[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 27130-27133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  AGRICULTURAL, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
proceed to H.R. 2673, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2673) making appropriations for Agriculture, 
     Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
     Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and 
     for other purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all after 
the enacting clause be stricken, that amendment No. 2072, which is the 
text of Calendar No. 216, S. 1427, the Senate committee-reported bill, 
be inserted in lieu thereof, that the bill, as amended, be considered 
as original text for the purpose of further amendments, and that no 
points of order be waived by reason of this agreement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I am pleased to present the Agriculture 
appropriations subcommittee report to the full Senate and to recommend 
passage of this bill. I am very grateful to the ranking member, Senator 
Kohl, and his professional staff.
  It has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my service in 
the Senate to see how Senator Kohl's staff and our staff have been 
integrated and have performed as truly professional staffs, regardless 
of any partisan affiliation. I think one of the reasons the bill moved 
as smoothly as it did through subcommittee and full committee is that 
the staffs have worked together in such a professional way. I am 
grateful to Senator Kohl for his wisdom in the people he has chosen, 
and I am grateful to them for the professional way in which they have 
handled it.
  The bill is at the 302(b) discretionary allocation level of $17.005 
billion. That is $873 million less than the fiscal 2003 level, which 
was $17.878 billion.
  It is always difficult to bring an appropriations bill to the floor 
that has an allocation lower than the previous year and, in this case, 
it is almost $1 billion lower. That has made the challenge of putting 
the bill together extremely difficult and, once again, underscores the 
accomplishments of the professional staff as they have dealt with this 
challenge.
  To run through the various titles of the bill and help people 
understand what we are talking about, I will give you the following 
numbers.
  On title I, dealing with agricultural programs, we have a total of 
$26.776 billion, of which $20.658 billion is mandatory. This is $1.318 
million more than fiscal year 2003.
  On food safety, it is $783.761 million, which is an increase of $28.9 
million over fiscal 2003. The Agricultural Research Service is at 
$1.092 billion. The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension 
Service is at $1.118 billion. The Animal and Plant Inspection Service, 
APHIS, is at $711 million. That takes care of title I.
  Title II, conservation programs, come in at a total of $973 million, 
which is $48 million less than fiscal 2003. Conservation operations are 
at $826.635 million.
  Title III, rural economic and community development programs, the 
total appropriated funds will be $2.588 billion, which will support a 
loan level of $4.353 billion. Single-family housing is at the $4.084 
billion level. The Rural Community Advancement Program is at $769.479 
million. Distance learning, telemedicine, and broadband is at $685.963 
million.
  Title IV, domestic food programs, there is a total of $44.088 
billion, of which $39.164 billion is mandatory. This is $2.197 billion 
more than fiscal 2003. Food stamps will be funded at $27.745 billion. 
WIC, Women, Infants, and Children, will be funded at $4.639 billion.
  Title V, foreign assistance and related programs, there is a total of

[[Page 27131]]

