As Congress races to complete the process of funding the federal government, this week the Senate Appropriations Committee released all 12 of its Fiscal Year 2021 bills, including several provisions benefiting the potato industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe appreciate the work of the Committee in putting these potato priorities in the Senate\u2019s Agriculture Appropriations Bill. It is hoped they can complete their process before Dec. 11, when the temporary spending bill expires,\u201d said RJ Andrus, NPC VP of Government and Legislative Affairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill includes full funding for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture\u2019s Potato Breeding Research Program of $2.75 million. It also includes a provision that prevents USDA from limiting potato access to the school breakfast program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the Committee highlighted the importance of maintaining the FY20 funding level for the \u201cdevelopment of new management strategies for potato storage that will maintain potato quality, reduce grower and processor losses, and increase profits.\u201d The Committee also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to support pest management programs designed to \u201cminimize the application of pesticides and to maximize the yield and quality of harvested potatoes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The broader highlights of the Senate Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Bill are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the new fiscal year officially began on Oct. 1, a continuing resolution has kept the government funded at fiscal year 2020 levels since that time. However, the continuing resolution is set to expire on Dec. 11. In a message to House Democrats, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated that reaching an agreement on FY2021 spending bills is a priority during the lame duck session. Given that this will be complicated by an additional stimulus bill, it is unclear as to the timing and overall amounts that may be included in such a package.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Congress races to complete the process of funding the federal government, this week the Senate Appropriations Committee released all 12 of its Fiscal Year 2021 bills, including several provisions benefiting the potato industry. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n