1.15.2014 The $1.1 trillion government-wide Omnibus spending bill easily cleared the U.S. House Wednesday and is expected to be called up by Senate Democrats by Saturday. The Omnibus spending package (H.R.3547) will continue funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year and avoid another government shutdown. While the bill isn’t a perfect compromise, it would provide some relief from the sequester, which had set spending at $967 billion for the year.
The Omnibus includes the Agriculture Appropriations bill, which contains discretionary funding and mandatory funding, as required by law, for the USDA food and nutrition programs. In general, funding levels remain similar to those enacted for 2013. A few highlights of the bill’s investment in food and nutrition:
Child Nutrition Programs – The bill provides $19.3 billion in required mandatory funding, of which $25 million is directed to help schools purchase needed equipment to operate the programs. However, a waiver provision was added to the bill that would allow schools to opt out of the improved nutrition standards for competitive foods (snacks and other foods sold on campus) and school breakfasts through 2015, which could significantly weaken the gains to child nutrition from the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010.
SNAP – The bill provides for $82.2 billion in required mandatory spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Senior Meals – The bill includes $815 million for senior nutrition programs, which provides congregate meals and meals on wheels to needy seniors so they can remain healthy and independent. This amount fully replaces the cuts imposed by the sequester.
WIC – The bill provides $6.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for Fiscal Year 2014 and assures a significant measure of program funding stability.
Other noteworthy provisions include:
Early Childhood Education – Some of the largest investments of this bill are in early childhood education. Quality early childhood education programs often require participation in USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) or set basic nutrition standards for participating facilities. The Omnibus includes a $1 billion increase for Head Start, which will support comprehensive early childhood services for approximately 90,000 additional children and their families. The bill also includes a $154 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which provides grants to states for child care assistance to working families, and to otherwise improve the quality of child care programs. Lastly, the bill allows $250 million to be used for Race to the Top grants to help states develop, enhance or expand high quality preschool programs for children ages 4 and over and from low- and moderate income families.
Public Health – Some new public health investments reflect a shift in American health care from treatment to prevention. The Omnibus allocates $80 million in Community Prevention Grants and $265 million in obesity prevention state grant programs.
Read the House Appropriation Committee’s Agriculture Summary. link
Questions? Contact Elyse Homel Vitale at 510.433.1122 ext. 206
