VOLUME 62 NO.1 — January - March
2003
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The New Year began with a nod to the past then quickly accelerated
to focus on the future as Secretary Ann M.
Veneman revealed key parts of President George W. Bush’s proposed budget for FY 2004
which includes record spending for important farm conservation measures, food
safety protections, and nutrition and food assistance programs. In February the
Secretary outlined key priorities for agriculture at the 79th annual
Agricultural Outlook Forum, and USDA employees paused to celebrate the richness
of African-American history during Black History Month and the lives of former
Agriculture Secretaries Richard Lyng and
Orville Freeman, both of whom passed away.
In March, Secretary Veneman took to the airwaves telling farm broadcasters and
print media about the benefits to farm families of President Bush’s
economic growth plan.
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Mid-Term
Review: On Jan. 7, Secretary Veneman released a review of the most
significant food and agricultural policy achievements of the first two years of
the Bush Administration including: progress on trade, rapid implementation of
the 2002 Farm Bill, increased measures to protect agriculture against terrorist
threats, unprecedented funding for food and nutrition programs, and new actions
to strengthen food safety systems.
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Secretary Ann M. Veneman
(center) is joined by Interior Secretary Gale
Norton (left) and EPA Administrator Christie Todd
Whitman as they meet the press at USDA headquarters on Feb. 3 to discuss
President George W. Bush’s $30.4 billion
budget proposal for FY 2004 for programs for conservation and the environment
in those combined agencies.
--Photo by Alice
Welch |
Proposed Budget Unveiled: Prior to formally unveiling
in early February the President’s proposed budget for FY 2004 for USDA,
Secretary Veneman visited a clinic for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at
Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where she announced the President would ask
Congress for a record $4.8 billion in WIC program funding, a $43 million
increase above a year ago. According to the latest figures, the WIC program
achieved an all-time record of over 7.64 million participants in October 2002.
The President’s new budget will allow local WIC programs, like the one the
Secretary visited in New York, to provide benefits to nearly 8 million
low-income mothers and children.
The Secretary
reiterated this commitment to the food programs during the first ever
USDA-sponsored National Nutrition Education Conference. With reauthorization of
the Child Nutrition Act before Congress this year, Veneman outlined
administration principles that include providing financial support to schools
that promote good nutrition and partnerships at the federal, state, and local
levels to an audience of leading nutrition authorities.
Other key areas of growth in the President’s
budget include continued emphasis on farm bill implementation. This includes
providing historic increases for conservation funding and protecting natural
resources at $3.9 billion.
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Encouraging
Rural Economic Growth: Following the President’s State of the Union
address on Jan. 28, where he urged the continued promotion of economic growth,
the Secretary was able to showcase USDA efforts to expand the reach of rural
citizens through the availability of broadband technology. In a live web cast
with Under Secretary for Rural Development Tom Dorr and Rural Utilities
Service Administrator Hilda Gay Legg and various community centers in
Kansas, Virginia, and Mississippi, Veneman announced the immediate availability
of $1.4 billion in loans and loan guarantees to rural telecommunications
providers.
In March, Veneman released figures
prepared by USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist that for the first time
calculate the benefits to rural farm families of the President’s economic
growth plan which essentially speeds up tax cuts already on the books.
According to OCE, the proposal would save farm families $4 billion this year
alone.
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79th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum:
USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board once again hosted another
successful agricultural outlook forum. After Chief Economist Keith Collins
and Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services J.B.
Penn briefed the audience on the domestic and international outlook for the
farm economy, Veneman outlined key priorities for agriculture in the months
ahead. They include:
• Applying technology to
its fullest potential, advancing alternative uses for agricultural products,
and adopting a forward looking regulatory system that ensures the integrity of
technology advancements in food and agriculture;
• Strengthening the nation’s food safety systems and
ensuring the protection of the food supply against potential bioterrorist
threats;
• Improving and expanding risk
management tools for producers to better prepare the agriculture sector when it
faces difficult and challenging times; and
•
Continuing to expand and open new international markets and working harder to
educate all involved about the perils to agriculture if progress is not made in
this area.
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Black History
Month (please see the Secretary’s Column in this issue): During
ceremonies at USDA headquarters Secretary Veneman formally recognized Vernon
Parker, who was in attendance, as President Bush’s nominee to be the
new assistant secretary for civil rights.
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Forest Service To Collaborate With New York City
Firefighters: Due to the quality of help the Forest Service provided New
York City in the aftermath of 9/11, the City of New York asked the agency to
begin incident management team training with its Fire Department. In
appreciation for the Department’s help in the recovery efforts, the
Secretary was presented with a touching memorial from the World Trade
Center.
 Secretary
Ann M. Veneman (center) is presented a piece of
steel, recovered from the World Trade Center in New York City, by Fire
Department of New York Chief Frank Carruthers
(left), as FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta
looks on. The inscription reads “Presented to Ann M. Veneman, Secretary of
Agriculture, for your support in our time of need”--a reference to the
assistance provided by USDA to that city in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. An
integral part of USDA’s assistance was the coordination of operations,
planning, and logistics on-site, provided by several Forest Service Incident
Management Teams. Because of the success of that assistance, on Jan. 15 USDA
and FDNY entered into an agreement in which FS specialists will use its
Incident Management Teams as a model to train more than 60 FDNY firefighters on
how to better respond to large-scale emergencies such as natural disasters and
terrorist incidents.
--Photo by Bill
Tarpenning
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| Faith-Based
And Community Initiatives Center Launched: At the fourth White House
Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the Secretary told the
audience of nonprofit and church members of opportunities to work with USDA
Rural Development housing programs and Food and Nutrition Service feeding
programs. President Bush launched the Center in December 2002. • |
| --Patricia Klintberg |