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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

 

FUNDING OVERVIEW

 

MISSION AREA HIGHLIGHTS

 

AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY

 

MISSION AREA/AGENCY DETAILS:

 

   FARM AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES:

        Farm Service Agency

        Risk Management Agency

        Foreign Agricultural Service

 

   RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

        Rural Development

            Rural Utilities Service

            Rural Housing Service

            Rural Business-Cooperative Service

       

   FOOD, NUTRITION, AND CONSUMER SERVICES:

        Food and Nutrition Service

 

   FOOD SAFETY:

        Food Safety and Inspection Service

 

   NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT:

        Natural Resources Conservation Service

        Forest Service

 

   MARKETING AND REGULATORY PROGRAMS:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

       Agricultural Marketing Service

       Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

 

   RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS:

        Agricultural Research Service

        Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

        Economic Research Service

        National Agricultural Statistics Service

  

   DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES

 

   OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

 

HOMELAND SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL

  

 APPENDIX:

        Budget Authority by Agency, 2001-2003

        Discretionary Budget Authority by Agency, 2001-2003

        Outlays by Agency, 2001-2003

        Discretionary Budget Outlays by Agency, 2001-2003

        Staff Years by Agency, 2001-2003

 2003 User Fee Proposals

 2003 Proposed Budget-Related Legislation

 

 

INTRODUCTION

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The Budget Summary describes the fiscal year 2003 budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  All references to years refer to fiscal year, except where specifically noted.  Throughout the booklet, “1996 Farm Bill” and “The Act” are used to refer to the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.

 

The Summary is organized into six sections:  Funding Overview, Mission Area Highlights, Agriculture Infrastructure and Security, Mission Area/Agency Details, Homeland Security and Appendix Tables.

 

Basic budget terminology:

 

   !      Program Level represents the gross value of all financial assistance USDA provides to the public.  This assistance may be in the form of grants, guaranteed or direct loans, cost-sharing, professional services such as research or technical assistance activities, or in-kind benefits such as commodities.

 

   !      Budget Authority is the authority to commit funds of the Federal Treasury.  Congress provides this authority through annual appropriations acts and substantive legislation which authorizes direct spending.  The President's budget requests the Congress to appropriate or otherwise provide an amount of budget authority sufficient to carry out recommended government programs.

 

   !      Obligations  are commitments of government funds.  In order for USDA to make a valid obligation, it must have a sufficient amount of budget authority to cover the obligation.

 

   !      Outlays are cash disbursements from the Federal Treasury to satisfy a valid obligation.

 

Program level measures are used in most instances.  However, there are some cases when other measures are used and the reader should take care to note which measure is being used.  Estimates for 2001 have been adjusted to reflect the impact of rescissions under Public Law 106-554, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001.  Finally, the reader should understand that many 2002 estimates are very tentative, especially where programs are sensitive to weather or economic conditions.

 

Questions may be directed to the Office of Budget and Program Analysis via e-mail at bca@obpa.usda.gov or telephone at (202) 720-6176.

FUNDING OVERVIEW

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2003 Funding Overview

 

USDA’s 2003 discretionary program outlays are about $20.6 billion, a decrease of $241 million above the 2002 level.  The discretionary program outlays are about 28 percent of total USDA outlays and include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); programs to address agricultural pest and disease threats; rural development;  research and education; soil and water conservation technical assistance; management of the National Forests and Grasslands and other Forest Service activities; and domestic and international marketing assistance.  Mandatory programs account for the remaining 72 percent of USDA outlays, about $53.8 billion in 2003 which is a decrease of $1.9 billion from the 2002 level.  These programs provide services as required by law and include the majority of the nutrition assistance programs, commodity programs, export promotion programs and a number of conservation programs.

 

The Administration published Food and Agricultural Policy:  Taking Stock for the New Century, a set of principles to provide the foundation for meeting current and future challenges in the food and agriculture sector.  The document provides a long term view of the agriculture and food system and sets forth the Administration’s principles for efforts and investments to meet the needs of this critical system.  In addition to guiding the Administration’s efforts in developing the new farm bill, this document has also been a strong factor in the development of the 2003 budget for USDA.  References to the document are made throughout this Budget Summary.

 

The 2003 budget includes proposed legislation to require agencies, beginning in 2003, to pay the full government share of the accruing cost of the retirement for current employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.  The legislation would also require agencies to pay the accruing cost of post-retirement health benefits for current employees.  These costs have previously been paid on a governmentwide basis through the Office of Personnel Management.  The 2001 and 2002 columns of the 2003 budget are presented on a comparable basis with the 2003 columns.