Resources.--This Nation's abundant 
        food supply bolsters national security and eases world tension 
        and turmoil. Science-based improvements in agriculture have 
        saved over a billion people from starvation and countless 
        millions more from the ravages of disease and malnutrition.
  --Providing Many Valuable Aesthetic and Environmental Amenities to 
        the Public.--The proximity to open space enhances the value of 
        nearby residential property. Farmland is a natural wastewater 
        treatment system. Unpaved land allows the recharge of the 
        ground water that urban residents need. Farms are stopovers for 
        migratory birds. Farmers are stewards for 65 percent of non-
        Federal lands and provide habitat for 75 percent of wildlife.

             FUNDING INSUFFICIENT TO ADDRESS PRIORITY NEEDS

    By any measure, Federal funding for food and agricultural research, 
extension and education has failed to keep pace with identified 
priority needs. Public and private investments in U.S. agricultural 
research and practical application of results have paid huge dividends 
to the United States and the world, especially in the latter part of 
the 20th century. However, these dividends are the result of past 
investments in agricultural research. The unparalleled success story in 
the food and agricultural system is a product in large part of past 
investments in food and agricultural research and extension.
    However, Federal funding for food and agricultural research, 
extension and education has been essentially flat for over 20 years, 
while support for other Federal research has increased substantially. 
Public funding of agricultural research in the rest of the world during 
the same time period has outpaced investment in the United States.
    Stagnant public investment in food and agricultural research, 
extension and education may well be a result of a view that the U.S. 
food and agricultural system is doing fine and that funds can be 
redirected to other needs. The U.S. food and agricultural sector has 
been a world leader and has provided unprecedented value to U.S. 
citizens, and indeed the world community. However, societal demands and 
expectations placed upon the food and agricultural system are ever-
changing and growing.
    National C-FAR believes it is imperative to lay the groundwork now 
to respond to the many challenges and promising opportunities ahead 
through Federal policies and programs needed to promote the long-term 
health and vitality of food and agriculture for the benefit of both 
consumers and producers. Stronger public investment in food and 
agricultural research, extension and education is essential in 
producing research outcomes needed to help deliver beneficial and 
timely solutions. Multiple examples, such as those highlighted below, 
serve to illustrate current and future needs that arguably merit 
enhanced public investment in research, extension and education so that 
the food and agricultural system can respond to these challenges on a 
sustainable basis:
  --Strengthened bio-security is a pressing national priority. There is 
        a compelling need for improved bio-security and bio-safety 
        tools and policies to protect against bio-terrorism and dreaded 
        problems such as foot-and-mouth and ``mad cow'' diseases and 
        other exotic plant and animal pests, and protection of range 
        lands from invasive species.
  --Food-linked health costs are high. Some $100 billion of annual U.S. 
        health costs are linked to poor diets, obesity, food borne 
        pathogens and allergens. Opportunities exist to create 
        healthier diets through fortification and enrichment.
  --Research, extension and education are key to providing to solutions 
        to environmental and conservation challenges related to global 
        warming, limited water resources, enhanced wildlife habitat, 
        and competing demands for land and other agricultural 
        resources. Rural water conservation and development of drought-
        resistant crops have evolved from a good idea to a necessity.
  --It is a highly competitive world for food and agriculture and rural 
        America. There was considerable debate during the last Farm 
        Bill reauthorization about how expanded food and agricultural 
        research, extension and education could enhance farm income and 
        rural revitalization by improving competitiveness and value-
        added opportunities.
  --Energy costs are escalating, dependence on petroleum imports is 
        growing and concerns about greenhouse gases are rising. 
        Research, extension and education can enhance agriculture's 
        ability to provide renewable sources of energy and cleaner 
        burning fuels, sequester carbon, and provide other 
        environmental benefits to help address these challenges, and 
        indeed generate value-added income for producers and stimulate 
        rural economic development.
  --Population and income growth are expanding the world demand for 
        food and natural fiber and improved diets. World food demand is 
        projected to double in 25 years. Most of this growth will occur 
        in the developing nations where yields are low, land is scarce, 
        and diets are inadequate. Without a vigorous response, demand 
        will only be met at a great global ecological cost.
  --Regardless of one's views about biotechnology and genetic 
        resources, an effective publicly funded research role is needed 
        for oversight and to ensure public benefits.
    If these challenges and opportunities are to be met, then the 
nation must commit to a stronger investment that reflects the long-term 
benefits of food and agricultural research, extension and education.

                               CONCLUSION

    National C-FAR respectfully submits that--
  --The food and agricultural sector merits Federal attention and 
        support;
  --Food and agricultural research, extension and education have paid 
        huge dividends in the past, not only to farmers, but to the 
        entire nation and the world;
  --There is an appropriate and recognized role for Federal support of 
        research, extension and education;
  --Recent funding levels for food and agricultural research, extension 
        and education have been inadequate to meet pressing needs;
  --Federal investments in food and agricultural research, extension 
        and education should be enhanced in fiscal year 2008 and 
        beyond; and
  --Actions should be taken to provide for expanded public 
        participation, including during review of programs being 
        considered for possible reforms or cuts.
    National C-FAR appreciates the opportunity to share its views and 
stands ready to work with the Chair and members of this Committee in 
support of these important funding objectives.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the National Corn Growers Association

    The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) appreciates the 
opportunity to share with you our agriculture appropriations priorities 
for fiscal year 2008. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members in 48 
States, 47 affiliated State organizations and more than 300,000 corn 
farmers who contribute to State checkoff programs for the purpose of 
creating new opportunities and markets for corn growers.
    America's corn producers continue to make a significant and 
important contribution to our nation's economy. Over the last 5 years, 
the Nation's corn crop has averaged 10.3 billion bushels resulting in 
an annual average farm gate value of almost $22 billion. The relatively 
stable production over the past 10 years, made possible by innovation 
in production practices and technological advances, has helped to 
ensure ample supplies of corn for livestock, an expanding ethanol 
industry, new biobased products and a host of other uses in the corn 
industry.
Aflatoxin Research
    Aflatoxin is a significant problem for corn growers. While the 
disease is most common in the South, northern corn growers also 
experience aflatoxin, especially in times of drought. Aflatoxin costs 
corn growers millions of dollars in lost sales every year.
    Currently, the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) receives about $7 
million per year for its entire aflatoxin research program. Of that, 
ARS awards about $750,000 in competitive grants each year for pre-
harvest aflatoxin research on corn, cotton, peanuts and tree nuts. 
These figures have been relatively flat for 10 years. NCGA requests an 
additional $500,000 for ARS's aflatoxin cooperative agreement program, 
totaling $1.25 million. We believe the funds should be used to address 
cross-cutting issues of concern to all affected crops and the 
development of nondestructive testing protocols and technologies.
Genomic Research
    The entire corn industry, including the academic research 
community, grain handlers, growers, industry and seed companies 
strongly believe that research on plant and plant genomes has 
substantial long-term benefits. NCGA supports the plant genome research 
conducted by ARS through its genetic resources, genome sequencing and 
genome bioinformatics programs. Specifically, this research includes 
plant and fungal genomics exploration to determine what drives 
aflatoxin production, what causes susceptibility, and helps us 
understand plant and fungal nutrient and environmental needs.
    NCGA also supports the Cooperative State Research, Education and 
Extension Service's National Research Initiative. Our research policy 
supports competitive grants where appropriate.
APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Service
    NCGA supports the President's budget request of $14.141 million for 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's Biotechnology 
Regulatory Service as well as the separate funding stream requested in 
the budget from the Office of the Secretary for the same. These 
resources are necessary to ensure the agency properly manages its 
functions associated with this expanding technology to maintain 
consumer and customer confidence in our strong science-based regulatory 
structure.
FAS SPS Issues Resolution
    NCGA supports the President's budget request of $27.153 million 
that increases funding by $6,196,000 within the Foreign Agricultural 
Service (FAS) for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) resolution. 
Unnecessarily restrictive regulations to address plant health risks are 
major impediments to U.S. market expansion. As trade barriers have been 
reduced, there has been a dramatic increase in non-tariff trade 
barriers to trade.
FAS Market Access
    NCGA supports the President's budget request of $200 million for 
the Market Access Program (MAP) within the Foreign Agricultural 
Service. This program has been successful in maintaining and expanding 
U.S. agricultural exports and strengthening farm income. The 2002 farm 
bill authorizes up to $200 million in mandatory spending for MAP; NCGA 
urges that the program be funded at the fully authorized level.
National Corn to Ethanol Research Center
    In 2006, fuel ethanol production from corn generated 4.8 billion 
gallons of ethanol, displacing 3 percent of petroleum imports. Economic 
forecasting estimates that the United States is capable of producing in 
excess of 14 billion gallons of ethanol by 2015. Such production is 
critical to our national economy, energy security and the environment. 
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern 
Illinois University--Edwardsville is in a perfect position to: continue 
generation of baseline data, serve as training center for Workforce 
Development and expand as a Lignocellulosic Center of Excellence. To 
fulfill these objectives, NCGA is seeking additional funding on behalf 
of NCERC.
    Updated baseline data is continuously required to be reflective of 
industry changes and their impact on product yields and efficiencies. 
The goal of this objective is to continue generating baseline data 
under typical industry operating conditions reflective of changing 
industry practices and changes in inputs (e.g. fractionization, corn 
hybrids, enzymes, yeast practices). The baseline data generated by the 
NCERC is of significant interest to academic, government, industry and 
trade association ethanol researchers as well as ethanol plant 
operators. The baseline data generated by NCERC is providing a critical 
benchmark for all industry and institutional comparison testing. We 
encourage the committee to provide $400,000 to NCERC for this purpose.
    A key component to the success of the ethanol industry over the 
next decade is to ensure the industry has a ready and available 
workforce. NCERC is well-positioned to train an immediately productive 
workforce as it plays a unique role in serving both the educational 
mission of the university as well as meeting the growing needs of the 
biofuels industry. NCERC provides a year-long, hands-on workforce 
training program to student interns while conducting commercial testing 
trials. Since opening in late 2003, nearly 35 interns have helped with 
the successful operation of the plant and labs. NCGA requests an 
additional $1,000,000 to expand the current internship program to meet 
the growing needs of the industry. Through this endeavor, NCERC will 
develop and implement a National Biofuels Workforce Training Center.
    For cellulose to be a viable feedstock, the process of converting 
cellulose to ethanol must be optimized. The three ``process points'' of 
optimization in the cellulose to ethanol process are: pre-treatment 
method, enzyme functionality and fermentation organisms (yeast). The 
NCERC is a research leader in the conversion of corn to ethanol and its 
co-product. Therefore, the NCERC is able to more cost-effectively stay 
on the cutting edge of technology as we enter a new era of converting 
cellulose to ethanol.
    The NCERC is well-positioned to work directly with USDA/ARS, the 
Department of Energy, and Academic and Industry researchers who are 
conducting scientific discovery research on the conversion of cellulose 
to ethanol. This work will spur unlimited investment by private 
industry as they will make that crucially important decision to enter 
the cellulose to ethanol market. We encourage the committee to consider 
NCERC as Lignocellulosic Center of Excellence.
Ethanol Coproduct Utilization
    One of the major benefits of using corn as a feedstock for ethanol 
production is the ability to retain the protein, fat, fiber, vitamins 
and minerals for use as an animal feed. The co-product of ethanol 
production, distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS), results from 
the concentration and drying of the components remaining after the 
starch portion of corn is converted to ethanol. Strong global demand 
for DDGS will be critical in maximizing the potential and profitability 
of fuel ethanol production from corn while ensuring livestock feed 
needs are met.
    While nearly 12 million tons of DDGS was fed domestically or 
exported in 2006, use of this alternative feed ingredient may be 
limited in the future because of real and perceived issues relating to 
DDGS consistency, quality, flowability and feed efficiency. NCGA 
encourages the committee to dedicate the resources necessary to greatly 
expand ARS's efforts in this area, particularly as they relate to DDGS 
flowability, contaminant mitigation, nutritional value, and nutrient 
and mineral management issues.
Value-Added Grants
    Grants from USDA's Value-Added Product Market Development Grant 
program have been used by corn growers to leverage significant 
investments in rural communities. NCGA supports this grant program as 
authorized by the 2002 farm bill at $40 million per year. Potential 
technologies include processing identity-preserved corn varieties and 
adding value to the non-fermentable components of the corn feedstock.
    Thank you for the support and assistance you have provided to corn 
growers over the years. Please feel free to contact Lisa Kelley at 202-
628-7001 if you need any additional information.
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of the National Commodity Supplemental Food Program 
                              Association

    The Honorable Herb Kohl, Mr. Chairman and Subcommittee members, I 
am Frank Kubik, President of the National Commodity Supplemental Food 
Program Association (NCSFPA). Thank you for this opportunity to present 
information regarding the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).
    CSFP was our Nation's first food assistance effort with monthly 
food packages designed to provide protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins 
A and C. It began in 1969 for low-income mothers and children, 
preceding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants, and Children known as WIC. Pilot programs in 1983 added low-
income seniors to the list of eligible participants and they now 
comprise 91 percent all participants.
    CSFP is a unique Federal/State and public/private effort. The USDA 
purchases specific nutrient-rich foods at wholesale prices for 
distribution. State agencies such as the departments of health, 
agriculture or education provide administration and oversight. These 
agency's contracts with community and faith based organizations to 
warehouse and distribute food, certify eligibility and educate 
participants. The local organizations build broad collaboration among 
non-profits, health units, and area agencies on aging so that seniors 
and others can quickly qualify to and receive their monthly 
supplemental food package along with nutrition education to improve 
their health and quality of life. This unique public/private 
partnership reaches even homebound seniors in both rural and urban 
settings with vital nutrition.
    The foods provided through CSFP include canned fruits and 
vegetables, juices, meats, fish, peanut butter, cereals and grain 
products, cheese, and other dairy products increase healthy food 
consumption among these low-income populations.
    The CSFP is also an important ``market'' for commodities supported 
under various farm programs, as well as an increasingly important 
instrument in meeting the nutritional and dietary needs of special low-
income populations.
    In fiscal year 2006, the CSFP provided services through 150 non-
profit community and faith-based organizations at over 1,800 sites 
located in 32 States, the District of Columbia, and two Indian 
reservations (Red Lake, Minnesota and Oglala Sioux, South Dakota). On 
behalf of those organizations NCSFPA would like to express our concern 
and disappointment regarding the reduction of available CSFP resources 
for fiscal year 2008.
  --The prospect of seniors not receiving needed CSFP food in a year 
        when USDA has forecast in excess of $35.4 million in carryover 
        inventory at the end of the fiscal year 2006 is disturbing. 
        Clearly these inventories could and should be used to serve the 
        areas that were affected by the hurricanes of 2005 and who were 
        given 6 month CSFP supplemental caseload that has since been 
        exhausted.
  --At a time when many Americans must choose between food or medicine, 
        utilities, and other basic expenses, the Federal Government 
        should not be reducing benefits for our most vulnerable 
        citizens.
    CSFP's 38 years of service stands as testimony to the power of 
partnerships among community and faith-based organizations, farmers, 
private industry and government agencies. The CSFP offers a unique 
combination of advantages unparalleled by any other food assistance 
program:
  --The CSFP specifically targets our Nation's most nutritionally 
        vulnerable populations: young children and low-income seniors.
  --The CSFP provides a monthly selection of food packages tailored to 
        the nutritional needs of the population served. Eligible 
        participants are guaranteed [by law] a certain level of 
        nutritional assistance every month in addition to nutrition 
        education regarding how to prepare and incorporate these foods 
        into their diets as prescribed by their health care provider.
  --The CSFP purchases foods at wholesale prices, which directly 
        supports the farming community. The average food package for 
        fiscal year 2007 is $15.85, and the retail value is 
        approximately $50.00.
  --The CSFP involves the entire community in confronting the problem 
        of hunger. There are thousands of volunteers as well as many 
        private companies who donate money, equipment, and most 
        importantly time and effort to deliver food to needy and 
        homebound seniors. These volunteers not only bring food but 
        companionship and other assistance to seniors who might have no 
        other source of support. (See Attachment 1)
    The White House proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 would 
eliminate CSFP completely, and would eliminate all of this effort and 
support of those 38 years. This proposal has shocked the entire CSFP 
community as well as legislators, anti-hunger and senior service 
organizations and the concerned citizens as they have become aware of 
it. America's Second Harvest, AARP, and FRAC have all voiced their 
opposition to the elimination of CSFP. It is unconscionable to 
eliminate benefits for some of our most vulnerable citizens and to 
eliminate hope of those waiting for participation in the program. It is 
the cruelest cut for the greatest generation.
    In a recent CSFP survey, more than half of seniors living alone 
reported an income of less than $750 per month. Of those respondents 
from two-person households, more than half reported an income of less 
than $1,000 per month. Fewer than 25 percent reported being enrolled in 
the Food Stamp Program. Over 50 percent said they ran out of food 
during the month. Also, close to 70 percent senior respondents say they 
use money for medical bills not food.
    The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee has consistently 
supported CSFP, acknowledging it as a cost-effective way of providing 
nutritious supplemental foods. Last year this subcommittee and all of 
Congress provided funding for CSFP in direct opposition to its proposed 
elimination. This year, your support is again needed to provide 
adequate resources for the 485,416 mothers, children and seniors 
currently receiving benefits, 20,500 low-income participants currently 
waiting in five new States and 100,827 seniors waiting in current 
States for this vital nutrition program.
    There is no discernible plan to address the long-term needs of 
those affected by the elimination of CSFP. The proposed transition plan 
provides that seniors being removed from CSFP will be provided a Food 
Stamp Program (FSP) benefit of $20 per month for up to six months, or 
until the participant actually enrolls in the FSP, whichever comes 
first. Simply transferring seniors to the FSP is an inadequate 
solution. It is essential for seniors to have access to services which 
they feel are offered with dignity and respect. Many will outright 
reject the idea of applying for FSP benefits. According to the ERS 
Evaluation of the USDA Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations: Volume I:
    The Commodity alternative benefit demonstration in North Carolina 
was popular both among new applicants and among existing FSP 
participants. Clients eligible for low FSP benefits were more likely to 
get the commodity packages, which had a retail value substantially 
greater than their FSP benefits''. ``In particular, seniors described 
the anxiety of using FSP benefits in stores, where they felt shoppers 
and store clerks looked down on them''. ``The demonstrations attracted 
a particularly large share of clients eligible for the $10 benefit 
because the retail value of the commodity packages was worth $60-$70.
    Depending on their non-cash assets, seniors may not qualify for a 
FSP benefit level equivalent to the CSFP food package. Seniors 
receiving the minimum benefit would not be eligible for the $20/month 
transitional benefit. The 25 percent of current CSFP participants who 
already enrolled in the FSP will lose the benefits of CSFP and those 
benefits will not be replaced at a time when they are struggling to 
make ends meet. CSFP and FSP are supplemental programs. They work 
together to make up the shortfall that many of our seniors are facing 
each month. Both programs need to continue to be available as part of 
the ``safety net'' for our low-income participants.
    USDA reports that the average benefit paid to senior citizens is 
about $67 per month, but in reality, many senior citizens receive only 
the minimum monthly benefit of $10, which has not been updated since 
1975. USDA figures also report households rather than individual 
participants and include households with disabled family members.
    The proposed transition plan for women, infants and children 
enrolled in the CSFP is to transfer them to WIC. However, due to 
increasing coordination between WIC and CSFP at the State and community 
levels, the number of WIC-eligible mothers and children enrolled in the 
CSFP is steadily declining. In some States, this figure is less than 2 
percent of all enrolled women and children, eradicating supplemental 
food and nutrition benefits for that population as well.
    As referenced earlier, CSFP provides a food package that costs USDA 
about $15 per month. It has a retail value of approximately $50. How 
does someone use $20 to purchase $50 worth of nutritious foods? What 
happens at the end of 6 months?
    The National Commodity Supplemental Food Program Association 
requested the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee take the 
appropriate actions to funding CSFP for fiscal year 2008 at $157.4 
million as illustrated below:
    To continue serving the 485,416 needy seniors (91 percent of 
participants), women, infants and children (9 percent of participants) 
currently enrolled in CSFP--$123 million.
    To serve the 22,577 individuals who received a food package through 
the supplemental caseload provided to hurricane ravaged Gulf States.--
$4.3 million.
    To meet USDA's commodity procurement expenses--$0.7 million.
    Appropriation required to serve the 507,993 people who have relied 
upon CSFP for supplemental nutrition--$128 million.
    To begin meeting the needs of 20,500 eligible seniors in the 5 
States with USDA approved plans: Arkansas (5,000), Delaware (2,500), 
Oklahoma (5,000), New Jersey (5,000) and Utah (3,000)--$3.9 million.
    To serve an additional 100,827 individuals among of our Nation's 
most vulnerable individuals in the 32 States with existing programs and 
documented additional needs--$25.5 million.
    Appropriation needed to maximize this program's effectiveness in 
serving 629,518 seniors and women and their infants and young children 
challenged by hunger--$157.4 million.
    With the aging of America, CSFP must be an integral part of USDA 
Senior Nutrition Policy as well as comprehensive plans to support the 
productivity, health, independence, and quality of life for America's 
seniors.
    Measures to show the positive outcomes of nutrition assistance to 
seniors must be strengthened. A 1997 report by the National Policy and 
Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging at Florida International 
University, Miami--Elder Insecurities: Poverty, Hunger, and 
Malnutrition indicated that malnourished elderly patients experience 2 
to 20 times more medical complications, have up to 100 percent longer 
hospital stays, and incurs hospital costs $2,000 to $10,000 higher per 
stay. Proper nutrition promotes health, treats chronic disease, 
decreases hospital length of stay and saves health care dollars.
    Rather than eliminating the program, the NCSFPA recommends the 
following initiatives to strengthen CSFP:
  --Develop a formal evaluation process to demonstrate individual and 
        program outcomes of CSFP with Federal, State, and local CSFP 
        managers included in the study design;
  --Restore financial guidelines for seniors to the original level of 
        185 percent of poverty;
  --Set ``greatest need within a project area'' as the priority for 
        service or let each State set its priority for service under a 
        plan approved by the Secretary of Agriculture;
  --Support and expand the program in those States that have 
        demonstrated an interest in the CSFP, including the 5 States 
        that already have USDA-approved plans to operate CSFP 
        (Arkansas, Delaware, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Utah) or that 
        have demonstrated a willingness to continue and expand current 
        CSFP services.
    This program continues with committed grassroots operators and 
dedicated volunteers. The mission is to provide quality nutrition 
assistance economically, efficiently, and responsibly always keeping 
the needs and dignity of our participants first. We commend the Food 
and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture and particularly 
the Food Distribution Division for their continued innovations to 
strengthen the quality of the food package and streamline 
administration. We also remain committed to providing quality services 
in collaboration with the community organizations and volunteers that 
contribute nearly 50 percent of the resources used in providing these 
services.

                                                  ATTACHMENT 1.--NATIONAL CSFP ASSOCIATION ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE VALUE SURVEY FISCAL YEAR 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                      Goods &                                                       Extra Goods
                                                                       USDA       Not Reimbursed       CSFP          Services        Volunteer     Annual Total    Percent Paid     donated to
                            Programs                                Reimbursed     by USDA Cash    Expenditures     donated to      Labor Hours    Program Value      by USDA          CSFP
                                                                       Cash                            Cash        agency Value        Value                                       participants
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Hampshire...................................................        $416,648         $13,227        $429,875          $6,650        $108,235        $544,760              76          $2,625
New York........................................................       1,804,443          45,000       1,849,443           1,000         296,307       2,146,750              84          12,755
Vermont FB......................................................         246,524         300,000         546,524  ..............          90,200         636,724              39           2,000
Washington DC...................................................         439,098       1,600,000       2,039,098         800,000         172,318       3,011,416              15  ..............
Pennsylvania....................................................         835,702          53,197         888,899          22,885         186,985       1,098,769              76          92,638
Kentucky........................................................         898,857         162,681       1,061,538          22,180         704,282       1,788,000              50      714,055.00
Mississippi.....................................................         400,448  ..............         400,448         160,370         561,766       1,122,584              36  ..............
North Carolina..................................................          74,583          30,000         104,583  ..............  ..............         104,583              71           5,000
South Carolina..................................................         212,744  ..............         212,744  ..............          58,883         271,627              78           2,500
Tennessee \1\...................................................         804,260  ..............         804,260  ..............  ..............         804,260             100  ..............
Illinois........................................................         885,767           3,000         888,767  ..............         477,447       1,366,214              65  ..............
Indiana.........................................................         246,603          28,072         274,675          22,000         396,880         693,555              36             443
Michigan........................................................       4,490,742         601,805       5,092,547         356,773       2,161,385       7,610,705              59         769,301
Minnesota.......................................................         802,557         103,225         905,782          19,000         173,068       1,097,850              73         199,000
Red Lake, MN....................................................           5,841  ..............           5,841  ..............  ..............           5,841             100  ..............
Ohio............................................................         709,662          94,228         803,890          65,000         368,251       1,237,141              57         302,000
Wisconsin.......................................................         276,228          56,458         332,686           3,150         300,691         636,527              43          41,845
Louisiana.......................................................       4,505,386         250,000       4,755,386         452,000         825,330       6,032,716              75  ..............
New Mexico......................................................       1,009,150         272,139       1,281,289          97,987         350,283       1,729,559              58         446,378
Texas...........................................................         708,521          70,000         778,521          15,000         405,900       1,199,421              59          12,000
Colorado........................................................       1,193,799         204,168       1,397,967          30,474         612,151       2,040,592              59         878,389
Iowa............................................................         222,652         520,767         743,419  ..............          29,712         773,131              29  ..............
Kansas..........................................................         333,423          45,715         379,138          46,200         209,986         635,323              52          51,400
Missouri........................................................         532,997          29,000         561,997           2,400         398,455         962,852              55       1,010,950
Montana.........................................................         385,402          35,525         420,927         107,333       2,163,357       2,691,617              14          78,825
Nebraska........................................................         756,827          87,486         844,313          21,580         308,475       1,174,369              64          89,709
North Dakota....................................................         160,216           7,800         168,016  ..............         235,729         403,745              40  ..............
South Dakota....................................................         160,962          33,520         194,482  ..............          32,842         227,324              71  ..............
Ogala Sioux, SD.................................................          37,341  ..............          37,341  ..............  ..............          37,341             100  ..............
Alaska..........................................................         130,334          48,038         178,372          10,000          45,100         233,472              56  ..............
Arizona.........................................................         883,204         450,000       1,333,204           4,516       1,549,401       2,887,121              31         580,460
California......................................................       3,078,203       1,265,849       4,344,052          68,600       2,492,966       6,905,618              45         772,308
Nevada..........................................................         352,044          97,629         449,673  ..............          84,788         534,461              66         113,000
Oregon..........................................................          78,299          48,000         126,299  ..............          75,768         202,067              39  ..............
Washington......................................................         132,094          25,000         157,094             250          39,544         196,888              67  ..............
                                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Grand Total...............................................      28,211,561       6,581,529      34,793,090       2,335,348      15,916,481      53,044,919              53      6,177,579
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No information provided.

                    fiscal year 2008 budget request
    On behalf of low-income seniors and women and their infants and 
young children in need of the prescribed packages of nutritious food 
made available through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), 
we request not only the rejection of the proposal to eliminate CSFP, 
but also consideration of increases in program resources.
    At a modest cost of 15.85 per monthly food package, CSFP leverages 
the efforts and energy of thousands of volunteers at churches and 
charities across America to deliver essential nutrition with a retail 
value in excess of 50.00 per month to vulnerable members of ``The 
Greatest Generation'' and to help at-risk members of the next 
generation get a healthy start. The appropriations required and the 
benefits anticipated are as follows:
    To continue serving the 485,416 needy seniors (91 percent of 
participants), women, infants and children (9 percent of participants) 
currently enrolled in CSFP--$123 million.
    To serve the 22,577 individuals who received a food package through 
the supplemental caseload provided to hurricane ravaged Gulf States--
$4.3 million.
    To meet USDA's commodity procurement expenses--$.7 million.
    Appropriation required to serve the 507,993 people who have relied 
upon CSFP for supplemental nutrition--$128 million.
    To begin meeting the needs of 20,500 eligible seniors in the 5 
States with USDA approved plans Arkansas (5,000), Delaware (2,500), 
Oklahoma (5,000), New Jersey (5,000) and Utah (3,000)--$3.9 million.
    To serve an additional 100,827 individuals among of our Nation's 
most vulnerable individuals in the 32 States with existing programs and 
documented additional needs--$25.5 million.
    Appropriation needed to maximize this program's effectiveness in 
serving 629,518 seniors and women and their infants and young children 
challenged by hunger--$157.4 million.
                                 ______
                                 

