USDA, FDA approps passed

Action on agriculture and food safety funding bills for fiscal 2008 came from both the House and Senate today. From Reuters.

The U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees each passed fiscal 2008 agriculture funding bills that increase spending for food safety and set a timeline to put country-of-origin labels on red meats beginning in fall 2008.
The House and Senate appropriations committees both established benchmarks to help the U.S. Agriculture Department implement country-of-origin labeling by Sept. 30, 2008, when it is required by law to be in place.
The Senate committee approved an amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan to include the benchmark in its spending bill. The timeline was part of the House bill from the start. Congress enacted the meat-labeling requirement as part of a 2002 law but has twice delayed the start date.

Later...


The Senate legislation also provides an increase of $48.4 million in food safety spending for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The funds must be used to hire field inspectors, create rapid response teams located throughout the country that would respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness and to conduct food safety research.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) would receive almost $20 million for an ongoing animal ID program and $13.8 million for low-pathogenic avian influenza activities, and $47.5 million for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The House committee also approved $930.1 million for USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to fill vacant positions for federal meat inspectors. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will get $102.5 million to hire additional staff.
Food aid programs also will be increased with WIC, the Women, Infants and Children food program funded $5.6 billion; and food Stamps, the premiere U.S. antihunger program, $39.8 billion.