Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Congressional research reportFeb 28, 2019

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Jim Monke

Specialist in Agricultural Policy

Updated February 28, 2019

Congressional Research Service

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R45425

SUMMARY

R45425

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

February 28, 2019

The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food

programs. The farm bill has typically undergone reauthorization about every five years. The

current farm bill—the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334), often called the

“2018 farm bill”—was enacted in December 2018 and expires in 2023.

Jim Monke

Specialist in Agricultural

Policy

-re-acte--@crs.loc.gov

The farm bill provides an opportunity for Congress to choose how much support, if any, to

For a copy of the full report,

provide for various agriculture and nutrition programs and how to allocate it among competing

please call 7-.... or visit

constituencies. Under congressional budgeting rules, many programs are assumed to continue

www.crs.gov.

beyond the end of a farm bill. From a budgetary perspective, this provides a baseline for

comparing future spending reauthorizations, reallocations to other programs, and reductions to

projected spending. Since 2000, congressional goals for the farm bill’s budget have varied: The 2002 farm bill increased

spending over 10 years, the 2008 farm bill was essentially budget neutral, the 2014 farm bill reduced spending, and the 2018

farm bill is budget neutral, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The farm bill authorizes programs in two spending categories: mandatory spending and discretionary spending. Mandatory

spending is not only authorized but also actually provided via budget enforcement rules. Discretionary spending may be

authorized in a farm bill but is not actually provided until budget decisions are made in a future annual appropriations act.

The CBO baseline is a projection at a particular point in time of future federal spending on mandatory programs under

current law. When a new bill is proposed that would affect

Budget for the 2018 Farm Bill

mandatory spending, the cost impact (score) is measured in

(dollars in millions, FY2019-FY2023, mandatory outlays)

relation to the baseline. Changes that increase spending relative

to the baseline have a positive score; those that decrease

Score

spending relative to the baseline have a negative score. Federal

April

of P.L.

Projected

budget rules such as “PayGo” may require budgetary offsets to

2018

115outlays at

balance new spending so that there is no increase in the federal

Farm bill titles

baseline

334

enactment

deficit.

The April 2018 CBO baseline was the official benchmark to

measure changes made by the 2018 farm bill. The five-year

baseline was $426 billion over FY2019-FY2023 (what the

2014 farm bill would have spent had it been continued). The

budgetary impact of the 2018 farm bill is measured relative to

that baseline. Among its impacts are these four points:

1. The enacted farm bill increases net outlays in the

first five years by $1.8 billion, which is offset by

the same amount of net reductions in outlays

during the second five years. Therefore, over 10

years, the net impact is budget neutral.

2. Eight titles in the enacted law have increased

outlays over the five-year period, including Farm

Commodities, Conservation, Trade, Nutrition,

Research, Energy, Horticulture, and

Miscellaneous. Two of those titles—

Conservation and Nutrition—have reductions in

the second five years of the budget window that

make them budget neutral over 10 years.

3. Most of the budget reductions at the title level

that provide offsets for the increases above,

especially in the 10-year budget window, are

from changes in the rural development title.

Congressional Research Service

Commodities

31,340

+101

31,440

Conservation

28,715

+555

29,270

Trade

1,809

+235

2,044

Nutrition

325,922

+98

326,020

Credit

-2,205

Rural Development

-530

-432

Research

329

+365

694

Forestry

Energy

362

+109

471

Horticulture

772

+250

1,022

Crop Insurance

38,057

-47

38,010

Miscellaneous

1,259

+685

1,944

426,462

+1,820

428,282

+35

426,462

+1,785

428,247

Subtotal

Increase revenue

Total

Source: CRS, compiled using the CBO Baseline by Title

(unpublished; April 2018), and the CBO cost estimate of the

conference agreement for H.R. 2 (December 11, 2018).

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

4. The 2018 farm bill provides continuing funding and, in some cases, permanent baseline, for 23 of the 39

so-called programs without baseline from the 2014 farm bill.

Projected outlays for the 2018 farm bill at enactment are $428 billion over the FY2019-FY2023 five-year life of the act. The

Nutrition title and its largest program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), account for $326 billion

(76%) of those projected outlays. The remaining 24%, $102 billion, is for agricultural programs, mostly in crop insurance

(8.9%), farm commodity programs (7.3%), and conservation (6.8%). Other titles of the farm bill account for 1% of the

mandatory spending, some of which are funded primarily with discretionary spending.

Historical trends in farm bill spending show increased SNAP outlays after the 2009 recession, increased crop insurance

outlays based on insurable coverage, farm commodity programs outlays that vary inversely with markets, and steadily

increasing conservation program outlays that have leveled off in recent years.

Actual and Projected Spending by Major Farm Bill Mandatory Programs

Source: CRS.

Notes: Darker shades of each color are actual outlays based on USDA data. Lighter shades

are CBO data, including estimates for FY2017-FY2018 and CRS analysis of CBO data for

projections at enactment of the 2018 farm bill.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Contents

Farm Bills from a Budget Perspective............................................................................................. 1

Recent Historical Perspective ................................................................................................... 1

Types of Spending Authorizations ............................................................................................ 2

Summary of Projected Outlays in the 2018 Farm Bill .............................................................. 2

Importance of Baseline to the Farm Bill ......................................................................................... 4

Development of the Baseline .................................................................................................... 5

CBO Baseline: April 2018 ........................................................................................................ 5

Scores of the 2018 Farm Bill ........................................................................................................... 8

Summary of Title-Level Scores ................................................................................................ 8

Net Increases in Five-Year Outlays Are Followed by Net Decreases ..................................... 15

Section-by-Section Scores for Some Titles Exceed Their Net Scores .................................... 17

Outcome for the Programs Without Baseline .......................................................................... 19

Projected Outlays at Enactment..................................................................................................... 19

Figures

Figure 1. Projected Outlays in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, by Title ....................... 3

Figure 2. Projected Agriculture Outlays in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 ................... 3

Figure 3. CBO Scores of the House, Senate, and Enacted 2018 Farm Bills, by Title ..................... 9

Figure 4. CBO Score of Enacted 2018 Farm Bill, by Period and Title ......................................... 15

Figure 5. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Period and Title.............................................. 16

Figure 6. CBO Score of the Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Period and Title ................. 16

Figure 7. CBO Score of Enacted 2018 Farm Bill, by Section and Title ........................................ 17

Figure 8. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Section and Title ............................................ 18

Figure 9. CBO Score of Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Section and Title ................... 18

Figure 10. Actual and Projected Spending by Major Farm Bill Mandatory Programs ................. 20

Tables

Table 1. Budget for the 2018 Farm Bill: Baseline, Scores, and Projected Outlays ......................... 4

Table 2. CBO Baseline to Develop the 2018 Farm Bill, by Title and Program ............................... 6

Table 3. CBO Score of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, as Enacted, by Section ......... 10

Table 4. Projected Outlays Under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, at

Enactment, by Title and Program ............................................................................................... 21

Table A-1. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Section ......................................................... 23

Table A-2. CBO Score of the Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Section .......................... 28

Table B-1. Farm Bill Authorizations That Are Subject to Appropriation ...................................... 33

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Appendixes

Appendix A. Scores of House-Passed and Senate-Passed Versions of H.R. 2 .............................. 23

Appendix B. Discretionary Authorizations ................................................................................... 32

Contacts

Author Contact Information .......................................................................................................... 34

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

he farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food

programs. It provides an opportunity for Congress to choose how much support to provide

for agriculture and nutrition and how to allocate it among competing constituencies. The

farm bill has typically undergone reauthorization about every five years. The current farm bill—

the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334, H.R. 2), often called the “2018 farm

bill”—was enacted in December 2018 and expires in 2023.1

From its beginning in the 1930s, farm bills have focused primarily on farm commodity programs

to support a handful of staple commodities—corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, dairy, and sugar.

In recent decades, farm bills have expanded in scope to include a Nutrition title since 1973 and

since then Conservation, Horticulture, Bioenergy, Credit, Research, and Rural Development

titles.2

Budget matters increasingly influence the development of the farm bill. While other reports

discuss policy issues,3 this report focuses on the budgetary effects across the whole farm bill.