Prepared Statement of the National Environmental Services Center (NESC)

    Chairman Kohl, Senator Bennett, and Members of the Subcommittee: 
Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony to the Subcommittee on 
Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies.\1\ We request 
funding to support the programs of the National Drinking Water 
Clearinghouse in providing information and technical assistance to 
small and rural and underserved communities under the Rural Utilities 
Service programs of the USDA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The National Environmental Services Center is located at West 
Virginia University. This statement has been prepared by Richard 
Bajura, Executive Director, with assistance from Pamela Schade and 
Trina Wafle. For more information, see our Web site at http://
www.nesc.wvu.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Need for Federal Programs
    Clean, safe drinking water and wastewater treatment are critical to 
public and environmental health. For most of us, it's easy to take 
water for granted. However, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, half 
of American homes in 1940 lacked complete plumbing facilities (defined 
as hot and cold piped water, a bathtub or shower, and a flush toilet). 
By 2002, EPA found that the number of homes having complete plumbing 
facilities increased to 91 percent. Much of this improvement can be 
attributed to Federal infrastructure investment. The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has provided more than $20 
billion for water and wastewater projects since 1947. In spite of these 
improvements, however, 670,000 households (with nearly 2 million 
people) lack access to water, sanitation, or both. Safe, affordable 
water infrastructure is an investment in the economic viability and 
public health of rural America.
Water and Wastewater Challenges
    Over 50,000 water treatment systems serve the U.S. population, with 
86 percent of these systems being classified as ``small'' systems 
(serving fewer than 3,300 people) and ``very small'' systems (serving 
fewer than 500 customers). Because smaller systems have lower revenues 
and fewer resources, they are more likely to have difficulty in meeting 
regulatory requirements. When the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed in 
1974, 18 contaminants were regulated. By 2004, that number had grown to 
86. Another eight will be added by 2008.
    While significant progress has been made, a number of challenges 
confront communities as they try to safeguard public health. In many 
communities, water distribution systems and wastewater collection 
systems are 40 to 50 years old, with many dating back more than a 
century. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 
U.S. drinking water system operators are responsible for maintaining an 
estimated 800,000 miles of water delivery pipelines. In the 2002 report 
titled Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis, EPA 
estimated that we need to invest $265 billion for drinking water 
systems infrastructure through 2022. Wastewater infrastructure will 
need an estimated $388 billion during the same time period. ASCE puts 
the water infrastructure funding gap at $534 billion over the same time 
period, saying that the EPA estimate doesn't adequately address 
population growth and new construction. In the 2003 update to ASCE's 
Report Card for America's Infrastructure, both water and wastewater 
were given a grade of ``D.'' The report suggests that, without new 
investment, progress made over the last 30 years is threatened.
Federal Assistance Programs
    As a partial solution to addressing these challenges, the Water and 
Wastewater Technical Assistance and Training [TAT] grants under USDA's 
Rural Community Advancement Program make it possible for small and 
rural communities to maximize their investments in water infrastructure 
through assistance with technology selection, operation and 
maintenance, capacity development, and asset management. The National 
Drinking Water Clearinghouse has been a strong partner with USDA in 
providing services to these communities. We are requesting 
appropriations in fiscal year 2008 to continue our work with USDA by 
providing the kinds of services described below.
About the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse (NDWC)
    For 17 years, the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse at West 
Virginia University has helped small and rural communities with their 
water infrastructure management. In 2001, the NDWC also undertook 
programs related to utility security issues.
    The NDWC provides a range of assistance for small communities. 
Telephone callers can obtain toll-free technical assistance from our 
staff of engineers and scientists. Our quarterly publication On Tap, a 
magazine about drinking water treatment, financing, and management 
options, helps communities and small water systems operate, manage, and 
maintain their facilities, while keeping them financially viable. A 
comprehensive Web site and databases with thousands of entries provide 
round-the-clock access to contemporary information on small water 
system. Training sessions customized for small and rural areas, 
teleconferences, Web casts, and more than 400 free and low-cost 
educational products give people the instruction and tools they need to 
address their most pressing water issues. These services are well 
received by small community officials and service providers.
    In addition to our knowledge base, technical assistance through 
telephone consultation, and publications which we provide to the 
public, the NDWC wishes to develop new initiatives targeted to reach 
underserved communities found in places such as rural Appalachia, the 
Mississippi Delta, the Colonias in the U.S.-Mexico border region, and 
Native American Tribes.
Request
    In fiscal year 2008, we want to strengthen our core programs in 
providing information and technical assistance and also develop special 
initiatives to address problems unique to certain underserved 
communities as described above. We seek an appropriation of $1.7 
million to support our work in these two important program areas. Thank 
you for considering our request.
                                 ______
                                 

    Prepared Statement of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the 
opportunity to submit testimony regarding the fiscal year 2008 funding 
request for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation). 
Since 2000, the Foundation has received $3 million annually from the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service 
(NRCS). We have worked with NRCS to focus on agency wildlife priorities 
in the past and look forward to continuing to do so. With a Farm Bill 
pending, we have a number of outside organizations willing to match 
federally provided dollars to assist in agricultural wildlife 
conservation projects.
  --The Foundation respectfully requests that this Subcommittee fund 
        the Foundation at $4 million through the NRCS Appropriation.
    These dollars will be focused on mutually agreed upon projects 
across the country. Furthermore, the appropriated $4 million will be 
turned into a minimum of $8 million, according to the Foundation's 
Congressional Charter which requires a minimum of a one-to-one match. 
We have been operating on a three-to-one match historically, which 
means that the $4 million has the potential to turn into $16 million or 
more for on-the-ground conservation. One other note of special interest 
is that according to the Foundation's Charter, all directly 
appropriated funds have to be obligated to grants as they are not 
available to the Foundation for any direct or indirect expenses.
    Since 2000 when the grants partnership began, the Foundation has 
received $21 million in NRCS Federal funds ($3 million per fiscal 
year), which it has dedicated to a matching grant program focused on 
private land conservation. The Foundation has supported over 470 
projects in 49 States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands, by 
leveraging the $21 million in NRCS funds into more than $85 million in 
on-the-ground conservation. These projects have led to the direct 
restoration of more than 1,232,000 acres of farmland and rangeland and 
1,041 miles of streams and rivers. In fiscal year 2006, the Foundation 
received $3 million in NRCS Federal funds, which it leveraged into more 
than $14 million in on-the-ground conservation.
    Working Landscapes.--Through our partnership, the Foundation works 
with NRCS to identify and fund projects that have strong support in 
affected agricultural and rural communities. We place our highest 
priority on projects integrating conservation practices on ongoing 
agricultural, ranching, and forestry operations, with the goal of 
improving the ecological health of working lands. We fund partners and 
provide expertise by engaging watershed experts, ranchers, foresters, 
farmers, local governments, and non-profits to undertake on-the-ground 
private land activities with willing landowners. Through these efforts, 
the Foundation has helped to reduce agricultural runoff, remove 
invasive species, and restore native ecosystems.
    Conserving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants.--With our NRCS dollars, the 
Foundation funds projects that directly benefit diverse fish and 
wildlife species, including salmon in the West, migratory birds in the 
Midwest, and grassland birds in the South. Habitat for native fish has 
been restored on private lands throughout the United States, by way of 
vegetative planting, streambank stabilization, livestock fencing, and 
nutrient reduction efforts. In addition to improving water quality, 
efforts have been undertaken by our grantees to reduce water loss 
caused by invasive species or from outdated irrigation systems. By 
reducing the water taken from rivers, there is less chance that drought 
will negatively impact aquatic life.
  --Pulling Together Initiative (PTI).--In fiscal year 2006, NRCS 
        joined the Foundation's Pulling Together Initiative, a grant 
        program that supports the creation of local cooperative Weed 
        Management Area partnerships. These partnerships bring together 
        local landowners, citizens groups, and weed experts to develop 
        and implement strategies for managing weed infestations on 
        public lands, natural areas, and private working lands. Through 
        this collaborative program, NRCS staff is able to join invasive 
        species experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 
        USDA-Forest Service (FS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 
        Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Department 
        of Defense to review and jointly select the most innovative 
        weed management projects.
  --Due to the successful experience with the PTI program, NRCS has 
        expressed an interest in participating in the Foundation's 
        Bring Back the Natives (BBN) grant program in fiscal year 2007 
        (depending on appropriations). The BBN program is a public-
        private partnership, including FS, BLM, FWS, Trout Unlimited 
        and the Foundation; it is focused on restoring native 
        populations of sensitive or listed aquatic species. Priority is 
        provided to aquatic joint ventures and to those projects that 
        directly implement the recommendations of the National Fish 
        Habitat Action Plan.
    The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation continues to be one of, 
if not the most, cost-effective conservation program funded in part by 
the Federal Government. Congress established the Foundation 23 years 
ago, and since that time the Foundation's vision for more healthy and 
abundant populations of fish, wildlife, and plants has flourished 
through the creation of numerous valuable partnerships. The breadth of 
our partnerships is highlighted through our active agreements with 14 
Federal agencies, as well as various corporations, foundations and 
individual grantees. Through these unique arrangements, we are able to 
leverage Federal funds, bring agencies and industry together, as well 
as produce tangible, measurable results. Our history of collaboration 
has given way to programs and initiatives such as the North American 
Waterfowl Management Plan, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation 
Program, the Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program, and the 
Pulling Together Initiative. With the support of the Committee in 
fiscal year 2008, we can continue to uphold our mission of enriching 
fish, wildlife, and the habitat on which they depend.
    Federal dollars appropriated by this Committee allow the Foundation 
to be highly successful in assisting the NRCS in accomplishing its 
mission to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural 
resources and environment. Whether it involves farm, range or grassland 
conservation, species management or conservation education, the 
Foundation strategically invests the Federal funds entrusted to us in 
sound projects. This request would allow the Foundation to expand its 
highly successful grant program to better assist NRCS in maximizing 
private land conservation.
    The Foundation's achievements are based on a competitive grant 
process where Federal funds are matched by the grantee with non-Federal 
funds and in-kind services. Grantees include Resource Conservation and 
Development Areas, conservation districts, universities, and non-profit 
organizations who partner with farmers and ranchers to support 
conservation efforts on private land. The Foundation also works to 
further maximize Federal funds by providing private funds through the 
generosity of our growing number of corporate and foundation partners. 
These funds are in addition to the non-Federal funds that are provided 
by the Foundation's grantees. In the Foundation's partnership with 
NRCS, Federal funds have been supplemented with funding from Shell Oil 
Company, FMC Corporation, Doris Duke Foundation, the Kellogg 
Foundation, Wal-Mart, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Southern Company, 
Summer T. McKnight Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, William 
Penn Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
    We also measure our success in part by preventing the listing of 
species under the Endangered Species Act, as well as by stabilizing and 
hopefully moving others off the list. Some species that have received 
support through our NRCS grant program include salmonids, golden-
cheeked warblers, black-capped vireos, Southwestern willow flycatchers, 
whooping cranes, sage grouse, lesser prairie chickens, aplomado 
falcons, black-tailed prairie dogs, Louisiana black bears, bog turtles, 
tiger salamanders and Karner blue butterflies. We invest in common 
sense and innovative cooperative approaches to endangered species, 
building bridges between the government and the private sector.
    New Strategic Plan.--During 2006, the Foundation underwent a 
detailed self-evaluation, which resulted in the development of a new 
strategic plan for the organization. The strategic planning process 
revealed that the Foundation maximizes conservation benefits when it 
targets a series of grants towards a specific geographic region, 
habitat type, or conservation challenge. To ensure that future grants 
achieve a sustainable and measurable conservation impact, the 
Foundation is establishing targeted Keystone Initiatives around the 
core conservation investment areas in which the Foundation has 
historically specialized. The Keystone Initiatives represent the new 
core portfolio of the Foundation's grant making with clearly defined 
long-term goals, well-articulated strategies, and defined budgets to 
reach desired outcomes.
    The four initial Keystone Initiatives, launched by the Foundation 
in 2007, include Birds; Wildlife and Landscape Scale Habitats; 
Freshwater Fish and Habitats; and Marine and Coastal Life and Habitats. 
Additional Keystone Initiatives being developed include Wildlife and 
Agriculture, Wildlife and Energy Development, Invasive Species, and 
Future Conservation Leaders. Each grant approved under a Keystone 
Initiative will be designed to provide a measurable outcome that brings 
us one step closer to the final long-term conservation goal of the 
Initiative. Where appropriate, the strategies and outcomes of the 
Foundation's Special Grant Programs, such as the Great Lakes 
Restoration Fund, Bring Back the Natives, and the Coral Reef 
Conservation Fund, will be designed to directly contribute to the long-
term Keystone Initiative goal. Through our targeted grants, the 
Foundation seeks to achieve measurable success in ``moving the needle'' 
on these critical conservation objectives over the next 5 to 10 year 
period.
    Accountability and Grantsmanship.--During the strategic planning 
process, Foundation staff spent time listening to feedback from our 
agency partners and grantees. Choke points in our grant making process 
were identified, and the Foundation is in the process of revising 
portions of our grant review and contracting process to ensure we 
maximize efficiency while maintaining strict financial and evaluation-
based requirements. The Foundation has also launched a new website that 
is more user-friendly and content rich than the previous version. This 
new interactive tool will allow the Foundation to improve communication 
with our stakeholders and will help streamline our grant making 
process.
    To ensure that only those grants with the greatest likelihood of 
obtaining conservation outcomes directly related to a Keystone 
Initiative are funded, the Foundation has implemented a thorough review 
process. Applicants are required to submit a pre-proposal which allows 
staff to proactively work with applicants to refine and improve their 
application before submitting a full proposal. All full proposals are 
then submitted to a peer review process which involves five external 
reviews representing State agencies, Federal agencies, affected 
industry, environmental non-profits, and academics. Grants are also 
reviewed by the Foundation's Keystone Initiative staff, as well as 
evaluation staff, before being recommended to the Board of Directors 
for approval. In addition, the Foundation provides a 30-day 
notification to the Members of Congress for the congressional district 
and State in which a grant will be funded, prior to making a funding 
decision, according to our Congressional Charter.
    Basic Facts About the Foundation.--The Foundation is governed by a 
25-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Secretary of Interior 
and in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. At the direction of 
Congress, the Board operates on a nonpartisan basis. Directors do not 
receive any financial compensation for service on the Board; in fact, 
most all of our directors make financial contributions to the 
Foundation. It is a diverse Board, and includes the Director of the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as corporate and 
philanthropic leaders with a tenacious commitment to fish and wildlife 
conservation.
    None of our federally appropriated funds are used for lobbying, 
litigation, or the Foundation's administrative expenses. By 
implementing strategic real-world solutions with the private sector, 
while avoiding regulatory or advocacy activities, we serve as a model 
for developing cooperative solutions to environmental issues. We are 
confident that the money you appropriate to the Foundation is making a 
positive difference.
                                 ______
                                 

           Prepared Statement of the National Potato Council

Legislative/Government Affairs
    My name is Ed Schneider. I am a potato farmer from Pasco, 
Washington and current Vice President, Legislative/Government Affairs 
for the National Potato Council (NPC). On behalf of the NPC, we thank 
you for your attention to the needs of our potato growers.
    The NPC is the only trade association representing commercial 
growers in 50 States. Our growers produce both seed potatoes and 
potatoes for consumption in a variety of forms. Annual production is 
estimated at 437,888,000 cwt. with a farm value of $3.2 billion. Total 
value is substantially increased through processing. The potato crop 
clearly has a positive impact on the U.S. economy.
    The potato is the most popular of all vegetables grown and consumed 
in the United States and one of the most popular in the world. Annual 
per capita consumption was 136.5 pounds in 2003, up from 104 pounds in 
1962 and is increasing due to the advent of new products and heightened 
public awareness of the potato's excellent nutritional value. Potatoes 
are considered a nutritious consumer commodity and an integral, 
delicious component of the American diet.
    The NPC's fiscal year 2008 appropriations priorities are as 
follows:
Potato Research
            Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service 
                    (CSREES)
    The NPC urges the Congress not to support the President's fiscal 
year 2008 budget request to eliminate the CSREES Special Grant 
Programs. This program supports and fine tunes important university 
research work that helps our growers remain competitive in today's 
domestic and world marketplace.
    The NPC supports an appropriation of $1,800,000 for the Special 
Potato Grant program for fiscal year 2008. The Congress appropriated 
$1,482,000 in fiscal year 2006 and recommended the same amount in 
fiscal year 2007. This has been a highly successful program and the 
number of funding requests from various potato-producing regions is 
increasing.
  --The NPC also urges that the Congress include Committee report 
        language as follows: ``Potato research.--The Committee expects 
        the Department to ensure that funds provided to CSREES for 
        potato research are utilized for varietal development testing. 
        Further, these funds are to be awarded after review by the 
        Potato Industry Working Group.''
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
    The NPC urges that the Congress not support the Administration's 
fiscal year 2008 budget request to rescind Congressional increases for 
research projects.
    The Congress provided funds for a number of important ARS projects 
and, due to previous direction by the Congress, the ARS continues to 
work with the NPC on how overall research funds can best be utilized 
for grower priorities.
Foreign Market Development
            Market Access Program (MAP)
    The NPC also urges that the Congress maintain the spending level 
for the Market Access Program (MAP) at its authorized level of $200 
million for fiscal year 2008 as requested by the Administration.
            Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS)
    The NPC supports the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request of 
$268 million for the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS). This level 
is necessary for the agency given the multitude of trade negotiations 
and discussions currently underway. The Agency has had to absorb pay 
cost increases as well as higher operating costs for its overseas 
offices such as increased payments to the Department of State for 
services provided at overseas posts. Recent declines in the value of 
the dollar, coupled with overseas inflation and rising wage rates, have 
led to sharply higher operating costs that must be accommodated if FAS 
is to maintain its overseas presence.
Food Aid Programs
            McGovern-Dole
    The NPC supports the Administration's fiscal year 2008 budget 
request of $100 million for the McGovern-Dole International Food Aid 
Program. PVO's have been including potato products in their 
applications for this program.
Pest and Disease Management
            Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
    Golden Nematode Quarantine.--The NPC supports an appropriation of 
$1,266,000 for this quarantine which is what is believed to be 
necessary for USDA and the State of New York to assure official control 
of this pest. Failure to do so could adversely impact potato exports.
    Given the transfer of Agriculture Quarantine Inspection (AQI) 
personnel at U.S. ports to the Department of Homeland Security, it is 
important that certain USDA-APHIS programs be adequately funded to 
ensure progress on export petitions and protection of the U.S. potato 
growers from invasive and harmful pests and diseases. Even though DHS 
staffing has increased, agriculture priorities have not been adequately 
addressed.
    Pest Detection.--The NPC supports $45 million in fiscal year 2008, 
which is the Administration's budget request. This increase is 
essential for the Plant Protection and Quarantine Service's (PPQ) 
efforts against potato pests and diseases such as Ralstonia and the 
potato cyst nematode.
    Emerging Plant Pests.--$93 million was appropriated in fiscal year 
2007. The President requests $124 million in fiscal year 2008 which the 
NPC supports. This budget request includes an increase of $4.5 million 
for potato cyst nematode regulatory, control and survey activity.
    The NPC supports having the Congress once again include language to 
prohibit the issuance of a final rule that shifts the costs of pest and 
disease eradication and control to the States and cooperators.
    Trade Issues Resolution Management.--$12,457,000 appropriated in 
fiscal year 2007and the President requests $15 million in fiscal year 
2008. The NPC supports this increase ONLY if it is specifically 
earmarked for plant protection and quarantine activities. These 
activities are of increased importance, yet none of these funds are 
used directly for plant protection activities. As new trade agreements 
are negotiated, the agency must have the necessary staff and technology 
to work on plant related import/export issues. The NPC also relies 
heavily on APHIS-PPQ resources to resolve phytosanitary trade barriers 
in a timely manner.
Agricultural Statistics
            National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
    The NPC supports sufficient funds and guiding language to assure 
that the potato objective yield and grade and size surveys are 
continued, as well as for vegetable pesticide use surveys, which 
provides valuable data to the EPA for use in registration and re 
registration decisions for key chemical tools.
Rural Development Grants
    Since potato growers do not receive direct payments, the 2002 Farm 
Bill provided for, among other things, grants to allow our growers to 
expand their business opportunities. One program that has been used by 
our growers is the value-added grant program. The NPC would urge that 
the Farm Bill funding level for this program be maintained. In 
addition, maintaining adequate farm labor is also important to our 
growers. The NPC urges that farm labor housing grants be maintained and 
not reduced.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the National Rural Telecom Association

                     SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY REQUESTS

Project Involved
    Telecommunications lending programs administered by the Rural 
Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Actions Proposed
    Supporting loan levels for fiscal year 2008 in the amounts 
requested in the President's budget for 5 percent direct ($145 million) 
and cost-of-money ($250 million) and the associated subsidy, as 
required, to fund those programs at the requested levels.
    Supporting Sec. 306 guaranteed loans in the amount ($295 million) 
requested in the budget.
    Opposing the budget request that would cut direct loans for 
broadband facilities and Internet service access by 40 percent from the 
fiscal year 2006 enacted level of $500 million to $300 million.
    Supporting renewal of the pilot broadband grant program at enhanced 
levels and an allocation of a portion of the authorized levels for 
broadband loans at reduced interest rates to accelerate deployment of 
this technology in rural areas.
    Seeking language strengthening and improving the operation of the 
broadband loan program in the Committee Report accompanying the bill.
    Supporting continued funding, as requested in the President's 
budget, in the amount of $25 million in grant authority designated for 
distance learning and medical link purposes.
    Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, my name is John F. O'Neal. 
I am General Counsel of the National Rural Telecom Association.
    NRTA is comprised of commercial telephone companies that borrow 
their capital needs from the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (RUS) to furnish and improve telephone 
service in rural areas. Over 700 of the Nation's local, rural telephone 
systems borrow from RUS. About three-fourths of these are commercial 
telephone companies. RUS borrowers serve almost 6 million subscribers 
in 46 States and employ over 22,000 people. In accepting loan funds, 
borrowers assume an obligation under the act to serve the widest 
practical number of rural users within their service area.
Program Background
    Rural telephone systems have an ongoing need for long-term, fixed 
rate capital at affordable interest rates. Since 1949, that capital has 
been provided through telecommunications lending programs administered 
by the Rural Utilities Service and its predecessor, the Rural 
Electrification Agency (REA).
    RUS loans are made exclusively for capital improvements and loan 
funds are segregated from borrower operating revenues. Loans are not 
made to fund operating revenues or profits of the borrower system. 
There is a proscription in the Act against loans duplicating existing 
facilities that provide adequate service and State authority to 
regulate telephone service is expressly preserved under the Rural 
Electrification Act.
    Rural telephone systems operate at a severe geographical handicap 
when compared with other telephone companies. While almost 6 million 
rural telephone subscribers receive telephone service from RUS borrower 
systems, they account for only 4 percent of total U.S. subscribers. On 
the other hand, borrower service territories total almost 40 percent of 
the land area--nearly 12 million squares miles. RUS borrowers average 
about six subscribers per mile of telephone line and have an average of 
more than 1,000 route miles of lines in their systems.
    Because of low-density and the inherent high cost of serving these 
areas, Congress made long-term, fixed rate loans available at 
reasonable rates of interest to assure that rural telephone 
subscribers, the ultimate beneficiaries of these programs, have 
comparable telephone service with their urban counterparts at 
affordable subscriber rates. This principle is especially valid today 
as this administration endeavors to deploy broadband technology and as 
customers and regulators constantly demand improved and enhanced 
services. At the same time, the underlying statutory authority 
governing the current program has undergone significant change. In 
1993, telecommunications lending was refocused toward facilities 
modernization. Much of the subsidy cost has been eliminated from the 
program. The subsidy that remains has been targeted to the highest 
cost, lowest density systems in accordance with this administration's 
stated objectives.
    We are proud to state once again for the record that there has 
never been a loan default by a rural telephone system. All of these 
loans have been repaid in accordance with their terms: almost $13 
billion in principal and interest at the end of the last fiscal year.
Need for RUS Telecommunications Lending Continues
    The need for rural telecommunications lending is great today, 
possibly even greater than in the past. Technological advances make it 
imperative that rural telephone companies upgrade their systems to keep 
pace with improvements and provide the latest available technology to 
their subscribers. And 5 years ago, Congress established a national 
policy initiative mandating access to broadband for rural areas. But 
rapid technological changes and the inherently higher costs to serve 
rural areas have not abated, and targeted support remains essential.
    Competition among telephone systems and other technological 
platforms have increased pressures to shift more costs onto rural 
ratepayers. These led to increases in both interstate subscriber line 
charges and universal service surcharges on end users to recover the 
costs of interstate providers' assessments to fund the Federal 
mechanisms. Pressures to recover more of the higher costs of rural 
service from rural customers to compete in urban markets continue to 
burden rural consumers. There is a growing funding crisis for the 
statutory safeguards adopted in 1996 to ensure that rates, services and 
network development in rural America will be reasonably comparable to 
urban telecommunications opportunities.
Ongoing Congressional Mandates for Rural Telecommunications
    Considerable loan demand is being generated because of the mandates 
for enhanced rural telecommunications standards contained in the 
authorizing legislation. We are, therefore, recommending the following 
loan levels for fiscal year 2008 and the appropriation of the 
associated subsidy costs, as required, to support these levels:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 percent Direct Loans..................................    $145,000,000
Cost-of-Money Loans.....................................     250,000,000
Guaranteed Loans........................................     295,000,000
Broadband Loans.........................................     500,000,000
                                                         ---------------
      Total.............................................   1,190,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These are the same levels for 5 percent direct, cost-of-money loans 
and guaranteed loans, as requested in the President's budget for fiscal 
year 2008 and the enacted amount for broadband loans in the fiscal year 
2006 appropriations act. The authorized levels of loans in each of 
these programs were substantially obligated in fiscal year 2006 and 
current estimates are that authorized program levels will be met in 
fiscal year 2007.
    We believe that the needs of this program balanced with the minimal 
cost to the taxpayer make the case for its continuation at the stated 
levels.
The Broadband Loan Program
    The broadband loan program was funded in fiscal year 2006 at $500 
million. Very little subsidy cost is associated with this program since 
most of the loans are made at the government's cost-of-money. Despite 
that, the President's budget recommends reducing the loan levels for 
fiscal year 2008 by 40 percent to $300 million. We are opposed to that 
reduced level and recommend to the committee that the fiscal year 2008 
appropriations bill continue to fund the program at enacted levels. The 
demand for this program is still quite strong and if the Congress' 
stated objective of deploying this technology to all rural areas of 
this country is to be met, the $500 million funding level should be 
maintained.
Renewal of Pilot Broadband Grants and Allocating Funds for Reduced 
        Interest Rate Loans
    Many of these un-served areas are in high cost, sparsely populated 
regions of the country making the feasibility of loans problematic. To 
facilitate the deployment of this technology to those areas, the 
Committee should consider reinstating the Pilot Broadband Grant program 
initiated by Congress in previous appropriations acts. We believe that 
supplementing loan funds with grant funds would make many of the 
projects feasible where they would not be otherwise. In fact, the 
government's security interest in the loan would be enhanced. If the 
Committee concurs in reinstating the pilot grant program as a national 
priority, we believe it should be at enhanced levels to achieve the 
Committee's goals consistent with budgetary constraints.
    We also believe that if a portion of the loan funds provided by 
Congress for fiscal year 2008 were made available at reduced interest 
rates many additional areas could be served as well. Currently, all 
broadband loans are made at the government's cost-of-money. However, 
both the 2002 Farm bill that authorized the broadband loan program as 
well as the President's fiscal year 2006 Budget envisioned reduced rate 
loans to accelerate deployment of this technology. Reduced rate loans 
could be made concurrently with cost-of-money loans producing a blended 
interest rate to achieve the desired loan feasibility. The agency has 
successfully accomplished this in the past.
    Discretion could be left with the agency to allocate loan and grant 
funds according to program needs and the feasibility of specific 
applications.
Improving Program Implementation Through Committee Report Language
    Distinct improvements can be made to the broadband loan program by 
providing the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) broader access to the legal 
expertise of the Department's Office of General Counsel (OGC). Over the 
years, due to cost and other considerations, the agency's access to 
counsel has been severely curtailed. This has resulted in an uneven 
application of the act's requirements in the loan approval process 
permitting unbridled agency discretion in administering the program. 
For example, in administering the broadband loan program enacted as 
Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as an amendment 
thereto, the agency has largely ignored the fundamental requirements 
and prohibitions of Title II of the act that originally authorized the 
telephone loan program as if they simply do not apply to the broadband 
loan program. First and foremost of the prohibitions is the principle 
contained in Title II that loans should not be made in areas that would 
result in a duplication of facilities.
    Another example is that the agency is amending loan contract terms 
and publishing written policy standards without meeting the 
requirements of Title II that prohibits RUS from denying loans or 
taking adverse actions against applicants or borrowers for any reason 
not based upon a rule adopted in an informal rulemaking proceeding. 
Neither can applicants be required to increase their ratio of net 
income or margins before interest to obtain a loan nor can loans be 
rescinded without the consent of the borrower. In administering the 
broadband program the agency has not established a consistent 
definition of ``broadband''. The agency employs one standard for 
approving a loan and another for determining whether an area is 
``underserved''. There should be a consistent definition for both to 
avoid duplicative service.
    Better access to the advice and counsel of OGC could eliminate many 
of these issues and assure Congress and the public that the program is 
being administered in accordance with the act's requirements. This 
could be accomplished through language in the Committee Report 
requiring that OGC make available additional legal resources to the 
agency.
Grants for Medical Link and Distance Learning Purposes
    We support the continuation in fiscal year 2008 of the $25 million 
in grant authority provided in the President's budget for medical link 
and distance learning purposes and the decision to not request 
additional loan funds for these programs. The purpose of these grants 
is to accelerate deployment of medical link and distance learning 
technologies in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, 
computer networks, and related advanced technologies by students, 
teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. We agree with the 
conclusion in the budget that these projects are more feasible when 
provided through grants to eligible recipients rather than loans.
Conclusion
    Thank you for the opportunity to present the association's views 
concerning this vital program. The telecommunications lending programs 
of RUS continue to work effectively and accomplish the objectives 
established by Congress at a minimal cost to the taxpayer. They serve 
to assure that America's rural inhabitants will never become second-
class citizens in this modern information age of telecommunications 
technology.
                                 ______
                                 

     Prepared Statement of the National Turfgrass Federation, Inc.

