S. 3597 is being considered on the House floor under suspension of the rules and will require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. This legislation was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on September 25, 2008. The Senate passed S. 3597 by unanimous consent on September 25, 2008.

S. 3597 is expected to be considered on the House floor on September 27, 2008.

S. 3597 allows funding allocated for the Community Food Projects grant program to remain available until September 30, 2009.

The bill also includes a technical correction to be made to the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-234).

The Community Food Projects Competitive Grants program was established in 1996 by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR Act). The purpose of the program is to fight food insecurity through developing community food projects that use the whole food system together to assess strengths, establish linkages, and create systems that improve the self-reliance of community members over their food needs. 

The preferred projects for the grant program also develop linkages between two or more sectors of the food system, support the development of entrepreneurial projects, develop innovative linkages between the for-profit and non-profit food sectors, and encourage long-term planning activities, such as food policy councils and food planning associations. These are one time grants that require a dollar-for-dollar match in resources.

The Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) that was signed into law (P.L. 110-234) on May 22, 2008, authorized $1 million for each of the fiscal years 2009 to 2011.

COST
At the time of publication the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had not yet scored this legislation.

For questions or further information contact Brianne Miller 6-2302.