Farm Bills from a Budget Perspective

One way to compare the activities covered by a farm bill is by the allocation of federal spending

and, more specifically, by how much is spent in total and how a new law changes allocations or

policy. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates are the official measures when bills are

considered and are grounded in long-standing budget laws and rules.4

Recent Historical Perspective

Recent farm bills have faced various budget situations, including spending more under a budget

surplus, cutting spending for deficit reduction, and remaining budget neutral. For example



The 2002 farm bill (the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, P.L.

107-171) was enacted under a budget surplus that allowed it to make changes

that were projected to increase spending by $73 billion, or 22%, over a 10-year

budget window—more than half of which was for the farm commodity

programs.5

The 2008 farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110246) was officially budget neutral, though it included $10 billion of offsets over

10 years from tax-related and other provisions that allowed it to increase

spending on the Nutrition, Conservation, and Disaster titles.6

The 2014 farm bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014, P.L. 113-79) was enacted under

deficit reduction and budget sequestration that influenced its legislative

development. It made changes that projected a net reduction of $17 billion, or

1.7%, over 10 years ($23 billion including sequestration).7

1 CRS Report R45210, Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 1965-2018.

2 CRS In Focus IF10187, Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?

3 CRS Report R45525, The 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334): Summary and Side-by-Side Comparison.

4 CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process.

5 CRS Report RL31704, A New Farm Bill: Comparing the 2002 Law with Previous Law and House and Senate Bills

(available from the author).

6 CRS Report RL34696, The 2008 Farm Bill: Major Provisions and Legislative Action.

7 CRS Report R42484, Budget Issues That Shaped the 2014 Farm Bill. For more about continuing sequestration issues

for the farm bill, see the Appendix in CRS Report R45230, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2019 Appropriations.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill



The 2018 farm bill (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334) was

held to a budget-neutral position over its 10-year budget window. Some budget

amounts were reallocated across programs within issue areas and across titles of

the farm bill, as discussed throughout this report.

Types of Spending Authorizations

Generally, farm bills authorize spending in two categories: mandatory and discretionary. From a

budgetary perspective, many of the larger programs are assumed to continue beyond the end of a

farm bill, even though their authorizations to operate may expire. That projection for mandatory

programs, as explained below, provides funding to reauthorize programs, reallocate funding to

other programs, or take offsets for deficit reduction. For other programs, funding must come by

other means. This includes new programs, those without baseline, or discretionary programs.

Types of Spending Authorized in the Farm Bill

Mandatory spending. A farm bill authorizes outlays and pays for them with multiyear budget estimates when

the law is enacted. Budget enforcement is through “baseline” projections under current law, “scores” of the effect

of proposed bills, and “PayGo” budget rules that may prevent deficit increases. (See CRS Report R44763, Present

Trends and the Evolution of Mandatory Spending.)

Discretionary authorizations. A farm bill establishes parameters for discretionary programs and authorizes

them to receive funding in subsequent appropriations acts but does not provide or assure actual funding. Budget

enforcement is through future appropriations and budget resolutions. (See CRS Report R42388, The Congressional

Appropriations Process: An Introduction.)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and crop insurance have their own

mandatory spending sources, but most other mandatory outlays are paid through the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).8

Discretionary spending is authorized throughout the farm bill, including most rural development,

credit, and research programs, among others. Some smaller research, bioenergy, and rural

development programs are authorized to receive both mandatory and discretionary funding. Most

agency operations (salaries and expenses) are financed with discretionary funds. Discretionary

appropriations are made separately through an annual agriculture appropriations act.9

While both types of programs are significant, mandatory programs often dominate the farm bill

debate. Therefore, the majority of this report focuses on mandatory spending

Summary of Projected Outlays in the 2018 Farm Bill

Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of the $428 billion five-year total of projected mandatory

outlays at enactment for the life of the 2018 farm bill (FY2019-FY2023). Figure 2 shows

program-level detail for agriculture-specific programs, particularly the Farm Commodity and

Conservation titles. Table 1 presents these outlays (the fifth and 10th columns), and how

budgetary resources were reallocated across titles of the farm bill, for both the five- and 10-year

budget windows. The terms baseline and score are explained in later sections of this report.

Mandatory spending is authorized throughout the farm bill, but four titles presently account for

about 99% of the mandatory farm bill spending: Commodities (7.3%), Nutrition (76%), Crop

Insurance (8.9%), and Conservation (6.8%).

8 CRS Report R44606, The Commodity Credit Corporation: In Brief.

9 For example, see CRS Report R45230, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2019 Appropriations.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Figure 1. Projected Outlays in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, by Title

(Five-year projected mandatory outlays at enactment, billions of dollars, FY2019-FY2023)

Source: CRS. Compiled from CBO, “Baseline Projections,” April 2018; at the title level (unpublished); and CBO

cost estimate of the conference agreement, December 11, 2018.

Figure 2. Projected Agriculture Outlays in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018

(Five-year projected mandatory outlays at enactment, billions of dollars, FY2019-FY2023)

Sources: CRS. Compiled from CBO Baseline for USDA Mandatory Farm Programs, April 2018; at the title level

(unpublished); and CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement, December 11, 2018.

Notes: PLC = Price Loss Coverage, ARC = Agricultural Risk Coverage, LDP = Loan Deficiency Payments, EQIP

= Environmental Quality Incentives Program, CRP = Conservation Reserve Program, CSP = Conservation

Stewardship Program, ACEP = Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, RCPP = Regional Conservation

Partnership Program, FFP = Food for Progress, NAP = Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Table 1. Budget for the 2018 Farm Bill: Baseline, Scores, and Projected Outlays

(millions of dollars, 5- and 10-year totals, mandatory spending)

5 years (FY2019-FY2023)

10 years (FY2019-FY2028)

CBO score

CBO

baseline

House

passed

Senate

passed

Enacted

Projected

outlays

CBO

baseline

House

passed

Senate

passed

Enacted

Projected

outlays

Commodities

31,340

+198

-23

+101

31,440

61,151

+284

-408

+263

61,414

Conservation

28,715

+656

+290

+555

29,270

59,754

-795

-6

59,748

Trade

1,809

+235

+258

+235

2,044

3,624

+470

+515

+470

4,094

Nutrition

325,922

+862

+224

+98

326,020

663,828

-1,426

+94

663,828

Credit

-2,205

-4,558

Rural Development

-832

-530

-432

168

-2,340

-2,530

-2,362

Research

329

+168

+426

+365

694

604

+250

+685

+615

1,219

Forestry

Energy

362

-267

+311

+109

471

612

-517

+375

+125

737

Horticulture

772

+10

+323

+250

1,022

1,547

+10

+626

+500

2,047

Crop Insurance

38,057

-70

-1

-47

38,010

78,037

-161

-2

-104

77,933

Miscellaneous

1,259

+553

+594

+685

1,944

2,423

+566

+517

+738

3,161

426,462

+2,344

+1,573

+1,820

428,282

867,200

-1,320

+68

+70

867,270

+115

+33

+35

+465

+68

+70

426,462

+2,229

+1,540

+1,785

428,247

867,200

-1,785

867,200

Farm bill titles

Subtotal

- Increase revenue

Total

Source: CRS. Compiled from the CBO Baseline by Title (unpublished; April 2018); CBO Baseline, April 2018,

https://www.cbo.gov/about/products/baseline-projections-selected-programs; CBO cost estimates for H.R. 2 as

passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2 as passed by the Senate, https://

www.cbo.gov/publication/54284, July 24, 2018; and CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement for H.R. 2,

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54880, December 11, 2018.

Note: Baseline for the Credit title is negative because of receipts to the Farm Credit System Insurance Fund.

Baseline for the Rural Development “cushion of credit” is accounted for outside of the farm bill.

Importance of Baseline to the Farm Bill

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline is a projection at a particular point in time of

future federal spending on mandatory programs under current law. The baseline is the benchmark

against which proposed changes in law are measured. The CBO develops the budget baseline

under various laws and follows the supervision of the House and Senate Budget Committees.