$1.486 billion, which is $349 million less than fiscal year 2003, which 
included supplemental funding of $369 million.
  Title I, development food assistance, is $131.67 million.
  Title II, emergency food assistance, is $1.192 billion. McGovern-Dole 
international food for education and child nutrition, which is a new 
discretionary account, is funded at $25 million.
  On the overall bill, title VI, related agencies and the Food and Drug 
Administration, this is an increase. It is $1.482 billion, $16 million 
more than in fiscal 2003.
  The Food and Drug Administration gets $1.39 billion in direct 
appropriations, plus an additional $302 million in user fees.
  The committee provides $10 million toward the Government's share of 
the medical device review user fee program.
  Finally, title VII, general provisions, the committee includes 
limitations on several farm bill mandatory programs. We do not freeze 
these programs at a level below fiscal 2003, and we do no harm to 
existing programs by these limitations.
  The committee did not include a limitation on the mandatory funding 
level for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP.
  Now, in the bill, there are necessary pay costs for employees 
covered: $131.208 million.
  I will make a personal and parochial observation with respect to this 
bill. Utah is in its fifth year of the worst drought in memory, which 
is a situation shared by many Western colleagues. We have not provided 
emergency funding for the drought, but we have made substantial 
investments in farm programs and conservation efforts that we think 
will help producers deal with these weather-related disasters.
  This is an appropriations bill, not an authorizing bill. I know there 
is a strong temptation to use appropriations bills as a vehicle to 
catch up on authorization situations. Senator Kohl and I have agreed 
that we will oppose any authorizing amendment regardless of how 
salutary it may be, unless it has been cleared by both the chairman and 
the ranking member of the appropriate authorizing committee.
  I am grateful to Senator Kohl for his willingness and leadership on 
this particular issue. We have done our best to accommodate Member 
requests in this bill. This is not always possible. The fact that we 
are almost $1 billion less than fiscal 2003 makes it difficult. We have 
done our best to be as fair as we can and as complete as we can. If 
there are any funding amendments, therefore, offered on the floor, they 
must be offset.
  It is the desire of the leadership, Senator Frist and Senator 
Daschle, to finish this bill today. I think that can be done. But if it 
is to be done, we are going to have to have full cooperation of all of 
the Senators. We know of some of the amendments that have been 
proposed. We have done our best to deal with those amendments at the 
staff level and in the committee by having conversations and 
occasionally colloquies. But we understand there are some amendments 
that will be proposed, will be debated, and will be voted on.
  I ask for the cooperation of all of my colleagues and that, first, 
they come to the floor in a timely fashion to offer their amendments; 
secondly, that they would understand we need to move through these 
amendments as quickly as possible in order to meet the leadership's 
request that we finish the bill tonight. I am hoping we can finish it 
in good time tonight. We will stay, as I understand it from Leader 
Frist, as long as we have to stay to get the bill done.
  While the time seems to be hanging heavily on people's hands right 
now, I hope they will come to the floor and offer their amendments now, 
rather than rushing in at 10:30 tonight and saying: I have an 
amendment, and I need to have it brought up.
  I will do my best to allow full and fair debate on each amendment, 
but I am prepared to offer a tabling motion if it appears to me all of 
the arguments have been made. I believe we know which are the more 
controversial amendments. I have talked with people who stand on both 
sides of those amendments and suggested to them the arguments have been 
made; there is really nothing new to be said about it. While we did get 
the information on the record, we really need to come to a conclusion 
and move on these particular amendments.
  I don't think there is any amendment on which a Senator is undecided. 
I think the controversial amendments have been sufficiently discussed 
prior to coming to the floor so that everyone pretty much knows where 
he or she stands.
  I will use the tabling motion judiciously. I will not attempt to cut 
anybody off or violate his or her privileges, but I will do what I can 
to keep the bill moving in a timely fashion.


                           Amendment No. 2073

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf 
of myself and Senator Kohl.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Utah [Mr. Bennett], for himself and Mr. 
     Kohl, proposes an amendment numbered 2073.

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 47, line 13, insert a period after ``$335,963,000'' 
     and strike the remainder of the sentence, and on page 48, 
     lines 7 through 9, strike all after ``transmission in'' and 
     insert in lieu thereof the following: ``rural areas eligible 
     for Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program benefits 
     authorized by 7 U.S.C. 950aaa.''.

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I understand Senator Kohl is on his way 
and will be here shortly. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 
2004 appropriations bill for Agriculture, Rural Development and Related 
Agencies. This year, the subcommittee faced a difficult task. The 
allocation provided to the subcommittee, just over $17 billion in 
discretionary funding, was a significant decrease from the fiscal year 
2003 funding level. Our new chairman, Senator Bennett, worked extremely 
hard to balance priorities in this bill with limited funding. It has 
been a pleasure to work with him, and I appreciate the good job that he 
has done.
  I would like to briefly mention some of the highlights of this bill.
  Continued funding has been provided for important research projects 
ranging from nutrition issues to the control of emerging diseases. As 
we witnessed the devastating economic effect that one case of mad cow 
disease had on Canada, the importance of knowing all we can about it 
and making certain that our borders are protected becomes very clear. 
Further, outbreaks of Chronic Wasting Disease and West Nile Virus 
demonstrate how small the world has become, and research funded in this 
bill plays an integral role in keeping America prepared.
  Continued funding has also been provided for ongoing conservation 
projects across the country. The Natural Resources Conservation Service 
provides basic services to help ensure that agriculture and our natural 
resources can fully complement each other. Risks from drought and 
flooding are reduced due to activities carried out by the NRCS. In 
recent years and recent days, it seems nearly every community in 
America has been faced with one or the other, and the NRCS, along with 
the Farm Service Agency, has played a vital role in protecting and 
assisting affected communities.
  Funding has been provided to improve food safety, including funding 
for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to hire an additional 87 
food safety inspectors and foreign program auditors. Funding for 
additional training, to improve the scientific and surveillance

