Thirty-nine programs in the current (2014) Farm Bill with spending estimated to total $2.824 billion do not have a budget baseline after FY 2018. The reasons vary but its because the programs spend less than $50 million in last authorized year (2018) of the current Farm Bill.   According to the Congressional Research Service, “..some programs may not be assumed to continue in the budget baseline, because the program had estimated mandatory spending less than a minimum $50 million scoring threshold in the last year of the farm bill, or the Budget Committees and/or Agriculture Committees determined that mandatory spending shall not extend beyond expiration.”

With the budget for the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization expected to be tight, the fate of these programs could be in question.  On a positive note, Congress did secure funding to keep these programs during the last farm bill.

 2014 Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline After FY2018

(FY2014-FY2018 mandatory spending, millions of dollars)

Source: Compiled by CRS using the text of P.L. 113-79 and the CBO score of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Table 4, “Detailed Effects on Direct Spending,” January 28, 2014, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/45049.

Notes: Programs were identified from the CBO score as having budgetary outlays (from budget authority in the act) at any time during the period FY2014-FY2018 but no new budget authority beyond FY2018. The text of the act was also used to identify and verify programs without new mandatory budget authority beyond FY2018. Section 1119 (Transition Assistance for Upland Cotton) was excluded because it is considered part of the shift from repealing cotton support in Title I and continuing support in the STAX program in Title XI.

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Tim Cansler

Chief Strategist at Cansler Consulting, LLC

Tim has over 30 years of extensive experience in federal legislative and regulatory matters. His trusted advise helps clients navigate federal government processes to successful policy outcomes. He is a member of the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics in Washington, D.C.

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