Newhouse Secures Ag Research Program Fix in Continuing Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4378, the FY20 Continuing Resolution, to extend FY19 funding levels through November 21, 2019. The bill included language, secured by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), to promote agricultural research for specialty crops through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). He released the following statement:
"The Specialty Crop Research Initiative is critical in supporting America's agricultural research," said Rep. Newhouse. "Universities and commodity groups representing Washington agriculture are eager to pursue world-class specialty crop research, but provisions left out of the 2018 Farm Bill left SCRI recipients at a disadvantage. I was proud to work as a Member of the Appropriations Committee to include this language to give certainty to these institutions as they compete for federal grant funding and continue their groundbreaking research at facilities throughout Washington and the United States."
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) is a key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant pest and disease prevention research program targeting fruits and vegetables. SCRI has historically been one of the most subscribed of all of USDA research programs. The 2018 Farm Bill inadvertently left out language allowing the Secretary of USDA to waive the match requirement within SCRI for projects considered to be of significant value to agriculture stakeholders. This waiver language was maintained for other research programs, leaving SCRI as the only program where the Secretary does not have this waiver authority. The absence of Secretarial discretion to waive matching funds placed many projects in jeopardy and created confusion for stakeholders.
As a national leader in specialty crop research, Washington State University (WSU) approached Rep. Newhouse to identify the omission of this authority and the effect it had on WSU and similar institutions.
"We appreciate the work to find a solution to the SCRI funding match issue. The effect of the required match and the current lack of the waiver have required Institutions like WSU to walk away from submitting proposals for competitive research funding supporting our state's agriculture industry. This has impacted ground breaking research and resulted in proposals not being submitted," said Dr. Andre Wright, Dean of WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. "We are grateful for the work of Congressman Newhouse and his colleagues in Congress to find a solution that will allow us to continue to support the agriculture needs of our stakeholders."