[[Page 27132]]

skills of these inspectors, as well as improved laboratory capability 
to ensure that they have access to modern equipment, is also included 
in this bill. The Food and Drug Administration is provided funding to 
improve monitoring of the food industry, improve the FDA's laboratory 
preparedness, and to implement the recently mandated Food Registration 
System.
  For rural development, this bill provides adequate resources to 
continue the important programs that include homeownership, essential 
community facilities, water and waste assistance, business loan and 
grant programs. The committee has also provided sufficient funds for 
farm credit programs, which are essential to farmers who could not 
obtain funding from the commercial sector for ownership and operating 
loans.
   The bill provides sufficient funding for the WIC program to support 
a monthly participation level of approximately 7.8 million low-income 
women, infants and children, the same participation level requested in 
the budget. This level includes funding for several initiatives 
requested by the President, and includes $25 million for the popular 
WIC Farmers' Market program and a $125 million contingency fund. 
Funding for the food stamp program and the commodity supplemental food 
program is also provided in this bill.
   Funding for the child nutrition programs, which include school 
breakfast, school lunch, the child and adult care feeding program, and 
the summer food service program, is included at the President's request 
level. In previous years, I have worked to include several provisions 
in this bill to expand the availability of these important programs. 
This year, due to the scheduled reauthorization of the child nutrition 
programs, these provisions are not included. Instead, I have been 
working with the chairman and ranking member of the Agriculture 
Committee to have these provisions included permanently in child 
nutrition reauthorization.
   The FDA is funded in this bill at sufficient levels to continue its 
mission of promoting and protecting the public health. Increased 
funding is provided for the food safety items I previously mentioned, 
as well as patient safety activities, medical device review, over the 
counter drugs, generic drugs, and pharmaceuticals for children. Last 
year, consumers spent nearly $1.5 trillion dollars on FDA-regulated 
products. The work done there is vital to this country, and the nearly 
$1.4 billion in funding provided to the agency reflects that 
importance.
   I believe that more could be done with additional funding. However, 
with the dollars available, the chairman has put together a good bill 
that I fully support. I would like to thank Senator Bennett for his 
leadership and hard work, as well as the hard work of his staff Pat 
Raymond, Fitzhugh Elder, Hunter Moorhead, and Dianne Preece. It is hard 
to believe that this is their first year working on this bill. Their 
expertise and professionalism would indicate that they had many years 
experience on this subcommittee.
   Again, I strongly support this bill, and I urge all Members to vote 
for its passage.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I commend the distinguished Chairman and 
the Ranking Member for bringing the Senate a carefully crafted spending 
bill within the subcommittee's 302(b) allocation and consistent with 
the discretionary spending cap for 2004.
  The Senate reported bill provides $17.0 billion in discretionary 
budget authority and $17.6 billion in discretionary outlays for fiscal 
year 2004 for the Department of Agriculture. This is 8.5 percent less 
than last year in discretionary budget authority and 1.6 percent less 
than last year in discretionary outlays. This bill also provides $55.5 
billion in mandatory budget authority and $39.5 billion in mandatory 
outlays in fiscal year 2004 for the Department of Agriculture.
  The Senate reported bill is at the subcommittee's 302(b) allocation 
for budget authority and $171 million in outlays below the 302(b) 
allocation. The bill provides $1.57 billion less in budget authority 
and $279 million less in outlays than the FY 2003 level and $22 million 
more in BA and $96 million less in outlays than the President's 
request.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a table displaying the 
Budget Committee scoring of the bill be printed in the Record at the 
conclusion of my remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