When a new bill is proposed that would affect mandatory spending, the score (cost impact) is

measured in relation to the baseline. Changes that increase spending relative to the baseline have

a positive score; those that decrease spending relative to the baseline have a negative score.

Having a baseline essentially gives programs built-in future funding if policymakers decide that

the programs should continue—that is, straightforward reauthorization would not have a scoring

effect (budget neutral).

Once a new law is passed, the projected outlays at enactment equal the baseline plus the score.

This sum becomes the budget foundation of the new law.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Development of the Baseline

CBO periodically projects future government spending via its budget baselines, and evaluates

proposed bills via scoring estimates. The baseline incorporates domestic and international

economic conditions at the time the baseline is projected.

Generally, a program with estimated mandatory spending in the last year of its authorization may

be assumed to continue in the baseline as if there were no change in policy and it did not expire.

This is the situation for most of the major, long-standing farm bill provisions such as the farm

commodity programs or supplemental nutrition assistance.10 However, some programs do not

continue in the baseline beyond the end of a farm bill because they are either11



programs with estimated mandatory spending less than a minimum $50 million

scoring threshold in the last year of the farm bill, or

new programs established after 1997 for which the Budget Committees have

determined that mandatory spending shall not extend beyond expiration. This

decision may have been made in consultation with the Agriculture Committees

for a number of reasons, such as to reduce the program’s 10-year cost when a

farm bill is written or to prevent the program from having a continuing baseline.

The 2014 farm bill had 39 programs without baseline beyond FY2018 that received $2.824

billion in mandatory funding over five years.12

CBO Baseline: April 2018

The CBO baseline that was used to develop the 2018 farm bill was released in April 2018 (the

first and sixth data columns in Table 1).13 It projected that if the 2014 farm bill were extended, as

amended as of April 2018, farm bill programs would cost $426 billion over the next five years

(FY2019-FY2023) and $867 billion over the next 10 years (FY2019-2028).14

Most of the 10-year amount, 77%, was in the Nutrition title for the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program (SNAP). The remaining 23%, $203 billion baseline, was for agricultural

programs, mostly in crop insurance, farm commodity programs, and conservation. Other titles of

the farm bill contributed about 1% of the baseline, some of which are funded primarily with

discretionary spending. Table 2 presents the April 2018 baseline by farm bill title with some

program-level details for select titles.

10 For example, the CBO baselines for the primary farm commodity and nutrition programs remain positive through the

entire 10-year budget window, even though their statutory authority expires in the farm bill.

11 See Section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 907), as explained by

CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2018 to 2028, April 2018, pp. 47 and 54, https://www.cbo.gov/

publication/53651.

CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018. See also CRS In Focus

IF10780, Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without Baseline Beyond FY2018.

13 CBO, “Baseline Projections for Selected Programs,” April 2018, https://www.cbo.gov/about/products/baselineprojections-selected-programs. The total baseline for the farm bill is published in the table notes in CBO, “Cost

Estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House of Representatives and as passed by the Senate,” https://www.cbo.gov/

publication/54284, July 24, 2018, and at the title level in an unpublished CBO table, April 2018.

14 Although the farm bill is a five-year authorization (the 2018 farm bill covers FY2019-FY2023), budget rules required

it to be measured over a 10-year budget window. During legislative development, the farm bill may have been

presented more in terms of its effect over the 10-year budget window than the intended five-year duration of the law.

Separately, statements about the total cost of the farm bill may be in terms of its five-year outlays (i.e., projected

spending over the five-year life of the farm bill). Both lengths of time are widely used.

Congressional Research Service

Table 2. CBO Baseline to Develop the 2018 Farm Bill, by Title and Program

(projected outlays in millions of dollars, April 2018 baseline)

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

FY2019-23

FY2019-28

Price Loss Coverage

2,727

2,653

5,742

5,006

4,574

4,639

4,603

4,854

4,558

4,566

20,702

43,921

Agricultural Risk Coverage

2,627

2,155

464

430

479

431

463

482

505

492

6,155

8,529

Disaster assistance programs

364

361

391

390

388

386

389

388

387

425

1,893

3,868

Other

524

241

228

235

251

252

244

253

255

240

1,479

2,723

Dairy

186

161

160

177

173

177

191

128

134

137

857

1,624

Marketing Loan Program

254

486

6,487

5,621

7,035

6,286

5,910

5,930

5,934

6,151

5,886

5,910

31,340

61,151

Conservation Reserve Program

1,819

1,999

2,042

2,083

2,126

2,169

2,209

2,223

2,213

2,214

10,069

21,097

Conservation Security/Stewardship Program

1,607

1,822

1,743

1,772

1,820

1,771

1,768

1,810

1,808

8,764

17,729

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

1,509

1,545

1,600

1,640

1,674

1,729

1,750

7,968

16,697

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

310

271

266

250

1,347

2,597

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

127

125

121

107

100

578

1,078

CRP Technical Assistance

100

147

106

169

433

978

Agricultural Management Assistance

Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve

Programs repealed in 2014 and user fees

-4

-20

-40

Other, incl. announced FY2019 sequestration

-233

-75

-51

-42

-27

-1

-476

-489

Subtotal, Title II

5,245

5,730

5,780

5,880

6,080

6,105

6,268

6,230

6,222

6,214

28,715

59,754

Title I—Farm Commodity Programs

Subtotal, Title I

Title II—Conservation

CRS-6

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

FY2019-23

FY2019-28

Market Access Program

200

1,000

2,000

Food for Progress

153

154

155

769

1,544

Subtotal, Title III

361

362

363

1,809

3,624

Title IV—Nutrition

65,817

65,268

65,033

64,857

64,947

65,477

66,247

67,151

68,720

70,311

325,922

663,828

-435

-437

-440

-444

-449

-455

-462

-471

-478

-487

-2,205

-4,558

Title VI—Rural Development

168

Title VII—Research

329

604

Title VIII—Forestry

Title IX—Energy

102

362

612

Title X—Horticulture

153

154

155

772

1,547

7,230

7,471

7,684

7,811

7,860

7,903

7,942

8,006

8,047

8,082

38,057

78,037

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

223

1,114

2,229

Other

145

195

Subtotal, Title XII

294

259

235

233

1,259

2,423

85,372

84,617

85,989

85,263

85,221

85,831

86,800

87,938

89,268

90,901

426,462

867,200

Title III—Trade

Emerging Markets Program

Title V—Credit

Title XI—Crop Insurance

Title XII—Miscellaneous

Total

Source: CRS. Compiled using CBO, “Baseline Projections for Selected Programs,” April 2018, https://www.cbo.gov/about/products/baseline-projections-selectedprograms (in italics). The total baseline for the farm bill is published in the table notes in CBO, “Cost Estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House of Representatives and

as passed by the Senate,” https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54284, July 24, 2018, and at the title level in an unpublished CBO table, April 2018. (in bold).

Note: Near-term amounts may include outlays for programs that expired before FY2019 but still make outlays that have been obligated. For the titles without program

detail: Nutrition includes SNAP; Credit includes receipts to Farm Credit System Insurance Fund; Research includes the Specialty Crop Research Initiative; Energy includes

the Rural Energy for America Program; Horticulture includes Specialty Crop Block Grants, Plant Pest and Disease Management, and promotion orders.

CRS-7

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Scores of the 2018 Farm Bill

The CBO score measures the budgetary impact of changes made by the 2018 farm bill. It is

measured relative to its benchmark—the CBO baseline. Budget enforcement procedures follow

an array of federal budget rules, such as “PayGo,” which required budgetary offsets to balance

new spending to avoid increasing the federal deficit.15

Although the farm bill is a five-year authorization—the 2018 farm bill covers FY2019-FY2023—

budget rules required it to be scored over a 10-year budget window. Thus, when the farm bill is

discussed during legislative development, it may be more often presented by its effect over the

10-year budget window than the five-year duration of the law. Separately, statements about the

total cost of the farm bill may be in terms of its five-year outlays (i.e., projected spending over the

five-year life of the farm bill). Both can be accurate measures of the farm bill budget depending

on the context.

