Farm Bill Issues
RCED-95-93R: Published: Feb 21, 1995. Publicly Released: Feb 21, 1995.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized the major issues that the food and agriculture sector would like to see incorporated into the 1995 farm bill. GAO noted that: (1) the proposed changes to the farm bill involved environment and conservation, commodity programs, agricultural trade, and research and education; (2) many survey respondents believed that the Conservation Reserve Program needed to be continued even though its budget may need to be reduced; (3) many respondents advocated eliminating of the Export Enhancement Program because of its high cost and ineffectiveness, moving commodity programs towards greater market orientation, and targeting farm subsidies to small or medium size farms; (4) several respondents believed that the Market Promotion Program's funding should be increased, since the program contributed to significant increases in exports; (5) a majority of the respondents suggested that the current federal investment in research and education is inadequate to meet future needs for food, fiber, and conservation; (6) the respondents believed there was a critical need to increase federal competitive grants and formula funds for basic and applied research; and (7) the respondents believed that the major changes to the 1995 farm bill should be phased in over time to reduce any adverse impacts.
Sep 16, 2020
Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
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USDA Market Facilitation Program:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
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National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
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Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
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Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
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Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
Nov 12, 2019
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Irrigated Agriculture:
Technologies, Practices, and Implications for Water ScarcityGAO-20-128SP: Published: Nov 12, 2019. Publicly Released: Nov 12, 2019.
Oct 28, 2019
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Dairy Cooperatives:
Potential Implications of Consolidation and Investments in Dairy Processing for FarmersGAO-19-695R: Published: Sep 27, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 28, 2019.
Sep 9, 2019
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Date Labels on Packaged Foods:
USDA and FDA Could Take Additional Steps to Reduce Consumer ConfusionGAO-19-407: Published: Sep 9, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 2019.
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