S. 1427, AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS, 2004.--SPENDING COMPARISONS--SENATE-
                              REPORTED BILL
                      [Fiscal year 2004 $ millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     General
                                     purpose     Mandatory      Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate-reported bill:
    Budget authority.............       17,005       55,536       72,541
    Outlays......................       17,632       39,472       57,104
Senate Committee allocation:
    Budget authority.............       17,005       55,536       72,541
    Outlays......................       17,803       39,472       57,275
2003 level:
    Budget authority.............       18,575       52,763       71,338
    Outlays......................       17,911       40,712       58,623
President's request:
    Budget authority.............       16,983       55,536       72,519
    Outlays......................       17,728       39,472       57,200
House-passed bill:
    Budget authority.............       17,004       55,143       72,147
    Outlays......................       17,657       39,142       56,799
 
                    Senate-Reported Bill Compared To
 
Senate 302(b) allocation:
    Budget authority.............            0            0            0
    Outlays......................         -171            0         -171
2003 level:
    Budget authority.............       -1,570        2,773        1,203
    Outlays......................         -279       -1,240       -1,519
President's request:
    Budget authority.............           22            0           22
    Outlays......................          -96            0          -96
House-passed bill:
    Budget authority.............            1          393          394
    Outlays......................          -25          330          305
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Totals adjusted for
  consistency with scorekeeping conventions.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate is now considering the fiscal 
year 2004 Agriculture, rural development, and related agencies 
appropriations bill, and I would like to speak on the issue of 
increased funding provisions related to the treatment of animals.
  Two agencies in the Department of Agriculture are charged with the 
responsibility of carrying out regulatory programs to protect animals 
from mistreatment, called for under the Animal Welfare Act and the 
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. The Animal Welfare Act is enforced by 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Humane Methods 
of Slaughter Act enforced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
  The need for this increase in funding and commitment is due, in part, 
to media reports above livestock being raised in unspeakable conditions 
where they did not even have room to lie down, and about animal 
slaughter operations where animals are not properly stunned before 
beginning the process of dismemberment. While the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, and certain state authorities, did initiate investigations 
regarding some of the more egregious reports, I understand that those 
charges were dismissed due to evidentiary problems, leaving unanswered 
the actual degree of severity to which humane slaughter regulations 
were violated in the reported cases, or the degree to which similar 
violations occur throughout the Nation.
  During consideration of the fiscal year 2003 omnibus appropriations 
bill, the Senate included, at my request, $5 million for the hiring of 
at least 50 additional humane slaughter inspectors. Report language 
accompanying that bill instructed these new inspectors to work solely 
on the enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act.
  Prior to the $1.25 million allocation in the fiscal year 2001 
supplemental appropriations bill for the hiring of 17 district 
veterinary medical specialists at the Food Safety Inspection Service to 
work solely on the enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act, there were 
no inspectors employed exclusively for this purpose.
  On May 7, 2003, the Secretary of Agriculture testified before the 
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture regarding the 
administration's fiscal year 2004 budget request. At that hearing, I 
asked the Secretary about the hiring of additional Food Safety 
Inspection Service inspectors for which funding had been appropriated 
in the previously enacted appropriations bill; however, it became 
apparent that the Department had yet to hire any new inspectors.
  As a result of continued interest in this matter, the Senate 
Appropriations Committee included additional report language clarifying 
the funding provided in fiscal year 2003 regarding the

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Department's goal for hiring 38 new inspectors by the end of fiscal 
year 2003. As of October 28, 2003, this goal was met, and I understand 
that the remaining 12 inspectors will be hired by the end of this 
calender year.
  The fiscal year 2004 Senate Agriculture appropriations bill provides 
statutory language to continue funding for the 50 humane slaughter 
inspectors and the 17 district veterinary medical specialists, and 
outlines the Committee's expectation that this funding will be included 
in the Department's fiscal year 2005 budget request.
  I strongly believe that much work remains to be done. I believe that 
continued attention should be placed on enforcement on both the Animal 
Welfare Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to put a stop to 
the mistreatment of animals.
  Mr. President, I thank the chairman and ranking member of the 
Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee for their support in this every 
important effort.

                          ____________________