WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today announced that the Senate has approved the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Bill. The bill includes more than $3 billion in the federal checkbook for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – an increase of nearly $375 million from last year - and more than $5 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Beltsville Agricultural Research Program (BARC), both headquartered in Maryland.

“Every community around the country is impacted by this federal funding. In Maryland, it means good news for our agriculture and farming industries, and for the dedicated employees working at FDA and BARC,” ,b>Senator Mikulski said. “I applaud the people who work on Maryland’s farms, and in our federal labs, universities and other research facilities for their commitment. I will continue to fight to put money in the federal checkbook to support their important work.”

This year’s bill also includes funding Senator Mikulski specifically requested to support three high-priority BARC projects. These projects will help create and preserve jobs in Maryland, and find solutions to agricultural problems that affect the health and nutrition of every American.

The spending bill includes $3 million for BARC to make much-needed building upgrades. BARC currently has a deferred maintenance backlog of several hundred millions of dollars. Its annual repair and maintenance budget has remained at just $2.32 million since 1993. This level of funding has not kept up with BARC’s needs. As a result, BARC has been forced to cut its research activities to cover these expenses. The funding will be used to upgrade energy savings systems, repair heating and cooling systems critical to research labs, and repair roofs. The funding will lower overall operating costs for BARC and help keep its critical research budget intact.

“BARC’s dedicated team of scientists is working hard every day to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect our farm economy and the health and nutrition of every American. This funding will help ensure they have modern, up-to-date facilities to carry out their important work, while creating new jobs and giving a boost to Maryland’s economy,” Senator Mikulski said.

In addition, the spending bill includes $2.1 million for two critical BARC research projects:

• $408,000 for poultry disease research. Poultry is the largest segment of Maryland’s agriculture industry. Maryland’s Eastern Shore is home to about 900 chicken farms and three processing plants. The industry also accounts for about 33 percent of Maryland’s cash farm income. Nationally, one single poultry disease can cost the industry almost $3 billion annually. Researchers at BARC are examining the genetics of various poultry diseases to understand which chickens are most susceptible, and developing methods to improve disease prevention and control.

• $1.7 million for plant vaccine research. Plants can be used as engines to manufacture vaccines and other pharmaceuticals for animals and humans. This funding will continue research into developing plants capable of producing higher levels of healthy vitamins and nutrients. Researchers at BARC are also working on introducing new compounds into plants, including vaccines that protect human health.

Located in Beltsville, Maryland, BARC is the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service’s flagship facility. Next year, BARC will celebrate its centennial. It currently employs almost 975 federal employees, including 249 scientists. BARC scientists conduct research that is critical to our farm economy and to the health and nutrition of all Americans.

In the next step of the legislative process, a conference committee will meet to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions on this spending bill. Once complete, the conference report must be passed by both chambers and then sent to the President to become law. After these steps are complete, this funding will become available to these federal agencies located in Maryland.