Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2001 Agriculture Legislation
May 10, 2000

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved funding for adding agriculture inspectors on the San Diego border and for assisting growers in the fight against exotic pests, including the Mexican Fruit Fly and the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter.

“The federal government has the responsibility to protect our borders from exotic pests which cause significant and potentially irreparable damage to California agriculture,” Senator Feinstein said. “I am very pleased that the committee was able to provide funding for 17 new agriculture inspectors to be deployed on the San Diego border, and I will continue to work for additional resources for border enforcement.”

“I remain concerned about the invasion of exotic pests affecting California agriculture. The situation in Fallbrook with the Mexican Fruit Fly and the ongoing problems that Pierce’s Disease is causing the wine industry underscore the need for continued funding for research and eradication. The committee was able to provide some measure of relief to growers combating these pests, and I remain hopeful that we will be able to do more in the future.”

The FY2001Agriculture Appropriations Bill approved by the Committee on Tuesday includes the following items of interest to California:

• Funding for 17 additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) border inspectors at the San Diego ports of entry.
• Authorization of funds for the USDA to pay compensation to growers who were unable to harvest their crops due to San Diego fruit fly quarantine.
• Authorization of funds for the Secretary of Agriculture to compensate growers who have lost crops due to Pierce’s Disease.
• Directing the USDA to broaden the variety of California fruits and vegetables included in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which provides direct assistance to pregnant women, infants and children who are at risk of inadequate nutrition.
• $20 million for the first construction phase of the new FDA lab in Los Angeles
• $500,000 to the U.C. Center for Exotic Pest Research, which was founded in 1994 to develop a systematic methodology for dealing with exotic pests.
• $1.5 million for the CA/NY Viticultural Consortium, which supports East and West Coast competitive grant programs.
• $400,000 for Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD). BARD was established as a cooperative program between Israeli and the U.S. and concentrates its research on a variety of agricultural issues, including irrigated agriculture, disease with fruit tree crops, and viticultural practices.
• $3 million to conduct research into alternatives to Methyl Bromide, a soil fumigant that is widely used to protect California’s high value crops such as strawberries, nursery crops, and tree fruits. Methyl Bromide is scheduled to be phased out by 2005.
• $2.1 million for the management of Red Imported Fire Ants. Fire Ants have been identified in 21 Southern California cities, mostly located within Orange County.
• $1.5 million for technology transfers to rural areas.
• $25.5 million for the Fruit Fly Exclusion Program. Fruit flies threaten a variety of California agriculture products.
• $121.3 million for the National Research Initiative, which is the USDA’s primary competitive research grants program and provides research grants to California’s land grant universities.
• $9.5 million for sustainable agriculture research, which funds research into agriculture practices that are economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially acceptable.
• Language encouraging the National Resources Conservation Service to fund the agriculture drainage and manure removal project within the Chino Basin Dairy Preserve from funds made available from the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
• Language encouraging the USDA to give priority consideration for the grant of the Fresno Community Medical Center’s Rural Outreach and Telemedicine Network, which makes health care more available to Fresno residents.