Great Lakes Wire

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) helped the Senate Appropriations Committee pass the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, bipartisan legislation to fund critical federal programs, Michigan priorities and high-impact local projects.

The bill now advances to the full Senate. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is considering their own funding bills. The Senate and House will then need to reach an agreement on a final funding bill and have it pass both chambers before being sent to the President to be signed into law.

“This bill is a positive step forward and includes measures I advocated for and secured that are important to Michigan’s producers, agricultural sector, economy and rural communities,” said Senator Peters. “I’ll keep fighting to ensure Michigan has the federal resources needed, while making sure taxpayer dollars are used effectively as we continue working on bills to fund the government.”

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:

• Funding for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: Would help combat specialty crop pests and complement Peters’ push to pass his bipartisan SWAT Act, legislation that aims to reduce the spread of—and advance research on the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), an invasive insect that harms fruit growers and their crops in Michigan and across the country.
• Funding for the Agricultural Research Service: Would help to establish a Center of Excellence for PFAS solutions throughout Agricultural and Food Systems in conjunction with a university partner.
• Funding for Alpena Community College: Would provide $1.75 million to support construction for student housing on the main campus to increase the existing supply of on-campus student housing and help alleviate an acute housing shortage that negatively impacts the entire Alpena community.
• Language requiring the FDA to look at exempting tart cherries from detrimental labeling regulations: This provision is important to Michigan cherry producers and would build on the Senator’s effort with Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI) urging FDA to exempt tart cherries from this rule.
• Funding for a new library in Ionia, Michigan: Would provide $2.1 million to transform the former downtown Ionia Mercantile Bank into a New Ionia Community Library;
• Funding for a library in the City of Saint Johns, Michigan: Would provide $598,000 to renovate the Briggs District Library to reflect current and future use patterns and be able to better serve the public;
• Funding for the Agricultural Research Service Crop Production Program: Would support the use of unmanned aerial systems, which have the potential to enable major agricultural advances including through emerging methods for data analysis and use of artificial intelligence to address agricultural problems.

Original source can be found here