Posts for Category: Appropriations

The U.S. Congress this week passed fiscal year 2024 (FY2024) appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. The bill includes several provisions aimed at promoting dairy’s nutritional importance in the healthy diets of Americas, in particular an appropriation of $3 million for the expansion of Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive (HFMI) projects.

The funding bill passed today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations is a win for the health and wellness of all Americans. The Committee voted this morning to triple the amount of funding going to support the SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives Projects (HFMIP) as part of the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill for the USDA, FDA, and related agencies. This program incentivizes SNAP beneficiaries to purchase fluid milk, making it easier for families to get more of the nutrition benefits of milk similar to other programs that encourage purchase of fruits and vegetables. The first HFMIP pilots kicked off earlier this year at three locations in Texas in partnership with the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. Today’s show of support by the Senate and last week’s vote by the House demonstrates growing awareness in Congress about the important role dairy plays in family health and nutrition especially among our most economically and nutritionally vulnerable families.

The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations this afternoon passed its fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and related agencies. Importantly, the bill would triple current funding for the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Projects—a pilot program that incentivizes SNAP beneficiaries to purchase fluid milk, making it easier for families to get more of the nutrition benefits of milk. It would also extend flexibilities for schools to continue to offer low-fat flavored milk—a nutrient-dense that provides children with the health benefits they need as they grow—during the upcoming school year.

This February, dairy leaders met with U.S. Senators and Representatives to discuss priority issues for the dairy processing industry during IDFA’s first virtual fly-in of 2021. The multi-week event focused on IDFA’s appropriations priorities and trade issues and marked IDFA’s fourth virtual fly-in since the start of the pandemic.