On Saturday, November 20, Congress initially passed H.R. 4818, the FY2005 Omnibus Conference Report, which funds programs contained in nine separate appropriations bills, including Agriculture, Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and VA-HUD. It is important to note that all discretionary programs (excluding Defense, Military Construction, Homeland Security and supplemental spending), are subject to a 0.8% across the board funding reduction from appropriated levels. This is not true for entitlement and mandatory programs.

Included in the $388 billion omnibus is $85.276 billion for USDA programs. A continuing resolution is expected to pass November 24th, extending funding through December 8th. A final vote on the omnibus is expected to occur on December 6th.

Food Stamp Program was funded at $35.155 billion, which includes a $3 billion funding reserve and $1.515 billion for nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico and Samoa. In addition, when determining food stamp eligibility, a provision to exclude from household income any special (additional) payments for military personnel while deployed to a combat zone was included.

Child Nutrition Programs (Total: $11.782 billion)

CACFP language was included to allow for the reallocation of unspent FY2004 Audit Funds.

WIC was funded at $5.277 billion, which will be reduced by $42 million since, as a discretionary program, it is subject to the 0.8% across the board cut. The appropriation includes a $125 million replenishment of the WIC contingency fund (the FY2004 contingency fund was depleted due to increasing participation in WIC and escalating food costs of the WIC food package). It is unclear if the contingency fund will be subject to the 0.8% cut (creating an additional $1 million reduction). A moratorium on the authorization of any new WIC-only (for-profit) stores was included in the report; however, the USDA Secretary may approve the authorization of a store if it is necessary to assure participant access to program benefits.

A $1 million study to be conducted by the Institute of Medicine was authorized which will include "recommendations regarding appropriate nutritional standards for the availability, sale, content, and consumption of food at school, with particular attention given to foods offered in competition with federally-reimbursed meals and snacks."

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) (as a mandatory program), received the full $140 million for commodity purchases; however TEFAP's (discretionary) administrative funding for processing, storage, transport and distribution of commodities, funded at $50 million (with the potential for an additional $10 million that the USDA Secretary may transfer from TEFAP commodity purchases to administration), will be subject to the 0.8% cut.

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) (discretionary) was funded at $107.716 million.

Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (discretionary) was funded at $20 million.

Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (mandatory) was funded at $15 million, and allowed for redistribution of unspent FY2005 funds in FY2006.

Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships (operated through the Congressional Hunger Center)(discretionary) were funded at $2.5 million.

McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program was funded at $87.5 million.

In the Labor-HHS-Education funding title, the Community Food and Nutrition Program (CFNP) received $7.238 million (same level as FY2004), but will also be subject to the 0.8% cut. The final appropriation, $7.18 million, ensures that eleven small states will continue to receive their "small state grants" under the program's operation.

Deleted from the omnibus was a provision contained in the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education bills that would have struck down the Administration's newly implemented policy denying overtime pay to millions of workers.

Legislative Text [PDF]

Explanatory Statement [PDF]