Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, it is my pleasure to appear before you to discuss the FY 2004 budgets for the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area agencies of the USDA. I am accompanied by Dr. Rodney Brown, Deputy Under Secretary of REE and the Administrators of the four agencies: Dr. Edward Knipling, Acting Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS); Dr. Colien Hefferan, Administrator of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES); Dr. Susan Offutt, Administrator of the Economic Research Service (ERS); and Mr. Ronald Bosecker, Administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Also present is Mr. Dennis Kaplan of the Office of Budget and Program Analysis of the Department. Each Administrator has submitted written testimony for the record.
Placed in the context of current tight government spending, the REE budget that we are here to discuss today reflects a strong commitment to addressing the challenges facing our Nation’s food and agricultural system. We appreciate your support in FY 2003 appropriations. The President’s FY 2004 budget proposes $2.266 billion for the four REE agencies, about the same as FY 2003 presidential budget proposal of $2.312 billion. The proposed budget requests increases for higher priority programs by reprogramming lower priority programs and eliminating completed tasks.
Science and technology are the foundation of the American food and agricultural system. These four agencies have been central to making the discoveries that have given us the most plentiful, affordable, and safe food supply any nation has ever known. Research investments and scientific advances have caused per acre yields of corn for silage and milk production per dairy cow to more than double in the last half of the 20th Century, while household income devoted to food has dropped from 20.5 to 10.2 percent. It is a phenomenal success story, a story based significantly on REE agencies’ research, education, and economic and statistical analysis over the years. The environment surrounding the food and agricultural system is in constant flux. Today, our farmers and ranchers and our value-added food industry face stiff competition in worldwide markets. Many countries now spend a much higher percentage of their national research dollars on the food and agricultural system than we do. Constant attention to and investment in food and agricultural research is necessary to maintain our leadership in the world.
A recent National Academies report on REE, entitled Frontiers in Agricultural Research: Food, Health, Environment and Communities, states, “Recent scientific breakthroughs will make it easier for agriculture to achieve its potential for delivering a wide array of benefits to society. For this potential to be realized, the agricultural research system must take advantage of new opportunities and relationships. Changing public values and needs will create new market opportunities and will alter agriculture’s relationship to the food and fiber system, the environment and the fabric of American society. Research will support agriculture as a positive economic, social, and environmental force and will help the sector to fulfill ever-evolving demands.”
The remarkable success enjoyed by the food and agricultural system in this nation depends heavily on our having a reservoir of basic scientific knowledge. Technology and mission-oriented applied research and problem solving projects must draw from this reservoir of scientific knowledge. I appreciate very much your support of the USDA flagship grant program, the National Research Initiative (NRI) with a significant increase of $46 million in the FY 2003 appropriations, raising the total funding level to $166 million. However, the NRI funding level is still only one third of the authorized level of $500 million. As a competitive program, the NRI is open to the entire research community and provides the most effective mechanism to attract the best minds in the nation to work on food and agricultural research, and to add to our science knowledge reservoir. For the FY 2004 budget, we propose to increase the NRI to $200 million.
One of the most recent scientific breakthrough areas and one that represents immense opportunities for the food and agriculture sector is genomics research. Genomics is where 21st century biological science is going. Genomics and biotechnology provide powerful tools to address many of the thorny problems that have challenged production agriculture for years. Called the “high speed biology,” genomics permits rapid understanding and careful use of desired traits in microbes, plants, and animals. Where previously scientists worked at the cellular level, they can now work at the molecular-level. Genomics also adds to the basic science knowledge reservoir. As has been demonstrated in the study of the human genome, studying the metabolic pathways dictated by genetic sequences can lead to new knowledge that has unanticipated beneficial applications.
