Rural Briefs
Rural Briefs analyze Federal Executive, Legislative, and Administrative action concerning rural development and asset-building programs and initiatives. They are published quarterly and on special occasions. The Rural Briefs are made possible through the support of the Ford Foundation and the Otto Bremer Foundation.
On June 18, 2008, Congress completed action on the 2008 Farm Bill, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (HR 6124, Public Law 110-246). The 2008 Farm Bill continues considerable funding for commodity subsidy programs, $35 billion over the life of the Farm Bill. An additional $10.4 billion was authorized for nutrition programs and $25 billion for conservation programs.
In comparison, the Farm Bill allocates only $150 million in mandatory spending for three programs over the life of the Farm Bill—a 233:1 ratio of commodity subsidy spending to rural development spending.
President Bush released his Fiscal Year 2009 budget on February 3, 2008. While this $3.1 trillion budget for the entire federal government sets the parameters for future debate and deliberations in Congress, it is primarily a recommendation and the first step in the annual appropriations process.
The vast majority of the rural development title approved by the Senate reauthorizes existing programs and sets annual authorized appropriation levels. This issue of the Rural Brief compares the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.
On July 27, 2007, the House of Representatives approved the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 - H.R. 2419. This is the House's version of the Farm Bill. Action now moves to the U.S. Senate, starting in the Senate Agricultural Committee.
On June 6, 2007, the Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee met to discuss a draft Rural Development Title of the 2007 Farm Bill, or “mark” in Congressional language. This was the first Congressional committee action on the Rural Development Title of the 2007 Farm Bill.
The major economic and community development policy initiative in the President’s FY2006 budget is the Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative (SACI). The SACI proposal would eliminate 18 economic and community programs and consolidate their activities into the new SACI program. The President’s proposal also would also cut funding from $5.6 billion for the 18 programs to $3.7 billion for SACI, 65 percent of the current funding for the programs targeted for elimination and consolidation.
Since 2002, nearly every federal program that funds economic development and asset-building in rural communities has been cut, some by as much as 60 percent. With the notable exception of rural single-family housing loan programs, most rural development and rural asset-building programs witnessed significant reduction in Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 after spending increases from 2002 to 2003.
Rural America will lose more than one-third of its federal resources for rural economic and community development. The proposed new “Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative” would consolidate 18 economic and community development programs into one and provide one-third less funding (from $5.61 billion in FY05 for the 18 programs to $3.71 billion proposed in FY06 for the new initiative).
- The New Homestead Act seeks to attract new residents and businesses to rural areas suffering high out-migration. The New Homestead Act would operate in “high outmigration” counties – those with out-migration of 10 percent or more over the last 20 years.