CBO released several interim scores of the 2018 farm bill during the various stages of its

development. These include scores of the effects of the



House-introduced bill (H.R. 2),16

House-reported bill (H.R. 2),17

Senate-reported bill (S. 3042),18

House-passed bill (H.R. 2) and the Senate-passed Amendment to H.R. 2 (the

second, third, seventh and eighth columns in Table 1; see also the more detailed

section-level scores in Appendix A),19

Conference agreement for H.R. 2 (the fourth and ninth columns in Table 1; see

also the more detailed section-level scores in Table 3).20

Subsequent to the House-passed score, CBO released a more detailed assessment of the farm

commodity program payment limit provisions in the House-passed bill. This score did not change

the amounts but explained background for the score of those provisions in greater detail.21

Summary of Title-Level Scores

Figure 3 shows the distribution of the title-level changes (scores) in the 2018 farm bill

conference agreement and the House- and Senate-passed bills that preceded it.

15 CRS Report RL31943, Budget Enforcement Procedures: The Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Rule.

16 CBO, “H.R. 2, Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, as Introduced in the House,” https://www.cbo.gov/publication/

53760, April 13, 2018.

17 CBO, “H.R. 2, Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, as Reported by the House Agriculture Committee,” https://

www.cbo.gov/publication/53819, May 2, 2018.

18 CBO, “S. 3042, Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, as Reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee,” https://

www.cbo.gov/publication/54092, June 21, 2018.

19 CBO, “Cost Estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House of Representatives and as passed by the Senate,” https://

www.cbo.gov/publication/54284,July 24, 2018.

20 CBO, “Direct Spending and Revenue Effects for the Conference Agreement on H.R. 2,” https://www.cbo.gov/

publication/54880, December 11, 2018.

21 CBO, “Payment Limitations in H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018,” https://www.cbo.gov/publication/

54450, September 6, 2018.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill



Relative to the baseline, the overall score of the 2018 farm bill is budget neutral

over a 10-year period.

The House-passed bill would have decreased 10-year outlays by $1.8 billion, and

the Senate-passed bill was budget neutral.

The overall relatively small or budget-neutral net scores are the result of sometimes relatively

larger increases and reductions across titles.



Generally, the enacted farm bill follows the scoring approach of the Senate bill

more closely than the House bill.

In the new law, as in the Senate-passed bill, most of the reductions are from the

Rural Development title.

Six titles in the law have increased outlays over the 10-year period, including

Commodities, Trade, Research, Energy, Horticulture, and Miscellaneous.

The House-passed bill would have made 10-year reductions in outlays in the

Conservation, Nutrition, Energy, and Crop Insurance titles that the conference

agreement did not adopt.

Figure 3. CBO Scores of the House, Senate, and Enacted 2018 Farm Bills, by Title

(projected change in 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Sources: CRS, using the CBO cost estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House of Representatives and the

Amendment to H.R. 2 as passed by the Senate, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54284, July 24, 2018, and CBO

cost estimate of the conference agreement for H.R. 2, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54880, December 11,

2018.

Note: Does not show amounts less than $50 million that are presented in Table 1.

Congressional Research Service

Table 3. CBO Score of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, as Enacted, by Section

(projected change in outlays relative to April 2018 baseline, millions of dollars)

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Dairy Risk Management Payments

-19

-15

-26

-11

-15

+20

-39

-49

-39

-64

-86

-257

ARC—Countya

-24

-28

-20

-23

-20

-22

-20

-81

-186

Repeal Dairy Product Donation Program

-5

-6

-5

-6

-5

-28

-54

ARC—Individuala

-1

-2

-5

Tree Assistance Program

Cattle Tick Fever Inspections

Administrative Units for Large Counties

Livestock Indemnity Payments

Modified Sugar Loan Rates

Payment Limitations for Supplemental Disaster

+15

Implementationb

+15

+16

Payment Limitations—Family Definition

+20

+40

Milk Donation Program

+29

+54

Margin Protection Premium Refund Credit 75%

+58

Dairy Risk Management, Livestock Gross Margin

+10

+13

+14

+13

+14

+16

+14

+52

+123

Modified Marketing Assistance Loan Ratesa

+27

+22

+16

+13

+12

+10

+81

+136

PLCa

-65

+23

+38

+26

+36

+28

-4

+137

Annual ARC/PLC Enrollmenta

+25

+26

+25

+26

+25

+153

Subtotal, Title I

+67

+30

-74

+21

+57

+84

+24

+16

+36

+101

+263

Title I—Commodities

CRS-10

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Conservation Stewardship Program

-25

-358

-796

-1,103

-1,387

-1,562

-1,768

-1,810

-1,808

-3,669

-12,426

Conservation Reserve Program

+38

-52

-110

-80

+15

+119

+33

+37

-0

-189

-0

Grassroots Source Water Protection Programb

Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentiveb

+10

+50

Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilotc

+15

+25

+20

+10

+75

Watershed Rehabilitation/Operationsd

+19

+29

+37

+42

+45

+95

+317

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

+80

+141

+157

+174

+191

+200

+742

+1,742

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

+73

+151

+177

+187

+198

+197

+198

+199

+200

+786

+1,779

EQIP and CSP

+170

+356

+539

+692

+903

+1,019

+1,100

+1,184

+1,233

+1,257

+2,660

+8,451

Subtotal, Title II

+365

+283

+17

-81

-29

+15

-192

-146

-131

-106

+555

-6

Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitationd

+47

+235

+470

Subtotal, Title III

+47

+235

+470

Interstate Data Matching Multiple Issuances

-6

-25

-40

-60

-75

-90

-95

-131

-576

Quality Control Improvements

-48

-240

-480

Assistance for Community Food Projects

-4

-20

-40

Child Support Enforcement Cooperation

Food Distribution on Indian Reservations

+14

+34

Longitudinal Data for Research

+11

+26

+51

Improvements to EBT System

+14

+21

+15

+46

+74

Simplified Homeless Housing Costs

+35

+75

Title II—Conservation

Title III—Trade

Title IV—Nutrition

CRS-11

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Emergency Food Assistance Program

+12

+24

+23

+19

+20

+21

+105

+206

Employment and Training for SNAP

+19

+24

+115

+234

Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Programd

+16

+28

+43

+50

+52

+54

+56

+143

+417

Subtotal, Title IV

-12

+33

+29

+26

+21

-0

-19

-24

-27

+98

Title V—Credit

Reduction in Interest to Cushion of Credit

-50

-150

-350

-380

-400

-1,330

-3,330

Modify Loans Under Rural Electrification

+800

Subtotal, Title VI

+750

-150

-350

-380

-400

-530

-2,530

Emerging Agricultural Production Researchc

+10

Scholarships for Students at 1890 Institutionsc

+10

+40

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Researchb

+185

Organic Agriculture Research and Extensiond

+17

+19

+23

+29

+43

+50

+130

+380

Subtotal, Title VII

+19

+216

+35

+41

+55

+50

+365

+615

Title VIII—Forestry

Biobased Market Programb

+14

+15

Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuelsb

+25

+35

Biorefinery Assistanceb

+10

+20

+23

+18

+70

+75

Subtotal, Title IX

+17

+28

+32

+28

+11

+109

+125

Title VI—Rural Development

Title VII—Research and Extension

Title IX—Energy

Title X—Horticulture

Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Surveyc

CRS-12

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Organic Production and Market Data Initiativesb

Organic Certification/Trade Tracking and Datab

National Organic Certification Cost Shareb

+24

Local Agriculture Market Programd

+28

+38

+50

+215

+465

Subtotal, Title X

+30

+40

+60

+50

+250

+500

Increase CAT Coverage Administrative Fee

-1

-12

-14

-55

-125

Funding for Research and Development

-0

-4

-5

-18

-40

Enterprise Units Across County Lines

-0

-3

-12

-27

Program Administration

-0

-2

-8

-18

Crop Production on Native Sod

-0

-1

-2

-4

Submission of Policies and Materials to Board

Research and Development Authority

+13

Treatment of Forage and Grazing

+10

+40

+90

Subtotal, Title XI

-1

-10

-12

-11

-47

-104

Extension of Merchandise Processing Fee

-371

Sheep Production and Marketing Grantsb

Wool Research and Promotionb

+10

National Oilheat Research Alliance

+35

+70

Pima Agriculture Cotton Trust Fundb

+16

+80

Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust Fundb

+30

+120

Emergency Citrus Trust Fundc

+25

+125

Title XI—Crop Insurance

Title XII—Miscellaneous

CRS-13

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Animal Disease Prevention and Management

+60

+48

+29

+30

+149

+299

Farming Opportunities Training and Outreachd

+27

+30

+33

+35

+41

+45

+48

+49

+50

+166

+404

Subtotal, Title XII

+136

+159

+119

+122

+149

+82

+85

-285

+87

+685

+738

Total Changes in Direct Spending

+1,406

+664

-101

-124

-25

-73

-365

-333

-672

-307

+1,820

+70

Increases in Revenue: Title XII—Oilheat

+35

+70

+1,399

+657

-108

-131

-32

-80

-372

-340

-679

-314

+1,785

-0

Net Effect on the Deficit

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement for H.R. 2, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54880, December 11, 2018.

