Specialty Crop Block Grants

Here is how the House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson handles the Specialty Crop Block Grant programs in his markup of the farm bill. Apparently these allocations are paid-for and not reserve funds. But where is the fruit and vegetable snack program? I could not find the fruit and vegetable snack program in the chairman's markup, meaning it may be grouped with unfunded priorities that are dependent on finding budget offsets. If true, that would be a blow to efforts to expand the snack program nationwide and a serious challenge to the unity of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance.



SEC. 10102. SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS.
(a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Subsection (a) of section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Subsection (i) of section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 is amended to read as follows:
6 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make grants under this section, using—
‘‘(1) $40,000,000 in fiscal year 2008;
‘‘(2) $45,000,000 in fiscal year 2009;
‘‘(3) $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2010;
‘‘(4) $55,000,000 in fiscal year 2011; and
‘‘(5) $75,000,000 in fiscal year 2012.’’.


(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is further amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Subject to the appropriation of funds to carry out this section’’ and inserting ‘‘Using the funds made available under subsection (i)’’; (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘appropriated
22 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in’’ and inserting ‘‘made available under’’; and (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds to carry out this subsection, each’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’.