Georgia Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02) is urging the Senate to pass a House Resolution that features a ‘minibus’ or package of four fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, including funding in the Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs sections. The package includes Bishop’s FY21 Agriculture Bill and will “touch the life of every American,” said the Chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
“Our section of the minibus truly touches the life of every American by robustly funding food and medical device safety, rural and farm production programs, agriculture and medical research initiatives, plus national and international food assistance—among other programs that benefit the American people.”
The package also includes several amendments that Bishop feels will protect Georgians’ from fears during the COVID-19 pandemic, including giving the FDA the ability to recall unsafe drugs from the market.
Another amendment will redirect $500 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Secretary to the Farm Service Agency to reimburse producers, processors, and other agricultural employers for personal protective equipment and other safety measures needed to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
The FY21 package will include more funding and improvements for national security, veterans’ healthcare, and safe housing for our military families. This was an important amendment to Bishop who also serves as Vice Chair of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
House Resolution 7608 totals $259.5 billion in discretionary funding. In total, the package provides:
● $10.1 billion in base defense funding
● $201.1 billion in base non-defense funding
● $350 million for defense Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)
● $8 billion for non-defense OCO
● $37.5 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations
● 2.4 billion in additional wildfire suppression appropriations.
Under Agriculture-Rural Development, the legislation invests over $1.025 billion in the expansion of broadband service to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services, and a total of $24 billion in loan authority for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The bill includes $1 billion in direct single-family housing loans, meeting the estimated need for these loans, which provide home loan assistance to low-income rural families.
Under Military Construction, the bill includes $1.49 billion for Family Housing and $581 million for Base Realignment and Closure.
“This is a good bipartisan bill and I urge the Senate to pass it quickly,” said Bishop.
