December 23, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 51
RESOLUTION TO FUND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SIGNED INTO LAW On Dec. 13 the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 83, a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2015. President Barack Obama signed it into law on Dec. 16. The law includes some key provisions important to Georgia agriculture. The law requires the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw their March 2014 interpretive rule entitled “Interpretive Rule Regarding the Applicability of the Clean Water Act Section 404(f)(1)(a).” The interpretive rule (IR) went into effect immediately in March and removed Clean Water Act (CWA) permit exemptions under Section 404 of the CWA. While Georgia Farm Bureau was against the IR, it should be noted that the IR is not the same as the agencies’ proposed rule “Definition of the Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act”, the subject of the “Ditch The Rule” campaign conducted by GFB and the American Farm Bureau Federation this year. The proposed rule was published in April and is still moving toward finalization under the federal rulemaking process. The continuing resolution includes $45 million for construction and improvement to agricultural research facilities. According to a press release from Rep. Jack Kingston, this is to fund upgrades to the Southeast Poultry Research Lab in Athens, part of a multiyear $155 expansion of the facility. The USDA has made the modernization of this facility its top construction priority. “Our members are pleased Congress appropriated $45 million to begin reconstruction of the USDA Southeastern Poultry Lab,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “The lab is a vital part of finding solutions to emerging poultry diseases that impact poultry and human health. Farm Bureau will continue to work with our congressional delegation to ensure funding is available to see this project through to completion.” Overall, the funding law provides a total of $1.013 trillion and funds 11 of the 12 appropriation bills through Sept. 30, 2015. A short-term continuing resolution funds the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 27, 2015. Under agriculture appropriations, the law includes $20.6 billion in discretionary funding, which is $305 million below the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 level. The law includes $871.3 million – a $49.5 million increase above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level – for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). This funding includes increases to fight citrus greening and the epidemic porcine virus. The law restricts the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) from implementing regulations for private livestock and poultry markets. The law also prohibits the USDA from conducting inspections at horse processing facilities.