Notes: + denotes additional spending or, in the case of revenue, additional revenue. – denotes reduced spending.

a. The scoring effect is delayed because the farm commodity programs operate by “crop year” (when the crop is harvested), and some payments are delayed by

statute into a later fiscal year. For example, ARC and PLC payments for the 2019 crop year (the first covered by the 2018 farm bill) do not occur by statue until

FY2021. Payments under the marketing loan program are delayed generally by one fiscal year.

b. Denotes a 2014 farm bill “program without baseline” that received new funding in the 2018 farm bill over FY2019-FY2023 but not permanent baseline. (The complete

list of programs without baseline prior to the farm bill is identified in CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018.)

c. Denotes a new “program without baseline” created in the 2018 farm bill.

d. Denotes a 2014 farm bill “program without baseline” that received new funding in the 2018 farm bill over FY2019-FY2028 and permanent baseline. The six provisions

noted here cover nine programs from the list of programs without baseline because of consolidation within (1) trade programs; (2) farmers market, local food, and

rural entrepreneurship programs; and (3) beginning farmer and outreach programs.

CRS-14

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Net Increases in Five-Year Outlays Are Followed by Net Decreases

When separated into the five- and 10-year budget windows, each version of the 2018 farm bill

shows a similar pattern of changes in projected outlays. Figure 4 show the scores for the first five

years, the second five years, and the 10-year total for the enacted conference agreement.



The enacted farm bill increases net outlays in the first five years by $1.8 billion,

which is offset by the same amount of net reductions in outlays during the second

five years. Therefore, the 10-year net score is budget neutral.

In the enacted law, the Conservation and Nutrition titles—which have increases

in outlays over the first five years—have decreases during the second five years.

Both titles are budget-neutral over the 10-year period. This may occur because of

the time needed to implement changes or to make provisions more appealing in

the early years despite having less baseline for a future farm bill.

A similar pattern held for the House-passed bill (Figure 5) and the Senate-passed bill (Figure 6).

In both of those versions, the Conservation and Nutrition titles had increases in the first five years

followed by decreases in the second five years. The House-passed bill had reductions in the

Nutrition title that were not retained in the conference agreement. The Senate-passed bill would

have reduced baseline for the Commodities title, whereas the conference agreement is projected

to increase it.

Figure 4. CBO Score of Enacted 2018 Farm Bill, by Period and Title

(projected change in five- and 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, using the CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement for H.R. 2, December 11, 2018.

Note: Does not show amounts less than $50 million that are indicated in Table 1.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Figure 5. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Period and Title

(projected change in five- and 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, using the CBO cost estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House, July 24, 2018.

Note: Does not show amounts less than $50 million that are indicated in Table 1.

Figure 6. CBO Score of the Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Period and Title

(projected change in five- and 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, using the CBO cost estimates for the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2, July 24, 2018.

Note: Does not show amounts less than $50 million that are indicated in Table 1.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Section-by-Section Scores for Some Titles Exceed Their Net Scores

Some of the net scores for single titles presented above are the net result of increases and

decreases by provisions within the same title. Sometimes, these increases or decreases are

relatively large compared to the net title-level effect. These budget effects may reflect policy

proposals that may not be apparent in the net title-level scores that are shown in the previous

figures. For example



In the enacted law, the Conservation title has one section with a $12.4 billion

reduction over 10 years (reducing the Conservation Stewardship Program) and

seven sections that add to $12.4 billion in increased spending (Figure 7).

In the House-passed bill, the Nutrition title had six sections that summed to a

$22.0 billion reduction over 10 years (including those for work requirements) and

18 sections that added to $20.6 billion in increased spending. Similarly, the

Conservation title had two sections that summed to a $12.6 billion reduction and

eight sections that added to $11.8 billion in increased spending (Figure 8).

In the Senate-passed bill, none of the titles’ section-by-section scores were as

large as for the Nutrition and Conservation titles in the House bill. Nonetheless,

the section-by-section scores of the Senate-passed bill showed both increases and

decreases in the Conservation, Nutrition, Commodities and Miscellaneous titles

(Figure 9).

Figure 7. CBO Score of Enacted 2018 Farm Bill, by Section and Title

(projected change in 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost of the conference agreement for H.R. 2, December 11,

2018.

Notes: Figure indicates magnitude of changes within titles. Details about individual sections are in Table 3.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Figure 8. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Section and Title

(projected change in 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost estimate for H.R. 2 as passed by the House, July 24, 2018.

Notes: Figure indicates magnitude of changes within titles. Details about individual sections are in Table A-1.

Figure 9. CBO Score of Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Section and Title

(projected change in 10-year outlays relative to baseline, FY2019-FY2028)

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost estimate for H.R. 2 as passed by the Senate, July 24, 2018.

Notes: Figure indicates magnitude of changes within titles. Details about individual sections are in Table A-2.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Outcome for the Programs Without Baseline

For 23 of the 39 of the “programs without baseline” from the 2014 farm bill,22 the 2018 farm bill

provides continuing funding and, in some cases, permanent baseline for future farm bills (see the

footnotes in Table 3).



Fourteen of the programs without baseline received mandatory funding during

FY2019-FY2023 but no baseline beyond the end of the farm bill.

Nine of the programs without baseline received mandatory funding and

permanent baseline beyond the end of the farm bill. Three of these programs

were combined with six others into six provisions in the 2018 farm bill.

In addition, five provisions in the 2018 farm bill created new programs without baseline for the

next farm bill.

Projected Outlays at Enactment

When a new law is passed, the projected cost at enactment equals the baseline plus the score.

This sum becomes the foundation of the new law and may be compared to future CBO baselines

as an indicator of how actual costs develop as the law is implemented and conditions change.23

Table 4 shows the result of this calculation by updating the farm bill baseline (Table 2) by adding

the score for programs that were changed by the farm bill (Table 3). The $428 billion projected

five-year total for the life of the 2018 farm bill (FY2019-FY2023) is illustrated in Figure 1.

Agriculture program-level detail is illustrated in Figure 2.

Table 1 summarizes these amounts by title for the five- and 10-year budget windows (the fifth

and 10th columns). SNAP accounts for 76% of the $428 billion five-year total. The remaining

24%, $102 billion of projected outlays, is for agricultural programs, mostly in crop insurance

(8.9%), farm commodity programs (7.3%), and conservation (6.8%).

Relative to historical farm bill spending, Figure 10 shows mandatory outlays for the four largest

titles—Nutrition, Crop Insurance, Farm Commodity Programs, and Conservation—that account

for 99% of projected spending in the 2018 farm bill. The figure shows the following trends:



SNAP outlays, which compose most of the Nutrition title, increased markedly

after the recession in 2009 and have been gradually decreasing since 2012.24

Crop insurance outlays increased steadily over the period, especially as higher

market prices and program participation over the past decade have raised the

value of insurable commodities.25

22 CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018. See also CRS In Focus

IF10780, Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without Baseline Beyond FY2018.

23 For example, see CBO, Baseline Projections for Selected Programs, especially for the “USDA Mandatory Farm

Programs” and the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” January 2019, at https://www.cbo.gov/about/

products/baseline-projections-selected-programs.