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of the 
National Turfgrass Federation (NTF), I appreciate the opportunity to 
present to you the turfgrass industry's need and justification for 
continuation of the $490,000 appropriated in the fiscal year 2007 
budget for turfgrass research within the Agricultural Research Service 
(ARS) at Beltsville, MD. Secondly, we ask that the committee support 
the $1,880,000 request for Drought Mitigation, either by supporting the 
President's budget request (we are unsure at this time if this funding 
was included in fiscal year 2008) or via a Congressional earmark. This 
funding will be used by ARS to conduct turfgrass water conservation and 
salinity research at Phoenix, AZ and Riverside, CA. Thirdly, we ask for 
your support of $450,000 in separate continuing funding for ongoing 
research programs in Beaver, WV, and $450,000 for Logan, UT. Finally, 
we request water quality research scientists at ARS stations in 
University Park, PA, ($450,000) and Madison, WI ($450,000). All funding 
provided by the Committee is requested to go directly to USDA-ARS, not 
the industry per se.
Restoration of Funding for the Existing ARS Scientist Position and 
        Related Support Activities at Beltsville, MD ($490,000)
    NTF and the turfgrass industry are requesting the Subcommittee's 
support for $490,000 to continue funding for the full-time scientist 
staff position within the USDA, ARS at Beltsville, MD, focusing on 
turfgrass research, that was provided by the Committee in the fiscal 
year 2007 budget, and in the five previous budget cycles. We consider 
this funding our Congressional `baseline', i.e. that funding which is 
central to and critical for the mission of the National Turfgrass 
Research Initiative. We are very grateful for this support and hope the 
Committee will continue this funding.
    Turfgrass is a 50,000,000 acre, $40 billion per year industry in 
the United States, that is growing exponentially each year. Turfgrass 
provides multiple benefits to society including child safety on 
athletic fields, environmental protection of groundwater, reduction of 
silt and other contaminants in runoff, and green space in home lawns, 
parks and golf courses. Therefore, by cooperating with NTF, USDA has a 
unique opportunity to take positive action in support of the turfgrass 
industry. While the vast majority of the USDA's funds have been and 
will continue to be directed toward traditional ``food and fiber'' 
segments of U.S. agriculture, it is important to note that turfgrasses 
(e.g., sod production) are defined as agriculture in the Farm Bill and 
by many other departments and agencies. It should also be noted that 
the turfgrass industry is the fastest growing segment of U.S. 
agriculture, while it receives essentially no federal support. There 
are no subsidy programs for turfgrass, nor are any desired.
    For the past 70 years, the USDA's support for the turfgrass 
industry has been modest at best. The turfgrass industry's rapid 
growth, importance to our urban environments, and impact on our daily 
lives warrant more commitment and support from USDA.
    A new turfgrass research scientist position within USDA/ARS was 
created by Congress in the fiscal year 2001 budget. Additional funding 
was added in fiscal year 2002 with the total at $490,000. A research 
scientist was hired, and is now working at the ARS, Beltsville, MD 
center. A research plan was developed and approved by ARS. This 
scientist has used the funding for a full-time technician, equipment 
and supplies to initiate the research plan and for collaborative 
research with universities. We have an excellent scientist in place, 
and he is making good progress in establishing a solid program. At this 
point, losing the funding for the position would be devastating to the 
turf industry, as significant research has begun.
Support the President's Budget Request for Drought Mitigation/Request a 
        Congressional Earmark ($1,880,000)
    The turfgrass industry is excited that for the first time, the 
President's fiscal year 2007 budget contained funding for turfgrass 
research within ARS. Because the fiscal year 2007 was not passed before 
the President submitted his fiscal year 2008 request, we are unsure if 
this funding in the fiscal year 2008 President's budget. Therefore, if 
included in the fiscal year 2008 President's budget, we request support 
of this important drought mitigation research. If not included in the 
President's fiscal year 2008 budget, we request that this funding be 
supported and included by Congress as new projects. This funding will 
be used to hire scientists in two very important locations, Riverside, 
CA and Maricopa, AZ, focusing on water conservation, wastewater reuse 
and salinity research. These issues are the most critical research 
needs for the survival of the turf industry. Following is a brief 
description of the research that ARS will conduct with this funding:
    ARS will:
    Develop Technology and Management Systems to Use Non-Potable Water 
to Reduce Agriculture's Vulnerability to Drought ($1,880,000 total). In 
the process, ARS will develop systems to safely reuse wastewater and 
low-quality water as a means of irrigating agricultural, horticultural 
and turf-based enterprises in an environmentally and economically 
sustainable manner.
    As noted in USDA's Explanatory Notes accompanying the fiscal year 
2007 budget request, this funding will be directed to the following two 
critical locations:
    Maricopa, AZ, ($940,000).--The U.S. Water Conservation Lab in 
Maricopa will determine the on-site impacts and movement in the air, 
soil, plant, and ground water of biological and chemical substances 
contained in treated and untreated waste water used for irrigation of 
turfgrass. They will also develop irrigation technologies and 
management systems to mitigate the impact of elevated levels of these 
compounds and nutrients when wastewater is used in the production of 
turf and specialty crops.
    Riverside, CA, ($940,000).--This research will be conducted at the 
world-renowned U.S. Salinity Lab. The Riverside lab will focus on the 
development of new irrigation technologies and systems to either 
mitigate or manage the effect of saline irrigation on the production of 
turf and specialty crops.
Request Funding of Ongoing Programs and two ARS Scientist Positions at 
        two ARS Installations @ $450,000 Each (Total: $900,000)
    The turfgrass industry also requests that the Subcommittee 
appropriate an additional $900,000 for funding first allocated in 
fiscal year 2005, and continued in fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 
2007 bills. As a part of the National Turfgrass Research Initiative, 
the research conducted at Logan, UT and Beaver, WV is vital to the turf 
industry. We are asking for $450,000 at each location. Following is a 
brief description of the research that ARS will conduct with this 
funding:
    Beaver, WV, ($450,000).--The lab at Beaver has significant 
expertise in soils and by-products research. They have excellent staff 
and facilities already in place. For the turfgrass industry, they are 
working on improving soil conditions and management systems to make 
athletic fields softer and with improved turf cover, thereby increasing 
safety. They also are considering the use of local by-products to 
develop improved soil systems for parks, lawns, athletic fields and 
golf courses. Besides being vital to the turf industry, this research 
is very important to the regional economy and many industrial concerns.
    Logan, UT, ($450,000).--Logan, UT is an ideal location for research 
on drought tolerant grasses and how they function. The Logan lab is 
world renowned for its efforts in collecting and improving grasses and 
other native plants for forage and range purposes. With the funding 
that was initiated in fiscal year 2005, they have directed additional 
efforts research on breeding and genetics of turfgrass, with emphasis 
on identifying plant material with superior drought and salt tolerance. 
Reducing water use, through more drought tolerant plant material, is 
the number one priority of the turfgrass industry. This research needs 
to be continued and expanded because of the excellent ongoing research 
as well as the potential for the future.
Request new Funding of new Research on Water Quality Improvement at two 
        ARS Installations @ $450,000 Each (Total: $900,000)
    Finally, the turfgrass industry requests funding for water quality 
improvement research at University Park, PA and Madison, WI; $450,000 
for each location. Water quality improvement is very important to the 
turf industry. There is much speculation that fertilizers and 
pesticides applied to turf areas contribute to the contamination of 
streams, waterways and groundwater. Very little research has been 
conducted to date that proves or disproves this phenomenon. Therefore, 
answers are needed to make good production, management and regulatory 
decisions. In addition, the turf industry is concerned about our 
natural environment and wants to protect it. Therefore, research data 
is needed to understand the scope of the problem, as well as to develop 
practical solutions. To address the areas with the most critical needs, 
we propose funding for research at the following two locations:
    University Park, PA, ($450,000).--According to the EPA, runoff and 
groundwater contamination in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is one of the 
critical contributors to the decline of Bay water quality. Although 
many industries have been implicated, fertilizer applications to lawns 
and golf courses are routinely mentioned as significant factors in this 
decline. Research to address this issue is virtually non-existent, yet 
is critical to the success of the turf industry in the Mid-Atlantic, as 
well as New England. The ARS lab at University Park is already 
researching these issues relating to pasture and forage. Therefore, 
they are uniquely positioned and they have expertise and facilities in 
place. We request that funding be allocated to hire a scientist 
dedicated to turf research.
    Madison, WI, ($450,000).--The other area of the United States with 
significant water quality concerns is the Upper Midwest. Phosphorus 
contamination in the region is the most pressing problem, with other 
nutrients also of concern. Several states, including Minnesota and 
Wisconsin, have either already instituted turf fertilizer regulations 
or are considering them. ARS has facilities at Madison and Marshfield, 
WI, which have initiated research on dairy manure contamination and 
disposal. This is an excellent location to address the turf-related 
water quality issues in that region, issues that demand solutions to 
ensure the survival of the turf industry.

               THE NATIONAL TURFGRASS RESEARCH INITIATIVE

    This Initiative has been developed by USDA/ARS in partnership with 
the turfgrass industry. The USDA needs to initiate and maintain ongoing 
research on turfgrass development and improvement for the following 
reasons:
  --The value of the turfgrass industry in the United States is $40 
        billion annually. There are an estimated 50,000,000 acres of 
        turfgrass in the U.S. Turfgrass is the number one or two 
        agricultural crop in value and acreage in many states (e.g., 
        MD, PA, FL, NJ, NC).
  --As our society becomes more urbanized, the acreage of turfgrass 
        will increase significantly. In addition, state and local 
        municipalities are requiring the reduction of water, pesticides 
        and fertilizers on turfgrass. However, demand on recreational 
        facilities will increase while these facilities will still be 
        required to provide safe turfgrass surfaces.
  --Currently, the industry itself spends about $10 million annually on 
        applied and proprietary turfgrass research. However, private 
        and university research programs do not have the time nor the 
        resources to conduct basic research and to identify completely 
        new sources of beneficial genes for stress tolerance. ARS 
        turfgrass scientists will enhance the ongoing research 
        currently underway in the public and private sectors. Because 
        of its mission to conduct the nation's research for 
        agricultural commodities, ARS is the proper delivery system for 
        this research.
  --Water management is a key component of healthy turf and has direct 
        impact on nutrient and pesticide losses into the environment. 
        Increasing demands and competition for potable water make it 
        necessary to use water more efficiently. Also, drought 
        situations in many regions have limited the water available 
        and, therefore, have severely impacted the turf industry as 
        well as homeowners and young athletes. Therefore, new and 
        improved technologies are needed to monitor turf stresses and 
        to schedule irrigation to achieve the desired quality. 
        Technologies are also needed to more efficiently and uniformly 
        irrigate turfgrasses. Drought tolerant grasses need to be 
        developed. In addition, to increase water available for 
        irrigation, waste water (treated and untreated) must be 
        utilized. Some of these waste waters contain contaminants such 
        as pathogens, heavy metals, and organic compounds. The movement 
        and accumulation of these contaminants in the environment must 
        be determined.
  --USDA conducted significant turfgrass research from 1920-1988. 
        However, since 1988, no full-time scientist has been employed 
        by USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to conduct 
        turfgrass research specifically, until the recently 
        appropriated funds became available.
    ARS and the turfgrass industry enjoy a special, collaborative 
        relationship, and have even entered into a cooperative 
        Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The turfgrass industry has 
        met on numerous occasions with USDA/ARS officials to discuss 
        the new turfgrass scientist positions, necessary facilities, 
        and future research opportunities. In January 2002, ARS held a 
        customer workshop to gain valuable input from turfgrass 
        researchers, golf course superintendents, sod producers, lawn 
        care operators, athletic field managers and others on the 
        research needs of the turfgrass industry. As a result of the 
        workshop, ARS and the turfgrass industry have developed the 
        National Turfgrass Research Initiative. The highlights of this 
        strategy are as follows:
    ARS, as the lead agency at USDA for this initiative, has graciously 
            devoted a significant amount of time to the effort. Like 
            the industry, ARS is in this research endeavor for the 
            long-term. To ARS' credit, the agency has committed staff, 
            planning and technical resources to this effort. Last year 
            was the first time ARS has been able to include some 
            funding in the President's budget for the Turfgrass 
            Research Initiative. However, there are so many issues and 
            needs, that the industry is desperate for answers. Thus, to 
            address the critical research needs, the industry is left 
            with no alternative but to come directly to Congress for 
            assistance through the appropriations process.
    The role and leadership of the federal government and USDA in this 
            research are justifiable and grounded in solid public 
            policy rationale. ARS is poised and prepared to work with 
            the turfgrass industry in this major research initiative. 
            However, ARS needs additional resources to undertake this 
            mission.
    The turfgrass industry is very excited about this new proposal and 
            wholeheartedly supports the efforts of ARS. Since the 
            customers at the workshop identified turfgrass genetics/
            germplasm and water quality/use as their top priority areas 
            for ARS research, for fiscal year 2008, the turfgrass 
            industry requests that the six positions above be 
            established within USDA/ARS.
    For this research we propose an ARS-University partnership, with 
funding allocated to ARS for in-house research as well as in 
cooperation with university partners. For each of the individual 
scientist positions, we are requesting $300,000 for each ARS scientist 
position with an additional $150,000 attached to each position to be 
distributed to university partners, for a total of $450,000 per 
position. We are also asking that the funding be directed to ARS and 
then distributed by ARS to those university partners selected by ARS 
and industry representatives.
    In addition, the Committee should be receiving Senators' requests 
for funding of each of the positions described above. We appreciate 
your strong consideration of each individual member request for the 
turfgrass research position in his or her respective state.
    In conclusion, on behalf of the National Turfgrass Federation and 
the turfgrass industry across America, I respectfully request that the 
Subcommittee continue in fiscal year 2008 the funding appropriated in 
fiscal year 2007 for Beltsville, MD, ($490,000) within the Agricultural 
Research Service. I also request that the committee support the 
President's budget request (or new funding) of $1,880,000 for Drought 
Mitigation. Third, I request the Subcommittee's support of ongoing 
research programs at Beaver, WV and Logan, UT @ $450,000 each. Finally, 
I request that the Subcommittee appropriate an additional $900,000 for 
two new water quality research positions, at University Park, PA and 
Madison, WI, with $450,000 provided for each location.
                                 ______
                                 

   Prepared Statement of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission

                                SUMMARY

    This Statement is submitted in support of appropriations for the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives 
Program (EQIP) and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. 
Prior to the enactment of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
(FSRIA) in 2002, the salinity control program had not been funded at 
the level necessary to control salinity with respect to water quality 
standards since the enactment of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 
and Reform Act (FAIRA) of 1996. Inadequate funding of the salinity 
control program also negatively impacts the quality of water delivered 
to Mexico pursuant to Minute 242 of the International Boundary and 
Water Commission. Adequate funding for EQIP, from which the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds the salinity program, is needed 
to implement salinity control measures. The President's budget for 
fiscal year 2008 requests an appropriation of $1 billion for EQIP. I 
urge the Subcommittee to support an appropriation of at least $1 
billion to be appropriated for EQIP. I request that the Subcommittee 
designate 2.5 percent, but no less than $20 million, of the EQIP 
appropriation for the Colorado River Basin salinity control program. I 
request that adequate funds be appropriated for technical assistance 
and education activities directed to salinity control program 
participants.

                               STATEMENT

    The seven Colorado River Basin States, in response to the salinity 
issues addressed by Clean Water Act of 1972, formed the Colorado River 
Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum). Comprised of gubernatorial 
appointees from the seven Basin States, the Forum was created to 
provide for interstate cooperation in response to the Clean Water Act, 
and to provide the States with information to comply with Sections 
303(a) and (b) of the Act. The Forum has become the primary means for 
the seven Basin States to coordinate with federal agencies and Congress 
to support the implementation of the Salinity control program.
    Congress authorized the Colorado River Basin salinity control 
program in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974. 
Congress amended the Act in 1984 to give new responsibilities to the 
USDA. While retaining the Department of the Interior as the lead 
coordinator for the salinity control program, the amended Act 
recognized the importance of the USDA operating under its authorities 
to meet the objectives of the salinity control program. Many of the 
most cost-effective projects undertaken by the salinity control program 
to date have occurred since implementation of the USDA's authorization 
for the program.
    Bureau of Reclamation studies show that quantified damages from the 
Colorado River to United States water users are about $330,000,000 per 
year. Unquantified damages are significantly greater. Damages are 
estimated at $75,000,000 per year for every additional increase of 30 
milligrams per liter in salinity of the Colorado River. It is essential 
to the cost-effectiveness of the salinity control program that USDA 
salinity control projects be funded for timely implementation to 
protect the quality of Colorado River Basin water delivered to the 
Lower Basin States and Mexico.
    Congress concluded, with the enactment FAIRA in 1996, that the 
salinity control program could be most effectively implemented as a 
component of EQIP. However, until 2004, the salinity control program 
since the enactment of FAIRA was not funded at an adequate level to 
protect the Basin State-adopted and Environmental Protection Agency 
approved water quality standards for salinity in the Colorado River. 
Appropriations for EQIP prior to 2004 were insufficient to adequately 
control salinity impacts from water delivered to the downstream States, 
and hampered the required quality of water delivered to Mexico pursuant 
to Minute No. 242 of the International Boundary and Water Commission, 
United States and Mexico.
    EQIP subsumed the salinity control program without giving adequate 
recognition to the responsibilities of the USDA to implement salinity 
control measures per Section 202(c) of the Colorado River Basin 
Salinity Control Act. The EQIP evaluation and project ranking criteria 
target small watershed improvements which do not recognize that water 
users hundreds of miles downstream are significant beneficiaries of the 
salinity control program. Proposals for EQIP funding are ranked in the 
States of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado under the direction of the 
respective State Conservationists without consideration of those 
downstream, particularly out-of-State, benefits.
    Following recommendations of the Basin States to address the 
funding problem, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service 
(NRCS) designated the Colorado River Basin an ``area of special 
interest'' including earmarked funds for the salinity control program. 
The NRCS concluded that the salinity control program is different from 
the small watershed approach of EQIP. The watershed for the salinity 
control program stretches almost 1,200 miles from the headwaters of the 
river through the salt-laden soils of the Upper Basin to the river's 
termination at the Gulf of California in Mexico. NRCS is to be 
commended for its efforts to comply with the USDA's responsibilities 
under the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, as amended. 
Irrigated agriculture in the Upper Basin realizes significant local 
benefits of improved irrigation practices, and agricultural producers 
have succeeded in submitting cost-effective proposals to NRCS.
    Years of inadequate Federal funding for EQIP since the 1996 
enactment of FAIRA and prior to 2004 resulted in the Forum finding that 
the salinity control program needs acceleration to maintain the water 
quality criteria of the Colorado River Water Quality Standards for 
Salinity. Since the enactment of FSRIA in 2002, an opportunity to 
adequately fund the salinity control program now exists. The 
President's budget request of $1 billion accomplishes the needed 
acceleration of the NRCS salinity control program if the USDA continues 
its practice of designating 2.5 percent of the EQIP funds appropriated. 
The requested funding of 2.5 percent, but no less than $20 million, of 
the EQIP funding will continue to be needed each year for at least the 
next few fiscal years.
    State and local cost-sharing is triggered by and indexed to the 
federal appropriation. Federal funding for the NRCS salinity control 
program of about $19.5 million for fiscal year 2007 has generated about 
$15.8 million in cost-sharing from the Colorado River Basin States and 
agricultural producers, or about an 80 percent match of the federal 
funds appropriated for the fiscal year.
    USDA salinity control projects have proven to be a most cost-
effective component of the salinity control program. USDA has indicated 
that a more adequately funded EQIP program would result in more funds 
being allocated to the salinity program. The Basin States have cost-
sharing dollars available to participate in on-farm salinity control 
efforts. The agricultural producers in the Upper Basin are willing to 
cost-share their portion and are awaiting funding for their 
applications to be considered.
    The Basin States expend 40 percent of the State funds allocated for 
the program for essential NRCS technical assistance and education 
activities. Previously, the Federal part of the salinity control 
program funded through EQIP failed to adequately fund NRCS for these 
activities, which has been shown to be a severe impediment to 
accomplishing successful implementation of the salinity control 
program. Recent acknowledgement by the Administration that technical 
assistance and education activities must be better funded has 
encouraged the Basin States and local producers that cost-share with 
the EQIP funding for implementation of the essential salinity control 
work. I request that adequate funds be appropriated to NRCS technical 
assistance and education activities directed to the salinity control 
program participants (producers).
    I urge the Congress to appropriate at least $1 billion in fiscal 
year 2008 for EQIP. Also, I request that Congress designate 2.5 
percent, but no less than $20 million, of the EQIP appropriation for 
the Colorado River Basin salinity control program.
                                 ______
                                 

     Prepared Statement of the Organization for the Promotion and 
           Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies

                           SUMMARY OF REQUEST

    The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small 
Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) seeks the Subcommittee's support 
for fiscal year 2008 loan levels for the telecommunications loans 
program administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in the 
following amounts:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 percent hardship loans................................    $145 million
Treasury rate loans.....................................     250 million
Guaranteed loans........................................     300 million
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, OPASTCO requests that the distance learning, 
telemedicine, and broadband program be funded at sufficient levels.
    OPASTCO is a national trade association of approximately 550 small 
telecommunications carriers serving primarily rural areas of the United 
States. Its members, which include both commercial companies and 
cooperatives, together serve over 3.5 million customers in 47 States.
    Perhaps at no time since the inception of the RUS (formerly the 
REA) has the telecommunications loans program been so vital to the 
future of rural America. The telecommunications industry is at a 
crossroads, both in terms of technology and public policy. Rapid 
advances in telecommunications technology in recent years are 
delivering on the promise of a new ``information age.'' Both Federal 
and state policymakers have made ubiquitous availability of advanced 
communications services a top priority. However, without continued 
support of RUS's telecommunications loans program, rural 
telecommunications companies will be hard pressed to continue deploying 
the infrastructure necessary to achieve policymakers' objectives.
    Contrary to the belief of some critics, RUS's job is not finished. 
Actually, in a sense, it has just begun. We have entered a time when 
advanced services and technology--such as fiber-to-the-home, high-speed 
packet and digital switching equipment, and digital subscriber line 
technology--are expected by customers in all areas of the country, both 
urban and rural. Moreover, the ability of consumers to use increasingly 
popular Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services requires that they 
first have a broadband connection from a facilities-based carrier. 
Unfortunately, the inherently higher costs of upgrading the rural 
wireline network, both for voice and data communications, has not 
abated.
    Rural telecommunications continues to be more capital intensive and 
involves fewer paying customers per square mile than its urban 
counterpart. In the Federal Communication Commission's September 2004 
report on the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, the 
Commission correctly noted that ``[r]ural areas are typically 
characterized by sparse and disperse populations, great distances 
between the customer and the service provider, and difficult terrain. 
These factors present a unique set of difficulties for providers 
attempting to deploy broadband services.'' More recently, the FCC's 
January 2007 release of statistics on high-speed connections in the 
United States illustrated that low population density has an inverse 
association with reports that high-speed subscribers are present in an 
area. Thus, in order for rural telecommunications companies to continue 
modernizing their networks and providing consumers with advanced 
services at reasonable rates, they must have access to reliable low-
cost financing.
    The relative isolation of rural areas increases the value of 
telecommunications for these citizens. Telecommunications enables 
applications such as high-speed Internet connectivity, distance 
learning, and telemedicine that can alleviate or eliminate some rural 
disadvantages. A modern telecommunications infrastructure can also make 
rural areas attractive for some businesses which results in 
revitalization of the rural economy. For example, businesses such as 
telemarketing and tourism can thrive in rural areas, and telecommuting 
can become a realistic employment option. Certainly, telecommunications 
plays a major role in any rural community's economic development 
strategy, with the existence of modern and advanced telecommunications 
infrastructure being a major enabling factor in the development of 
small business and manufacturing enterprises in rural areas.
    While it has been said many times before, it bears repeating that 
RUS's telecommunications loans program is not a grant program. The 
funds loaned by RUS are used to leverage substantial private capital, 
creating public/private partnerships. For a very small cost, the 
government is encouraging tremendous amounts of private investment in 
rural telecommunications infrastructure. Most importantly, the program 
is tremendously successful. Borrowers actually build the infrastructure 
and the government is reimbursed with interest.
    In addition to RUS's telecommunications loans program, OPASTCO 
supports adequate funding of the distance learning, telemedicine, and 
broadband program. Through distance learning, rural students gain 
access to advanced classes which will help them prepare for college and 
jobs of the future. Telemedicine provides rural residents with access 
to quality health care services without traveling great distances to 
urban hospitals. Furthermore, funding that is targeted to finance the 
installation of broadband transmission capacity will allow more rural 
communities to gain high-speed access to the Internet and receive other 
advanced services. In light of the Telecommunications Act's purpose of 
encouraging deployment of advanced technologies and services to all 
Americans--including schools and health care providers--sufficient 
targeted funding for these purposes is essential in fiscal year 2008.

                               CONCLUSION

    The transformation of the nationwide telecommunications network 
into an information superhighway, as envisioned by policymakers, will 
help rural America survive and prosper in any market--whether local, 
regional, national, or global. However, without the availability of 
low-cost RUS funds, building the information superhighway in 
communities that are isolated and thinly populated will be untenable. 
By supporting the RUS telecommunications programs at the requested 
levels, the Subcommittee will be making a significant contribution to 
the future of rural America.
                                 ______
                                 

        Prepared Statement of Pickle Packers International, Inc.

    The pickled vegetable industry strongly supports and encourages 
your committee in its work of maintaining and guiding the Agricultural 
Research Service. To accomplish the goal of improved health and quality 
of life for the American people, the health action agencies of this 
country continue to encourage increased consumption of fruits and 
vegetables in our diets. Accumulating evidence from the epidemiology 
and biochemistry of heart disease, cancer and diabetes supports this 
policy. Vitamins (particularly A, C, and folic acid) and a variety of 
antioxidant phytochemicals in plant foods are thought to be the basis 
for correlation's between high fruit and vegetable consumption and 
reduced incidence of these debilitating and deadly diseases. The 
problem is that many Americans choose not to consume the variety and 
quantities of fruits and vegetables that are needed for better health.
    As an association representing processors that produce over 85 
percent of the tonnage of pickled vegetables in North America, it is 
our goal to produce new products that increase the competitiveness of 
U.S. agriculture as well as meet the demands of an increasingly diverse 
U.S. population. The profit margins of growers continue to be narrowed 
by foreign competition. Likewise, the people of this country represent 
an ever-broadening array of expectations, tastes and preferences 
derived from many cultural backgrounds. Everyone, however, faces the 
common dilemma that food costs should remain stable and preparation 
time continues to be squeezed by the other demands of life. This 
industry can grow by meeting these expectations and demands with 
reasonably priced products of good texture and flavor that are high in 
nutritional value, low in negative environmental impacts, and produced 
with assured safety from pathogenic microorganisms and from those who 
would use food as a vehicle for terror. With strong research to back us 
up, we believe our industry can make a greater contribution toward 
reducing product costs and improving human diets and health.
    Many small to medium sized growers and processing operations are 
involved in the pickled vegetable industry. We grow and process a group 
of vegetable crops, including cucumbers, peppers, carrots, onions, 
garlic, cauliflower, cabbage (Sauerkraut) and Brussels sprouts, which 
are referred to as `minor' crops. None of these crops is in any 
``commodity program'' and as such, do not rely upon taxpayer subsidies. 
However, current farm value for just cucumbers, onions and garlic is 
$2.3 billion with an estimated processed value of $5.8 billion. These 
crops represent important sources of income to farmers, and the 
processing operations are important employers in rural communities 
around the United States. Growers, processing plant employees and 
employees of suppliers to this industry reside in all 50 States. To 
realize its potential in the rapidly changing American economy, this 
industry will rely upon a growing stream of appropriately directed 
basic and applied research from four important research programs within 
the Agricultural Research Service.

