TEFAP Alliance Blog

April 2003

In This Issue:
• Most Nutrition Programs Spared from Budget Cuts
• Fiscal Year 2003 Funding Finalized
• California Clout Increases on House Agriculture Committee
• Food Donation Bill Passes Senate
• National Policy Memos Available On-Line

Most Nutrition Programs Spared from Budget Cuts
Congressional conferees have negotiated a temporary agreement on the fiscal year 2004 budget that delays a decision on tax cuts and avoids reductions in mandatory programs, including food stamps, child nutrition, and TEFAP. The fiscal 2004 budget resolution, approved by both the Senate and the House on April 10 by very close votes, eliminates a provision proposed by the House that would have cut spending for federal nutrition assistance programs by more than $19 billion over the next 10 years. The non-binding budget resolution sets broad guidelines for federal spending.
Mandatory spending for agriculture programs, including the Food Stamp, School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child Care, and Emergency Food Assistance Programs, was exempted from reductions in the deal. However, discretionary programs, such as the WIC Program, will still face considerable budget pressures, as Congress seeks offsets to pay for the tax cuts.

In an unusual move, the two chambers failed to reach consensus on the size of the tax cuts, with the House voting for $550 billion in reductions and the Senate approving $356 billion. Congressional leaders hope to reconcile the differences following the two-week Easter/Passover recess that will have members home in their districts until April 27.

Fiscal Year 2003 Funding Finalized
The annual update of the TEFAP funding formula boosted California’s share of administrative funding by more than one and one-half percentage points. Early this month, USDA’s Food Distribution Division (FDD) was able to translate the percentages into dollars. The state’s share of the amount available for storage and processing this year is $7,970,119.
Funding totals are based on a $49,675,000 appropriation, which is the anticipated $50 million reduced by the government-wide 0.65 percent across-the-board cut for all discretionary programs. In addition, USDA Secretary Ann Veneman exercised the option allowed under the appropriations bill to convert $10 million of food money into administration.
States, however, have been given discretion to convert some of those extra administrative dollars back into food to help expand the program to include more community-based and faith-based organizations in the distribution. USDA has also urged a greater emphasis on services to rural areas.

California Clout Increases on House Agriculture Committee
When the House of Representatives rounded out its committee assignments for the 108th Congress earlier this year, a total of seven California members grabbed assignments on the Agriculture Committee and, more importantly, all seven landed on the Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over TEFAP. These members will be important in authorizing any changes in the structure and operations of TEFAP.
The Representatives (with district number in parentheses) are: Republicans Richard Pombo (11), Devin Nunes (21), and Doug Ose (3), along with Democrats Joe Baca (43), Dennis Cardoza (18), Calvin Dooley (20), and Mike Thompson (1). Dooley is the Ranking Member, or most senior Democrat on the Subcommittee.

Food Donation Bill Passes Senate
The U.S. Senate on April 9 approved legislation to promote charitable contributions, including tax breaks for food donations. The Charity, Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act of 2003, S. 476, contains provisions of the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act, originally introduced by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in 2000.
The measure will allow small businesses, including family farmers and ranchers, restaurant owners, and others to take a tax deduction for food donated to food banks and hunger relief organizations. A drop in corporate giving, the weakened economy, and the necessities of war have combined to reduce both government and private sector contributions to emergency feeding organizations at the same time that the demand for assistance has increased significantly.
The CARE Act has been the centerpiece of the Bush Administration’s faith-based initiative, although it was watered down in order to pass the Senate. The legislation now moves to the House, which is expected to endorse it.

National Policy Memos Available On-Line
USDA’s FDD recently revamped its web page and has now made available on-line policy memoranda for TEFAP. The memoranda now accessible via the Internet include those concerning the eligibility of persons with disabilities, the elderly, and those on public assistance, meals provided to volunteers, and the eligibility of youth shelters for TEFAP commodities. The memos may be found at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/policy/tefappolicies.htm.

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WASHINGTON UPDATE is published 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
Thursday, April 24, 2003

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