24 CRS In Focus IF11087, 2018 Farm Bill Primer: SNAP and Nutrition Title Programs.

25 CRS Report R45193, Federal Crop Insurance: Program Overview for the 115th Congress.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill



Farm commodity programs outlays generally rise and fall inversely with

commodity markets. They were high after losses in the early 2000s, generally

trended lower under the direct payment program, and tended to increase after a

return to counter-cyclical programs in the 2014 farm bill.26

Conservation program outlays have grown steadily but have leveled off in recent

years.27

Figure 10. Actual and Projected Spending by Major Farm Bill Mandatory Programs

Source: CRS.

Notes: Darker shades of each color are actual outlays based on USDA data. Lighter shades are CBO data

(actuals for FY2016, estimates for FY2017-FY2018, and CRS analysis of CBO data for projections at enactment

of the 2018 farm bill for FY2019-FY2028). Compiled using USDA Farm Service Agency, Agricultural Outlook, Table

35; USDA Risk Management Agency, “Program Costs and Outlays by Fiscal Year”; J. Glauber, “Crop Insurance

Reconsidered,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2004; USDA Farm Service Agency, “Output 3,”

Commodity Estimates Book; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Soil and Water Conservation

Expenditures, 1935-2010,” 2011; and USDA Food and Nutrition Service, “National Level Annual Summary,

Participation and Costs,” CBO Baseline, various issues, https://www.cbo.gov/about/products/baselineprojections-selected-programs; and CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement for H.R. 2,

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54880, December 11, 2018.

26 CRS Report R44914, Farm Safety-Net Payments Under the 2014 Farm Bill: Comparison by Program Crop.

27 CRS In Focus IF10679, Farm Bill Primer: The Conservation Title.

Congressional Research Service

Table 4. Projected Outlays Under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, at Enactment, by Title and Program

(projected outlays in millions of dollars)

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

FY2019-23

FY2019-28

Price Loss Coverage

2,727

2,653

5,676

5,029

4,637

4,690

4,655

4,906

4,619

20,722

44,211

Agricultural Risk Coverage

2,627

2,155

439

401

450

410

440

461

482

471

6,073

8,337

Disaster Payments

368

364

394

393

391

390

392

391

390

428

1,910

3,901

Dairy

230

156

146

179

171

210

165

112

883

1,548

Marketing loans

334

622

Other

543

245

233

240

257

258

250

259

262

248

1,518

2,795

6,554

5,651

6,962

6,307

5,967

6,014

5,957

6,167

5,923

5,912

31,440

61,414

Environmental Quality Incentives Program/

Conservation Stewardship Program

1,679

1,901

2,138

2,333

2,577

2,748

2,850

2,934

2,983

3,007

10,627

25,148

Conservation Reserve Program

1,857

1,947

1,932

2,003

2,141

2,288

2,242

2,260

2,213

2,215

9,880

21,097

Conservation Security/Stewardship Program

1,582

1,464

947

669

433

209

5,095

5,303

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

383

422

443

437

448

447

448

449

450

2,133

4,376

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

207

266

278

281

289

300

1,320

2,820

Other

-98

164

128

236

142

146

137

214

1,003

5,610

6,013

5,797

5,799

6,051

6,120

6,076

6,084

6,091

6,108

29,270

59,748

Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation

255

1,275

2,550

Food for Progress

153

154

155

769

1,544

Subtotal, Title III

408

409

410

2,044

4,094

Title I—Farm Commodity Programs

Subtotal, Title I

Title II—Conservation

Subtotal: Title II

Title III—Trade

CRS-21

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

FY2019-23

FY2019-28

65,805

65,301

65,062

64,883

64,968

65,477

66,228

67,127

68,693

70,284

326,020

663,828

Title V—Credit

-435

-437

-440

-444

-449

-455

-462

-471

-478

-487

-2,205

-4,558

Title VI—Rural Development

785

-129

-336

-366

-386

-432

-2,362

Title VII—Research

101

294

110

105

694

1,219

Title VIII—Forestry

Title IX—Energy

106

471

737

Title X—Horticulture

183

194

215

205

1,022

2,047

7,229

7,461

7,672

7,799

7,849

7,892

7,931

7,995

8,035

8,070

38,010

77,933

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

223

1,114

2,229

Other, including revenue offset for Oilheat

200

189

124

127

155

-282

795

862

Subtotal, Title XII

423

412

347

350

377

307

310

-60

313

1,909

3,091

Total

86,770

85,275

85,881

85,132

85,189

85,751

86,428

87,598

88,589

90,586

428,247

867,200

Nutrition (Title IV)

65,805

65,301

65,062

64,883

64,968

65,477

66,228

67,127

68,693

70,284

326,020

663,828

Non-nutrition (other titles)

20,965

19,974

20,819

20,249

20,220

20,274

20,200

20,472

19,896

20,302

102,227

203,372

Title IV—Nutrition

Title XI—Crop Insurance

Title XII—Miscellaneous

Source: CRS. Compiled by adding the CBO score of the 2018 farm bill (Table 3) to the CBO baseline (Table 2).

Note: Near-term amounts may include outlays for programs that expired before FY2019 but still make outlays that have been obligated. The Credit title includes

receipts to Farm Credit System Insurance Fund. The Rural Development title includes farm bill changes to the “cushion of credit” account for which baseline exists

elsewhere in government and was not included in the original farm bill baseline.

CRS-22

Appendix A. Scores of House-Passed and Senate-Passed Versions of H.R. 2

Table A-1. CBO Score of House-Passed H.R. 2, by Section

(projected change in outlays relative to April 2018 baseline, millions of dollars)

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Agriculture Risk Coverage—Individuala

-16

-17

-18

-17

-19

-18

-20

-51

-143

Agriculture Risk Coverage—Countya

+23

-34

-26

-17

-6

-15

-25

-11

-37

-111

Dairy Program

-45

-2

-1

-3

-6

-4

+18

+17

-41

-20

Nonrecourse Marketing Assistance Loansa

Economic Adjustment Assistance Textile Mills

+11

+23

Implementation

+24

+25

Payment Limitationsb

+20

+40

Supplemental Agriculture Disaster Assistance

+13

+35

+62

Price Loss Coveragea

+137

+55

+43

+50

+134

-59

-16

+64

+235

+408

-3

+12

+160

+18

+10

+23

+115

-85

-30

+62

+198

+284

Repeal Conservation Stewardship Program

-28

-406

-725

-1,072

-1,422

-1,771

-1,768

-1,810

-1,808

-3,653

-12,618

Conservation Reserve Program

-21

+70

+98

+96

+83

+73

-43

-76

-137

-166

+326

-23

Grassroots Source Water Protectionc

Wetlands Mitigation Bankingc

+10

Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Protectionc

+10

+50

Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot

+20

+30

+25

+15

+10

+100

Small Watershed Rehabilitation Programc

+16

+38

+58

+74

+81

+73

+52

+32

+189

+459

Title I—Commodity Programs

Subtotal, Title I

Title II—Conservation

CRS-23

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

+60

+106

+118

+131

+143

+150

+558

+1,308

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

+90

+187

+221

+234

+247

+248

+249

+250

+979

+2,221

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

+55

+227

+424

+608

+777

+921

+1,056

+1,164

+1,217

+1,243

+2,092

+7,693

+193

+244

+212

+82

-76

-299

-284

-272

-297

-299

+656

-795

+47

+235

+470

+47

+235

+470

Workforce Solutions: Benefits

-300

-1,330

-1,350

-1,340

-1,370

-1,560

-1,920

-2,280

-2,650

-4,320

-14,100

Update to Categorical Eligibility

-200

-525

-520

-530

-540

-555

-565

-1,245

-3,965

-130

-310

-300

-310

-320

-330

-1,360

-2,930

Duplicative Enrollment Database

-8

-25

-45

-60

-80

-90

-95

-138

-588

State Performance Indicators

-48

-192

-432

Disqualification of Certain Convicted Felons

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

-6

-3

-23

Benefit Recovery

Tolerance Level for Payment Errors

Administrative Flexibility for States

Multivitamin-Mineral Dietary Supplements

Review of SNAP Operations

Mobile Technologies

+12

SNAP Benefit Transfer Data Report

+15

+30

Interactions

-2

-3

-4

-3

-2

+12

+10

+25

-7

+35

Simplified Homeless Housing Costs

+36

+76

Subtotal, Title II

Title III—Trade

International Development Programd

Subtotal, Title III

Title IV—Nutrition

Standard Utility Allowances Based on Receipt

CRS-24

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Percent Recovered Funds Retained by States