        VEGETABLE CROPS RESEARCH LABORATORY, MADISON, WISCONSIN

    The USDA/ARS Vegetable Crops Research Lab at the University of 
Wisconsin is the only USDA research unit dedicated to the genetic 
improvement of cucumbers, carrots, onions and garlic. Three scientists 
in this unit account for approximately half of the total U.S. public 
breeding and genetics research on these crops. Their past efforts have 
yielded cucumber, carrot and onion cultivars and breeding stocks that 
are widely used by the U.S. vegetable industry (i.e., growers, 
processors, and seed companies). These varieties account for over half 
of the farm yield produced by these crops today. All U.S. seed 
companies rely upon this program for developing new varieties, because 
ARS programs seek to introduce economically important traits (e.g., 
virus and nematode resistance) not available in commercial varieties 
using long-term high risk research efforts. The U.S. vegetable seed 
industry develops new varieties of cucumbers, carrots, onions, and 
garlic and over twenty other vegetables used by thousands of vegetable 
growers. The U.S. vegetable seed, grower, and processing industry, 
relies upon the USDA/ARS Vegetable Crops Research Lab for unique 
genetic stocks to improve varieties in the same way the U.S. health 
care and pharmaceutical industries depend on fundamental research from 
the National Institutes of Health. Their innovations meet long-term 
needs and bring innovations in these crops for the United States and 
export markets, for which the United States has successfully competed. 
Past accomplishments by this USDA group have been cornerstones for the 
U.S. vegetable industry that have resulted in increased profitability, 
and improved product nutrition and quality.
    Both consumers and the vegetable production and processing industry 
would like to see fewer pesticides applied to food and into the 
environment in a cost-effective manner. Scientists in this unit have 
developed a genetic resistance for many major vegetable diseases that 
are perhaps the most important threat to sustained production of a 
marketable crop for all vegetables. Genetic resistance assures 
sustainable crop production for growers and reduces pesticide residues 
in our food and environment. Value of this genetic resistance developed 
by the vegetable crops unit is estimated at $670 million per year in 
increased crop production, not to mention environmental benefits due to 
reduction in pesticide use. New research in Madison has resulted in 
cucumbers with improved disease resistance, pickling quality and 
suitability for machine harvesting. New sources of genetic resistance 
to viral and fungal diseases, environmental stress resistance like heat 
and cold, and higher yield have recently been mapped on cucumber 
chromosomes to provide a ready tool for our seed industry to 
significantly accelerate the development of resistant cultivars for 
U.S. growers. Nematodes in the soil deform carrot roots to reduce yield 
from 10 percent to over 70 percent in major production areas. A new 
genetic resistance to nematode attack was found to almost completely 
protect the carrot crop from one major nematode. This group improved 
both consumer quality and processing quality of vegetables with a 
resulting increase in production efficiency and consumer appeal. This 
product was founded on carrot germplasm developed in Madison, 
Wisconsin. Carrots provide approximately 30 percent of the U.S. dietary 
vitamin A. New carrots have been developed with tripled nutritional 
value, and nutrient-rich cucumbers have been developed with increased 
levels of provitamin A. Using new biotechnological methods, a system 
for rapidly and simply identifying seed production ability in onions 
has been developed that reduces the breeding process up to 6 years! A 
genetic map of onion flavor and nutrition will be used to develop 
onions that are more appealing and healthy for consumers.
    There are still serious vegetable production problems which need 
attention. For example, losses of cucumbers, onions, and carrots in the 
field due to attack by pathogens and pests remains high, nutritional 
quality needs to be significantly improved and U.S. production value 
and export markets could certainly be enhanced. Genetic improvement of 
all the attributes of these valuable crops are at hand through the 
unique USDA lines and populations (i.e., germplasm) that are available 
and the new biotechnological methodologies that are being developed by 
the group. The achievement of these goals will involve the utilization 
of a wide range of biological diversity available in the germplasm 
collections for these crops. Classical plant breeding methods combined 
with bio-technological tools such as DNA marker-assisted selection and 
genome maps of cucumber, carrot and onion will be the methods to 
implement these genetic improvements. With this, new high-value 
vegetable products based upon genetic improvements developed by our 
USDA laboratories can offer vegetable processors and growers expanded 
economic opportunities for United States and export markets.

       U.S. FOOD FERMENTATION LABORATORY, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

    The USDA/ARS Food Fermentation Laboratory in Raleigh, NC is the 
major public laboratory that this industry looks to as a source for new 
scientific information on the safety of our products and development of 
new processing technologies related to fermented and acidified 
vegetables. Over the years this laboratory has been a source for 
innovations, which have helped this industry remain competitive in the 
current global trade environment. We expect the research done in this 
laboratory to lead to new processing and product ideas that will 
increase the economic value of this industry and provide consumers with 
safe, high quality, healthful vegetable products.
    To maintain the current level of research we request that Congress 
restore the funding increases provided in the fiscal year 2004 
($270,000) and fiscal year 2005 ($100,000) budgets. It is very 
important that Congress restore the full $370,000 in the fiscal year 
2008 budget, since the funds were not included in the budget sent to 
the Congress.
    We seek additional funding to support two new research initiatives 
for this laboratory that have substantial economic potential for our 
industry and health benefits for the American public. These are: (1) 
Preservation of a variety of high nutrient/high antioxidant vegetables 
using fermentation or acidification techniques so as to maintain the 
natural levels of beneficial phyotochemicals in convenient to use 
value-added products; (2) development of techniques to deliver living 
pro-biotic microorganisms to consumers in fermented or acidified 
vegetable products.
    Certain vitamins (Vitamin C, folic acid) and beneficial 
phytochemicals in vegetables are stabilized by the low pH in acidified 
and fermented foods. In addition, low pH makes it possible to preserve 
vegetables with low heat or, ideally, no heat, which typically 
minimizes nutrient loss. While many high nutrient/high antioxidant 
vegetables are pickled to a very limited extent, traditional processes 
include steps, such as preserving in very high salt or acid followed by 
washing out the excess salt or acid, that result in loss many of the 
health-promoting components that diet authorities emphasize when they 
urge people to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. The 
objective will be develop new low acid/low salt preservation techniques 
for broccoli, Brussel sprouts, sweet potato, cauliflower, and peppers 
that will provide high levels of vitamin C, folic acid, carotenoids, 
glucosinolates, and phenolic compounds to maximize the health benefits 
of these vegetables in products that are convenient and attractive to 
consumers.
    Most of what we hear about bacteria in foods concerns the pathogens 
that cause disease. However, lactic acid bacteria are intentionally 
grown in fermented foods because they are needed to give foods like 
sauerkraut, yoghurt, cheeses, and fermented salami the characteristic 
flavors and textures that we desire. There is a growing body of 
research to indicate that certain living lactic acid bacteria are `pro-
biotic' and can improve human health by remaining in the intestinal 
tract after they are consumed. Fermented or acidified vegetables may be 
a good way to deliver such pro-biotic bacteria to consumers. The 
objective will be to identify pro-biotic lactic acid bacteria that can 
survive in high numbers in selected vegetable products and investigate 
the potential for using vegetables as healthful delivery vehicles for 
pro-biotic organisms.

       SUGAR BEET AND BEAN RESEARCH UNIT, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

    The USDA/ARS East Lansing, Michigan location has the only federally 
funded research program that is devoted to developing new and/or 
improved engineering technologies and systems for assessing, retaining, 
and assuring postharvest quality, marketability, and wholesomeness of 
pickling cucumbers and other vegetable products. The vegetable 
postharvest engineering research is one component of the postharvest 
engineering research program within the Sugar Beet and Bean Research 
Unit in East Lansing, Michigan. The postharvest engineering research 
program currently has a full-time research agricultural engineer whose 
research is primarily focused on tree fruits. Over the past few years, 
the location has developed a number of innovative engineering 
technologies for rapid, nondestructive measurement and inspection of 
postharvest quality of tree fruits and vegetables. One is a novel 
laser-based multi-spectral scattering technology for assessing the 
texture and flavor of fruits. The technology may be used for inspecting 
a variety of vegetable crops including cucumbers. The location did the 
pioneering work in applying hyperspectral imaging technology for 
quality assessment of fruits and vegetable. It recently developed an 
advanced hyperspectral imaging system for automated detection of 
quality/defect of pickling cucumbers.
    Currently the location's cucumber postharvest engineering research 
is grossly under funded, and it has not been carried out at the full 
scope it would have been expected. Additional Federal funding for the 
location would enable the hiring of a full-time research agricultural 
engineer to focus on development of new and/or improved engineering 
technologies and equipment for postharvest handling of pickling 
vegetable products. Today, consumers have increasing choices of foods 
and they become more conscious of food quality and nutrition. An 
effective quality control and assurance system throughout the handling 
steps between harvest and retail is critical for providing consistent, 
superior products to the marketplace. Methods currently available for 
measuring and grading quality of cucumbers and other vegetables are 
either ineffective or time consuming. New and/or improved technologies 
are needed to assess, inspect and grade fresh cucumbers rapidly and 
accurately for various internal and external quality characteristics so 
that raw products can be directed to, or removed from, appropriate 
processing or marketing avenues. This will minimize postharvest losses 
of food that has already been produced and ensure high quality, 
consistent final product and end-user satisfaction. Research at East 
Lansing will lead to new inspection and grading technology that will 
help the pickling industry in delivering high-quality safe products to 
the marketplace.

         U.S. VEGETABLE LABORATORY, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

    The research program at the USDA/ARS Vegetable Laboratory in 
Charleston, South Carolina, addresses national problems in vegetable 
crop production and protection with emphasis on the southeastern United 
States. This research program is internationally recognized for its 
accomplishments, which have resulted in development of over 150 new 
vegetable varieties and lines along with the development of many new 
and improved disease and pest management practices. This laboratory's 
program currently addresses 14 vegetable crops including those in the 
cabbage, cucumber, and pepper families, which are of major importance 
to the pickling industry. The mission of the laboratory is to (a) 
develop disease and pest resistant vegetable crops and (b) develop new, 
reliable, environmentally sound disease and pest management programs 
that do not rely on conventional pesticides.
    Continued expansion of the Charleston program is crucial. Vegetable 
growers depend heavily on synthetic pesticides to control diseases and 
pests. Cancellation and/or restrictions on the use of many effective 
pesticide compounds are having a considerable influence on the future 
of vegetable crop production. Without the use of certain pesticides, 
growers will experience crop failures unless other effective, non-
pesticide control methods are found quickly. The research on improved, 
more efficient and environmentally compatible vegetable production 
practices and genetically resistant varieties at the U.S. Vegetable 
Laboratory continues to be absolutely essential. This gives U.S. 
growers the competitive edge they must have to sustain and keep this 
important industry and allow it to expand in the face of increasing 
foreign competition. Current cucumber varieties are highly susceptible 
to a new strain of the downy mildew pathogen; this new strain has 
caused considerable damage to commercial cucumber production in some 
South Atlantic and Midwestern states in 2005 and 2006, and a new plant 
pathologist position needs to be established to address this critical 
situation.

                      FUNDING NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE

    It remains critical that funding continues the forward momentum in 
pickled vegetable research that the United States now enjoys and to 
increase funding levels as warranted by planned expansion of research 
projects to maintain U.S. competitiveness. We also understand that 
discretionary funds are now used to meet the rising fixed costs 
associated with each location. Additional funding is needed at the 
Wisconsin and South Carolina programs for genetic improvement of crops 
essential to the pickled vegetable industry, and at North Carolina and 
Michigan for development of environmentally-sensitive technologies for 
improved safety and value to the consumer of our products. The 
fermented and acidified vegetable industry is receptive to capital 
investment in order to remain competitive, but only if that investment 
is economically justified. The research needed to justify such capital 
investment involves both short term (6-24 months) and long term (2-10 
years or longer) commitments. The diverse array of companies making up 
our industry assumes responsibility for short-term research, but the 
expense and risk are too great for individual companies to commit to 
the long-term research needed to insure future competitiveness. The 
pickled vegetable industry currently supports research efforts at 
Wisconsin and North Carolina and anticipates funding work at South 
Carolina and Michigan as scientists are put in place. Donations of 
supplies and processing equipment from processors and affiliated 
industries have continued for many years.
U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina
    The newly constructed laboratory-office building at the U.S. 
Vegetable Laboratory was occupied in April 2003. Design of the 
accompanying greenhouse and head house using the funds appropriated for 
this purpose in fiscal year 2003 was completed in July 2004. In fiscal 
year 2004, construction of the head house component of this project was 
funded. The head house component of the project is now under 
construction with an expected completion in late spring 2006. In fiscal 
year 2005, $2.976 million was appropriated for construction of 
greenhouses. In fiscal year 2006, an additional $1.980 million was 
appropriated for construction of greenhouses, but $7.794 million is 
still needed for the planned $12.750 million greenhouse complex. This 
new facility replaces and consolidates outmoded laboratory areas that 
were housed in 1930s-era buildings and trailers. Completion of the 
total research complex will provide for the effective continuation and 
expansion of the excellent vegetable crops research program that has 
been conducted by the Agricultural Research Service at Charleston for 
over 70 years. It is most critical to the mission of the U.S. Vegetable 
Laboratory that the fiscal year 2002, fiscal year 2003, and fiscal year 
2004 appropriated funds for expansion of the Charleston research staff 
is maintained in fiscal year 2008. In addition, new funds are needed to 
establish a plant pathology position to address cucumber diseases, 
especially the disease caused by a new strain of the downy mildew 
pathogen that has caused extensive damage to cucumber production in 
some South Atlantic and Midwestern states during the past 2 years. The 
plant pathologist is needed to characterize pathogen strains using 
molecular methodologies and to develop new management approaches and 
resistant cucumber lines. This new plant pathologist position will 
greatly contribute to the accomplishment of research that will provide 
for the effective protection of cucumbers from disease without the use 
of conventional pesticides. This position will require a funding level 
of $450,000 for its establishment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Gross funds
        Appropriations to restore           Fiscal year      impacted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minor Use Pesticides (IR-4).............            2002          $5,398
U.S. Vegetable Laboratory...............            2003         489,868
U.S. Vegetable Laboratory...............            2004         266,260
                                         -------------------------------
      Total Funds to Restore............  ..............         761,526
------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               New funds
     New scientific staff needed           Current status        needed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant Pathologist (cucumber disease)  Needed.................   $450,000
                                                              ----------
      New funds needed..............  .......................    450,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Food Fermentation Laboratory, Raleigh, North Carolina
    The current funding for the laboratory is $1,274,000. This includes 
the new funds provided in fiscal year 2004 ($270,000) and in fiscal 
year 2005 ($100,000) that are not in the fiscal year 2008 budget 
proposal that was sent to the Congress. We request that the additional 
funding provided by the Congress in fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 
2005 be restored in the fiscal year 2008 budget.
    To carry out the new research initiatives to maximize retention of 
beneficial components in high nutrient/high antioxidant vegetables and 
to develop systems to deliver pro-biotic lactic acid bacteria in 
acidified and fermented vegetable products, we request additional 
support for the Food Fermentation Laboratory of $200,000 in fiscal year 
2008. This will provide support for Post-Doctoral or Pre-Doctoral 
research associates along with necessary equipment and supplies to 
develop these new areas of research.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Funds
          Scientific staff                 Current status        needed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microbiologist......................  Active.................   $318,500
Chemist.............................  Active.................    318,500
Food Technologist/Biochemist........  Active.................    318,500
Microbial Physiologist..............  Active.................    318,500
Fiscal year 2008 Post-doctoral or     Needed.................    200,000
 Predoctoral Research Associates.
                                                              ----------
      Total funding required........  .......................  1,474,000
                                                              ==========
Presidential Budget (fiscal year      .......................    912,195
 2008).
                                                              ==========
Appropriations to restore...........  .......................    361,805
New funds needed....................  .......................    200,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vegetable Crops Research Laboratory Unit, Madison, Wisconsin
    Current base funding for three scientists is $849,172, of which 
$200,000 was added in fiscal year 2002. An additional $50,828 is needed 
to fully fund the scientists and support staff, including graduate 
students and post-doctorates.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Funds
      Scientific staff in place            Current status        needed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geneticist..........................  Active.................   $300,000
Horticulturist......................  Active.................    300,000
Geneticist..........................  Active.................    300,000
                                                              ----------
      Total funding required........  .......................    900,000
                                                              ==========
Presidential Budget (fiscal year      .......................    798,222
 2008).
                                                              ==========
Appropriations to restore...........  .......................     50,950
New funds needed....................  .......................     50,828
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A temporary addition of $200,000 was provided to enhance the 
research effort of this program in fiscal year 2002, and we greatly 
appreciate that additional support, but that addition is being proposed 
for reduction in fiscal year 2008. Thus, the restoration of the funds 
proposed for reduction, is urgently requested. We request a $101,778 
permanent addition this year to sustain the long-term research of this 
group.
Sugar Beet and Bean Research Unit, East Lansing, Michigan
    The location urgently needs to hire a full-time research engineer 
to develop a comprehensive research program on nondestructive 
inspection, sorting and grading of pickling cucumbers and other 
vegetable crops to assure the processing and keeping quality of pickled 
products. The current base funding for the cucumber engineering 
research is $200,000. An increase of $150,000 in the current base 
funding level would be needed to fund the research engineer position.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Funds
      Scientific staff in place            Current status        needed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postdoctoral Research Associate.....  Active.................   $200,000
Research Engineer...................  Needed.................    150,000
                                                              ----------
      Total funding required........  .......................    350,000
                                     ===================================
Current Funding.....................  .......................    200,000
New funds needed....................  .......................    150,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thank you for your consideration and expression of support for the 
USDA/ARS.
                                 ______
                                 

         Prepared Statement of the Red River Valley Association

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am Wayne Dowd, and I 
am pleased to represent the Red River Valley Association as its 
President. Our organization was founded in 1925 with the express 
purpose of uniting the citizens of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and 
Texas to develop the land and water resources of the Red River Basin. 
(Enclosure 1)
    The Resolutions contained herein were adopted by the Association 
during its 82nd Annual Meeting in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 22, 
2007, and represent the combined concerns of the citizens of the Red 
River Basin Area as they pertain to the goals of the Association. 
(Enclosure 2)
    As an organization that knows the value of our precious water 
resources we support the most beneficial water and land conservation 
programs administered through the Natural Resources Conservation 
Service (NRCS). We understand that attention and resources must be 
given to our national security and the war in Iraq; however, we cannot 
sacrifice what has been accomplished on our Nation's lands. NRCS 
programs are a model of how conservation programs should be 
administered and our testimony will address the needs of the Nation as 
well as our region.
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget for NRCS indicates a 
decrease of $131,740,000 (16 percent decrease) from what Congress 
appropriated in fiscal year 2007, $841,340,000. In addition, the 
Administration eliminated two crucial watershed programs: Watershed & 
Flood Prevention Operations and Watershed Survey & Planning. Along with 
drastic reductions in the other programs, NRCS manpower for fiscal year 
2008 would have to decrease by over 1,500 staff years, if the 
President's budget is implemented. This is unacceptable.
    This means that NRCS assistance to landowners will not be 
adequately funded, to the detriment of the Nation and our natural 
resources. We would like to address several of the programs 
administered by NRCS. Failure to adequately fund these initiatives 
would reduce assistance to those who want it and the resources that 
need protection.
    Conservation Operations.--This account has been in steady decline, 
in real dollars, over the past several years. The President's budget 
included $689 million, which is a decrease of $70 million from what 
Congress appropriated in fiscal year 2007. Mandated increases in pay 
and benefits, continuing increases in the cost of doing business' and 
budget reductions greatly reduces the effective work that can be 
accomplished in this account. Allocations should be increased not 
decreased.
    We request a total of $930 million be appropriated for Conservation 
Operations for NRCS to meet the demands it faces today.
    Conservation Technical Assistance is the foundation of technical 
support and a sound, scientific delivery system for voluntary 
conservation to the private users and owners of lands in the United 
States. It is imperative that we provide assistance to all ``working 
lands'' not just those fortunate few who are able to enroll in a 
Federal program. Working lands are not just crops and pasture 
(commodity staples) but includes forests, wildlife habitat and coastal 
marshes. The problem is that NRCS personnel funded from ``mandatory 
programs'' can only provide technical assistance to those enrolled in 
these programs, leaving the majority of the agricultural community 
without technical assistance. We recommend that adequate funding be 
placed in ``Conservation Technical Assistance'', and allow NRCS to 
provide assistance to all who are in need of assistance.
    It is our understanding that the Technical Service Providers (TSP) 
program has not lived up to its expectations. Experience indicates 
landowners are hesitant to use the program. This program funds projects 
at a level estimated if NRCS conducted the work. Usually the TSP cost 
exceeds this estimate and the landowner is responsible for the 
difference, effectively making the landowner cost share. We believe 
that TSPs should be used only after NRCS staffing is brought up to 
levels commensurate with the increase in workload caused by the Farm 
Bill, not to replace NRCS staffing.
    Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (Public Law 566 & 534).--
We are greatly disappointed that the President's Budget provided no 
funding for watershed operations in the last two fiscal years. There is 
no doubt that this is a Federal responsibility, in conjunction with a 
local sponsor. This program addresses all watershed needs to include: 
flood protection, water quality, water supply and the ecosystem. There 
is no Corps of Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation or FEMA program to 
address small watershed needs, before disaster strikes. We recommend 
that Congress continue to hold oversight hearings to understand the 
importance and hear how popular this program is to our communities.
    Over the past 50 years these projects have developed a $15 billion 
infrastructure that is providing $1.5 billion in annual benefits to 
over 47 million people. It is not a Federal program, but a federally 
assisted program. This partnership between local communities, State 
agencies and NRCS has been successful for over 50 years. It would take 
$1.6 billion to fund the existing Federal commitment to local project 
sponsors. This cost only increases every year if adequate funding is 
not provided.
    All ongoing contracts will be terminated, if you allow this program 
to end. This will ultimately lead to lawsuits and tort claims filed by 
both sponsors and contractors, due to the Federal Government not 
fulfilling its contractual obligation.
    We are very appreciative for the funding level of $75 million 
enacted in fiscal year 2006, but that was the last year funding was 
provided. No funding was provided in fiscal year 2007. For every $1 
spent, the Nation realizes $2 in benefits. Congress must take back 
responsibility for this program.
    There are many new projects, which are awaiting funds for 
construction under this program. We strongly recommend that a funding 
level of $190 million be appropriated for Watershed Operations 
Programs, Public Law 534 ($20 million) and Public Law 566 ($170 
million).
    The Red River has proven, through studies and existing irrigation, 
to be a great water source for ``supplemental'' irrigation. The two 
projects mentioned below, will use existing, natural bayous to deliver 
water for landowners to draw from. The majority of expense will be for 
the pump system to take water from the Red River to the bayous. These 
projects will provide the ability to move from ground water dependency 
to surface water, an effort encouraged throughout the Nation. Both will 
enhance the environmental quality and economic vitality of the small 
communities adjacent to the projects.
  --Walnut Bayou Irrigation Project, AR.--Plans and specifications have 
        been completed and it is ready to proceed into the construction 
        phase. An irrigation district has been formed and they are 
        prepared to take on the responsibility to generate the income 
        for the O&M required to support this project. We request that 
        $4,000,000 be appropriated for these projects in fiscal year 
        2008.
  --Red Bayou Irrigation Project, LA.--The plans and specifications 
        have been completed, making this project ready for construction 
        in fiscal year 2007. An irrigation district has been formed and 
        is prepared to collect funds to support the O&M for this 
        proposed system.
    We request that $2,500,000 be specifically appropriated to begin 
construction in fiscal year 2008.
    Watershed Rehabilitation.--More than 10,400 individual watershed 
structures have been installed nationally, with approximately one-third 
in the Red River Valley. They have contributed greatly to conservation, 
environmental protection and enhancement, economic development and the 
social well being of our communities. More than half of these 
structures are over 30 years old and several hundred are approaching 
their 50-year life expectancy. Today you hear a lot about the watershed 
approach to resource management. They protect more people and 
communities from flooding now than when they were first constructed. 
The benefit to cost ratio for this program has been evaluated to be 
2.2:1. What other Federal program can claim such success?
    In the next 5 years over 900 watershed structures will require over 
$570 million for rehabilitation. Each year this number increases as 
more dams reach their 50-year life. There is no questioning the value 
of this program. The cost of losing this infrastructure exceeds the 
cost to reinvest in our existing watersheds. Without repairing and 
upgrading the safety of existing structures, we miss the opportunity to 
keep our communities alive and prosperous. It would be irresponsible to 
dismantle a program that has demonstrated such great return and is 
supported by our citizens. We cannot wait for a catastrophe to occur, 
where life is lost, to decide to take on this important work.
    The President's budget neglects the safety and well being of our 
community needs and only recommends $6 million for this program. This 
is drastically lower than the levels authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill, 
which authorized $600 million for rehabilitation for 2003-2007.
    We request that $75 million be appropriated to provide financial 
and technical assistance to those watershed projects where sponsors are 
prepared (35 percent cost share) to commence rehabilitation.
    Watershed Survey and Planning.--In fiscal year 2006, $6.1 million 
was appropriated to support this extremely important community program. 
Again, no funding was provided in fiscal year 2007. NRCS has become a 
facilitator for the different community interest groups, State and 
Federal agencies. In our States such studies are helping identify 
resource needs and solutions where populations are encroaching into 
rural areas. The Administration decided to eliminate this program. We 
disagree with this and ask Congress to fund this program at the 
appropriate level.
    Proper planning and cooperative efforts can prevent problems and 
insure that water resource issues are addressed. Zeroing out the 
planning process assumes the economy will not grow and there is no need 
for future projects. We do not believe anyone supports or believes 
this. Another serious outcome is that NRCS will lose its planning 
expertise, which is invaluable.
    We request this program be funded at a level of $35 million.
    We request that the following two studies be specifically 
identified and funded in the fiscal year 2008 appropriation bill.
  --Maniece Bayou Irrigation Project, AR.--This is a project in its 
        initial stage of planning. An irrigation district is being 
        formed to be the local sponsor. This project transfers water 
        from the Red River into Maniece Bayou where landowners would 
        draw water for supplemental irrigation. We request that 
        $200,000 be appropriated to initiate the plans and 
        specifications.
  --Lower Cane River Irrigation Project, LA.--The transfer of water 
        from the Red River to the Lower Cane River will provide 
        opportunities for irrigation and economic development. Funds 
        are needed to initiate a Cooperative River Basin Study. We 
        request that $250,000 be appropriated for this study.
    Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D).--This has 
traditionally been a well-received program by the Administration, not 
this year. Their budget proposal only had $14.6 million, far short of 
national needs. This program leverages its resources at 4 to 1, with 
communities, local sponsors and non-government organizations. The 
benefits are realized at over 14 to 1, average per project. This 
drastic cut is proposed by eliminating 325 of 375 coordinator 
positions. The remaining 50 positions are supposed to serve all 
councils in all the 50 States.
    We request that $56 million be appropriated for this program, at 
the same level as in fiscal year 2006.
    Mandatory Accounts (CCC) Technical Assistance (TA).--Request for 
assistance through the CCC programs has been overwhelming. Requests far 
exceed the available funds and place an additional workload on NRCS's 
delivery system. Adequate funding for TA must be provided at the full 
cost for program delivery. This includes program administration, 
conservation planning and contracting with each applicant. Congress, in 
the 2002 Farm Bill, wisely increased conservation programs each year. 
This increased investment, will increase the NRCS workload. It is 
imperative that NRCS receive the TA funding levels required to 
administer these programs. If they do not receive full funding these 
programs will not realize their full capability.
    It has been mandated that a set percent of TA, from the CCC 
Program, must be used for TSPs, approximately $40 million. This is 
equivalent to losing 600 staff years from NRCS manpower. This is 
another unacceptable policy, which will reduce the effectiveness of 
NRCS. This mandate must be eliminated.
    Over 70 percent of our land is privately owned. This is important 
in order to understand the need for NRCS programs and technical 
assistance. Their presence is vital to ensuring sound technical 
standards are met in conservation. These programs not only address 
agricultural production, but sound natural resource management. Without 
these programs and NRCS properly staffed to implement them, many 
private landowners will not be served adequately to apply conservation 
measures needed to sustain our natural resources for future 
generations. Technical Assistance cannot be contracted out to private 
companies.
    We are all aware of the issue with TMDL levels in our waterways. If 
our Nation is to seriously address this we must look at the impacts 
from our farmlands. Assistance for land treatment plans and plan 
implementation is exactly what the NRCS Watershed programs are intended 
to address. Watershed programs should be receiving an increase in 
funds, not zeroed out!
    With these new clean water initiatives why do we ignore the agency 
that has a proven record for implementing watershed conservation 
programs? Congress must decide; will NRCS continue to provide the 
leadership within our communities to build upon the partnerships 
already established? It is up to Congress to insure NRCS is properly 
funded and staffed to provide the needed assistance to our taxpayers 
for conservation programs.
    These NRCS studies and watershed projects are an example of true 
``cooperative conservation'' initiatives. There is an interface with 
communities and local sponsors at each step of the process and local 
sponsors do cost share at the levels expected of them.
    All these programs apply to the citizens in the Red River Valley 
and their future is our concern. The RRVA is dedicated to work toward 
the programs that will benefit our citizens and provide for high 
quality of life standards. We therefore request that you appropriate 
the requested funding within these individual programs, to insure our 
Nation's conservation needs are met.
    I thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony on behalf 
of the members of the Red River Valley Association and we pledge our 
support to assist you in the appropriation process. Please direct your 
comments and questions to our Executive Director, Richard Brontoli, 
P.O. Box 709, Shreveport, LA 71162, (318) 221-5233, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    Grant Disclosure.--The Red River Valley Association has not 
received any Federal grant, sub-grant or contract during the current 
fiscal year or either of the 2 previous fiscal years.

