Senate Approves Agricultural Funding

Nov. 07, 2003 -- Late Thursday, Nov. 6, the U.S. Senate approved the long-awaited Appropriations for Agriculture funding program for the current fiscal year. The Senate version will now go to conference with a House bill passed last July to work out differences in funding and language.

"Fortunately, ASI priorities are closely aligned in both bills, including funding scrapie eradication, National Sheep Industry Improvement Center, Wildlife Services, wool research and our Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs,? stated Peter Orwick, American Sheep Industry (ASI) executive director.

Prior to final approval, senators also voted 58 to 36 to support mandatory country-of-origin labeling as it is authorized in last year's farm bill. The vote was a non-binding ?sense of the senate? vote intended to instruct the conferees to oppose the House language on the same topic. Labeling, however, will remain an issue since the House bill contains language to delay the implementation of meat labeling for one year. ASI has successfully supported country-of-origin labeling for lamb, however, divisions in other species keeps the topic coming back year after year.

Staff contact: Peter Orwick, ext. 33

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