A bipartisan group of four senators, including two members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, proposed doubling funding over the next five years for two USDA programs that promote U.S. farm exports. The senators acted as Congress prepares to write the 2018 farm bill, which usually includes export programs.
Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, an Agriculture Committee member, said the legislation “would help expand international market access for our farmers.” Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican who also serves on the Agriculture Committee, said the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) “have proven to be effective in expanding foreign markets for American agricultural goods.” Other sponsors are Democrat Angus King of Maine and Republican Susan Collins of Maine.
At present, MAP, which shares the cost of developing markets overseas, is authorized at $200 million a year, and FMD, which is devoted to cost-share promotion of bulk commodities, is authorized at $34.5 million a year. To achieve budget savings, Congress frequently limits spending by the programs. Two agribusiness groups interested in farm exports said they support the bills.