               ENCLOSURE 1.--RED RIVER VALLEY ASSOCIATION

    The Red River Valley Association is a voluntary group of citizens 
bonded together to advance the economic development and future well 
being of the citizens of the four State Red River Basin area in 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
    For the past 80 years, the Association has done notable work in the 
support and advancement of programs to develop the land and water 
resources of the Valley to the beneficial use of all the people. To 
this end, the Red River Valley Association offers its full support and 
assistance to the various Port Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, 
Economic Development Districts, Municipalities and other local 
governmental entities in developing the area along the Red River.
    The Resolutions contained herein were adopted by the Association 
during its 82nd Annual Meeting in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 22, 
2007, and represent the combined concerns of the citizens of the Red 
River Basin area as they pertain to the goals of the Association, 
specifically:
  --Economic and Community Development
  --Environmental Restoration
  --Flood Control
  --Irrigation
  --Bank Stabilization
  --A Clean Water Supply for Municipal, Industrial and Agricultural 
        Uses
  --Hydroelectric Power Generation
  --Recreation
  --Navigation
    The Red River Valley Association is aware of the constraints on the 
Federal budget, and has kept those constraints in mind as these 
Resolutions were adopted. Therefore, and because of the far-reaching 
regional and national benefits addressed by the various projects 
covered in the Resolutions, we urge the members of Congress to review 
the materials contained herein and give serious consideration to 
funding the projects at the levels requested. We can be contacted at 
(318) 221-5233 or [email protected].
                              enclosure 2

   RED RIVER VALLEY ASSOCIATION FISCAL YEAR 2008 APPROPRIATIONS--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS)
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Fiscal year     Fiscal year     Pres. 2008       RRVA 2008
             Discretionary Accounts                 2006 Approp     2007 Approp       Budget          Request
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conservation Operations.........................         839,519         759,124         689,000         930,000
Watershed & Flood Prevention Operations.........          75,000  ..............  ..............         190,000
    Walnut Bayou Irrigation Project, AR.........  ..............  ..............  ..............           4,000
    Red Bayou Irrigation Project, LA............  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,600
Watershed Rehabilitation........................          31,516          31,516           6,000          75,000
Watershed Survey & Planning.....................           6,083  ..............  ..............          35,000
    Maniece Bayou Irrigation Project, AR........  ..............  ..............  ..............             200
    North Wallace Lake Watershed, LA............  ..............  ..............  ..............     250
Resource Conservation & Development(RC&D).......          51,300          50,700          14,600          56,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: The President's fiscal year 2008 budget is 16 percent less than Congress appropriated in fiscal year 2007.

                                 ______
                                 

  Prepared Statement of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation

$1.8 Million Line Item for the Animal Welfare Information Center at the 
        National Agricultural Library
    The Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) was established by the 
Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act (the 1985 amendment to 
the Animal Welfare Act) to serve as a clearing-house, training center, 
and educational resource for institutions using animals in research, 
testing and teaching. The Center is the single most important resource 
for helping personnel at more than 1,200, U.S. research facilities meet 
their responsibilities under the AWA. Supported by a modest funding 
level, its services are available to all individuals at these 
institutions, including cage washers, animal technicians, research 
investigators, attending veterinarians, IACUC representatives and the 
Institutional Official.
    AWIC provides data on alleviating or reducing pain and distress in 
experimental animals (including anesthetic and analgesic procedures), 
reducing the number of animals used for research where possible, 
identifying alternatives to the use of animals for specific research 
projects, and preventing the unintended duplication of animal 
experiments. The Center collects, updates, and disseminates material on 
humane housing and husbandry, the functions and responsibilities of 
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), animal behavior, 
improved methodologies, psychological well-being of primates, and 
exercise for dogs.
    There is general consensus between the biomedical research industry 
(including the National Association for Biomedical Research) and the 
animal welfare community about the need for increased funding. A number 
of individuals representing these disparate interests have endorsed the 
request for $1.8 million in funding for AWIC. The AWIC helps to improve 
the conduct of research, including the care provided to the animals who 
are used, thereby ensuring a reduction in variables that might skew the 
research. Better science is the end result.
    The AWIC website (http:www.nal.usda.gov/awic) is one of the most 
accessed sites at the NAL, receiving millions of hits each year. It 
provides valuable information on issues of importance not only to the 
science community but also to the agriculture and public health 
communities, including BSE and avian influenza, two of the top areas of 
inquiry for visitors to its website. In fiscal year 2006, nearly 440 
million kbytes of information were distributed via the web, and more 
than 77,000 hard copies were distributed as well. AWIC staff provided 
over 3,000 personal reference services. Exhibitions and/or 
presentations have been conducted at such venues as the American 
Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) annual meeting, 
Society of Neuroscience, New Jersey Association for Biomedical 
Research, American Veterinary Medical Association, International 
Conference on Environmental Enrichment, American Association for the 
Advancement of Science and the 5th World Congress on the Use of Animals 
in the Life Sciences, Scientists Center for Animal Welfare meetings, 
and the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research annual meeting.
    We greatly appreciate Congress' past support for AWIC to carry out 
its programs. Given its indispensability not only in assisting with 
compliance with the AWA but also in providing up-to-date information on 
a range of issues, from BSE to primate enrichment, that are critical to 
the scientific and agricultural communities, we recommend that AWIC be 
listed as a separate line item. We urge Congress to resist any effort 
by ARS to eliminate AWIC; rather, it is essential to maintain a minimum 
base of $1.15 million. Moreover, we respectfully request an additional 
$650,000 in fiscal year 2008 for desperately needed expansion to meet 
growing demand for AWIC's expertise on two fronts.
    First, as evidenced by the findings of an Office of Inspector 
General (OIG) audit, ``APHIS Animal Care Program Inspection and 
Enforcement Activities,'' there has been an increase in apparent 
violations of the AWA by research facilities over the past few years. 
There appears to be a significant problem with the oversight of IACUCs 
and the audit recommends training for IACUC members. In response to 
this need, we are requesting funds to allow AWIC to do the following:
  --Continue to conduct workshops at locations around the country 
        rather than being limited to conducting them only from the 
        Center's base in Maryland.
  --Hold a symposium on AWA requirements for IACUC nonaffilated members 
        (i.e., members from the community charged with representing the 
        communities' concerns for the animals).
  --Work with Animal Care more closely to identify and assist those 
        licensees and registrants that are cited for AWA violations 
        most frequently.
    Second, increased funding is also necessitated by the expansion of 
AWIC's mandate to include the broader industry regulated under the 
Animal Welfare Act: animal dealers, carriers and handlers, zoos and 
other exhibitors. Other topics covered by the Center include animal 
diseases, animal models, animal training, and environmental enrichment 
for all species. Animal Care's veterinary medical officers and animal 
care inspectors are able to utilize the full range of services provided 
by the AWIC to better fulfill their responsibilities. The AWIC also 
works closely with both Animal Care and with Emergency Veterinary 
Services on emerging crises such as the highly pathogenic Avian 
Influenza. The Center is focused on transmissible spongiform 
encephalopathy, exotic Avian Newcastle disease, tuberculosis, West Nile 
Virus and microbacterial diseases.
    The $1.8 million would be used as follows: Staff salary and 
benefits ($1,273,000), including the addition of two much-needed 
positions: a Technical Information Specialist and an Information 
Technology Specialist, whose jobs would be to expand the content of the 
Center's database and make it more user-friendly and searchable; 
exhibitions at major scientific conferences, including underserved 
areas of the country ($61,400); workshops, in conjunction with Animal 
Care, to assist licensees and registrants frequently cited for AWA 
violations ($36,000); informational workshops at research institutions 
across the country ($28,000) and locally at the Center ($4,100); 
printing and reproduction of paper and electronic material ($29,200); 
training for the NAL staff ($13,900); acquisition of, including 
electronic access to, data ($38,000); internet services ($20,400); 
office supplies, including hardware and software ($26,000); and the 
overhead that must be provided to the Agricultural Research Service and 
the National Agricultural Library (at least $270,000).
$750,000, Plus a One-Time Infusion of $1 Million, for APHIS/Animal 
        Care's Enforcement of the Horse Protection Act
    More than 30 years ago Congress adopted the Horse Protection Act, 
yet soring of Tennessee Walking Horses continues to be a widespread 
problem. Soring is defined by APHIS as ``the application of any 
chemical or mechanical agent used on any limb of a horse or any 
practice inflicted upon the horse that can be expected to cause it 
physical pain or distress when moving.'' Horses are sored to produce an 
exaggerated gait. (http://www.saplonline.org/pdf/EquusSoring.pdf)
    The most effective method to reduce the showing of sored horses is 
to have Animal Care (AC) inspectors present at the shows. Oftentimes, 
as soon as an AC inspector arrives at a show, there is a rush to put 
horses back into trailers and haul them away. If the likelihood that an 
AC inspector will show up increases significantly, this will have a 
huge deterrent effect on those who routinely sore their horses.
    AC was able to attend only 32 events in fiscal year 2004 out of a 
total of approximately 865 shows. Funding of $750,000 ($500,000 plus a 
$250,000 add-on) is needed to enable AC to attend even a modest number 
of events.
    Unfortunately, the amount of penalties assessed for violations of 
the law has dropped to a negligible amount. In addition to increasing 
the presence of inspectors, USDA must increase the penalties that it 
assesses or the industry will continue to defy the law with impunity. 
Congress should direct USDA to take this step.
    Lack of financial support has made it necessary for Animal Care to 
rely heavily on the industry to assume responsibility for enforcement 
of the law. This is the same industry that has turned a blind eye to 
compliance with the law since 1970! ``Designated Qualified Persons'' 
(DQPs) are the ``inspectors'' from industry who are supposed to assist 
AC in identifying sore horses and pursuing action against the 
individuals who are responsible. The history of the DQPs reveals their 
failure to achieve the level of enforcement of the unbiased, well-
trained, professional inspectors who work for AC, as illustrated by 
radically different enforcement rates: In 2004 and 2005, the rate of 
violations cited at a variety of horse shows was as much as 23 times 
higher under USDA inspections versus HIO inspections. Oftentimes, 
owners withdraw their horses completely from a show rather than risk an 
inspection by USDA.
    We have few current figures on enforcement; however, we recently 
learned from USDA that in 2005, of the samples taken by a gas 
chromatography machine (used to test for use of illegal substances to 
sore horses) at the Kentucky Celebration horse show, 100 percent 
indicated the presence of diesel fuel or another similar fuel plus 
numbing agents. Clearly the law is not being taken seriously by the 
industry. In September 2006, having ignored repeated warnings from USDA 
that too many horses were showing signs of soring, organizers canceled 
the Shelbyville (TN) Celebration, the prestige event in the walking 
horse industry, after USDA inspectors disqualified most of the horses 
because of soring. This was an unprecedented action on the part of the 
industry and is a testament to USDA's commitment to vigorous 
enforcement of the HPA, even in the face of threats to its inspectors.
    An appropriation of at least $750,000 is essential to permit AC to 
maintain a modest level of compliance with the Horse Protection Act by 
trained AC professionals. USDA also needs a one-time allocation of $1 
million to purchase additional equipment, such as digital radiography 
machines to take radiographs of the hoof to detect changes indicative 
of pressure-shoeing; and algometers, which apply consistent pressure 
during the examination process. Adding these machines to the 
inspectors' tools for verifying the use of soring techniques further 
enhances the objectivity and consistency of the evidence obtained.
$21.126 Million for APHIS/Animal Care's Enforcement of the Animal 
        Welfare Act
    The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the chief Federal law for the 
protection of animals. The USDA seeks compliance with its minimum 
standards for the care and treatment of animals during transportation 
and at the nearly 13,000 sites of dealers, research, testing and 
teaching facilities, zoos, aquariums, circuses, carriers (airlines, 
motor freight lines and other shipping businesses) and handlers (ground 
freight handlers). There are a mere 101 Veterinary Medical Officers 
(VMOs) and Animal Care Inspectors (ACIs) conducting searches, 
prelicensing inspections and enforcement inspections across the 
country.
    In fiscal year 2005, IES resolved 169 cases involving violations of 
the AWA; in fiscal year 2006, 191 cases were resolved through 
stipulations or ALJ decisions. These enforcement actions help ensure 
the protection of both animals and people as evidenced by the OIG 
Audit.
    We support the President's request for $21.126 million for 
enforcement of the AWA. We hope the additional funds will permit USDA 
to hire additional inspectors and to conduct a national meeting, with 
all inspectors in attendance. A national meeting is indispensable to 
providing proper training of inspectors and ensuring that field 
inspectors nationwide apply a high and equal standard of enforcement. 
The cost for a national meeting is expected to be $150,000.
    We also support the President's budget request for funds under the 
emergency management systems line item, which will enable Animal Care 
to execute its new responsibilities for pet evacuation during 
disasters. However, an additional $1 million is needed (for a total of 
$2 million) to ensure that AC does not have to meet these new 
obligations at the expense of ongoing services.
Strengthened Enforcement of Humane Slaughter Act by FSIS
    When President Eisenhower signed the Humane Methods of Slaughter 
Act (HMSA) into law, he noted that if he went by his mail he would 
think Americans were interested in no other issue. That concern is as 
strong today as it was then. Over the past few years, Congress has 
generously provided additional appropriations to the Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS) to improve enforcement of the HMSA; 
nonetheless, problems persist. A big part of the problem is that the 
vast majority of animals currently slaughtered at the approximately 900 
federally inspected plants are already dead by the time FSIS observes 
them.
    In addition, FSIS inspectors are discouraged from enforcing the 
law. Inspectors are supposed to be able to stop the slaughter line if 
violations are seen. However, stopping the line will markedly reduce 
the plant's profits, so there is intense pressure for the inspector not 
to take action. The situation at plants appears to be cozy for people; 
meanwhile, animals are suffering. For example, the Office of the 
Inspector General conducted an investigation of a large plant in Iowa, 
issuing a report on April 25, 2005, that concluded that--employees of 
AGRI had engaged in acts of inhumane slaughter. It was also determined 
that FSIS employees observed the acts of inhumane slaughter and did 
nothing to stop the practice. Additionally, the investigation revealed 
that FSIS inspectors accepted meat products from AGRI employees and 
that FSIS employees engaged in other acts of misconduct.''
    FSIS has attempted a variety of machinations in an effort to dupe 
Congress into believing that enforcement efforts have increased 
dramatically. This is mere window dressing, and inspectors in the 
plants have confirmed that little has changed--and abuses are rife. The 
situation at AGRI, described above is but one example (http://
awionline.org/pubs/Quarterly/05_54_1/541p7a.htm). We vehemently oppose 
increased resources for FSIS because the agency hasn't demonstrated 
resolve to strongly enforce the law.
    Bill language should direct FSIS to fill the many current vacancies 
in its inspector force and to re-assign and/or hire no fewer than 50 
individual inspectors (as opposed to FTE's or staff years) to serve as 
full-time, permanent fixtures in each of the largest slaughter plants 
to observe the handling, stunning and slaughter of animals for 
compliance with the law. When inspectors are not present, line speeds 
are increased and the operations are conducted in a completely 
different (and horrific) manner. A full-time presence is the only way 
to ensure compliance. Congress' previous effort to achieve this goal 
has resulted in the hiring of more upper-level personnel who are 
involved in many supervisory tasks and are not present on a full-time 
basis in the these slaughter plants. FSIS should report the results of 
this effort to the Committee and evaluate the effectiveness of having 
full-time (not full time equivalent) enforcement of the humane 
slaughter requirements following a year of diligence.
    All inspectors who engage in HSA enforcement must receive adequate 
training about the law and, more importantly, must receive a strict 
mandate from the Secretary of Agriculture to take strong, immediate 
action against any violators of the HSA. This would be a modest step 
toward protecting the millions of animals who are killed for food from 
unnecessary suffering. While the Humane Activities Tracking system was 
intended to promote accountability regarding enforcement of the Humane 
Slaughter Act, and to provide data to guide the risk-based inspection 
system, it has failed to meet these goals. Instead it yields skewed 
data that actually result in needed attention being diverted from 
problem plants. We suggest that real progress in ensuring compliance 
with the HMSA rests with redirecting HAT funds towards securing the 
many needed inspectors and improving training in HMSA enforcement.
Congress Needs to Provide Increased Oversight of Wildlife Services 
        Operations and Research
    Wildlife Services (WS) needs to ensure that the variety of tools it 
uses for management of wildlife under its purview are both effective 
and publicly acceptable. As improved tools are developed through 
research, operations must make use of this data and shift methods 
accordingly.
    WS needs to phase out use of steel jaw leghold traps. WS' own 
research demonstrates the archaic nature of certain leghold traps; 
these should be prohibited immediately. Leghold traps slam shut with 
bone-crushing force on the limbs of their victims, tearing ligaments 
and tendons, severing toes and causing excruciating pain. These traps, 
opposed by the vast majority of Americans, have been condemned as 
``inhumane'' by the American Veterinary Medical Association, American 
Animal Hospital Association, World Veterinary Association and National 
Animal Control Association.
    WS should pursue no further testing of leghold traps as this would 
be an extremely wasteful and cruel use of taxpayer money. Previously, 
funds designated for trap research were merely passed through to a 
nongovernmental organization to utilize as it saw fit, without 
involvement from WS. If funds are allocated for trap testing, WS should 
conduct the research (on the myriad devices other than steel jaw traps) 
since the agency has the appropriate technical expertise.
    Further, WS should adopt a policy of checking all restraining traps 
within a 24-hour period. WS has developed a device that can be attached 
to a trap, and the device emits a signal when the trap is triggered; 
this wonderful new technology permits trappers to focus their energies 
on prompt checking of those traps that have actually been triggered. A 
wealth of scientific studies documents the fact that the longer an 
animal is in a restraining trap, the greater the injury. For this 
reason, the majority of States have a daily trap check requirement. 
Animals should not be subjected to long-drawn out pain because of a 
failure to assume the responsibility of carefully checking traps every 
day. This policy will help reduce the trauma experienced by non-target 
animals, too, ensuring that more of these animals will be able to be 
released alive.
    Thank you very much for the opportunity to submit testimony. We 
would be happy to provide any additional information that might be of 
interest.
                                 ______
                                 

                Prepared Statement of The Humane Society

    As the largest animal protection organization in the country, we 
appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony to the Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee on fiscal year 2008 funding items of great importance to 
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its nearly 10 
million supporters nationwide.

                   ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS

    We thank you for your outstanding support during recent years for 
improved enforcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of 
key animal welfare laws and we urge you to sustain this effort in 
fiscal year 2008. Your leadership is making a great difference in 
helping to protect the welfare of millions of animals across the 
country. As you know, better enforcement will also benefit people by 
helping to prevent: (1) orchestrated dogfights and cockfights that 
often involve illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and human violence, 
and can contribute to the spread of costly illnesses such as Exotic 
Newcastle Disease and bird flu; (2) injuries to slaughterhouse workers 
from animals that are still conscious; (3) the sale of unhealthy pets 
by commercial breeders, commonly referred to as ``puppy mills''; (4) 
laboratory conditions that may impair the scientific integrity of 
animal based research; (5) risks of disease transmission from, and 
dangerous encounters with, wild animals in or during public exhibition; 
and (6) injuries and deaths of pets on commercial airline flights due 
to mishandling and exposure to adverse environmental conditions. In 
order to continue the important work made possible by the Committee's 
prior support, we request the following for fiscal year 2008:

               APHIS/ANIMAL WELFARE ACT (AWA) ENFORCEMENT

    We request that you support the President's request of $21,126,000 
for AWA enforcement under APHIS. We commend the Committee for 
responding in recent years to the urgent need for increased funding for 
the Animal Care division to improve its inspections of more than 13,000 
sites, including commercial breeding facilities, laboratories, zoos, 
circuses, and airlines, to ensure compliance with AWA standards. Animal 
Care now has 100 inspectors (with eight vacancies that the agency is in 
the process of filling), compared to 64 inspectors at the end of the 
1990s. We are pleased that the President's budget recommends an 
increase of $3,340,000 (plus allowance for pay costs) to cover hiring 
21 new staff to further improve AWA enforcement in fiscal year 2008. 
This increase will enable the agency to handle additional 
responsibilities as the number of licensed/registered facilities has 
grown by 13 percent from fiscal year 2005 to fiscal year 2006.

             APHIS /INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT SERVICES

    We request that you support the President's request of $12,728,000 
for APHIS Investigative and Enforcement Services. We appreciate the 
Committee's consistent support for this division, which handles many 
important responsibilities including animal welfare. The President's 
budget recommends an increase of $2,143,000 (plus allowance for pay 
costs) and 18 staff years for IES in fiscal year 2008, of which 
$291,000 and 3 staff years will be used to improve enforcement of 
Federal animal welfare laws. In fiscal year 2006, IES resolved 191 
cases through either civil penalty stipulations or Administrative Law 
Judge decisions (compared to 169 cases resolved during fiscal year 
2005).

        OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL/ANIMAL FIGHTING ENFORCEMENT

    We request sustained funding of $800,000 for the Office of 
Inspector General to focus on enforcement of animal fighting laws (this 
amount is incorporated in the President's request for OIG base 
funding). We appreciate the inclusion of $800,000 in recent years for 
USDA's Office of Inspector General to focus on animal fighting cases. 
Congress first prohibited most interstate and foreign commerce of 
animals for fighting in 1976 and tightened loopholes in the law in 
2002. Dogfighting and cockfighting are barbaric practices in which 
animals are drugged to heighten their aggression and forced to keep 
fighting even after they've suffered grievous injuries. Animal fighting 
is almost always associated with illegal gambling, and also often 
involves illegal drug trafficking and violence toward people. Dogs bred 
and trained to fight endanger public safety, and some dogfighters steal 
pets to use as bait for training their dogs. Cockfighting was linked to 
an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in 2002-2003 that cost 
taxpayers more than $200 million to contain. It's also been linked to 
the death of at least nine people in Asia reportedly exposed through 
cockfighting activity to bird flu. Given the potential for further 
costly disease transmission, as well as the animal cruelty involved, we 
believe it would be a sound investment for the Federal Government to 
continue its efforts to combat illegal animal fighting activity. We 
also hope language can be included directing the agency to report back 
to the Committee on specific Federal animal fighting enforcement 
efforts undertaken during fiscal year 2008.

  FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE/HUMANE METHODS OF SLAUGHTER ACT 
                           (HMSA) ENFORCEMENT

    We request sustained funding of no less than $5,000,000 and no 
fewer than 63 staff years for HMSA enforcement (this amount is 
incorporated in the President's request for FSIS base funding) and 
continued funding of $3,000,000 as provided in fiscal year 2007 to 
maintain the new Humane Animal Tracking system. We are grateful that 
Congress provided $5 million in fiscal year 2007 to sustain at least 63 
full time equivalent positions dedicated solely to inspections and 
enforcement related to the HMSA, plus $4 million in fiscal year 2006 
and $3 million in fiscal year 2007 to incorporate a new tracking system 
to ensure compliance with this law. The HMSA is designed to ensure that 
livestock are treated humanely and rendered unconscious before they are 
killed. The effort to target funds for this purpose was undertaken 
following reports of lax enforcement of the HMSA and animals being 
skinned, dismembered, and scalded while still alive and conscious.

COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE/VETERINARY 
                        STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS

    We request $1,000,000 to begin to fully implement the National 
Veterinary Medical Service Act (Public Law 108-161), specifically 
authorized in 2003, that received initial funding of $500,000 in fiscal 
year 2006 and an additional $500,000 in fiscal year 2007. We appreciate 
that Congress has begun to address the critical shortage of 
veterinarians practicing in rural and inner-city areas, as well as in 
government positions such as at FSIS and APHIS. Having adequate 
veterinary care is a core animal welfare concern. A study released in 
June 2006 demonstrated the acute and worsening shortage of 
veterinarians working in rural farm animal practice, while domestic 
pets in both rural and urban areas are often left without necessary 
medical care. Veterinarians support our Nation's defense against 
bioterrorism (the Centers for Disease Control estimate that 80 percent 
of potential bioterrorism agents are zoonotic--transmitted from animals 
to human). They are also on the front lines addressing public health 
problems associated with pet overpopulation, parasites, rabies, chronic 
wasting disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (``mad cow'' 
disease), and a host of other concerns. Veterinary school graduates 
face a debt burden of over $100,000 on average, and the lowest pay of 
any of the medical professions, with an average starting salary of 
$43,000. For those who choose employment in underserved rural or inner-
city areas or public health practice, the National Veterinary Medical 
Service Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to forgive student 
debt. It also authorizes financial assistance for those who provide 
services during Federal emergency situations such as disease outbreaks 
or disasters. We hope you will build on the initial funding provided 
last year to expand this needed program under CSREES or such other 
account as the Committee deems appropriate.

    APHIS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS/DISASTER PLANNING FOR ANIMALS

    We request that you support the President's request of $1 million 
for Animal Care under APHIS' Emergency Management Systems line item. 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated that many people refuse to 
evacuate if they are forced to leave their pets behind. The Animal Care 
division has been asked to develop an infrastructure to help prepare 
for and respond to animal issues in a disaster and incorporate lessons 
learned from previous disasters. These funds will be used for staff 
time and resources to support State and local governments' and humane 
organizations' efforts to plan for protection of people with animals. 
The additional resources will enable the agency to participate, in 
partnership with FEMA, in the newly revised National Response Plan 
without jeopardizing other Animal Care programs.

                 APHIS/HORSE PROTECTION ACT ENFORCEMENT

    We hope you will provide $750,000 (an add-on of $254,000 above the 
amount requested by the President for fiscal year 2008) plus a one-time 
appropriation of $1 million for specialized equipment, and we urge the 
Committee to oppose any effort to restrict USDA from enforcing this law 
to the maximum extent possible. Congress enacted the Horse Protection 
Act in 1970 to end the obvious cruelty of physically soring the feet 
and legs of show horses. In an effort to exaggerate the high-stepping 
gate of Tennessee Walking Horses, unscrupulous trainers use a variety 
of methods to inflict pain on sensitive areas of the feet and legs for 
the effect of the leg-jerk reaction that is popular among many in the 
show-horse industry. This cruel practice continues unabated by the 
well-intentioned but seriously understaffed APHIS inspection program. 
The most effective way to meet the goal of the Horse Protection Act--to 
reduce the showing of sored horses--is to have Animal Care inspectors 
present at the shows. Owners who sore their horses go to great lengths 
to avoid detection, including leaving a show when USDA inspectors show 
up. The greater the likelihood of a USDA inspection, the greater the 
deterrent effect on those who routinely sore their horses. 
Unfortunately, Animal Care is able to attend fewer than 10 of the 500-
plus shows held annually. Funding of $750,000 is needed to maintain a 
modest level of compliance with the Horse Protection Act by trained 
Animal Care professionals. Moreover, a one-time infusion of $1 million 
is needed to enable Animal Care to buy specialized equipment, such as 
digital radiography machines, that would enhance the ability of USDA 
inspectors to detect evidence of soring.