Through the study of the genetic makeup of organisms, genomics links the properties of genes to how plants and animals function. For example, genomics can: • Eliminate the production of fungal toxins such as aflatoxin. • Prevent diseases in animals exposed to pathogens, such as foot and mouth disease, • Uniformly and reliably produce desirable nutritional characteristics in commodities such as golden rice, which contains high vitamin A and iron levels. • Develop rapid accurate diagnostic tools for monitoring and detecting animal and plant pathogens, such as Listeria. • Make production friendlier to the environment, tapping into the natural defensive resources of agricultural plants and animals. • Reduce or eliminate the use of many agricultural chemicals and antibiotics and make the food products that consumers want. “Molecular-level understanding of life processes” is one of six public research and development priorities set out in the FY 2004 budget memorandum from the Directors of the White House Offices of Science and Technology Policy and Management and Budget. In particular, the Directors note that “new applications in health care, agriculture, energy, and environmental management,” justify genomics as a priority. Agriculture lags behind the medical, energy-related, and non-agricultural basic sciences in making investments in this area. To be a world leader in agricultural genomics, USDA requires a sustained investment to engage in genomics research and to cooperate with other federal agencies.
Both ARS and CSREES have significantly increased their genomics programs in recent years. However, fulfilling the promises of genomics will require additional investments. The President’s FY 2004 budget provides increases of $13 million in ARS’s agricultural genome budget and $10 million in CSREES’ NRI to strengthen both agencies’ genomics programs. An increase of $1.1 million in the ERS’ budget will provide economic data and analysis that complements collateral biological and bioinformatics research, and serves as the basis for policy decisions arising from rapid genomics-based development in food and agriculture. In capturing the unique benefits of genomics research and development, USDA has collaborated with other science institutions, both in the U.S. and abroad. The goal is to achieve direct applications in food and agriculture that would not likely be addressed without USDA participation and targeted funding. USDA has worked closely with the National Science Foundation on the National Plant Genome Initiative and the Microbe Project. USDA is leading in the coordination of federal research activities related to Domestic Animal Genomics, including working closely with the National Institutes of Health.
Our work with other agencies in various research areas is indicative of the growing collaborations in which REE agencies are participating. The REE agencies are working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on remote sensing, with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control on food safety, with the Environmental Protection Agency on implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act, and with the Department of Defense and Department of Energy on biobased products and bioenergy research. Additionally, the new REE strategic plan asks the four REE agencies to provide increasing research, analytical, statistical, and educational services to other USDA agencies.
The proposed budget provides additional funding for REE agencies to play a major role in strengthening the Nation’s biosecurity. The safety of our food and security of our food supply are critical elements of homeland security. The budget provides ARS $11.5 million for biosecurity research with an additional amount for related research on emerging diseases that may be accidentally or intentionally introduced into the food system. Because of its size, complexity, and integration, U.S. agriculture is uniquely vulnerable to highly infectious diseases and pests, particularly diseases not endemic to the United States. Working cooperatively with APHIS, the budget provides CSREES with $16 million to maintain a unified Federal-State network of public agricultural institutions to identify and rapidly respond to high-risk biological pathogen outbreaks in the food and agricultural system. Funding of $1 million will support ERS’ effort to improve and maintain a security analysis system initiated with supplemental Homeland Security funds. Finally, the President’s FY 2004 provides ARS with $22 million to finance additional security assessments and implement security countermeasures at ARS research laboratories.
Scientific and professional human capital is one of the most crucial variables affecting the future of our food and agriculture system. Increases in the budget supporting the research component of REE are complemented with increases in education, a critical function of REE. The President’s budget provides an increase of $1.9 million for two higher education programs, Institution Challenge Grants to enhance institutional capacity and Graduate Fellowship Grants for the development of expertise. The budget also proposes funds for a program to further incorporate an international component into teaching, research, and extension programs at land-grant institutions.
I would now like to turn briefly to the budgets of the four REE agencies.
Agricultural Research Service: The Agricultural Research Service FY 2004 budget requests slightly over $1 billion in ongoing research and information programs and facilities. Within the total, the budget proposes increases dedicated toward higher priority program initiatives of national and regional importance, several of which I previously described. Offsetting these increases, the budget proposes redirection or termination of approximately $149 million in current programs. As the principal intramural biological and physical science research agency in the Department, ARS continues to play a critical role for the Department and the larger agricultural community in conducting both basic and mission-oriented research. Results from ARS’ basic research provide the foundation for applied research carried out by ARS, academic institutions and private industry. ARS’ applied research and technology development address the research needs of other USDA agencies, as well as of those engaged in the food and agriculture sector.