+10

+11

+50

+102

Basic Allowance for Housing

+11

+12

+13

+14

+52

+116

+128

+17

+150

Prohibited Fees

+13

+20

+25

+43

+153

Asset Limits; Vehicle Allowance; Savings

-15

+30

+51

+201

Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Programd

+17

+30

+46

+55

+59

+63

+65

+155

+472

Emergency Food Assistance

+45

+46

+47

+48

+49

+50

+52

+53

+54

+55

+235

+499

National Gateway

+10

+68

+70

+78

+81

+90

+95

+165

+601

Nutrition Education

+57

+58

+59

+61

+62

+64

+65

+67

+69

+70

+297

+632

Transitional Benefits

+75

+90

+95

+435

+895

Retailer-Funded Incentives Pilot

+182

+180

+120

+604

+1,204

Cooperation with Child Support Agencies

+140

+304

+321

+335

+345

+355

+375

+396

+446

+476

+1,446

+3,494

Earned Income Deduction

+350

+470

+480

+490

+500

+2,230

+4,640

+140

+600

+680

+740

+810

+920

+1,020

+1,140

+1,250

+2,160

+7,300

+707

+685

-59

-280

-190

-153

-223

-434

-628

-850

+862

-1,426

Implementation Funds

Workforce Solutions: Administration

Subtotal, Title IV

Title V—Credit

Title VI—Rural Infrastructure and Economic Developmente

Rural Energy for America Programe

-10

-30

-45

-50

-185

-435

Biorefinery Assistancee

-35

-31

-16

-82

-45

-61

-50

-267

-517

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Developmentc

+10

+15

+19

+20

+17

+10

+67

+100

Organic Agricultural Research and Extensionc

+15

+23

+29

+30

+26

+15

+101

+150

Subtotal, Title VIe

Title VII—Research and Extension

CRS-25

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

+25

+38

+48

+50

+43

+25

+13

+168

+250

National Organic Program Technology Updatec

Organic Production and Market Data Initiativec

+10

Education and Risk Management Assistance

-1

-11

-17

-13

-14

-15

-52

-125

Increase Catastrophic Administration Fee

-1

-7

-8

-32

-72

Research and Development Priorities

-5

-23

-45

Program Administration

-2

-8

-18

Whole Farm Application to Beginning Farmers

Treatment of Forage and Grazing

+10

+40

+90

-6

-14

-16

-17

-18

-70

-161

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance

-4

-19

-37

Outreach to Socially Disadvantaged Producersc

+10

+43

+50

Textile Trust Fundc

+26

+25

+103

+150

+125

+50

+25

+425

+450

+152

+156

+82

+26

-2

-4

+553

+566

+1,055

+1,096

+406

-68

-142

-381

-390

-803

-977

-1,112

+2,344

-1,320

+55

+60

+65

+70

+75

+80

+115

+465

+1,055

+1,095

+405

-124

-203

-441

-455

-874

-1,052

-1,192

+2,229

-1,785

Subtotal, Title VII

Title VIII—Forestry

Title IX—Horticulture

Subtotal, Title IX

Title X—Crop Insurance

Subtotal, Title X

Title XI—Miscellaneous

Animal Disease Preparedness and Response

Subtotal, Title XI

Total Changes in Direct Spending

Increases in Revenue: Title IV—Nutrition

Net Effect on the Deficit

CRS-26

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost estimates for H.R. 2 as passed by the House, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54284, July 24, 2018.

Notes: * denotes score between -$500,000 and +$500,000. + denotes additional spending or, in the case of revenue, additional revenue. – denotes reduced spending.

a. Details by commodity within these programs is available in Table 3 of the original CBO score of the House bill at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53760 (April 13,

2018). The total across commodities matches the score of these provisions (ARC, PLC, and marketing loan gains) in both the original CBO estimate and the July 24

score used in this table.

b. Details about CBO’s score of the payment limits provision are explained in “Payment Limitations in H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018,” https://www.

cbo.gov/publication/54450, September 6, 2018.

c. Denotes a “program without baseline” after FY2018 from the 2014 farm bill that received new funding in FY2019-FY2023 but not permanent baseline.

d. Denotes a “program without baseline” after FY2018 from the 2014 farm bill that received new funding in FY2019-FY2028 and permanent baseline.

e. The House bill combined rural development and energy provisions (e.g., Titles VI and IX in the 2014 farm bill, respectively) into a single title, Title VI—Rural

Infrastructure and Economic Development. Elsewhere in this report, such as in Table 1 and the figures, the two House provisions that scored in Title VI are

assigned to an Energy title for comparison to the Senate bill and the CBO baseline.

CRS-27

Table A-2. CBO Score of the Senate-Passed Amendment to H.R. 2, by Section

(projected change in outlays relative to April 2018 baseline, millions of dollars)

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Economic Adjustment Users Upland Cotton

-46

-47

-92

-328

AGI Limitation of $700,000

-2

-3

-38

-33

-31

-32

-31

-107

-263

Actively Engaged in Farming Requirement

-2

-31

-27

-25

-26

-25

-85

-211

Dairy Product Donation Program

-5

-6

-5

-6

-5

-27

-53

Producer Election (ARC Default Choice)

-2

-1

-4

-9

Catastrophic Coverage $5.00 with 40% Cap

-3

-5

-1

-12

+13

-3

Supplemental Agriculture Disaster Assistance

+11

Loss of Peach, Blueberry Crops Due to Cold

+18

Additional Assistance for Volcanic Activity

+27

+30

Milk Donation Program

+28

+53

Repayment Dairy Risk Coverage Premiums

+78

Dairy Risk Coverage

+24

+14

-1

+16

+59

+97

Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC)

+23

+17

+20

+21

+23

+22

+23

+61

+172

+155

+10

-35

-81

-73

-70

-85

-88

-66

-76

-23

-408

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

-61

-120

-138

-149

-158

-171

-187

-176

-163

-158

-626

-1,481

Conservation Stewardship Program

-3

-25

-46

-67

-88

-112

-133

-155

-175

-196

-229

-1,000

Conservation Reserve Program

-11

+42

+47

+49

+15

+11

-22

-30

-50

-51

+142

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

+41

+71

+79

+87

+96

+100

+374

+874

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

+56

+115

+134

+149

+175

+188

+194

+197

+199

+200

+629

+1,607

Title I—Commodities

Subtotal, Title I

Title II—Conservation

CRS-28

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

+22

+83

+76

+69

+40

+16

-48

-64

-89

-105

+290

Trade Promotion, Development, Assistancea

+52

+258

+515

Subtotal, Title III

+52

+258

+515

Interstate Data Matching/Multiple Issuance

-8

-25

-45

-60

-80

-90

-95

-138

-588

Quality Control

-42

-210

-420

Assistance for Community Food Projects

-4

-20

-40

Interactions

Income Verification

+10

Harvesting Health Pilot Projects

+20

Improvements to EBT System

+24

+28

Food Distribution on Indian Reservations

+17

+37

Definition of Certification Period

+20

+30

+55

+205

Emergency Food Assistance Programs

+12

+24

+23

+19

+20

+21

+105

+206

Work Requirements for SNAP

+40

+55

+210

+235

Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentivea

+18

+30

+45

+50

+151

+401

Subtotal, Title IV

-14

+39

+58

+72

+69

-14

-27

-31

+224

+94

Title V—Credit

Cushion of Credit: No New, Reduce Rate

-140

-150

-190

-220

-260

-280

-300

-320

-350

-840

-2,350

Rural Electric Development Loan and Grants

+10

-140

-150

-186

-216

-258

-280

-300

-320

-350

-832

-2,340

Subtotal, Title II

Title III—Trade

Title IV—Nutrition

Title VI—Rural Development

Subtotal, Title VI

CRS-29

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Biomass Research and Development