                         DOWNED ANIMALS AND BSE

    We are pleased that the Bush Administration proposed an interim 
final rule in January 2004 to ban the use of downed cattle for human 
food, in the wake of the discovery of a cow in Washington State that 
was infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). We hope the 
Committee will codify this ban--and extend it to other livestock 
besides cattle. While transmission of BSE from infected cows to people 
is most well understood, there is some science indicating that pigs may 
also harbor a form of this disease and downer pigs and other downer 
livestock are at a significantly higher risk of transmitting other 
serious and sometimes fatal illnesses through their meat, such as E. 
coli and Salmonella. Moreover, these animals suffer just as downed 
cattle do when they are moved en route to slaughter.
    As the Committee is aware, some segments of industry and members of 
Congress have recommended weakening the USDA downed cattle ban. They 
claim that animals unable to walk because of injury pose no health 
risk. But injury and illness are often interrelated--an animal may 
stumble and break a leg because of disease that causes weakness and 
disorientation. And USDA inspectors would have a difficult--if not 
impossible--task trying to sort out the reason an animal became non-
ambulatory. Major consumer groups including Consumers Union and 
Consumer Federation of America, support groups for victims of food-
borne illness such as Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.), Creutzfeldt-
Jakob Disease Foundation, and CJD Voice, food safety organizations, 
companies such as McDonald's and Wendy's, and many others have all 
pointed out how reckless such a system would be. Of the BSE cases 
identified in Canada and the United States to date, 10 out of 11 have 
involved downers, and at least 3 of these were identified as downed due 
to injuries, including the Washington State case (``calving injuries'') 
and a January 2005 case in Canada (``slipped on ice/broken leg''). The 
sole BSE-positive animal not identified as a downer was a Canadian cow 
exhibiting ``abnormal locomotion and posture'' who was euthanized in 
January 2006.
    From an animal welfare perspective, a comprehensive ban is needed 
because a downed animal with a broken leg would suffer just as much as 
a sick one if it's dragged through a slaughterplant--maybe even more. A 
ban on use of all downers for human food also provides an incentive for 
producers to treat animals humanely and prevent livestock from going 
down. Even before the administrative ban, USDA estimated that only 0.4 
percent to 0.8 percent of all cows processed annually were non-
ambulatory. The downer ban encourages producers and transporters to 
engage in responsible husbandry and handling practices, so that this 
percentage may be reduced to levels approaching zero. Temple Grandin--
advisor to the American Meat Institute and others in the meat 
industry--has noted that as many as ninety percent of all downers are 
preventable. Cases that involve broken bones and other injuries are 
perhaps the most preventable with improved husbandry.
    Most Americans had no idea that animals too sick or injured to walk 
were being dragged with chains or hauled by bulldozer en route to the 
food supply. When that fact came to light in December 2003, USDA's 
prompt decision to ban all downer cattle from human food calmed 
consumers. Unraveling the ban would undermine consumer confidence. More 
than 99 percent of the 22,000+ public comments USDA received on its 
downer ban called on the agency to maintain and strengthen its downer 
ban, with most asking that other species be included. For a report on 
the comments received by the agency, please go to: http://
files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/2004_06_16_rept_USDA_comments.pdf.
    USDA testimony before various congressional committees has made 
clear that the agency need not rely on slaughterplant testing of 
downers for BSE surveillance purposes. Surveillance of downers can and 
should be conducted at rendering plants and on farms.
    In addition to the downer issue, we urge the Committee to provide 
adequate funding to ensure meaningful enforcement by the Food and Drug 
Administration of its ``feed ban,'' designed to prevent BSE-
contaminated animal products from being fed to other animals. We are 
concerned that inspectors visit facilities infrequently and rely on 
self-reporting by those facilities and paperwork checking rather than 
first-hand evaluation of feed content and dedicated production lines. 
We are also concerned that FDA relies a great deal on State agencies to 
conduct this oversight, when most States face severe budget constraints 
that may compromise their ability to handle this job. Preventing the 
spread of BSE is vital to the Nation as a whole, for public health, the 
agricultural industry, and animal welfare. Vigorous enforcement of the 
feed ban is an essential component of this effort. We hope adequate 
Federal funds will be provided in fiscal year 2008 to meet this 
challenge.

                ANIMAL WELFARE INFORMATION CENTER (AWIC)

    AWIC was established by the 1985 amendment to the Animal Welfare 
Act (the Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act) to serve as a 
clearinghouse, training center, and educational resource for 
institutions using animals in research, testing and teaching. This 
Center is the single most important resource for helping personnel at 
more than 1,200 U.S. research facilities meet their responsibilities 
under the AWA. Supported by a modest funding level, its services are 
available to all individuals at these institutions, from cage washers 
to Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) representatives 
and the Institutional Official. Given its indispensability not only in 
assisting with compliance with the AWA but also in providing up-to-date 
information on issues ranging from BSE to primate enrichment that are 
critical to the scientific and agricultural communities, we recommend 
that AWIC be listed as a separate line item. We urge Congress to resist 
any effort by ARS to eliminate AWIC; rather, it is essential to 
maintain a minimum base of $1.15 million. Moreover, we respectfully 
request an additional $650,000 (for a total of $1.8 million) in fiscal 
year 2008 for critically needed expansion and other improvements to 
meet growing demand for AWIC's expertise.
    Again, we appreciate the opportunity to share our views and 
priorities for the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related 
Agencies Appropriation Act of Fiscal Year 2008. We appreciate the 
Committee's past support, and hope you will be able to accommodate 
these modest requests to address some very pressing problems affecting 
millions of animals in the United States. Thank you for your 
consideration.
                                 ______
                                 

               Prepared Statement of The Wildlife Society

    The Wildlife Society appreciates the opportunity to submit 
testimony concerning the fiscal year 2008 budgets for the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Animal Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS), and Cooperative State Research, Education and 
Extension Services (CSREES). The Wildlife Society represents over 7,500 
professional wildlife biologists and managers dedicated to sound 
wildlife stewardship through science and education. The Wildlife 
Society is committed to strengthening all Federal programs that benefit 
wildlife and their habitats on agricultural and other private land.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
    The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary 
program that provides technical and financial support to farmers and 
ranchers to create high quality wildlife habitat. Since 1998, nearly 
$150 million has been dedicated to the program and over 2.8 million 
acres involving over 18,000 contracts have been enrolled. The Wildlife 
Society recommends funding WHIP at $100 million in fiscal year 2008 so 
that the program can continue to provide for fish and wildlife 
benefits.
    The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) is a valuable program designed to 
assist farmers and ranchers in protecting and restoring wetland 
habitat. The Wildlife Society supports the President's enrollment 
target of 250,000 acres in fiscal year 2008. Full WRP enrollment is 
needed if the Administration intends to achieve the President's stated 
goal of no-net-loss of wetlands.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
    Wildlife Services (WS), a unit of APHIS, is responsible for 
controlling wildlife damage to agriculture, aquaculture, forest, range, 
and other natural resources, for controlling wildlife-borne diseases, 
and for controlling wildlife at airports. Its activities are based on 
the principles of wildlife management and integrated damage management, 
and are carried out cooperatively with State fish and wildlife 
agencies. The Wildlife Society is concerned by the Administration's 
proposal to decrease funding in key activity areas for WS. The 
President's fiscal year 2008 proposed budget includes increases for 
wildlife monitoring and surveillance ($5.016 million) and the oral 
rabies vaccination program ($2 million), but proposes an overall 
decrease of $1.684 million in the WS Operations line item, requiring a 
redirection of $8.7 million. While we are pleased that these activities 
have gained presidential support, the net decrease to the WS 
operational budget will effectively result in an overall reduction in 
key activity areas. The Wildlife Society strongly recommends that 
Congress restore the proposed decrease of $1.684 million.
    We understand the importance of safeguarding our Nation against 
highly pathogenic avian influenza and applaud the added fiscal 
resources to address this critical issue. The President's fiscal year 
2008 budget proposal redirects $3.2 million for avian influenza 
research. The Wildlife Society recommends that Congress provide 
additional money to adequately fund this and other important and 
associated research. Redirection of funds for this program would have 
serious and, in many cases, terminal effects on important existing 
projects, including the Jack Berryman Institute for Wildlife Damage 
Management at Utah and Mississippi State Universities; the Logan, Utah 
Predator Research Station; the newly-established Texas A&M University-
Kingsville Research Field Station; and the Starkville, Mississippi 
Research Field Station.
    The Wildlife Society is very concerned about the proposed $1.39 
million reduction in the Brucellosis Program budget. Because of its 
presence in wild elk and bison, brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone 
Area will be especially difficult to eliminate and will require more, 
not less, fiscal resources to accomplish. We recommend Congress restore 
brucellosis funding to $11 million in fiscal year 2008 and that USDA-
APHIS-Veterinary Services continue to utilize the authorities and 
expertise of the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee 
to address domestic livestock interactions with wild elk and bison in 
the region.
    The Wildlife Society commends APHIS-Veterinary Services for 
providing funding to State wildlife management agencies for Chronic 
Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance and management in free-ranging deer 
and elk. Additionally, The Wildlife Society strongly supports APHIS' 
efforts to eliminate CWD from captive cervids in order to eliminate the 
risk of spread of the disease from these animals to free-ranging deer 
and elk. The surveillance and monitoring efforts conducted by all 50 
States during 2004 and 2005 would not have been possible without this 
cooperative funding. Additionally, knowledge of the presence and 
prevalence of CWD has been enhanced by this program. Without continued 
funding, States will be unable to maintain the level of CWD 
surveillance necessary to track the disease. The Wildlife Society 
recommends restoring the $6.3 million decrease to return funding to 
fiscal year 2007 levels.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
    The Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA) provides an expanded, 
comprehensive extension program for forest and rangeland renewable 
resources. The RREA funds, which are apportioned to State Extension 
Services, effectively leverage cooperative partnerships at an average 
of four to one, with a focus on private landowners. The need for RREA 
educational programs is greater today than ever because of continuing 
fragmentation of ownership, urbanization, the diversity of landowners 
needing assistance and increasing societal concerns about land use and 
the impact on natural resources including soil, water, air, wildlife 
and other environmental factors. The Wildlife Society recommends that 
the Renewable Resources Extension Act be funded at $30 million, as 
authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill.
    The proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 reflects a slight decrease 
for the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry program. The proposal 
would modify the McIntire-Stennis formula program by creating a multi-
State research program supported by about 62 percent of the total 
funding. All McIntire-Stennis multi-State funds will be distributed 
through competitively awarded grants in 2008. This represents a 
significant departure from prior years. These funds are essential to 
the future of resource management on non-industrial private 
forestlands, as forest products are produced while conserving natural 
resources, including fish and wildlife. As demand for forest products 
grow, private-land forests will increasingly be needed to supplement 
supplies, but trees suitable for harvest take decades to produce 
(versus the single year in which crops such as corn and soybeans can be 
harvested). In the absence of long-term and on-going research, such as 
provided through McIntire-Stennis, the Nation could easily become ill-
suited to meet future forest-product needs. Replacement of McIntire-
Stennis funding with competitive grants will leave long-term and stable 
forest research to chance. The Wildlife Society strongly believes that 
the reasons for continuing the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry 
program into the future are compelling and urges Congress to increase 
the fiscal year 2008 budget to $25 million, an amount more consistent 
with historic levels.
    National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants are open to 
academic institutions, Federal agencies, and private organizations to 
fund research on improving agricultural practices, particularly 
production systems that are sustainable both environmentally and 
economically, and to develop methods for protecting natural resources 
and wildlife. Innovative grant programs such as NRI help broaden 
approaches to land management, such as integrating timber and wildlife 
management on private lands. The Wildlife Society supports the 
Administration's request of $256.5 million for National Research 
Initiative Competitive Grants. Included within that total, however, is 
approximately $36 million for programs authorized under Section 406 of 
the Research, Extension and Education Act of 1998 and previously funded 
under the ``Integrated Activities'' line in the CSREES budget. While 
The Wildlife Society does not oppose this consolidation, Congress 
should ensure that sufficient funding is available to support all of 
these efforts at no less than their fiscal year 2007 levels.
    Thank you for considering the views of wildlife professionals. We 
look forward to working with you and your staff to ensure adequate 
funding for wildlife conservation.
                                 ______
                                 

      Prepared Statement of the United States Telecom Association

                           SUMMARY OF REQUEST

Project Involved
    Telecommunications Loan and Grant Programs Administered by the 
Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Actions Proposed
    Supporting RUS loan levels and the associated funding subsidy, as 
required, for the 5 percent direct loan program ($145 million) and cost 
of money program ($250 million) in fiscal year 2008 in the amounts 
requested in the President's budget.
    Supporting Section 306 guaranteed loans in the amount ($295 
million) requested in the President's budget.
    Opposing the budget request that would cut direct loans for 
broadband facilities and internet service access by 40 percent from the 
fiscal year 2006 enacted level of $500 million.
    Supporting renewal of the pilot broadband grant program and an 
allocation of a portion of the authorized levels for broadband loans at 
reduced interest rates to accelerate deployment of this technology in 
rural areas.
    Continuation of the general provision contained in previous 
appropriations acts that would prohibit RUS from drafting or 
implementing any regulation or rule requiring recertification of rural 
status for telephone borrowers.
    Supporting the continued elimination of the 7 percent cap on cost 
of money loans
    Supporting continued funding, as requested in the President's 
budget, in the amount of $25 million for telemedicine and distance 
learning grants in rural areas.
    Seeking language strengthening and improving the operation of the 
broadband loan program in the Committee Report accompanying the bill.
    Supporting provision of sufficient funds for staff, including legal 
staff, to properly administer the telecommunications and broadband 
programs.
    I am Walter B. McCormick, Jr., President and CEO of the United 
States Telecom Association (USTelecom). I submit this testimony in the 
interests of the members of USTelecom and the customers they serve. 
USTelecom represents innovative companies ranging from the smallest 
rural telecoms in the Nation to some of the largest corporations in the 
U.S. economy. Our member companies offer a wide range of services 
across the communications landscape, including voice, video and data 
over local exchange, long distance, Internet and cable networks.
    USTelecom members firmly believe that the targeted assistance 
offered by a strong RUS telecommunications loan and grant program 
remains essential to a healthy and growing rural telecommunications 
industry that contributes to the provision of universal telecom 
service. We appreciate the strong support this Committee has provided 
for the RUS telecom program since its inception in 1949 and look 
forward to a vigorous program for the future.
Rural Areas Need Access to Broadband Service
    Access to a reliable source of capital such as the RUS loan 
programs is key to the system upgrades which will enable rural areas to 
experience the economic growth and job creation that a freely 
competitive market with ready access to fairly priced capital can 
provide.
    It is critically important that rural areas be included in the 
nationwide drive for greater bandwidth capacity. In order to provide 
higher speed data services, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or 
even fiber optic connections to the Internet, outside plant must be 
modernized and switching must be migrated to new platforms. These 
investments may not be justified by market conditions in low density 
high cost rural areas, so the RUS program provides important financial 
incentives for additional investment which encourages rural 
telecommunications companies to build facilities which allow advanced 
services, including distance learning and telemedicine, to be provided. 
The externalities measured in terms of economic development and human 
development more than justify this investment in the future by the 
federal government.
    Greater bandwidth and packet switching capabilities are crucial 
infrastructure elements which will allow rural businesses, schools and 
health care facilities to take advantage of the other programs 
available to them as end users. The money spent on having the most 
modern and sophisticated equipment available at the premises of 
businesses, schools or clinics is wasted if the local 
telecommunications company cannot afford to build facilities that 
quickly transport and switch the large amounts of voice, video and data 
that these entities generate. RUS funding enhances the synergies among 
the FCC and RUS programs targeted at improving rural education and 
health care through telecommunications.
    RUS endures because it is a brilliantly conceived public-private 
partnership in which the borrowers are the conduits for the federal 
government benefits that flow to rural telephone customers, the true 
beneficiaries of the RUS program. The government's contribution is 
leveraged by the equity, technical expertise and dedication of local 
telecom companies. The small amount of government capital involved is 
more than paid back through a historically perfect repayment record by 
telecom borrowers, as well as the additional tax revenues generated by 
the jobs and economic development resulting from the provision and 
upgrading of telecommunications infrastructure. RUS is the ideal 
government program--it provides incentives where the market does not 
for private companies to invest in infrastructure promoting needed 
rural economic development, it allows citizens to have access to 
services which can mean the difference between life and death, and it 
has never lost a nickel of taxpayer money because of a telecom carrier 
default.
Recommendations
    For fiscal year 2008, this Committee should set the loan levels and 
necessary associated subsidy amounts for the 5 percent direct loan 
program and cost of money loan programs consistent with the levels 
recommended in the President's budget. The guaranteed 
telecommunications loan program should also be funded at the level 
requested in the budget.
    Congress and the President have recognized the tremendous potential 
of broadband technology to enhance human and economic development in 
rural areas by establishing as a priority loans for the deployment of 
such technology in rural areas. USTelecom urges the provision of 
funding for these loans sufficient to support $500,000,000, the same 
amount adopted in the 2006 appropriations act. The capital intensive 
nature of the telecommunications industry, particularly with respect to 
implementation of broadband, requires a stable and predictable source 
of funds. Congress should be lauded for its recognition of the 
importance of broadband deployment to our Nation's economy and 
particularly for the recognition, through support of the RUS program, 
of the tremendous impact broadband telecommunications can have on 
economic growth and development in rural America. The pilot broadband 
grant program, initiated by Congress in previous appropriations acts, 
should be renewed at a higher level and increased funding should be 
provided so that a portion of the authorized levels for broadband loans 
can be allocated to reduced interest rate loans.
Improving the Effectiveness of the RUS Broadband Program
    Redirecting Broadband Program Funding to Unserved Areas.--Since the 
inception of the broadband program, RUS has used a substantial portion 
of the available funds to make loans to areas that already have 
broadband service. RUS justifies these loans for duplicative facilities 
with the contention that service in these areas is inadequate and so 
the areas are ``underserved'', thereby permitting such duplication. For 
purposes of making broadband loans, RUS defines broadband service as 
200 kbps. Yet when determining whether an area is underserved, RUS will 
make a loan to any entity which promises a faster speed than is 
provided by the incumbent, even if the incumbent is providing service 
far in excess of the 200kbps standard RUS has set for new loans. RUS 
should be directed to use the same standard for new broadband loans as 
for the determination that an area is ``underserved''.
    RUS also has determined that an area is underserved if the 
applicant seeking to provide duplicative service will offer a 
substantial price differential relative to the incumbent. RUS has no 
objective standard for determining what constitutes a ``substantial 
price differential''. RUS should be directed to establish an objective 
standard through report language.
    The RUS broadband program should exclusively focus on extending the 
reach of broadband in rural America with a goal of ubiquitous 
deployment. Making loans for duplicative facilities and service, when 
other citizens in rural America reside in areas with no service at all, 
is a waste of scarce government resources. To properly redirect 
government funds to areas unserved by broadband, Congress should 
clarify that loans funds not be used for duplicative facilities, and 
should reaffirm that the non-duplication requirements of Title II of 
the Rural Electrification Act are equally applicable to the Title VI 
broadband program. The Undersecretary for Rural Development should be 
required to make a legal finding that any loan for broadband will not 
result in a duplication of facilities. To assist the Undersecretary in 
making this finding, RUS broadband applications should include the 
identity, list of services and charges as well as the service areas of 
the incumbent provider. Also, to the extent that they do not conflict, 
Congress should reaffirm that all the provisions of Title II, such as 
those relating to area coverage and loan feasibility, are equally 
applicable to the Title VI broadband program.
    Congress Should Amend the Farm Bill to Improve the Efficiency of 
the Broadband Program.--The statutory exclusion of companies with more 
than 2 percent of that Nation's access lines from the broadband program 
is an unfortunate policy decision that limits the effectiveness of RUS 
in targeting funds to unserved areas. The RUS telephone program 
contains no such exclusion. Rural customers, the true beneficiaries of 
the RUS program, should not be denied its benefits because of the 
identity of the carrier from which they receive service. Similarly, the 
statutory requirement that the term of broadband loans cannot exceed 
the expected useful life of the facilities being financed increases the 
size of periodic loan repayments and diminishes loan feasibility. Since 
RUS has a lien on all the property of the borrower, not just the new 
facilities, in most instances there is more than sufficient security 
for the loan for the broadband equipment. As long as the security of 
the government's loan is sufficient, the term of the loan in relation 
to the life of the facilities financed is irrelevant.
    Congress Should Take Action to Improve the Feasibility of Loans in 
Unserved Areas by Renewing the Pilot Broadband Grant Program at a 
Higher Level and Increasing Funding to Permit Reduced Interest Rate 
Loans.--The RUS program is a public/private partnership. The government 
provides funds to fulfill a social goal and the borrowers use those 
funds to implement that goal in a way that makes sense for their 
business. Both goals are met when the revenues from the financed 
facilities generate sufficient revenue to repay the loan according to 
its terms. Providing broadband service in rural and remote areas 
currently unserved is a financially challenging proposition. While cost 
of money loans may provide a cost savings sufficient to make a project 
financially doable in some areas, other areas may need below cost loans 
or a combination of loans and grants in order to ensure feasibility. 
The pilot broadband grant program should be renewed at a higher level 
and increased funding should be provided so that a portion of the 
authorized levels for broadband loans can be allocated at reduced 
interest rates to accelerate deployment of broadband facilities in 
rural areas.
Elimination of the Seven Percent cap on the Interest Rate for the 
        ``Cost of Money'' Program
    For a number of years, through the appropriations process, Congress 
has eliminated the seven percent ``cap'' placed on the insured cost-of-
money loan program. The elimination of the cap should continue. If long 
term Treasury interest rates exceeded the 7 percent ceiling contained 
in the authorizing act, the subsidy would not be adequate to support 
the program at the authorized level. This would be extremely disruptive 
and hinder the program from accomplishing its statutory goals. 
Accordingly, USTelecom supports continuation of the elimination of the 
seven percent cap on cost-of-money insured loans in fiscal year 2008.
Recommended Loan Levels
    USTelecom recommends that the telephone program loan levels for 
fiscal year 2008 be set as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insured 5 percent Direct Loans..........................    $145,000,000
Insured Cost-of-Money Loans.............................     250,000,000
Loan Guarantees.........................................     295,000,000
Broadband Telecommunications Loans......................     500,000,000
                                                         ---------------
      Total.............................................   1,190,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loans and Grants for Telemedicine and Distance Learning
    USTelecom supports the continuation of $25 million in grants for 
distance learning and telemedicine, as provided in the President's 
budget. As we move into the Information Age with the tremendous 
potential of the Internet to increase productivity, economic 
development, education and medicine, such funds can help continue the 
historic mission of RUS to support the extension of vital new services 
to rural America.
Recertification of Rural Status Would Be Disruptive and Chill Rural 
        Telecom Investment
    The Administration's budget notes that USDA will propose rule 
changes to require recertification of rural status for each electric 
and telecommunications borrower on the first loan request received in 
or after 2008 and on the first loan request received after each 
subsequent Census. Telecom construction and investment is a long term 
continuous process, not a project by project proposition. The 
uncertainty created by the possibility of decertifying a borrower as 
rural after it has established a relationship with RUS and begun 
borrowing funds for expansion and upgrading according to a long term 
plan would be disruptive and discourage borrowers from participating in 
the RUS program, thereby denying its benefits to subscribers. The 
``once rural always rural'' practice of RUS has been extraordinarily 
successful at providing needed long term capital, at a careful and 
measured pace, to telecom carriers intent on expanding and upgrading 
service to promote rural economic development. Congress should deny 
funding in fiscal year 2008 for such a rule change.
Conclusion
    Our members take pleasure and pride in reminding the Committee that 
the RUS telecommunications program continues its perfect record of no 
defaults by telecommunications carriers in over a half century of 
existence. RUS telecom borrowers take seriously their obligations to 
their government, their Nation and their subscribers. They will 
continue to invest in our rural communities, use government loan funds 
carefully and judiciously, and do their best to assure the continued 
affordability of telecommunications services in rural America. Our 
members have confidence that the Committee will continue to recognize 
the importance of assuring a strong and effective RUS 
Telecommunications and Broadband Program through authorization of 
sufficient funding and loan levels.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of the University of Southern Mississippi and the 
                     Mississippi Polymer Institute

