politico | House Republicans proposed a $20.9 billion budget for agriculture and
food safety programs Monday, an 82-page bill that challenges the White
House on nutrition rules and denies major new funding sought by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission to better regulate the rich
derivatives market.
The CFTC fares better than in the past in that
the GOP allows for a modest $3 million increase for information
technology investments. But the $218 million budget is still $62 million
less than President Barack Obama’s request and continues a pattern that
has frustrated the administration’s ability to implement Wall Street
reforms called for under the Dodd-Frank law enacted in July 2010.
In the case of nutrition programs, the House bill seeks to open the door
for starchy, white potatoes to be added to the list of qualified
vegetables under the WIC supplemental feeding program for pregnant women
and their young children. The Agriculture Department would also be
required to establish a waiver process for local school districts which
have found it too costly to comply with tougher nutrition standards for
school lunch and breakfast programs.
And in a surprising twist, the bill language specifies that only
rural areas are to benefit in the future from funding requested by the
administration this year to continue a modest summer demonstration
program to help children from low-income households — both urban and
rural — during those months when school meals are not available.
Since 2010, the program has operated from an initial appropriation of
$85 million, and the goal has been to test alternative approaches to
distribute aid when schools are not in session. The White House asked
for an additional $30 million to continue the effort, but the House bill
provides $27 million for what’s described as an entirely new pilot
program focused on rural areas only.
Democrats were surprised to see urban children were excluded. And the
GOP had some trouble explaining the history itself. But a spokeswoman
confirmed that the intent of the bill is a pilot project in “rural
areas” only. Fist tap Dale.
