HYDE-SMITH HIGHLIGHTS RURAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING IN APPROPRIATIONS PACKAGE
Miss. Senator Worked to Influence Funding in Senate-passed “Minibus” Appropriations Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, today highlighted rural development funding included in a four-bill funding package approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
The Senate voted 92-6 to approve a so-called “minibus” package (HR.6147) of four FY2019 appropriations measures, including the: Interior & Environment Appropriations Bill; Agriculture Appropriations Bill; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill; and the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill.
“This appropriations package provides funding for many of our nation’s priorities, including programs and projects in rural America,” Hyde-Smith said. “Funding for the USDA and a number of departments would support rural communities in Mississippi with water and wastewater infrastructure needs, transportation improvements, habitat conservation on the coast, and water availability in the Delta.”
Hyde-Smith noted that provisions in the bipartisan Senate bills reflect the new focus placed by the Trump administration in terms of federal regulations.
“The EPA and other public land agencies under the Trump administration are pursuing an agenda that is more collaborative than confrontational with states and communities. This legislation supports those activities, which is a positive for Mississippi,” Hyde-Smith said. “The Interior bill, for instance, ensures the EPA won’t attempt to regulate certain types of ammunition and fishing tackle, as was tried by the Obama administration.”
Within the “minibus” package for Mississippi, Hyde-Smith supported increasing funding for the Gulf of Mexico Geographic Program to $14.5 million to improve EPA work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state, local, and private organizations to restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico, consistent with the economic well-being of the region.
At Hyde-Smith’s request, the Interior Appropriations Bill provides $4.0 million for the U.S. Geological Survey to continue the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) Regional Water Availability Study to assess groundwater availability and sustainability in the Mississippi Delta and the overall Mississippi River Alluvial Plain.
In addition, Hyde-Smith helped secure $3 million to establish a Center for Pollinator Health at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) laboratory at Stoneville, and $2 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to partner with state departments of agriculture and forestry commissions to assist with the control and treatment of cogongrass.
The Senator also sought increased funding for grant programs that can be used by Mississippi to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs. The bill provides $170.9 million for Clean Water Act Section 319 grants, which will help agencies like the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality work with local communities with water quality projects.
Mississippi’s leadership in unmanned aerial systems technology is also supported in the bill, with USDA and Transportation Department funding provided to continue identifying issues critical to the safe integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace and expanded use of unmanned aircraft.
The following are among the items of interest to Mississippi:
Agriculture
- Cotton Ginning Research – $500,000 to expand cotton ginning research at Stoneville to improve fiber quality, ginning efficiency, cotton seed and other byproducts.
- Warmwater Aquaculture Research – $1,600,000 for warmwater research at Stoneville to facilitate the advancement of technologies that improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of aquaculture production.
- Unmanned Aerial Systems – $3.0 million to expand efforts utilizing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in crop production operations and to address the challenges associated with data capture, transfer and analysis. This program involves a partnership with Mississippi State University and other universities.
- High Performance Computing – $1.0 million to support high performance computing capability to address scientific needs and directs ARS to collaborate with appropriate partners, such as Mississippi State, with the technical capacity and scientific synergy.
- Catfish Inspections – Language directing the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to continue the catfish inspection program and to ensure foreign imports meet the U.S. food safety standards.
- ARS Extramural Research – Continues funding for ARS research projects involving Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, and other state institutions.
Interior and Environment
- Forest Products Laboratory – $1.0 million in U.S. Forest Service funding to support the Forest Products Laboratory to advance ongoing research work and collaborative partnerships for innovative research on commercialization of wood and fiber biomass.
- Coastal Conservation – $12.9 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, $1.0 million of which will support conservation on the Gulf Coast.
- Ammunition Regulations – Continues a provision prohibiting EPA from regulating certain types of ammunition and fishing tackle.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
- Highway Trust Fund – $46 billion from the Highway Trust Fund for the Federal-aid Highways Program. The bill includes an additional $3.3 billion for highway infrastructure programs, including priority funding for bridges and infrastructure in rural areas
- Small Shipyard Assistance – $10 million for assistance to small shipyards, including facilities in Mississippi. The funding will help improve operational efficiency by providing funding for equipment and other upgrades.
- Unmanned Aerial Systems – $24 million for UAS research, of which $12 million would be directed to the FAA UAS Center of Excellence led by Mississippi State University.
- FAA Contract Towers – $168 million to fully fund FAA Contract Towers program, which affects facilities at the Golden Triangle Regional, Greenville Municipal, Hawkins Field (Jackson), Meridian/Key Field, Olive Branch, Stennis International Airport, Tupelo Regional airports.
- Essential Air Service (EAS) – $175 million for the EAS program, which will benefit four Mississippi airports: Greenville, Hattiesburg/Laurel, Meridian, and Tupelo.
- Small Community Air Service Development Program – $10 million, equal to current levels. Mississippi rural airports have been recipients of these awards.
Financial Services and General Government
- Rural Wireless Broadband – Provisions are included to protect Federal Communications Commission programs that provide wireless broadband access in poor and rural areas. This benefits Mississippi’s effort to expand telehealth services, education programs, precision agriculture, and weather monitoring.
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