Agriculture is vulnerable to changes in climate. Rising temperatures, changing amounts of precipitation, increased variability in weather, and increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like drought and floods are predicted to accompany the intensification of the greenhouse effect. While vulnerable to these environmental changes, agriculture also offers significant opportunities to mitigate the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. An increase of $6.3 million in the President’s budget for climate change will support research providing information on balancing carbon storage and agricultural productivity in different agricultural systems across the Nation.
The Abraham Lincoln National Agricultural Library (NAL), one of four national libraries, serves as a national resource for information on food and agricultural sciences. The proposed increase will enhance NAL’s information technologies, increase the volume and quality of information available, reduce the cost of information and services, and develop specialized collections. This will include the first steps towards developing a National Digital Library for Agriculture in partnership with the land grant universities, to improve NAL’s worldwide customers’ access to key digital agricultural information. The President’s budget also provides $2 million to continue a multi-year plan to address major facility deficiencies.
As discussed above, the budget also proposes $22 million for security needs at ARS research laboratories.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service: The President’s FY 2004 budget provides just over $1 billion for the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. In providing critical funding for the research, education, and extension programs of the Land Grant system and other universities and organizations across the country, CSREES continues to play a central role in the generation of new knowledge and technology and the transfer of that knowledge and technology to stakeholders. Within the discretionary budget, the funding levels for the six formula programs are slightly higher than the FY 2003 appropriations, due principally to restoration of the across-the-board cuts in FY 2003.
In addition to the increases in the NRI and higher education programs described above, the CSREES budget includes increases to enhance the agency’s capacity to serve its grantees through developing a new electronic grants application and reporting system and continuing the design and development of the Research, Education, and Economics Information system.
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) mandates that electronic submission, maintenance or dissemination of information be available as a substitute for paper. GPEA has significant implications for the agency’s management of its grant-making programs. The budget maintains support for CSREES’s activities related to GPEA and eGovernment. Economic Research Service: The Economic Research Service is provided $76.7 million in the President’s FY 2004 budget. As the Department’s principal intramural economics and social science research agency, ERS conducts research and analysis on the efficiency, efficacy, and equity aspects of issues related to agriculture, food safety and human nutrition, the environment, and rural development. In addition to the increases described above in genomics and homeland security, the budget includes $9 million to fund ERS’ Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program. In light of the President’s Initiative on “Healthier America” and the current obesity epidemic, data on consumer nutrition status is critically needed to serve the nation. National Agricultural Statistics Service: The National Agricultural Statistics Service budget requests $136.2 million, a decrease of $2.3 million over the FY 2003 Act. NASS’s comprehensive, reliable, and timely data are critical for policy decisions and to keep agricultural markets stable, and to ensure a level playing field for all users of agricultural statistics. The President’s budget provides increases in several critical areas of the NASS program, as well as a decrease of approximately $16 millions in the Census of Agriculture, which reflects normal changes in the Census cycle.
An increase of $4.8 million will be directed at restoring and modernizing the core survey and estimation program to meet the needs of data users at an improved level of precision. This program has not received an increase in funding since 1990, leading to a reduction in the quality of survey data on which estimates are based. Another increase of $1.6 million will incrementally improve statistically defensible survey precision for small area statistics that are widely used by USDA agencies, such as the Risk Management Agency for indemnity calculations.
To minimize respondent burden, NASS is committed to developing a system that will allow producers and agri-businesses the option of electronically filling out and submitting surveys, as mandated by the GPEA. To that end, the budget requests $3.25 million for NASS’s electronic data reporting initiative. By 2006, most NASS self-administered surveys will be available electronically and it is anticipated that the 2007 Census of Agriculture will be electronically collected. Summary In summary, I want to reiterate that, given current budget constraints, the REE agencies’ budgets present a balanced portfolio, with investments in cutting edge research such as genomics and in application of the research findings to such issues as biosecurity and food safety pathogens. The budget also provides new funding in education to ensure that the nation has a strong cadre of professionals in the food and agricultural system. In addition, it recognizes that statistics and economic analysis are critical for informed decision making for all parties involved in the system. With these continued investments, REE will be ready to meet the challenges to agriculture and take advantage of the opportunities presented by cutting-edge science and technology. This concludes my statement. Thank you for your attention.
