By: Juan Salinas II
Nebraska Examiner
The Senate ag bill is at odds with Trump, who wants to cut spending on USDA and FDA for the next fiscal year
LINCOLN — Nebraska could see $17.5 million in federal funds for construction of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research facility and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., touted the potential funding in a press release this week, describing the budding UNL’s Agricultural Research Service facility as “a hub for world-class agricultural innovation.”
The federal money for Nebraska is part of a larger Senate agriculture funding bill, which was advanced unanimously Thursday by the Appropriations Committee, on which Fischer serves. The Senate ag funding bill would increase spending for agricultural programs by 1% over current levels.
The USDA facility at UNL broke ground last year. The purpose of the $160 million facility is to find new ways to produce more food for a growing global population while using fewer natural resources.
Funding for the facility, along with about $86 million in additional money for Nebraska, was removed from a GOP stopgap government funding bill in March.
Fischer said she also secured provisions in the Senate ag-related spending bill prioritizing agricultural research at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. The bill also would require the USDA to “streamline contracting and procurement services for livestock research facilities.”
That center endured the layoffs of 17 people as part of efforts to cut federal spending by the then-Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.
The ag funding bill is one of 12 appropriations bills that Congress must pass yearly to fund the federal government. But the ag funding push could be contested as the Trump administration seeks to reduce spending for the next fiscal year, which starts in October.
President Donald Trump has asked Congress to reduce funding for the USDA by nearly $7 billion. In Trump’s funding request, spending on the Agricultural Research Service would be reduced by $159 million.
The Trump budget request from May also seeks to reduce spending on other government agencies — except for defense and border enforcement. Some of the biggest requested cuts target foreign aid, climate-related funding and spending on programs the administration describes as “wokeism.”
While these White House budget requests are suggestions, Trump has a tight grip on the GOP in Congress and hasn’t ruled out using impoundment, basically his choosing not to spend the funds as a way to overrule Congress.
Last month, the House passed its own version of the ag bill along party lines. That bill would reduce funding by 4 percent in the next fiscal year. The House bill spends roughly $25 billion, while the Senate version spends $27.1 billion.
The deadline to avoid a government shutdown is Sept. 30.