According to the Cornerstone Report, key IPM programs were not restored to the budget plan by the House Ag Appropriations subcommittee:
Unfortunately, funding was not restored for three other 406 programs: Regional IPM Centers, Crops at Risk from FQPA Implementation, and FQPA Risk Mitigation Program for Major Food Crops. We are hopeful that the Senate will restore funding for these programs as well as those restored by the House.
Other programs funded through section 406 – Food Safety, Water Quality, and Methyl Bromide Alternatives – were restored in this mark-up. The report does stress “that the results reported in this report are tentative and subject to change when and if the Agriculture Appropriations bill is marked up by the House Appropriations Committee and debated on the House floor.”
So, how many strikes before we’re out? Maybe more than three. Other “pitches” that IPM might score a hit on:
- the Senate Ag Appropriations mark-up
- Appropriations Committee mark-ups for either chamber (is it likely that either would make a decision that its own subcommittee passed on?)
- floor debate in either chamber (see previous comment)
- deliberations of the conference committee to reconcile bills across both chambers
If neither chamber restores 406 IPM funding, the fate of CAR, RAMP and Regional IPM Centers probably rests with decisions at USDA-NIFA whether to make a place for the functions these programs serve within next year’s AFRI (Agriculture and Food Research Initiative) program. USDA has sent some signals that this might happen, but no assurances.
Filed under: Budget Tagged: | 406 Funding, CAR, IPM Centers, RAMP, Section 406
