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Farm Energy Programs Slashed by House Ag Subcommittee

Jun 25, 2015

The agriculture subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee recently released their draft spending bill for Fiscal Year 2016, which includes cuts to some Farm Bill Energy Title programs.

The draft bill does not call for reductions in mandatory spending for the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels or the Biobased Market Program – which were the top Farm Bill Energy Title priorities for the American Soybean Association (ASA).  However, the appropriators did propose the following:

  • The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) – 30 percent reduction, from $50 million in mandatory funding to $35 million.
  • The Biomass Crop Assistance Program, (BCAP) – 52 percent reduction, from $25 million in mandatory funding to $12 million.

Further action by the full committee on the FY16 Agriculture Appropriations bill has been postponed and the Senate Appropriations committee has not yet released their bill.