The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations have released their respective FY 2013 appropriations bills to fund the government for the remainder of 2013. The Senate Committee has proposed to cut most National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) programs by 7.61% from 2012 levels while providing a net $12.8 million increase to the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) with smaller increases to other NIFA accounts. The House, on the other hand, used the FY 2012 enacted budget levels as their starting point, maintained the 5.1% sequestration plus a proposed additional 0.0098% across-the-board cut.

Act today! The budget is expected to be finalized this week.

• Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them not to cut IPM programs beyond the 5.1% proposed by the House. 
• Point out that core IPM funding has declined by $8.5 million, or 33%, since 2000; over the same period, overall NIFA funding has increased 24%. With serious emerging pest threats like Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and Spotted Wing Drosophila, we need more IPM, not further cuts to programs in addition to the sequester-dictated cuts.   
• Find your Senators here and your Representatives here. 

Table one shows the breakdown of IPM and IPM-related programs funding levels within the two bills. Note: budget numbers are estimated based on the Senate and House proposed cuts to programs. The House and Senate will likely need to convene a joint conference committee to reconcile differences between the two proposed bills.

Tabel 1. Budget Comparison, FY 2012 and proposed House and Senate FY 2013, dollars in millions.