Washington Update - October 2003
October 2003
In This Issue:
• Fiscal Year 2004 Appropriations Remain in Limbo
• TEFAP Food and Funds Will Continue to Flow
• USDA Initiative Aims to Expand Use of Dry Milk
• Charitable Donation Bill Passes in House
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Fiscal Year 2004 Appropriations Remain in Limbo
Funding for federal programs in fiscal year 2004, which began October 1, 2003, remains in limbo. Congress passed and the President signed a fiscal year 2004 “continuing resolution” (House Joint Resolution 69, now Public Law 108-84) that funds ongoing activities through October 31 under fiscal year 2003 terms, conditions, and funding rates.
The bill stipulates that “no grants shall be awarded for such programs funded by this resolution that would impinge on final funding prerogatives.” Consequently, funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) will be held at the current level until final appropriations decisions are made.
Political observers expect few of the standard 13 appropriations bills, including the one for Agriculture, to pass individually. Instead, subsequent continuing resolutions will likely be enacted, though their conditions and duration are unknown at this time. As the Senate plans to recess from October 3-14, action on appropriations may not be completed until sometime in late October or November.
TEFAP Food and Funds Will Continue to Flow
The absence of a final fiscal year 2004 appropriation for TEFAP is not expected to affect the program in the near future. Food Distribution Division (FDD) officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are releasing administrative funds for October and should likely have authority to release funds piecemeal under any subsequent continuing resolutions.
Due to procurement procedures, USDA will not be able to buy entitlement foods on a short-term basis, but some $85 million worth of bonus purchases made near the end of fiscal year 2003 – which will be delivered to TEFAP during the first quarter of fiscal 2004 – should keep food supplies flowing.
Anticipated purchases of surplus commodities in fiscal year 2004 are expected to keep sizeable quantities of food available to TEFAP over the coming year. A good mix of products, including fruits and vegetables, meats like bison and lamb, and processed, milk-based products like pudding, are anticipated.
USDA Initiative Aims to Expand Use of Dry Milk
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced a new initiative on September 17 that will donate million of pounds of non-fat dry milk (NDM) next year to faith-based and community organizations. The effort, administered directly by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), is expected to target agencies and locales that do not now receive NDM through TEFAP.
Qualified non-profit groups were required to apply directly to CCC headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri before the end of September 2003. Eligible organizations will be required to order milk in full truckloads. The initiative is offering 48 million pounds of instantized, fortified NDM suitable for drinking and 25 million pounds of non-fortified NDM appropriate for cooking or baking.
With more than one billion pounds of HDM currently in CCC storage, the initiative will not affect the unlimited supply of NDM available to TEFAP, according to FDD sources.
Charitable Donation Bill Passes in House
House Resolution 7, legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide incentives for charitable contributions by individuals and businesses, was passed by the House of Representatives on September 17 by a vote of 408 to 13. A key provision of the bill allows the donation of “apparently wholesome food” inventories at fair market value.
Although both the Administration and the Republican leadership in Congress support the measure, its future remains uncertain due to the implications for federal revenues. A similar bill passed by the Senate earlier this year will need to be reconciled with H.R. 7 in a House-Senate conference committee.
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WASHINGTON UPDATE is published periodically for the California 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, October 2, 2003
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