+15

Emerging Agricultural Production Research

+17

+20

Foundation Food and Agricultural Researchb

+200

Organic Agricultural Research and Extensiona

+24

+36

+43

+48

+50

+200

+450

Subtotal, Title VII

+226

+40

+48

+54

+57

+55

+53

+51

+50

+426

+685

Title VIII—Forestry

Carbon Utilization Education Program

+10

Bio-based Market Programb

+15

Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuelsb

+13

+14

+15

+12

+54

+75

Biomass Crop Assistance Programb

+16

+20

+22

+25

+16

+92

+125

Bio-refinery Assistanceb

+20

+40

+45

+35

+10

+140

+150

Subtotal, Title IX

+17

+50

+78

+86

+80

+38

+14

+311

+375

Organic Production and Market Datab

Organic Certification/Trade Tracking/Data

National Organic Certification Cost Shareb

+12

+55

+58

Local Agriculture Market Programa

+33

+45

+60

+258

+558

Subtotal, Title X

+44

+59

+74

+63

+60

+323

+626

Enterprise Units Across County Lines

-3

-12

-27

Crop Production on Native Sod

-1

-3

-7

Title VII—Research and Extension

Title IX—Energy

Title X—Horticulture

Title XI—Crop Insurance

CRS-30

Fiscal year

5 years

10 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2019-23

2019-28

Funding for Information Technology

Submission of Policies and Materials to Board

Whole Farm Revenue Agent Incentives

+10

Pasture, Range, Forage Policy Indian Tribes

+12

Subtotal, Title XI

-1

-2

Extension of Merchandise Processing Fee

-371

Direct Operation Microloans

Cattle Tick Inspection Emergency Livestock

Administrative Units

Wool Research and Promotion

+10

National Oilheat Research Alliance

+33

+68

Pima Agriculture Cotton Trust Fundb

+16

+80

Wool Apparel Manufacturing Trust Fundb

+30

+120

+121

Emergency Citrus Trust Fund

+25

+125

Farming Opportunities Training and Outreacha

+26

+40

+50

+216

+466

Subtotal, Title XII

+73

+122

+133

+59

-312

+59

+594

+517

Total Changes in Direct Spending

+436

+314

+334

+273

+215

-61

-203

-250

-651

-341

+1,573

+68

+33

+68

+431

+307

+327

+266

+208

-68

-210

-257

-658

-348

+1,540

Title XII—Miscellaneous

Increases in Revenue: Title XII—Oilheat

Net Effect on the Deficit

Source: CRS, sorted within titles using the CBO cost estimates for the Senate-passed amendment to H.R. 2, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54284, July 24, 2018.

Notes: * denotes score between -$500,000 and +$500,000. + denotes additional spending or, in the case of revenue, additional revenue. - denotes reduced spending.

a. Denotes a “program without baseline” after FY2018 from the 2014 farm bill that received new funding in FY2019-2028 and permanent baseline.

b. Denotes a “program without baseline” after FY2018 from the 2014 farm bill that received new funding in FY2019-2023 but not permanent baseline.

CRS-31

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Appendix B. Discretionary Authorizations

In addition to providing mandatory spending, various sections of the farm bill authorize

appropriations that may be provided in future discretionary appropriations acts. Such

“authorizations for appropriation” are not actual funding but are essentially an indication from the

authorizing committees to the appropriations committees about funding intentions. They are

subject to budget enforcement via future appropriations bills.

Although the score of the farm bill is primarily about mandatory spending, some CBO scoring

documents include an estimate of the discretionary spending that would be needed to implement

provisions that have authorizations of appropriations.

The CBO score of the conference agreement did not address discretionary authorizations.

However, earlier CBO scores of the House- and Senate-passed bills did summarize the

authorizations for appropriation. Overall, the similarity between the scores of these bills may be

an indicator of the authorization levels in the enacted farm bill.

For the House-passed version of the farm bill, CBO estimated that implementing the provisions

of H.R. 2 that specified authorizations of appropriations would cost $24.5 billion over the fiveyear period FY2019-FY2023, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts. For the Senatepassed version, the amount was slightly smaller at $23.7 billion.28 These projections were for the

whole bill and not by title. However, the earlier committee-reported scores did estimate the

authorizations by title, as shown in Table B-1.29 Because the totals of the chamber-passed

versions remain nearly the same as the committee-reported totals, the earlier title-level estimates

may be indicative of the conference agreement.

Three titles account for about 85% of the discretionary authorizations for appropriation in the

House and Senate committee-reported farm bill scores: Trade, Research, and Rural Development

(Table B-1).

Actual funding in annual Agriculture appropriations acts does not necessarily correlate to the

authorization for appropriation in the farm bill. The annual authorization for appropriation

provided in the 2018 farm bill is between $2 billion and $6 billion (Table B-1), which for this

comparison is broadly similar to nearly $7 billion in authorizations for appropriation that were in

the 2014 farm bill.30 However, actual discretionary funding in recent Agricultural appropriations

acts total in excess of $20 billion.31

The difference is because not all of the actual appropriations have their authorization in each farm

bill. For example, the Agriculture appropriations act includes funding for salaries and expenses of

USDA agencies that may be permanently authorized or is not necessarily reauthorized in the farm

bill. Also, jurisdiction for appropriations acts may include agencies or programs that are not in the

jurisdiction of the farm bill authorizing committees (such as the roughly $6 billion appropriation

for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children that

is not in House Agriculture Committee jurisdiction).

28 CBO, “Cost Estimates for H.R. 2 as Passed by the House of Representatives and as Passed by the Senate,” July 24,

2018.

29 CBO, “H.R. 2, Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, as Reported by the House Agriculture Committee,” May 2,

2018; and CBO, “S. 3042, Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, as Reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee,”

June 21, 2018.

30 CBO, “S. 954, Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013,” May 17, 2013; and CBO, “H.R. 1947,

Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, June 5, 2013.

31 For example, see CRS Report R45230, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2019 Appropriations.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Table B-1. Farm Bill Authorizations That Are Subject to Appropriation

(dollars in millions)

Fiscal year

5 years

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

FY2019-23

Commodities

Conservation

106

144

157

165

737

Trade

874

2,130

2,417

2,533

2,578

10,532

Nutrition

393

Credit

248

257

1,274

Rural Infrastructure and Economic Development

179

490

826

1,159

1,292

3,945

Research

756

1,183

1,479

6,374

Forestry

102

105

437

Horticulture

313

Crop Insurance

House-passed H.R. 2

Miscellaneous

268

2,378

4,479

5,433

5,900

6,084

24,273

200

2,415

4,519

5,474

5,941

6,125

24,473

Commodities

Conservation

178

259

293

315

1,359

Trade

878

2,139

2,427

2,544

2,589

10,577

Nutrition

Credit

172

173

862

Rural Development

132

333

520

690

764

2,440

Research

864

1,278

1,566

1,559

6,826

Forestry

-24

-14

Energy

126

159

176

570

Horticulture

255

Crop Insurance

Miscellaneous

149

157

713

2,370

4,461

5,334

5,685

5,825

23,675

Subtotal (committee-reported score)

Changes added after floor passage

Total (House-passed score)

Senate-passed amendment to H.R. 2

Subtotal (committee-reported score)

Changes added after floor passage

Total (Senate-passed score)

2,371

4,465

5,338

5,686

5,825

23,685

Source: CRS, compiled from (1) title-level amounts in CBO, “H.R. 2, as Reported by the House Agriculture

Committee,” May 2, 2018; and CBO, S. 3042 as Reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee,” June 21, 2018;

and (2) the updated total in CBO, “Cost Estimates for H.R. 2 as Passed by the House and as Passed by the

Senate,” July 24, 2018.

Note: “na” indicates that CBO did not estimate the cost of implementing provisions that do not have a specific

authorization amount.

Congressional Research Service

Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm Bill

Author Contact Information

Jim Monke

Specialist in Agricultural Policy

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov

, 7-....

Congressional Research Service

R45425 · VERSION 9 · UPDATED

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