WASHINGTON—Raising concerns that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun using unobligated COVID-19 funds for unintended purposes, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, is asking for an accounting of the $11 billion included in last year’s appropriations bill to help farmers, ranchers, loggers, restaurants, schools, and others respond to the pandemic.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Boozman requested a report on all programs and activities funded, or intended to be funded, using the amounts appropriated under Section 751 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, as well as USDA’s rationale explaining how the use of said funds is consistent with the law.
“Under the direction of Congress, and to offset price and revenue declines experienced during the pandemic, USDA successfully distributed billions of dollars of relief to producers of agricultural commodities through a variety of efforts including top-up payments for crop and livestock producers, payments to contract livestock and poultry producers, and grants to food processors and distributors to ensure safety during the pandemic, among other priorities. Many of USDA’s efforts appropriately aligned with the intent of Congress to help agriculture and food industry stakeholders respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Boozman wrote. “I am concerned, however, that as the need for additional financial resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, USDA has begun using unobligated balances from Section 751 of Subtitle B of Title VII of Division N of the CAA for projects unrelated to mitigating the impacts of the coronavirus. Because of my concerns, I request a report of all programs and activities funded or intended to be funded using the amounts appropriated under Section 751 of the CAA and USDA’s rationale explaining how the use of said funds is consistent with the law.”