In testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Secretary Tom Vilsack was criticized for his allocation of funding under the Commodity Credit Corporation. Rep. Andy Harris (R-ND), Chairman of the Subcommittee, characterized the Secretary’s use of CCC funding as a “slush fund”. Republican members of the Committee have been critical of climate-related programs. In addition, USDA is apparently spending money “outside the regular Farm Bill process”.
The CCC was established during the Great Depression to provide farmers with support in the face of falling prices for commodities.
Extensive demands have been placed on funding by dairy, cotton, rice and peanut producers for support payments. These allocations are a major point of dissention in negotiations to establish the much-delayed 2023 Farm Bill with Republicans pressing for higher farm payments and Democrats favoring SNAP and environmental expenditures.
The CCC provided funding for USDA-APHIS programs to control HPAI in previous epornitics including indemnity and reimbursement for decontamination.