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Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations Bills

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House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees are working on fiscal year 2021 funding bills. Highlights from the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill include: 
  • $3.3 billion for agricultural research programs, with $1.51 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and $1.54 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • $1.06 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and $1.07 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
  • $1.43 billion for the Farm Service Agency, which is an increase of $20 million over FY20 enacted levels.
  • $832 million for Natural Resources Conservation Service.
  • $400 million for the ReConnect Broadband Pilot Program. The House-passed FY21 funding bill included $990 million for the ReConnect Program.
While the new fiscal year began on October 1, a continuing resolution has kept the government funded since that time. The current continuing resolution is set to expire on December 11.

U.S. House Ratifies USMCA

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The U.S. House of Representatives approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Thursday with a vote of 385 to 41. In a press conference ahead of the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the enforcement piece of the agreement is important. “We’ve made giant progress over the existing North American Free Trade Agreement. There was a big difference from what the Trump Administration proposed to begin with and where we ended up.” The Senate will vote on the trade legislation in January.