    Mr. Chairman, distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, I thank 
you for this opportunity to provide testimony describing ongoing 
research and commercializing efforts of The University of Southern 
Mississippi (USM) and the Mississippi Polymer Institute. I am very 
grateful to the Subcommittee for its leadership and the continued 
support of the Institute and its work. This testimony will include an 
update on the progress of the Institute since my testimony of 
approximately one year ago. During the past year, our efforts have 
focused principally on two research and commercialization areas. One 
effort involves our novel, agricultural-based inventions in emulsion 
polymerizations, and the other is to produce a commercial quality, 
formaldehyde-free, soybean based adhesive for composite board 
materials, specifically, particleboard. During the past year, we have 
advanced emulsion polymerization technology, and continued to refine 
the soy adhesive while preparing lab scale particleboards that now 
exceed all levels of commercial specifications for particleboard. It is 
my strong belief that additional research can expand the commercial use 
of the products and technology produced in these projects. However, 
more work must be accomplished to capitalize upon the variety of 
current and potential uses for these novel agricultural derived 
technology developments. I will discuss the progress for each of these 
research and development thrusts to provide maximum clarity.
    Seven patents, patent applications, and memorandums of invention 
were generated in 2006. Additionally in 2006, seven manuscripts were 
published, seven presentations to technical societies were given, and 
students who have performed laboratory research have won three awards. 
We remain energized, active, and successful at utilizing funding to 
increase the value of agricultural products and co-products, and 
discovering viable methods for utilizing agricultural-based products as 
alternatives or supplements to petroleum-derived materials. The success 
of our technology depends upon the use of agricultural materials as the 
primary building blocks for emulsion-derived polymers, and thus clearly 
offers opportunities for using ag-derived materials as a basic 
feedstock in the polymer industry. The same is true for the use of 
soybeans as an alternative to formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
    The 2006-2007 research and development year was quite successful 
resulting in several pilot plant trials and planned commercial scale 
production for vegetable oil-based monomers and polymers. Vegetable oil 
macromonomers (VOMMs) have proved valuable in the synthesis of zero 
volatile organic content (VOC) architectural latexes, associative 
thickeners in coatings, as well as serving as the polymer 
infrastructure for Navy Haze Gray paint. The DOD is desirable of a 
replacement technology that excludes flammable organic solvents, 
contains zero VOCs, and matches or exceeds current performance 
requirements. We are happy to report that these requirements have been 
realized by use of unique agricultural-derived monomer technology 
invented in these laboratories. Vegetable oil-based monomers and 
latexes derived from this technology are being evaluated for use in 
adhesives, foams, wood composites, and several different coatings 
applications. Our VOMM synthesis techniques have been optimized to 
achieve greater than 90 percent conversion, producing only glycerol as 
a byproduct. The revised and now accepted synthetic procedure affords a 
useful, polymerizable VOMM without extraordinary methods or processes, 
thus reducing the cost of manufacture. During 2005 and 2006, our 
successful and novel synthetic techniques have allowed the synthesis of 
new emulsion polymers whose composition contains up to 70 percent VOMM 
by weight (based upon polymer solids). Moreover, this technology 
provides chemically and physically stable polymers suitable for a 
variety of end uses, particularly in coatings formulations. A 
significant advancement this year is attributed to our new level of 
control and understanding between monomer design and partitioning 
during the emulsion polymerization process. The novel derivatives 
provide VOMMs that are more readily copolymerizable with common 
commercial monomers.
    As an example of the potential impact of monomers and polymers 
derived from this technology, the following statistics are cited. In 
2004, sales of low gloss water thinned paints (including tinting bases) 
were 181 million gallons, with a value of $1,551 million 
(www.census.gov.mcd). A 1 percent share of this market within two years 
would amount to 1.81 million gallons of low gloss paint. A typical flat 
latex paint contains 1,200 g of latex per gallon. With latexes 
containing 20 percent soybean oil derivatives, this market share would 
consume 950,000 lbs of soybean oil or 89,540 bushels (up to 70 percent 
soy oil derivatives have already been achieved in 2005-2006). It would 
not be unrealistic to expect that in five years, a market share of 5 
percent resulting in the annual consumption of 447,700 bushels of 
soybeans for high value-added monomers and high performance decorative 
and protective coatings. The environmental impact has potential to 
reduce volatile organic emissions by 3.6 million lbs per year at only 1 
percent market share (data 250 g/L VOC 3.78L/gal, 1.81 million gallons 
and 1 percent market share).
    Vernonia oil, a naturally occurring epoxidized oil, was reacted 
with supercritical carbon dioxide to yield carbonated vernonia oil. 
This derivative has much lower viscosity than its synthetic analogs and 
can serve as a precursor for synthesizing isocyanate-free 
polyurethanes. The synthesis is an attractive option for reducing 
global levels of carbon dioxide while utilizing mainly natural 
products. Additionally, vernonia oil was modified to yield a novel 
polyol that resulted in lower viscosity than commercial, petrochemical-
based polyol at the same hydroxyl value. This polyol was the key 
component in the synthesis of rigid foams that meet or exceed the 
mechanical performance of commercial foams based on petrochemical 
derivatives.
    A soybean oil-based VOMM was employed in the synthesis of 
associative thickeners for use with commercial latexes. The biobased 
thickener provided improved thickening efficiency when compared to 
commercial petrochemical-based thickeners at equal concentrations. The 
soybean oil-based VOMM was also used in the synthesis of a biobased 
ultraviolet absorber (UVA). The UVA displayed good gloss retention 
properties and its synthesis is being optimized to improve its effect 
on color retention.
    Commercial nail polishes contain very high amounts of organic 
solvents which constitute volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 
negatively impact the environment. VOMM-based latexes, without the 
organic solvents, were formulated into environmentally-responsible, 
glossy nail polishes with acceptable dry times and water resistance 
properties.
    In summary, commercialization efforts have continued over the past 
year with waterborne architectural coatings, new technology to meet DOD 
needs for Navy Haze Gray waterborne paint, environmentally-responsible 
nail polish formulations, associative thickeners, and UV absorbers. 
Patents have been approved; new patent applications have been 
submitted; high performance monomers have been created and scaled-up 
for manufacture at toll production levels; new higher performing 
coatings have been designed, manufactured, formulated, and tested; and 
formulation efforts have been directed toward the generation of high 
performance, low odor, and low VOC coatings. We are optimistic that 
commercialization and sales of one or more of these ag-derived products 
will be realized in the year ahead.
    In yet another of our novel ag-based technologies, we have 
developed formaldehyde-free adhesives for use in particleboard 
composites. The developmental adhesive is composed of soy protein 
isolate (SPI), and lab produced particleboards made with this 
formaldehyde-free adhesive meet or exceed industry performance 
requirements as defined by ANSI standards for M1, M2, M3, and M-S grade 
boards. Processing and board production are compatible with current 
equipment and methodologies. Sustained research efforts have resulted 
in higher adhesive solids resulting in faster line speeds. Plant trials 
conducted with this novel soy-derived adhesive at a commercial 
particleboard manufacturing plant generated boards that were consistent 
with boards made in our laboratories under similar processing 
conditions. Particleboards typically employ wood chips as the 
discontinuous phase. Alternate sources of wood furnish are of interest 
in expanding the utility of soybean protein adhesive in composite 
applications. We have developed biobased composites using our soybean 
protein-based adhesive in conjunction with alternative materials such 
as cork, vermiculite, kenaf, and recycled paper, while 
polycaprolactone, defatted soy flour, lignin, and cellulose were 
evaluated as additives.
    In 1983, the Mississippi Legislature authorized the Mississippi 
Polymer Institute at USM to work closely with emerging industries and 
other existing polymer-related industries to assist with research, 
problem solving, commercializing efforts, and workforce development. 
The Institute has maintained that thrust during the past year with much 
success. In fact, while manufacturing jobs alone in Mississippi have 
declined over the past 10 years, manufacturing jobs in the plastics 
sector have continued to increase (45 percent growth in 2004). The 
Institute provides industry and government with applied or focused 
research, development support, commercializing assistance, and 
workforce development. This effort complements existing strong ties 
with industry and government involving exchange of information and 
improved employment opportunities for USM graduates. Most importantly, 
through basic and applied research coupled with developmental and 
commercializing efforts of the Institute, the School of Polymers and 
High Performance Materials continues to address national needs of high 
priority.
    Our research remains focused on the study and development of 
technology platforms that facilitate further commercialization of 
alternative agricultural crops for use in the polymer industry. The 
polymer industry maintains its position as the single largest consumer 
of petroleum chemical intermediates in the world. The finite supply of 
petroleum resources has resulted in extreme price pressures as 
worldwide demand continues to increase. Unfortunately, this feedstock 
normally generates non-biodegradable raw materials that are not carbon 
neutral, and therefore do not represent a sustainable alternative for 
economic development in the polymer industry. The theme of our work is 
to develop high performance, and environmentally responsible technology 
utilizing agricultural intermediates. In this way, we as a Nation can 
improve our environment, reduce our dependence on imported petroleum, 
and keep America's farmlands in production. As farm products meet the 
industrial needs of the American society, rural America is the 
benefactor. Heretofore, these successful efforts to utilize alternative 
agricultural products as an industrial feedstock continue to receive 
more and more attention but drastically less than these high tech 
innovations and opportunities warrant. Your decisions are crucial to 
the accomplishment of these goals as funding from this Subcommittee has 
enabled us to implement and maintain an active group of university-
based polymer scientists whose energies are devoted to commercializing 
alternative crops. We are most grateful to you for this support, and 
ask for your continued commitment.
    Polymers, which include fibers, plastics, composites, coatings, 
adhesives, inks, and elastomers, play a key role in the materials 
industry. They are used in a wide range of industries including 
textiles, aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, medical 
prosthesis, and health care. In the aerospace and automotive 
applications, reduced weight and high strength make them increasingly 
important as fuel savers. Their non-metallic character and almost 
unlimited design potential support their use for many national defense 
purposes. Moreover, select polymers are possible substitutes for so-
called strategic materials, some of which come from potentially 
unreliable sources.
    As a polymer scientist, I am intrigued by the vast opportunities 
offered by American agriculture. As a professor, however, I continue to 
be disappointed that few of our science and business students receive 
training in the polymer-agricultural discipline despite its enormous 
potential. At USM, we are attempting to make a difference by showing 
others what can be accomplished if appropriate time, energy, and 
resources are devoted to the understanding of ag-based products. For 
more than 40 years, I have watched the evolution of polymers where 
almost each new product offered the opportunity for many more. Although 
polymer science as a discipline has experienced expansion and a degree 
of public acceptance, alternative agricultural materials in the polymer 
industry continue to be an underutilized national treasure. Now is the 
ideal time for agricultural materials to make significant inroads as 
environmentally-responsible, biodegradable, and renewable raw 
materials.
    U.S. agriculture has made the transition from the farm fields to 
the kitchen tables, but America's industrial community continues to be 
frightfully slow in adopting ag-based industrial materials. The prior 
sentence was included in my last four testimonies but continues to ring 
true, even as I write this report. We are making progress and we must 
persist. We must aggressively pursue this opportunity and in doing so:
  --Intensify United States efforts to commercialize alternative crops 
        and dramatically reduce atmospheric VOC emissions and odor for 
        a much cleaner and less noxious air for all Americans.
  --Reduce United States reliance on imported petroleum.
  --Maintain a healthy and prosperous farm economy.
  --Foster new cooperative opportunities between American farmers and 
        American industry.
  --Create advanced polymer technology-based manufacturing jobs that 
        cannot be easily exported to other countries.
  --Maintain our innovative and developmental competitive edge over 
        other less environmentally-responsible countries and less 
        competitive economies.
    Mr. Chairman, your leadership and support are deeply appreciated by 
the entire University of Southern Mississippi community. While I can 
greatly appreciate the financial restraints facing your Subcommittee, I 
feel confident that further support of the Mississippi Polymer 
Institute will continue to pay dividends by way of increasing 
commercialization opportunities for agricultural materials in the 
American industry. Advances in polymer research are crucial to food, 
transportation, housing, and defense industries. Our work has clearly 
established the value of ag products as industrial raw materials, and 
we must move it from the laboratories to the industrial manufacturing 
sector. Only then can the United States enjoy the cleaner and safer 
environment that these technologies offer, as well as new jobs, and 
expanded opportunities for the U.S. farmer. We are most grateful for 
the support provided by you in the past. The funding you provided has 
facilitated laboratory work to be conducted, manufacturing scale-up to 
be accomplished, and ensured sales (although limited) of products based 
on this technology. However, additional funds are needed to make these 
technologies cost effective while maintaining the high performance 
standards to which we are accustomed. Pilot scale processes are 
necessary to move this technology into the market place, and will be 
the principal focus of our upcoming work. Of course, while working to 
achieve commercialization, we are committed to continue technology 
advancement, as will basic research on those topic areas where 
knowledge is required.
    Since our testimony last year, our research and development efforts 
have effectively shown that sustained research has expanded the 
viability of agricultural derivatives. Indeed, the technology is 
maturing, which must be followed by marketing and sales to realize full 
potential. Thus, we are asking for your support to advance these 
technologies to the market place, and to continue our development of 
other useful ag-derived technologies. We therefore respectfully request 
$1.5 million in Federal funding to more fully exploit the potential of 
commercializing the technologies described herein. We have shown that 
we can be successful, yet we need additional resources to optimize the 
potential of the knowledge creation described herein. Our efforts will 
be recognized as instrumental in developing a ``process'' for the 
commercialization of new ag-based products. We have proven that we are 
successful in developing technologies from the ``idea'' stage to scale-
up for commercialization in several market areas. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, for your support and 
consideration.
                                 ______
                                 

  Prepared Statement of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association

    The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is the 
organization created in 1981 by the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, 
Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin to serve as a forum for coordinating 
the five States' river-related programs and policies and for 
collaborating with Federal agencies on regional water resource issues. 
As such, the UMRBA has an interest in the budget for the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's conservation programs and technical 
assistance.
    Of particular importance to the UMRBA is funding for the 
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Conservation 
Security Program (CSP). Taken together, these four programs provide an 
invaluable means for the USDA to work with landowners, local 
conservation districts, and the States to maintain agricultural 
productivity while protecting the nation's soil and water resources. 
CRP, WRP, EQIP, and CSP are key non-regulatory elements in the States' 
efforts to address agricultural sources of water quality impairment 
through the Total Maximum Daily Load program and can help address the 
national concern with hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.
Conservation Reserve Program
    The UMRBA supports President Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget request 
of $2 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program, a slight increase 
over fiscal year 2007. Through CRP, farmers and ranchers can 
voluntarily establish long term conservation practices, such as filter 
strips and riparian buffers, on highly erodible and environmentally 
sensitive cropland.
    In the UMRBA States (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and 
Wisconsin), total CRP enrollment is currently 7.1 million acres, or 
approximately 19 percent of the national CRP acreage. Yet the five 
States' CRP enrollment represents 41 percent of the total number of CRP 
contracts, 40 percent of the total number of farms enrolled nationwide 
in the CRP, and 32 percent of the total annual CRP rental payments. CRP 
contracts expiring in 2007 cover 2 million acres in the five UMRBA 
States. Preliminary data indicate that 77 percent of those expiring 
acres will be re-enrolled or extended.
    All five UMRBA States also have active Conservation Reserve 
Enhancement Programs (CREP) tailored to meet their priority 
conservation needs. Current CREP enrollment in the five States is over 
261,000 acres, or 28 percent of the national total. These rates of 
participation clearly demonstrate the importance of the CRP and CREP in 
the nation's agricultural heartland and reflect the compatibility of 
these programs with agricultural productivity.
Wetlands Reserve Program
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget proposes $455 million for 
the Wetlands Reserve Program, an increase of 72 percent over fiscal 
year 2007 spending estimates. UMRBA applauds this substantial increase 
and the Administration's goal of enrolling 250,000 acres, bringing the 
total acres to WRP's authorized program cap.
    WRP easements have proven to be important tools for restoring and 
protecting wetlands in agricultural areas. This is clearly evident from 
the overwhelming landowner response and the resulting improvements to 
water quality and habitat. From fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 
2006, NRCS has enrolled 2,680 contracts in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, 
Missouri, and Wisconsin totaling more than 352,000 acres, or 19 percent 
of the national total. In fiscal year 2006, $56.3 million of WRP 
funding was allocated to the five Upper Mississippi River States, 
representing a quarter of all WRP investment that year. Yet the future 
viability of WRP is in question as a result of the 2006 change in the 
way USDA appraises property for WRP easements. The new ``Yellow Book'' 
appraisal system has resulted in lower price-per-acre offers, making 
enrollment in WRP less attractive for many landowners and potentially 
leading to enrollment of less environmentally valuable lands. UMRBA is 
concerned that WRP target the most ecologically valuable wetland areas 
and thus urges Congress and USDA to evaluate the impacts of the new WRP 
appraisal system and take action to maintain the program's future 
effectiveness.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
    In contrast to conservation programs that protect land and water 
resources by curtailing production on sensitive lands, the 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) supports conservation 
on working lands. Promoting agricultural production and environmental 
quality as compatible goals is particularly important in the Midwest 
agricultural heartland.
    The President is proposing to fund EQIP at $1.0 billion in fiscal 
year 2008, essentially unchanged from the fiscal year 2007 funding 
level. The UMRBA supports this investment, noting that EQIP is a 
tremendously popular conservation program in the 5 States of the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin. In fiscal year 2006, $75.7 million was paid 
for conservation practices completed in UMR States under 1997-2006 EQIP 
contracts. In addition, 5700 new EQIP contracts were approved in fiscal 
year 2006 in the UMR States, obligating $97 million in future financial 
assistance. Yet that same year, an additional 6700 applications, 
totaling $125 million, were left unfunded.
Conservation Security Program
    The President's fiscal year 2008 budget request of $316 million for 
the Conservation Security Program (CSP) reflects a 22 percent increase 
over fiscal year 2007 for this popular voluntary program, which 
provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers 
who implement conservation measures on working lands. However, the 
President's proposed funding level will only be sufficient to continue 
to support CSP contracts signed in prior years. No new enrollments 
would be offered in 2008. Given the popularity and effectiveness of the 
CSP, the UMRBA urges Congress to consider increasing CSP funding beyond 
what the Administration has proposed to enable additional eligible 
acreages to benefit.
    In the first 3 years of CSP (2004-2006), 28 of the 280 eligible 
watersheds in the nation were in the 5 States of the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin. Within those 28 watersheds, there are 6,139 approved CSP 
contracts, which constitute nearly one-third of all CSP contracts, and 
total $56 million in approved payments.
    In fiscal year 2007, there are 51 additional watersheds eligible 
for CSP nationwide, including one in each of the 5 UMRBA States.
Conservation Technical Assistance
    Through the Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program, NRCS 
provides the technical capability that helps people plan and apply 
conservation on the land. NRCS works through and in partnership with 
conservation districts to assist individuals and groups in assessing 
conservation needs and planning, designing, and installing conservation 
practices. In addition, the CTA program assists in preparing landowners 
to participate in USDA conservation financial assistance and easement 
programs, provides emergency disaster technical assistance, and enables 
NRCS to coordinate with other programs such as U.S. EPA's nonpoint 
source management program and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners 
for Wildlife. Approximately $91 million in CTA funding was allocated to 
the five UMRBA States (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and 
Wisconsin) in fiscal year 2006.
    Given that CTA is the foundation for much of the nation's private 
lands conservation assistance, UMRBA supports the President's fiscal 
year 2008 funding request of $679 million for CTA, a 3 percent increase 
over the fiscal year 2007 estimated spending level.
Watershed Programs
    The UMRBA is concerned that the President is proposing deep cuts to 
NRCS's watershed programs, including total elimination of the Watershed 
and Flood Prevention Operations program, which funds Public Law 566 and 
Public Law 534 projects. Funding for Watershed Operations has declined 
substantially over the past 20 years, from an historical high of $199 
million in fiscal year 1994 to only $74 million in fiscal year 2006. 
And yet this program provides significant local, regional, and national 
benefits, by addressing watershed protection, flood prevention, erosion 
and sediment control, water supply, water quality, water conservation, 
agricultural drought problems, rural development, municipal and 
industrial water needs, upstream flood damages, fish and wildlife 
habitat enhancement, and wetland creation and restoration. In September 
2005 there were $1.85 billion of unfunded Federal commitments to Public 
Law 566 and Public Law 534 projects nationwide, with $208 million of 
that in the States of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. Despite 
the fact that Public Law 566 and Public Law 534 projects in these 4 
States were allocated 31 percent of the total national funding in 
fiscal year 2006, that amount ($21.7 million) was far less than the 
$208 million backlog. In fiscal year 2006, although there was only $69 
million allocated for watershed protection and flood prevention 
operations nationwide, there were funding requests totaling over $174 
million, $44 million of which were in the five UMRBA States. Rather 
than eliminating this important program, UMRBA urges that it be funded 
at least equal to the fiscal year 2006 level.
    The rehabilitation of aging flood control dams must also be 
addressed. Of the 11,000 Public Law 534 and Public Law 566 dams 
nationwide, more than 3,000 will reach the end of their design life by 
2013. Recognizing this fact, Congress authorized the Watershed 
Rehabilitation Program in 2000 and authorized significant new funding 
for the program in the 2002 Farm Bill. However, that authorization 
expires at the end of fiscal year 2007. Nevertheless, the President has 
proposed $6 million for the Watershed Rehabilitation program in fiscal 
year 2008, targeting it exclusively on technical assistance. That 
amount is well below the recent funding levels of $30 million and only 
a small fraction of the $150 million authorized for fiscal year 2007. 
Repair, upgrade, or removal of aging dams, which could become a threat 
to public health and safety, is extremely important and UMRBA thus 
urges Congress to reauthorize and increase funding for the Watershed 
Rehabilitation Program.
                                 ______
                                 

             Prepared Statement of the USA Rice Federation

    This is to convey the rice industry's request for fiscal year 2008 
funding for selected programs under the jurisdiction of your respective 
subcommittees. The USA Rice Federation appreciates your assistance in 
making this letter a part of the hearing record.
    The USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments 
of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government 
programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide 
demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase 
profitability for all industry segments. USA Rice members are active in 
all major rice-producing states: Arkansas, California, Florida, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. The USA Rice Producers' 
Group, the USA Rice Council, the USA Rice Millers' Association, and the 
USA Rice Merchants' Association are members of the USA Rice Federation.
    USA Rice understands the budget constraints the subcommittees face 
when developing the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill. We appreciate 
your past support for initiatives that are critical to the rice 
industry and look forward to working with you to meet the continued 
needs of research, food aid and market development in the future.
    A healthy U.S. rice industry is also dependent on the program 
benefits offered by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. 
Therefore, we oppose any attempts to modify the support levels provided 
by this vital legislation through more restrictive payment limitations 
or other means and encourage the subcommittees and committees to resist 
such efforts during the appropriations process, in particular with the 
2002 farm bill up for reauthorization this year.
    A list of the programs the USA Rice Federation supports for 
appropriations in fiscal year 2008 are as follows:
                           funding priorities
Research and APHIS
    The Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center should receive 
continued funding at the fiscal year 2007 approved level, which was 
approximately $3.9 million, and appropriate additional funding to 
reflect any increased administrative and operations costs. This center 
conducts research to help keep the U.S. rice industry competitive in 
the global marketplace by assuring high yields, superior grain quality, 
pest resistance, and stress tolerance. We urge you to provide full 
funding to the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center.
    In addition, we have attached information outlining the top 
priority research request from the USA Rice Federation: funding for 
aromatic rice variety research at the Dale Bumpers Center. The request 
is for $250,000 for fiscal year 2008 for research to develop high-
yielding, high-quality domestic aromatic rice varieties for the U.S. 
rice industry. Further details and specifics of this request are 
attached in a separate document.
    For the Western Regional Research Center, in Albany, California, we 
support the Administration's budget proposal for the Renewable Energy 
Resources within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) account. The 
total budget request for the Renewable Energy Resources project is 
$10,954,000, of which, we understand, approximately $5,399,000 is to be 
directed to the Albany, CA facility for research on modification of 
plant cell walls in energy crops and crop residues for efficient 
conversion to biofuels.
    This research will play a key role in the ability to utilize rice 
straw and other rice crop residues for the production of biofuels. Rice 
straw represents a current and ready-made feedstock that could meet a 
substantial portion of the demand for biofuels production in the 
regions of the country where rice is produced, including the Sacramento 
Valley of California. We urge you to fully fund this request as our 
researchers work to develop the technologies necessary to meet the 
ambitious goals for biofuels production set before us.
    For APHIS-Wildlife Services, we encourage the subcommittees to fund 
the Louisiana blackbird control project at $150,000. This program 
annually saves rice farmers in Southwest Louisiana over $4,000 per 
farm, or $2.9 million total.
Market Access
    Exports are critical to the U.S. rice industry. Historically, 40-50 
percent of annual U.S. rice production has been shipped overseas. Thus, 
building healthy export demand for U.S. rice is a high priority.
    The Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) allows USA Rice to 
focus on importer, foodservice, and other non-retail promotion 
activities around the world. For fiscal year 2008, FMD should be fully 
funded at no less than $34.5 million.
    The Market Access Program (MAP) allows USA Rice to concentrate on 
consumer promotion and other activities for market expansion around the 
world. For fiscal year 2008, MAP should be funded at no less than $200 
million.
    In addition, the Foreign Agricultural Service should be funded to 
the fullest degree possible to ensure adequate support for trade policy 
initiatives and oversight of export programs. These programs are 
critical for the economic health of the U.S. rice industry.
Food Aid
    We urge the subcommittees to fund Public Law 480 Title I. No Title 
I funding was provided in fiscal year 2007. At a minimum, fiscal year 
2008 funding should be the same as 2006, the last year in which the 
program was funded. Public Law 480 Title I is our top food-aid priority 
and we support continued funding in order to meet international demand. 
Food-aid sales historically account for an important portion of U.S. 
rice exports.
    For Public Law 480 Title II, we support funding for fiscal year 
2008 at $1.632 billion, which is its fiscal year 2006 level. We 
encourage the subcommittees to fund Title II at a level to ensure 
consistent tonnage amounts for the rice industry. We oppose any 
shifting of funds, as all Title II funds have traditionally been 
contained within USDA's budget. We believe all food-aid funds should 
continue to be used for food-aid purchases of rice and other 
commodities from only U.S. origin.
    USA Rice supports continued funding at fiscal year 2006 levels, at 
a minimum, for the Food for Progress Program's Public Law 480 Title I-
sourced funding and at fiscal year 2007 levels, at a minimum, for the 
program's Commodity Credit Corporation funding component. Funding for 
this program is important to improve food security for food-deficit 
nations.
    The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child 
Nutrition Program is a proven success and it is important to provide 
steady, reliable funding for multi-year programming. USA Rice supports 
funding at the $140 million level for this education initiative because 
it efficiently delivers food to its targeted group, children, while 
also encouraging education, a primary stepping-stone for populations to 
improve economic conditions.
Other
    Farm Service Agency.--We encourage the subcommittees to provide 
adequate funding so the agency can deliver essential programs and 
services. The Agency has been hard hit by staff reductions and our 
members fear a reduction in service if sufficient funds are not 
allocated.
    Please feel free to contact us if you would like further 
information about the programs we have listed. Additional background 
information is available for all of the programs we have referenced; 
however, we understand the volume of requests the subcommittees receive 
and have restricted our comments accordingly.
    Thank you for your consideration of our recommendations.
                                 ______
                                 

  Prepared Statement of the Western Coalition of Arid States (WESTCAS)

    The Western Coalition of Arid States (WESTCAS) is submitting this 
testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture 
regarding their hearing on the fiscal year 2008 U.S. Department of 
Agriculture budget, with specific reference to the 2007 Farm Bill 
proposals. My name is Charlie Nylander, and I represent the interests 
of WESTCAS and serve on the Board of Directors (representing the State 
of New Mexico) and as Treasurer.
    WESTCAS is a coalition of approximately 125 water and wastewater 
districts, municipalities, and professional organizations focused on 
water quality and quantity issues in eight western States, including: 
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and 
Texas. WESTCAS advocates wise use of water resources by promoting 
scientifically-sound laws, regulations, appropriations, and policies 
that protect public health and the environment in the arid West. My 
testimony today focuses on those aspects of the fiscal year 2008 USDA 
budget and the 2007 Farm Bill proposals that impact water quality and 
quantity in the arid West.
    This WESTCAS testimony will focus on two areas of importance to our 
membership, i.e. the conservation programs and the rural development 
programs. First, the Administration proposes to provide approximately 
547,000 rural households with new and improved water and wastewater 
disposal facilities. The proposed $1.5 billion funding level includes 
$1.2 billion in loans and $349 million in grants. This combination of 
funding represents a higher loan to grant ratio than exists in 2007, 
according to the budget proposal. However, USDA is proposing to reduce 
the interest rate on loans, and state that most rural communities would 
have lower repayment costs as a result of the combination of these 
changes. Although WESTCAS would like to see a significant increase in 
the proposed funding for this program, given the current national 
budget demands, we support the proposed funding level and the approach 
taken with respect to loans and grants.
    The water and wastewater disposal program provides financing for 
rural communities to establish, expand or modernize water treatment and 
waste disposal facilities. Eligibility if limited to communities of 
10,000 or less in population which are unable to obtain credit 
elsewhere. In addition, they are available only to those communities 
with low median household income levels. The eight WESTCAS member 
western states contain hundreds of communities that meet these 
criteria. Moreover, due to the evolving demographics of the western 
United States, many of our rural communities are either seeing an 
influx of new residents who are moving to the area in their retirement, 
or are seeing a reduction in population due to a weakened economic 
picture and the lack of reasonable employment opportunities. In either 
case, the physical and financial impact on existing, aged, or needed 
water and wastewater infrastructure is demonstrable. These rural 
communities cannot cope with the maintenance or new development of 
adequate water and wastewater infrastructure without programs such as 
proposed in this fiscal year 2008 USDA budget request.
    I would like to provide an example in my own State of New Mexico. I 
currently facilitate the Espanola Basin Regional Planning Issues Forum 
(EBRPIF). This forum represents a government-to-government ad hoc group 
of 14 members representing city, county, and tribal jurisdictions in 
Northern New Mexico. For the past three years, this forum has met 
monthly to candidly discuss planning issues of regional concern, with a 
focus on water and wastewater. The three county governments represented 
among the 14 members contain rural communities that have populations of 
less than 10,000 people. Many of those communities are increasingly 
financially-burdened by water and wastewater infrastructure needs that 
result from: aged, existing infrastructure; population growth that 
demands new utility services; local groundwater contamination issues 
resulting from the existing use of on-site individual liquid waste 
systems and historic use of cesspools (that are now illegal); 
inadequate operation and maintenance; declining groundwater levels in 
over-drafted aquifers; the effects of a 7+ year drought; naturally-
occurring groundwater contaminants that exceed new, and increasingly 
stringent drinking water standards, e.g. the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency's standard for arsenic; and challenging new concerns 
for utility safeguards and security measures. All of these very typical 
factors exacerbate the financial, planning, maintenance, and 
development demands affecting these small, rural communities, who 
without the availability of government program support, like the USDA 
Rural Development Program, would have no place to turn.
    According to the Administrations proposal, these grants are limited 
to a maximum of 75 percent of project costs, but have typically 
averaged 35 to 45 percent of project costs. Program regulations 
stipulate that the grant amount should only be as much as necessary to 
bring the user rates down to a reasonable level for the area. Water and 
wastewater grant and loan funds are usually combined, based on the 
income levels of users and user costs. Throughout the WESTCAS western 
states, when it comes to financing water and wastewater infrastructure, 
all of the rural communities are increasing user rates, while still 
needing to augment funding through federal and state financing 
programs. Thus, WESTCAS strongly supports the continuation the USDA 
Rural Development Program.
    The second area of concern to WESTCAS, funding and technical 
assistance to support the Farm Bill conservation programs is vital to 
the management of water resources in the arid West. The 
Administration's proposal includes about $4 billion for these programs, 
an increase of $242 million over the 2007 level. This includes funding 
for the Conservation Security Program at a level of $316 million, and 
increase of $57 million over 2007, in order to support prior year 
contracts. The budget also includes $455 million to enroll up to 
250,000 acres in the Wetlands Reserve Program in 2008 to reach the 
program cap of 2,275,000 acres. In addition, the proposed budget 
includes $1 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program 
(EQIP), enabling nearly 39,700 producers to participate in the program, 
covering nearly 21 million acres of land. The EQIP program will 
continue to emphasize land management practices.
    WESTCAS strongly supports the proposed conservation programs, 
however we have the following comments.
  --The Conservation Security Program pays farmers for improving soil 
        and water quality or enhancing wildlife habitat. Some voices in 
        Congress have recently advocated also using these funds to 
        promote the planting of energy crops. WESTCAS supports this 
        program because it has a fundamental connection to water 
        quality and quantity. By wisely managing the land, this USDA 
        program has a very positive affect on non-point sources of 
        water pollution. Sediment and nutrients are less likely to 
        runoff and end up in the surface waters where they contribute 
        to water pollution. In addition, this program can enhance the 
        ability of soils to hold moisture and reduce the demands for 
        irrigation water from surface or groundwater sources. Enhancing 
        wildlife habitat is also a vital benefit, especially in those 
        areas of the country, like the western states, where growth and 
        development are increasingly marginalizing wildlife habitat. 
        Additionally, if one examines other federal agency budgets, 
        (like the Fish and Wildlife Service's fiscal year 2008 proposed 
        budget where grants are being eliminated that help landowners 
        restore habitat for species on their land), there are proposed 
        cuts in funding for wildlife habitat. Thus, the USDA program 
        funding is of vital importance.
      WESTCAS supports increased appropriations for the Conservation 
        Security Program, but does not want it be closed to new 
        subscribers, as Secretary Johanns has recently proposed. Across 
        the western states, many new opportunities exist to improve 
        soil and water quality and enhance wildlife habitat. Rather 
        than cap the program to allow funding to present subscribers, 
        WESTCAS believes that it should be expanded, and that USDA 
        should implement a monitoring and reporting program to 
        quantify, to the best of their ability, the benefits derived 
        from the program's implementation. A comprehensive monitoring 
        program could be networked with other agencies such as the U.S. 
        Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, and Environmental 
        Protection Agency, so as to more efficiently collect and 
        quantify the data. Such monitoring and reporting would greatly 
        impact the continuation and expansion of this important 
        program, and help assess the positive benefits being derived 
        for water quality.
      Regarding the proposal to use these funds for the planting of 
        energy crops, WESTCAS offers one caution. That caution concerns 
        the impact of extensive new energy crop plantings on both water 
        quantity and quality. By promoting the planting of energy 
        crops, the USDA (or Congress) may be exacerbating the problems 
        associated with nutrient-caused eutrophication of water 
        resources due to seepage and/or runoff of applied crop 
        nutrients that affect water quality. But more importantly, 
        promotion of such planting may negatively impact the increasing 
        strain on scarce water resources in the arid western states 
        through the promotion of irrigated agriculture to produce 
        energy. By promoting planting of energy crops, there is a 
        promotion of irrigation which may have deleterious affects on 
        both surface and groundwater resources in the arid West. 
        Historically, USDA price supports for cotton, resulted in 
        increased planting that resulted in excessive water level 
        declines in important aquifers, such as the Ogalalla aquifer. 
        Thus, prudent caution should be given when including such 
        proposals in the program due to inadvertent consequences.
  --The Wetlands Reserve Program proposal for increased funding and 
        maximizing the subscription acreage is heartily supported by 
        WESTCAS. Although the arid West has minimal acres of wetlands, 
        as a water quality organization WESTCAS recognizes the natural 
        benefits of increased wetlands promoting water quality and 
        wildlife. Wetlands are natural systems that greatly contribute 
        to the promotion of water quality, and aid in providing buffer 
        zones for riparian vegetation that mitigate the affects of 
        runoff events and flood flows. In the arid West, the use of 
        artificial wetlands is utilized more and more in the treatment 
        and reclamation of wastewater effluent. The natural 
        purification processes that take place in a wetland environment 
        greatly benefit water quality, and this USDA program is of 
        great national import regarding the protection of water quality 
        and provision of wildlife habitat.
  --WESTCAS strongly supports the Environmental Quality Incentive 
        Program (EQIP). This program is very important in providing 
        assistance to landowners that face serious natural resource 
        challenges that impact soil, water, and related natural 
        resources. As was mentioned above regarding the Conservation 
        Security Program, EQIP provides resources for those stewards of 
        the land that are in need so as to enhance the natural 
        resources. The EQIP financial resources improve water quality 
        and quantity through the subscriber application of sound 
        remedial projects that improve both land and water.
  --Lastly, WESTCAS supports the premise of the Healthy Forest 
        Initiative in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. It 
        is very important that the USDA continue to implement this 
        initiative, and reduce the risk of wildfire. Through hazardous 
        fuel treatment, provision of adequate fire preparedness, and 
        providing technical assistance, the USDA is assisting the arid 
        West in safeguarding our vulnerable forested watersheds that 
        provide the source of water for our cities, towns, industries, 
        ranches and farms. During the past 7 years of sustained drought 
        conditions, the arid West has felt the impact of catastrophic 
        wildfire from California, across Arizona, through New Mexico 
        and Colorado. Wildfires can destroy the vital watersheds upon 
        which our populations depend for their annual and long-term 
        supply of water. WESTCAS urges your support for the proposed 
        budget for this important program.
    On behalf of WESTCAS, thank you for this opportunity to provide 
this testimony.
                                 ______
                                 

