Washington Update - January 2003
January 2003
In This Issue:
• Leadership of New Congress Emerging
• FY03 Funding Uncertainty Continues
• Drought Relief Impact Still Unknown
Leadership of New Congress Emerging
Republican control of both the House and the Senate in the 108th Congress is resulting in changes among the leadership of the Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, the two primary congressional panels that influence TEFAP. In the House, both parties named their top committee members yesterday. Bill Young (R-FL) will continue to head the Appropriations Committee, with David Obey (D-WI) remaining the ranking Democrat. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) will take over as chair of the Agriculture Committee, with Charles Stenholm (D-TX) continuing as ranking member.
Full House committee rosters and subcommittee chairs will not be identified until later this month. Positions on the Nutrition Subcommittee of the Agriculture Committee are up for grabs, with former chair Goodlatte moving up and former ranking member Eva Clayton (D-NC) retiring. The lineup for the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to remain unchanged, with Henry Bonilla (R-TX) continuing as chair and March Kaptur (D-OH) as ranking member.
Senate leadership positions will not be finalized until passage of an organizing resolution that determines committee ratios between Republicans and Democrats in the nearly evenly divided chamber. Thad Cochran (R-MS) will likely emerge as chair of the Agriculture Committee, with Tom Harkin (D-IA) switching to the role of ranking member. On the Appropriations Committee, Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Robert Byrd (D-WV) will return as chair and ranking member, respectively, while Cochran and Herb Kohl (D-WI) will switch places as chair and ranking member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
FY03 Funding Uncertainty Continues
The new Congress is beginning to tackle the unresolved funding of the federal government in the current fiscal year, but how and when it will be done remains unclear. The 107th Congress left town after enacting a continuing resolution (CR) through January 11. That CR will likely be extended until the end of the month. But how will Congress choose to round out the year’s funding? The Senate wants to pass 11 separate appropriations bills, while the House is talking about bundling them into an omnibus bill that would become the final CR. Whichever method is chosen, TEFAP will be lucky to escape unscathed.
Moreover, it appears unlikely that Congress will have resolved FY03 funding issues before the fiscal year 2004 appropriations process begins; the release of the President’s budget in early February is the official start of the annual appropriations dance.
Drought Relief Impact Still Unknown
The forecast for bonus commodities in TEFAP, school meals, and other food distribution programs remains cloudy, as a result of USDA’s decision to use designated commodity purchase funds for drought relief last year. Nearly $1 billion has been pulled from the Section 32 account that is used to purchase surplus items and it is unclear whether those funds will be replaced.
Emergency food organizations should be concerned that government donations will continue to drop. Though USDA commodities continued to arrive in large numbers during the first quarter of FY03, due to bonus purchases made last year, supplies for the remainder of the fiscal year are uncertain.
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WASHINGTON UPDATE is published periodically for the TEFAP Alliance by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 419 West Broad Street, Suite 204, Falls Church, VA 22046; telephone; 703-532-5700; Fax: 703-532-5780; email: zyweinberg@earthlink.net.
Washington Update
Friday, January 10, 2003
mvauthier :: Jan.10.2003 :: Washington Update :: No Comments »:: Print This Post
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