 Prepared Statement of the Society for Women's Health Research and the 
                   Women's Health Research Coalition

    On the behalf of the Society for Women's Health Research and the 
Women's Health Research Coalition, we are pleased to submit testimony 
in support of increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration, 
and more specifically for the Office of Women's Health, a critical 
focal point within the Agency on women's health.
    The Society is the only national non-profit women's health 
organization whose mission is to improve the health of women through 
research, education, and advocacy. Founded in 1990, the Society brought 
to national attention the need for the appropriate inclusion of women 
in major medical research studies and the need for more information 
about conditions affecting women disproportionately, predominately, or 
differently than men.
    The Coalition was created by the Society in 1999 to give a voice to 
scientists and researchers from across the country that are concerned 
and committed to improving women's health research. The Coalition now 
has more than 650 members, including leaders within the scientific 
community and medical researchers from many of the country's leading 
universities and medical centers, directors from various Centers of 
Excellence on Women's Health as well as leading voluntary health 
associations, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
    The Society and the Coalition are committed to advancing the health 
status of women through the discovery of new and useful scientific 
knowledge. We strongly believe that appropriate funding of the FDA by 
Congress is absolutely critical for the Agency to be able to maintain 
basic functions and to assure the American public of the safety of our 
food and drugs. More specifically, we recommend that Congress not only 
sustain but should increase funding for the Office of Women's Health 
and its women's health research programs. These programs, often 
conducted with the Agency centers, are necessary if we are to maintain 
any focus on women's health within the Agency Furthermore, these 
programs are critical to improve care and increase awareness of disease 
specific impacts to women such as those associated with differences in 
the efficacy of drugs, devices and diagnostics, as a function of sex. 
Therefore, we strongly urge Congress to support a robust increase for 
fiscal year 2008 budget for the FDA, and within that budget to provide 
the Office of Women's Health funding of $5 million such that it may 
meet and exceed its program goals.

                        OFFICE OF WOMEN'S HEALTH

    The Office of Women's Health (OWH) at the FDA, established in 1994, 
plays a critical role in women's health, both within and outside the 
Agency, supporting sex- and gender-based research, areas in which the 
Society has long been a proponent. OWH aims to provide scientific and 
policy expertise on sex and gender sensitive regulatory and oversight 
issues; to correct gender disparities in the areas for which the FDA is 
responsible--drugs, devices, and biologics; and to monitor women's 
health priorities, providing both leadership and an integrated approach 
across the agency. Despite inadequate funding, OWH provides all women 
with invaluable tools for their health.
    With little difficulty, OWH exhausts its tiny budget each year. For 
the past five years, OWH has been provided a flat budget of $4 million, 
which is, in essence, a decrease due to required Federal cost of living 
adjustments, benefit cost increases and other related issues. Despite 
this squeeze, the office has managed to advance its mission both within 
the Agency and externally through it research grants, drug and disease 
pamphlets and outreach programs. OWH's pamphlets are the most requested 
of any documents at the government printing facility in New Mexico. 
(More than 3.5 million pieces are distributed to women across the 
Nation including target populations such as Hispanic communities, 
seniors and low income citizens.) Yet despite these successes, the OWH 
was targeted to have its fiscal year 2007 programs budget raided by 
$1.2 million, virtually shutting down the ability of this office to 
function for the rest of the year. Thankfully, this decision was 
reversed at the very last minute.
    Despite clear funding intentions within the Administration's 
proposal for fiscal year 2008 for OWH to receive $4million, the FDA has 
indicated that it will be cutting the budget of OWH by $350,000 from 
the OMB designated amount of $4 million. These two actions (fiscal year 
2007 and fiscal year 2008) taken together cause us great concern and 
set a precedent that leads us to believe the office's functionality is 
in serious jeopardy.

   IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR CONGRESS TO TAKE ACTION NOW TO HELP 
                  PRESERVE THE VITAL FUNCTIONS OF OWH

    Since its beginning, OWH has funded high quality scientific 
research to serve as the foundation for Agency activities that improve 
women's health. To date, OWH has funded over 100 research projects with 
approximately $15.2 million. Intramural grants support projects within 
the FDA that address knowledge gaps or set new directions for sex and 
gender research. Extramural contracts leverage a wealth of expertise 
and other resources outside the Agency to provide insight on regulatory 
questions pertinent to women' health. All contracts and grants are 
awarded through a competitive process. A large number of these studies 
are published, many of which appear in peer reviewed journals.
    OWH has recently funded research to more fully understand heart 
disease in women. Despite being the number one cause of death, women 
with heart disease face misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, under-
treatment, and mistreatment due to their under-representation in heart-
related research studies. Extramural research funded by OWH is looking 
into the use of coronary stents in women and problems associated with 
breast interference in interpretation of heart catherization studies.
    As part of its educational outreach efforts to consumers, OWH 
continues to work closely with women's advocacy and health professional 
organizations to provide clarity on the results of the Women's Health 
Initiative. Due to OWH efforts, an informational fact sheet about 
menopause and hormones and a purse-sized questionnaire to review with 
the doctor were distributed to national and local print, radio, and 
Internet advertisements. OWH's website received over three million hits 
to download campaign materials. This website provides free, 
downloadable fact sheets on over 40 different illnesses, diseases, and 
health related issues.
    In addition, OWH has recently completed medication chart brochures 
on seven chronic diseases. These are unique within the Agency. These 
charts list, in one place, all the medications that are prescribed and 
available for each disease. Again, the information is available on the 
website and is ideal for women to use in talking to their doctors, 
pharmacists or nurses about their treatment options.
    As a result of FDA information system aging, combined with the 
inability to keep pace with information technology needs due to budget 
constraints, the OWH has been unable to conduct much needed data 
analysis on women's health and sex-related differences. This effort 
originally started in 2001, when the Society submitted testimony on 
behalf of the OWH in support of a centralized FDA database to 
coordinate clinical trial oversight, monitor the inclusion of women in 
clinical trials, oversee the parameters of informed consent, and 
identify health provider training needs. As a result of Society efforts 
and this Committee's commitment, in 2002 Congress provided the OWH with 
funds to develop an agency-wide database focused on women's health 
activities to include demographic data on clinical trials. OWH did 
begin developing this database, now known as the ``Demographic 
Information and Data Repository'', to review clinical studies, enhance 
product labeling, identify knowledge gaps, and coordinate data 
collection. However, without the ability to match this capability to 
the rest of the Agency efforts developing this important Repository 
have been halted at the present time.
    While progress has been made, the database is far from up and 
running due to the aging and outdated information technology systems of 
the Agency. Currently, the FDA receives large volumes of information in 
applications from drug manufacturers for review and evaluation. The FDA 
reviewers must manually comb through the submitted drug trial reports 
and digital data in as many as twelve formats to evaluate a new drug's 
safety and effectiveness. With no uniform system or database, reviewers 
must handpick sex, age, and ethnicity information manually from stacks 
of paper reports and craft their own data comparisons. This is time 
consuming, makes the review process less efficient, is error-prone and 
delays access to important information. Scientific and medical advances 
are occurring rapidly and the public needs and deserves access to the 
most recent and accurate information regarding their health. Therefore, 
in order to fully capitalize on the potential of the data warehouse and 
the resulting wealth of information, we urge Congress to commit $1 
million to OWH for the Demographic Information and Data Repository. It 
is time for us all to recognize that the Agency must utilize up to date 
information technology and sorely needs the resources to maintain them.
    Scientists have long known of the anatomical differences between 
men and women, but only within the past decade have they begun to 
uncover significant biological and physiological differences. Sex 
differences have been found everywhere from the composition of bone 
matter and the experience of pain, to the metabolism of certain drugs 
and the rate of neurotransmitter synthesis in the brain. Sex-based 
biology, the study of biological and physiological differences between 
men and women, has revolutionized the way that the scientific community 
views the sexes, with even more information forthcoming as a result of 
the sequencing of the X chromosome. The evidence is overwhelming, and 
as researchers continue to find more and complex biological 
differences, they are gaining a greater understanding of the biological 
and physiological composition of both sexes.
    Much of what is known about sex differences is the result of 
observational studies, or is descriptive evidence from studies that 
were not designed to obtain a careful comparison between females and 
males. The Society has long recognized that the inclusion of women in 
study populations by itself was insufficient to address the inequities 
in our knowledge of human biology and medicine, and that only by the 
careful study of sex differences at all levels, from genes to behavior, 
would science achieve the goal of optimal health care for both men and 
women. Many sex differences are already present at birth, whereas 
others develop later in life. These differences play an important role 
in disease susceptibility, prevalence, time of onset and severity and 
are evident in cancer, obesity, coronary heart disease, immune 
dysfunction, mental health disorders, and other illnesses. 
Physiological and hormonal fluctuations may also play a role in the 
rate of drug metabolism and effectiveness of response in females and 
males. This research must be supported and encouraged.
    Building upon sex differences research, the Society encourages the 
establishment of drug-labeling requirements that ensure labels include 
language about differences experienced by women and men. Further, we 
advocate for research on the comparative effectiveness of drugs with 
specific emphasis on data analysis by sex. When available, this 
information should be on labels.
    Our country's drug development process has succeeded in developing 
new and better medications to ensure the health of both women and men. 
However, there is no requirement that the data acquired during research 
of a new drug's safety and effectiveness be analyzed as a function of 
sex or that information about the ways drugs may differ in various 
populations (e.g., women requiring a lower dosage because of different 
rates of absorption or chemical breakdown) be included in prescription 
drug labels and other patient educational and instructional materials.
    Proper drug labeling is not always the complete solution. If the 
drug is not one newly approved or if the sex-specific information is 
detected only in post-marketing studies, the drug label will not 
reflect sex specific information discovered to the prescribing 
physician, and it may be difficult to get new information incorporated 
into physicians' prescribing habits.
    The Society believes the opportunity is now before us to 
communicate sex differences data discovered from clinical trials to the 
medical community and to consumers through drug labeling and packaging 
inserts and other forms of alerts. As part of advancing the need to 
analyze and report sex differences, the Society encourages the FDA to 
continue adequately addressing the need for accurate drug labeling to 
identify important sex and gender differences, as well as to ensure 
that appropriate data analysis of post-market surveillance reporting 
for these differences is placed in the hands of physicians and 
ultimately the patient.
    In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we thank you and this Committee for 
its strong record of support for women's health and your commitment to 
OWH. We encourage you to provide it with funding of $5 million for 
fiscal year 2008 and to provide the FDA with a significant increase 
over the fiscal year 2007 budget to address its urgent needs and 
chronic shortfalls. We look forward to continuing to work with you to 
build a healthier future for all Americans.

 
       LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Ad Hoc Coalition, Prepared Statement of..........................   721
Advanced Medical Technology Association, Prepared Statement of...   724
American:
    Forest & Paper Association, Prepared Statement of............   726
    Honey Producers Association, Inc., Prepared Statement of.....   727
    Sheep Industry Association, Prepared Statement of............   733
    Society for Microbiology, Prepared Statements of...........738, 741
Animal:
    Health Institute, Prepared Statement of......................   745
    Welfare Institute, Prepared Statement of.....................   745

Bennett, Senator Robert F., U.S. Senator From Utah:
    Questions Submitted by.....................................136, 708
    Statement of.................................................     2
Bond, Senator Christopher S., U.S. Senator From Missouri, 
  Questions Submitted by.........................................   156
Brownback, Senator Sam, U.S. Senator From Kansas, Questions 
  Submitted by...................................................   476
Byrd, Senator Robert C., U.S. Senator From West Virginia, 
  Questions Submitted by.........................................   153

California Industry and Government Central California Ozone Study 
  Coalition, Prepared Statement of...............................   746
Christopherson, Charles R., Jr., Chief Financial Officer, Office 
  of the Chief Financial Officer, Department of Agriculture, 
  Prepared Statement of..........................................    24
Coalition on Funding Agricultural Research Missions, Prepared 
  Statement of...................................................   747
Cochran, Senator Thad, U.S. Senator From Mississippi, Prepared 
  Statement of...................................................     6
Colorado River:
    Basin Salinity Control Forum, Prepared Statement of..........   749
    Board of California, Prepared Statement of...................   752
Collins, Dr. Keith, Chief Economist, Office of the Secretary, 
  Department of Agriculture......................................     1
    Prepared Statement of........................................    31
Combs, David M., Chief Information Officer, Department of 
  Agriculture, Prepared Statement of.............................    20
Conner, Charles, Deputy Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
  Department of Agriculture......................................     1

Dorgan, Senator Byron L., U.S. Senator From North Dakota:
    Questions Submitted by.....................................123, 701
    Statement of.................................................     3
Durbin, Senator Richard J., U.S. Senator From Illinois, Questions 
  Submitted by.................................................123, 705
Dyer, John, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Food and Drug 
  Administration, Department of Health and Human Services........   479

Feinstein, Senator Dianne, U.S. Senator From California, 
  Statement of...................................................     5
Florida State University, Prepared Statement of..................   753
Fong, Phyllis K., Inspector General, Office of the Inspector 
  General, Department of Agriculture, Prepared Statement of......    45
Food and Water Watch, Prepared Statement of......................   754
Friends of Agricultural Research--Beltsville, Prepared Statement 
  of.............................................................   757

Hardwood Federation, Prepared Statement of.......................   760
Harkin, Senator Tom, U.S. Senator From Iowa, Questions Submitted 
  by.............................................................   694
Heart Rhythm Society, Prepared Statement of......................   761

Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center Committee, Prepared 
  Statement of...................................................   763

Johanns, Hon. Mike, Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
  Department of Agriculture......................................     1
    Prepared Statement of........................................    10
    Statement of.................................................     7

Kohl, Senator Herb, U.S. Senator From Wisconsin:
    Opening Statement of.........................................     1
    Questions Submitted by......................................84, 492

McKay, Margo M., Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of 
  the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of 
  Agriculture, Prepared Statement of.............................    28
Multi-Crop Aflatoxin Working Group, Prepared Statement of........   765

National:
    Association of State:
        Departments of Agriculture, Prepared Statement of........   760
        Foresters, Prepared Statement of.........................   760
    Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research, Prepared 
      Statement of...............................................   766
    Commodity Supplemental Food Program Association, Prepared 
      Statement of...............................................   772
    Corn Growers Association, Prepared Statement of..............   770
    Environmental Services Center (NESC), Prepared Statement of..   778
    Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Prepared Statement of..........   779
    Potato Council, Prepared Statement of........................   782
    Rural Telecom Association, Prepared Statement of.............   784
    Turfgrass Federation, Inc., Prepared Statement of............   786
Nelson, Senator Ben, U.S. Senator From Tennessee:
    Questions Submitted by.......................................   126
    Statement of.................................................     5
New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, Prepared Statement of...   790

Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small 
  Telecommunications Companies, Prepared Statement of............   792

Pellett, Nancy C., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Farm 
  Credit Administration, Prepared Statement of...................    59
Pickle Packers International, Inc., Prepared Statement of........   793

Red River Valley Association, Prepared Statement of..............   798
Reed, Senator Jack, U.S. Senator From Rhode Island:
    Questions Submitted by.....................................135, 707
    Statement of.................................................     5
Rutherford, Boyd K., Assistant Secretary for Administration, 
  Department of Administration, Department of Agriculture, 
  Prepared Statement of..........................................    18

Society:
    For:
        Animal Protective Legislation, Prepared Statement of.....   802
        Women's Health Research and the Women's Health Research 
          Coalition, Prepared Statement of.......................   824
    Of American Foresters, Prepared Statement of.................   760
Specter, Senator Arlen, U.S. Senator From Pennsylvania, Questions 
  Submitted by.................................................154, 718
Steele, W. Scott, Budget Officer, Office of the Secretary, 
  Department of Agriculture......................................     1

Teuber, Terri, Director, Office of Communications, Department of 
  Agriculture, Prepared Statement of.............................    30
The Humane Society, Prepared Statement of........................   806
The Nature Conservancy, Prepared Statement of....................   760
The Wildlife Society, Prepared Statement of......................   810
Turman, Richard, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, Food and 
  Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services...   479

United States Telecom Association, Prepared Statement of.........   811
University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi Polymer 
  Institute, Prepared Statement of...............................   815
Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, Prepared Statement of.   818
USA Rice Federation, Prepared Statement of.......................   820

Western Coalition of Arid States (WESTCAS), Prepared Statement of   822

von Eschenbach, Hon. Andrew, Commissioner, Food and Drug 
  Administration, Department of Health and Human Services........   479
    Prepared Statement of........................................   481

 
                             SUBJECT INDEX

                              ----------                              

                       DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

                                                                   Page
Additional Committee Questions...................................    83
Administrative:
    Costs for Earmarks...........................................    73
    Expenses for Earmarks........................................    71
Afghanistan/Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Activities............    85
Agricultural:
    Credit Insurance Fund........................................   475
    Disaster Assistance..........................................   138
    Marketing Service..........................................105, 120
    Quarantine Inspection:
        Fees.....................................................    77
        Positions Transferred to DHS.............................    77
    Reconstruction Activities....................................   103
    Research.....................................................    87
    Service, Buildings and Facilities............................   149
Agriculture:
    Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments.................    19
    Quarantine and Inspection....................................   121
APHIS:
    Cooperative Agreements.......................................   107
    Program Cost Share...........................................   147
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas..................   122
ARS Research Funding.............................................   123
Avian Flu........................................................63, 88
Broadband and Distance Learning and Telemedicine Funding.........   124
BSE Surveillance.................................................   126
Capital Security Cost Sharing Program............................   102
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion........................   110
Chronic Wasting Disease/State Match..............................    90
Commodity Supplemental Food Program.................. 79, 109, 129, 154
    Elimination..................................................   144
Common Computing Environment.....................................   108
    And Information Technology...................................    86
Community Facilities Grants......................................    96
Conservation:
    Contingency Funding..........................................    82
    Operations...................................................   104
    Program......................................................   125
    Security Program.............................................   122
Corporate Activities.............................................    61
Country of Origin Labeling.......................................69, 93
Crop:
    Insurance....................................................   122
        Gap Coverage.............................................    82
Cross-Cutting Trade Negotiations and Biotechnology Resources.....   148
DA Direct........................................................    19
DHS:
    Agricultural Inspections at U.S. Borders.....................    75
    AQI Inspectors...............................................    81
Disaster:
    Aid..........................................................    67
    Assistance...................................................   126
E. Coli in Specialty Crops.......................................    78
Electronic Government............................................    23
Emerald Ash Borer................................................    64
Emerging Pests..................................................88, 106
Enterprise Architecture (EA) and IT Management Programs..........    23
Eradication Versus Management....................................    89
Examination Programs for FCS Banks and Associations..............    60
Farm Program Staffing............................................   475
Farm Service Agency (FSA)........................................   154
    Computer System..............................................    65
    Field Staff and Office Structure.............................   102
Financial Management System....................................102, 141
Financing New Electric Generation Facilities.....................    99
Fiscal Year 2008:
    Budget Request...........................................29, 31, 36
    Key Outcomes.................................................    29
    Objectives...................................................18, 29
    Request......................................................    19
Food:
    Aid..........................................................    81
    Stamp Program Legislative Proposals..........................   110
Food Safety and Inspection Service...............................   111
    Food Inspectors..............................................   116
    Funding......................................................   142
        Level....................................................    62
    IT Infrastructure............................................   155
    Research.....................................................   152
    Risk Based Inspection........................................   113
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in Schools.....................   123
Genetically Modified Materials in Commercial Crops..............93, 120
Global Warming...................................................    94
Greenbook Charges................................................   140
Hazardous Materials Management...................................    20
Information:
    Security.....................................................    22
    Technology (IT) Issues.......................................   101
International Trade..............................................    66
Invasive Species................................................89, 119
Johne's Disease..................................................    90
Loan Program Delinquency Rates...................................   156
Locally Produced Food to Schools.................................    74
Multi-Family Housing:
    Revitalization...............................................    98
    Vouchers.....................................................    98
Mutual and Self-Help Housing.....................................    97
National:
    Animal:
        Health Laboratory Network Funding........................   123
        Identification System...........................67, 91, 118 143
    Information Technology Data Center (NITC) Hosting............    22
    Organic Certification Cost Share Program.....................   106
    Veterinarian Medical Service Act...................70, 87, 122, 476
Natural Resources Conservation Service...........................   153
    Technical Assistance Funding.................................   126
Number of AQI Inspectors.........................................    77
Office:
    Consolidations...............................................    96
    Of the Secretary, Provincial Reconstruction Teams............   149
OIG's Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Request............................    58
Organic Farming..................................................    80
Progress Implementing Local Food Purchase Provision..............   135
Proposed Limit on WIC Administrative Funding.....................   109
Protecting and Improving the Integrity of USDA Programs..........    49
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)...........................    73
Public Law 480 Titles I and II and Food for Progress.............   103
Regulatory Activity..............................................    61
Renewable Energy--Commodity Prices...............................   138
Rental Assistance................................................   136
Research, Education, and Economics Reorganization................   146
Resource Conservation and Development............................   105
Risk:
    Based Inspection.............................................   142
    Management Agency...........................................94, 118
        Crop Insurance User Fee..................................   137
Rural:
    Business Development Grants..................................    99
    Development..................................................   154
        Direct Loans.............................................   137
        Guaranteed Lending.......................................   128
        Housing Programs.........................................   125
    Rental Housing...............................................    97
Safety, Security, and Public Health..............................    45
Service Center Modernization Initiative--(SCMI)..................    21
Single Family Housing Loan Programs..............................    95
Small Farm/Organics/AMS Seed Mislabeling.........................    91
Telecommunications...............................................    22
The Management of USDA's Public Resources........................    55
2008 Budget Request for Public Law 480 Title II Donations........    82
U.S.:
    Agricultural Trade...........................................   130
    Foreign Food Assistance......................................   121
USDA:
    Fiscal Year 2008 Information Technology Investment Summary...    20
    Loan Guarantee Authority.....................................    69
    Overseas Activities..........................................   150
    Renewable Energy and Biofuels Investment.....................   127
User Fee Proposals...............................................   140
Value-Added Grants..............................................95, 120
Veal.............................................................    84
Water and Waste Program..........................................   100
WIC:
    Food Package.................................................   146
    Legislative Proposals........................................   144
    Management Information System Funding........................   145
    $200 Million Contingency Fund................................   145

                DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

                      Food and Drug Administration

Additional Committee Questions...................................   492
Adverse Event Reporting on Dietary Supplements...................   694
Advisory Committees..............................................   706
AERS II..........................................................   497
Biologic License Application Approvals...........................   717
Carbon Monoxide..................................................   692
Color Certification Fees.........................................   694
Counterfeit Drugs................................................   708
Department of Health and Human Services..........................   492
Dietary Supplements..............................................   705
Direct to Consumer Advertising.................................691, 701
Drug Importation.................................................   702
FDA:
    Alliance Request for FDA Funding.............................   710
    Pay Costs....................................................   709
Follow-on Biologics..............................................   718
Food Safety....................................................493, 706
    Inspections................................................485, 696
Generic Drugs....................................................   494
    Review Fiscal 2007 Funding...................................   710
Good Manufacturing Practices of Dietary Supplements..............   695
Import Inspection................................................   495
Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA)...........   713
Office of:
    Cosmetics and Colors.........................................   693
    The Commissioner.............................................   693
    Women's Health...............................................   689
ORA Consolidation................................................   718
Overall Funding..................................................   492
Pandemic Flu...................................................486, 711
Pay Costs........................................................   687
Pending Approval of Cefquinome...................................   703
Probiotics in Yogurt.............................................   692
Proposed:
    Generic Drug User Fee........................................   710
    Re-Inspection User Fee.......................................   710
    User Fees....................................................   686
Pseudoephedrine..................................................   694
Rent.............................................................   687
Research Reduction.............................................688, 713
Salt.............................................................   698
Sunscreen Monographs...........................................489, 707
Tobacco..........................................................   489
Trans Fat........................................................   700
User Fees........................................................   490
    Reauthorization..............................................   711
White Oak........................................................   688
Women's Health.................................................487, 488

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